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09/08/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A much-anticipated matchup between the second- ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the 12th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes will ensue in Columbus on Saturday afternoon.
As expected, Miami cruised to victory over Florida A&M in the opener, besting the overmatched Rattlers by a 45-0 final. The Hurricanes played that game on Thursday, September 2nd, so they have had just as much time as the Buckeyes to prepare for this week's showdown. Miami was a program in despair when Randy Shannon took over four years ago, but the well-regarded coach has restored the 'Canes to respectability. In 2009, Shannon guided his team to the program's best mark since the 2005 at 9-4, including 5-3 versus ACC competition.
"Games are games, and they go and come," said Shannon, failing to buy into the hype of this showdown. "You just have to enjoy the times you play in them and keep moving on."
As for Ohio State, it cruised to a 45-7 victory over Marshall last Thursday to kick off a campaign full of lofty expectations.
"It's going to be a more difficult world next week," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said, acknowledging the spike in competition that Miami represents.
The Buckeyes are now 10-0 in season openers under Tressel, and they have won 55 consecutive regular season non-conference home games against unranked teams. They are one of just three teams to post 10 or more wins in five consecutive seasons and are loaded on both sides of the ball this year.
Ohio State has won two of the three all-time meetings with Miami, including a thrilling victory in 2003 that decided the national championship.
Many believe that Miami's fortunes this season rest solely on the arm and legs of quarterback Jacory Harris. If the opener is any indication, the 'Canes are in for a successful campaign. Against Florida A&M, Harris connected on 12- of-15 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior Leonard Hankerson caught six passes for 115 yards and a career-best two touchdowns for the Hurricanes, while Damien Berry also caught a TD pass. Lamar Miller carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards and a score for Miami, which also got a rushing touchdown from Mike James.
"Individually, we had some guys who did a lot of great things out there today," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "For the most part, it shows what kind of team we have."
Defensively, Miami was simply dominant against Florida A&M, allowing just 110 yards in the clash. The run defense was stifling, holding the Rattlers to 52 yards on 39 attempts. Clearly, a high total of eight sacks amounting to 62 yards in losses was a major factor in the impressive stats. Olivier Vernon was downright unstoppable, as the sophomore defensive end posted 3.5 sacks in the tilt. He also finished with seven total tackles to lead the 'Canes. Miami came up with just one takeaway, but the most important number of all from that contest is zero, the amount of points scored by the opposition.
Ohio State racked up 529 total yards in the romp over Marshall in the opener, and there was tremendous balance established between the run and the pass. The Buckeyes posted 280 rushing yards at a clip of 6.8 yards per carry, and Brandon Saine posted 103 yards on just nine carries with two touchdowns.
As for the passing game, Terrelle Pryor looked the part of a Heisman candidate. The junior signal caller, who is under constant scrutiny, completed 17-of-25 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions. DeVier Posey scored on two of his four catches, and Dane Sanzenbacher posted 113 yards and a score on three grabs.
Defensively, Ohio State played quite well against Marshall, limiting the Thundering Herd to 199 total yards, including 44 rushing yards. The only points scored by Marshall came on a return of a blocked field goal, so that play obviously can't be pinned on the defense, which is considered one of the nation's most talented groups.
Linebacker Brian Rolle is one of the stars of the Ohio State defense, and he returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. He quickly turned his attention to the Hurricanes after that tilt.
"You get the feeling that team feels like they're back on the rise like they were in the early 2000s," said Brian Rolle of Miami. "We've got to play our brand of football, and at the end of the game next week we'll be able to assess where we are."
<< Ranked SEC foes lock horns in Columbia
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Richt leads his 22nd-ranked Georgia
Bulldogs into an SEC battle with Steve Spurrier's 24th-ranked South Carolina
Gamecocks in Columbia this weekend.
"Our guys are focused on South Carolina right now," sai
<< Tigers battle Bulldogs in SEC action
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC action begins on Thursday in Starkville
as the Mississippi State Bulldogs welcome the 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers to
town.
Auburn opened its season last weekend with a 52-26 victory over Arkansas
State.
<< Struggling Braves turn to Lowe in finale with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates sure have been enjoying their role
of spoiler in this series and are now in position to sweep the Atlanta Braves
for the first time in over 16 years.
To do that they will have to solve Derek Lowe, wh
<< First-place Phils close out hard-fought set with Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't easy, but the Philadelphia Phillies now lead the
National League East for the first time since late May.
Cole Hamels will try to keep his squad there as he aims for a third straight
victory in the finale of a fou
Instate rivals clash as ninth-ranked Hawkeyes take on Cyclones >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter rivals clash at Kinnick Stadium this
weekend, as the ninth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes do battle with the Iowa State
Cyclones.
The Hawkeyes took care of business in their opener last weekend, as they
tallied
13th-ranked Hokies seek quick turnaround against Dukes >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a heart-breaking loss, the 13th-
ranked Virginia Tech Hokies now set their sights on the James Madison Dukes
this weekend at Lane Stadium.
In the most anticipated game of the opening week, it was
Fireworks likely in showdown between Ducks and Volunteers >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off perhaps the most impressive
performance in week one of the 2010 college football season, the seventh-
ranked Oregon Ducks take to the road, as they invade SEC Country to battle the
Tennessee Volunteer
Yellow Jackets and Jayhawks square off in Lawrence >>
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
take their act on the road for the first time this season, as they invade
Lawrence this weekend, for a showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks in an ACC/Big
XII non-conferenc
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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