Colts use goal-line stand, lead Saints at halftime
Football Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Super Bowl XLIV has been a tale of two very
different quarters, but Indianapolis, vying for a second title in four years,
has managed to hold a 10-6 lead at halftime on the New Orleans Saints.
The Colts used a Peyton Manning touchdown pass to cap a 96-yard drive in the
opening quarter and then had a goal-line stand to stop the Saints in the final
two minutes of the half.
Matt Stover kicked a 38-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, and
Manning ended the Super Bowl's record-tying longest drive with a 19-yard
scoring toss to Pierre Garcon with 36 seconds remaining in the same period.
The Saints, in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, got a
46-yard field goal from Garrett Hartley in the early moments of the second
quarter, but were thwarted on a fourth down run from the one with 1:49 left.
Hartley split the uprights from 44 yards on the final play.
The Colts dominated the opening quarter, outgaining the Saints in yardage,
154-36. The Saints ran just 10 offensive plays in the period, but the Colts
had just six in the second quarter. Indy was outgained 143-15 in the second
quarter.
That stanza proved much different, starting with Hartley's 46-yard field goal
to end an 11-play, 60-yard march with 9:34 left in the half. Hartley converted
the kick after Drew Brees was thrown to the ground on a one-handed sack by
the Colts' Dwight Freeney, who started despite an ankle injury.
New Orleans then forced a three-and-out, helped when Garcon dropped a sure
first-down catch with plenty of open space.
Brees led the Saints' high-powered offense down the field. He converted a pair
of third downs, once with a pass for 13 yards to Marques Colston and another
with a 21-yard toss to Lance Moore, moving the ball to the 23. After Devery
Henderson lost seven yards on an end-around play, Brees found Colston over the
middle for 27 yards, advancing the ball to the three.
But the drive stalled. After a false start penalty, Pierre Thomas ran seven
yards to the one, setting up third down. Mike Bell slipped down on a rush to
the right; and then on fourth down, Thomas was stuffed on a run to the right.
Following a punt, New Orleans got the ball back at its own 48 with 35 seconds
left. Brees threw 19 and six yards to Henderson. Reggie Bush ran for a yard
out of bounds with five seconds left, setting up Hartley's kick.
Manning has connected on 10-of-16 throws for 97 yards in the first half with
Joseph Addai rushing seven times for 60 yards.
Brees is 16-of-22 for 164 yards through the air with Colston making five grabs
for 66 yards.
<< Stanford thumps USC
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kayla Pedersen had 18 points and 14 rebounds
as second-ranked Stanford crushed USC, 77-39.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Jayne Appel added 15 points
and 13 rebounds while Rosalyn Gold-Onwude
<< Colts take early lead in Super Bowl
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peyton Manning capped a 96-yard drive with a 19-
yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon, giving the Indianapolis Colts a 10-0
lead over New Orleans after one quarter of Super Bowl XLIV.
The Colts are off to a great
<< Stricker hangs on to win at Riviera
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After entering the final round with a
six-stroke lead, Steve Stricker managed a one-under 70 Sunday to win the
Northern Trust Open by two strokes.
Stricker, who had led by seven late in the t
<< Chiefs G Waters named Walter Payton Man of the Year
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Chiefs guard Brian Waters was
named the 2009 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in a ceremony prior to Super
Bowl XLIV.
Waters, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, is the fifth Chiefs player to w
<< Jernigan helps Xavier down Richmond
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dee Dee Jernigan had 15 points to help
seventh-ranked Xavier down Richmond, 67-55, at the Cintas Center.
Amber Harris had 14 points, Special Hennings added 12 points while Tyeasha
Moss had 11 points and six
Indy holds slim lead going into fourth quarter >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joseph Addai's four-yard touchdown run in the
third quarter has helped the Colts grab a tenuous 17-16 lead over New Orleans
heading into the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIV.
Drew Brees has lit a fire for the Sa
Who Dat? Super Bowl champs! Saints rally to beat Colts >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Who Dat? Those are the Super Bowl champions -
the New Orleans Saints - for the first time in the history of a franchise and
city that has witnessed its share of tough times.
Drew Brees connected with Jeremy Shock
Bellucci beats Monaco in Chile final >>
Santiago, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci defeated
Argentina's Juan Monaco to win the $450,000 Movistar Open tennis event on
Sunday.
The third-seeded Bellucci downed the second-seeded Monaco 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in
just over two
Line of Scrimmage: Saints' Night, Manning's Nightmare >>
Miami Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raise your umbrella and your Hurricane
glass to the New Orleans Saints, who are Super Bowl XLIV champions because
they were flat-out better than the Colts in an incredible, exhilarating upset
victory that ca
Brees brings home MVP to the Big Easy >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a city that has struggled in both the world of
sports and in day-to-day life, Drew Brees has brought a smile to the faces of
the New Orleans residents.
The party will be rocking for the next few days in the B
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
|