Nesbitt leads Georgia Tech in season-opening rout
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/04/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Nesbitt ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, as the 16th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets opened the 2010 season by trouncing South Carolina State, 41-10, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Roddy Jones added a pair of scores on the ground for the Yellow Jackets (1-0), who are the reigning ACC champions.
Malcolm Long completed 11-of-25 passes for 94 yards and ran for South Carolina State's lone touchdown. The Bulldogs (0-1) are the two-time defending MEAC champions.
Georgia Tech got the ball to begin the game and wasted little getting on the scoreboard. An unsuccessful on-side kick gave the Yellow Jackets excellent field position, starting at the Bulldogs' 42-yard-line.
South Carolina State forced Georgia Tech into a 4th-and-3 situation at the 35, and the Yellow Jackets converted as Nesbitt took the ball all the way to the end zone to give his team the early lead.
The Bulldogs picked up points on their first offensive series of the season, with Blake Erickson capping a 17-play drive by drilling a 28-yard field goal.
Georgia Tech's next drive extended into the second quarter, and Nesbitt scored from a yard out. The Yellow Jackets led 13-3 after the extra point was blocked.
South Carolina State came up empty on its next series when Erickson missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.
The Yellow Jackets then marched 74 yards in nine plays, and a one-yard plunge by Jones made it 20-3 with 4:46 remaining before halftime.
Georgia Tech was forced to punt on its first series of the second half, but the Bulldogs' Lennel Elmore fumbled during the return. Quentin Sims recovered the ball for Georgia Tech at South Carolina State's 21-yard-line.
The Yellow Jackets capitalized in four plays as Nesbitt dashed 14 yards into the end zone for a 24-point cushion.
Following a South Carolina State punt, Georgia Tech moved 44 yards in three plays, aided by a personal foul infraction, and Jones scampered 15 yards to increase the lead to 34-3.
A one-yard TD run by Long cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 34-10 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Yellow Jackets added a touchdown on Tevin Washington's 10-yard run with 4:50 remaining in the game.
Game Notes
This was the first-ever meeting between the schools...Nesbitt was 1-of-6 passing for eight yards and one interception...Asheton Jordon rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries for South Carolina State...Georgia Tech outgained the Bulldogs, 384-272.
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Murray threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, as the 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs trounced the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns', 55-7, at Sanford Stadium. Murray, a redshirt freshman making his first c
<< Cubs' Silva to return Tuesday
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs right-hander Carlos Silva will
make his return to the rotation on Tuesday against the Houston Astros.
The club made the announcement Saturday, shuffling their rotation so that
rookie Case
<< Serbia, Spain advance to World Championship quarters
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aleksandar Rasic's free throw with one
second left gave Serbia a 73-72 victory over Croatia and berth in the
quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship.
The Serbs led by seven during the fou
<< Zambrano sharp again as Cubs down Mets
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano allowed two runs in seven
strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs ensured themselves a series victory with
a 5-3 win over the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.
Zambrano (7-6) struck out eigh
<< White Sox take opener of DH with Red Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Konerko had three hits and scored two runs,
as the Chicago White Sox topped Boston, 3-1, in the front end of a day-night
doubleheader from Fenway Park.
A.J. Pierzynski went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling were easy third-round winners Saturday at the U.S. Open. The second-seeded former No. 1 Federer cruised past capab
Thames' tie-breaking homer pushes Yanks past Jays >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames clubbed a two-run homer to snap a
seventh-inning tie, lifting the New York Yankees to a 7-5 victory over the
Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Robinson
Ravens release 15, including QB Smith, K Graham; Reed to PUP >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens released quarterback
Troy Smith and kicker Shayne Graham on Saturday, also placing safety Ed Reed on
the Physically Unable to Perform List to highlight a slew of "cut-down day"
maneuvers.
Kahne takes pole for Atlanta Nationwide race >>
Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kasey Kahne will start on the pole for
Saturday's Great Clips Nationwide Series race after posting the quickest lap
in qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kahne turned a lap of 181.479 m.p.h. ar
Broncos place Stokley on IR, cut 10, trade for TE Gronkowski >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wide receiver Brandon Stokley was placed on
season-ending injured reserve Saturday, with the Broncos also cutting 10
players and dealing for Detroit Lions tight end Dan Gronkowski to reduce the
roster to 53 play
Sportsbook Betting Lines
Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?
Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.
“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.
“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?
There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).
How the Opening Line Is Made
The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.
Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.
The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
Why Sports Betting Lines Change
Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game
Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.
Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.
Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”
To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.
Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.