Cavaliers travel across country to tangle with Trojans

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Cavaliers will play their first-ever game in the state of California on Saturday night, as they take on the 16th-ranked USC Trojans in a non-conference affair.

Last weekend's opener against Richmond was a big deal for Virginia head coach Mike London. Not only was he leading the Cavaliers into battle for the first time, he was playing against the same school that he left to accept the Cavs coaching vacancy. Virginia beat up on the Spiders by a 34-13 final.

"I graduated from there," said London after the game. "I spent a lot of years there as a coach and as a player but we're playing for (UVa) President Sullivan and the Charlottesville community now and that's what is most important."

The Cavaliers struggled throughout the 2009 season, finishing the year at just 3-9, including 2-6 in the ACC. However, the coaching change has fans of the program feeling cautiously optimistic.

USC has been in the news quite a bit in recent months, but not for the reasons that fans would like. Pete Carroll, who restored the program to dominance, left for the NFL, and many believe that a major factor in his departure was the looming possibility of NCAA sanctions. Lane Kiffin, a polarizing figure, took over as the new head coach, and the Trojans were indeed hit with penalties, ensuring that scholarships would be lost and the postseason wouldn't be in the teams immediate future.

With all of the controversy swirling as USC entered its opener against Hawaii last week, the team was able to earn a 49-36 victory.

"We did end up winning the game, which is good, but obviously as you can see, we've got some depth concerns and issues," said Kiffin. "We've got a lot of work to do."

USC crushed Virginia by a 52-7 final during the 2008 campaign in the only previous meeting between the two programs.

Virginia established outstanding offensive balance in the opener against Richmond, posting over 200 yards on the ground and through the air en route to 488 total yards. Keith Payne was the most impressive performer for the Cavaliers, as the bruising tailback posted 114 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries.

As for the passing attack, quarterback Marc Verica was impressive as well, connecting on 24-of-35 passes for 283 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

"He didn't try to win the game by doing something heroic," said London of Verica. "He stayed within himself and threw high percentage completions and moved the chains. If he continues to do that, he'll continue to help us."

Kris Burd was tops among the receivers with 122 yards and a score on seven catches, while Dontrelle Inman made seven grabs as well.

Richmond was able to rip off a 70-yard touchdown run against Virginia in the first quarter of the opener, but the defense settled down after that big play. The Cavs did not allow another touchdown and surrendered just two field goals the rest of the way. In all, Virginia permitted 333 yards and 13 first downs to the Spiders.

LaRoy Reynolds paced Virginia with eight total tackles, including three TFLs. Chase Minnifield, who recorded seven stops, posted the lone interception for the Cavs.

USC rolled up 524 total yards against Hawaii and was able establish tremendous balance. The Trojans were 9-of-12 on third-down conversion attempts and suffered just one turnover in the tilt. Matt Barkley was outstanding under center, completing 18-of-23 passes for 257 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. His top target, Ronald Johnson, recorded seven catches for 59 yards and three scores.

As for the ground attack, Marc Tyler put up big numbers, gaining 154 yards and a score on 17 carries. USC posted 246 rushing yards in the game at a clip of seven yards per attempt.

"Defensively we didn't play very well today, obviously," said Kiffin, clearly disappointed in the overall poor play and lack of discipline exhibited by his defenders.

USC permitted 31 first downs and 588 total yards to Hawaii, which was 8-of-15 on third-down conversion attempts. The Warriors had possession of the ball for over 32 minutes and did most of their damage through the air, completing 27- of-49 passes for 459 yards with no interceptions.

Both Wes Horton and Jurrell Casey had a pair of TFLs in the game, including a sack apiece. In all, the Trojans tallied three sacks.

Oddsmakwr NCAA Football Betting News

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

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.

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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