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09/08/2010 - 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," said Richt. "I always think the race in the East is wide open, and everybody will have a decent idea in a few weeks. Everybody is hoping to get that first win in league play and get momentum."
The Bulldogs began their season last weekend with a 55-7 romp over Louisiana. Georgia was 8-5 a year ago, and while many programs would consider their season a success if they garnered that record, Richt made it perfectly clear in the offseason that eight wins at Georgia simply isn't good enough. This year's group is not loaded with returning talent, so it remains to be seen if an improvement on last year's mark is possible.
South Carolina cruised to a 41-13 victory over Southern Miss last weekend to begin the campaign, and the lone touchdown scored by the Golden Eagles came with under one minute remaining in the contest.
"Good win for us," said coach Spurrier after the contest. "We missed a few opportunities (but) we played well and won the game. We'll try to improve for the next game against Georgia."
In his first five years at the helm, Spurrier has compiled a 35-28 record, not exactly what the program had hoped for when it signed the former Florida leader. The Gamecocks, who finished 7-6 a year ago, return more talented players than any of Spurrier's five prior seasons, and that's the reason for optimism in Columbia.
Georgia owns a commanding 46-14-2 series advantage over South Carolina, including wins in seven of the last eight meetings between the programs.
The Bulldogs played the opener shorthanded, as their top receiver and rusher from a year ago in A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey were missing from the lineup. Green was held out as the NCAA investigates his alleged improper interaction with an agent, while Ealey was suspended after being charged in late August with hit and run and driving on a suspended license. While Ealey is expected back this weekend, Green's situation remains uncertain.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray made his debut against Louisiana last week for the Bulldogs, and he completed 17-of-26 passes for 160 yards with three touchdown passes. Murray also ran for a score and was intercepted once, an impressive debut overall. Kris Durham benefited from Murray's big day, catching five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
The Georgia defense played about as well as Richt could have hoped for in the opener, as the group limited Louisiana to 128 total yards, 60 of which came on one play. The Bulldogs surrendered a mere 14 rushing yards on 29 attempts by the Ragin' Cajuns, who also completed just 8-of-24 passes with three interceptions. Georgia had three sacks in the tilt and held Louisiana to 3- of-16 success on third-down conversion attempts. No one player stood out for the defense, as it was clearly a team effort.
"The defense seemed to be locked in mentally, they played extremely hard and had very few mental errors," Richt said. "They were well-prepared, and we didn't have any penalties on defense."
South Carolina achieved tremendous balance offensively against Southern Miss, as the Gamecocks posted 224 rushing yards and 225 passing yards. Stephen Garcia, the team's quarterback, connected on 16-of-23 passes for 193 yards without an interception, and he also ran for two scores.
"We were last in the SEC in rushing the past two years and that's what we need to get going this year is the rushing game," said Garcia after the victory. "We have the talent and strength up front. If we can run the ball, it's hard to beat us with our defense playing the way they're playing."
Marcus Lattimore also ran for two touchdowns for South Carolina, and standout receiver Alshon Jeffery hauled in seven receptions for 106 yards. USC ran far fewer plays than Southern Miss, 19 to be exact, but the Gamecocks averaged 6.9 yards per play compared to 4.8 for the opposition.
Moving to the defensive side of the ball, South Carolina can take pride in the way that it played. Sure, Southern Miss was able to rack up 404 total yards, but the lone touchdown occurred late as mentioned. Also, the Gamecocks surrendered a mere 67 rushing yards, and even the high passing total of USM came on just 8.9 yards per completion. Put simply, South Carolina avoided getting hurt by big plays. Stephon Gilmore had a pair of TFLs in the win.
<< 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
<< FCS championship game tickets to go on sale
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tickets to 2010 Football Championship
Subdivision title game will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Monday, Sept. 13.
The championship game will be played Jan. 7, 2011 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.
Tickets will be av
<< Padres go for sweep of LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres were in serious danger of falling out
of first place in the National League's West Division, but a couple of games
against the fading Los Angeles Dodgers seems to have gotten the surprising
squad back on
Hurricanes blow into Columbus to battle Buckeyes >>
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 F
Idaho hits road for test against No. 6 Nebraska >>
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a 49-10 thrashing of Western Kentucky
in last week's season opener, the sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers figure to
be challenged a bit more this Saturday as they welcome the Idaho Vandals to
Memorial St
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
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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