Bulls and Knights meet in Thursday night action

NCAA Football Betting Lines

10/17/2007 - Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a year of upsets, the second-ranked South Florida Bulls will try to avoid one at the hands of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this Thursday, as the two teams do battle in Big East play in Piscataway.

With several more upsets last weekend in what has been a crazy year of college football, the Bulls, in just their 11th season, currently sit second in the BSC rankings released on Sunday. It is quite a feat for a team that had never been ranked prior to this year, and for a program that is in just its seventh season as a full-time member of the now FBS. USF, which is the fastest club in the modern era of college football to go from upstart program to Top 10 in the rankings, is currently undefeated at 6-0 and that is the best start in school history. Last weekend, the Bulls crushed local rival UCF, 64-12, for their eighth win in a row. The eight straight victories ties USF with Boston College and Hawaii for the longest current winning streak at the FBS level. The Bulls have played just one Big East game this season, a 21-13 triumph over nationally-ranked West Virginia back on September 28th.

As for Rutgers, it is one of the few teams that would understand best what USF is going through right now, considering the Knights themselves, set several school records for success in 2006. Rutgers though, has had some trouble living up to last season's success, as it has already suffered two losses. Still, the team has won twice as many games as it has lost, and that includes a 38-14 triumph over Syracuse this past weekend. The win put an end to a two-game slide and improved Rutgers to 1-1 in Big East play.

The Knights and Bulls have split two prior meetings, with each club winning on the road. USF posted a 45-31 victory in Piscataway in 2005, while Rutgers returned the favor with a 22-20 win in Tampa last season.

The Bulls rolled up 543 yards of total offense, including 178 on the ground, as they scored a season-high 64 points in a route of UCF this past weekend. As has been the case all season long, quarterback Matt Grothe led the charge, rushing for 100 yards and two scores, and passing for 212 yards and two more touchdowns. Grothe, a tremendous competitor and leader, has simply done it all for this USF club, as he leads the team with 346 rushing yards and 1,121 passing. He has accounted for 11 total touchdowns (four rushing) and he is the primary reason why this offense is turning in a solid 35.3 ppg and 393.5 total ypg. Benjamin Williams and Mike Ford are two other players that could have an impact in this game, as the tailbacks have played a big part in the team's rushing averaging of 180.5 ypg. Williams has run for 309 yards and five scores, while Ford has gained 251 yards with five touchdowns as well.

While the offense has been productive this season, it is USF's defense that has really put this program on the map. The unit has been successful against some premier offenses and it comes into the game allowing just 15.7 ppg and only 284.3 total ypg. The Bulls have faced some of the top rushers in the nation along way and they have done a tremendous job in limiting their foes to just 2.9 yards per carry. Generating big plays is nothing new for this defense either, as USF has recorded 20 sacks and forced 21 turnovers. In a dominant performance last weekend, the Bulls created three turnovers and held UCF to a mere 145 total yards in a winning effort. UCF's Kevin Smith entered last weekend as the top rusher in the nation, but USF limited him to just 55 yards on 18 totes. George Selvie continued his tremendous start to the season, as he posted four TFLs to go along with a forced fumble and a sack. In just six games, Selvie has already set the school record for both TFLs (21.5) and sacks (11.5). He leads the nation in both categories as well. Another player worth mentioning is Ben Moffitt, who is one of the leaders of this defense and the team's top tackler with 52 to his credit. He also has eight TFLs and three interceptions on his resume.

The Knights are one of the better offensive teams in the Big East, as they are racking up 37.2 ppg and 489.7 total ypg on the season. The team relies a lot on its ground game, which is averaging 182.2 ypg behind the steady play of Ray Rice. One of the top backs in the country, Rice currently leads the Big East with 818 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns. Last weekend, Rice erupted for 196 yards and three touchdown on 36 carries, as Rutgers defeated Syracuse. Quarterback Mike Teel also had a big game against Syracuse, completing 20- of-29 pass attempts for 310 yards and two scores. Teel, usually overshadowed by Rice, has had a rather good year, as he has completed 62.5 percent of his throws for an average of 302.8 passing ypg. He has thrown 12 touchdowns against six interceptions. His main target is Tiquan Underwood, who leads the club with 34 catches and 675 receiving yards. Underwood got off to a fast start this season, but since teams have begun to focus on him a bit more, Teel has looked the way of Kenny Britt. Last weekend, Britt pulled down seven balls for 176 yards and a score, while Underwood finished with just two catches for 14 yards. For the year, Britt is hot on the heels of Underwood with 27 catches and 640 receiving yards. Both players have recorded four touchdown this season.

The Knights rank as one of the top defensive units in the Big East, as they are giving up just 17.2 ppg and only 296.8 total ypg. The unit has really flourished against the pass, holding opponents to just 157.7 ypg through the air while recording 16 sacks. Last weekend, Rutgers did a great job on defense, as it held Syracuse to a mere 270 total yards, including 158 via the pass. The defense forced a pair of turnovers and registered five sacks in the victory. Kevin Malast led the way with seven tackles, while Jamaal Westerman and Joe Lefeged each posted two sacks. On the year, Malast is tops on the club with 48 tackles and Westerman is first with 7.0 TFLs and four sacks.

This should be a great game, as both teams have similar strengths and weaknesses and each has a lot on the line. USF is playing with a great deal of confidence, but Rutgers has the homefield advantage. It should be a tight contest from start to finish, but expect the Bulls' defense to make the difference when it matters most.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

Sportsbooks to bet on football

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.