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Bulldogs open 2010 season against visiting CajunsNCAA Football Betting Lines09/01/2010 - Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs have won eight or more games in 13 consecutive season, and the road to extending that streak begins on Saturday afternoon in Athens against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Head coach Rickey Bustle continues to lead Louisiana, which finished a mediocre 6-6 a year ago, including a 4-4 mark versus Sun Belt Conference competition. The program has been competing on the gridiron since 1901, so the fact that it has only participated in two bowl games suggests that there isn't a great track record of success. There are 43 letterwinners back in the fold this season, including 13 starters between the offense and defense. Georgia returns 17 starters when factoring in the specialists, including 10 starters on the offense side of the ball. Entering his 10th season with the Bulldogs, Mark Richt has the longest tenure at his current school of any active SEC coach. Richt's teams haven't been nationally relevant the last couple of seasons, and he is eager to get Georgia back to elite status. Put simply, the 8-5 finish of 2009 isn't good enough. "A lot of people would say that's really not that bad of a year with it being a winning season," says Richt. "But the time that we have been here, everyone was getting used to 10-win seasons, top-10 finishes, banging away at the Eastern Division, being in a position to finish as high as No. 2 or No. 3, and being in a position to play for an SEC Championship. All those things are what we aspire to do and what we expect to do." This game marks the first-ever meeting between Louisiana and Georgia on the gridiron. The Louisiana offense is led by quarterback Chris Masson, who threw for 2,406 yards last season while completing 59.5 percent of his tosses. Masson only had 10 touchdown passes, but his 222 completions were just two shy of the school record. The Cajuns generated 22.2 ppg in 2009, and that numbers needs to improve this season. Eclipsing that average in the opener seems unlikely, however, considering the quality of the competition. Masson will benefit from a dangerous group of wideouts, as well as a talented tight end in Ladarius Green. A Mackey Award candidate last season, the 6-6, 225-pound Green led the Cajuns with 533 receiving yards despite missing three games. On a down note, there is no proven performer at the tailback position, and the offensive line lost three starters from a year ago. On the defensive side of the ball, Grant Fleming is the man to keep an eye on for Louisiana. A senior linebacker, Fleming earned All-Sun Belt honorable mention accolades after registering 89 total tackles. He has been placed on the 2010 Lombardi Award watch list for his efforts. "We are very proud that Grant is being considered for this award," said Bustle. "He is our team leader on defense and we consider him an impact player." Overall, the Louisiana defense forced 26 turnovers last year, ranking in the national top 30. With three starters back in the secondary, interceptions may be plentiful. Still, the Cajuns ranked 106th nationally in sacks a year ago, so don't be surprised if they make a concerted effort to pressure the Georgia QB in this opener. Speaking of the Bulldogs' signal caller, redshirt freshman Aaron Murray, a prized recruit with special talent, won the job in camp and will be the focus of Bulldog fans against Louisiana. He will certainly benefit from the presence of A.J. Green, the team's star receiver who now enters his junior campaign. Green made 53 catches for 808 yards and six touchdowns, numbers that actually fell short of the pace he set as a freshman. The hope is that Georgia will be able to run the ball consistently behind one of the top offensive lines in the SEC. Clint Boling, a stud left tackle, is one of four returning starters, and the group will open holes for junior Caleb King. Washaun Ealey posted 717 yards and three touchdowns on 125 carries a year ago and was expected to be the lead back this season, but he became the eighth Bulldog to be arrested this year when he was apprehended for hit and run and driving on a suspended license. Ealey is suspended indefinitely. Georgia has a new defensive coordinator in Todd Grantham, who has spent the last 11 years in the NFL. "It's been a long time since I have been on the college sidelines, but once the game starts, it's still the familiar game that I know out there," said Grantham after a recent scrimmage in preparation for this opener. Georgia welcomes back just four starters on the defensive side of the ball, so expect to see plenty of new faces on Saturday. Grantham is orchestrating the switch from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4, a move designed to create an attacking style. Brandon Boykin, a junior, is the only returning starter in the secondary, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Boykin did intercept three passes last season, the most of any returnee. Linebacker Justin Houston has star potential, as he impressed everyone with 7.5 sacks a year ago. Along the defensive line, Demarcus Dobbs, a senior, figures to be the leader, but he is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
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Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes enter the 2010 season with tangible chance of winning the national title, and the first step of the process will be knocking off Marshall in Thursday's opener. The Thunder
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Landover, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The most anticipated season-opener on the docket in 2010 takes place on Labor Day in Landover, as the third-ranked Boise State Broncos set out to prove their lofty ranking is warranted, as they take on the 10th-r
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINESNFL Football Sports BettingTwo 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 .
NFL Football BettingBILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover. BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week. COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy. TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win. RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win. PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start. JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch. SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do. VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams. DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home. SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one. BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1. BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses. RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw. PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting. |
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