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09/04/2010 - Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State didn't have to go for a 2- point conversion, and the win, in the second overtime against Mississippi on Saturday.
It's a good thing JSU coach head coach Jack Crowe didn't believe his defense could go back onto the field again if the Gamecocks tied the game with a kick.
He was kidding, of course, but there was no denying his defense was exhausted.
And it also was obvious his Football Championship Subdivision program came to win against their larger-school Southeastern Conference opponent. When the Gamecocks had a chance to topple Ole Miss, they seized the moment with a Coty Blanchard-to-Calvin Middleton 2-point conversion for a 49-48, double-overtime stunner in the season opener for both teams.
On a final crazy play, Middleton hauled in the pass from Blanchard in a crowd of players to end the Gamecocks' first win over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in nearly nine years.
Just moments earlier, Blanchard threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kevyn Cooper on 4th-and-15 to pull JSU within 48-47.
"The coaches called a shovel pass," Middleton said of the 2-point conversion. "I don't even know if (Blanchard) saw me, but I knew if I could catch it I was deep enough in the end zone to score."
JSU, which would have won the Ohio Valley Conference title last year if it was not ineligible because of academic progress rate penalties, overcame a 31-10 deficit at halftime by outscoring Ole Miss 21-3 in the fourth quarter.
The Gamecocks forced overtime in the final 18.9 seconds. Marques Ivory connected with Alan Bonner for a 19-yard touchdown to pull the visitors with 34-32, then he threw a 2-point conversion to La'Ray Williams to tie the game at 34.
JSU scored on its final six possessions, including touchdowns on the last five, to send Ole Miss to its first loss against an FCS team. It was the largest deficit the Gamecocks had ever overcome for a victory.
While JSU rotated QBs, Blanchard and Ivory both threw for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Middleton rushed for 67 yards and the Gamecocks didn't commit a turnover.
<< Revolution top Sounders at Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution kept their slim
Major League Soccer playoff aspirations alive with a 3-1 win over Seattle
Sounders FC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Goals by Chris Tierney, Marko
<< Federer, Djokovic, Soderling reach fourth round in Flushing
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer,
2007 U.S. Open finalist Novak Djokovic and two-time French Open runner-up
Robin Soderling were easy third-round winners Saturday at the U.S. Open.
The secon
<< Jurrjens, Braves shut down Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jair Jurrjens and two relievers combined on a
four-hitter as Atlanta stifled Florida, 2-0, in the middle meeting of a
three-game set at Sun Life Stadium.
Jurrjens (7-4) allowed three hits, while he w
<< Chiefs release 13, including Morgan; Leggett and Urban to IR
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Safety DaJuan Morgan was among the most
prominent players released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, as the team
reduced its roster to the 53-player maximum.
Morgan played in 28 games as a Chief after
Goalkeeper gaffe gives Columbus win at United >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored the lone
goal after a mistake by D.C. United rookie goalie Bill Hamid and the Columbus
Crew won 1-0 on Saturday night in Major League Soccer at RFK Stadium.
Columbus (13-
Cornhuskers clobber WKU >>
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for
three touchdowns and accounted for 263 of Nebraska's 536 yards of offense, as
the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers walloped Western Kentucky, 49-10, at Memorial
Stadium
Engram, Jennings, McDonald among Browns' final cuts >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wide receiver Bobby Engram, running back Chris
Jennings and cornerback Brandon McDonald were among the notables released by
the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster to 53 players.
Engram,
Jackson powers Tigers past Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Jackson went 3-for-4 and singled in
the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 win
over the Kansas City Royals in the middle test of a three-game series.
Jackson als
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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