Buckeyes battle Ducks in Rose Bowl

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/01/2010 - Pasadena, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "The Granddaddy of Them All" adds its 96th edition this New Year's Day, as the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and seventh-ranked Oregon Ducks square off in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The Rose Bowl is the oldest bowl game, beginning in 1902 and played continuously since 1916. This year's combatants both come in with stellar 10-2 records.

Jim Tressel's Buckeyes captured the Big Ten title for the fifth straight season, distancing themselves down the stretch with five straight victories to close out the regular season.

OSU's bowl resume consists of an 18-22 postseason record. The team will be participating in its fifth straight BCS bowl game and is making its first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1997. The Buckeyes are 6-7 all-time in 13 previous Rose Bowl appearances.

Chip Kelly has pushed all the right buttons in his first season at the helm at Oregon. The Ducks opened the year with a deflating loss at Boise State, but regrouped to win seven straight after that to regain their swagger. A shootout loss at Stanford put the Pac-10 title in jeopardy, but Oregon responded with three straight wins and clinched the conference title with a 37-33 win over rival Oregon State in the regular-season finale.

Oregon is making its first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1995 and will be making its fifth trip to the event all-time, with a 1-3 record thus far.

The series between these two teams has been dominated by Ohio State, which has won all seven prior matchups. However, these two schools have met just twice in the last 41 years (1983 and 1987). The first-ever meeting took place in the 1958 Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes have relied heavily on the run this season and the results are a gaudy 198.9 yards per game, on 4.7 yards per carry. The formula for success may have to be tweaked a bit in this one, as it has been reported that talented QB Terrelle Pryor has suffered a partially torn PCL and has been playing with it. Just how much this will affect his performance and alter the gameplan remains to be seen. Pryor leads the team in rushing with 707 yards and seven scores, but is by no means the only productive player on the ground. Tailbacks Brandon Saine (694 yards, four TDs) and Dan Herron (558 yards, seven TDs) have also been effective.

The passing attack has taken a backseat in Columbus this season, although the team has shown glimpses of an effective vertical attack. Pryor has completed 55.8 percent of his passes this season, for 1,828 yards, with 16 TDs. Sophomore DeVier Posey has clearly been the top target down the field, leading the way with 52 receptions, for 727 yards and seven TDs.

Tressel knows his team needs to gain a bit more balance with the aerial attack.

"I think we've got to be more efficient and I think we've got to strike when there's opportunities to strike. We had a couple chances in the last game where we could have hit a homerun and we didn't. We have to be able to hit homeruns when people decide they're going to put X amount of people in the box to stop your run. That's the balance you like to have and we've got to get a little bit better at that."

Despite losses on the defensive side of the football coming into 2009, Ohio State once again flourished defensively. The Buckeyes ranked among the nation's best in total defense, ranking fifth in the country at a mere 262.5 ypg. The rush defense has been particularly stout, ranking fifth nationally at just 83.4 ypg.

The Buckeyes were paced by the linebacking tandem of juniors Ross Homan (team- high 96 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, four INTs, two fumble recoveries) and Brian Rolle (91 tackles, 7.0 TFLs). Leading the way in the secondary is All- Big Ten First-Team selection Kurt Coleman. The senior strong safety amassed 64 tackles on the year, with five INTs, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Rush ends Cameron Heyward (52 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, 5.5 sacks) and Thaddeus Gibson (41 tackles, 11.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks) are the best of the bunch up front.

The Ducks uses one of the nation's most prolific ground games to wear the opposition down and it has worked to near perfection. Oregon ranks sixth nationally rushing the football, averaging 236.1 yards per game on an impressive 5.5 yards per carry.

The team lost talented tailback LaGarrette Blount for an extended period of time this season, but that allowed redshirt freshman LaMichael James to burst on the scene. His meteoric rise as one of the nation's top tailbacks is a big reason for Oregon's success. James rumbled for a whopping 1,476 yards and 14 TDs this year, on nearly seven yards per carry (6.9). The other devastating weapon on offense for Oregon is dual-threat QB Jeremiah Masoli. The junior signal-caller rushed for 659 yards and 12 TDs on the year, while completing nearly 60 percent of his passes, for 2,066 yards and another 15 scores. Wideout Jeff Maehl (52 receptions, for 686 yards, six TDs) led the team in receiving, but tight end Ed Dixon (42 receptions, for 551 yards, six TDs) may be the bigger threat in the middle of the field.

The Oregon defense plays second-fiddle to the offense in Eugene, but the Ducks have showed extended spans of brilliance on this side of the football over the course of the season. Oregon is giving up just 329.4 yards of total offense per game, while limiting foes to a decent 23.6 ppg. With 32 sacks and 24 takeaways on the year, this is also a unit that lives and dies by the big play.

Freshman safety John Boyett has made an immediate impression on this team, pacing the Ducks in tackles (78) with two INTs. He is joined in a talented secondary by fellow safety Javes Lewis (77 tackles, two INTs) and cover corner Talmadge Jackson (46 tackles, four INTs). LBs Casey Matthews (72 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, 2.5 sacks), Spencer Paysinger (72 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, two fumble recoveries) and Eddie Pleasant (50 tackles, 7.0 TFLs, 4.5 sacks) get the job done in the middle of the field, while rush end Kenny Rowe (36 tackles, 11.0 TFLs, 8.5 sacks) has been a force up front.

The play of the linebackers will be key in this one, as stopping OSU's ground game has to be first and foremost on the minds of the Ducks.

Matthews says the team is definitely ready for the challenge.

"Any team would think they can run the ball on us after watching the Stanford film. We should be ready for it though. After that game we expected a lot of teams to do the same thing and run at us but we went against that every day in practice to get ready for that and we were ready for that in the rest of our games. "As linebackers we look forward to a straight downhill running game because we'll be in on a lot plays."

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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