08/30/2008 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Moise Plancher and Mike Ford each had two rushing touchdowns as 19th-ranked South Florida dominated Tennessee-Martin, 56-7, in the season opener for both teams from Raymond James Stadium.
Plancher finished with 65 yards on eight carries while Ford had 61 yards on 15 carries for the Bulls (1-0), who are coming off a 9-4 campaign in 2007.
Matt Grothe went 6-for-8 with 96 yards and a pair of touchdown passes as Jessie Hester caught both touchdown passes for South Florida.
Cade Thompson went 6-for-19 with 25 yards and an interception and Dontell Miller scored the only touchdown for the Skyhawks (0-1) on a fumble recovery. Daryl Bourne had eight carries for 37 yards in the loss.
After stopping the Skyhawks on the first possession of the game, the Bulls needed just five plays to get into the end zone. A 40-yard punt return from Marcus Edward gave the Bulls the ball at the UTM 31 and, after four straight runs got the ball to the 18-yard line, Grothe hooked up with Hester on an 18- yard score and a 7-0 lead a bit over five minutes in.
South Florida again held Tennessee-Martin and got the ball back and a 45-yard run from Benjamin Williams helped to set up a three-yard run into the end zone by Ford for a 14-0 lead with 6:24 left in the first.
After a three-and-out from the Skyhawks, Edwards' 19-yard punt return gave the Bulls the ball at midfield and five plays later Ford rumbled into the end zone from six yards out with a bit over three minutes left in the first.
Edwards came up with another good punt return after the defense held Tennessee-Martin, as his 22-yard return put the Bulls at the Skyhawks 37-yard- line. Williams gave the team a 28-0 lead after 15 minutes with his 13- yard rushing score.
The only score of the second quarter came with under two minutes left in the half as Grothe found Hester over the middle for 22 yards and the receiver bulled his way into the end zone for a 35-0 lead.
Plancher's 35-yard touchdown run with 5:18 left in the third quarter staked the Bulls to a 42-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks finally got on the board, but it was their defense that got the points. Louis Gachette fumbled the ball and Miller scooped it up and took it into the end zone on a 72-yard score to make it a 42-7 contest with 2:26 left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, a partially blocked punt was picked up on the hop by Theo Wilson and he raced into the end zone on a 67-yard score for a 49-7 lead a bit over three minutes into the fourth.
Plancher's 13-yard touchdown run with 2:20 to play capped the scoring in the contest.
Game Notes
This was the first ever meeting between the two teams...Williams finished the game with six carries for 70 yards...South Florida totaled 520 yards of offense compared to just 97 yards for Tennesse-Martin...A.J. Love had four catches for 57 yards for South Florida...South Florida punt returners totaled 226 yards and a score on 10 returns.
<< Saints Cuts Include Mehlhaff, Palko
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and quarterback
Tyler Palko were among the players waived on Saturday as the New Orleans
Saints reduced their roster to 53 players.
Mehlhaff, a sixth-round choice out of Wisconsin in
<< Nats walk away with extra-inning victory
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elijah Dukes drew a bases-loaded walk off
Vladimir Nunez with two outs in the 10th inning, handing the Washington
Nationals a 9-8 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Anderson Hernandez went 3-for-5 with t
<< Four Breeders Crown races decided at Mohawk
Campbellville, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first four Breeders Crown races of
the year took center-stage Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack. The remaining
eight events will be held at The Meadowlands on Saturday, November 29.
In Saturday
<< Texas Tech lights up scoreboard in rout of Eastern Washington
Lubbock, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Graham Harrell completed 43-of-58 passes for
536 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, as the 12th-ranked Texas
Tech Red Raiders opened the season with a 49-24 triumph over the Eagles of
Eastern
Bills Release 22, Including James, Spragan, RB Wright >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cornerback Will James, linebacker Donnie
Spragan, and running back Dwayne Wright were among 22 players released by the
Buffalo Bills on Saturday, as Dick Jauron's team reduced its roster to 53
players.
Ja
Rangers' Hamilton leaves game >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton
left Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels with pain associated with
root canal work he had done earlier this week.
Hamilton was scratched from the Ra
Report: Rams Finish Cuts, Trim Gradkowski and 12 More >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams made their final necessary
cuts on Saturday, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The newspaper revealed the team had released 12 players and would either trade
or release qua
Tide roll over No. 9 Clemson >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Parker Wilson went 22-of-30 for 180 yards
and two touchdowns to lead the 24th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide to an upset
over the ninth-ranked Clemson Tigers, 34-10, at the Georgia Dome.
Mark Ingram ran
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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