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09/04/2010 - 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.
Martinez ran for 127 yards on only seven carries and threw for another 136 on 9-of-15 attempts. Rex Burkhead and Austin Jones added a rushing score for Nebraska (1-0), which embarked on its final season as a member of the Big 12.
The 'Huskers fell just shy of capturing a conference championship in 2009, dropping a heartbreaking 13-12 decision to Texas.
Bobby Rainey racked up 155 yards on 30 rushes and scored the lone touchdown for the Hilltoppers (0-1), who went without a win in their first season as a full-time FBS member last year. WKU has the nation's longest losing streak at 21 games.
<< Razorbacks roll to season-opening win
Fayetteville, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Mallett tossed three touchdown passes
to lead 17th-ranked Arkansas to a 44-3 rout of Tennessee Tech in the opener
for both schools.
Mallett went 21-for-24 for 301 yards along with a pick for t
<< Jacksonville State revels in upset of Rebels
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
<< Redskins release 21, including three ex-Steelers
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins released 21 players from
their roster as part of Saturday's "cut-down day" maneuvers, including three
who won Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 2008.
Running back Wil
<< 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
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
Oklahoma holds on against Utah State >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Broyles posted 142 yards and two touchdowns
on nine receptions as seventh-ranked Oklahoma nearly wasted a 21-point lead
but topped Utah State, 31-24, in the season-opener for both schools at
Oklahom
Ramsey, McCray among Saints' final cuts >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterback Patrick Ramsey and defensive end
Bobby McCray were among the highest-profile players released by the New Orleans
Saints on Saturday, as the defending Super Bowl champions reduced their roster
to the N
Nationals pound Pirates behind Rodriguez >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivan Rodriguez hit a two-run homer and
knocked in four as the Washington Nationals thumped Pittsburgh, 9-2, in the
second of three games from PNC Park.
John Lannan (7-6) struck out seven in seven
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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