Murray, Georgia get season started with rout of Louisiana
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/04/2010 - Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Murray threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, as the 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs trounced the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns', 55-7, at Sanford Stadium.
Murray, a redshirt freshman making his first collegiate start, completed 17- of-26 tosses for 160 yards with one pick. He also added 42 rushing yards for Georgia (1-0), which finished 8-5 last season, the program's lowest win total under head coach Mark Richt since he debuted in 2001. Kris Durham benefited from Murray's big day, catching five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs played the game shorthanded, as their top receiver and rusher from a year ago in A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey were missing from the lineup. Green, the team's leading receiver with 53 catches and 808 receiving yards, was held out as the NCAA investigates his alleged improper interaction with an agent. Ealey, meanwhile, paced the squad with 717 rushing yards, but was suspended after being charged in late August with hit and run and driving on a suspended license.
Chris Masson started the game at quarterback for Louisiana (0-1) and threw for 77 yards with one touchdown and an interception for the Cajuns (0-1), who were coming off a 6-6 finish for the second straight season. Ladarius Green was his main target, pulling in four balls for 87 yards and a score.
The Bulldogs started off the scoring with three minutes left in the opening quarter, as Caleb King's 20-yard touchdown run on third-and-short capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive.
Georgia's defense made its impact felt on the ensuing possession, with corner Brandon Boykin picking off a Masson pass at Louisiana's 28-yard line. The Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover with a three-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Durham just seconds into the second quarter.
A 52-yard field goal by Blair Walsh a few minutes later extended Georgia's advantage to 17-0.
Late in the first half, the Bulldogs added to their lead with an 11-yard scoring strike from Murray to Shaun Chapas.
The Cajuns, though, showed some life with under two minutes remaining. On the very next play following an interception, Masson hit a wide open Green on a 60-yard touchdown pass to put the Cajuns on the board. Louisiana had just six yards of total offense prior to the play.
Unfortunately, Louisiana's defense let down and Georgia took advantage with a 16-yard touchdown run by Murray as time expired. Murray, who snuck the ball just across the goalline as he went out of bounds, was given a second chance after Louisiana's Lance Kelly dropped a sure interception in the back of the end zone a couple players earlier.
The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off after the break, as Walsh connected on a 48-yard field goal just minutes into the second half for a 34-7 Georgia advantage.
The onslaught continued when a one-yard touchdown pass from Murray to a wide open Fred Munzenmaier completed a 10-play, 53-yard drive with 4:25 left in the third.
Hutson Mason then replaced Murray under center and the true freshman threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Logan Gray on his very first collegiate snap.
Things only got worse for the Cajuns, as backup quarterback Blaine Gautier was intercepted early in the fourth quarter by Jakar Hamilton, who returned the pick 17 yards for a score and a 55-7 advantage.
Game Notes
The Bulldogs have won 13 of their last 14 season openers, including a 9-1 mark under Richt...Georgia is 39-4 versus non-conference opponents under Richt...The 55 points was the most for Georgia since a 62-17 win over Kentucky in 2004...The Bulldogs outgained the Cajuns 377-128 and were 8-of-17 on third downs compared to a 3-of-16 showing by Louisiana...This was the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Louisiana on the gridiron...The Cajuns have dropped 13 straight games to ranked opponents since defeating Texas A&M in 1996.
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Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.