CFL East: Blue Bombers dominant with Jyles at the helm
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07/28/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East division took full advantage of home cooking last week, as Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg all won within their friendly confines. Hamilton was the lone East team to fall, as touchdowns in their matchup against Montreal were few and far between. Steven Jyles showed the league that Winnipeg would not roll over without Buck Pierce as their starting quarterback, while the Argonauts still refuse to give up in a stunning come-from-behind finish over the BC Lions.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
In the CFL, you can be sure of three things: lots of passing, exciting kick returns, and most of all, a Buck Pierce injury.
Winnipeg knew it had a talented, yet brittle quarterback on its hands going into the season. The gamble started off in the right direction, but Pierce is sidelined for 2-4 weeks with a right knee injury.
Heading into the Edmonton game, that left Steven Jyles and his one-game experience as a CFL starter to carry the team on offense.
Jyles was up to the task and then some, throwing a touchdown and running in two more to lead his team to a 47-21 thrashing of the Eskimos.
While Edmonton isn't exactly a powerhouse this season, Jyles and the Bombers did what they had to do to bounce back from an ugly week three, when they scored just seven points.
The Bombers better hope they continue to put up points when they travel to Calgary for the first western division matchup.
Offensive key to the next game: It's easy to say Jyles will need to shine again for Winnipeg to have a chance, but that is indeed the scenario. If he can combine the running game with the balanced passing last week, the Bombers will be tough to beat.
Defensive key to the game: Burris loves to pass, perhaps a little too much. The Bombers should force Burris to make poor throwing decisions, and interceptions have plagued the Stampeders all season.
Look ahead: A peek at the upcoming schedule includes some deja vu for Winnipeg, as it takes on Hamilton two weeks in a row. This is a crucial set of games for both teams in determining the playoff picture, as both teams have already split their first two matchups this season.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Just when it looked like Hamilton had straightened themselves out, the Tiger- Cats come out with a dud against division rival Montreal Alouettes.
The defense did well to allow just two touchdowns in the game, but that doesn't help when you allow a kicker to get close enough to the uprights for seven field goals.
Offense was the bigger concern as Kevin Glenn took a step backwards, completing just 16-of-32 passes for 201 yards. Even worse, Deandra Cobb still can't find his legs as he rushed for a measly 25 yards.
With Cobb struggling so much on the ground, the Ti-Cats will face extra pressure each and every night to find adequate offense elsewhere.
Offensive key to next game: Pressure will just increase next week when Hamilton travels to Regina to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. As Cobb has been unable to have that big game so far this season, the receiving combination of Marquay McDaniel and David Stala will be looked on again to provide all the offense against a very defensively sound team.
Defensive key to the next game: Calgary forced Durant to throw three interceptions last week. Hamilton better hope for the same luck if they want to limit Saskatchewan's scoring opportunities. Durant still had 354 yards passing, but the Ti-Cats can live with that as long as the deep receiving corps is tightly covered. Force Wes Cates or even Durant to run and earn their yards the hard way.
Look ahead: If Hamilton loses against Saskatchewan in week five, its record falls to 1-4. While it is too early to hit the panic button in such young a season, losing back-to-back against Winnipeg in weeks six and seven would certainly leave fingers within millimeters of pressing it. A split is the bare minimum during this important stretch.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
The Als are looking better and better with every passing game, and last week they can thank kicker Damon Duval for that. The veteran booted in seven field goals in eight attempts, scoring 23 of the 37 points scored in their win against Hamilton last week.
Quarterback Anthony Calvillo admitted after the game that his team should have scored more touchdowns, but it's a little difficult to complain when allowing just 14 points against a fellow eastern side.
With the exception of the ridiculous 54-51 loss to Saskatchewan in week one, the Als defense has carried Montreal all season.
Offensive key to next game: While the wins the Argos have been piling up are a surprise, the strength of their defense is not. The Argos field a better defensive squad than Hamilton and so the Als will have to work even harder to get the touchdowns that were lacking last week. Keeping drives alive, and limiting some of the dropped passes that have crept up amongst the receiving corps, will be key for Montreal this week.
Defensive key to the game: Stopping Cory Boyd is of the utmost importance. The rookie running back has been huge for the Argos and has become an integral part of the offense.
Look ahead: CFL fans already lie in wait for the rematch of the thrilling season opener between Montreal and Saskatchewan. Better defense will prevail this time around, though a clash between the league's two best teams will still probably be offense-first.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
The Argonauts found another way to win last week when Byron Parker returned a 41-yard interception in the dying minutes of the comeback win.
Parker now needs just one more TD return to match the CFL record of eight.
Last week's win marked the fourth time in as many games that the Argos have been forced to rally in the final quarter, and follows on the heels of a 27-24 come-from-behind win against Calgary two weeks ago.
These are the kinds of games Toronto lost each of the last two seasons, but the new swagger it has developed this year is all thanks to the newcomers who have transformed this team into a viable playoff contender.
The Argos better hope that swagger carries forward this week when they face a strong fourth quarter team in the Montreal Alouettes.
Offensive key to the game: Montreal's defense has been getting better as the season's gone along, which spells trouble for a Toronto side that has trouble scoring points. Cory Boyd will need to be the focal point again for the Argos to have a chance against the East's best team.
Defensive key to the game: He is one of the best quarterbacks to play the game, and though his offense has struggled this season, quarterback Anthony Calvillo must be the first name discussed when planning defensive strategies against Montreal. The Toronto defensive line is one of the best in the league and so will be charged with the task of pressuring the inexperienced o-line of the Alouettes.
Look ahead: Having two of the next three games against the defending champs may not be a pleasant experience, but sandwiched in between is a date with the punchless Edmonton Eskimos. Suffering two losses at the hands of the Alouettes is entirely possible, but so is a win in Edmonton for the resurgent Argos.
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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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