Colts use goal-line stand, lead Saints at halftime
Football Betting Lines
02/07/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Super Bowl XLIV has been a tale of two very different quarters, but Indianapolis, vying for a second title in four years, has managed to hold a 10-6 lead at halftime on the New Orleans Saints.
The Colts used a Peyton Manning touchdown pass to cap a 96-yard drive in the opening quarter and then had a goal-line stand to stop the Saints in the final two minutes of the half.
Matt Stover kicked a 38-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, and Manning ended the Super Bowl's record-tying longest drive with a 19-yard scoring toss to Pierre Garcon with 36 seconds remaining in the same period.
The Saints, in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, got a 46-yard field goal from Garrett Hartley in the early moments of the second quarter, but were thwarted on a fourth down run from the one with 1:49 left. Hartley split the uprights from 44 yards on the final play.
The Colts dominated the opening quarter, outgaining the Saints in yardage, 154-36. The Saints ran just 10 offensive plays in the period, but the Colts had just six in the second quarter. Indy was outgained 143-15 in the second quarter.
That stanza proved much different, starting with Hartley's 46-yard field goal to end an 11-play, 60-yard march with 9:34 left in the half. Hartley converted the kick after Drew Brees was thrown to the ground on a one-handed sack by the Colts' Dwight Freeney, who started despite an ankle injury.
New Orleans then forced a three-and-out, helped when Garcon dropped a sure first-down catch with plenty of open space.
Brees led the Saints' high-powered offense down the field. He converted a pair of third downs, once with a pass for 13 yards to Marques Colston and another with a 21-yard toss to Lance Moore, moving the ball to the 23. After Devery Henderson lost seven yards on an end-around play, Brees found Colston over the middle for 27 yards, advancing the ball to the three.
But the drive stalled. After a false start penalty, Pierre Thomas ran seven yards to the one, setting up third down. Mike Bell slipped down on a rush to the right; and then on fourth down, Thomas was stuffed on a run to the right.
Following a punt, New Orleans got the ball back at its own 48 with 35 seconds left. Brees threw 19 and six yards to Henderson. Reggie Bush ran for a yard out of bounds with five seconds left, setting up Hartley's kick.
Manning has connected on 10-of-16 throws for 97 yards in the first half with Joseph Addai rushing seven times for 60 yards.
Brees is 16-of-22 for 164 yards through the air with Colston making five grabs for 66 yards.
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The Colts are off to a great
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city that has witnessed its share of tough times.
Drew Brees connected with Jeremy Shock
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Line of Scrimmage: Saints' Night, Manning's Nightmare >>
Miami Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raise your umbrella and your Hurricane
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victory that ca
Brees brings home MVP to the Big Easy >>
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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