Cal Poly, UC Davis to join Big Sky Conference
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-rumored talk of the Big Sky
Conference losing the University of Montana, and perhaps other schools, took
on another twist Tuesday.
Big Sky football is expanding.
One of the top conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision, the Big
Sky announced that UC Davis and Cal Poly have accepted invitations to become
affiliate members in football only, bringing the membership up to 11 teams. A
timeline for the switch was not announced, but the move seems feasible for the
2012 season.
UC Davis and Cal Poly have the strongest programs in the five-school Great
West Football Conference, which will have to seek new membership or, more
likely, fall apart. The majority of UC Davis and Cal Poly teams compete in the
Big West Conference.
"The Big Sky is recognized as one of the top Football Championship Subdivision
conferences in the nation," Big Sky Conference commissioner Doug Fullerton
said in a statement. "The addition of two great institutions like Cal Poly and
UC Davis gives us more depth to compete for additional playoff berths and
enhances our profile throughout California. This is a great fit for both
institutions and the Big Sky Conference. We are bringing in two strong western
FCS programs. They will benefit from us in having access to an automatic
playoff bid and a full slate of conference games.
"We worked in cooperation with Big West Conference commissioner Dennis
Farrell," Fullerton added. "The Big West fully supports this effort, as it
gives its two football-playing members a home."
UC Davis and Cal Poly will have to adhere to the withdrawal procedure of the
Great West - a process which could take a year. Most of the Big Sky schools
have nine or 10 games scheduled for 2011, but the change could happen in 2012.
UC Davis and Cal Poly, which were Division II powers before moving up to
Division I, would join Sacramento State as Big Sky programs in California,
where high school talent is rich. Both schools have excellent facilities and
fan bases.
Cal Poly, whose head coach, Tim Walsh, coached Big Sky member Portland State
from 1993-2006, won the Great West championship in 2008, and UC Davis captured
it last year. In 2009, UC Davis averaged 9,908 fans for five home games and Cal
Poly averaged 9,588 for five home games, which would have ranked fourth and
fifth, respectively, among Big Sky programs.
"This is an extremely exciting day for our football program and the
institution," UC Davis athletic director Greg Warzecka said. "Our fans
will not only be able to watch some great teams come to Aggie Stadium, but
they will have a much better opportunity to travel to road games."
"Our goal all along has been to find stability for our football program, and
the Big Sky Conference gives us exactly what we needed," Cal Poly athletic
director Alison Cone said. "The Big Sky Conference is one of the best FCS
conferences in the country and offers great competition with teams that are
natural rivals in our region."
Fullerton said the Big Sky will seek future expansion to create a 12-team
football conference which would split into two six-team divisions.
The announcement comes during a week in which Cal Poly will host top-ranked
Montana and UC Davis will host Portland State.
The nine Big Sky programs in 2009 are Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana,
Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento
State and Weber State.
Besides UC Davis and Cal Poly, the Great West's members are North Dakota, South
Dakota and Southern Utah. The latter three programs could be expansion
possibilities for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which has nine
programs.
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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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Super Bowl XLIV Odds
Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.
Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.
That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.
Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.
After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.
The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).
To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.
NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV
New England Patriots 8/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/1
New York Giants 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Indianapolis Colts 12/1
San Diego Chargers 12/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Tennessee Titans 16/1
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
New Orleans Saints 20/1
Atlanta Falcons 25/1
Denver Broncos 25/1
Green Bay Packers 25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 25/1
New York Jets 25/1
Arizona Cardinals 30/1
Chicago BearS 30/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1
Buffalo Bills 35/1
Houston TexaNS 35/1
Miami Dolphins 35/1
Washington Redskins 35/1
Seattle SeahawkS 50/1
Cleveland Browns 55/1
Cincinnati Bengals 60/1
San Francisco 49ers 60/1
Oakland Raiders 75/1
St. Louis Rams 75/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Odds as of: 2/2/09
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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