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01/02/2010 - Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East Carolina Pirates will take part in their second consecutive Liberty Bowl when they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks for the first-time ever on the football field this Saturday evening at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis.
The Razorbacks have a long history of participating in bowl games, but unfortunately winning those matchups have been tough for this school. This will be the 37th bowl game for Arkansas, but the team is just 11-22-3 in the postseason, and has lost 12 of its last 14 bowl games, including a 38-7 setback to Missouri in the 2008 Cotton Bowl. This year the Razorbacks opened the season with a 48-10 win over Missouri State, but after that victory the team dropped four of its next six contests. However, after a 30-17 loss to Ole Miss, the Razorbacks rebounded with four consecutive wins, including a 42-21 victory over Mississippi State. Unfortunately the team could not close out its regular season on a high note, as Arkansas fell to LSU, 33-30 in overtime.
As for the Pirates, they could not find their stride out of the gate in 2009, splitting their first six games down the middle. However, after a 28-21 loss to SMU, the Pirates really took off, winning six of their last seven contest, including a thrilling, 38-32 decision over Houston in the Conference-USA title game. East Carolina's bowl history is not as dated as Arkansas', but the Pirates have postseason experience, with a 5-5 mark in their previous 10 bowl games. However, the team has lost three of its last four and that includes a 25-19 setback to Kentucky in last season's Liberty Bowl.
The Razorbacks might not have been one of the top teams in the SEC, but they definitely possessed one of the most dangerous offensive units in the entire nation, as the team produced 37.3 ppg. The ground game is churning out 136 yards per matchup, but the team does not have a main source of production out of the backfield. Michael Smith led the way on the year with 396 yards, while Broderick Green added 392 yards and 11 touchdowns on 4.2 yards per carry. What really made this offense go was the passing attack, which was led by one of the top quarterbacks in the country, Ryan Mallett. Mallett completed 57.2 percent of his throws this season for 3,422 yards, with 29 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. Mallett was outstanding with spreading the ball around this season and used every outlet at his disposal. Greg Childs proved to be extremely valuable, as the wide out hauled in 45 receptions for 862 yards and seven touchdowns. Jarius Wright collected 37 passes for 591 yards and four scores, while Joe Adams also caught seven touchdowns.
The reason why the Razorbacks were unable to keep up with the top teams in their conference was because the defense was simply not good enough. The defense allowed 25.8 ppg throughout the regular season and was unable to stop opponents on the ground or through the air. Arkansas was gashed for 150.1 rushing ypg, and even worse was their performance against the pass, as teams torched this unit for 251.8 ypg and also tossed 21 touchdowns against Arkansas. The defense however, was one of the top teams in the country in forcing turnovers, racking up 34 takeaways on the year. Pressuring the quarterback was also another solid area for this team, with 26 sacks. The Razorbacks also stepped up their effort when it mattered most defensively, as the team held opponents to just 36 percent on third downs and allowed just 17 touchdowns in 39 red zone chances for the opposition. Jerry Franklin led the way for Arkansas on the season with 84 tackles, while Adrian Davis and Jake Bequette both collected 5.5 sacks apiece.
The Pirates were also a dangerous team with the football, but they relied more on their rushing attack, as the team rumbled for 149.6 ypg on 4.1 yards per attempt. 23 of the team's 37 touchdowns came on the ground and those scores helped ECU average a respectable 27.8 ppg. Dominique Lindsay was the main source of production out of the backfield, as the tailback rumbled for 1,029 yards and five scores on 5.0 yards per tote. The passing attack has not been as successful as the ground game, mainly because quarterback Pat Pinkney was slightly inconsistent on the year. Pinkney completed 59.5 percent of his throws on the season, for 2,738 yards and 14 scores against 10 interceptions. Dwayne Harris was clearly the top option for ECU, as the wideout led the team with 79 receptions, 914 yards and six touchdowns. Darryl Freeney was also a solid option for Pinkney and finished the regular season with 42 catches for 624 yards and three scores.
Overall the play by the defensive unit for East Carolina was solid, as the team held the opposition to just 22.1 ppg. The Pirates did a solid job against the run, limiting teams to just 123.3 ypg on 3.7 yards per attempt. However, the secondary showed some chinks in the armor throughout the season and was torched for 262.3 ypg through the air, and also surrendered 23 passing touchdowns. What helped this defense on the season was its ability to make big plays on a consistent basis. East Carolina was one of the top teams in the nation at forcing turnovers, and comes into this game with 33 takeaways. The Pirates also put adequate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, racking up 28 sacks on the year. C.J. Wilson led the way with 5.5 sacks on the year, while Scott Robinson added five sacks. Nick Johnson led the team with 94 tackles on the season, while Van Eskridge racked up 93 stops and a team-best six interceptions.
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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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