Broncos Ball Target Pound Against Completions

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The Raiders came up with a big defensive stop late in the third quarter. On 3rd-and-1 from the Oakland 39, Kevin Smith was stopped at the line of scrimmage. Keiland Williams was stuffed on the next play, turning the ball over on downs.

 

Janikowski made a 51-yard field goal with 8:12 left in the fourth to give Oakland a 20-14 advantage.

 

Brandon Pettigrew and Johnson caught passes of 17 and 24 yards, respectively, before Young's TD catch.

 

Oakland holds a 6-5 edge in the overall series between these franchises, but Detroit has won the last three matchups in the set...The Lions will have a winning season for the first time since 2000...Heyward-Bey caught eight passes for 155 yards and a score...Oakland running back Michael Bush carried the ball 18 times for 77 yards and caught seven passes for 62 yards...Burleson caught seven passes for 81 yards.

 

Aaron Hernandez had game-highs of nine receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown, and the Patriots' defense overcame a slow start and an injury to Andre Carter to silence the streaking Broncos.

 

But there was had no fourth-quarter magic that has become commonplace over the past two months in Denver (8-6), which still leads the AFC West by one game thanks to the Raiders losing to the Lions on Sunday.

 

They ran for 167 yards in the first quarter, with Tebow plowing in for a nine- yard touchdown and Lance Ball rumbling for a 32-yard TD.

 

Between the scores, Chad Ochocinco caught his first touchdown as a Patriot, hauling in a 33-yard pass down the left sideline. It was the former Bengals star's only catch.

 

Matt Prater, who did not attempt an extra point on Denver's first TD because of a bad snap, made a 26-yard field goal early in the second for a 16-7 edge.

 

Mark Anderson then stripped Tebow while he was running the option and recovered the fumble at the Denver 40-yard line.

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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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