Sports Articles

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

Houston and Air Force battle in the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth, Texas for the second consecutive year. The two teams made for a very entertaining contest last season, with Houston prevailing 34-28. Oddly, the two teams met earlier in the 2008 season with Air Force coming out on top. The Falcons finished the 2009 season with a 7-5 mark, while the Cougars were an impressive 10-3 on the year. The college football betting pointspread for this game has Houston installed as a -5 favorite with the total set at 63.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

The matchup between Navy and Missouri in the Texas Bowl is similar in many ways to the Armed Forces Bowl matchup between Houston and Air Force. Like the Armed Forces Bowl, this game will feature a potent passing attack against an efficient option rushing game. This is the first meeting between the two schools in 49 years—while it may not have any significance for college football betting purposes, Missouri took the victory over Navy in the 1961 Orange Bowl. Missouri has been posted as a -6’ point sports betting favorite for this game with the total set at 51’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

Stanford was one of the best stories of the college football season as the perennial doormat of the Pac 10 finished 8-4, beating conference powerhouses USC and Oregon in the process. They’ll head to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas to face an Oklahoma team that had hopes of competing for a national championship before the season begun only to have their plans undone by injuries to QB Sam Bradford, among others. Despite finishing 7-5, the Sooners are installed as -10 college football betting favorites in this game with the total set at 55.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

This game could very well be called the ‘Major Conference Mediocrity Bowl’ as it features a matchup of Big 12 vs. Big Ten teams with 6-6 records. Of the two teams, Iowa State definitely has the most to be excited about by just being here, as the Cyclones were a pitiful 1-10 last year. Minnesota has become something of a fixture in this bowl game, making their third appearance in the Insight Bowl in the past four seasons. The college football betting pointspread for this game has Minnesota installed as a -2’ point favorite with the total set at 48’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

Following his dismissal as head coach of the Oakland Raiders last fall, Lane Kiffin landed on his feet when he took over the University of Tennessee program on December 1st. He’s already made an impact as he’s got the Vols back to a bowl game in his first year at the helm. Virginia Tech entered the season with their sights set on a more prestigious bowl game, but stumbled coming out of the gate in a loss to Alabama. They would eventually finish 9-3 after ending the season on a four game winning streak. The Hokies have been installed as -5’ point college football betting favorites with the total set at 49’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

New Years’ Day bowl action will get underway bright and early at 8:00 AM Pacific with the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The game features a matchup of the SEC and Big 10 as Northwestern takes on Auburn. Northwestern is playing a January bowl game for the first time since 1997, winning five of their last six after a 2-2 start to finish 8-4. Auburn struggled during SEC conference play, but finished with a 7-5 mark to reach their sixth bowl game in eight seasons. The college football betting line on the game has Auburn installed as a -7’ favorite with the total set at 54’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

In what is sure to be a very emotional day for everyone involved, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden will coach his last game. His Seminoles finished 6-6 this season, good enough to get an invitation to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida for what should be a big send off to conclude his 44 year coaching career. Florida State will face a 9-3 West Virginia team that would like nothing more than to send Bowden off on a losing note. The college football betting line for the game has West Virginia installed as a -2’ favorite with the total set at 59’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

With Bobby Bowden retiring at the end of this season, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno is now the undisputed elder statesman among college football coaches. He’s earned an impressive 23 bowl victories in 44 seasons of college coaching, and will try to add to that figure as the Nittany Lions face SEC entrant LSU in the Gator Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Penn State finished 10-2, while LSU compiled a 9-3 record this season. The college football betting line for the game has Penn State installed as -2’ point favorites with the total set at 43’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

The Rose Bowl this season matches up a couple of teams that overcame early season adversity to play their best football down the stretch. Oregon lost its opening game to Boise State, and then went 10-1 the rest of the way winning their first Pac 10 title since 2001. Ohio State overcame an early season loss to USC and a mid October setback to Purdue en route to their fifth straight BCS bowl appearance. College football betting lines have installed Oregon as a -4 favorite with the total set at 40’.

2009-12-31 | Jim Murphy

This matchup between Cincinnati and Florida at the New Orleans Superdome is full of plot twists and intrigue—and that’s just the coaches. Florida is in the usual role—at least in the recent history of the program—of *not* playing for a BCS championship, having lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Cincinnati went a perfect 12-0 this season, but was passed up for the title game as well. College football betting odds favor the Gators, who have been installed as -12’ favorites with the total set at 57’.

2009-12-30 | Jim Murphy

College football betting fans will welcome the University of Idaho back to postseason play as they make their first bowl appearance in eleven years, taking on Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl. This is essentially a home game for Idaho, with the contest taking place on the blue ‘Smurf Turf’ of Boise State University. Obviously, Idaho will benefit from the motivation of making a successful return to bowl play as well as the home field, but will it be enough to overcome the more talented Falcons? Current line on the game is ‘pick’em’ with the total set at 68.

2009-12-30 | Jim Murphy

It’ll be the Pac 10 vs. the Big 12 in the Holiday Bowl held at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Arizona finished the season 8-4, while Nebraska finished 9-4. The Cornhuskers were a second away from playing in a BCS bowl, only to lose to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game on a last second field goal. Nebraska had been installed as a -2’ point college football betting favorite with the total set at 40’.

2009-12-24 | Jim Murphy

If you ever needed an argument that the number of college football bowl games is resulting in unqualified teams being invited to postseason play, look no further than the Marshall Thundering Herd. Marshall will take on the University of Ohio in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl despite a 6-6 record and having lost four of their last six games. Ohio, meanwhile, is a competent team that went 9-4 good for a second place finish in the Eastern Division of the Mid America Conference. Ohio has been installed as a -3 point college football betting favorite with the total set at 49.

2009-12-24 | Jim Murphy

This game is something of a ‘letdown’ spot for both teams, as each was on the verge of a higher profile bowl appearance in their final game. Pittsburgh blew a 21 point lead against visiting Cincinnati in their final game, losing 45-44 and in the process costing the Panthers the Big East championship and the resulting BCS bowl spot. North Carolina also blew a double digit lead in their final game against rival NC State, eventually falling 28-27 to the Wolfpack. This dynamic makes for a tricky handicapping situation for college football betting enthusiasts as the two teams meet at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Meineke Car Care Bowl. #17 ranked Pittsburgh is a -2’ point favorite with the total set at 44’.

2009-12-24 | Jim Murphy

To say that the 2009 season was a disappointment for the University of Southern California football team would be an understatement. For a school that won at least 11 games in each of the past seven years, the last place that college football betting enthusiasts would expect to find them is playing in a bowl game on the day after Christmas. That is where they’ve landed, however, after three losses in their final five games and an 8-4 season that saw the Trojans drop out of the top 25 for the first time since 2001. Their consolation prize is a trip to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, where they’ll play Boston College. The Trojans are a -7 point favorite with the total set at 44.

2009-12-21 | Jim Murphy

It’s amazing that in this era of 24 hour a day sports coverage and myriad statistical resources available via the Internet that a team can go through the entire regular season and still be vastly overrated. Yet that is the case in this bowl game, which pits style and flash versus substance and competence as the University of California plays the University of Utah at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. The result is arguably one of the strongest college football betting plays of the early bowl games. California has been installed as a -3’ point favorite with the total set at 52’.

2009-12-21 | Jim Murphy

First of all, you’ve got to give credit to SMU head coach June Jones for getting his team here in the first place. He took one of the most underperforming programs in college football--off of back to back 1-11 seasons no less—and led them to a winning record in his first year at the helm. This game was supposed to have worked out a little differently, since the only time Hawaii bowl games draw well is when the University of Hawaii is involved. This game would have been an intriguing matchup locally had the Rainbows faced SMU, as June Jones used to coach at Hawaii. Unfortunately, Hawaii wasn’t able to beat Wisconsin in their final game and become bowl eligible, so the resulting contest between SMU and Nevada will likely be played before a largely empty grandstand. Nevada is a -14’ favorite with the total set at a whopping 73 points.

2009-12-18 | Jim Murphy

For the fifth straight season, Brigham Young University makes the 5 ½ hour drive down Interstate 15 to Las Vegas for their postseason bowl appearance. In theory, we get the idea since its close enough to Provo, Utah to get good fan support and Las Vegas has a large Mormon population. At some point, however, the fact that Bronco Mendenhall has taken his team to the same bowl game every year in his tenure makes it less of a ‘special’ experience for his team. Throw in three road games against UNLV at the Sam Boyd Stadium and it’s the 8th time in his coaching run they’ve played here.

2009-12-16 | Jim Murphy

We’re going to repeat this throughout the early part of the bowl season, so get used to it: the best place to begin any handicapping of the early college football bowl games is with the underdog. College football betting experts know that they are often the more motivated side and at this level of bowl game that motivation can often produce an outright victory. In the St. Petersburg Bowl between Central Florida and Rutgers there’s a lot of other factors at work pointing us in the direction of the UCF Knights. Rutgers is a -3 favorite in the game with the total set at 44'.

2009-12-16 | Jim Murphy

Another matchup between a ‘bigger name’ program and a lesser known school is on tap for the New Orleans Bowl. Southern Mississippi has played in this bowl on several occasions in the past few years and, in fact, has never lost a bowl game held in the Louisiana Superdome. They’ll head into this game with a 3-0 SU/2-1 ATS record in the New Orleans Bowl, which has become an almost annual tradition for the school due in large part to the close proximity to their campus and the fan support they bring. Though this is something of a ‘geographical rivalry’, Southern Mississippi and MTSU have never played each other making this something of a blank slate for college football betting enthusiasts. Southern Miss is a -4 point favorite with the total set at 58’.

2009-12-14 | Jim Murphy

The 2009-10 college football bowl season gets underway on Saturday, December 19 with the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, NM. The University of Wyoming from the Mountain West Conference will take on Fresno State from the WAC. Fresno State has been to its share of bowl games in the past, but Wyoming’s presence in any sort of postseason game is in itself a shock. The Cowboys have been the personification of ‘doormat’ in recent years and were picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State is a -12 favorite with the total set at 55.

2009-12-11 | Jim Murphy

BJ Penn will defend his UFC lightweight title on Saturday night at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tennessee against Diego ‘The Nightmare’ Sanchez. Penn is considered, along with DREAM champion Shinya Aoki, as one of the best in the world at the weight. He’s a sizable favorite in this fight (-285) which reflects not only his intrinsic talents as a fighter but the perception among the wagering public that he’s almost unbeatable at the weight.

2009-12-11 | Jim Murphy

One of the most venerable rivalries in college football, the annual Army vs. Navy game takes place on Saturday, December 12. These teams have met 110 times and, in recent years at least, the Midshipmen have gotten the best of things. Navy enters this year’s contest on a seven game winning streak in the series, with a 6-1 ATS mark in those games. Still, with Army a +14 favorite we think there’s good value on the Cadets for college football betting enthusiasts.

2009-12-11 | Jim Murphy

The FCS/1AA playoffs are down to their ‘final four’ and there’s a good value position in Saturday’s semifinal contest between top ranked Montana and Appalachian State. The other half of the 1AA/FCS final will be determined on Friday night as Villanova hosts William & Mary. Montana has been installed as a +4 favorite in this contest. That relatively narrow pointspread should underscore the respect the linesmakers have for App. State despite the Grizzlies 13-0 record.

2009-12-10 | Jim Murphy

The Arizona Cardinals shut down ‘The Gunslinger’ and looked every bit like a Superbowl level team in beating the Minnesota Vikings 30-17 on Sunday night. Kurt Warner threw for 285 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the victory, while the Cards’ defense bottled up both Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson. After a 1-2 start to the season Arizona has won seven of nine and improved to 8-4 on the year. The Vikings slipped to 10-2.

2009-12-10 | Jim Murphy

The Seattle Seahawks didn’t so much win their game on Sunday as much as the San Francisco 49ers lost it. The Seahawks took advantage of a variety of Niners’ mistakes, before using a last second field goal to pull out a 20-17 victory. The Niners’ unveiled a new spread offense and QB Alex Smith played well statistically, with 310 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. His Seattle counterpart Matt Hasselbeck passed for 198 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Both teams now have identical 5-7 records.

2009-12-10 | Jim Murphy

It might not go down in the Green Bay Packers’ history books alongside Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr and Brett Favre but Aaron Rodgers may very well have saved their 2009 NFL season. A month ago, they had dropped to .500 and looked to be in a downward spiral but they’ve since won four straight games and have a good shot at making the playoffs. On Sunday, the Packers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 27-14 in a game that everyone involved conceded was ‘ugly’. The Packers improved to 8-4 with the victory while the Ravens dropped to 6-6.

2009-12-09 | Jim Murphy

After several close calls in recent weeks, the Indianapolis Colts had an easier time on Sunday defeating the Tennessee Titans. Indy opened up a 21-3 second quarter lead before coasting to a 27-17 victory to keep their record unblemished at 12-0. It was the Colts’ 21st consecutive regular season win, tying an all time NFL mark. Tennessee lost for the first time since Vince Young regained his starting quarterback role, and saw their record drop to 5-7.

2009-12-09 | Jim Murphy

The Carolina Panthers have struggled this year, in large part due to the high number of interceptions thrown by QB Jake Delhomme. Now Delhomme is on the bench with a broken finger, and on Sunday the Panthers took advantage of another quarterback’s struggles to get in the win column. Carolina played tough defense and took advantage of five Josh Freeman interceptions to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-6. Matt Moore won his 4th career NFL start despite mediocre numbers, with 161 yards passing and an interception. Carolina upped their record to 5-7 while the Bucs slipped to 1-11.

2009-12-09 | Jim Murphy

In the main event of the UFC’s ‘Ultimate Fighter Finale’, Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson knocked out Brendan Schaub to win ‘The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights’ competition. Schaub’s impressive athleticism couldn’t overcome the crafty veteran, and Nelson set up a picture perfect right hook to the temple off the jab. Nelson now wins a ‘six figure UFC contract’ and is an intriguing addition to the depleted UFC heavyweight ranks.

2009-12-07 | Jim Murphy

The New York Jets used a solid defensive effort to beat the Buffalo Bills 19-13 on Thursday night in a game played at Toronto, Ontario’s Rogers Center Stadium. The Bills have agreed to play a number of preseason games and one regular season contest per year at the home of the CFL Toronto Argonauts, but didn’t give their adopted hometown fans much to cheer about here. The Jets’ defense held Buffalo to just 10 first downs and 197 yards of total offense as the Bills slipped to 4-8 on the NFL season. The Jets improved their record to 6-6.

2009-12-07 | Jim Murphy

The United States soccer braintrust was happy with their group seeding after the World Cup draw was announced, though they open the tournament against a formidable foe. The US will play England to open World Cup play on June 12—the first time they’ve faced the ‘Three Lions’ since a historic upset victory in the 1950 tournament. After their game against England, the US will play Slovenia and Algeria—two countries that they’ve never faced.

2009-12-07 | Jim Murphy

The best thing that Badr Hari can say about this year’s K-1 World GP Finals is that he took his loss like a gentleman, as opposed to his unsportsmanlike antics of last year. Other than that, it was déjà vu all over again. After dominating first round knockouts in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the K-1 World GP Final at the Yokohama Arena, Hari was stunned in the finals by veteran Semmy Schilt. Schilt knocked his opponent down three times in the first round to earn a TKO victory and his fourth World GP crown tying the record for most tournament wins held by K-1 legend Ernesto Hoost.

2009-12-03 | Jim Murphy

Many NFL football pundits felt that the New England Patriots would be the team to finally derail the New Orleans Saints’ perfect season. It didn’t quite work out that way. Drew Brees threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, while New England’s Tom Brady struggled with 237 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions as the Saints dominated the Patriots in a 38-17 victory. New Orleans improved their record to 11-0 while New England dropped to 7-4.

2009-12-03 | Jim Murphy

After a slow start to the season, the San Diego Chargers have turned things around in a big way. On Sunday, they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14 to win their sixth straight game. Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns against no interceptions, while Kansas City’s Matt Cassel could only manage 178 yards with a touchdown and an interception. San Diego improved their record to 8-3 while Kansas City slumped to 3-8 on the year.

2009-12-03 | Jim Murphy

To hear all of the media hype about the New Orleans Saints and their undefeated season, you’d think that they were the only NFL team still without a loss. The Indianapolis Colts might be fine with a lower profile, but they’ve been able to match the Saints win for win and after a 35-27 victory over the Houston Texans also have an unblemished 11-0 record. Trailing 20-7 at halftime, Peyton Manning rallied the Colts in the second half and the team used a 21 point fourth quarter to seal the victory. Manning threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions. Indianapolis improved to 11-0, while Houston slipped to 5-6.

2009-12-03 | Jim Murphy

The Baltimore Ravens finally managed to put away the injury ravaged Pittsburgh Steelers in OT by a final score of 20-17. Despite injuries to starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and backup Charlie Batch, third stringer Dennis Dixon played a solid game to keep the Steelers in the contest. Eventually, Baltimore’s Billy Cundiff hit a 29 yard field goal in overtime to give the Ravens the hard fought win. Both teams are now 6-5 on the season.

2009-12-03 | Jim Murphy

Even with the addition of Brett Favre, it’s unlikely that anyone on the Minnesota Vikings expected their season to work out this well. On Sunday, Favre and the Vikings dominated the Chicago Bears en route to a 36-10 home field victory and ran their record to 10-1 on the NFL season. Favre threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the lopsided win. The Bears have struggled all season, and saw their record fall to 4-7.

2009-12-03 | Jim Murphy

The Jacksonville Jaguars clearly don’t enjoy their trips to the west coast. On Sunday, they were beaten by the San Francisco 49ers 20-3 to end a three game winning streak. Earlier this season, the Jags lost 41-0 at Seattle meaning they’ve been outscored 61-3 in the Pacific Time Zone this year. Jacksonville’s loss dropped their record on the season to 6-5, while the Niners improved to 5-6.

2009-12-02 | Jim Murphy

The Cincinnati Bengals 16-7 win over the lowly Cleveland Browns may not have been devastating, but it was historic. For the first time in franchise history, the Bengals swept all of their divisional games compiling a 6-0 record in the AFC North. Mercurial running back Larry Johnson ran for 107 yards and Carson Palmer played mistake free football in securing the victory. The win improved Cincinnati’s record to 8-3 while Cleveland dropped to 1-10.

2009-12-02 | Jim Murphy

The New York Jets didn’t beat the Carolina Panthers as much as the Panthers beat themselves on Sunday. Carolina threw four interceptions and posted a season low scoring output as the Jets prevailed at the Meadowlands 17-6. Jake Delhomme suffered through one of his worst games of the season with only 130 yards and no touchdowns to go along with the four picks. Carolina dropped to 4-7 while the Jets improved to 5-6.

2009-12-02 | Jim Murphy

For the second straight week Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb engineered a fourth quarter comeback, this time enabling his team to beat the Washington Redskins 27-24. The Eagles trailed 24-16 heading into the final period, but tied the game on an Eldra Buckley touchdown and two point conversion. David Akers nailed a 32 yard field goal with just over a minute to play to secure the victory. The Eagles improved to 7-4 on the year, while the Redskins dropped to 3-8.