BYU’s BCS hopes went down hard on Saturday, as the Cougars were no match for the superior team speed of Florida State. Looking nothing like the team that had struggled against FCS Jacksonville State the week before, the Seminoles used 23 second quarter points to blow open the game and went on to defeat BYU 54-28. The opportunistic Florida State defense forced BYU into committing 5 turnovers, and Seminoles QB Christian Ponder threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the blowout victory on the Cougars home field. There had been some speculation that Florida State would struggle at the 4,500 foot altitude of Orem, Utah but the Seminoles were faster and displayed more energy throughout the contest.

College football betting devotees who backed the Seminoles as a +8 road underdog were counting their winnings by halftime, as BYU never led in the game. The Cougars dropped to 11-16 ATS over the past three years, while Florida State improved to 3-4 as an underdog in that same timeframe. The 82 combined points went well OVER the posted total of 54.

After a season opening loss to Miami-FL and a sloppy victory over Jacksonville State, the Seminoles were firing on all cylinders in Orem, Utah on Saturday. FSU QB Ponder was elated that his team had finally played up to its considerable abilities:

“It shows us what we can do. It’s the first time in a while we played as a whole team. The defense played great. The offense played incredible.”

Seminoles offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher praised the toughness and skills of his quarterback:

“He can beat you with his arm, his legs and his mind. And then he can also beat you with how competitive and tough he is.”

Venerable FSU coach Bobby Bowden was nonplussed by the victory despite many considering it an upset:

“I’ve been through this thing so many times, I knew we had an advantage. We went out there and made some plays, which we hadn’t done lately, and we also forced some crucial turnovers.”

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall gave credit to the Seminoles superior preparation:

“I think Florida State was more prepared in general than we were tonight, really from beginning to end. I think their preparation exceeded ours and it showed — especially on third down.”

Cougars running back Harvey Unga was classy in defeat :

“Any loss is devastating, regardless of if you’re ranked. Hats off to those guys. They came here ready to play.”

Florida State will return home to face South Florida next weekend. Theyll hit the road the following Saturday, heading to the northeast to take on Boston College. BYU will try to get back on the winning track next weekend as they host Colorado State. Theyll play Utah State on their home field the following week, and then head to Southern Nevada for a game against UNLV on October 10th.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Pittsburgh Steelers used a 17 point fourth quarter outburst to break open a close game and send the Arizona Cardinals to defeat by a 20-10 score in a NFL preseason rematch of this years Superbowl.

NFL bettors who favored the defending Superbowl champions in this matchup cashed their tickets as the Steelers covered as -3 home favorites. The combined 30 points scored stayed UNDER the posted total of 33.

The big catalyst for the Steelers offense was undrafted rookie Issac Redman out of Bowie State. Redman, listed as the Steelers #7 depth chart running back scored two rushing touchdowns in the decisive fourth quarter run. After the game, he said that hee knew that he had to take advantage of the opportunities to demonstrate his skills in a game situation:

“This team prides itself on being able to find those free agents that are capable of playing. Hopefully I can be that next free agent. I knew I had to make an impression, or I might not even make it to the first preseason game.”

Both teams played their starting quarterbacks for only two offensive series. The Steelers Ben Roethlisbergerwas guardedly optimistic about his performance:

“Overall, without looking at film, I think it was OK. I think we had a couple of plays with a few breakdowns, but it just felt good to go against somebody other than your own guys.”

Arizonas Kurt Warner was happy with his performance, but noted that the first preseason game had come up on him quickly:

“I felt like we moved the ball and did what we wanted to. It seems like this game came pretty quick. When we were in the locker room, we were thinking, `Man, it is here already.’ ”

The star receivers for each team–Arizonas Larry Fitzgerald and Pittsburghs Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes–each caught a single pass in a couple of series of action.

Arizona will take on the San Diego Chargers at home next Saturday night, while the Steelers will travel to Washington, DC to play the Redskins. Pittsburgh will open the NFL regular season on Thursday, September 10th as they host the Tennessee Titans. Arizona will kick of their campaign on Sunday, September 13th at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The bad news for the Baltimore Ravens in their 2009 NFL regular season opener was that their vaunted defense gave up 24 points despite holding a decided advantage in every other statistical category. The good news was that their offense was more than up to the task, answering with 38 points and a franchise record 501 yards. All told, the Ravens opened their season on a winning note beating the Kansas City Chiefs 38-24. Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for a career high 307 yards in the victory.

NFL sports betting devotees who took the +13 points with the Chiefs as a road underdog were hard luck losers as the Ravens managed to cover the pointspread by a single point. The win evened Baltimore’s ATS record over the past three seasons at 18-18, while the Chiefs fell to 14-19 in the same timeframe. The 62 combined points scored easily exceeded the posted total of 37. Despite Baltimore’s reputation as a defensive powerhouse they’ve shown a decided bias to the OVER in recent years, with 22 OVER verdicts in their last 35 games.

Afterwards, Joe Flacco was clearly elated at being given the opportunity to throw the ball more:

“It’s awesome. It’s so much fun. As a quarterback, that’s what you want to do.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh expressed confidence in his team’s ability to make plays:

“We’re going to throw more if it helps us win games. I think that we will be capable of throwing the ball more ways than we did last year. We have really good players that can make plays.”

Chiefs backup quarterback Brodie Croyle played relatively well in a losing cause. Filling in for the injured Matt Cassel, Croyle put up 177 yards on 16 of 24 passing and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. Cassel is still listed as ‘game to game’ with a knee injury suffered in preseason practice. Despite the solid performance, Croyle was in no mood to talk about his personal accomplishments in the wake of the loss:

“Play well, don’t play well — if you don’t win, you still have the same feeling and that’s where I’m at.”

In his post game comments, first year Chiefs coach Todd Haley gave props to his quarterback :

“I thought Brodie Croyle gave us a chance to win today and that’s all I’ll ever ask my quarterback to do. I got to give credit to Baltimore. They were a throwing machine today. They threw the ball probably a lot more than we anticipated.”

The Ravens now head cross country to take on the San Diego Chargers in southern California next Sunday. After that theyll return home the following week to take on the Cleveland Browns. Kansas City will host the Oakland Raiders next Sunday before heading to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles the following week. The Chiefs are hoping that QB Matt Cassel will be able to start against Oakland, or the following week at the very latest.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The New York Giants jumped out to a 17-0 lead against their NFC East rivals from Washington, and were never threatened as they went on to beat the Redskins by a final score of 23-17. Defensive stalwart Osi Umenyiora returned from a serious knee injury and scored a touchdown on a fumble return, while the Giants offense controlled the ball well and completely dominated the time of possession. The Giants held a lopsided edge of 36:08 to 23:52 in that department, which helped them overcome a couple of turnovers.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Redskins as +5 road underdogs were likely not heartened by the near miss on a backdoor cover. The Redskins scored a touchdown with 1:30 left to get within a ” point of the spread but the Giants still got the cover by the slimmest of margins. The Skins dropped to 13-17 ATS over the past three years with the setback, while New York improved their pointspread mark to an impressive 27-11 against the number. NFL totals players also witnessed a late game change of fortune due to the Skins touchdown, with the 7 points pushing the point total OVER the posted 37.

None of the Giants players were as elated with the victory as defensive end Umenyiora. Hed missed the entire 2008 season due to a knee injury, and was happy to be back contributing to a victory:

“It was unbelievable and now all that is in the past. I can’t even explain it to you, when something like that is taken away from you. Last year I missed it. I was happy I was able to come back in there.”

His touchdown return came in the second quarter, when he knocked the ball away from Redskins QB Jason Campbell and headed for the endzone:

“To be honest, I don’t know what happened. That’s the way most plays are made. You just go out there and sometimes good things happen. They always get on me about knocking the ball out and not picking it up. When I saw it, I just picked it up.”

Campbell chalked it up to him holding onto the ball too long:

“Osi made a great play on the ball. It’s something you have to understand as a quarterback you have to feel it more or slide up in the pocket.”

Umenyiora affirmed that it couldnt have been a better return to the NFL:

“Not only was it a W, but it was against an NFC East opponent. It was a great game.”

The Redskins will have a great opportunity to cash in their first win of the season this week as they step down in class to host the lowly St. Louis Rams. Theyll continue feasting on the NFLs bottom feeders the following week as they travel to Detroit to play the hapless Lions before returning home for a game against the Tampa Bay Bucs on October 4th. The Giants have another big game on Sunday as they head to Dallas to face the Cowboys in the first regular season game in the new Cowboys Stadium. Theyll remain on the road for the following two weeks, facing Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Edmonton Eskimos survived a wild back and forth CFL shootout against the Calgary Stampeders before prevailing 38-35 to take over sole possession of first place in the CFL West. Ricky Ray hit Fred Stamps with a 23 yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds to play to earn the victory, erasing the lead that Calgary had earned with their own TD pass less than a half minute earlier.

After the game, winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed the wild contest:

“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”

With a bye week on deck, Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the outcome couldnt have been timed any better:

“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”

Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar game last year:

“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”

Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton. The two CFL provincial rivals from Alberta will face each other twice more this season.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Despite the fact that neither their starting QB Carson Palmer nor his Indy counterpart Peyton Manning saw action, the Cincinnati Bengals will take their wins however and whenever they can get them. For that reason, they had to be heartened by their NFL preseason ending 38-7 home rout of the Indianapolis Colts. The Bengals rushing game put 296 yards on the board and Cincinnati trounced Indianapolis in every significant offense statistical category. The Bengals evened their NFL preseason record at 2-2, while the Colts dropped to 1-3.

The Bengals easily covered as a -3 home favorite, evening their NFL preseason record against the spread at 2-2. The Colts ATS mark also matched their SU record, dropping to 1-3 on the exhibition season. The combined 45 points went OVER the posted total of 36. Both teams also evened their preseason O/U mark at 2-2.

Peyton Mannings backup, Jim Sorgi, put up a solid performance in limited playing time after missing much of the preseason with a hamstring injury. After the game, he gave a generally upbeat assessment of his play:

“I thought it was pretty solid. I got a little winded out there but all in all, I thought I saw everything real good and got us into the right plays. The hamstring responded pretty well tonight.”

The Colts first year head coach Jim Caldwell agreed:

“He hasn’t had much playing time. I thought he found his way out there. He put a pretty good game together and showed some flashes of what he can do.”

While only two Indy starters played in the game, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was still happy with getting the win:

“You can’t control who you play against. It was good to let our guys break a sweat and get out there and go.”

Bengals starting QB Carson Palmer, who has sat out much of the preseason with an ankle sprain, said that hes anxious to get back in the game. Palmer will enter his regular season without much preparation, having thrown only 11 passes in exhibition play He clearly is ready to go:

“It’s a tease. It’s just good to know that I’m that much closer. It’s a week away. I’m excited.”

Indianapolis will start their NFL regular season schedule on Sunday, September 13th as they host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Theyll head out on the road for their next contest, playing the Miami Dolphins in south Florida on Monday, September 21. The Bengals will host the Denver Broncos in their 2009 NFL season opener.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and online sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Detroit Lions nineteen game losing streak is over. On Sunday afternoon at Ford Field in Detroit the Lions held on for a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins. The Lions hadn’t won a game since December 23, 2007 and had already tied the second longest losing streak in NFL history. It may not have been pretty, but the streak is now over and the Lions wont have to worry about comparisons to the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost a record 26 games in their first two seasons as an NFL expansion team.

If you were going to bet on a NFL football game this past weekend, the Lions may not have been the most attractive position. Sports betting enthusiasts who took Detroit as a +6 home favorite were rewarded with the outright victory. It was the Lions first pointspread cover of the 2009 NFL season, while the Redskins have yet to get the money for their backers this year. The 33 points went UNDER the posted total of 39. It was the second UNDER in three regular season games for both teams.

Lions owner William Clay Ford said in postgame comments that he hopes the end of the streak signals a new beginning in the Motor City:

“We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back. I’m hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude.”

Dominic Raiola has played in Detroit for his entire nine year career, and he too expressed his relief that the streak had come to an end:

“I’ve always watched, but I’ve never been in this situation before. No team has been in this situation before. No one has gone 0-16 and then had to try to win a game the next year.”

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford had the best game of his young career, throwing for 241 yards on 21 of 36 passing with a touchdown and no interceptions. He gave his thoughts on the late game anticipation that preceded Detroit finally putting one in the win column:

“I’m having fun. It’s a great game we get to play. I figured I’d just let the crowd noise tell me what happened. When it got really quiet, I couldn’t take it, so I looked up, and saw them running, and then the tackle, and then I saw the clock was at zero.”

Detroit will try to start an actual winning streak next weekend as they take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Bears are 11 point favorites in that contest. Detroit will host the Pittsburgh Steelers the following weekend before a road trip to Green Bay and game against the Packers on October 18th. Washington will host Tampa Bay next Sunday, with the Redskins a -7 home favorite. They’ll play at Carolina on October 11th and then return home for a game against Kansas City the following weekend.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The often maligned Indianapolis Colts defense matched the ferocity of their Jacksonville Jaguars counterparts play for play, and one touchdown pass from Peyton Manning proved to be enough to earn victory by a 14-12 margin in the NFL season opener for both teams. The victory was Manning’s 118th in a Colts uniform, tying the legendary Johnny Unitas for the franchise lead. Unitas, of course, was the personification of the franchise during their years in Baltimore.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Jaguars as +6 road underdogs were rewarded with the pointspread cover. Indianapolis dropped to 11-16 ATS over the past three years when favored. The 26 combined points went well UNDER the posted total of 45. Despite their reputation as an offensive juggernaut, the Colts have actually trended to the UNDER over the past three seasons, with 19 UNDERs in their past 35 lined games.

After the contest, Manning displayed his characteristic humility when asked about tying the franchise mark for wins and particularly comparisons to the iconic Unitas:

“I’ve never felt comfortable with comparisons with him. I think he’s kind of in his own category. But I am proud of those wins.”

Manning was more concerned about the welfare of receiver Anthony Gonzalez:

“I askedRashean Matthis what happened and he said, ‘I didn’t even touch him . He has worked so hard in the offseason, I just hope it’s not a season-ending injury.”

Colts coach Jim Caldwell won his first game at the helm of an NFL team, and was pleased with the effort of the defense:

“Obviously, the defense played well and came up big at the end. We thought it would be a grind, and it was. I think our team certainly played tough, played hard, played with a lot of energy.”

Jacksonville wasnt overly discouraged after the contest either, pleased with the intensity and their effectiveness in shutting down one of the NFLs best offenses. Maurice Jones-Drew gave props to the Indy defense after the game:

“They just did a great job in the red zone stifling our offense. My hat’s off to them. But we have to learn how to finish.”

Quarterback David Garrard also paid respect to his opponent’s pass rush:

“I thought, ‘Here we go again, we have a great chance. You love to be in that situation. We were trying to get the ball to Maurice, but you’ve got to slow those pass rushers down. We did what we could do.”

The Jaguars will open their 2009 NFL home slate on Sunday as they host the Arizona Cardinals. The Colts will head to south Florida for a game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Theyll return to Indy for a date with the Arizona Cardinals on the following Sunday.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Montreal Alouettes withstood a tough challenge from the Saskatchewan Roughriders to win their 7th game of the season by a 34-25 margin. Montreal remained atop the CFL with a 7-1 record, while the Roughriders slipped to 4-4. Als rookie QB Chris Leak scored the winning points with a touchdown on the first play of his CFL career.

After the game, Leak focused on earning the trust of his teammates:

“It’s a about trust – that’s the number one thing. I’m just happy for the opportunity to earn the trust of the coaches and my teammates.”

The Alouettes swept the season series from Saskatchewan, having won 43-10 in Regina in early July. Saskatchewan has only won twice in their past eleven trips to Montreal, and will have to wait until next season to try and gain a measure of redemption.

The Roughriders held the edge in most of the statistical categories, but were undone by turnovers and a failure to cash in on drives deep into Als territory. Riders coach Ken Miller said in his postgame comments that there was plenty of responsibility to go around:

“It’s a team game and the fault doesn’t lie with any individual. Darian played probably his best. He turned the ball over three times, but he made plays with his feet and was a leader for us. I’m really proud of the way the men battled, but our team still needs to be tuned up some.”

Durants favorite target on the day was Weston Dressler, who caught eight passes for 179 yards and after the game gave a glass half full assessment of his teams performance:

“We were in it until the end. I think we showed we can complete with the best team in the league and I think we just have to keep working at it. We’re really close to being a great football team.”

Both teams will enjoy a bye next weekend, with Montreal returning to action on Friday, September 4th as they travel to Vancouver to play the BC Lions. Saskatchewan will return to action on Sunday, September 6th as they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

NY Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez struggled early, though recovered to throw a TD before he left the game for the night. Despite the score, the Baltimore Ravens held on to defeat the Jets 24-23. The Jets scored a touchdown with :22 seconds remaining and could have tied the game, but as is the norm during NFL preseason went for two points and the win. Baltimore improved to 2-0 on the NFL preseason while the Jets dropped to 0-2.

Sanchez, who is trying to win the Jets starting QB job threw an errant pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown on his first drive. After the game, he spoke of the play:

“Not obviously the way you want to start. I thought I was doing the right thing; I felt Ray come free on the right side from the protection. I was checking it down to the flat, perfect. Haloti just jumped right in front of the ball and made a really athletic play.”

Ravens defensive leader Ray Lewis talked about the young QBs inexperience:

“You put a young guy like Sanchez in there and you see our defense, it can be difficult. You saw his eyes get big, and he was jumping around in the pocket. Bottom line: We gave a lot of looks and disguises and we confused him a little bit.”

Sanchez agreed that it was a tough assignment:

“Oh, they were flying. They were flying around. You practice for it and you see it on film. These guys were doing it. You’re trying to keep one eye on Ed Reed and one eye on Ray Lewis and a D-lineman gets you.”

Jets head coach Rex Ryan was proud of how Sanchez handled the pressure:

“I’m proud of the way he responded. It ain’t going to be perfect; sometimes you have these type of nights. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due, and most of that goes to their defense.”

The Jets will get the NFL regular season underway on Sunday, September 13th as they travel to Houston to play the Texans. The Ravens will host the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.