Tigers battle Bulldogs in SEC action

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC action begins on Thursday in Starkville as the Mississippi State Bulldogs welcome the 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers to town.

Auburn opened its season last weekend with a 52-26 victory over Arkansas State.

"It was good for our football team to get our first game under our belt," said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. "Obviously if you watched the game, there were a lot of glaring things that weren't very good, but things that I think are very fixable and things I think we can build on."

The Tigers finished 8-5 a year ago under the guidance of Chizik, including an Outback Bowl victory over Northwestern. Still, the team was just 3-5 versus SEC opponents, and Chizik, now in his second season, fully expects better in- conference results considering the wealth of returning talent his team possesses.

As for Mississippi State, it is also under the guidance of a second-year head coach in Dan Mullen. The Bulldogs rolled past Memphis in the opener by a 49-7 final, as they were dominant on both sides of the ball.

"Really pleased coming out the way our team did," said coach Mullen. "We have got some things to clean up and we do not have a lot of time to do it with the short week this week."

MSU won five games a season ago, but there is reason to believe that this program is ascending.

Auburn owns a 58-23-2 series advantage over Mississippi State, including a 49-24 romp over the Bulldogs last season.

There is no question that Auburn fans were eager to see what Cameron Newton would do in his debut as the team's starting quarterback. A former Florida backup who spent last season at a junior college, Newton completed 9-of-14 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and he also rushed for 171 yards on 15 attempts.

"As the game kept going on, I felt my feet settling in," Newton said. "There were a lot of times I thought I could make plays with my feet because of the man coverage."

Michael Dyer carried the ball 14 times for 95 yards and a score for the Tigers. Mario Fannin hauled in four passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns, while Quindarius Carr caught two passes for 87 yards and score.

Defensively, Auburn certainly has some room for improvement. The Tigers permitted Arkansas State to post 323 passing yards in the clash on 33-of-49 efficiency, and the defense failed to register an interception or a fumble recovery in the tilt. While Arkansas State did score a pair of rushing touchdowns, it should be pointed out that the Red Wolves only netted 43 rushing yards on 35 attempts, a credit to the Tigers. It certainly helped matters that they posted four sacks totaling 28 yards in losses.

Darren Bates led the way defensively with 10 total tackles, seven of which were of the solo variety. Antoine Carter was sensational, as he recorded 3.5 TFLs in the tilt, including 2.5 sacks.

Mississippi State's battle for the starting quarterback position in camp was so close that coach Mullen decided to use both Chris Relf and Tyler Russell last week. Of the two, Russell posted the more impressive numbers, connecting on 13-of-16 passes for 256 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Relf had one score and one pick.

"I feel very comfortable with both of them, and they work well with each other," says Mullen of his signal callers. "They listen to the coaches, and listen to what they are saying in between series and get ready for when their number is called again."

Brandon Heavens led the receivers with five catches for 112 yards and two scores, while Vick Ballard posted two rushing touchdowns for MSU. The Bulldogs finished the game with 569 total yards, and it will be tough to duplicate that feat this weekend.

The Bulldogs played strong defense against Memphis, holding the Tigers to 41 rushing yards and seven points in the tilt. The lone touchdown for Memphis came in the fourth quarter, long after the outcome had been decided. Mississippi State recorded a pair of interceptions in the contest and limited the Tigers to 2-of-15 success on third-down conversion attempts.

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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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