11/16/2008 - Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSV Eindhoven's quest for a fifth successive Eredivisie title took another hit on Sunday as the club suffered a 4-1 defeat to rivals Ajax at Amsterdam Arena.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring 27 minutes into the match for Ajax, but PSV's Ibrahim Afellay canceled out the goal with one of his own in the 56th minute.
However, the home side rallied for three goals over the final 16 minutes to claim all three points and take over the top spot in the league as AZ Alkmaar, the leaders entering the weekend, was held to a 1-1 draw by Vitesse.
PSV meanwhile, suffered defeat for the fourth straight time in all competitions, with a Champions League loss to Marseille, a league defeat to NEC and a loss at AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Cup midweek prior to Sunday's disappointment.
Ajax started well and put pressure on the PSV defense early before getting onto the scoreboard in the 27th minute.
Rasmus Lindgren played provider as he slid a pass through the face of goal to Suarez, who was left with an easy finish for his sixth goal of the campaign.
Kennedy Bakircioglu should have put the hosts up two goals but he fired wide with an open net staring him in the face, while PSV responded by leveling the match as Danko Lazovic got into the box and rounded the goalkeeper before squaring the ball to Afellay for a tap-in goal.
With the match level entering the final 20 minutes, Ajax came through with a furious rally that saw the team score three times in 16 minutes to claim the points.
Urby Emanuelson's volley in the 74th minute was parried by PSV keeper Andreas Isaksson, but the rebound was finished off by substitute Miralem Sulejmani before an own-goal from PSV's Erik Pieters put Ajax up 3-1.
Another substitute, Leonardo, also found the back of the net in the final minutes to cap the scoring.
PSV has now lost five of its first 11 games to start the season and sits seven points off the lead.
Groningen took over third place with an easy 3-0 win over Graafschap, while Twente and Feyenoord traded successful penalty kicks in a 1-1 draw.
<< Nuggets, T-Wolves square off at Pepsi Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets will welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves
to town this evening for a showdown at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets have won four of their last five games, including Friday's 94-85
victory over the defending
<< Pistons pay a visit to Phoenix
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of conference powerhouses get together tonight in
the desert, where the Detroit Pistons pay a visit to the Phoenix Suns at US
Airways Center.
The 7-2 Pistons have won the first three tests of their four-gam
<< Mavs try to stop skid in Big Apple
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks will try to stop a five-game losing
streak tonight, when they open a three-game road trip against the New York
Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Dallas is coming off a 102-100 loss to the Orland
<< Orlando wraps up trip at Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to close out a three-game road
trip with a perfect mark when they take on the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at
Time Warner Cable Arena.
Orlando has won the first two tests of the trek and six of
No. 9 Notre Dame opens season against USC Upstate >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish
are set to open the 2008-09 regular season against the USC Upstate Spartans at
the Joyce Center.
USC Upstate opened the season on Friday against the University of G
25th-ranked Badgers tip off season against 49ers >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers open the
2008-09 season this afternoon with a home game against the 49ers of Long Beach
State.
The 49ers are under the direction of a former Big Ten coach in Dan Monson
(Minne
Bradley seeks upset of No. 19 Florida >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Florida Gators play host to
the Bradley Braves this afternoon in Gainesville as part of the 2008 O'Reilly
Auto Parts CBE Classic.
Billy Donovan's Gators opened their 2008-09 season with an 8
Duke takes aim at 62nd straight non-league home win >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing for the third time in the last six days,
the eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils welcome the Rhode Island Rams to Durham for
a non-conference showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils
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 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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