November - The Month of the Away Favorite

Football Betting Lines

11/21/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wagering on NFL road favorites has always been a risky proposition. Even in Weeks 6 through 8 of the current season, seven of the 11 away betting choices failed to cover the spread, and interestingly enough, every single underdog that provided an ATS victory also won the game outright.

However, a strange twist has recently changed the landscape of home field advantage in professional football, and that's the impressive current run by away favorites. For the first three weeks of November, road betting choices have ripped off 10 against the spread victories in 13 tries for an outstanding 77% winning percentage.

More impressive than that is the fact those numbers are an even better 7-1 and 88% in the last two weeks alone. The only club to fail was the Eagles, who finished in a 13-13 tie with the Bengals as nine-point favorites.

If away favorites were able to turn the tide in November, could the same be said for the home favorites? Not really. In fact, the opposite has occurred, as the road underdogs have ruled the land.

Going back to the same three weeks (6 through 8) that the road betting choices finished 4-7 ATS, home favorites were an even 50% at 15-15. In addition, seven of those preferred 15 teams lost the game outright.

However, the first three weeks of November have been a boon to those bettors who have taken shots against the hometown betting choice.

Week 9 began the turnover process with a 7-2 ATS mark for away underdogs, including four outright road wins. The early games produced a 4-1 record, with the only loss coming in Minnesota where the 5.5-point-favored Vikings knocked off the Texans, 28-21.

The following week was more of the same, as only three of 11 home favorites were able to cover the spread, with another four road underdogs winning straight up. That last number could have been even higher but Seattle, Green Bay and Kansas City all lost SU by a combined four points.

Those that had picked up on this trend prior to this past weekend were licking their chops, as 11 more home teams were favored in Week 11.

The overall numbers dipped from the previous two weeks, but the road underdog still came through in seven of the 11 games played. The onslaught began on Thursday evening when the Jets went into New England as three-point underdogs, only to walk off with the 34-31 victory.

This past Monday provided another easy score as the Browns, who were getting 5.5-points from Buffalo, won the game outright, 29-27. In between, the Broncos, Raiders, Texans, Lions, and Chargers all proved victorious plus the points.

To recap, road underdogs have not only won 11 of the 31 games outright the past three weeks, they've covered 22 of them for a winning percentage of 71%. Not quite at the 77% ATS record of road favorites during the same time span, but still good enough to supplement one's income.

TWO MORE HEAVY UNDERDOGS PREVAIL ATS

While on the subject of underdogs, it's hard not to notice how well double- digit dogs are doing after going two for two last Sunday.

Oakland, a 10-point underdog at Miami, led the Dolphins inside the final minute of play only to see Dan Carpenter win the game for Miami with a 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds left on the clock. Still, a two-point loss is golden when getting 10.

Detroit, a two-touchdown underdog at Carolina, came through with a nine-point defeat in Charlotte. The Panthers needed a missed two-point try by Detroit along with a touchdown of their own inside the final five minutes to secure the straight-up victory.

Double-digit underdogs are now 15-3 ATS for an unheard of winning percentage of 83% after Cincinnati fell to Pittsburgh on Thursday evening. There is still one more opportunity to cash out this Sunday, as San Francisco is a 10-point dog at Dallas.

Betonspoets Football Betting News

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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers recalled center Jonathon Kalinski from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. Kalinski, who could become the fifth Phantom to make hi

<< Wild reassign Schaefer to Houston
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild reassigned goaltender Nolan Schaefer to the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League. Schaefer was recalled Tuesday on an emergency basis and did not play a game with the NHL club.

<< Nashville reassigns rookie forwards to Milwaukee
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators reassigned rookie forwards Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Jones to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. Jones has three goals and three assists in 15 games

<< Penguins loan Cashman to Wheeling
Wilkes-Barre, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have loaned defenseman Reid Cashman to their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. Cashman, 25, appeared in four games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, recor

<< AHL announces rescheduled game
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League game between the Springfield Falcons and the Worcester Sharks, originally scheduled for Nov. 15, has been rescheduled for Dec. 10 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass, the league

San Jose sends Greiss to Worcester >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks reassigned goaltender Thomas Greiss to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Worcester Sharks. Greiss, who did not appear in any games with San Jose, has a 4-5-0 record with Worc

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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back-to-back losses for the first time this year have the Washington Redskins fading in the NFC playoff picture. Currently holding the final Wild Card slot in the conference, Washington heads across the country this weekend t

Lions Look to Catch Bucs Napping >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With three division games looming in the distance, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are doing their best not to look past the Detroit Lions. With Detroit winless in 10 games this year, that figures to be easier said then done. Ta

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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been six weeks since fans of the Dallas Cowboys have watched quarterback Tony Romo take the playing field at Texas Stadium. Needless to say, his presence in Sunday's Week 12 affair against the San Francisco 49ers will

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

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