Montana ascends to No. 1

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The move was only one spot, but it was a big one for the University of Montana football team as the Grizzlies advanced to No. 1 in The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 on Monday.

Montana was selected second in the preseason poll, but moved to No. 1 following its 73-2, season-opening rout of Western State and preseason No. 1 Villanova's 31-24 loss to FBS opponent Temple.

Villanova, the defending FCS national champion, didn't fall far as it was voted second in this week's poll by a panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries. Montana had 57 of the 126 first-place votes and 3,052 points, while Villanova collected 46 first-place votes and 2,886 points.

Montana opened its season by tying an NCAA record with four interception returns for touchdowns against Western State. The Big Sky Conference power has finished as the national runner-up in each of the past two seasons, including a 23-21 loss to Villanova last December, and has a new head coach in Robin Pflugrad.

Appalachian State remained at No. 3, and Southern Illinois moved up one spot to No. 4. The biggest mover in the Top 25 was Jacksonville State, which rose 12 spots to No. 5 following its 49-48, double-overtime win at Ole Miss. Coach Jack Crowe's Gamecocks received nine first-place votes for their victory over an FBS program.

The rest of the Top 10 was New Hampshire at No. 6, followed by Richmond, Elon, South Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin.

In an opening week in which many FCS programs took on FBS programs, William & Mary was the only team in the Preseason Top 25 to fall to a fellow FCS program, a 27-23 loss to CAA Football rival Massachusetts. William & Mary, a national semifinalist last year, fell seven spots to No. 11. Massachusetts broke into the poll at No. 18.

James Madison was No. 12, followed by McNeese State, Northern Iowa, South Carolina State, Delaware, Eastern Washington, Massachusetts, Liberty and Weber State.

North Dakota State joined UMass as the other new entry into the Top 25, grabbing No. 21 after its 6-3 win at University of Kansas. The Bison were followed in the Top 25 by Prairie View A&M at No. 22, then Eastern Illinois, Montana State and Colgate.

The two teams that fell out of the Top 25 received the next-highest vote totals - Holy Cross, which won its opener, and Penn, which was idle.

The Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, apart from the final weekend when it will be released on Sunday, Nov. 21, due to its use as an official tool by the NCAA Division I Football Committee in selecting the 20-team playoff field.

The Sportsbook Betting Lines and Fathead.com will release a final Top 25 following the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

The night before the FCS championship game, The Sportsbook Betting Lines will present the Walter Payton (outstanding FCS player) Buck Buchanan (outstanding FCS defensive player) and Eddie Robinson (outstanding FCS coach) awards, which are sponsored by Fathead.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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