At LSU: The coach and QB are on the defensive

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/10/2010 -

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Les Miles and Jordan Jefferson might be better off today if LSU had never recovered that late onside kick at Mississippi last season.

Few things could have galvanized critics of the coach and his quarterback more than the ensuing exhibition of clock mismanagement that left the Tigers unable to set up a game-winning field goal from the Rebels' 5-yard line as time ran out.

As the 2010 season approaches, LSU fans are still talking about the final 30 seconds of that 25-23 loss to Ole Miss last November, and Miles is still answering for it.

``I scrutinized the coaching - me and others,'' Miles said recently. ``Some of those situations I was - even though prepared for (it) - (I) had not envisioned the time constraints. So what we've done is we've added that to our game week preparation. Maybe we're a little more prepared, a little bit more ready to play in those situations.''

With the meltdown in Mississippi symbolizing the larger issue of LSU's slide from Southeastern Conference's elite, Miles and Jefferson enter a new campaign on the defensive.

For Miles, the good will he engendered by winning the 2007 national title has begun to fade after a pair of mediocre seasons.

During 2008 and 2009, LSU went a combined 8-8 against the SEC and 0-6 against rivals Florida, Alabama and Ole Miss.

Only games against non-conference teams helped LSU finish 8-5 in 2008 and 9-4 in 2009.

When the SEC released its preseason poll last month, LSU was picked to finish fourth in the conference's West Division.

``We deserve it, having a lot of young guys coming in and not finishing things right in the last couple of years,'' cornerback Patrick Peterson said. ``It'll give us motivation to fix things.''

LSU must fix an offense that ranked 112th among Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams last season with averages of 123 yards rushing and 182 yards passing. Otherwise, it may not be just the SEC games that give the Tigers trouble.

In 2010, LSU has a tougher non-conference slate, opening its season against North Carolina in Atlanta on Sept. 4 and hosting West Virginia on Sept. 25.

Miles said having more experience at quarterback should help LSU handle the tougher schedule.

Jefferson, who'd shown promise in a pair of starts as a freshman in 2008, became the full-time starter as a 19-year-old sophomore last season. That marked the second straight year LSU had a young, inexperienced quarterback, a trend that began when Ryan Perrilloux was kicked off the team in the winter of 2008.

Last season, Jefferson was sacked 34 times, raising concerns about his ability to read defenses and be decisive. Still, he heads into 2010 as the projected starter.

``I do have a lot to prove, a lot of things I should've improved on last year,'' Jefferson said. ``My wisdom has gotten better from my failure in certain games, and I'm looking to be a leader.''

At 6-foot-5, and with quick feet and a strong arm, Jefferson has the physical attributes of top quarterbacks, if only he can conquer the intangibles.

``He's starting to realize that it's more than a position, that it's not just: Call the play and throw the ball,'' Miles said. ``It's a responsibility to function the offense and to give us an opportunity at victory, and to see the defense, and to understand the call.''

Miles expects Jefferson to have plenty of opportunities to throw with Terrence Toliver, Rueben Randle and Russell Shepard running routes.

Toliver's 735 yards receiving last season ranked second on the team behind Brandon LaFell, who's now in the NFL.

Randle, one of the top recruits in the nation in 2009, showed promise as a freshman and is expected to have a big year. Shepard came to LSU as a quarterback last season, but it became obvious to coaches that his all-around ability was being squandered.

``Now that he is in the receiving corps, it allows him to be on the field routinely,'' Miles said, adding that Shepard still takes some practice snaps at quarterback just in case Miles decides to have him make a few surprise throws.

LSU has depth at running back as well, starting with Richard Murphy, who was supposed to be a senior in 2009 but received an additional year of eligibility because of a knee injury. Stevan Ridley ran powerfully last season when he was forced into action because of injuries. Redshirt freshman Michael Ford was a standout in spring practice.

On defense, LSU will have new starters at both defensive end and outside linebacker spots, but the defensive backfield is expected to be strong with the return of Peterson, a junior, and sophomore cornerback Morris Claiborne.

Last season, Peterson was already covering top receivers one-on-one. This year, he'll also return punts and kicks.

Miles intends to make Peterson one of LSU's biggest stars. Naturally, Peterson is one of his coach's outspoken supporters.

``We love coach Miles,'' Peterson asserted. ``We have a tremendous amount of confidence that he'll have us ready to play on Saturdays.

``As a team, we have to play better to help defend coach Miles.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwbingogala NCAA Football Betting News

<< Robinson, Greisen and Williams earn weekly AFL honors
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay wide receiver SEDRICK ROBINSON, Milwaukee quarterback CHRIS GREISEN and Spokane defensive back TRAVIS WILLIAMS have been named the JLS Ironman, Russell Athletic Offensive Players and Riddell Defensive Play

<< Teixeira to miss time for birth of child
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is expected to miss some time to be with his wife for the birth of their child. According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Teixeira doesn't know how much time he will

<< It could be an offensive year in Ivy League
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To new Princeton head football coach Bob Surace, the golden words that James Perry used this past winter in describing his philosophy while he interviewed for the position of offensive coordinator were "fast

<< It could be an offense year in Ivy League
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To new Princeton head football coach Bob Surace, the golden words that James Perry used this past winter in describing his philosophy while he interviewed for the position of offensive coordinator were "fast

<< CFL East: Argos dig deep again; Als stay on top
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a rematch of the epic season opener, the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders battled it out again in Week 6. Though the game had little chance to match the fireworks of a 54-51 double overtim

Nats activate Strasburg >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have activated rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg off the 15-day disabled list and he will start Tuesday's game against the Florida Marlins. Strasburg had been on the DL

Kovalchuk decision will have wider impact >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There has been one NHL story this summer that refuses to go away and a ruling on Monday ensured that the saga will continue. Independent arbitrator Richard Bloch upheld the NHL's decision that the New Jer

Woods saw slide coming; wants to play Ryder Cup >>
Kohler, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods met the media on Tuesday in advance of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, and tried to keep things light. Though he tried to keep the mood light, Woods did admit that he thought he would

Phillies recall P Bastardo >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies recalled pitcher Antonio Bastardo from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday. The 24-year-old, who is expected to be used as a situational lefty out of the bullpen, has made

New-look Heat open in Boston as full NBA schedule is released >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Miami Heat and two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will both be in action on the first day of the 2010-11 NBA season, October 26. The Heat will open the season in Boston aga

Sportsbook Betting Lines

Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.

“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.

“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “

What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?

There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).

Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).

How the Opening Line Is Made

The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.

Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.

Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.

Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.

The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.

A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.

Why Sports Betting Lines Change

Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:

Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game

Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)

The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.

Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.

For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.

Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."

“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”

To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.