LSU visits Vanderbilt in SEC lidlifter

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vanderbilt Commodores are coming off a highly-disappointing week-one loss, and they will open SEC play on Saturday against the 19th-ranked LSU Tigers, who are fresh off a drama-filled victory.

LSU took on fellow ranked foe North Carolina in Atlanta to open the season, and while the Tar Heels were missing several key players who are under investigation by the NCAA, the game lived up to its billing as a gem. The Tigers opened up a 20-point lead in that clash but held on for a 30-24 victory, as a UNC pass was broken up in the end zone as time expired.

"We had the opportunity to win a game in a very convincing style and our football team wasn't good enough to do that," said LSU coach Les Miles after the tilt.

Miles carried a 51-15 record through five seasons at LSU into this campaign, and while his team did post nine victories last season, losses to the top teams on the schedule left many wondering if the program had fallen back to the pack, and is no longer worthy of being considered elite.

As for Vanderbilt, it certainly fought hard in front of the home crowd last weekend, but the result of the opener against Northwestern was a heart- breaking 23-21 setback. That loss spoiled the debut of new head coach Robbie Caldwell, who has taken over the reigns of the program from the retired Bobby Johnson. Caldwell inherits the leadership of a program that won just two games last season, but he doesn't seem discouraged by the opening loss.

"I'm very proud of the effort overall," said coach Caldwell after the tilt. "We could have gotten down but we played a very good football game and I'm very excited that we came back and had a chance to win it."

LSU owns a 21-7-1 series advantage over Vanderbilt, including victories in six straight meetings between the programs.

In the first half against UNC, the LSU offense was impressive, and Jordan Jefferson seemed to have complete command under center. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they failed to score a single point over the final 30 minutes. Jefferson finished 15-of-21 for 151 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. Steven Ridley posted 81 rushing yards, while Rueben Randle paced the receivers with 71 yards on four catches, including one touchdown.

LSU only had possession of the ball for 25:25 and recorded 313 total yards, numbers that fall short of expectations considering the amount of talent missing from the UNC defense in that game. The Tigers lost four fumbles in the tilt, and that was simply unacceptable.

Defensively, LSU surrendered 436 total yards to North Carolina, almost all of which came through the air. The Tigers yielded a mere 24 rushing yards on 33 attempts, and it certainly helped matters that their four sacks totaled 46 yards in losses. There is significant room for improvement in the secondary, as UNC completed 28-of-46 tosses for 412 yards without an interception.

The star of the game for LSU was returner Patrick Peterson, who ripped off a school-record 257 return yards, including an 87-yard touchdown. Patterson, a cornerback, earned high praise from Miles.

"I don't know the validity of making a guy a Heisman trophy candidate," said the coach. "I would say that he had the kind of night tonight on a national level that would be put in him line for any national award including the very highest."

Vanderbilt posted 432 total yards against Northwestern last week and established solid offensive balance. The team gained 192 rushing yards at a clip of 5.1 yards per attempt and had two scores on the ground. The passing game netted 240 yards on 12.6 yards per completion with a touchdown and an interception.

Larry Smith was the man under center, and he completed 19-of-33 passes while also rushing for 48 yards. Zac Stacy ran for 69 yards and a score, while fellow tailback Warren Norman posted 46 yards and a touchdown.

"It's always disappointing especially that first loss, but like I keep saying we can't dwell on this loss. We fought hard as a team and we just need to bounce back and get ready as a team for our next big opponent, LSU."

Defensively, the Commodores allowed three touchdowns to Northwestern, one more than they could afford to surrender. The Wildcats were able to post 143 rushing yards, but it took 46 attempts to reach that mark, so Vandy can take pride in the fact that it yielded just 3.1 yards per rushing attempt. The secondary struggled, as Northwestern was able to complete 19-of-21 passes for 222 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Sean Richardson came up with 2.5 TFLs to lead the Commodores, and he posted eight tackles in all. Chris Marve and Jay Fullam tied for the team lead with 12 stops apiece.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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