Sooners and Seminoles meet in Top-25 showdown

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with a lot to prove square off in a tiop-25 showdown in Norman this weekend, as the 10th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners play host to the 17th-ranked Florida State Seminoles.

The Seminoles got the Jimbo Fisher era off on the right foot with a season- opening rout of Samford, 59-6. Fisher takes over the reins in Tallahassee following the departure of Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden, who stepped down last season and the hope is that a veteran team can lead FSU back to the top of the ACC.

Bob Stoops' Sooners have a lot to prove following a less-than stellar eight- win season in 2009. With a full array of weapons on offense and defense, Oklahoma could very well be a factor in the Big 12 again this year. It wasn't pretty by any stretch last week, but OU began the season with a victory, outlasting a pesky Utah State squad, 31-24 and earning the 800th victory in program history.

It has been 35 years since FSU has traveled to Norman to take on the Sooners. Since winning the first meeting in the 1965 Gator Bowl, Florida State has dropped four straight to Oklahoma. Four of the five all-time meetings have occurred in bowl games.

The Seminoles outplayed the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball, but were lethal on the offensive side of things, amassing 481 yards and a whopping 59 points. The team did that with Heisman hopeful Christian Ponder on the sidelines after the game got out of control. Ponder was extremely efficient in his time under center, completing 12-of-14 passes, for 167 yards and four TDs. A full stable of quality receivers complements Ponder, headlined by Bert Reed and Taiwan Easterling.

While Ponder and backup EJ Manuel were busy carving up the Samford secondary, tailback Ty Jones was moving the chains at will on the ground, averaging 13.4 yards per carry and amassing 107 yards and one TD in the game.

The wildcard for FSU is All-American return man Greg Reid. Samford tried to avoid the sophomore in the season-opener and paid the price when finally kicking to him, as Reid returned his one opportunity 74 yards for a TD.

Success was not limited to the offense and special teams for FSU in the opener, as the defense gave up just 300 yards of total offense, including a mere 77 on the ground. In addition, FSU also limited Samford to just 6-of-19 on third-down attempts, while recording 10 TFLs and four sacks.

Sophomore defensive tackle Anthony McCloud and junior linebacker Nigel Bradham led the way in terms of tackles, with six apiece.

Fisher knows that this is a chance to see exactly what he has on both sides of the football.

"It's a measuring stick to see where we're at. We'll prepare the same as we did last week and if have some success, we'll handle that. If we have some adversity we'll handle that."

The Sooners certainly have the offensive weapons to turn any game into a rout, although that wasn't the case in the opener against Utah State. There was balance between the run (195 yards) and the pass (217 yards), but sophomore QB Landry Jones completed less than half of his passes (17-of-36) and his two TD passes matched his two interceptions. All-American candidates Ryan Broyles and DeMarco Murray were sensational however. Broyles hauled in nine passes, for 142 yards and two TDs, while Murray churned out 208 yards rushing (5.9 ypc) and two more scores.

Still, to continue winning games, Jones will need to be more consistent in the pocket.

It was not a typical defensive performance by Oklahoma in the opener, as Utah State was stifled in the rush game (80 yards), but thrived in the air (341 yards). Still, this is a defense with plenty of star power and is capable of so much more.

Junior DB Jamell Fleming got his season off on a strong note, recording a team-high 10 tackles and recording one of the team's three interceptions in the game. Senior DB Jonathan Nelson was a close second with nine stops, followed by star LB Travis Lewis (eight tackles). Senior DB Quinton Carter (six tackles, one INT) was instrumental also. Ends David King (four tackles, one sack, one forced fumble) and Jeremy Beal (two TFLs, one sack) were solid up front.

Stoops knows his team will have its hands full with FSU this weekend.

It's exciting that Florida State is coming here. New coach Jimbo Fisher, not new to them, he's been there a long time, but now as the head coach, has done an excellent job. You look at their production offensively. Christian Ponder does an excellent job at quarterback. You can see the maturity as a senior. He's very athletic, more so than people probably talk about with his ability to run and his feet. Excellent arm. They have a lot of skilled players, fast guys as you expect when you watch a Florida State team. And an experienced offensive line that always does a good job.

Defensively, they have my brother Mark Stoops running the defenses. They're different than they were a year ago in their structure, probably a little more zone defense. A little bit more of our style of defense. In their first game they really played well. You could see the discipline in players who are in positions to make plays. Again, you see an athletic team."

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

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