Broncos beat up on Hawaii, stay undefeated
NCAA Football Betting Lines
10/17/2008 - Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandyn Thompson had three of Boise State's five interceptions, and Kellen Moore threw for three scores, as the 15th-ranked Broncos remained unbeaten with a 27-7 thrashing of Hawaii.
Moore completed 25-of-33 passes for 256 yards for the Broncos (6-0, 2-0 WAC), who won their 30th straight home game against WAC opponents. Their overall home winning streak stands at 17 games.
Boise State has allowed seven points or less in all but one of its games this season. The Broncos are on their way to hopefully repeating their performance from 2006 when they not only went unbeaten, but shocked Oklahoma in overtime to win the Fiesta Bowl.
Inoke Funaki connected on 17-of-34 passes for 188 yards, but the five interceptions hurt the Warriors (3-4, 2-2), who had a two-game win streak broken.
Hawaii moved the ball on its first possession from its own 14 to the Boise State 15, converting one fourth down on the way. But a second try on a 4th- and-1 came up short as Kealoha Pilares was thrown for a loss.
Kyle Brotzman then kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter to give the Broncos the early edge. Moore had 61 yards passing during the drive that started at the Boise State 18.
The Broncos padded their lead to 10-0 with 9:42 left in the half thanks to Moore's two-yard TD pass to Richie Brockel in the left side of the end zone.
A fumble by tight end Kyle Efaw set up Hawaii near midfield later in the second, and the Warriors took advantage, getting within three points on Daniel Libre's three-yard TD run.
Hawaii had a golden opportunity to tie the game or go in front after Moore fumbled the ball away on the next Boise State offensive play, but Thompson picked off Funaki at the five.
Thompson intercepted Funaki on the third play of the third quarter, giving the Broncos the ball near midfield. Then, on a 3rd-and-3 from the 12, Moore threw to Julian Hawkins for a score to extend the margin to 17-7.
Funaki was picked off by Jeron Johnson later in the third quarter. That led to Moore's 16-yard scoring strike to Austin Pettis with 7:49 remaining in the quarter.
Brotzman missed a 35-yard field goal try in the waning seconds of the third, but he connected from 43 yards away early in the fourth.
Game Notes
Boise State is 7-4 all-time against Hawaii, including 4-0 at home...The Broncos play at San Jose State next Friday night, while Hawaii hosts Nevada next Saturday...Thompson's three interceptions are one shy of a team record. Steve Forrey had four against Idaho State in 1968...Boise State is 54-4 all- time in the WAC...Ian Johnson had 12 carries for 41 yards for the Broncos, while Vinny Perretta had six receptions for 82 yards.
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Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.