Boise State tries to stay unbeaten against Utah

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09/29/2006 -

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -Before No. 22 Boise State can really start thinking about becoming the second ``BCS Buster,'' the Broncos need to beat the original.

If they do that, there might be nothing stopping them.

Boise State (4-0) visits Utah (3-1) on Saturday in the Broncos' non-conference finale. Both were among the five unbeaten schools after the regular season two years ago, but there was only room for one in the BCS.

Utah got the Fiesta Bowl berth, the giant paycheck and the notoriety of crashing the system. Although the BCS has expanded, getting in will still be difficult for teams from the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences, which don't have automatic bids for the league champions.

``You almost have to run the table to get yourself in the BCS, to guarantee yourself a BCS situation,'' Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Going unbeaten is impossible for Utah, which lost the season opener at UCLA on Sept. 2. Boise State, of the WAC, is still undefeated entering Saturday's game.

``It's a big game, definitely,'' Boise State receiver Legedu Naanee said. ``We don't play these guys year-in year-out. It's a special opportunity.''

Boise State has won its last 10 games against teams from the Mountain West. A win for the Broncos wouldn't vault them into the Top 10, but a loss would probably knock them out of the AP poll and set back any hopes for the BCS. Boise State has won four straight WAC titles, yet no matter how much the Broncos win, the label of a small school from a small conference seems to follow them.

``Every year it just seems that something happens to make us seem like we're kind of the underdog or something,'' Naanee said.

The Utes have outscored their last three opponents 131-14, although the competition has been Division I-AA Northern Arizona and winless Utah State and San Diego State.

Boise State could be a little more of a challenge.

``They have the capability of being a BCS team,'' Utah quarterback Brett Ratliff said. ``They've been a good team the last few years. They're doing great this year.''

The Broncos lead the WAC in scoring at 36.3 points per game and have the top rushing average in the league. Ian Johnson averages 156.5 yards rushing per game, easing the load on quarterback Jared Zabransky as he goes against a defense that has seven interceptions in the last two games.

``They've got a very balanced offensive attack and they're playing very good defense,'' Whittingham said. ``Their statistical numbers are very similar to ours. There is very little difference between the two football teams, so it should make for a good matchup.''

Utah shut out Utah State 48-0 two weeks ago and didn't allow San Diego State to score in the last three quarters of a 38-7 win. The Utes also haven't allowed a sack this season.

That's why Boise State coach Chris Petersen, who took over the Broncos after Dan Hawkins left for Colorado, doesn't want to talk about the BCS implications.

``We haven't gotten so caught up in that BCS bowl situation. For us, it's so early. But our players definitely know about Utah,'' Petersen said.

If Boise State wins Saturday, Petersen won't be able to avoid BCS talk for much longer. Of the seven remaining opponents, only San Jose State and New Mexico State have winning records. Neither has ever beaten Boise State.

The annual battle against Fresno State (1-2) is in Boise, where the Broncos are 22-1 in the last four years, and the Broncos hold a 4-1 record against the Bulldogs since joining the WAC in 2001.

So an unblemished record and the BCS will still be possibilities, if the Broncos win Saturday.

``It was definitely one of the goals we had this summer and coming into camp,'' Naanee said.

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.

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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.