20th-ranked FSU routs Samford

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christian Ponder threw for 167 yards and four touchdowns in just one half of action, as 20th-ranked Florida State began the post-Bobby Bowden era with a 59-6 rout of Samford at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Bowden, who was also the head coach at Samford from 1959-62, spent 34 years with the Seminoles. He reluctantly called it quits after a 7-6 mark in 2009 and Jimbo Fisher, a former Samford quarterback who had been anointed the FSU head coach in waiting after three years as a Bowden assistant, finally took over on the Seminole sideline.

Ty Jones ran for 107 yards and a score for the Seminoles (1-0), who dominated from the start and outgained the Bulldogs 481-300. Jermaine Thomas and Chris Thompson also ran for touchdowns and Lonnie Pryor caught pair of scoring passes from Ponder, who finished 12-of-14 with an interception.

Dustin Taliaferro completed 22-of-32 passes for 174 yards with an interception for Samford (0-1), which plays in the FCS out of the Southern Conference.

Florida State's first offensive series ended with an interception of a tipped Ponder pass inside the Samford 10-yard line, but the Seminoles came right back and marched 47 yards in six plays for a score on their next possession. Ponder keyed the set with a 22-yard pass to Thomas on 3rd-and-2 and finished it with a four-yard toss to Pryor for a 7-0 lead.

Ponder threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Bert Reed early in the second quarter to cap a five-play, 51-yard series and the Seminoles blocked a punt deep in Samford territory soon after, leading to a four-yard touchdown run by Thomas for a 21-0 cushion with 11:21 to play in the opening half.

The Seminoles continued to pile it on in the second quarter, as Greg Reid returned a punt 74 yards for a score and Ponder connected with Pryor for an eight-yard touchdown pass on the first play after an interception to make it 35-0. Ponder then finished Florida State's next offensive series with an 11- yard TD pass to Taiwan Easterling before Samford finally got on the board as the half concluded with a 41-yard field goal from Cameron Yaw.

EJ Manuel took over for Ponder to start the second half and was intercepted on Florida State's first possession. The Bulldogs converted the turnover into a 32-yard field goal from Yaw midway through the third quarter.

The Seminoles needed just two plays to answer, as Manuel threw a 14-yard pass to Reed and Jones found a huge hole in the line on the way to a 57-yard touchdown run.

Thompson's nine-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter extended the advantage to 56-6 and Dustin Hopkins kicked a 24-yard field goal with just over 6 1/2 minutes left to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Fisher became the first Florida State head coach to win his debut since Larry Jones in 1971. Bowden lost to Memphis State in 1976...The 42 points were the most for Florida State in the first half since 2000 against Duke...Manuel connected on 10-of-13 throws for 129 yards...Florida State visits Oklahoma next week.

Wwwbetandwin NCAA Football Betting News

<< Cardinals release Leinart, reduce roster to 53
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals have officially released quarterback Matt Leinart, as part of a group of Saturday moves to pare their roster to the 53-player maximum. Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and No.

<< Florida begins life after Tebow with win over Miami-Ohio
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janoris Jenkins returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown in the first half and Jeffery Demps rumbled 72 yards for a score in the fourth quarter, as fourth-ranked Florida began life without Tim Tebow a

<< Robinson rushes for three TDs as Iowa wins opener
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns, leading ninth-ranked Iowa in a 37-7 rout of Eastern Illinois to open each school's 2010 season. Robinson received 24 carries for the Hawkeyes (1-0

<< Rams tab rookie Bradford as Week 1 starter
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced on Saturday that rookie and top overall pick Sam Bradford will be the team's starting quarterback in Week 1 against Arizona. Bradford is one of three quarterbacks on th

<< Bolden solid in debut as Penn State dominates Youngstown State
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - True freshman quarterback Rob Bolden threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, leading Penn State to a 44-14 rout of Youngstown State in the 2010 opener for both schools. Bold

White Sox take opener of DH with Red Sox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Konerko had three hits and scored two runs, as the Chicago White Sox topped Boston, 3-1, in the front end of a day-night doubleheader from Fenway Park. A.J. Pierzynski went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the

Zambrano sharp again as Cubs down Mets >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano allowed two runs in seven strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs ensured themselves a series victory with a 5-3 win over the New York Mets at Wrigley Field. Zambrano (7-6) struck out eigh

Serbia, Spain advance to World Championship quarters >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aleksandar Rasic's free throw with one second left gave Serbia a 73-72 victory over Croatia and berth in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship. The Serbs led by seven during the fou

Cubs' Silva to return Tuesday >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs right-hander Carlos Silva will make his return to the rotation on Tuesday against the Houston Astros. The club made the announcement Saturday, shuffling their rotation so that rookie Case

Murray, Georgia get season started with rout of Louisiana >>
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Murray threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, as the 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs trounced the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns', 55-7, at Sanford Stadium. Murray, a redshirt freshman making his first c

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting