Murray, Georgia get season started with rout of Louisiana

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - 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 collegiate start, completed 17- of-26 tosses for 160 yards with one pick. He also added 42 rushing yards for Georgia (1-0), which finished 8-5 last season, the program's lowest win total under head coach Mark Richt since he debuted in 2001. Kris Durham benefited from Murray's big day, catching five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs played the game shorthanded, as their top receiver and rusher from a year ago in A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey were missing from the lineup. Green, the team's leading receiver with 53 catches and 808 receiving yards, was held out as the NCAA investigates his alleged improper interaction with an agent. Ealey, meanwhile, paced the squad with 717 rushing yards, but was suspended after being charged in late August with hit and run and driving on a suspended license.

Chris Masson started the game at quarterback for Louisiana (0-1) and threw for 77 yards with one touchdown and an interception for the Cajuns (0-1), who were coming off a 6-6 finish for the second straight season. Ladarius Green was his main target, pulling in four balls for 87 yards and a score.

The Bulldogs started off the scoring with three minutes left in the opening quarter, as Caleb King's 20-yard touchdown run on third-and-short capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive.

Georgia's defense made its impact felt on the ensuing possession, with corner Brandon Boykin picking off a Masson pass at Louisiana's 28-yard line. The Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover with a three-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Durham just seconds into the second quarter.

A 52-yard field goal by Blair Walsh a few minutes later extended Georgia's advantage to 17-0.

Late in the first half, the Bulldogs added to their lead with an 11-yard scoring strike from Murray to Shaun Chapas.

The Cajuns, though, showed some life with under two minutes remaining. On the very next play following an interception, Masson hit a wide open Green on a 60-yard touchdown pass to put the Cajuns on the board. Louisiana had just six yards of total offense prior to the play.

Unfortunately, Louisiana's defense let down and Georgia took advantage with a 16-yard touchdown run by Murray as time expired. Murray, who snuck the ball just across the goalline as he went out of bounds, was given a second chance after Louisiana's Lance Kelly dropped a sure interception in the back of the end zone a couple players earlier.

The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off after the break, as Walsh connected on a 48-yard field goal just minutes into the second half for a 34-7 Georgia advantage.

The onslaught continued when a one-yard touchdown pass from Murray to a wide open Fred Munzenmaier completed a 10-play, 53-yard drive with 4:25 left in the third.

Hutson Mason then replaced Murray under center and the true freshman threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Logan Gray on his very first collegiate snap.

Things only got worse for the Cajuns, as backup quarterback Blaine Gautier was intercepted early in the fourth quarter by Jakar Hamilton, who returned the pick 17 yards for a score and a 55-7 advantage.

Game Notes

The Bulldogs have won 13 of their last 14 season openers, including a 9-1 mark under Richt...Georgia is 39-4 versus non-conference opponents under Richt...The 55 points was the most for Georgia since a 62-17 win over Kentucky in 2004...The Bulldogs outgained the Cajuns 377-128 and were 8-of-17 on third downs compared to a 3-of-16 showing by Louisiana...This was the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Louisiana on the gridiron...The Cajuns have dropped 13 straight games to ranked opponents since defeating Texas A&M in 1996.

Webmiilion NCAA Football Betting News

<< 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

<< 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

<< 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

<< 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

<< 20th-ranked FSU routs Samford
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

Nesbitt leads Georgia Tech in season-opening rout >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Nesbitt ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, as the 16th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets opened the 2010 season by trouncing South Carolina State, 41-10, at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Roddy Jones

Federer, Soderling reach fourth round in Flushing >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling were easy third-round winners Saturday at the U.S. Open. The second-seeded former No. 1 Federer cruised past capab

Thames' tie-breaking homer pushes Yanks past Jays >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames clubbed a two-run homer to snap a seventh-inning tie, lifting the New York Yankees to a 7-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Robinson

Ravens release 15, including QB Smith, K Graham; Reed to PUP >>
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens released quarterback Troy Smith and kicker Shayne Graham on Saturday, also placing safety Ed Reed on the Physically Unable to Perform List to highlight a slew of "cut-down day" maneuvers.

Kahne takes pole for Atlanta Nationwide race >>
Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kasey Kahne will start on the pole for Saturday's Great Clips Nationwide Series race after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kahne turned a lap of 181.479 m.p.h. ar

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.