Taylor carries Montreal into Grey Cup
Football Betting Lines
11/15/2008 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Larry Taylor returned two punts for touchdowns, and the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 36-26 in the East Division final to clinch a spot in the 2008 Grey Cup.
Taylor amassed a CFL-record 203 yards on six returns -- highlighted by 64 and 97-yard runbacks for scores -- as Montreal advanced to its third Grey Cup in four years. His two punt returns for scores was a CFL playoff record.
The Alouettes will meet the winner of the West Division final between British Columbia and Calgary in the 96th Grey Cup game, set for November 23 in Montreal.
Anthony Calvillo completed 20-of-32 passes for 295 yards and a touchdown for the Als (12-7), who will appear in their sixth Grey Cup game in nine years. Only one of those five previous trips ended triumphantly, when Montreal defeated Edmonton in 2002.
Jamal Richardson had six catches for 91 yards and a score for the Als, who scored 33 straight points after an early 13-3 deficit, and Avon Cobourne rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Ricky Ray completed 26-of-49 passes for 339 yards and a touchdown for Edmonton (11-9), which was looking for its first Grey Cup berth since it toppled Montreal in the 2005 title game.
Kamau Peterson had nine grabs for 127 yards, and Kelly Campbell had five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown for Edmonton, which saw a late rally, including a 78-yard Tristan Jackson punt return for a touchdown, fall short.
Taylor's first touchdown, a 64-yard return late in the first half, pushed the Als in front 19-13 heading into the intermission. Montreal came out and scored 10 points in the third quarter and never looked back.
Cobourne's one-yard scoring plunge capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive, and extended Montreal's lead to 26-13 just over six minutes into the third quarter. A 13-yard Damon Duval field goal later in the frame pushed Montreal ahead 29-13, then Taylor all but iced the win.
The Montreal returner's 97-yard runback for a score early in the fourth quarter gave the Als a commanding 36-13 lead. Edmonton made things interesting late, with a 55-yard scoring toss from Ray to Campbell and Jackson's punt return cutting the deficit to 10 points, but the Eskimos couldn't pull within one score as Montreal held on.
Justin Cooper blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone to draw first blood for Edmonton in the first quarter. A 27-yard Duval field goal later in the quarter cut the deficit to 7-3.
Two Noel Prefontaine field goals extended Edmonton's lead to 13-3. Montreal scored a safety, though, and an eight-yard TD pass from Calvillo to Richardson pulled the Als within 13-12.
Game Notes
The teams split the season series, with the home team winning each game...Ben Cahoon had five catches for 88 yards for Montreal, and Cobourne added 61 yards on four catches...A.J. Harris was Edmonton's only rusher, with three yards on three carries...Anwar Stewart had two sacks for Montreal, while Edmonton's Fred Perry also had two sacks.
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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.