11/20/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four new candidates have been added to the final Walter Payton Award watch list - running back William Ford of South Carolina State, wide receiver John Matthews of San Diego, quarterback Chris Pizzotti of Harvard and running back-return man Larry Warner of Southern Illinois.
That quartet, which joins 12 other players already on the list, will be among the 16 players who will be on the official ballot distributed to voters next week. The three finalists for the Payton Award will be announced on Dec. 1.
The winner of the 22nd Walter Payton Award, symbolic of the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), will be announced at the annual Sportsbook Betting Lines Awards banquet on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, TN at the Marriott Hotel. The Eddie Robinson Award, which goes to the top coach in FCS, and the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top FCS defensive player, will also be awarded the night before the NCAA Division I football championship game.
Ford has been the offensive sparkplug for a South Carolina State team that has won its first MEAC championship since 1994, advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1982, and is ranked 15th nationally. He ranks 14th nationally in rushing with 111 yards per game for 1,221 total yards, while averaging 6.1 yards per carry and scoring 11 touchdowns. Ford also has 14 receptions for 63 yards and one kickoff return for 18 yards.
Success as a runner is nothing new for the shifty 5-11, 221-pound junior from Travelers Rest, SC. Last season, Ford rushed for 1,389 yards and averaged 6.6 yards per carry with four touchdowns for a Bulldog team that tied for second in the MEAC with a 6-2 mark and was 8-4 overall. He was second in the MEAC in rushing, and 12th nationally with an average of 126 yards per game.
Matthews, a 6-0, 203-pound senior from Littleton, CO, has been a major weapon for a San Diego passing attack that has ranked among the top teams in FCS in the past four years. He leads the nation in receptions per game (8.9), receiving yards per game (132), total receiving yards (1,317) and touchdown catches (20). His 89 total catches are one behind another Payton Award candidate, Andre Roberts of The Citadel, for tops in the country.
Matthews has had four games with double-figure totals in receptions this season, including a season-high 14 against Butler last week. He had a career- best 231 yards of receiving yards against Azusa Pacific, and posted three- touchdown games against Azusa Pacific and Davidson this year. He had a four-TD performance against Davidson in 2007.
Matthews was second on the team in receptions in 2007 as a junior, with 47 catches for 1,088 yards and 16 TDs and was seventh nationally in receiving yards per game (99 yards).
Pizzotti came back for a fifth year this season, and has led Harvard to the brink of another Ivy League championship. Viewed as one of the top NFL quarterback prospects in the current draft-eligible class. He has thrown for 2,381 yards in just nine games, along with 17 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
The signal-caller has completed 63% of his passes this season and ranks ninth nationally in total offense, 11th in passing efficiency, 13th in passing yards per game (265), 23rd in completions per game (20) and 24th in total passing yards. The poised 6-5, 225-pound passer from Reading, MA has thrown for 300 yards or more four times this year, including a season-high 370 in the season- opening win against Holy Cross.
Prior to this season, Pizzotti threw for 3,185 yards and 20 touchdowns in just 19 games after beating out returning starter Liam O'Hagen and current LSU quarterback Andrew Hatch for the starting job.
Warner, a 5-5, 169-pounder from Vicksburg, MS has established himself as one of the top running backs and kick returners in FCS this season, ranking near the top nationally in rushing, kickoff returns and all-purpose running for a team ranked 10th in FCS and battling to win a share of the Missouri Valley Football Championship.
Warner ranks second in FCS in kickoff returns (35.5 yards per return, 3 TDs), third in all-purpose yardage (193 yards per game, 1,933 total yards), 12th in rushing (112 per game, 1,123 overall) and 21st in punt returns (11.4 yards). He has averaged 6.3 yards per carry, has nine touchdowns on the ground and has been an effective pass-catcher with 21 receptions for 165 yards (7.9 per catch).
Warner rushed for 525 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in his first year with Southern Illinois, helping the Salukis advance to the FCS semifinals and post a 12-2 record.
Ford, Matthews, Pizzotti and Warner join 12 other candidates on the Payton Watch list - wide receiver Ramses Barden of Cal Poly, quarterback Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State, quarterback Nathan Brown of Central Arkansas, running back Herb Donaldson of Western Illinois, quarterback Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State, quarterback Cameron Higgins of Weber State, wide receiver Terrell Hudgins of Elon, running back Rashad Jennings of Liberty, quarterback Rodney Landers of James Madison, quarterback Dominic Randolph of Holy Cross, wide receiver Andre Roberts of The Citadel and running back David Sinisi of Monmouth.
<< Morse clings to slim lead at Champions Q-School
Coral Springs, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Morse struggled to a two-over 74
Thursday as his lead dropped to one stroke after three rounds of the Champions
Tour National Qualifying Tournament.
Morse, who led by three shots after two ro
<< Everton's Moyes wants more respect from the FA
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton manager David Moyes has called
for more respect from the Football Association following his fine for improper
conduct.
Moyes was hit with a $7,400 fine relating to the charge which follo
<< UCA's Hart, ASU's LeGree named to Buchanan Watch List
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Central Arkansas defensive end Larry Hart
and Appalachian State free safety Mark LeGree have been named to the final
Buck Buchanan Award watch list.
The pair will join 14 other players on the ballot f
<< Cowboys' Felix Jones done for season
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Felix Jones
has a torn ligament in the big toe on his left foot, an injury which will
require surgery that will sideline him for the remainder of the season.
The Cowboys anno
Fire loan Blanco to Santos for Mexican playoffs >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire reached a
tentative agreement Thursday to loan midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco to Santos of
the Mexican Primera Division.
Blanco will join Santos for the Apertura playoffs
Kenseth signs contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing >>
Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roush Fenway Racing announced Thursday it has
signed Matt Kenseth to a multi-year contract extension. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup
Series champion, has been with the racing organization since 1998.
"It's been a g
L.A.'s Donovan set to join Bayern Munich on loan >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States star Landon Donovan is set to
join Bayern Munich on loan in January, it was revealed Thursday, and the German
club hopes the likely two-and-a-half month deal could become permanent.
Donovan,
Sunderland's Keane requests FA hearing >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Roy Keane has denied an
FA charge of improper conduct after he was sent to the stands by referee Martin
Atkinson for the second half of the 5-0 defeat at Chelsea earlier this month.
The
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting