Stampeders and Eskimos meet for second time this week

Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday night brings out the best and the worst in the Canadian Football League as the slumping Edmonton Eskimos entertain the high-flying Calgary Stampeders in a Western Division showdown at Commonwealth Stadium.

Except for a single misstep against Toronto back in the middle of July, the Stampeders have been perfect this season. On Labour Day Calgary posted its second 50-point game in the last three outings by blowing away this same Edmonton squad, 52-5. On a roll with six consecutive wins, the Stamps have outscored their last three opponents by a combined 156-55 and that has the squad sitting atop the league's scoring list with an average of 35.9 ppg. Not surprisingly Edmonton, which has fallen in three of the last four games and has captured its two victories by a margin of just three points each, is at the bottom of that list after nine games with just 18.6 ppg.

The Eskimos may have scored the first points of the meeting on Monday with an 86-yard single by Noel Prefontaine, the kicker ending up being responsible for all five of the team's points, but the offense failed to do anything significant for the visitors on the day. The quarterback tandem of Ricky Ray and Jared Zabransky combined to hit just 12-of-30 passes for 193 yards and each was intercepted twice in the awful effort. Adding insult to injury was the fact that running back Arkee Whitlock gained a mere three yards on three attempts before leaving the meeting with an actual injury.

Over on the other side, there was no stopping the Stamps as Henry Burris made history with his 15-of-23 passing effort for 226 yards and three touchdowns. The signal-caller, now with 35,054 yards passing in his career, moved past Dieter Brock for 10th place on the CFL's all-time passing list. Romby Bryant was the chief recipient of Burris's efforts as he reeled in five balls for 80 yards and a pair of scores, while Ken-Yon Rambo and Deon Murphy also caught scoring strikes to dig an even deeper hole for the Eskimos.

Running back Joffrey Reynolds, who coming into this season had gained at least 1,200 yards rushing in five straight campaigns, accounted for a game-high 85 yards and tallied a major on 18 carries in the onslaught as well.

Since opening the season against Toronto with 116 yards and a score, averaging almost seven yards per carry, Reynolds hasn't been as productive, but some of that can be attributed to Burris finding a groove and sticking with it by putting the ball in the air more often. Nevertheless, even though Reynolds has not logged 100 yards in a game since the opener, he is still second in the league in rushing after nine games with 706 yards and that's reason enough for opposing defenses to keep him on their radar.

Burris, now completing his passes at a 65.1 percent clip, has thrown 13 interceptions to tie for the most in the league, but those mistakes are outweighed by his league-high 21 TD strikes. The only team with more interceptions thrown at this juncture is Edmonton with 14, divided up among a number of players. The Eskimos as a whole have completed an even 60 percent of their attempts, but with more than a dozen INTs and just eight TD passes the squad has a dismal 73.4 efficiency rating at the moment.

Granted, over the years Ray has had his share of success against Calgary, tossing 26 touchdowns through the air and scoring another three on the ground, but he has also suffered not only 13 picks but 14 fumbles as well. In his career versus Edmonton, Burris has also put the ball on the carpet (13 times) and thrown 19 interceptions, but his whopping 39 touchdowns through the air and seven on the ground have easily balanced the ledger.

Even though Calgary blew the doors off the Esks just four days ago, it is Edmonton that owns a 121-80-3 advantage in the regular-season series between the two clubs dating back to 1949. Nonetheless, the Stamps have taken five straight meetings and six of the last seven versus Edmonton.

Wwwbaymeadows Football Betting News

<< Lions seek second straight upset in clash with Argos
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a huge upset win against the Montreal Alouettes, the British Columbia Lions shoot for back-to-back victories for the first time in 2010 as they entertain the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday afternoon at

<< Familiar foes do battle in Winnipeg
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many weeks the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers find themselves pitted against each other on the gridiron, this time at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

<< Als seek return to win column in clash with Tiger-Cats
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes continue to compete without the services of quarterback Anthony Calvillo as the team challenges the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Calvillo, who suffered a chest

<< A's hope to build a win streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At seven games off the pace in the American League West Division, time is running out on the Oakland Athletics and their hopes for a postseason berth. The A's will try to get a winning streak going tonight in the finale of a

<< Marlins to skip Johnson's next start
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson will miss his next scheduled start because of shoulder and back pain. Johnson was slated to pitch Friday against Washington, but the Marlins now plan to start Alex Sana

Mets to wrap up long trip with matinee against Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Apparently, winning four straight games just isn't the Washington Nationals' thing. After failing to win more than three games in a row for the seventh time this season, Washington instead seeks a series victory over the N

Red Sox, Rays ready for rubber match at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield gets the call on short notice this evening when the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays play the rubber match of their three-game series at Fenway Park. After getting blown out in the opener of this set

Orioles aim for rare sweep of Yanks in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have been the worst team in the American League all season. Today, though, the Orioles will have a chance to do something against the best team in baseball that they haven't done in more than 2

Injury-riddled White Sox resume set in Detroit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries are starting to pile up for the Chicago White Sox. Today, the short-handed White Sox will continue their push towards the postseason, as they play the third installment of a four-game series against the

Angels try to avoid rare sweep at hands of Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Angels haven't been swept by Cleveland at home in more than a decade. They'll try to avoid that distinction tonight in the finale of a three-game series from the Big A. Anaheim was previously swept in this series from

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com