Bayern wants to put pressure on Hoffenheim

Soccer Betting Lines

12/12/2008 - Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich visits Stuttgart in a clash of the last two Bundesliga champions Saturday, trying to extend its undefeated streak to 16 matches and put pressure on current leader Hoffenheim.

Bayern edged Hoffenheim, 2-1, last weekend to pull level in points with the new Bundesliga side but trails on goal differential entering the final week of the first half of the season.

"We'll go to Stuttgart in a confident mood," Bayern boss Jurgen Klinsmann said, "and as before, our aim is to win the [first-half] championship."

Hoffenheim hosts Schalke on Sunday, when it will already know what it needs to do to hold onto the top spot for the winter break.

Bayern added to its huge win last weekend with a 3-2 win over Lyon on Wednesday to finish atop its Champions League group.

Luca Toni was the hero for Bayern last weekend, scoring in the 92nd minute of a thrilling win over the newly-promoted leaders. Miroslav Klose, who leads Bayern with 11 goals in all competitions, led the team against Lyon with a pair goals.

With Franck Ribery pairing with those two strikers, Bayern's offense has been a force during the unbeaten streak. Ribery will sit out this weekend's match with a shoulder injury picked up against Lyon.

The Munich club will have a hard time replacing Ribery, who is currently one of the top players in the world, but will be healthier than in mid week. Defender Lucio and midfielder Ze Roberto are back after missing the Lyon match.

Midfielder Hamit Altintop, who missed months with an ankle injury, returned for a brief appearance on Wednesday and could play longer against Stuttgart.

Although Stuttgart is 10 points back in ninth, new coach Markus Babbel has won two straight league matches since replacing Armin Veh.

Babbel has injury concerns with Mario Gomez questionable and Ludovic Magnin out with a muscle tear, but could get a boost with Yildiray Basturk expected to be back from a long injury absence.

The new Stuttgart coach knows he's got his hands full regardless.

"If you allow [Bayern] the space to play football, they will leave you with no chance," Babbel said.

Hoffenheim hopes Stuttgart gives it an easier chance to hold onto the top spot when it hosts Schalke. If Bayern wins, Hoffe will have to win to stay in first.

Despite the loss to Bayern last weekend, Hoffenheim has still won eight of its last 10. Vedad Ibisevic scored the first goal in the loss to Bayern, upping his lead in the league to 18 goals through 16 matches.

On Friday, Mohamed Zidan and Nuri Sahin scored and Borussia Dortmund beat last- place Monchengladbach 2-1.

Also Saturday, third-place Bayer Leverkusen will try to close in on the leaders when it hosts Energie, fourth-place Hertha Berlin hosts Karlsruhe, Bochum hosts Koln, Hamburg hosts Eintracht, Werder Bremen hosts Wolfsburg and Hannover hosts Arminia Bielefeld.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.