Germany faces tougher test against England

Soccer Betting Lines

09/13/2007 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany flexed its muscle in the opening match of the Women's World Cup on Monday, setting records for most goals scored and largest margin of victory as the defending champions handed Argentina an 11-0 pounding.

On Friday, the Germans will try to continue to prove their dominance in Group A as they meet England, which played to an exciting 2-2 draw with Japan on Tuesday in its opening contest.

After a slow start, Germany got things going and managed to score five first- half goals on its way to an easy win, with Sandra Smisek and Birgit Prinz each recording hat tricks in the match.

The three goals for Prinz allowed her to move into a first-place tie with American Michelle Akers atop the all-time scoring list in Women's World Cup history with 12 goals.

It is not a matter of if, but when she will score her next goal and take sole possession of the record, but despite the lopsided score line on Monday, Prinz feels there is still room for improvement.

"It was much more straightforward than we thought it would be, although it was made easy for us because they gave us so much room," Prinz said. "The coaches did tell us that beforehand, but we didn't really want to believe it. Would I say we played to perfection? No, I wouldn't say that. OK, we scored more goals than we ever thought we would, but we still made too many mistakes. Everything has to come together for perfection."

The only improvement that Germany could make would be to get off to a better start in the first 15 minutes of the match. The Germans looked slow at the outset, but soon came to life and the goals started pouring in.

In addition to Prinz and Smisek, midfielder Melanie Behringer played a strong match, scoring a goal and setting up a few others with dangerous crosses from the wing. Renate Lingor has established herself as one of the best midfielders in the world, and while she managed to score one goal, she was not called upon to produce a stellar effort.

The Germans promise to be tested a bit more on Friday, with England boasting star midfielder Kelly Smith, who scored two goals in three minutes in the second half against Japan.

With her team trailing 1-0 and 10 minutes to play, Smith put England on her back and in the blink of an eye, had her team ahead. It will take quite an effort from Smith to give England a chance in this game, but she will be helped by improved finishing from players like Eniola Aluko and Rachel Yankey.

England would be wise to try and test a German defense that was not forced to answer many questions in its opening match. The biggest of which is whether or not goalie Nadine Angerer is able to replace longtime starter Silke Rottenberg.

Angerer proved herself to be a quality keeper in qualifying, but how she will handle the pressure of such a big stage remains to be seen.

There is plenty of talent on this England team, with defenders Alex Scott and Faye White as well as midfielders Fara Williams and Karen Carney. However, it will take quite an effort for this team to topple the mighty Germans, who have too much talent offensively to be tripped up at this point in the competition.

Germany should handle England and move one step closer to a spot in the quarterfinals, and maybe by then any remaining questions will be answered.

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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.

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