San Jose State tops New Mexico in New Mexico Bowl

NCAA Football Betting Lines

12/24/2006 - Albuquerque, NM (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Tafralis threw three touchdown passes to lead San Jose State to a 20-12 victory over New Mexico in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium.

Tafralis completed 11-of-18 passes for 209 yards and James Jones finished with six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans (9-4), who won their first bowl game since 1990 when the squad crushed Central Michigan by a final of 48-24 in the California Bowl.

John Broussard added four catches for 106 yards and a touchdown in the victory.

Rodney Ferguson rushed for 102 yards for the Lobos (6-7), who have lost their last five bowl games, with their most recent setback before this contest coming in the 2004 Emerald Bowl against Navy. Ferguson also added eight catches for 78 yards.

New Mexico quarterback Chris Nelson completed 17-of-26 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

After a scoreless opening quarter, San Jose opened the scoring on the first play of the second quarter after Tafralis connected with Broussard on a 76- yard catch-and-run touchdown over the middle to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, DeAndre Wright ripped off a return of 60 yards to the San Jose State 40-yard line. The Lobos then moved the football down to the three-yard line, but Ferguson fumbled and Damaja Jones recovered for the Spartans.

With just under four minutes left in the first half, San Jose State took a 13-0 lead after Jones hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Tafralis down the left sideline. SJSU missed the extra point following the touchdown. Jones also had a catch for 19 yards on the scoring drive that put the Spartans inside New Mexico territory.

The Lobos got on the board with 1:11 left in the first half after Kenny Byrd drilled a 40-yard field goal to make it 13-3.

With 4:33 left in the third quarter, the Spartans increased their lead to 20-3 after Jones caught his second touchdown of the game, a 24-yard reception in the back left corner of the end zone.

Early in the fourth quarter with his team driving, Ferguson fumbled for the second time in the game and San Jose State recovered the loose ball on its own 29-yard line to end New Mexico's scoring threat.

The Lobos made it 20-5 late in the contest after San Jose State punter Waylon Prather conceded a safety.

After getting the football after the free kick, New Mexico made it 20-12 with just 15 ticks left after Marcus Smith hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Nelson.

The Lobos went for an onsides kick following Smith's score, but touched the football before it went 10 yards.

Game Notes

The Spartans are now 5-3 in bowl games in their school history...San Jose State leads the all-time series with New Mexico at 10-4-1...The last bowl win for New Mexico was a 28-12 decision against Western Michigan in the 1961 Aviation Bowl, leaving the squad with a 2-7-1 mark in the postseason...The Lobos outgained the Spartans in total yards, 377-280...New Mexico lost four fumbles.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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