09/08/2008 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Matt Forte rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries and found the end zone, while also catching three balls for 18 yards, as the Chicago Bears christened Indianapolis' brand new Lucas Oil Stadium with a 29-13 victory over the Colts in a rematch of Super Bowl 41.
Kyle Orton threw for 150 yards on 13-of-21 passing for the Bears (1-0). Jason McKie had two rushes for five yards and scored a touchdown for Chicago, which finished last season at 7-9. Brian Urlacher had eight tackles in the win, while Lance Briggs recovered a fumble for a TD.
Peyton Manning, seeing his first action of the season after undergoing surgery in mid-July to remove an inflamed bursa sac in his left knee, hit on 30 of his 49 passes for 257 yards and a TD for the Colts (0-1). Joseph Addai gained 44 yards on 12 carries before leaving with a head injury in the fourth quarter. Reggie Wayne caught 10 passes for 86 yards and a TD for Indy, which finished last season 13-3, but lost 28-24 to the Chargers in the Divisional playoffs. Marvin Harrison had eight grabs for 76 yards, moving him into fourth place on the all-time yards list (14,020).
After the Colts held the Bears to a three-and-out on their first possession of the third quarter, Indy got the ball back at its own 48. Manning hit Wayne on four of seven plays on the drive, totaling 36 yards, including a six- yard touchdown. The score pulled the Colts within 15-13 with 9:22 left in the third.
After a Bears punt, the Colts got the ball back on their own 16. Manning tossed an incomplete pass on first down, but then found Harrison on 2nd- and-10. Charles Tillman hit the receiver about five yards from the line of scrimmage and jarred the ball loose before Briggs scooped it up and ran it into the end zone for a 22-13 Chicago lead with 1:52 showing on the clock. Colts head coach Tony Dungy challenged the ruling on the field, but the call stood.
Down by nine points and facing a 4th-and-1 at midfield with 13:47 remaining in regulation, the Colts decided to go for it. Dominic Rhodes got the handoff and attempted to go up the middle, though Adewale Ogunleye and Briggs plugged the hole stopping Rhodes in the backfield for a turnover on downs.
Chicago took over at the Indy 48 and ran five plays before a 26-yard pass to Desmond Clark landed the team on the goalline. Two plays later, McKie ran up the middle to pay dirt for a 29-13 lead with 9:01 left to play.
The Colts got the ball back at their own 14 and proceeded to drive all the way to the Bears' 33-yard line in about 4 1/2 minutes. There, the club was faced with a 4th-and-7, which the team decided to go for. Manning's pass fell incomplete, which gave the ball, and essentially the game, to the Bears.
"That's the way you want to start off a football season," Chicago head coach Lovie Smith said. "Going into the game we wanted to establish a run game."
After neither team could muster any points on their respective opening drives, Adam Vinatieri broke the scoreless tie with a 39-yard field goal just past the six-minute mark of the first quarter.
Chicago answered right back on its ensuing possession less than a minute later. With the ball on the Bears' 46-yard line, Forte opened the drive by rushing for four yards, Orton then tossed an incomplete pass before Forte broke a 50-yard run for a touchdown. The play gave the Bears a 7-3 lead they would take into the second stanza.
"When they had their chance to make plays, they made them and got touchdowns," Dungy said. "That was the difference."
Manning drove his Colts from Indy's 18-yard line all the way to the Chicago 16, a series that was highlighted by a 20-yard pass to Anthony Gonzalez. The nine-play drive was capped by a Vinatieri 34-yard kick barely inside of the right goal post to make it 7-6.
Robbie Gould countered with a 41-yarder on Chicago's next possession, and as Indianapolis got the ball back, Manning was sacked at the two-yard line. On 2nd-and-20, Ogunleye tackled Addai in the end zone for a safety. Dungy challenged the play, but the call stood making it 12-6 with 4:05 left in the first half.
"It was close, I don't think they could have overturned either one of them," Dungy said.
Gould added a 25-yarder as time expired to give the Bears a 15-6 lead heading into the intermission.
Game Notes
The Colts' Dallas Clark left the game in the first quarter with a right knee injury...The Bears have 50 Kickoff Weekend victories, which is the most by any team...The Colts had won four straight Kickoff Weekends prior to Sunday's setback...Wayne has caught a TD pass in his last three games vs. Chicago.
<< Serena wins U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams outlasted Jelena
Jankovic to capture the U.S. Open title for the first time in six years.
Williams, the fourth seed, easily won the first set, but had to come from
behind to
<< Mets take second test of twin-bill behind Delgado
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado stroked a pair of solo home
runs and finished with four RBI as the New York Mets took a 6-3 victory over
the Philadelphia Phillies to split a doubleheader at Shea Stadium.
Ryan Church and
<< Todd claims first Nationwide title in six-shot romp
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendon Todd capped off four sparkling rounds of
golf with a four-under 67 on Sunday to claim his first Nationwide Tour win at
the Utah Championship.
The 23-year-old rookie may have been surprised to see t
<< Coaching legend Don Haskins dies
El Paso, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins, who
helped break racial barriers in the collegiate game, died Sunday at the age of
78.
The El Paso Times reports Haskins died of congestive heart failure.
In 1966
Schiavone, Peng win Bali openers >>
Bali, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone
and ninth-seeded Chinese Shuai Peng were among Monday's first-round winners at
the $225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
Schiavone drilled Indonesian quali
First-place Rays begin key AL East set with Red Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays head to Boston's Fenway Park tonight for
the opener of the biggest series in the franchise's history, a three-game set
with the defending world champion Red Sox that could go along way in deciding
this seas
Blue Jays go for ninth straight win, take on White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays remain a longshot to earn a playoff
spot, but the club is having a say as to how the postseason shapes up in the
American League with its late-season play.
The red-hot Blue Jays take aim at a ninth co
Angels aim to reduce magic number in test with Yankees >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim attempt to reduce their
magic number in the American League West tonight against a team they've
handled well in recent years, the New York Yankees.
The Angels need any combination of three
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 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.
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