Dortmund maintains lead atop Bundesliga

Soccer Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund escaped its match at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to maintain its lead at the summit of the German Bundesliga.

Dortmund's 15-game unbeaten run in German league play has helped the club overtake Bayern Munch for top spot in the Bundesliga as the Black and Yellows enjoy a two-point lead over the the European giants.

The lone goal of the match came from Japanese star Shinji Kagawa as he notched his seventh goal of the campaign just before the break. A scoreless second half ensured that Kagawa's strike held up as the game-winner.

With Bayern also taking three points on Saturday, the table remains unchanged at the top as Dortmund sits in pole position with 46 points, followed closely by Bayern on 44 points.

Bayer Leverkusen has not picked up a win in its last three league outings as it remains in sixth place on 31 points.

Bayern Munich 2, Kaiserslautern 0

Munich, Germany - Bayern Munich claimed a 2-0 win over Kaiserslautern on Saturday to keep pace with Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table.

Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller provided the goals in the first half with Gomez scoring in the sixth minute and Muller breaking his goal drought in the 30th minute.

Bayern Munich sits two points adrift of Dortmund in fist place, holding down second place on 44 points. Kaiserslautern has lost two straight and sits third from bottom on 18 points.

Stuttgart 5, Hertha Berlin 0

Stuttgart, Germany - Stuttgart cruised to comfortable 5-0 victory over Hertha Berlin on Saturday as the home side appears to have banished its poor run of form.

A four-goal first half led Stuttgart to its first league win since Nov. 20 as two goals from Martin Harnik guided the Reds to a vital win.

Vedad Ibisevic and Shinji Okazaki scored a goal apiece in the first half and Levan Kobiashvili conceded an own goal in the second half to complete the rout.

Stuttgart, with 26 points, sits in ninth place, while Hertha Berlin remains just two points above the relegation zone after suffering its fourth straight loss.

Monchengladbach 3, Schalke 0

Monchengladbach, Germany - Three first-half goals powered Monchengladbach to a 3-0 win against Schalke at Borussia-Park on Saturday.

Marco Reus opened the scoring after just two minutes, Mike Hanke extended it with a goal in the 15th minute, and Juan Arango tacked on a third goal in the 32nd minute as the home side grabbed all three points in convincing fashion.

Monchengladbach maintains its third-place position in the Bundesliga as it keeps pace with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. It also climbs above fourth-place Schalke as the two sides are now separated by just two points.

Mainz 1, Hannover 1

Mainz, Germany - Hannover narrowly claimed a point at the Coface Arena on Saturday as it needed a late goal to draw 1-1 with Mainz.

The home side went in front through Mohamed Zidan after just seven minutes, but it was canceled out by Artur Sobiech's equalizer in second-half stoppage time.

Hannover preserves its unbeaten run in Bundesliga play, which is now at eight games. The club goes tied with Bayer Leverkusen on 31 points. Mainz, meanwhile, has drawn two successive league matches and sits five points above the drop zone.

Werder Bremen 1, Hoffenheim 1

Bremen, Germany - Werder Bremen struck late to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim at the Weserstadion on Saturday.

Jannik Vestergaard gave the visitors the lead in just the fourth minute, a lead that lasted until the dying moments when Bremen struck through Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic.

With four straight draws, Werder Bremen sits fifth in the table on 33 points. Hoffenheim has tied four of its last five league games and occupies a mid- table position on 25 points.

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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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