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The New York Giants used a potent ground attack and a suffocating defense to shut out the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-0 on Sunday. The Giants amassed 397 total yards including 226 on the ground, while the defense held Tampa to 86 yards of total offense and five first downs. The Giants improved to 3-0 on the season, while Tampa dropped to 0-3 and lost for the seventh straight time dating back to last season.

The Giants easily covered as -6 road favorites, improving their ATS mark to 3-0 on the season as well. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are 0-3 both straight up and against the spread. The 24 points went well UNDER the posted total of 46. It was Tampa Bays first UNDER of the season against two OVER verdicts, while the Giants played their first game UNDER the total as well.

After the contest Giants coach Tom Coughlin talked about his teams dual priorities for the week:

“We had a game in which we didn’t play very well against the run, so we knew that we would be tested and we would have to rise up and do a better job there. We also knew we needed to rush the ball better than we had, so we did a pretty good job with that.”

Over in the Bucs locker room, head coach Raheem Morris had little positive to say about his teams performance:

“They beat us down. We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day. They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. … It wasn’t even close.”

“We have no choice but to get better than this performance. You get five first downs and you’re 0-for-9 on third down. You have 86 yards total offense. It was completely disastrous.”

Giants running back Brandon Jacobs gave much of the credit for the victory to his defense:

“Our defense was very, very, very impressive. I knew they would come out with a chip on their shoulder.”

Impressive enough to leave Bucs receiver Michael Clayton hanging his head and looking for answers:

“It was disappointing, a little bit embarrassing. We have to play better.”

The Giants will play at Kansas City this Sunday as they try to maintain their unbeaten 2009 regular season record. Theyll host the Oakland Raiders the following Sunday before playing at New Orleans on October 18. Tampa Bay will play their next two games on the road, beginning this weekend against the Washington Redskins. The Bucs will play at Philadelphia the following Sunday before returning home to face the Carolina Panthers on October 18.

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In a victory for the highlight reels, Brett Favre completed a 32 yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with 2 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a dramatic 27-24 come from behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The rapidly improving 49ers dropped their first game of the year in heartbreaking fashion, while the Vikings remained undefeated at 3-0.

While the Vikings may have won the game on the scoreboard, the Niners took the decision where it really matters. San Francisco rewarded NFL betting devotees with their third pointspread cover in three games this season, cashing tickets as +6 road underdogs. It was the Vikings first setback to the spread against two victories this season.

Favre talked about the victory after the game:

“It’s hard to even recall all of ‘em. This one was pretty special.

The game winning touchdown pass was upheld by video review. Niners cornerback Nate Clemens said this was a hard setback to take:

“I’ve had some hard losses. This is just another one for the list. We just have to keep chopping away.”

Greg Lewis, who caught Favres game winning pass, said that the entire offense was fired up on the final drive:

“The offensive line was fired up. Adrian was fired up, and the receivers were fired up. And Brett fell right in. He was fired up, too, like: ‘We’re going to get this done And that’s the attitude that we took out there on the field.”

In his postgame comments, Vikings coach Greg Childress commended the poise of his veteran quarterback:

“He’s been in many, many, many, many situations like that so it never hurts you to have a veteran like him going down the field.”

In the Niners locker room, an animated coach Mike Singletary could be heard giving his team a tough love pep talk:

“You have nothing to be looking at the floor for! You didn’t steal anything! You didn’t do anything wrong! OK? We’re going to get better! We’re going to get there! We will see them again in the playoffs, all right? You hold your head up!”

The 49ers will return home to host the St. Louis Rams next Sunday. Theyll host the Atlanta Falcons the following week before a bye week. Minnesota will host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week. Theyll play at St. Louis the following weekend before returning home to host the Baltimore Ravens on 10/18.

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The 2009 college football season is already two weeks old and so far its looked almost too easy for defending national champions Florida. That was expected last week, as they destroyed overmatched FCS opponent Charleston Southern 62-3, but it wasnt much harder today against a better class of opposition. QB Tim Tebow threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth as the Gators demolished Troy State 56-6. The Gators led only 7-3 at the end of the first quarter before scoring seven unanswered touchdowns. Florida is now 2-0 on the season, while Troy dropped to 0-2. The Gators have outscored their first two opponents by an outlandish aggregate score of 118-9.

Despite a generous head start from the pointspread, Troy State lost against the money as well. Florida covered as -37 home favorites”their third straight ATS cover as a favorite of 31 or more. The Gators also won and covered the last time the two teams met, cashing tickets for college football betting enthusiasts as a -26 favorite in 2007. The 65 points scored just barely made it OVER the generous total of 61.

After the contest, Florida coach Urban Meyer gave most of the praise to a defense that limited Troy to 139 yards of total offense and took the ball away three times (2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception):

“Defense is the name of the game today, and that defense was dominating.

Troy State played tough against Ohio State in 2008, but this time coach Larry Blakney was just glad the game was over:

“We just close our eyes and pretend we never came here. But hopefully since we’ve seen the biggest, seen the best, we will learn from this experience.”

The Gators now turn their attention to their SEC opener next week against Tennessee. As if the rebuilding Vols didnt have enough problems facing the best team in college football next week, theyve gone and made Florida mad. Specifically, a quote by new Vols coach Lane Kiffin which was is now taped to the Gators locker room wall. In the incendiary quote, Kiffin talked about Tennessee tradition as follows:

“I’m really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee, for instance the Vol Walk, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast.”

So having lost the past two games by a combined 89-26 margin, the Vols have managed to make it personal.

After hosting Tennessee next weekend in The Swamp, Florida will hit the SEC road the following week against the University of Kentucky. After a bye week theyll be back on the road for a tough contest against LSU on October 10th. Troy State will host UAB next weekend and play at Arkansas State on Saturday, September 26.

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Oklahoma State had been riding high in the college football polls, fresh off a decisive victory over Georgia last Saturday. Houston, meanwhile, started its season with a lopsided beatdown of overmatched FCS foe Northwestern State. Perhaps for that reason, Oklahoma State didnt come out with a whole lot of intensity and by halftime found themselves in a 24-7 hole to their opponents en route to a 35-25 loss to the unranked Cougars. The win was Houstons first triumph over a top five opponent since defeating then #3 ranked Texas back in 1984.

College football betting enthusiasts who took the points with the Cougars as a +10 road underdog were rewarded with their outright victory. The victory by Houston broke form with a couple of pointspread trends”the Cougars had failed to cover in 7 of their last eight games played on turf. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, on a 10-3 ATS run as a favorite. The 60 combined points went well OVER the posted total of 35.

The Cougars got a number of lucky breaks in the game, but that in no way diminishes the significance of their accomplishment. Second year coach Kevin Sumlin”a former assistant at Oklahoma”expressed what the victory means to the Cougar program in his postgame comments to the media:

“For us as a program, this is a big win because it legitimizes our university. It legitimizes our program. There’s no doubt that one win does not make a season. We’ve got a whole bunch of football to go. “But I think any time that you can go on the road and win and beat a Top 10 team, it really helps your confidence as a program and it helps your pride as a university.”

Cougars QB Chase Keenum threw for 366 yards and three touchdown, including the go ahead score late that was deflected before it got to the intended receiver and hauled in by running back Bryce Beall. Keenum contended that his teams luck was a by-product of hard work:

“You can say it’s luck but when you’re working hard and working to get open and running full speed, that’s not luck. When you’re in position to make plays — no matter how they are — that’s not luck at all.”

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant said his team didn’t take Houston lightly:

“We didn’t overlook them at all. We practiced like we practiced for Georgia and any other team. We just made too many mistakes and they took advantage and made plays.”

Houston improved its straight up record to 2-0 and will enjoy a bye week next week before returning to action on September 26 at home against Texas Tech. Theyll make the short trip to El Paso for a game against UTEP the following Saturday. Oklahoma State has a couple of games against teams they should beat coming up, next weekend against Rice and the following Saturday against FCS Grambling. Theyll step up in class for an October 10th game on the road against Texas A&M before hosting Missouri the following week.

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New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has been playing like a seasoned veteran, and as a result the team has started the 2009 NFL regular season 3-0. On Sunday, Sanchez again looked sharp and the Jets defense overcame a slow start to finish strong and defeat the Tennessee Titans 24-17. The Jets are 3-0 on the season, while the Titans have stumbled to a 0-3 mark in the early going.

The Jets also got the money for NFL sports bettors with the victory, covering the spread as -1 home favorites. New York has also opened the season 3-0 against the spread, while Tennessee has a 1-2 mark against the money. The 41 combined points went OVER the posted total of 38. The Titans have started the season going OVER in two of three, while the Jets saw the total go OVER for the first time against two UNDER verdicts.

Jets tackle Kris Jenkins talked about the defenses slow start and late game rally:

“They kind of got the momentum on their side and we hit a little bit of a slump. It was just one of those things where at that point, we understood we had to rally and I think we showed everybody that we were going to still get it together.”

Sanchez became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to start a season winning his first three games, and the Jets started a season 3-0 for only the fourth time in franchise history. Rex Ryan became only the second Jets coach to win his first three games at the helm joining Al Groh. Afterwards, he put the achievement into perspective:

“I’d like to say that this is exactly what I predicted, but we played three outstanding football teams. We’re 3-0 right here. Maybe that says something about us.”

Titans coach Jeff Fisher, meanwhile, insisted that the team wasnt about to panic despite their 0-3 start:

“No panic stage, nothing. We’re going to keep working.”

Tennessee QB Kerry Collins concurred:

“It’s frustrating. By no means can we start pointing fingers and start pushing panic buttons. We’ve just got to stay together and keep believing in what we are doing and we’ll get it turned around.”

The Titans will try and get their season headed in the right direction on Sunday as they travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars. The Titans are a -3 road favorite with the total set at 41. Tennessee will host the Indianapolis Colts the following Sunday before traveling to New England to face the Patriots on October 18th. The Jets will play on the road, heading to the Big Easy to challenge the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are a -7 home favorite with the total set at 45. The Jets will play at Miami the following Monday before returning home to host the Buffalo Bills on October 18th.

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The Atlanta Falcons are off to a fast start this season, and on Sunday used a potent offensive attack to top the Carolina Panthers 28-20 at the Georgia Dome. QB Matt Ryan threw a career high three touchdown passes, including one to his new favorite receiver Tony Gonzalez. Beleaguered Carolina QB Jake Delhomme threw another interception for ten in his previous three games (including last years playoff loss to Arizona) but was otherwise much more effective passing for 308 yards and a touchdown.

NFL football betting devotees who invested in the Falcons as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the pointspread cover. The Falcons have won and covered both games this season for a 2-0 record both straight up and against the spread. The Panthers, meanwhile, have dropped both of their 2009 contests straight up and to the number. The 48 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 42.

In his first two games in a Falcons uniform the future Hall of Famer tight end Gonzalez has 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Gonzalez wanted out of Kansas City to play for a contender, and hes found himself on a talented young Falcons team with a QB that already appears destined for superstardom.

Afterwards, Gonzalez admitted that he was happy with how things have transpired thus far:

“Not a bad start at all. It’s just great to be part of a team like this.”

Gonzalezs biggest fan may be the guy charged with getting him the ball on Sundays. Quarterback Matt Ryan was full of compliments for his tight end in his postgame comments:

“He’s one of the greatest tight ends of all time. That was a huge pickup for us. He makes big plays for us in different situations when we need him. I’ve enjoyed playing with him thus far.”

Despite the loss, Carolinas Jake Delhomme was relieved to put the horrible performance of the opening week behind him:

“It couldn’t be any worse than last week. I felt good out there today. Last week, I put too much pressure on myself. This week, I got back to being just plain Jake.”

The Panthers will head to Dallas for a game against the Cowboys next Monday night. Carolina is a +9 road underdog in that contest with the total set at 46. Theyll enjoy a bye week before returning to action at home against the Washington Redskins on October 11th. Atlanta has a pair of tough road games on the docket, beginning this weekend against the New England Patriots at Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Falcons have been installed as +4 road underdogs with the total set at 44. Theyll have a week off before a game that doesnt look quite so easy any more, heading cross country to play the resurgent San Francisco 49ers on October 11th.

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The Cincinnati Bengals were able to withstand a last minute Green Bay Packers comeback bid, and held on to win their first game of the NFL regular season 31-24. The Packers last drive stalled on the Bengals ten yard line, the victim of a false start penalty in the waning seconds. Both Cincinnati and Denver evened their 2009 record at 1-1. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco scored the eventual game winning points on a 13 yard pass from Carson Palmer, after which he did his own version of the fabled Lambeau Leap into a sea of less than hospitable fans.

NFL football betting devotees who took the Bengals as +9 road underdogs easily cashed their ticket with the outright victory. Both teams are now 1-1 against the spread on the 2009 NFL season.

After the game, Ochocinco talked about his Lambeau Leap he performed after the game winning touchdown catch:

“It was fun. I had a little indecision on where to jump at first. I didn’t want to disrespect their tradition, so I was asking as I went along the line. I saw some Bengals fans that said it was OK.”

While the Packers late game penalty sealed the victory, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis insisted that his team deserved it due to their performance:

“We didn’t do enough to win the game last week and you get what you deserve. Today, we were able to make one or two more plays and win the football game and that’s what counts. I think our football team understands that.”

Cedric Benson suggested that the Packers might have been a bit overconfident:

“Maybe a little, but you can’t blame them. They beat a very stout Bears team last week at home and I think they were feeling pretty good. But we’re men on this side of the football as well.”

Bengals QB Palmer gave the defense credit for the victory due to their performance on the last drive of the game:

“I kind of felt like it couldn’t happen again. It wasn’t a feeling of ‘here we go again’ at all. I know our defense is too good. They have too much pride and weren’t going to let that happen again.”

The Packers take to the road for their next two games, beginning this Sunday in St. Louis against the Rams. Theyll face the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night the following week, and then enjoy a bye week. The Bengals now face a rough scheduling stretch, beginning with the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Sunday. Theyll then head across state to face the Cleveland Browns in their traditional rivalry the following week before heading to Baltimore for a game against the Ravens on October 11th.

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Tony Romo passed for a NFL career best 353 yards and threw three touchdown passes as the Dallas Cowboys got their 2009 season off to a good start with a 34-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Raheem Morris went down in defeat in his debut as Bucs head coach, while the Cowboys answered a lot of questions about how their receiving corps would respond to the absence of Terrell Owens, now with the Buffalo Bills.

The Cowboys easily covered the pointspread as -4 road favorites, and improved to 16-12 over the last three years when laying points. Tampa Bay dropped to 17-17 over the same timeframe as an underdog. The 55 combined points went OVER the posted total of 39.

After the game Roy Williams couldn’t resist a wisecrack about T.O.:

“Career-high passing yards? Without T.O? “No, it’s good. It’s good for him. It’s good for this team. It was a team effort. Everybody contributed.”

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he wasnt surprised at the the performance of his receiving corps:

“They are playmakers, and we knew that going in. But until you do it, the naysayers are going to say: ‘Hey. You don’t have this or that.’ But I think we do.”

Romo, meanwhile, preferred to focus on the victory:

“You don’t think about yards. You’re not judged off of yards. You’re judged off of winning and losing at this position.”

Raheem Morris spoke of the defeat in his regular season NFL coaching debut:

“Obviously, we’re disappointed. But there were a lot of good things on offense.”

Perhaps the brightest silver lining in the dark cloud of the loss was the performance of Cadillac Williams. Williams appeared fully recovered from two knee surgeries in a little over a year, and rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber suggested that the final score wasnt indicative of the way his team played:

“We had our chances. The final score is definitely not indicative of how good we played at times. Those big plays absolutely destroy you football team.

The Cowboys will return home for their next game hosting the New York Giants. Theyll remain at home the following week as they welcome the Carolina Panthers to Texas. The Bucs will head to upstate New York to face T.O and his new team, the Buffalo Bills.

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