Montana ascends to No. 1

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The move was only one spot, but it was a big one for the University of Montana football team as the Grizzlies advanced to No. 1 in The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 on Monday.

Montana was selected second in the preseason poll, but moved to No. 1 following its 73-2, season-opening rout of Western State and preseason No. 1 Villanova's 31-24 loss to FBS opponent Temple.

Villanova, the defending FCS national champion, didn't fall far as it was voted second in this week's poll by a panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries. Montana had 57 of the 126 first-place votes and 3,052 points, while Villanova collected 46 first-place votes and 2,886 points.

Montana opened its season by tying an NCAA record with four interception returns for touchdowns against Western State. The Big Sky Conference power has finished as the national runner-up in each of the past two seasons, including a 23-21 loss to Villanova last December, and has a new head coach in Robin Pflugrad.

Appalachian State remained at No. 3, and Southern Illinois moved up one spot to No. 4. The biggest mover in the Top 25 was Jacksonville State, which rose 12 spots to No. 5 following its 49-48, double-overtime win at Ole Miss. Coach Jack Crowe's Gamecocks received nine first-place votes for their victory over an FBS program.

The rest of the Top 10 was New Hampshire at No. 6, followed by Richmond, Elon, South Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin.

In an opening week in which many FCS programs took on FBS programs, William & Mary was the only team in the Preseason Top 25 to fall to a fellow FCS program, a 27-23 loss to CAA Football rival Massachusetts. William & Mary, a national semifinalist last year, fell seven spots to No. 11. Massachusetts broke into the poll at No. 18.

James Madison was No. 12, followed by McNeese State, Northern Iowa, South Carolina State, Delaware, Eastern Washington, Massachusetts, Liberty and Weber State.

North Dakota State joined UMass as the other new entry into the Top 25, grabbing No. 21 after its 6-3 win at University of Kansas. The Bison were followed in the Top 25 by Prairie View A&M at No. 22, then Eastern Illinois, Montana State and Colgate.

The two teams that fell out of the Top 25 received the next-highest vote totals - Holy Cross, which won its opener, and Penn, which was idle.

The Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, apart from the final weekend when it will be released on Sunday, Nov. 21, due to its use as an official tool by the NCAA Division I Football Committee in selecting the 20-team playoff field.

The Sportsbook Betting Lines and Fathead.com will release a final Top 25 following the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

The night before the FCS championship game, The Sportsbook Betting Lines will present the Walter Payton (outstanding FCS player) Buck Buchanan (outstanding FCS defensive player) and Eddie Robinson (outstanding FCS coach) awards, which are sponsored by Fathead.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.