Murray, Georgia get season started with rout of Louisiana

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Murray threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, as the 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs trounced the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns', 55-7, at Sanford Stadium.

Murray, a redshirt freshman making his first collegiate start, completed 17- of-26 tosses for 160 yards with one pick. He also added 42 rushing yards for Georgia (1-0), which finished 8-5 last season, the program's lowest win total under head coach Mark Richt since he debuted in 2001. Kris Durham benefited from Murray's big day, catching five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs played the game shorthanded, as their top receiver and rusher from a year ago in A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey were missing from the lineup. Green, the team's leading receiver with 53 catches and 808 receiving yards, was held out as the NCAA investigates his alleged improper interaction with an agent. Ealey, meanwhile, paced the squad with 717 rushing yards, but was suspended after being charged in late August with hit and run and driving on a suspended license.

Chris Masson started the game at quarterback for Louisiana (0-1) and threw for 77 yards with one touchdown and an interception for the Cajuns (0-1), who were coming off a 6-6 finish for the second straight season. Ladarius Green was his main target, pulling in four balls for 87 yards and a score.

The Bulldogs started off the scoring with three minutes left in the opening quarter, as Caleb King's 20-yard touchdown run on third-and-short capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive.

Georgia's defense made its impact felt on the ensuing possession, with corner Brandon Boykin picking off a Masson pass at Louisiana's 28-yard line. The Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover with a three-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Durham just seconds into the second quarter.

A 52-yard field goal by Blair Walsh a few minutes later extended Georgia's advantage to 17-0.

Late in the first half, the Bulldogs added to their lead with an 11-yard scoring strike from Murray to Shaun Chapas.

The Cajuns, though, showed some life with under two minutes remaining. On the very next play following an interception, Masson hit a wide open Green on a 60-yard touchdown pass to put the Cajuns on the board. Louisiana had just six yards of total offense prior to the play.

Unfortunately, Louisiana's defense let down and Georgia took advantage with a 16-yard touchdown run by Murray as time expired. Murray, who snuck the ball just across the goalline as he went out of bounds, was given a second chance after Louisiana's Lance Kelly dropped a sure interception in the back of the end zone a couple players earlier.

The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off after the break, as Walsh connected on a 48-yard field goal just minutes into the second half for a 34-7 Georgia advantage.

The onslaught continued when a one-yard touchdown pass from Murray to a wide open Fred Munzenmaier completed a 10-play, 53-yard drive with 4:25 left in the third.

Hutson Mason then replaced Murray under center and the true freshman threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Logan Gray on his very first collegiate snap.

Things only got worse for the Cajuns, as backup quarterback Blaine Gautier was intercepted early in the fourth quarter by Jakar Hamilton, who returned the pick 17 yards for a score and a 55-7 advantage.

Game Notes

The Bulldogs have won 13 of their last 14 season openers, including a 9-1 mark under Richt...Georgia is 39-4 versus non-conference opponents under Richt...The 55 points was the most for Georgia since a 62-17 win over Kentucky in 2004...The Bulldogs outgained the Cajuns 377-128 and were 8-of-17 on third downs compared to a 3-of-16 showing by Louisiana...This was the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Louisiana on the gridiron...The Cajuns have dropped 13 straight games to ranked opponents since defeating Texas A&M in 1996.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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