05/09/2008 - Santa Clara, CA (Soccer Betting) - When asked how the Columbus Crew, who have won four straight and five of six, could continue their early-season success, forward Alejandro Moreno had a simple answer.
"Well," Moreno said, "we keep doing the things that we're doing."
What exactly does that mean? Luckily, Moreno had an answer for that too.
"We don't get away from our script. We're a team that has to be organized," he said. "We're a team that has to battle and take advantage of the opportunities that we create and be solid defensively."
"As long as we do that, we're going to give ourselves a chance in every game."
Columbus will try to extend its winning streak to five games Saturday night at the San Jose Earthquakes. The Crew need a win to move back into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Columbus has scored at least two goals in four of its five wins and has posted two shutouts. Three of the Crew's wins during their current undefeated run are by one goal.
"It's great to be 5-1," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said.
What does Columbus have left to prove? Well, the Crew need to play as good on the road as they have at home. Columbus is 4-0 at Crew Stadium but dropped one of its two road games against Red Bull New York, 2-0, on April 5.
The Crew can erase all doubt about how dangerous they are at Buckshaw Stadium.
San Jose, which returned to league this season after a two-year absence, isn't playing great, but has allowed just five goals in five matches. In two matches at home, the Earthquakes have allowed only one goal but are 0-1-1.
"The shutouts are always great, the defense is great," San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon said. "We just need the forwards to get some goals."
San Jose hasn't scored in four of its five games. The Earthquakes scored both of their goals this season in a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. San Jose tied FC Dallas, 0-0, last week.
"Take out not scoring and it was a terrific performance by us," San Jose coach Frank Yallop said after last week's game. "We did everything right but score and I do not want the guys to start to get anxious because that will come.
"It was a great performance by us and I think that if we perform like that we are going to win a lot of games.
"It was disappointing because I thought the guys worked hard and should have gotten something out of it. We should have won the game to be honest, but we will look forward to ... Columbus."
"It's a long season, so we can't panic or anything like that. It's too early for that," San Jose midfielder Ramiro Corrales.
Columbus has two players - Moreno and Robbie Rogers - with more goals than San Jose and another one - Adam Moffat - with as many goals this season. Moffat is out this week with a meniscus tear in his right knee.
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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.
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