PSG maintains lead in Ligue 1 with win over Brest

Soccer Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Brest, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG maintained its three-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win over Brest at the Stade Francis-Le Ble on Saturday.

It looked as if PSG would comfortably cruise to three points after Milan Bisevac scored in the sixth minute, but the league leaders were kept at bay for the remainder of the match as Brest ensured a respectable scoreline.

PSG has won three-straight Ligue 1 contests and is unbeaten in its last six league games. The Paris club sets the pace in the French top flight with 46 points on the year.

The win turned out to be a crucial one in the title race as second-place Montpellier also picked up a win Saturday, defeating Nice, 1-0, at the Stade Municipal du Ray. It remains three points adrift of first-place PSG.

Brest, which sits just outside the top-half of the table on 24 points, sees its five-match unbeaten in league play come to an end.

Both sides return to Ligue 1 action on Feb. 4 as PSG welcomes Evian to the Parc des Princes and Brest heads to the Stade de la Mosson for a tough encounter with Montpellier.

Nancy 3, Auxerre 1

Auxerre, France - Yohan Mollo bagged a brace with Daniel Niculae notching a goal in between to help Nancy claim a 3-1 win over Auxerre on Saturday.

Mollo scored his first in the 68th minute before Niculae quickly doubled the advantage with a goal a minute later. Mollo wrapped up the affair with his second goal of the game in the 78th minute. Edouard Cisse nabbed the only goal for Auxerre, netting in the 82nd minute.

The win brings Nancy (22 points) three points clear of the relegation zone, while Auxerre (19 points) remains one spot out of the drop zone on goal differential.

Lille 3, St. Etienne 0

Lille, France - Lille notched three second-half goals to cruise to a 3-0 defeat of St. Etienne at the Stade Lille-Metropole on Saturday.

Eden Hazard converted from the penalty spot in the 50th minute before Nolan Roux grabbed his first two goals of the Ligue 1 season in the 86th and 87th minutes to wrap up the win.

Lille, now with 39 points, moves back into third place after Lyon claimed a 3-1 win over Dijon earlier in the day. St. Etienne sits in eighth place with 33 points.

Montpellier 1, Nice 0

Nice, France - Montpellier edged Nice in dramatic fashion Saturday as Olivier Giroud scored at the death to see his club claim a 1-0 win to keep pace with PSG atop Ligue 1.

Giroud notched his league-leading 15th goal of the season in second-half stoppage time, helping Montpellier to 43 points on the season. It trails first-place PSG by three points.

Nice drops its second-straight league result to remain in the relegation zone on 18 points.

Lyon 3, Dijon 1

Lyon, France - Lyon left it late but still managed to snap a two-game losing skid in league play as it defeated Dijon, 3-1, at the Stade de Gerland on Saturday.

Jimmy Briand opened the scoring for Lyon in the eighth minute, but Dijon equalized through Younousse Sankhare in the 61st minute. Bafetimbi Gomis lifted the home side to the victory, putting Lyon back in front eight minutes from time before Alexandre Lacazette added a third in stoppage time.

Lyon improves to 38 points as it looks to sneak back into the title race, while Dijon remains on 22 points as it looks to avoid relegation.

Lorient 1, Sochaux 1

Lorient, France - Lorient and Sochaux traded second-half goals on Saturday as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw at the Stade du Moustoir.

Alaixys Romao put the home side in front with his strike in the 63rd minute, but Sochaux leveled 10 minutes from time through French forward Cedric Bakambu.

Lorient has drawn three-straight league games to climb to 26 points on the season, while Sochaux sees its four-game losing skid come to end an end as it improves to 19 points.

Toulouse 1, Caen 0

Toulouse, France - French striker Emmanuel Riviere scored the lone for Toulouse in a 1-0 home defeat of Caen at the Stadium Municipal de Toulouse on Saturday.

Riviere provided the break through in the 35th minute to see his side improve to 34 points on the season.

Caen, winless in its last eight league matches, sits three points clear of the relegation zone on 22 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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