Robinson rushes for three TDs as Iowa wins opener

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns, leading ninth-ranked Iowa in a 37-7 rout of Eastern Illinois to open each school's 2010 season.

Robinson received 24 carries for the Hawkeyes (1-0), who won their opener for the 10th time in Kirk Ferentz's 12th season. The sophomore, who set the school's freshman rushing record last season, added 43 yards on three receptions.

Ricky Stanzi completed 18-of-23 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown in the easy victory, while Paki O'Meara blocked a punt and returned it for another score.

Iowa is looking to duplicate or exceed its excellent 2009 season, when it went 11-2 and earned a spot in the Orange Bowl. The Hawkeyes got off to an excellent start on Saturday, outgaining Eastern Illinois by a 435-157 margin.

Brandon Large passed for 92 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-20 throws for Eastern Illinois (0-1), which is coming off an 8-4 season in the FCS' Ohio Valley Conference. Von Wise was the recipient of the scoring pass, though no receiver had more than 37 yards and no rusher more than 36 in the loss.

Iowa scored early and often to turn the game into a rout.

On the game's opening drive, the Hawkeyes marched 65 yards in only six plays, highlighted by a 35-yard pass to Brad Herman that put Iowa on the Eastern Illinois two-yard line. Robinson ran into the end zone on the next play just 3:40 into the contest.

EIU was forced to punt from its own seven on its first possession, and Iowa got the ball back on its own 44. Robinson capped the ensuing eight-play drive with a four-yard score, and the Hawkeyes had a 14-0 advantage with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Iowa's defense got into the act on the ensuing drive. The Panthers set up for a punt from their own 38 on 4th-and-1, but O'Meara blocked it, recovered the ball inside the 10 and scampered into the end zone for a 21-point cushion.

Eastern Illinois finally cracked the scoreboard to start the second quarter with some trickery. Facing 4th-and-4 from its own 20, EIU called a fake punt, and Cody Bruns ran up the middle for a 36-yard gain. The next play went for a 37-yard pass completion from Large to Chris Wright, and Large hit Wise for an 11-yard score two plays later for a 21-7 contest.

Iowa, though, restored its three-touchdown lead right away, going 60 yards on eight plays in 3 1/2 minutes. The drive featured six rushing plays, the last four by Robinson, who ran right up the middle from six yards away for his third score of the day and a 28-7 halftime advantage.

In a low-scoring third quarter, the only points came on a safety when Large fumbled out of the end zone, giving Iowa a 30-7 lead heading to the fourth.

The Hawkeyes added a touchdown on Brett Morse's two-yard reception with 8 1/2 minutes left in the game, and Iowa cruised to the victory from there.

Game Notes

This was the first-ever meeting between the schools...Iowa is 89-31-2 in season openers all-time...Eastern Illinois recorded only six first downs, compared to 24 for Iowa...The Panthers came into the game ranked 18th in the FCS.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.