6B SPORTS
FOOTBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2007
Jayhawks cover up on cold oddsmakers
Photo illustration bv Anna Faltermier/KANSAN
BY THOR NYSTROM
tnystrom@kansan.com
Kansas' 43-28 victory against Oklahoma State continued a dominating undefeated season and pushed the team one step closer to a historic designation. No, not the National Championship.
The layhawks are in contention for something just as rare as a Kansas football national title. Kansas, now 9-0 against the spread, could become the first team in NCAA football history to finish a season undefeated against the Las Vegas line.
The lajahawks, five-point favorites against the Cowboys, have covered against all nine FBS opponents. Oddsmakers generally do not release point spreads for games between FBS and FCS teams, so a line for the 62-point victory against Southeastern Louisiana was not offered by Sportsbooks.com.
An undefeated season against the spread also has never occurred in the NFL. The New England Patriots had been undefeated against the number before last week, but were blemished after they defeated the Indianapolis Colts by four and failed to cover the six-point spread.
Richard Gardner, a Bodoglife.com bookmanager, said finishing a season undefeated against the spread was not impossible, but Gardner also said surpassing expert's opinion every week for a season would be a rare feat.
"It would certainly be historic," Gardner said. "A lot of bettors ride a team until they lose, so once a team starts beating the line repeatedly the value goes out of them fairly quickly. However, it's more pronounced when that team is a historically good team, like New England. For a team like
Kansas that has struggled in the past, it takes a little longer"
A Lawrence resident that takes sports bets in Lawrence and requested anonymity said he received a surprisingly low amount of bets on the
the spread
| Date | Opponent | Result | Point spread |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Sept. 1 | Central Michigan | W 52-7 | -7.5 |
| Sept. 8 | Southeastern Louisiana | W 62-0 | NL |
| Sept. 15 | Toledo | W 45-13 | -25.5 |
| Sept. 22 | Florida International | W 55-3 | -33 |
| Oct. 6 | at Kansas State | W 30-24 | +3.5 |
| Oct. 13 | Baylor | W 58-10 | -26.5 |
| Oct. 20 | at Colorado | W 19-14 | -3.5 |
| Oct. 27 | at Texas A&M | W 19-11 | -3 |
| Nov. 3 | Nebraska | W 76-39 | -20.5 |
| Nov. 10 | at Oklahoma State | W 43-28 | -5 |
Jayhawks, even though most of his clientele live in town.
"Each week I hear, "This will be the week they don't cover," the source said. "It's scary to bet on them. But they just keep doing it. They are a good team."
Gardner acknowledged the lack of confidence nationwide.
Cowboys. The Jayhawks were only small favorites against Texas A&M and Colorado earlier this year, and were underdogs against Kansas State. All four of those teams have five losses or more.
"Some bettors have taken notice of the lajayhows perfect against-the-spread record, but it's far less than what would be expected," Gardner said. "People still see Kansas as a basketball school. It was the same earlier in the year when Kentucky was playing well. Are bettors gaining respect for Kansas? Yes, but there are certainly some doubts out there."
Point spreads and gambling, a contentious issue in college sports, is
Gardner said Kansas had not reached the point where it would be 'taxed' this season, a betting term referring to oddsmakers adding additional points to a popular favorite's number, forcing the betting public to give more points to back them with a wager.
an issue the Jayhawks cannot address. Mike Strauss, associate media relations director for the KU Athletics Department, said anyone associated with the team was not permitted to comment on the subject.
Kansas fans have been lamenting a lack of respect for most of this season, generally referring to the AP and Coaches polls. The spread, however, has provided sufficient evidence that experts do not believe in the Jayhawks yet, either. Kansas was favored only five points against Oklahoma State despite entering the game undefeated and facing the 5-4
Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony called the record an "interesting fact" but said the Athletics Department had "nothing to gain by commenting."
"The books don't usually tax teams that are not popular with the general betting public because the general betting public doesn't wager enough on the non-public teams to counterbalance the professional money that would be bet on their opponents," Gardner said.
Gardner said he didn't expect a marked increase in Kansas bets and offered a reason for the continued skepticism: "Kansas still hasn't proven they can play with the big boys. Even if they go undefeated through the regular season, who have they really beaten?"
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Edited by Jeff Briscoe
Arthur remembers what it was like to be a freshman and said Aldrich was handling everything just fine.
"When he started off, I didn't know where he was at." Arthur said. "But now that he's learned everything; he's been playing pretty good. He's more aggressive defensively by blocking shots and always going to the glass."
All the practices against the upperclassmen have made games easier. Reed said he looked forward to games because he knew he wouldn't have to line up against guards as pesky and physical as Robinson, Stewart, Chalmers and Collins for a while, if at all this season.
Of course, that doesn't mean Reed or Aldrich won't have trouble finding their role. Name a player other than Brandon Rush on the Kansas basketball team that didn't have trouble his first year. All of them struggled as freshmen.
Chalmers turned the ball over seven times in his first game and later had to be removed from the starting line-up. Collins struggled with his weight at the beginning and end of last season.
Robinson, Kaun and Jackson barely played their first year. Their lack of playing time in 2004-2005 was partially because of a team that included seniors Michael Lee, Aaron Miles, Wayne Simien and Keith Langford. Aldrich and Reed could have the same fate. This year's team is loaded with talented seniors, juniors and sophomores. It might be tough for two freshmen to crack the rotation late in the season. Nights like Sunday against UMKC, where Aldrich played only two minutes and Reed went scoreless, could become routine.
Self is fine with that. He said Aldrich and Reed were in the ideal situation to get better just from practicing against the upperclassmen.
"You can go through Darnell, Sasha, Micah was a McDonald's All-American who didn't play very much, and he was competing against other McDonald's All-Americans when they were freshmen," Self said about 2005 transfer Micah Downs. "They're competing against them when they are juniors. It's a little different game for those guys, but it's a perfect scenario for their long term benefit and their growth."
— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
KU SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE
The University of Kansas
Career Carnival
November 16, 2007
Kansas Union, Ballroom
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- See what social workers do!
* Meet with BSW, MSW & Ph.D. admissions staff.
* Find out about career options in social work.
- See what social workers do!
For more information go to:
http://www.socwel.ku.edu/careercarnival/