Bucs keep Lions winless despite slow start

Football Betting Lines

11/23/2008 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Garcia threw for 165 yards and two touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers downed Detroit, 38-20, to keep the Lions winless on the season.

Warrick Dunn had 14 carries for 90 yards and a score while Ronde Barber had two interceptions and returned one of them for a touchdown for the Buccaneers (8-3), who are just one-half game back of Carolina for first place in the NFC South.

Carolina is currently battling the Falcons in Atlanta.

Ike Hilliard had two catches for 51 yards and a score, while Cadillac Williams saw his first action since suffering a torn patellar tendon on September 30, 2007 and had 16 carries for 27 yards for Tampa Bay, which has won its last three games.

Daunte Culpepper started his third straight game and went just 8-for-20 with 121 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while Calvin Johnson had three catches for 66 yards and a score for the Lions (0-11), who are faced with the prospect of becoming the first team since the league went to a 16-game format to finish a full season without a win.

Tampa Bay went 0-14 in its inaugural year of 1976 while the Colts finished 0-8-1 during the strike-shortened 1982 season.

The Lions next play on Thanksgiving when they will host the Tennessee Titans, who suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday against the Jets.

After exchanging punts to start the game, the Lions took the lead thanks to Johnson. With the ball near midfield, Culpepper threw up a pass down the left sideline that Johnson came down with in double coverage for 41 yards. Three plays later, Johnson leaped up just inside the goal line and came down with the ball on a 15-yard score and a 7-0 lead with 6:07 left in the first.

On Tampa's next drive, Garcia and Williams collided in the backfield and Garcia fumbled the ball. Daniel Bullocks picked up the loose ball and took it into the end zone from 44 yards out for a 14-0 lead.

Detroit forced the Buccaneers to punt on their next touch and got a 26-yard run from Kevin Smith to get the ball into scoring position, but had to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Jason Hanson to take a 17-0 lead into the second quarter.

Tampa, though, scored on its ensuing possession that spanned the first and second quarters. Clifton Smith returned the kickoff 49 yards to put the ball at midfield. Using the short field, Garcia quickly took his team down the field and at the 13-yard line handed the ball off to Dunn, who ran up the middle and spun around a defender on his way into the end zone.

The Bucs made it a three-point game on their next touch as Garcia found Hilliard for a 36-yard score to cap a nine-play, 69-yard drive with 4:40 to play in the first half.

On Detroit's next possession, Barber picked off Culpepper and on the next play, Garcia found Jerramy Stevens wide open over the middle for a 24-yard score and a 21-17 lead going into the break.

Tampa's special teams got in on the scoring in the third quarter. Detroit was held to a three-and-out and had to punt the ball away. Clifton Smith fielded the boot at his own 30 and raced up the middle and into the end zone for a 28-17 lead with 11:31 left in the third.

Just 2 1/2 minutes later, Tampa made it a 35-17 game as Barber stepped in front of a Culpepper pass and raced into the end zone from 65 yards out.

Later in the third, Hilliard muffed a punt and Detroit recovered deep in Tampa territory, but the team was unable to move the ball and Hanson's 40-yard field goal made it a 35-20 game with 2:43 left in the third.

However, Matt Bryant later countered with a 48-yard field goal a bit over two minutes into the fourth to make it a 38-20 contest.

Game Notes

Hanson's second field goal was the 400th of his career...The Buccaneers host New Orleans next Sunday...Kevin Smith finished the game with 86 yards on 16 carries...Tampa Bay has won five of its last six games against Detroit... Johnson has caught a touchdown in six of his last seven games.

Wwwarcamax Football Betting News

<< Romo leads Cowboys past Niners
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Romo threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-39 passing as Dallas held off San Francisco, 35-22, at Texas Stadium. Terrell Owens caught seven balls for 213 yards and a score for t

<< Edwards strong as Bills rip Chiefs
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trent Edwards threw two touchdown passes and ran for a pair of scores, as the Buffalo Bills blew out the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-31, in an offensive explosion at Arrowhead Stadium. Edwards finish

<< Jets end Tennessee's undefeated run in dominant fashion
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Favre threw for 224 yards with two touchdowns and Leon Washington ran for a pair of scores, as the New York Jets ended Tennessee's undefeated season with a 34-13 rout at LP Field. Thomas Jones ra

<< Vikings cage Jaguars to keep pace in NFC North
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Peterson rushed for a touchdown and Ryan Longwell kicked three field goals, as the Minnesota Vikings caged the Jaguars, 30-12, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. A battered and bruised Gus Fre

<< Wenger: Gallas has a future with Arsenal
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger insists William Gallas has a future at the club, but has refused to discuss his decision to strip the outspoken Frenchman of the captaincy. Gallas did not travel for the sq

Roma rolls over Lecce >>
Lecce, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma kept its momentum going on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 over Lecce at Stadio Via del Mare, taking its current unbeaten streak to four games in all competitions. Mirko Vucinic, Juan and Francesco To

Cassel fuels Pats past Dolphins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cassel threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns, leading the New England Patriots to a 48-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Randy Moss caught eight passes for 125 yards with three scores for

Forte, Bears knock out Bulger, Rams >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Forte rushed for 132 yards with two touchdowns as the Chicago Bears hammered the St. Louis Rams, 27-3, at the Edward Jones Dome. Kyle Orton managed the game well, completing 18-of-29 passes

Duke caps long week with lopsided win over Montana >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Henderson had 14 points and seven rebounds as 10th-ranked Duke blew out Montana, 78-58, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Nolan Smith added 14 points while Kyle Singler had 13 points, five rebo

Flacco and defense help Ravens crush Eagles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Flacco threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns as the Baltimore Ravens won a lopsided 36-7 contest with the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Flacco completed 12-of-26 passes in

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.