By Jeremy Dennis
@menace524
Winter has come to football land! It was nice to see some snow games over the last weekend. Do you know what else is cold? Those folks that favor a certain team so much that it changes the line against that team. While the last two weeks have seen them bat .500 (still not making any money), the total of the games Blitzalytics has been tracking is sitting at 33 wins and 42 losses. Let’s see the results from last week’s action:
Illinois 37 - Michigan State 34 Line moved 1.5 points to (-14.5) for Michigan State. If you changed the channel at the end of the third quarter, the score stood Spartans 31 - Illini 10. The way both teams were playing, surely this was a cover, right? Then the fourth quarter happened and Illinois outscored Sparty 27-3. Yowza!--The Bettors chose unwisely
App. State 20 - South Carolina 15 Line moved 1.5 points to (-6) for South Carolina. That sound you hear is the seat getting real hot for Will Muschamp. The bettors underestimated the Mountaineers again against a Carolina team and the result was the same.. --The Bettors chose unwisely.
Purdue 24 - Northwestern 22 Line moved 4 points to (-2.5) for Northwestern. Don’t really know what the fascination was with EVERYBODY choosing a 1-7 team at home. I guess Purdue didn’t understand the fascination either. --The Bettors chose unwisely.
Florida 56 - Vanderbilt 0 Line moved 1.5 points to (-27) for Florida. Vanderbilt has been about as uncompetitive as you can get on both sides of the ball. The Gators destroyed them in every facet of the game.--The Bettors chose wisely.
Charlotte 28 - UTEP 21 Line moved 1.5 points to (-13.5) for Charlotte. Charlotte was actually down in this game at the half 21-7. They outscored the Miners 21-0 in the second half, but it still wasn’t enough for a cover..--The Bettors chose unwisely.
SMU 59 - East Carolina 51 Line moved 2 points to (+21) for East Carolina. SMU’s offense is good and all, but their defense is awful. In other news, if you would have bet the over, you would have been good mid-way through the third quarter..--The Bettors chose wisely.
Western Kentucky 45 - Arkansas 19 Line moved 1.5 points to (+1) for Western Kentucky. You know, kids? I remember a time when the Arkansas Razorbacks were actually good at football. Then Bret Bielema and Chad Morris came along and turned them into a junior varsity team--The Bettors chose wisely.
Utah State 37 - Fresno State 35 Line moved 1.5 points to (-5.5) for Fresno State. While the Aggies have had a ton of injuries this year, they still have Jordan Love. He made Fresno State (and the line influencers) pay.--The Bettors chose unwisely.
Here is where the money is going this week:
Marshall from (-2.5) to (-5) against Louisiana Tech: I really don’t know what the gamblers have against 8-1 Louisiana Tech on the road versus 6-3 Marshall. No real injuries to report with none being reported on the Bulldog side. It must be something about the home field in this case.
Fresno State from (+1.5) to (-1) at San Diego State: While Fresno State is coming off a difficult loss at Utah State, the Aztecs lost at home to Nevada. The line influencers, no doubt, believe that the Nevada loss has a lasting impression on the home team.
Tulane from (-4) to (-6) at Temple: Fascinating to say the least. Temple is a good football team at home including beating Maryland and Memphis. However, Tulane has played great football as well. The combined record of the teams that have beaten the Green Wave this year is 20-4.
Clemson from (-32.5) to (-34) vs Wake Forest: The money is expecting more “Pissed Off Clemson” even after the new College Football Playoff rankings came out to finally include the Tigers. The Demon Deacons will be without their best wide receiver for this game.
Northwestern from (-39) to (-41.5) vs UMass: I know Northwestern stinks. The Wildcats would register at about an 8 on a 1 to 10 stinkiness meter. UMass ranks at about 1,052. The bettors are feeling a massacre.
Navy from (+9) to (+7) at Notre Dame: The gambling community is looking at a couple of things here: Notre Dame’s recent history with the Midshipmen has not been that stellar from a spread standpoint. They are also thinking that an 8-1 Navy team should be able to give the Irish all they can handle with the triple-option offense.
Kentucky from (-8.5) to (-10) at Vanderbilt: With as bad as Vanderbilt has played this year, does anyone blame the bettors for doing this? Kentucky is not great by any stretch of the imagination, but they have a good defense. Vanderbilt has a good educational program.
Mississippi State from (+22) to (+17.5) vs Alabama: Has anyone ever seen a line drop this much against a Nick Saban coached team? Obviously, the driver of this line is the Tua situation. Since he is a game-time decision, it would be difficult to predict this game.
On the pro tip, there were a few lines that moved one point. Falcons lost a point on their spread to the Panthers to +4.5. The Bills lost one to the Dolphins and now they are favored by 6.5. Finally, the 49ers lost a point to the Cardinals. Presumably, because of the outcome of the came a couple of weeks ago.
Stay abreast of all the comings and goings on the football scene. Visit
https://www.blitzalytics.com to get the latest scoop. Have a good betting week!