By Jeremy Dennis
@menace524
Another week is in the books! Last weekend also marked the debut of NFL football. Let’s see how smart last week’s bettors were with the large line moves:
Wake Forest 41 - Rice 21 Line moved 1.5 points toward Wake. Looks like the bettors had an angle on this one despite the outcomes for both teams in week one. One thing is for sure, the 2019 Demon Deacons have been able to put up some points in the early going. Correct pick.
Boise State 14 - Marshall 7 Line moved 1.5 points toward Boise. I think the only real thing we can deduce from this result is that Florida State sucks given Boise’s success there and the trouble the Seminoles had against Louisiana Monroe. I can probably speak for a lot of people in saying how surprising it is that both teams could only muster 21 points. Incorrect pick.
Maryland 63 - Syracuse 20 Line moved 3.5 points toward Maryland. The money was smart on this one. Real smart. If memory serves, it took Maryland about 10 minutes to top Syracuse’s total output. Now we see if Maryland is for real or if the Big 10 schedule puts them in their place again. Correct pick.
Baylor 63 - UTSA 14 Line moved 1.5 points to UTSA. The wagering world pretty much mutters a collective “whoops” on this one. Baylor dominated from the start of this game and the line was nowhere in sight after halftime. Incorrect pick.
Alabama 62 - New Mexico State 10 Line moved 1.5 points toward Alabama. If you read the ‘Nine Circles of Football Hell” this week, it was obvious that a lot of us knew better than to take Alabama but we just couldn’t help ourselves. We saw the historical take that the Crimson Tide do not do very well with huge spreads. However, we also swore up and down that they wouldn’t let the Aggies score. Las Vegas - you’re welcome. Incorrect pick.
LSU 45 - Texas 38 Line moved 1.5 points towards LSU. Sadly, I did not get my bet in on this game until the late Friday and the line had moved again to (-7). It would’ve been great except the LSU allowed the touchdown at the end of the game to create a push. Correct pick.
North Carolina 28 - Miami-Florida 25 Line moved 2.5 points toward North Carolina. It is clear at this point that Mack Brown has still got it. Late game heroics seals the wagering victory and Mack the Knife is 2-0 against the spread. Let’s see how much longer he is overlooked. Correct pick.
Here is where the money is going this week:
Georgia State from +11.5 to +8.5: Folks are jumping on the Panther bandwagon after wins against Tennessee and Furman. Western Michigan just got trounced by Michigan State and is back at home. Georgia State is averaging 43 points a game. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.
Ohio State from (-15) to (-18): To tell you how quick this started moving, I got on my betting site and was scanning the lines, when I saw the Buckeyes giving 15 to Indiana , I found it intriguing but kept scrolling. After a minute or two, I thought that I had better get some money on this before the line went up. By the time I placed my bet, the line had gone up to -15.5.
Washington State from (-8) to (-9.5): It appears that the sharps believe that Houston has a hard time stopping the pass. Judging from the Oklahoma game, they are probably correct. Since Washington State throws the ball all over the yard, Houston could have a problem.
UNLV from +20 to +18.5: This movement is directly attributed to Northwestern’s quarterback, T.J. Green, being out for the season. Let’s see if Pat Fitzgerald can rally the troops against the Running Rebels.
Clemson from -26.5 to -28: The money apparently doesn’t care that the last time Clemson lost a regular season game was at Syracuse. Of course, a lot has happened since then.
Temple from +8.5 to +7: I actually thought that the number would go the other way judging from the Terps recent offensive performance. Sadly, I locked in at 8.5. Hard to tell with this one since Temple has only played one game.
Minnesota from (-15) to (-16.5): While looking at this match-up, I see no glaring reasons why the line moves except that maybe Minnesota gets the “Playing against the Sun Belt in Georgia Southern” Boost.
Texas from (-30.5) to (-32): I guess the folks are thinking that Texas is fixin’ to put a rebound whoopin on Rice.
Since the NFL lines have only been out a couple of days, here are just some quick hitters: The Houston line against Jacksonville went from (-9) to (-10). No doubt no one fears the Jacksonville Mustache under center. The KC-Oakland line has moved down from +8 to +7 for Oakland. Looks like the Raider performance against Denver is standing out to some bettors. Finally, the New England-Miami line has bounced back and forth between (-18.5) and (-19) for the Pats. What a monstrous line. Will I bet it? Read the Degenerate Menace (-411) today and find out!
Enjoy your football weekend! Now go pick some winners!