By Jeremy Dennis
@menace524
It has been a tumultuous week on the betting front. The money is going in all sorts of different ways. Presumably because now that we are six weeks in, everyone has their sea legs under them and feel they know their specific target’s identities. As of last week, the big line swings that we have been tracking have gone a collective 17-19 the season, including a rousing 1-7 result from the previous week. Here is a review of the games we tracked this last weekend:
Maryland 48 - Rutgers 7 Line moved 2 points to (+12) for Rutgers. I know, I know. I railed about not trusting Maryland after week two. However, Rutgers is awful. Like, really awful. Why are they in the Big 10 again?--The Bettors chose unwisely
Wisconsin 48 - Kent State 0 Line moved 3 points to (+35) for Kent State. It looks like the money was pinning its hopes on the fact that Wisconsin’s less than stellar play against Northwestern. Well, a MAC team is not Northwestern. It was another nice warm-up game for the Badgers before they get into the meat of their Big 10 schedule --The Bettors chose unwisely.
Stanford 23 - Washington 13 Line moved 2 points to (-16.5) for Washington. Can these two teams be any more inconsistent? Before this game, Stanford was 1-4 against the spread and barely beat Oregon State after holding a double-digit lead last week. Washington covered against BYU, USC, and Hawaii, but laid an egg against Cal and subsequently another one last game. --The Bettors chose unwisely.
UAB 35 - Rice 20 Line moved 1.5 points to (-10) for UAB. The gambling front was getting nervous as this game progressed. UAB was only up 21-20 at the half. Alas, the Blazers outscored the Owls 14-0 and the second half. The cover was secured--The Bettors chose wisely.
Oklahoma 45 - Kansas 20 Line moved 3 points to (+35) for Kansas. I said in this space last week that I would worry that Oklahoma’s second string could possibly cause a backdoor cover for Kansas. After leading 35-7 after three quarters, the Jayhawks outscored the Sooners 13-10 in the fourth. Bingo!--The Bettors chose wisely.
Boise State 38 - UNLV 13 Line moved 1.5 points to (+22) for UNLV. I really didn’t know why this line moved as it did. UNLV is not a good football team and Boise is the best in the conference. We see how this turned out, huh?--The Bettors chose unwisely.
Liberty 20 - New Mexico State 13 Line moved 1.5 points to (+4.5) for New Mexico State. In the battle of Pretty Crappy Independent Schools, the Flying Trumps were able to hold off the NMSU Aggies. I wonder if their second meeting will be just as riveting later in the year.--The Bettors chose unwisely.
Here is where the money is going this week:
Michigan from (-20) to (-23) against Illinois: This one seems obvious. Michigan had a big win against Iowa while Illinois has not done much after wins versus Akron and UConn. The money sees a big blow out in this one.
Purdue from (+5) to (+3.5) against Maryland: The bettors must be continuing my theme of “Maryland sucks after the first two games of the season.” This is a fascinating play though as Purdue was manhandled by Penn State and is playing a back-up quarterback. Maryland steamrolled Rutgers last week.
Washington State from (+3) to (+1.5) at Arizona State: Apparently, there were a lot of “investors” that are thinking highly of Washington State. At one point, the line actually went to Washington State (-1) for a time in the middle of the week. Then more money decided that is too much and swung the line back.
UAB from (-10) to (-12) at UTSA: The line influencers are basically throwing UTSA’s last game against UTEP since they are woeful and noticing that they are 0-3 against the spread. UAB is now 3-1 against the spread after a 15 point win against Rice last week.
Georgia State from (+7) to (+4.5) at Coastal Carolina: The gambling front still loves those Panthers. The love has increased this week after a resounding win against one of the Sun Belt’s better teams in Arkansas State. Coastal is coming off of a bye after giving up 56 points to App. State a couple of weeks ago.
New Mexico State from (+12) to (+10) at Central Michigan: This line change can be directly attributed to the Central Michigan quarterback being suspended for at least this game for using a banned substance.
Kent State from (-12.5) to (-14.5) at Akron: Let’s face it, Akron is 0-5 with their average loss being 21 points. Heck, they even lost to UMass. Which, at the time seemed to be even worse than Akron. The bettors find nothing zippy about the Zips.
Memphis from (-3.5) to (-5.5) at Temple: Memphis is one of the only teams that is undefeated against the spread. Temple has been uneven although they do play much better at home than away. The money thinks Memphis will take care of the Owls.
The most notable NFL movement this week was with the Giants-Patriots
Hopefully, the line-movers do a little better than one win this week. If you want to see what the Blitzalytics folks picked, check us out at: https://www.blitzalytics.com/betting.
Enjoy your football weekend! Now go pick some winners!