1 College Football Playoff Betting Action Report: 'All the Cash is Coming in On Texas'
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The college football world was wishing for a March Madness kind of feel for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, with upsets galore. Instead, the four first-round matches underwhelmed, offering plenty of time for vacation shopping. Favorites went a perfect 4-0 versus the spread, consisting of 3 fairly non-competitive efficiencies by underdogs Indiana, SMU and Tennessee. Sportsbooks and the public don't appear to think so. A minimum of in two cases.
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Both Penn State-Boise State and Texas-Arizona State feature double-digit spreads favoring the lower-seeded Nittany Lions and Longhorns. And the latter has actually been a particularly popular choice with the public. The Longhorns -12.5 is the most-bet side at BetMGM nationally in regards to overall dollars since Monday afternoon.
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"All the cash is can be found in on Texas," Seamus Magee, a BetMGM trader, wrote in a text to The Athletic. "We need Arizona State to cover +13.5."

The enthusiasm for the Longhorns reaches the futures market too. Remember that enormous $1.5 million wager on Texas to win everything at +390 chances? The ticket is still out there at Caesars Sportsbook.
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Interestingly, the Longhorns' opponent, Arizona State - the most significant underdog among the College Football quarterfinal matchups - is getting the most enjoy from sharp gamblers. The Athletic talked to a number of bookmakers who had actually taken sharp action on No. 4 Arizona State - which had actually gotten as high as a 14-point underdog at some books versus No. 5 Texas - to push the line down to -12.5 or -12.

John Murray, the executive director at The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told us he received a wager on Arizona State +13.5 from a "very highly regarded player."

Although reputable money has actually been available in on Arizona State to cover, sportsbooks will likely need the Sun Devils to do simply that, as public wagerers are piling on Texas.

"We would love to see ASU cover, and then Texas win the game, so we get our Arizona State liability off the futures book," Magee added.

While the Texas game will be substantial for the books, it isn't the only game in town. We chatted with numerous bookmakers to break down where the sports betting action is on the other 3 College Football quarterfinal matchups. 6 Penn State (-11, 53) at No. 3 Boise State

This video game opened Penn State -10.5 at most sportsbooks and has approached somewhat to a consensus of -11. sports betting on the spread is fairly split at a lot of sportsbooks. The overall dollars bet varies by book, as 52% of bets and 79% of the money at are on Boise State -11, while 56% of bets however only 42% of the cash at DraftKings is on Boise State -11.5. Penn State to cover is presently the second most popular CFP wager in regards to overall tickets at BetMGM books.

"We opened Penn State -10.5 and are resting on Penn State -11," Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City, told The Athletic. "I would not be amazed if this line creeps up a little bit more before kickoff, but I currently welcome any Boise State cash."

Ohio State got the Oregon 2nd opportunity it desired. Are the Buckeyes ready for revenge?

No. 8 Ohio State (-2.5, 55.5) vs. No. 1 Oregon

Perhaps most unexpected to the public is that No. 1 seed Oregon is an underdog versus No. 8 Ohio State. These groups met back on Oct. 7 in Eugene, and Oregon won 32-31 as a 3.5-point home pet.

So why is OSU preferred?

Several oddsmakers The Athletic spoke to before the CFP very first round had Ohio State atop their power scores, and the lookahead lines for this hypothetical matchup were Ohio State -1 or -1.5. One oddsmaker mentioned that Ohio State playing up to its power ranking in its dominant first-round win over Tennessee also formed his opening line.

Ohio State opened as a 1- or 1.5-point favorite (depending upon the sportsbook) in this game before respected money pushed it to the current line of -2.5. A slightly higher bulk of wagers at several sportsbooks, approximately 60%, are on the Ducks to cover, while near to 60% of the money has can be found in on the Buckeyes. This will likely be the highest-handle video game of the 4 come kickoff.

"We did take some reputable money at -1.5, quickly went to -2.5 where it's stayed," Gable said. "It's good two-way action at that number right now. The overall has actually increased 3 points from 52.5 to 55.5, which has been the biggest relocation of any of the totals. Money has all been on the over up until now.

Joe Brennan, the CEO of Prime sports betting, a sportsbook in Ohio and New Jersey that caters to sharp bettors, informed The Athletic that "Ohio State opened as a 1-point favorite, and right away our Ohio bettors believed we were too low. Our opening rate of Ohio State -1 has been driven up to -2.5 and the overall from 52 to 55."

He did note, however, that the book had actually seen substantial buyback at the current line of Ohio State -2.5 and that 52% of the total dollars at his book were taking the points with the Ducks.

GO DEEPER

The most likely upsets for the College Football Playoff's 2nd round

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia (-1, 45)

The preferred flipped in this video game, as Notre Dame opened a 1.5-point favorite and is presently a 1- or 1.5-point underdog at sportsbooks.

What triggered the line flip? Put simply, the wagering action.
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Although Georgia's starting QB Carson Beck is out for the season and has actually been replaced by relative unidentified Gunner Stockton, wagerers are gravitating towards the Bulldogs.

Georgia to cover is the most popular against the spread wager at BetMGM books nationally in terms of ticket count (second-most popular by total dollars wagered), and it has actually been "one-way traffic on Georgia," according to Magee. Nearly 70% of bets are on the Bulldogs at several sportsbooks.
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