The big Thanksgiving weekend of football turned out about average for the books overall, with some big winners, some losers, some good breaks and some bad breaks. The sharps had a notably strong weekend, while a number of public-backed sides lost with fewer public sides covering.
Starting the weekend on Thanksgiving, Denver took a ton of sharp action as a home dog, while the other Thanksgiving games saw mostly public action which was not good for the books. The public backed Dallas, and much bigger, Green Bay, both of which covered.
On Saturday, the sharp action reportedly was on the winning side of most of the Rivalry games. Auburn, South Carolina, NC State, and Virginia Tech were all sides the sharper accounts favored that covered. Mississippi St was also a sharp-backed side, reportedly a big Billy Walters play.
A lot of attention was given to Oklahoma St as a big road dog in their showdown with in-state rival Oklahoma, but in the end, the sharp money reportedly backed the Sooners big-time, and got an easy win. SBRForum.com poster Fishhead notably posted that the side of Oklahoma St was a “trap with a capital T” and appears to have been proven right.
Georgia Tech and Stanford, however, were two sharp-backed sides that failed to cover, with the books winning big on the Georgia Tech game and probably catching a break when Tech QB Josh Nesbitt was hobbled with an injury in the first half.
In the NFL on Sunday, things were mostly business as usual for the books. Miami/Buffalo and Tampa Bay/Atlanta were very good for the books as the public backed and lost with the faves in both those games, while San Diego and San Francisco were two favorites the public backed and won with, causing losses for the books on those games.
BookMaker in particular also took a loss on the Arizona game as a result of getting hit with early action on news of Kurt Warner’s injury that a few quick-on-the-draw bettors had before BookMaker did. Ben Roethlisberger’s absence was no surprise though, and the books were well-prepared with a line on Pitt/Baltimore that they and the sharper accounts did well with.
The big Monday night clash between New England and New Orleans is shaping up to be a great game with a ton of action. As of a few hours before game time, the money was mostly split down the middle, but the sharper money seems to be favoring the Pats, with reports of little to no sharp action on the Saints.