I don't about you guys, but I'm still stunned over that Michigan/App st. game.
Michigan's embarrassment tops Week 1 news
By: Chance Harper
Appalachian State's upset of Wolverines has many in the Maize & Blue hanging their heads in shame when they're not on the phone with talk shows calling for Lloyd Carr's head. And despite rules changes that were meant to increase scoring, the Under cashed in during college football's opening week.
Being a Michigan Wolverines fan is usually a point of pride. This week, not so much.
Michigan's embarrassment tops Week 1 news
The Wolverines, as you may have heard, dropped their Week 1 matchup against Appalachian State by the score of 34-32. These would be the Appalachian State Mountaineers from Boone, N.C., champions of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Hey, these things happen.
At least there wasn’t a betting line. If there had been, sharp handicappers may have lost a bundle betting on the favored Wolverines. Week 1 is the time of year when big-time programs tend to beat up on the little guys. Indeed, favorites went 39-6 straight up and 31-14 against the spread (not including Monday’s action) in matchups where lines were posted.
If you diversified your betting over the weekend, you probably made some cool cash on the chalk. Conversely, if you dumped your bankroll on, say, the mighty USC Trojans, you lost your shirt when they failed to cover the 49-point spread in a lackluster 38-10 victory over the Idaho Vandals.
Although the USC-Idaho matchup bucked the trend of favorites cashing in, it was indicative of a low-scoring week. The Under rolled to a 25-19 record; last year, the Over was 24-21 in Week 1 action. Some of the particularly unimpressive offensive showings included the aforementioned Trojans, Notre Dame (33-3 losers to Georgia Tech), and Auburn, who had to scramble back with 14 points in the fourth quarter to beat Kansas State 23-13. The Wildcats still managed to cover as 10½-point puppies.
Looking at the home/away splits, the cupcakes generally had to hit the road to play their high-profile opponents. Home teams were 50-18 SU and 25-20 ATS; that’s right, 23 of those games had no betting line attached. Home favorites were 27-4 SU and 21-10 ATS, for a healthy success rate of 67.7 percent.
Away favorites, though, were the best play of Week 1 at a dominating 12-2 SU and 10-4 ATS (71.4 percent). The winners included LSU, who went into Mississippi State and blanked the Bulldogs 45-0 to easily cover the 19½-point spread. The improved Washington Huskies (-3) also pounded the pay window with a convincing 42-12 victory at the Carrier Dome over the Syracuse Orange.
What does all this portend for Week 2? There are still some cupcake non-conference matchups on the schedule; Thursday’s tilt between Middle Tennessee State and Louisville (-38½) was the biggest spread on the board at press time. Although both clubs in these non-con mismatches have one game under their belts, the favorites figure to be even stronger after their de facto exhibition contests over the weekend.
Yes, that includes the Wolverines. Michigan opened as just a 6-point home favorite over the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. That line quickly moved to 8½ points at press time. Apparently the college football betting public isn’t as prone to overreacting to the results from Week 1 as the conventional media would suggest. The Ducks are no pushovers, and the Pac-10 has improved as a whole, but there should be little doubt (for now) that Michigan will play as its No. 5 preseason ranking suggests it should.
Meanwhile, there are at least a handful of must-see games on the Week 2 sked, highlighted by the current No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies visiting No. 2 LSU. This matchup might not be as close as the national rankings would suggest (the Tigers are favored by 12 points), but now that the opening week dress rehearsal is behind us -- a more important event for the Hokies than any other team in the nation -- we should at least be treated to a well-played game of football.
By: Chance Harper
Appalachian State's upset of Wolverines has many in the Maize & Blue hanging their heads in shame when they're not on the phone with talk shows calling for Lloyd Carr's head. And despite rules changes that were meant to increase scoring, the Under cashed in during college football's opening week.
Being a Michigan Wolverines fan is usually a point of pride. This week, not so much.
Michigan's embarrassment tops Week 1 news
The Wolverines, as you may have heard, dropped their Week 1 matchup against Appalachian State by the score of 34-32. These would be the Appalachian State Mountaineers from Boone, N.C., champions of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Hey, these things happen.
At least there wasn’t a betting line. If there had been, sharp handicappers may have lost a bundle betting on the favored Wolverines. Week 1 is the time of year when big-time programs tend to beat up on the little guys. Indeed, favorites went 39-6 straight up and 31-14 against the spread (not including Monday’s action) in matchups where lines were posted.
If you diversified your betting over the weekend, you probably made some cool cash on the chalk. Conversely, if you dumped your bankroll on, say, the mighty USC Trojans, you lost your shirt when they failed to cover the 49-point spread in a lackluster 38-10 victory over the Idaho Vandals.
Although the USC-Idaho matchup bucked the trend of favorites cashing in, it was indicative of a low-scoring week. The Under rolled to a 25-19 record; last year, the Over was 24-21 in Week 1 action. Some of the particularly unimpressive offensive showings included the aforementioned Trojans, Notre Dame (33-3 losers to Georgia Tech), and Auburn, who had to scramble back with 14 points in the fourth quarter to beat Kansas State 23-13. The Wildcats still managed to cover as 10½-point puppies.
Looking at the home/away splits, the cupcakes generally had to hit the road to play their high-profile opponents. Home teams were 50-18 SU and 25-20 ATS; that’s right, 23 of those games had no betting line attached. Home favorites were 27-4 SU and 21-10 ATS, for a healthy success rate of 67.7 percent.
Away favorites, though, were the best play of Week 1 at a dominating 12-2 SU and 10-4 ATS (71.4 percent). The winners included LSU, who went into Mississippi State and blanked the Bulldogs 45-0 to easily cover the 19½-point spread. The improved Washington Huskies (-3) also pounded the pay window with a convincing 42-12 victory at the Carrier Dome over the Syracuse Orange.
What does all this portend for Week 2? There are still some cupcake non-conference matchups on the schedule; Thursday’s tilt between Middle Tennessee State and Louisville (-38½) was the biggest spread on the board at press time. Although both clubs in these non-con mismatches have one game under their belts, the favorites figure to be even stronger after their de facto exhibition contests over the weekend.
Yes, that includes the Wolverines. Michigan opened as just a 6-point home favorite over the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. That line quickly moved to 8½ points at press time. Apparently the college football betting public isn’t as prone to overreacting to the results from Week 1 as the conventional media would suggest. The Ducks are no pushovers, and the Pac-10 has improved as a whole, but there should be little doubt (for now) that Michigan will play as its No. 5 preseason ranking suggests it should.
Meanwhile, there are at least a handful of must-see games on the Week 2 sked, highlighted by the current No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies visiting No. 2 LSU. This matchup might not be as close as the national rankings would suggest (the Tigers are favored by 12 points), but now that the opening week dress rehearsal is behind us -- a more important event for the Hokies than any other team in the nation -- we should at least be treated to a well-played game of football.
