A profitable weekend for betting college favorites
A profitable weekend for betting college favorites
When the dust cleared this last Saturday, chalk wcame out on top by a 32-20 ATS margin, with home favorites clipping along at 21-11 ATS. The Texas Longhorns blasted Missouri 56-31 to hold the top spot in the polls, including the season's first BCS rankings. And don't look now, but Mark Sanchez and the USC Trojans are back in business after the 69-0 rout of Washington State that wasn't even that close.
An eerie calm has descended upon college football stadiums across the country. Chalkeaters, you can come out of hiding. It’s safe – for now.
After months of getting whipped from pillar to post, the top FBS programs got through Week 8 of the 2008 season relatively intact. Teams in the coaches’ poll went 9-4 SU and 7-6 ATS versus unranked opponents, leading all favorites to a 32-20 ATS record. Home favorites hammered the betting odds at 21-11 ATS (65.6 percent). That was by far the top play for handicappers, although home faves remain in the red at 115-129-4 ATS on the season. The Over was 26-25 in Week 8 to continue its holding pattern at 184-187.
The ACC’s big guns had some trouble keeping up with the rest of the major conferences over the weekend. Three of the four losses suffered by ranked teams were ACC matchups; No. 18 Virginia Tech, No. 19 Wake Forest and No. 21 North Carolina all lost on the road Saturday and fell out of the Top 25 the day after. But only one of those three teams was favored – the Tar Heels laid 3.5 points to Virginia, who didn’t need them in a 16-13 overtime victory.
The other key loss was also on the road, as then-No. 22 California (-2½) couldn’t hold a first-half lead and fell 42-27 at Arizona. Otherwise, it was all chalk, all the time. The No. 4 USC Trojans (-42½) showed the Pac-10 how it’s done by marching into Pullman and pounding Washington State 69-0. And that was merciful; Mitch Mustain came in to mop up after Mark Sanchez threw five TD passes in the first half.
The No. 1 Texas Longhorns were even more impressive Saturday, given the quality of their opponent. Texas (-3½) laid waste to the Missouri Tigers 56-31 to extend the best record in the nation to 7-0 SU and ATS. With the loss, Missouri stands at 5-2 SU and 3-3 ATS, hanging onto a place in the polls at No. 16. The Longhorns solidified their top spot by taking every single vote. Only three other teams are perfect at the pay window: Ball State (5-0), Oklahoma State (5-0) and Georgia Tech (4-0).
Ball State is one of five mid-majors in the polls, but easily the most entertaining to follow, and not just because David Letterman was an alumnus. The MAC has produced a lot of offense over the years, and the Cardinals lead the conference in 2008 with 455.6 yards per game – that’s No. 15 in the entire nation. We’ll just ignore for now the fact that Ball State has played six losing teams out of seven and has yet to face a ranked opponent.
Meanwhile, handicappers can add Utah, West Virginia and Clemson to the perfect pile. The No. 12 Utes pushed the over to 7-0 on the season with a 49-16 win over Colorado State (+21). The other two teams in question have flawless 5-0 under records; the Mountaineers and Tigers are experiencing offensive meltdowns, with Clemson firing coach Tommy Bowden and sitting at 3-4 SU and 0-5 ATS. That’s the ACC for you.
Joining Clemson in the “fade me” category are the aforementioned WSU Cougars at 0-7 ATS, and Wyoming at 0-6 ATS. The Cowboys had the best strategy for avoiding another embarrassing loss: take a bye week. Indiana is the other team yet to cash in, but at least the Hoosiers have a push to their “credit” at 2-5 SU and 0-5-1 ATS. Something tells me they won’t be going bowling this season.
A word of warning before digging in for Week 9: Ohio State is back. The Buckeyes (7-1 SU, 2-5 ATS) had their first really big win of the season, crushing Michigan State 45-7 as 3½-point road faves. Penn State (8-0 SU, 5-1-1 ATS) comes to Columbus Saturday night. Circle your calendars.
When the dust cleared this last Saturday, chalk wcame out on top by a 32-20 ATS margin, with home favorites clipping along at 21-11 ATS. The Texas Longhorns blasted Missouri 56-31 to hold the top spot in the polls, including the season's first BCS rankings. And don't look now, but Mark Sanchez and the USC Trojans are back in business after the 69-0 rout of Washington State that wasn't even that close.
An eerie calm has descended upon college football stadiums across the country. Chalkeaters, you can come out of hiding. It’s safe – for now.
After months of getting whipped from pillar to post, the top FBS programs got through Week 8 of the 2008 season relatively intact. Teams in the coaches’ poll went 9-4 SU and 7-6 ATS versus unranked opponents, leading all favorites to a 32-20 ATS record. Home favorites hammered the betting odds at 21-11 ATS (65.6 percent). That was by far the top play for handicappers, although home faves remain in the red at 115-129-4 ATS on the season. The Over was 26-25 in Week 8 to continue its holding pattern at 184-187.
The ACC’s big guns had some trouble keeping up with the rest of the major conferences over the weekend. Three of the four losses suffered by ranked teams were ACC matchups; No. 18 Virginia Tech, No. 19 Wake Forest and No. 21 North Carolina all lost on the road Saturday and fell out of the Top 25 the day after. But only one of those three teams was favored – the Tar Heels laid 3.5 points to Virginia, who didn’t need them in a 16-13 overtime victory.
The other key loss was also on the road, as then-No. 22 California (-2½) couldn’t hold a first-half lead and fell 42-27 at Arizona. Otherwise, it was all chalk, all the time. The No. 4 USC Trojans (-42½) showed the Pac-10 how it’s done by marching into Pullman and pounding Washington State 69-0. And that was merciful; Mitch Mustain came in to mop up after Mark Sanchez threw five TD passes in the first half.
The No. 1 Texas Longhorns were even more impressive Saturday, given the quality of their opponent. Texas (-3½) laid waste to the Missouri Tigers 56-31 to extend the best record in the nation to 7-0 SU and ATS. With the loss, Missouri stands at 5-2 SU and 3-3 ATS, hanging onto a place in the polls at No. 16. The Longhorns solidified their top spot by taking every single vote. Only three other teams are perfect at the pay window: Ball State (5-0), Oklahoma State (5-0) and Georgia Tech (4-0).
Ball State is one of five mid-majors in the polls, but easily the most entertaining to follow, and not just because David Letterman was an alumnus. The MAC has produced a lot of offense over the years, and the Cardinals lead the conference in 2008 with 455.6 yards per game – that’s No. 15 in the entire nation. We’ll just ignore for now the fact that Ball State has played six losing teams out of seven and has yet to face a ranked opponent.
Meanwhile, handicappers can add Utah, West Virginia and Clemson to the perfect pile. The No. 12 Utes pushed the over to 7-0 on the season with a 49-16 win over Colorado State (+21). The other two teams in question have flawless 5-0 under records; the Mountaineers and Tigers are experiencing offensive meltdowns, with Clemson firing coach Tommy Bowden and sitting at 3-4 SU and 0-5 ATS. That’s the ACC for you.
Joining Clemson in the “fade me” category are the aforementioned WSU Cougars at 0-7 ATS, and Wyoming at 0-6 ATS. The Cowboys had the best strategy for avoiding another embarrassing loss: take a bye week. Indiana is the other team yet to cash in, but at least the Hoosiers have a push to their “credit” at 2-5 SU and 0-5-1 ATS. Something tells me they won’t be going bowling this season.
A word of warning before digging in for Week 9: Ohio State is back. The Buckeyes (7-1 SU, 2-5 ATS) had their first really big win of the season, crushing Michigan State 45-7 as 3½-point road faves. Penn State (8-0 SU, 5-1-1 ATS) comes to Columbus Saturday night. Circle your calendars.
