The opening lines for college football Week 7 came out Sunday night, and there are some interesting opportunities being offered to the public and the sharps. We’ll see which sides take money from where as the lines move later in the week.
Alabama (6-0 SU, 5-1 ATS) and LSU (6-0 SU, 4-2 ATS), two of
the unquestionably elite teams this year, seem like they are a good college football betting choice to
cover any and every spread – on the road, big favorite, against ranked teams,
whatever. This week they again have big favorite lines that have football bettors
wondering if they are justified, with some leaning yes, some leaning no.
The
Tigers are a 15.5-point road favorite at Tennessee, and the Crimson Tide are a
25-point road favorite at Mississippi. Both of those lines are likely to move
by kickoff, as a result of betting response by the public and sharps alike, so keep an eye on the college football odds.
The Texas Longhorns closed as an 11-point neutral field
underdog last week, a shocking number for such a storied program. They were
up against Oklahoma, another of the unquestionably elite teams this year, and
the line proved to be way too low as the Sooners got an easy win and cover.
This week, Texas gets another shot for a cover as a big dog against Oklahoma
St, as they opened as a home dog of 8.5 points. And the market, which was right
in its movement on the Oklahoma game, seems to be liking a cover this week by
Texas, based on the early movement. The line got quickly bet down to 7.
The Virginia Tech Hokies have overall been a disappointment
this year. They have lost 5 straight against the spread, but they still opened
as a 7-point road favorite against Wake Forest, 4-1 ATS on the year and coming
off of an impressive home win over Florida St. This line is likely to see
action on both sides up until game time, and bounce around the 7. If Virginia
Tech does happen to win by exactly 7, it could be a disastrous result for the sportsbooks.
USC curiously opened as a road favorite of more than a field
goal at California on a Thursday night prime time showdown. The Trojans
have impressed this year, and QB Matt Barkley is playing at a high level, but
Cal has been a very good home team in recent history, and they are 7-2 ATS at
home over the last year and a half. The line for the game has since been bet
down to 3, and may go lower.
Temple opened at -19 at home over Buffalo, and has since
been bet up to 21, and for understandable reasons. Aside from featuring a very
strong running game, the Owls have a habit of completely shutting down opposing
teams’ offenses, especially those from their own conference, the MAC. Four
times Temple has held opposing teams under 10 points this year, and last year
completely shut out Buffalo, winning 42-0 on the road.
One of the toughest opening lines to call, though, may have
been the line on the Central Florida/SMU game. SMU is off of a very impressive
road win over powerhouse TCU, and then enjoyed a bye week to recover. The line
opened at SMU -2 at home, a curious line considering how mediocre Central
Florida has been this year. But the Knights were expected to be a top
Conference USA team this year, and the linesmakers may have gotten it right by
setting such a low opening number for this game. The market has since bet the
number up to 3.5, however.