Where the action is: Saturday's biggest college football line moves
After a crazy day of college football last Saturday, Week 9 takes a step back with only a few marquee matchups on the board. That hasn’t slowed down betting online or in Nevada, where
Bookmakers are constantly juggling their lines.
We talk with Scott Kaminsky at TheGreek.com about the biggest line moves on Saturday’s college football slate:
UAB Blazers at Arkansas Razorbacks – Open: -21.5, Move: -27
Money has moved the line for this noon ET kickoff as many as 5.5 points since opening Sunday night. A concussion suffered by UAB quarterback Cody Clements has bettors siding with the Hogs in this non-conference clash. Clements, a dangerous dual-threat transfer from Washington State, is listed as doubtful for Week 9.
“Knowing the UAB quarterback was worth about four points, we took the game off the board and wanted to wait and see if we got some more information,” Kaminsky tells Covers. “About 15 minutes after we did that, the line shot up to 23.5 and 24.5 at other places. We rehung it at 23.5 and moved to -27 Arkansas. We moved it really fast so there isn’t a lot of money at those lower numbers.”
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Nebraska Cornhuskers – Open: -17, Move: -20
This Big Ten battle has jumped a full field goal since opening at -17 in favor of the home side. Rutgers is coming off a one-sided loss to Ohio State and hits the road for a date in Lincoln, still one of the toughest venues in college football.
“Smart money came in and we moved to -20 yesterday,” says Kaminsky. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this game continued to climb after what happened to Rutgers last week. It seemed like Ohio State scored on almost every possession.”
West Virginia Mountaineers at Oklahoma State Cowboys – Open: -3, Move: Pick
This spread is about to jump the fence will nothing but underdog money coming in on WVU. The Mountaineers turned heads with a win over Baylor last week while Okie State laid an egg versus TCU. The line opened with the Pokes as field-goal faves in Stillwater, but WVU action has this line at a pick’em in some markets.
“It’s been all dog money, and rightfully so,” says Kaminsky. “West Virginia had put up more than 500 yards of offense in five straight games then beat Baylor convincingly. Not surprising money came in on West Virginia and it’s a definite possibly WVU ends up the favorite before this is done moving.”
Central Michigan Chippewas at Buffalo Bulls – Open: +3.5, Move: +6
Depending on where you bet, online or Las Vegas, you could be getting CMU -5 or -6 respectively. Buffalo is coming off two losses, allowing a combined 73 points in those games.
“We opened Central Michigan -3.5 and got hit a couple times on the favorite, so we moved to -5,” says Kaminsky. “These MAC games, it always seems like neither team can stop each other and they just go up and down the field.”
USC Trojans at Utah Utes – Open: +2.5, Move: -1
Utah has been a favorite of the wiseguys all season and Week 9 is no exception. Sharp money hit the Utes hard in this home stand, pushing the spread across the fence and currently has Utah favored at home at some books. Others are standing on pick as kickoff draws closer.
“It’s been all dog money,” says Kaminsky. “(Utah has) played very well this season. They won at Oregon State last week, beat Michigan, and beat UCLA in UCLA which is a huge win. They have a good offense and can put point up on the board. Got to wonder when the last time was that they played USC as the favorite?”
Our records go back to 1993, and the Utes were never the chalk versus Southern Cal in any of their previous five meetings. Utah is 3-2 ATS in that span.
