Betting Recap - Week 2
By Daniel Dobish
VegasInsider.com
Overall Notes
Favorites-Underdogs
Straight Up 62-13
Against the Spread 42-33
Home-Away
Straight Up 54-21
Against the Spread 42-33
Totals (O/U)
Over-Under 25-25-1
The largest underdog to win straight up: Toledo (+21.5, ML +925) at Arkansas, 16-12
The largest favorite to cover: Texas Christian (-45) vs. Stephen F. Austin, 70-7
Top 25 Notes
Nine Top 10 teams won, with only Oregon slipping up because they were facing a fellow Top 10 team in Michigan State. Top 10 teams managed to go just 3-7 ATS, with Auburn having perhaps the most shocking result. FCS Jacksonville State took the Tigers to overtime because the No. 6 team escaped with a 27-20 victory. Jack State nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets is the history of college football, entering as a 40-point underdog. ... Arkansas wasn't as fortunate to escape, as 22 1/2-point underdog Toledo pulled off the shocker against the Razorbacks. ... Notre Dame needed some late heroics to stun Virginia in Charlottesville. With :12 left, backup QB DeShone Kizer hit William Fuller on a 39-yard Hail Mary play to kill moneyline bettors of the Cavaliers. The Irish lost Heisman candidate QB Malik Zaire to a fractured ankle, and he is expected to be done for the regular season with a chance at a return for a bowl game. ... For the second straight week, Southern California steamrolled their opponent - this time Idaho. The Trojans roughed up the Vandals 59-9, and have now outscored their opponents 114-15, going 2-0 SU/ATS in the process.
Louisiana State had their first game against FCS McNeese State postponed last weekend, so they were a bit of a question mark heading into their game against Mississippi State. They passed their first test with flying colors, winning 21-19 in Starkville to quiet the cowbells in the end.
Mississippi also covered for a second straight week, as they pounded Fresno State by a 73-21 count in Oxford. Ole Miss is averaging a gaudy 74.5 points per game, going 2-0 SU/ATS to date. The offensive fireworks are likely to slow next Saturday in an SEC West showdown at Alabama.
Another team having no trouble on offense is Georgia Tech. They rolled Tulane 65-10 as a 32 1/2-point favorite, and the Ramblin' Wreck is averaging 67.0 points per game through two showings while going 2-0 SU/ATS. They will also have their most stern test to date next Saturday when they head to South Bend to take on the Irish.
Top-ranked Ohio State was a little sluggish in its home opener against Hawaii, failing to cover a 41-point number. However, the defense did pitch a shutout in the 38-0 victory. The next two weekends feature visits from MAC schools Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, so the cakewalk looks to continue well into October before things pick up with the conference schedule.
Big Five Conference Report
The Atlantic Coast Conference got off to a quick start with Miami-Florida covering Friday night at Florida Atlantic after a sluggish start. ... Speaking of sluggish, Florida State was a little rusty initially against South Florida, probably thanks to an 11:30 am ET kickoff. However, after a 7-7 halftime score, it was all FSU in the second half when they outscored the Bulls 27-7. Still, it was a non-cover for FSU, as they slip to 1-1 ATS, and 4-12 ATS over their past 16 games overall. ... Syracuse lost QB Terrel Hunt to a season-ending Achilles' injury in Week 1, but they ran away from Wake Forest in the second half to open the ACC schedule 1-0. The Orange are now 2-0 SU/ATS with Central Michigan paying a visit next weekend. ... It wasn't a great game for Louisville, as they dropped to 0-2 SU/1-1 ATS with a 34-31 loss at home to Houston. It doesn't figure to get much better with Clemson paying a visit Thursday, giving the Cards only a few days to regroup.
Illinois picked up a 44-0 win over FCS Western Illinois, as Wes Lunt and company are off to a good start. The Illini have outscored the opposition 96-3 so far this season, good for a 2-0 SU/ATS mark. The Illini head to North Carolina next Saturday trying to hand UNC its first non-cover. ... Indiana hasn't looked great, but they are 2-0 SU after a 36-22 win against Florida International. That's two overs for the Hoosiers, who are averaging 42.0 points per game while allowing 34.5 points per game. They welcome high-powered Western Kentucky to 'The Rock' next Saturday in what should be a track meet. ... Michigan picked up the first win of the Jim Harbaugh era with a 35-7 win over Oregon State. The Wolverines have allowed just 15.5 points per game for a pair of unders in their first two.
Baylor got off to a slow start against FCS Lamar, actually trailing the 57-point underdogs by a 14-13 score at one point midway through the second quarter. But in true Bears fashion, they quickly pieced things together and ended up throttling the Cardinals 66-31. The Bears are averaging 61.0 points per game, while allowing 26.0 points per game. Needless to say, the over is 2-0 for Baylor so far. ... Texas rebounded with a 42-28 win over Rice in an old Southwest Conference rivalry revival, but the Longhorns killed bettors in the fourth quarter (see bad beats below). ... Something is not quite right with Oklahoma State. While they moved to 2-0 SU, and a win is a win, they struggled with FCS Central Arkansas and are now 0-2 ATS. ... Kansas is one of the worst teams in the nation, getting humbled at home by Kansas. The Jayhawks are 0-2 SU/ATS, and will trry to right the ship at Rutgers in two weeks after a bye.
Colorado rebounded after their Week 1 loss in the islands, throttling Massachusetts by a 48-14 count. The Buffs easily covered an 11 1/2-point number to even up at 1-1 SU/ATS. ... Washington State went cross-country and picked up a late win at Rutgers, 37-34, to rebound after a shocking 24-17 loss at home to FCS Portland State. If anything, the Cougs are fun to watch. ... Arizona also looked much better in their game at Nevada, winning and covering Nevada after a shaky opening performance against UTSA. ... Stanford also rebounded nicely after their ugly Week 1 loss at Northwestern, pasting visiting UCF by a 31-7 score. ... Arizona State continues to have more questions than answers, struggling against the triple-option of FCS Cal Poly. It was actually tied 21-21 into the fourth quarter before the Sun Devils pulled away from the Mustangs for an unsatisfying 35-21 win.
The SEC had a black eye with Arkansas, and Tennessee lost the marquee game against Oklahoma. And remember Auburn's near-nightmare. It wasn't all bad, though. Georgia continues to look solid, and Alabama is a machine. But how about Kentucky, improving to 2-0 with a road win at South Carolina. The Wildcats are now 2-0 SU/1-1 ATS, but they need to work on keeping a lead. Perhaps the Wildcats are used to being in the situation, but they have been outscored 41-18 in the second half this season.
Mid-Major Report
Conference USA had a so-so weekend. Charlotte surprisingly moved to 2-0 SU/ATS with a 34-10 win over FCS Presbyterian. However, it wasn't a very good showing for Texas-San Antonio at home against Kansas State and a former walk-on QB subbing for their regular signal caller. UTSA fell to 0-2 SU and 1-1 ATS. ... Southern Mississippi is a team which has looked much, much better. They held their own against Mississippi State last weekend with a cover, and they moved to 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS with a 52-6 stomping of FCS Austin Peay. ... Western Kentucky got on track with their offense after a shaky 14-12 win at Vanderbilt in their opener. The 'Toppers are now 2-0 SU/ATS after their 41-38 win over Louisiana Tech. Chad Morris is making a difference at Southern Methodist, too, as they posted a 31-13 win over North Texas. The Mustangs are 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS on the young season. It will be interesting to see if they can slow down TCU next weekend.
The MAC held their heads high with Toledo stunning Arkansas, and Bowling Green running away from Maryland by a 48-27 count. ... Buffalo wasn't able to surprise Penn State, but they did pick up their second cover in as many weeks. Next up is a road trip to Florida Atlantic of C-USA. ... Eastern Michigan went out to Laramie and spanked Wyoming as 13-point underdogs, winning 48-29. The Eagles are now 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS with a date with Ball State looming in the MAC opener next Saturday. ... Ohio is also 2-0 SU/ATS after a rather easy win over former MAC member, and current C-USA team Marshall. ... Central Michigan is also 2-0 ATS through the first two weekends. Ball State, BGSU, EMU and WMU have watched the over hit in each of their first two games. ... Kent State hit the over for the second time in two games, too, and had a female kick an extra point through in their win over FCS Delaware State.
Air Force pulled away from San Jose State for the win and cover, moving to 2-0 SU/ATS. .. Hawaii also held on for the cover, their second in as many weeks, after an odyssey to Columbus. .. Boise State, Nevada, San Diego State and Wyoming have each slipped to 0-2 ATS through their first two games. ... Not one team in the Mountain West has had the over hit in each of their first two games, as defense has ruled the day. The under has hit in the first two games for Hawaii, SDSU and Utah State so far.
Bad Beats
In the bad beat department, Boston College was a 44-point favorite over FCS Howard. They ran out to a 41-0 lead after one quarter, and 62-0 at half. The third and fourth quarters were shortened to 10 minutes a piece, and 55 minutes is official for action, so the game was graded as a 'no play' despite the utter domination by BC.
Brigham Young was at it again. Boise State held a 24-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter in Provo. Not only did BYU kill side bettors for the Broncos, but they scored a Hail Mary touchdown to take a 28-24 lead with :45 left in regulation, and then added a pick-six with :30 left to absolutely stun 'under' (56.5) bettors.
Texas held a 42-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter against Rice as 14 1/2-point favorites. However, the Owls outscored the Longhorns 14-0 in the fourth quarter for the backdoor cover at most shops.
Michigan State side bettors were feeling good until Oregon struck for a touchdown with 3:25 to go in regulation, changing the result from a Sparty cover to a Ducks road cover in the final minutes of regulation.
'Under' (66.5) were hoping USC would call off the dogs in the fourth quarter, but they scored a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to push the total over in their 59-9 win over hapless Idaho.