BEHIND THE LINES
Central Florida is a big favorite on the road
Central Florida, which began its football program in 1989 and did not move to the Division I level until 1996, is no mystery to bettors.
The Knights are 13-point road favorites over Southern Methodist today. The Mustangs are playing their last home game for lame-duck Coach Phil Bennett, who was fired last month but will finish the season.
Orlando-based Central Florida (7-3), which has the nation's No. 2 rusher in Kevin Smith, had attracted 86% of the wagers (total number of bets, not money total) against the spread as of Friday -- the most lopsided percentage of the week -- according to theSpread.com's betting trend.
But SMU (1-9), which has lost nine consecutive games, has covered against the spread in two of its last three games. The Mustangs are also 5-0 against the spread in their last five games as home underdogs of 10 1/2 points or greater, and 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record.
For the third year in a row, Ohio State is favored over Michigan in the Big Ten Conference's most anticipated game of the season.
The Buckeyes (10-1) are four-point favorites for today's game in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Both teams are 6-4 against the spread, but the Wolverines (8-3) have covered in four of their last five games.
The over/under is listed at 49 points. The over has covered the last four times the Buckeyes have faced the Wolverines and six times in the last seven meetings.
For most conferences, late-November games are normally tight grudge-match affairs, but not in the Southeastern Conference.
Just look at a couple of games today that feature SEC teams playing home games against overmatched opponents. Florida has the difficult job of facing Florida International as a 34-point favorite and Alabama has the challenge of being a 24 1/2 -point favorite over Louisiana Monroe.
Florida and Alabama join several other SEC teams that have either played or are still scheduled to play a cupcake opponent in college football's "championship month." They include Georgia (Troy), Auburn (Tennessee Tech), Tennessee (Louisiana Lafayette) and Louisiana State (Louisiana Tech).
Pro football
The St. Louis Rams lost their first eight games before winning at New Orleans last week. So as a reward, oddsmakers have made them three-point road favorites for their next game.
The reason for such a turnaround? The Rams (1-8) are playing the struggling San Francisco 49ers (2-7), who have lost six consecutive games and are 1-4 against the spread in their last five games against an opponent with a losing record.
According to theSpread.com, St. Louis has picked up 86% of the bets against the spread. At Wagerline.com, the Rams have received 71% support against the spread.
www.latimes.com