For years, the public betting masses gravitated toward teams such as Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, Texas and Michigan. And all those teams still take plenty of money.
But high-flying Indiana is now attracting public eyeballs, too.
“The Hoosiers just go out and score a ton of points. There’s no slowing down, no matter what,” Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel said. “That’s the kind of team bettors love.”
In college football Week 11 odds, Indiana continues to get that love vs. freefalling Penn State, for Saturday’s Big Noon Kickoff on FOX.
Bookmakers and sharp bettors offer their insights on that matchup and more, as we dive into this week’s college football betting nuggets.
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College Football Rocks on FOX
As Feazel noted, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti isn’t one to take his foot off the gas pedal. The Hoosiers hung up 55 points or more five times this season, including each of the past two weeks.
In Week 10 at Maryland, the Hoosiers (9-0 SU/6-3 ATS) scored 35 points in the second half en route to a 55-10 blowout as 21-point favorites.
“They continue to cover, continue to get Overs. So Indiana is one of the more popular teams to wager on, week in and week out,” Feazel said.
On the flip side: Penn State (3-5 SU/1-7 ATS) is stunningly on a five-game losing streak. The Nittany Lions are also one of the worst spread-covering teams in the nation.
As such, Caesars opened Indiana as a 14-point road favorite for Saturday’s noon ET start. That spread stretched to -15.5 by Monday morning, and the Hoosiers are at -14.5 as of Friday.
“It’s one-way traffic toward Indiana. People are even laying alternate spreads, Indiana winning by three touchdowns or four touchdowns. And a team like Indiana is capable of doing so,” Feazel said. “We’ll need Penn State in all ways Saturday.”
Big 12 Big Game
With the SEC and Big Ten dominating the conversation, it’s easy to overlook the Big 12. But that conference just might land two College Football Playoff bids.
On Tuesday night, in the first CFP rankings release of the season, BYU was No. 7, Texas Tech was No. 8 and Utah No. 13. As fate would have it, BYU travels to Texas Tech on Saturday, for another noon ET kickoff.
The Cougars (8-0 SU/6-2 ATS) and Red Raiders (8-1 SU/7-2 ATS) have both been great to bettors this season. But even though BYU is unbeaten and ranked a notch higher, oddsmakers clearly see Texas Tech as the better outfit.
Caesars Sports opened Texas Tech as a 10.5-point home favorite, moved to -10 on Monday, and the spread is still -10 on Friday.
“We did see a little respected action on BYU +10.5,” Feazel said, noting sharp bets early on the Cougars. “Texas Tech is another team customers love to bet. But it’s decent two-way action on the spread. And on the moneyline, there’s a little more BYU action.
“Our need come game day will probably be Texas Tech to win but not cover.”
On Campus Sharp Side
College football betting expert Paul Stone got involved with SEC games each of the past three weeks, going 2-1. This week, he’s jumping to the Big Ten.
No. 9 Oregon (7-1 SU/4-3-1 ATS) visits No. 20 Iowa (6-2 SU/5-2-1 ATS) at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The Ducks are 6.5-point favorites in a matchup with CFP implications for both teams.
Stone said Kinnick Stadium can be a tricky spot for visitors, as No. 2 Indiana found out earlier this season. The Hoosiers trailed Iowa 13-10 in the fourth quarter, before rallying for a 20-15 victory.
Stone believes Oregon will experience similar challenges in Iowa City. He recommends taking Iowa +6.5.
“Iowa’s not going to wow you with a lot of flash and dash,” Stone said. “But if the Hawkeyes can execute their trademark brand of football — run the ball effectively, play sound defense, win the turnover battle — then I think they can take the Ducks into the fourth quarter and possibly get the outright victory.”
SEC Showdown
In the first CFP rankings, Texas A&M is above every other SEC team. The Aggies checked in at No. 3, behind only No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana.
A&M is 8-0 SU, but a middling 4-4 ATS heading into a road tilt vs. No. 22 Missouri (6-2 SU/5-3 ATS). However, the Aggies are coming off a bye after belting LSU 49-25 on the road in Week 9.
Missouri is also off a bye, but it’s in the wake of a 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt, in which the Tigers had a Hail Mary come up one yard short. Further, Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula suffered a dislocated ankle, and it’s uncertain if he’ll return this season.
Pribula certainly isn’t playing anytime soon. With that in mind, Caesars opened Texas A&M as a 6-point road favorite and on Monday moved to A&M -6.5/-7. As of noon ET on Friday, it’s Aggies -6.5 (-120).
“Texas A&M is playing really good football, underrated football,” Feazel said. “The Aggies have a very stout defense. Bettors are expecting to see that here, laying the 7 points with A&M and correlating that with the Under.”
The total opened at 49.5 and got as low as at Caesars, and it’s at 49.5 on Friday.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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