LAS VEGAS -- While Las Vegas sports books fared well in the first week of college football, Week 2 games are already up on the betting board and seeing plenty of action early on. Some teams have already suffered significant injuries to key players, moving the betting lines from openers released on Sunday.
The underdog BYU Cougars have seen a decent move in their direction for Saturday’s primetime matchup at Texas (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1). Texas quarterback David Ash experienced a recurrence of concussion-related symptoms during the Longhorn’s win over North Texas on Saturday, and the betting market has reacted.
“That game’s dropping this morning,” Johnny Avello, The Wynn's Executive Director of Race & Sports Operations, told The Linemakers on Sporting News on Monday morning. “There was some play on it (Sunday). I opened the game (Texas -4.5), we went down to 3.5, but now I think we’re down to 3. There’s definitely some movement on that this morning, and that is all about Ash.”
BYU, though, “might have gotten bet in that game anyway,” Avello continued. “BYU’s a pretty good team. People see them at Connecticut winning easily, the team’s put together a couple good seasons. I understand why they’re going to bet BYU. They might even end up going off as the favorite.”
Last year, the Cougars ran all over the Longhorns to the tune of a school-record 550 rushing yards, also the most Texas has ever surrendered on the ground. BYU won that game in a 40-21 rout, and Texas played so poorly defensively that rumors started swirling about the future of head coach Mack Brown, who resigned later in the year and was eventually replaced by Charlie Strong.
Early money backings USC at Stanford
The USC Trojans looked very good in a 52-13 victory against Fresno State in their season opener, but now they take a big step up in competition when they open Pac-12 play Saturday at Stanford (3:30 p.m, ABC). USC upset Stanford 20-17 as a 3.5-point home underdog last season but has struggled in the series over the years, losing four of the last five meetings and failing to cover the spread in five of the previous seven.
Avello opened Stanford -5 but has moved down the ladder to -3.5 since.
“I think (bettors) saw USC this week,” he said. “You’re looking at last week’s game and like what you saw. You saw USC run over 100 plays, their offense was moving the ball pretty well. I understand the move. But Stanford’s a little different than the team they played last week.
“I have high hopes for USC this year. I projected them to win nine games. Last year they beat Stanford but previous to that they actually had a difficult time with this team, and that’s even in the good years. They’re going to have to be a little better than I thought to win this game.”
Ducks quacking loud early
One of the best games of the young season takes place in Eugene on Saturday, when the Oregon Ducks host the Michigan State Spartans in a battle of top 10 teams (6:30 p.m., Fox). Both are coming off blowout wins against inferior opponents last week, outscoring them by a combined score of 107-20.
Avello said he was a bit surprised to see so much money coming in on the Ducks this week against such a quality opponent in Michigan State but understands that’s due to their annual early-season dominance.
“When you first look at it, it’s kind of stunning,” Avello said. “(We) opened 10.5 (for Oregon), went up to 11, I think we’re up to 13 now. I guess we all know about Oregon at home, don’t we, early in the year? They blow teams out. Here they are early in the season, all the Oregon money will show.
“If Michigan State’s going to be the team that people think they’re going to be this year, then we’re going to find out if they actually are that team because this is a test right here. We’ll see where we have to get to draw some Michigan State money.”
Late money on Irish?
A big rivalry game has seen early action on the underdog, as the Michigan Wolverines visit the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday (7:30 p.m., NBC). The Wolverines had no problem disposing of Appalachian State last week in a 52-14 victory, while the Irish also took care of business in a 48-17 win over Rice, with both teams covering the spread by double digits.
“These two teams play each other every year,” Avello said. “If you want to go back and look at past results, you’re going to see that most of the games are real
close. Last year’s game was about 10 or 11 points (a 41-30 Michigan home win), but everything previous to that is usually about a four-point game.
“I understand why they’re taking the points (with the Wolverines), but sometimes there’s a late move in this game on the home team. I’m comfortable right now with where we’re sitting – 5’s a good number – we’ll see if we get pushed one way or another.”
College football Week2 opening lines from the Wynn
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