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Print7:46 pm – September 15, 2012
College football lines for all the remaining games tonight (openers in parentheses). Notice that Michigan State has jumped all the way up to -5.5 against Notre Dame.
Our favorite selection in bold.
* * *
All games start between 7:40 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET
125 USC -9.5 (-9)
126 Stanford
161 Colorado State
162 San Jose State -11 (-12.5)
163 Utah State
164 Wisconsin -14.5 (-13.5)
165 Idaho
166 LSU -42 (-42)
167 Notre Dame
168 Michigan State -5.5 (-4)
169 Ball State
170 Indiana -3 (-3.5)
171 Colorado
172 Fresno State -14.5 (-14)
173 New Mexico State
174 UTEP -14 (-12.5)
235 Western Illinois
236 Iowa State -35 (-35)
269 North Dakota
270 San Diego State -24.5 (-24.5)
131 Texas -10.5 (-12)
132 Mississippi
135 BYU -3.5 (-3.5)
136 Utah
175 Houston
176 UCLA -17 (-18)
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7:00 pm – September 15, 2012
We had to issue a kick-the-dog warning to all potential pet owners just a few minutes ago. Louisville, a 3.5-point home favorite against North Carolina, led 29-0 in the first half and took a 36-7 lead into halftime.
But the Cardinals fell apart in the second half, allowing three fourth-quarter touchdowns—and nearly another—before hanging on for their third straight victory. Bryn Renner’s 4th-down pass intended for Erik Highsmith fell incomplete with two minutes left, and Louisville was then able to run out the clock.
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6:00 pm – September 15, 2012
Very late line move in tonight’s Florida-Tennessee matchup.
The Volunteers were holding steady as a 3-point favorite for all of Saturday, but just moved to -3.5 at pretty much every offshore sportsbook.
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5:50 pm – September 15, 2012
Alabama’s defense gets a ton of (deserved) attention, but Florida State’s might soon rival it. After their 52-0 whupping of Wake Forest today (their second straight shutout), the Seminoles have given up a total of three points during their 3-0 start.
In fact, since a 35-30 loss at Wake Forest in Week 6 of last season, Florida State has held opponents under 20 points in 11 straight games.
During that span, the Seminoles are 10-1 straight up, 7-3 against the spread, and the under has hit in 7 of the 9 games with an over/under.
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5:25 pm – September 15, 2012
Somebody stop the bleeding!
A week after dropping a heartbreaker to UL-Monroe, the Arkansas Razorbacks—playing without injured starting quarterback Tyler Wilson—are getting whacked by top-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide lead 24-0 at the half and are 9.5-point second-half favorites. (Remember when this line was Alabama -6.5 during the summer?)
Arkansas head coach John L. Smith clearly wants to establish a running game, but we can’t quite figure out why. The Razorbacks have attempted 18 rushes for minus-5 yards, and they have 46 total yards for the game.
Oh, also: The third quarter just started. Alabama now leads 31-0.
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4:09 pm – September 15, 2012
It’s been an ‘over’ day so far through the 11 completed early games.
Eight games have gone ‘over’ the posted total, including the Florida State-Wake Forest matchup, which had a total of 51. The Seminoles had to do all the work by themselves, though, winning 52-0.
The highest-scoring game: Northern Illinois-Army. The Huskies won a 41-40 shootout, easily surpassing the posted total of 49.5.
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3:28 pm – September 15, 2012
Among the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoffs, several teams are receiving a large majority (70 percent or more) of the public betting action, including the ones listed below in bold.
Not a surprise, but they’re all favorites.
(All public betting information is from Sports Insights, a great betting tool that is well worth the investment.)
Boston College at Northwestern -4
Texas A&M -10 at SMU
North Carolina at Louisville -3
Alabama -19.5 at Arkansas
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2:38 pm – September 15, 2012
College football lines (openers in parentheses):
* * *
All games start between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET
107 Navy
108 Penn State -6.5 (-6.5)
109 UMass
110 Michigan -45.5 (-45)
111 Boston college
112 Northwestern -4 (-4)
121 Texas A&M -10 (-10.5)
122 SMU
127 East Carolina
128 Southern Miss -7 (-8)
137 North Carolina
138 Louisville -3 (-3.5)
139 Virginia
140 Georgia Tech -10 (-11)
141 Alabama -20.5 (-15.5)
142 Arkansas
243 Tennessee Tech
244 Oregon -51.5
245 Furman
246 Clemson -39
249 Northern Iowa
250 Iowa -12
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2:20 pm – September 15, 2012
For those of you looking to place halftime wagers, the Sports Memo, as it does every weekend, is providing you with a pretty valuable service by tracking which teams will receive the ball first in the second half.
You can view the table by clicking here.
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1:31 pm – September 15, 2012
Deadspin posted a handy TV schedule for all college football games sorted by conference. Worth checking out for those of you who don’t plan to leave the house all day.
Below are all games involving top 25 teams.
* * *
12 p.m. Wake Forest at (5) Florida State | ESPN
12 p.m. (13) Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh | ESPNU
12 p.m. Arkansas State at (24) Nebraska | ESPN2
12 p.m. (15) TCU at Kansas | FX
3 p.m. Tennessee Tech at (4) Oregon | Pac-12 Networks
3 p.m. Furman at (11) Clemson | FSN/CSS
3:30 p.m. North Carolina at (20) Louisville | ABC
3:30 p.m. James Madison vs. (8) West Virginia (Landover, Md.) | ROOT
3:30 p.m. Massachusetts at (18) Michigan | BTN
3:30 p.m. (1) Alabama at (21) Arkansas | CBS
6 p.m. (17) Florida at Tennessee | ESPN
7 p.m. North Texas at (14) Kansas State | FSN
7 p.m. UAB at (9) South Carolina | FSN
7:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic at (7) Georgia | CSS
7:30 p.m. (3) USC at (16) Stanford | FOX
8 p.m. (19) Notre Dame at (10) Michigan State | ABC
8 p.m. Utah State at (22) Wisconsin | BTN
8 p.m. Idaho at (2) LSU | TigerVision PPV
9:15 p.m. (12) Texas at Ole Miss | ESPN
10:30 p.m. South Carolina State at (25) Arizona | Pac-12 Networks
10:30 p.m. Houston at (23) UCLA | Pac-12 Networks
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1:20 pm – September 15, 2012
Earlier this week, Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe said he thought the point spread for his team’s matchup against No. 5 Florida State seemed a bit high.
“I think we’re about a 150-point underdog,” Grobe said.
No, coach. But perhaps you should be.
Florida State, which closed as a 27.5-point favorite, is having no trouble in its ACC opener against the Demon Deacons and currently leads 28-0 early in the second quarter. The Seminoles got off to a slow start, punting on their first two possessions, but managed to find the endzone on two of their next three, including a 74-yard run by Chris Thompson.
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1:11 pm – September 15, 2012
The Oregon Ducks don’t play until 3:30 p.m. ET against Tennessee Tech, and they’re currently 51-point favorites. The Ducks, as you know, are ridiculously good on offense and have the potential to score 60 points by halftime.
You think they’re good now? Wait until next year:
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1:02 pm – September 15, 2012
Oklahoma State currently leads Louisiana 24-0, but the Cowboys will likely play the rest of the game—and possibly much longer—without their starting quarterback.
Wes Lunt, a freshman, left with a knee injury on the Cowboys’ first drive. According to a reporter, he left the field on crutches and is being reevaluated. Also: Here’s a picture of his knee cap, which seems, um, out of place.
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12:52 pm – September 15, 2012
UPDATE: Maynard is back in the game, and he appears to be fine. The Bears, however, are not. They trail 20-7 early in the second quarter and have no answer for Ohio State QB Braxton Miller.
Cal quarterback Zach Maynard just left the game against Ohio State after a jarring hit from two defenders.
It’s unclear what the exact injury was or if he’ll return, but Maynard looked rattled, to say the least.
The Buckeyes, who closed as 17-point favorites, are up 13-7 at the end of the first quarter and are now -17.5 in live betting.
Maynard—who’s far from a fan favorite among Cal faithful—was 7 of 9 for 71 yards and a TD before the injury.
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12:44 pm – September 15, 2012
Pittsburgh +10.5 against Virginia Tech was billed as one of the biggest “sharp” bets on the college football card this weekend, and so far that’s proving to be true.
The Panthers lead 14-0 after the first quarter, and where did this version of Tino Sunseri come from? He completed 6 of his first 7 passes for 130 yards, showing remarkable accuracy on the deep ball.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas just threw his second interception.
The Hokies are now 3-point underdogs in live betting.
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12:37 pm – September 15, 2012
Kansas gave up an FBS-worst 7.3 yards per play last season, and that number improved to 5.2 through the first two games of this season.
But that was against South Dakota State and Rice.
Today, TCU is having little trouble slicing through the Jayhawks’ defense both on the ground and through the air. It’s extremely early, but the Horned Frogs are averaging 7.5 yards per play.
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12:11 pm – September 15, 2012
After an impressive opening drive from Pitt that ended with a 12-yard touchdown run from Ray Graham, the new spread on the game at BetOnline:
Virginia Tech closed as 10.5-point favorites, meaning there was a 4.5-point swing based on one drive.
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12:06 pm – September 15, 2012
Not much of a “home-field advantage” for Kansas today against TCU.
This photo was taken by the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Mike Vernon, 15 minutes prior to kickoff.
Pretty tame atmosphere for the Horned Frogs’ first Big 12 experience.
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11:37 am – September 15, 2012
According to Sports Insights—a fantastic sports gambling tool that tracks betting percentages, line moves and much, much more—the most “public” play among these early college football games is Ohio State -16.5 at home against California.
More than 80 percent of bettors are on the Buckeyes.
Just our opinion, but the game is virtually unplayable at that number.
Cal coach Jeff Tedford is known as the “spread stopper,” as his defenses frequently give teams like Oregon in the Pac-12 more trouble than most opponents. The Golden Bears’ front seven was billed as the league’s toughest going into this season, but they’ve given up 450 yards per game in going 1-1 against Nevada and Southern Utah.
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11:24 am – September 15, 2012
Kansas was already fighting an uphill battle as 19.5-point home underdogs against TCU at noon ET, but this won’t help.
Wide receivers have essentially zero impact on a point spread, but it’s the last thing the Jayhawks need after falling to Rice as 12-point favorites a week ago.
TCU—making its Big 12 debut—beat Grambling State 56-0 as 51-point favorites in its season-opener last weekend.
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11:16 am – September 15, 2012
Here’s more good stuff from @DavidPurdum, who talked to some prominent bettors about the Arizona State-Missouri matchup at 7 p.m. ET tonight.
The Tigers opened as 8.5-point favorites, but the line “started crashing in the early afternoon” on Friday as soon as news broke that Mizzou quarterback James Franklin would be a game-time decision.
Now, it’s currently Missouri -3 at BetOnline, which means whoever got the Sun Devils at more than a touchdown is sitting with great value.
From Purdum’s story:
Warren Sharp, a well-connected sports bettor, told The Linemakers’ David Purdum that some big syndicates caught wind of Franklin’s status early and pounded the Sun Devils and the under.
By mid-afternoon, the line was as low as -3.5 and the total had shrunk to 58.5.
“We saw the line moving drastically offshore, but nobody was at our place betting it,” said Chris Bennett, assistant sports book manager at the LVH. “We took it off the board when Don Best sent an alert.”
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11:07 am – September 15, 2012
USC is all the way down to a 7.5-point favorite at BetOnline for its matchup at Stanford at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Trojans opened at about -9 or -9.5 at most offshore sportsbooks, but have been bet down almost two full points despite receiving roughly three-quarters of the action.
USC 2-0 this season but 0-2 against the spread.
Stanford narrowly escaped an upset against San Jose State in its opener, but then bounced back nicely with a 50-13 home win over Duke as 16.5-point favorites. New quarterback Josh Nunes threw for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns.
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10:35 am – September 15, 2012
Looking for some outside opinions on any of today’s college football games? Here are a few notable threads to check out on the BTB Forum:
- College football Experts: Team experts provide their analysis on the teams they know best.
- College football Week #3: Breakdowns for dozens of matchups.
- Live dogs: Which underdogs have the best chance of winning outright?
- Rout city: Which favorites have the most potential to blow out their opponent?
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10:04 am – September 15, 2012
College football early lines (openers in parentheses):
* * *
All games start between noon and 12:30 p.m. ET
113 Eastern Michigan
114 Purdue -24 (-22)
115 Northern Illinois -3 (-1.5)
116 Army
117 Wake Forest
118 Florida State -27.5 (-25)
119 Connecticut -3 (pk)
120 Maryland
123 Virginia Tech -10 (-10.5)
124 Pittsburgh
129 California
130 Ohio State -16.5 (-16)
145 TCU -20.5 (-22)
146 Kansas
149 Western Michigan
150 Minnesota -3 (-4)
179 Arkansas State
180 Nebraska -22.5 (-24)
185 Louisiana
186 Oklahoma State -23.5 (-21)
195 UL Monroe
196 Auburn -15 (-15.5)
