Now that we are going into week five of college football action, the guys who come up with the props… from the attractive to the outlandish… are at it once again. Speculation regains supreme as every possible matchup is explored and finally labeled with numbers signifying the various wagering possibilities available.
Las Vegas Sports Books have opened wagering on several potential BCS National Championship Games but are limiting the wagers to a two dime max.
The ‘Big Game’ is scheduled to kickoff on Monday, January 6th in Pasadena, California at the world famous Rose Bowl, one of college football’s most historic venues.
In coming up with these matchups, handicappers compared several factors including the power rating differentials (listed in parentheses) between the potential opponents. Here are a few of the more popular options that are being offered in Nevada and offshore.
Alabama -3.5 verses Oregon (Even)
Alabama -10 verses Florida State (Tide -4.5)
Alabama -8 verses Stanford (Tide -5.5)
Alabama -7.5 verses Ohio State (Tide -9)
Oregon -3 verses Georgia (Oregon -6.5)
Georgia-pick verses Ohio State (Dawgs -2.5)
Stanford-pick verses Ohio State (Stanford -3.5)
Texas A&M-pick verses Ohio State (Even)
Oregon -3 verses Ohio State (Oregon -9)
Of course all of these assume that Alabama and Georgia will get by LSU and the Ducks will go unscathed this season. Ohio State will probably win the Big Ten but faces several potential stumbling blocks along the way.
Micah Roberts of Linemakers said, “Our ratings are merely a tool that give us a starting point as to where the number should be, and that’s based on only hard stats the computer figures out based on a pre-set formula with no human element added. For a high-profile game as big as the BCS Championship, the human element is required to do some tinkering based on what the public will play, on what the sharp money plays and then a little bit of opinion.”
Of course we are still too early in the season to accurately predict what will be happening in the new year. Upsets can and do happen. Favorites could fall and underdogs could rule the day when least expected. That is one of the elements that keeps wagering on sports interesting as we move from season to season.
Obviously the SEC is going to be at the forefront of consideration for many bettors. SEC teams have won seven straight BCS titles and several look very capable of repeating this year as well.
