Bettors weren’t fazed by the 52.5-point spread in the Ohio State/Rutgers game on Saturday. The No. 2 Buckeyes were playing their second Big 10 patsy in as many weeks, and gamblers weren’t scared to jump on Ohio State.
They should have been. Ohio won easily, 56-21, but missed the cover by five touchdowns.
According to Bet Labs, favorites of 50 or more points have gone 23-36-1 against the spread since 2005. The Ohio State/Rutgers game was the biggest spread they had in their records database.
The Buckeyes easily covered the week before against Maryland. They were 42.5-point picks against the Terrapins at home, and won 73-14. They had also covered spreads earlier in the season of 20, 27 and 39 points.
Money Pours in on Ohio State
It was no contest when it came to whom gamblers were backing in the Ohio State/Rutgers game. William Hill reported 71 percent of the tickets were on OSU, and 78 percent of the money. Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading at William Hill, said they needed the Scarlet Knights to cover, especially in first-half wagers.
The first-half bets seemed to be an attractive wager. The Mirage reported one unidentified bettor placed three large wagers on first half of the game, putting down $60,000 on the Buckeyes, and giving away 32, 33, and 34 points. He was looking at a potential profit of $150,000.
All three bets failed to cash, as OSU led at halftime, 35-7. Those that had the Buckeyes for the game also lost, as the final score was 56-21.
One bettor at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook did buck the trend, and put down a $13,750 bet on Rutgers.
Alabama Bucks Trend
Going into its game against Mississippi State, Alabama was 1-10 against the spread following a loss. The Crimson Tide was a 20.5-point favorite against the Bulldogs.
Alabama covered easily, winning 38-7, and coach Nick Saban said the team was focused after losing to LSU the week before.
“The players had a great attitude,†Saban said. “I think they came here with a sense of purpose in terms of what they wanted to do, and I don’t think it made a lot of difference who we were playing today, they wanted to go out and compete. I think they’d had about enough of the talk and they wanted to go out and play, compete, get back on the field and do something positive.â€
Bettors sided with Alabama. It was the biggest play of the day, outpacing the Ohio State/Rutgers game. Dave Mason of BetOnline said 75 percent of the money was on the Crimson Tide.
Draft Kings reported that 95 percent of the tickets and 94 percent of the money was on Alabama.
San Diego State Goes Under Again
For the ninth time in 10 games, San Diego hit the under in its game. This time it was against Fresno State, and it wasn’t close. The over/under was set at 43.5, and the final score was 17-7.
The only time the Aztecs hit the over was in Week 7 against Wyoming. The over/under for that game was 38 — its second-lowest number on the year. They won, 26-22.
Stat of the Week
With Oklahoma coming back to win 34-31 over Baylor on Saturday, teams are now a combined 1-162 against a College Football Playoff ranked team in the regular season when trailing by at least 25 points.