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The college football world was expecting a March Madness type of feel for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, with upsets galore. Instead, the 4 first-round matchups underwhelmed, providing plenty of time for vacation shopping. Favorites went an ideal 4-0 against the spread, consisting of 3 fairly non-competitive efficiencies by underdogs Indiana, SMU and Tennessee. Sportsbooks and the public do not appear to believe so. At least in 2 cases.

Both Penn State-Boise State and Texas-Arizona State feature double-digit spreads favoring the lower-seeded Nittany Lions and Longhorns. And the latter has been an especially popular choice with the general public. The Longhorns -12.5 is the most-bet side at BetMGM nationally in terms of total dollars since Monday afternoon.
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"All the cash is being available in on Texas," Seamus Magee, a BetMGM trader, composed in a text message to The Athletic. "We need Arizona State to cover +13.5."

The interest for the Longhorns extends to the futures market as well. Keep in mind that enormous $1.5 million wager on Texas to win everything at +390 chances? The ticket is still out there at Caesars Sportsbook.

Interestingly, the Longhorns' opponent, Arizona State - the biggest underdog among the College Football quarterfinal matches - is getting the most enjoy from sharp gamblers. The Athletic spoke to numerous bookmakers who had taken sharp action on No. 4 Arizona State - which had actually gotten as high as a 14-point underdog at some books versus No. 5 Texas - to push the line down to -12.5 or -12.

John Murray, the executive director at The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, informed us he got a wager on Arizona State +13.5 from a "extremely reputable gamer."

Although highly regarded cash has actually been available in on Arizona State to cover, sportsbooks will likely need the Sun Devils to do simply that, as public wagerers are overdoing Texas.
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"We would love to see ASU cover, and after that Texas win the video game, so we get our Arizona State liability off the futures book," Magee added.

While the Texas video game will be huge for the books, it isn't the only video game in town. We talked with multiple bookmakers to break down where the sports betting action is on the other three College Football quarterfinal matchups. 6 Penn State (-11, 53) at No. 3 Boise State

This game opened Penn State -10.5 at many sportsbooks and has actually approached a little to a consensus of -11. sports betting on the spread is fairly split at the majority of sportsbooks. The overall dollars bet varies by book, as 52% of bets and 79% of the cash at BetMGM nationally are on Boise State -11, while 56% of bets but just 42% of the cash at DraftKings is on Boise State -11.5. Penn State to cover is presently the second most wager in terms of total tickets at BetMGM books.

"We opened Penn State -10.5 and are resting on Penn State -11," Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City, told The Athletic. "I would not be amazed if this line creeps up a bit more before kickoff, but I presently welcome any Boise State money."

Ohio State got the Oregon 2nd opportunity it desired. Are the Buckeyes prepared for revenge?

No. 8 Ohio State (-2.5, 55.5) vs. No. 1 Oregon

Perhaps most unexpected to the general public is that No. 1 seed Oregon is an underdog against No. 8 Ohio State. These groups satisfied back on Oct. 7 in Eugene, and Oregon won 32-31 as a 3.5-point home pet dog.

So why is OSU preferred?

Several oddsmakers The Athletic spoke with before the CFP first round had Ohio State atop their power rankings, and the lookahead lines for this hypothetical match were Ohio State -1 or -1.5. One oddsmaker mentioned that Ohio State playing up to its power rating in its dominant first-round win over Tennessee likewise shaped his opening line.

Ohio State opened as a 1- or 1.5-point preferred (depending on the sportsbook) in this game before highly regarded money pushed it to the current line of -2.5. A somewhat greater majority of wagers at several sportsbooks, approximately 60%, are on the Ducks to cover, while near to 60% of the cash has actually can be found in on the Buckeyes. This will likely be the highest-handle video game of the 4 come kickoff.

"We did take some reputable money at -1.5, quickly went to -2.5 where it's stayed," Gable stated. "It's decent two-way action at that number right now. The total has actually increased three points from 52.5 to 55.5, which has actually been the greatest move of any of the overalls. Money has all been on the over up until now.

Joe Brennan, the CEO of Prime sports betting, a sportsbook in Ohio and New Jersey that accommodates sharp gamblers, informed The Athletic that "Ohio State opened as a 1-point preferred, and right away our Ohio bettors believed we were too low. Our opening price of Ohio State -1 has actually been driven up to -2.5 and the overall from 52 to 55."

He did note, however, that the book had actually seen substantial buyback at the present line of Ohio State -2.5 which 52% of the overall dollars at his book were taking the points with the Ducks.

GO DEEPER

The most likely upsets for the College Football Playoff's 2nd round

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia (-1, 45)

The preferred flipped in this game, as Notre Dame opened a 1.5-point favorite and is presently a 1- or 1.5-point underdog at sportsbooks.

What triggered the line turn? Put simply, the sports betting action.
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Although Georgia's starting QB Carson Beck is out for the season and has been changed by relative unidentified Gunner Stockton, gamblers are gravitating towards the Bulldogs.

Georgia to cover is the most popular versus the spread wager at BetMGM books nationally in regards to ticket count (second-most popular by total dollars wagered), and it has been "one-way traffic on Georgia," according to Magee. Nearly 70% of bets are on the Bulldogs at multiple sportsbooks.
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