The Golden Nugget in Las Vegas released early lines on 111 College Football Games of the Year on June 11, and bettors responded by wagering enough money to move 47 of them (42 percent). The Ohio State Buckeyes lead the way so far with eight max bets that moved the line on five of their games coming off a disappointing season and with a new head coach on board in Urban Meyer.
Three of those five line moves in Ohio State’s favor were two points or more, including the Big Ten rivalry game on November 24 against the Michigan Wolverines, who went from 3-point favorites to a pick ’em on the road.
The Buckeyes are looking to turn things around under Meyer following a rare losing season in 2011. Meyer sat out last year after winning two national titles with the Florida Gators.
The other team that has seen major betting action in their favor is the Tennessee Volunteers, who are still underdogs in all four of their games that have seen line moves. Three of the games moved one point with Tennessee’s home game against the Alabama Crimson Tide showing the biggest change, going from +17 to +14½ in the SEC showdown on October 20.
The defending national champion Crimson Tide have seen bettors fade them in three Games of the Year, including their battle with the Vols. The Tide have also been bet down in their season opener against the Wolverines at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on September 1, going from -12 to -10.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are another popular team bettors are fading in the Games of the Year, even though they are still big favorites in two of the three that have seen line moves. The Irish seem to be a bit overrated heading into the season and have gone from -10 to -7½ in their October 20 home matchup with the BYU Cougars while seeing 1-point moves in the other two games.
A couple other college football games have seen the favorite turn into the underdog following early betting. The Florida Gators opened as 1-point road underdogs against the Texas A&M Aggies on September 8, but are now favored at -2½. Florida State had a similar move for the Seminoles' ACC clash with the Virginia Tech Hokies on November 8, going from +1 to -2 in what could be an early preview of the conference title game.
Check out all 111 of the early line releases for the Golden Nugget's NCAA Football Games of the Year by following this link. Below is a list updating those that have seen movement so far.
Friday, August 31
Boise State at Michigan State (-6½ to -7½)
Saturday, September 1
Michigan vs. Alabama (-12 to -10) at Arlington
Thursday, September 6
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (-5 to -3)
Saturday, September 8
Miami at Kansas State (-7 to -8)
Washington at LSU (-21 to -22½)
Georgia (-3 to -4) at Missouri
Florida at Texas A&M (-1 to +2½)
Saturday, September 15
Notre Dame at Michigan State (-3 to -4)
USC (-10 to -9) at Stanford
Florida (-5 to -4) at Tennessee
Saturday, September 22
Clemson at Florida State (-8 to -9)
Saturday, September 29
Tennessee at Georgia (-13½ to -12½)
Ohio State at Michigan State (-4½ to -2½)
Texas at Oklahoma State (-3½ to -2)
Arkansas (-2½ to -3½) at Texas A&M
Saturday, October 6
LSU (-7½ to -6½) at Florida
Nebraska at Ohio State (-2 to -3)
Georgia (-2½ to -3) at South Carolina
West Virginia at Texas (-4½ to -6½)
Saturday, October 13
Alabama (-14½ to -13½) at Missouri
Texas vs. Oklahoma (-6 to -5) at Dallas
Saturday, October 20
South Carolina at Florida (-4 to -5)
BYU at Notre Dame (-10 to -7½)
Alabama (-17 to -14½) at Tennessee
Kansas State at West Virginia (-7½ to -6½)
Saturday, October 27
USC (-14 to -15½) at Arizona
Michigan (-2 to -1) at Nebraska
Ohio State (-3 to -5½) at Penn State
Tennessee at South Carolina (-7½ to -6½)
Saturday, November 3
Missouri at Florida (-5½ to -6½)
Oklahoma State at Kansas State (-1 to +1)
TCU at West Virginia (-7 to -6)
Thursday, November 8
Florida State at Virginia Tech (-1 to +2)
Saturday, November 10
Georgia (-6 to -5) at Auburn
Notre Dame (-12 to -11) at Boston College
West Virginia at Oklahoma State (-6½ to -5½)
Arkansas (-3 to -2) at South Carolina
Saturday, November 17
Mississippi at LSU (-26½ to -27½)
Ohio State at Wisconsin (-7 to -6)
Friday, November 23
Washington at Washington State (-3 to -2)
Saturday, November 24
LSU (-3 to -4) at Arkansas
South Carolina at Clemson (-4 to -3)
Florida at Florida State (-7½ to -6½)
Michigan (-3 to Pick ’em) at Ohio State
Saturday, December 1
Texas (-3 to -4) at Kansas State
Oklahoma (-10 to -9) at TCU
Saturday, December 8
Army vs. Navy (-4½ to -3½) at Philadelphia