CFB Week 3 Pros vs. Joes: Sharps like Bearcats, Hokies vs. unranked foes
Before you make your college football bets this weekend, it's worth knowing which sides other bettors are backing - especially on games drawing sharp action.
We talked to Jay Rood, Bet.Works' chief risk officer and theScore Bet's head trader, to see how sharps and public bettors are playing this week's slate.
No. 1 Alabama (-14.5, 60) @ No. 11 Florida, 3:30 p.m. ET
The biggest game on Saturday pits the top team in the nation against its SEC rival in a clash of undefeated foes. The contest hasn't drawn much activity from sharp bettors, but the public is split in early action.
Florida, which opened as a 15.5-point favorite, is now dealing at +14.5, but bettors have placed twice as many tickets on Alabama despite an even split in money. Parlay bettors are heavily favoring the Crimson Tide with a 5-to-1 advantage in money wagered, and Rood expects more money to come as kickoff nears.
"It’s a 3:30 p.m. game, it’ll pull in its fair share," Rood said. "That’ll probably be one of our bigger afternoon games."
No. 15 Virginia Tech @ West Virginia (-2.5, 50), noon
One matchup that is getting plenty of play early is a non-conference bout between Virginia Tech and West Virginia, which was dealing as high as -3 despite the Mountaineers facing a top-15 team.
Public and sharp bettors alike have pounced on that line, driving the Hokies to a 2.5-point underdog behind a 25-to-1 advantage in straight-bet money. That comes despite Virginia Tech drawing just twice as many bet slips because much of that money has resulted from two large sharp plays - with some sharp money on the moneyline (+110), too.
No. 8 Cincinnati (-3.5, 50) @ Indiana, noon
Another program drawing interest from wiseguys is Cincinnati, which opened as a meager 3-point favorite over an inconsistent Indiana squad that got blown out as a 3.5-point 'dog in Week 1 against Iowa.
The Hoosiers find themselves in the same spot this week, and bettors are expecting a similar result. So far, the Bearcats have pulled twice as much money with three times as many bet slips to move the line to 3.5.
Parlay bettors are even more enthusiastic, laying six times as much money on the road favorite, while one big-money bettor placed a sizable wager on Cincinnati to win outright (-170).
South Carolina @ No. 2 Georgia (-31, 47), 7 p.m.
If you're looking for an under-the-radar contest to target in the evening slot, try your hand on South Carolina, which is catching 31 points against SEC rival Georgia in a game that most have surely written off.
Not everyone has, though. One sharp bettor took a shot on the Gamecocks at +31.5, while public bettors are buying up the road 'dogs at a 3-to-1 clip in terms of bets made. Quarterback play might have something to do with it - the Bulldogs' top two signal-callers are both questionable ahead of Saturday's tilt.
C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at cjackson.cowart@thescore.com.