Each week of the season Doc's Sports will look at
some of the most important college football highlights that took place
over the previous weekend. This is where to look to find out who
covered in the big games, where the important line moved occurred as
well as which teams were hot against the total.
Texas A&M Defeated No. 10 Texas Saturday, 12-7.
No,
the final score is not a typo. This rivalry game was all about the
defense and neither team cracked 300 total yards. Sports books, in
contrast, believed this game was going to be all about the offense,
making the total at a staggering 56 points. The bookies know that the
public loves to bet Texas and the over. The Horns finished the season
5-6 against the total. The reason this stat suffers is due to the fact
that the lines are always way too high as they have been shaded by the
bookmakers. Another reason the over is suffering with the Longhorns is
the fact that Texas has been performing poorly. During the last five
weeks of the year Texas was 1-4 ATS. This season was disappointing not
only for Texas, but for Longhorn gamblers as well.
No. 8 LSU Defeated No. 5 Arkansas Saturday, 31-26.
The
line for this game showed some slight movement during the day before
kickoff. The line started about even and by Saturday LSU was a
two-point favorite. Either way, the Tigers covered the spread and won
the game in impressive fashion. Although Arkansas is 10-2 this season,
they are a poor 4-7 ATS. After a few unexpected losses, LSU found a way
to battle back into a solid BCS standing. They finished the regular
season 10-2 overall and 7-4 ATS. LSU's big bowl game may just find them
as a favorite.
No.4 Florida Defeated Florida State Saturday, 21-14.
Florida
pulled away in the first half of this game only to let Florida State
roll back into it. Florida State had many opportunities to tie late but
simply failed to get it done. Of course, when it comes to FSU this
season, execution is not something that comes very easy. The Seminoles
finished the season 5-7 ATS, finding themselves to be very
inconsistent. During the course of the season, Florida State never had
a three-game win streak. Florida also continued their betting trends.
Once again, the Gators did not cover the spread leaving them at a
horrible 3-8 ATS for the season.
No. 3 USC Defeated No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday, 44-24.
This
game was USC's sole chance to prove to the BCS that they are a
championship team. Not only did the Trojans dominate this game, they
showed the world that Notre Dame is not a top 10 team. John David Booty
tore apart the poor Notre dame secondary play after play. USC also shut
down Quinn's potent offense proving that their defense is something to
be reckoned with. Over the course of the past five weeks, USC is 5-0
ATS. Some bettors may have believed that laying nine points against
Notre Dame was too many. If bettors couldn't pick a side, I think the
stronger trend of this game was the total. Bettors must have figured
that no matter who won the game, a lot of points would have to be put
on the board to do so. Playing the over with the Trojans and Irish wont
go wrong too often.
No. 25 Hawaii Defeated Purdue Saturday, 42-35.
Can
you believe it? Hawaii was held under 50 points during this game for
the first time in six weeks. Purdue entered the half of this game down
by two touchdowns. Midway through the third quarter, the Boilermakers
found a way to battle back to almost steal this game away. If you bet
on Hawaii this season, you picked the right team. Hawaii finished the
season 8-2 ATS and also finished 9-2 for the over. In many games Hawaii
played in, they covered the over all by themselves. When a quarterback
throws more than 60 touchdowns during a season, the over is money in
the bank. I wonder if Hawaii will be able to push the total to 100 next
year.