While we had a tiny taste of action last Saturday, the true start of the college football season is this weekend. We’ll have a sampler of games on Thursday and Friday before the main course comes on Saturday. In honor of the new season, let’s take a closer look at the Top 5 Betting Trends for the week.
Arizona is just 2-14 ATS in its last 16 as a favorite of 10.5-14 points
This is an interesting stat to note as it tells us that the Wildcats really don’t thrive in this range as a favorite of around two touchdowns. A lot of other people have seemingly picked up on that as the Wildcats opened as a 15-point favorite but are down to -11.5 at the moment.
It’s worth noting that while they’ve failed to cover 14 of those 16 games, they’ve still won 12 of them outright. The Wildcats are also just 12-26 ATS in their last 38 as a favorite of 10.5 to 21 points.
Related: College Football Betting Guide
Volunteers are 6-1 ATS their last 7 neutral site games, West Virginia is 3-13 ATS in its last 16 neutral site games
It’s an intriguing stat to note as both teams have a history of playing quite differently in neutral site contests. The Vols failed to cover the spread in a Week 1 neutral site game with Georgia Tech last year but prior to that, had covered six straight. As for the Mountaineers, this seems to be a tricky spot for them. They lost by seven to Virginia Tech in Week 1 last year and also lost to Utah in a bowl game. In 2016, they lost to Miami in a bowl game and barely beat BYU, 35-32, in the regular season. For whatever reason, they just don’t thrive in these spots but they’re currently expected to win and cover as a 10-point favorite.
Hurricanes are 1-7 ATS in last eight neutral site games
This stat is a bit of a concern given what we saw from the team last year. They played Clemson in a neutral site game and were smoked 38-3. They also played Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl and lost 34-24. The year before was their lone win and cover in their last eight neutral site games – a, 31-14, bowl win over West Virginia. Other than that, they’ve had a rough time covering. They’re a 3.5-point favorite versus LSU this Sunday.
Crimson Tide is 23-15 in its last 38 as a favorite of 21.5-31
The Tide are — surprise, surprise — a huge favorite once again. This time it’s in their opener against the Louisville Cardinals. So how does the Tide fare as a huge favorite? They’re 4-2 ATS in their last six and 23-15 ATS in their last 38 as such a sizable favorite. They’re also 6-0 SU and 36-2 SU in those same games.
Hokies are 1-4 ATS in their last five on the road
We saw a pattern emerge last season where the Hokies were a different team on the road versus at home. That included a less-than-inspiring 10-point win at Virginia, and then they lost at Miami and Georgia Tech. Even their 23-10 win at Boston College was a nice win but they failed to cover (-16). Keep that in mind when they visit Florida State on Monday night.
