Betting trends in College Football.
One step toward improving handicapping is to do the research yourself. Visiting sites like Statfox.com to examine a matchup can give you a perspective you may have never thought of before. The fine folks at Statfox are a trend lover's wet dream. They can provide you with statistics that are so situation specific that they are a waste of time, but they also unearth some pretty showing trends.
Sure, knowing that the New York Yankees are 8-1 against the spread when CC Sabathia puts in a new stick of gum during the Seventh Inning Stretch, but only if he's thrown fewer than 80 pitches is a (mostly) worthless tidbit, but the following are some trends to consider for Week 1 of the college football season:
1. Miami +5 @ Florida State -- Dogs are 7-3 straight up and 9-1 against the spread in this series since 1999. That makes playing the Hurricanes look a lot more appealing down in Tallahassee.
2. Utah State +21.5 @ Utah --The road team is 5-4 straight up and 8-1 ATS in this series since 2000. There's pretty much no chance that Utah State can pull off an upset, considering Utah has won every game in this matchup since at least 2002, but it looks like Utah State has a history of covering.
3. Stanford -15 vs. Washington State -- Stanford is 9-6 straight up but 11-4 ATS against Washington State since 1992. The Cardinal embarrassed Wazzu last year in a 58-0 romp at home, and the Huskies won't be forgetting that anytime soon.
4. Colorado State +10.5 @ Colorado -- Dogs are 5-7 straight up but 9-3 ATS in this series since 1996. At least recently, most of that success comes from Colorado State, who is 1-5 straight up in this matchup since 2003, but lost in '03 by 7 points, '04 by 3 points, '05 by 3 points and '07 by 3 points. Clearly a rivalry game for both teams, and one of the Rams' biggest games of the season.
5. UCLA -18 vs. San Diego State -- Unsurprisingly, UCLA is 6-0 straight up against SDSU in the past six games these teams have played. However, UCLA is also covering regularly, as they are 5-0 ATS in the last six matchups. As this is the first game the Bruins are playing this season, perhaps a blowout in Los Angeles in front of the home crowd is in order.
6. Missouri +6.5 vs. Illinois --Mizzou is 6-2 straight up and 6-1 ATS versus Illinois since 1992. It'll be hard for the Tigers to steal one in Champaign, Ill. Still, a one possession game isn't out of the question, despite a Juice Williams-led Illini squad.
