Friday CFB betting report: Illinois getting a ton of love
The college football Week 4 slate continues on Friday with three games, each featuring a ranked team. Will Bernanke, the lead analyst at CG Analytics in Las Vegas, offered some feedback to theScore as to how bettors are approaching the games.
Florida Atlantic at Central Florida
Open: UCF -13.5 (point spread) / 75 (O/U)
Current: UCF -13 (point spread) / 75 (O/U)
Two of the top mid-major teams in the country meet in a battle of Florida programs when Central Florida hosts Florida Atlantic. A Knights offense that paced the nation last season with 48.2 points per game has scored 56 and 38, respectively, through two games this year. Central Florida hasn't played in 13 days after having its Week 3 game against North Carolina canceled due to Hurricane Florence.
Florida Atlantic was no match for Oklahoma in the opener but is back on track following consecutive wins. Lane Kiffin's Owls have yet to cover a spread this season and are catching just short of two touchdowns against the Knights on Friday. The action so far has been fairly steady.
"We haven't seen any sharp money as of yet," Bernanke said. "The action is very even, about as even as it can get. Closer to kickoff we'll probably see people bet the over."
Penn State at Illinois
Open: Penn State -27 (point spread) / 60 (O/U)
Current: Penn State -27 (point spread) / 60 (O/U)
An overtime win as a 24-point favorite over Appalachian State was enough to stoke a fire under No. 9 Penn State. The Nittany Lions have outscored their last two opponents - Pitt and Kent State - by a combined 114-16. Penn State could find itself in a potential look-ahead spot with a home game against Ohio State on deck.
The Fighting Illini suffered their first loss of the season in Week 3 with a 25-19 loss to South Florida but covered as 14-point underdogs. Illinois has attracted money, both public and sharp.
"We took some respected money on Illinois when it hit 28," Bernanke said. "The action, it hasn't been lopsided, but 67 percent of the money on the point spread is on the underdog."
Washington State at USC
Open: USC -3.5 (point spread) / 53 (O/U)
Current: USC -4 (point spread) / 50.5 (O/U)
Undefeated Washington State heads to the Coliseum to face USC. The Trojans will be the biggest test so far after the Cougars ran through Wyoming, San Jose State, and Eastern Washington.
Clay Helton's Trojans are in desperate need of a win after suffering back-to-back losses against Stanford and Texas.
"We took a respected bet on USC -4," noted Bernanke, who added that the number then jumped to -4.5 before coming back down to -4. "There's slight action on USC on the point spread so far."