Notable Bets: Betting public siding heavily with Alabama over Michigan
Bettors have overwhelmingly sided with Alabama over Michigan so far, and bookmakers are expecting the money to continue flow in on the Crimson Tide ahead of the Rose Bowl on Monday.
Sportsbooks were reporting heavy action on the underdog Crimson Tide this week. Approximately three times as much money had been bet on Alabama as Michigan at some sportsbooks. At BetRivers sportsbooks, the Crimson Tide plus the points was the most popular bet of any of the remaining bowl games. The second-most popular was Alabama to win the game straight up.
Despite the lopsided action on the Crimson Tide, the point spread was holding steady at Michigan -2, the same as the opening line, Friday. Alabama was +105 on the money line.
Caesars Sportsbook briefly dropped the line to pick 'em Dec. 13 and quickly attracted a big bet on the Wolverines, according to lead college football trader Joey Feazel.
"We tested the waters and went to pick and within a couple hours took a bigger bet, some sharp action on Michigan at the better price for $79,000," Feazel told ESPN on Thursday. "So, as soon as we went outside of the market [with the point spread] toward Alabama, it was immediate buyback on Michigan. This tells me the lines are right where they're supposed to be, but we'll see."
The betting action was more balanced -- and much lighter -- on the other College Football Playoff semifinal between Texas and Washington in the Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns were consensus 4-point favorites Friday, but roughly 60% of the betting action was on the underdog Huskies.
The Rose Bowl between Michigan and Alabama had attracted three times as much money from bettors at Caesars Sportsbook as the Sugar Bowl as of Thursday.
College football betting notables
• The early bowl games have not been kind to the betting public, who have not been able to keep up with a mix of favorites and underdogs winning and covering the spread in the first few weeks.
Entering Friday, bowl favorites were 16-12 outright and 14-14 against the spread. There had been 15 overs and 13 unders, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
"It's been a better bowl season for us than in the past," Feazel said. "A lot of the steam hasn't been getting there. It hasn't been the best bowl season for the bettors."
• The point spread on the Guaranteed Rate Bowl between UNLV and Kansas moved significantly in the hours leading up to Monday's kickoff. The Jayhawks went from -13 to as low as -7.5 as sportsbooks tried to react to rumors swirling that Kansas quarterback Jason Bean was sick and could be out. Bean started and threw six touchdown passes to lead the Jayhawks to a 49-36 win.
• Georgia has gone from a 13.5-point favorite to a 20-point favorite over undermanned Florida State for Saturday's Orange Bowl. Junior Tate Rodemaker, the Seminoles' expected starting quarterback, has entered the transfer portal, and a few of the team's NFL prospects have opted out of the game.
"We're going to need Florida State," Feazel said.
• The biggest decision on a non-playoff bowl for Caesars Sportsbook was setting up to be the ReliaQuest Bowl between Wisconsin and LSU on New Year's Day. The line opened at LSU -10.5, dropped to -7 after quarterback Jayden Daniels opted out, but has since grown back to Tigers -10.
"I expect we're going to need Wisconsin pretty bad early on," Feazel told ESPN.
