Playing the point spread in a Big 10 West bout: Best Bet for Oct. 6
Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here is our best bet for Friday, Oct. 6:
TOP PLAY
The play: NCAAF, Illinois vs. Nebraska OVER 42.5 points
The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 8 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Our take: Both of these teams are off to disappointing starts to the season considering offseason expectations. Illinois came into the year with hopes of improving under Bret Bielema; Nebraska ushered in the Matt Rhule era with expectations of returning to former glory.
As things stand, they sit 2-3 overall and bottom of the Big Ten West with zero conference wins from two tries. That will change tonight, and while predicting a winner is enticing, we’re going to stay far, far away from those wagers. Instead, we’ll play the total points.
The over/under in this Big 10 West bout is set at 42.5 points. We see this as a very achievable feat for two mediocre defenses. The Fighting Illini have seen four of their five games this season go over 43 total points. The Cornhuskers have been involved in three games this season where 43+ points were scored with one of the others seeing 42 points scored.
The simple fact is these teams are involved in games with a lot of offense and not a lot of defense. It’s fun to root for points when mediocre teams meet on the gridiron, so that’s what we’re doing tonight.
Thursday's best bet: Bears at Commanders OVER 44.5 points(WON)
If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
