Saturday’s college football slate begins with Notre Dame vs. Navy and features USC and Heisman favorite Caleb Williams, but it’s Louisiana Tech-Florida International at the end of the night sparking the most debate in the betting market.
College football Week 0 is here, sign-up offers are aplenty and betting odds are moving. Take Notre Dame-Navy as an example. If you read Isaiah Sirois earlier this week, you could’ve bet the under at 50.5 on Caesars Sportsbook. That line is now down to 49, leaving more than a point of value on the table.
We’re going to share the college football public betting report for Week 0, based off data released by BetMGM. Of course, this information is not always actionable. It’s not as easy as following sharps or fading the public. But the available betting data can be a fun part of your process, or just interesting to know as you watch on Saturday. This shouldn’t be a significant part of anyone’s handicapping but entertaining information for your day.
College Football Public Betting: Louisiana Tech-Florida International, Navy-Notre Dame & More
We start in Ireland, where Notre Dame is a sizable 20.5-point favorite against Navy. It’s likely not surprising to see the Fighting Irish getting public support. Over 60 percent of all bets on the sides are on Notre Dame with 70 percent of the handle (total money) also on the favorites.
With Heisman candidate and Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman under center for head coach Marcus Freeman, bettors are expecting points with 54 percent of bets and 55 percent of handle on the over.
UMass-New Mexico State is another notable game on the slate. New Mexico State opened as 9.5-point favorites but the spread is down to 7. The home team Aggies are getting an overwhelming majority of action with 76 percent of the bets fading Massachusetts.
The highest total on the board also features the most action on the over. Last year, Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans could score on anyone and couldn’t stop anyone, which was a dream for the over. Against San Jose State on Saturday, 72 percent of the bets are on the over of 66.5 (opened 63.5).
We don’t see disagreement until the last game of the night between Louisiana Tech and Florida International.
Louisiana Tech opened as 9.5-point favorites and are now 11.5-point favorites as of Saturday morning. While the majority of bets (66 percent) are on LT, the majority of the money is on Florida International (54 percent of handle). In general, that means the smaller bets are on LT but there are more of them. Fewer bets are on FIU, but bigger money is coming in on the underdog. The missing information is at what numbers some of these bets were placed, but nonetheless, Louisiana Tech looks like the public darling of the day.
