Wise guys move Cincy line
Brian Covert
Thursday`s Cincinnati Bearcats-Eastern Michigan Eagles line has fluctuated more in the last month than a college undergrad`s blood-alcohol level on a Saturday night.
The line opened with Cincy set as a 12 ½-point fave on Aug. 5 then bottomed out at –8 1/2-points this past Tuesday before spiking up to -10-points two hours later.
So why all the movement?
“Player news and wise guys,” says a oddsmaker. “Vegas knows all this information before we do and sometimes these handicappers have an insider who lets them know of any information. These guys will then call us and put down $5,000 or $10,000 and they got us.”
“Then when we hear the information and we’ll then move the line a ½-point depending on the player.”
The news drawing the most attention for Thursday’s game was Cincinnati’s announcement that Dustin Grutza would be their starting quarterback. The 6–foot-3 redshirt freshman won the job after going 12-for-19 for 115 yards and two touchdowns in a scrimmage back in mid-August. Grutza also ran for another 1-yard score.
“He makes good decisions. He does a lot of things well. I like his presence on the field,” said Cincy head coach Mark Dantonio after the workout.
However, bettors didn’t seem to agree with Dantonio’s evaluation; the line dropped 2 ½-points immediately.
The line continued to drop until it hit an –8 1/2-point low Monday. Then news that senior defensive tackle Adam Roberts was upgraded from questionable to probable had Cincinnati backers pushing the line back up to its current resting point, –10, two hours later.
“These wise guys who try to catch us on the first line move, it’s still a crapshoot. It’s sports and nothing is ever certain,” says the oddsmaker.
The books have Thursday`s total pegged at 60 1/2 points.
JT
