Today's Line Moves

[Raji]

Apparently bettors were impressed by what they saw in Buffalo’s 42-7 trouncing of Temple last week as 3 1/2–point underdogs. This game was bet down by as many as two points at some sportsbooks yesterday.

Penn State has covered both spreads in its first two games this year which were against Florida International and Notre Dame. The offense is clicking with over 400 yards per game and the defense is as stingy as ever with just five points and 129 yards against per game.

Still, the Nits have said this week they are wary of an upset and are showing respect for the Bulls – partly because of the points they put up last week and partly because every team in the top 25 is now fearful of an upset following the Appalachian State shocker.

Notre Dame vs. Michigan - spread moved from -7 ½ to -9 ½

The Irish are getting even less respect than fellow 0-2 squad Michigan. The line moved to as high as -9 ½ overnight after sitting at just -7 ½ early Friday.

Notre Dame has yet to score an offensive touchdown this season and the Irish are the worst rushing team in the nation with negative ground yardage through two games. Both teams are starting freshman QBs today, yet the total has remained steady at 44 points.

Army at Wake Forest – total moved from 42 to 44

This one is a bit of a surprise considering Army’s anemic offense that is averaging only 259 yards and 14 points per game despite facing Akron and Division I-AA's Rhode Island so far.

Sophomore quarterback Carson Williams is making his first start for Army after going 0-4 in starts last year. Senior QB David Pevoto is hobbled by an ankle injury.

Army’s game plan is to try to run the ball as much as possible and keep Wake’s defense on the field. Wake has yet to show the offensive prowess it had last season but it’s faced two tough opponents so far (BC and Nebraska) and QB Riley Skinner is out with a separated shoulder. Sophomore Brett Hodges makes his second straight start in his place.

This line opened with the Demon Deacons at -21 ½ but moved to -19 through the week.

UCLA at Utah – line moved from +15 to +16

Originally this line opened with the Utes as 13-point underdogs but bettors have steadily jumped on the Bruins throughout the week and moved the line another point Saturday to 16 points.

UCLA is coming off a pair of convincing straight up and against the spread victories over Stanford and Mountain Coast Conference foe BYU. Utah, meanwhile, is 0-2 straight up and against the number and has had trouble getting the offense going.

Starting QB Brian Johnson was injured in the season opener against Oregon State and he’s expected to be out with a concussion until at least October. The Utes have scored just 19 points through two games compared to UCLA’s 72 points.

Louisville at Kentucky – line moved from +6 ½ to +5

This rivalry didn’t used to be much just a few short years ago. Kentucky’s improved program and the play of quarterback Andre’ Woodson has changed all that in a hurry and the public has noticed.

National media hype this week suggested this game is going to be a tight shootout and the public is listening. This game was bet down to Kentucky +5 late Friday after reading figures like this one: Woodson carries a streak of 213 straight passes without an interception.

Louisville has won the last four meetings straight up and the Cats are hungry to turn that trend around.

Hawaii at UNLV – total moved from 64 to 67

Same old story for Hawaii over/unders – oddsmakers just can’t seem to set them high enough. This line opened at around 62 early in the week before bettors pounced and have been elevating it ever since.

The reason is that the Warriors own the No. 2 offense in the nation with 585 yards per game and they are the best passing unit with 544 yards per game. The ‘over’ also went 9-4 in Hawaii games last year even though betting patterns routinely followed similar scenarios to the one we’re seeing this week.

Hawaii is at the end of a grueling 12-day road trip right now that included an unexpectedly close 45-44 overtime win over Louisiana Tech. A story in the New York Times today documented how the team is struggling with all kinds of challenges like the time change, insomnia, school work and no perdiems for the players.

Raji