Sharp bettors pounce on South Point’s college football games of year

South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews posted last season’s college football games of the year in June, and sharp bettors were able to take advantage of several poor numbers.

Andrews learned his lesson and waited until Friday to release his games of the year for the 2023 season.

“Last year, I was probably not as cognizant of the transfer portal as I should have been,” Andrews said. “I think I got beat on a few things that I should have been more aware of, certainly on some of the minor teams. I just wanted to follow the transfer portal more closely this year and just have a better grip on it.”

In all, the South Point sportsbook put up lines on 76 college football games for this season, and bettors were permitted to place two wagers up to $2,000 each before heading to the back of the line and betting again.

Andrews said he took about 10 limit bets, and none of the sharp players hit the same games twice. That’s in sharp contrast to last season at South Point, when at least nine lines moved by four points or more and the Air Force-Navy line moved seven points within an hour of being listed on the board.

“I offer my mea culpa from last year,” Andrews said. “I think we did a pretty good job with our numbers (Friday).”

One team that Andrews appears to have underrated is Wisconsin. The Badgers have a new coach in Luke Fickell, who led Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff in 2021, and a favorable schedule with Ohio State at home and neither Michigan nor Penn State on the slate.

Wisconsin also installed a new offensive scheme based on the Air Raid after years of relying on the ground game, and Tanner Mordecai, a transfer from Southern Methodist, is projected to be a significant upgrade at quarterback.

Wisconsin opened as a pick ’em against Illinois on Oct. 21 but quickly moved to a 2-point favorite. The Badgers also were bet down to a pick ’em against rival Minnesota in the regular-season finale Nov. 25 after opening as 2-point underdogs.

“They have a new coach, and one of the things I’ve said for years is I’d always like to bet against new coaches,” Andrews said. “But the landscape is ever changing, and last year a lot of new coaches did really well, including TCU, which found themselves in the championship game. I think that may be a sea change right now along with a lot of the things in the transfer portal.

“Teams can readjust much more quickly and get back to where they should be. Whereas new coaches in the past, it might take them a couple years to get up there. But now it seems like they’re doing it a little more quickly.”

Andrews said sharp bettors liked Ohio State over Notre Dame on Sept. 23, and the Buckeyes went from -6½ to -7½.

Texas also saw sharp money for its rivalry game against Oklahoma on Oct. 7, and the Longhorns moved to -7 after opening -6.

“I know a lot of guys are real high on Texas this year,” Andrews said. “I’m always a little skeptical of Texas because it seems like they go under their win total pretty much every year. I was not as enthused on Texas as I know some other people were.”

Other notable lines included Clemson -2½ over Florida State (Sept. 23), Alabama -7 over Louisiana State (Nov. 4) and Michigan -3 over Ohio State (Nov. 25). UNLV is -2 over UNR when they meet for the Fremont Cannon on Oct. 14 in Reno.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.