Sports bookies across the country seem to know what they’re talking about when it comes to point spreads in college football, and fortunately for LSU fans, Vegas likes the Tigers.
Beyondthebets.com released early opening lines Monday for college football’s first week of play, including LSU’s season-opener against TCU in the Cowboys Classic.
The Tigers opened as 6.5-point favorites against the Horned Frogs in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
I expect that number to increase as the season nears.
First off, sports bookies aren’t looking to get the exact point margin correct. They want to make money.
If the national media spends all summer hyping LSU and the rest of the Southeastern Conference, most bettors will put money on the Tigers. An increased spread will even the payout, so look for changes.
Not to mention there’s a good chance LSU will be flat-out better than a TCU team coming off a six-loss season.
Also, vegasinsider.com released its national championship odds, and the Tigers garnered a tie for the No. 6 spot at 15-1 odds along with Florida and South Carolina.
LSU’s odds are most likely affected by its competitive conference schedule, which includes games against Heisman-winning-quarterback Johnny Manziel’s Texas A&M and Florida at home and Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss on the road.
SEC Western Division rival and defending national champion Alabama is the early favorite at 5-2 odds — something that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
The Crimson Tide is also a 22-point favorite in its season opener against Virginia Tech — again, no surprise.
Georgia opens as 2-point underdogs to a Clemson team still riding the hype from its bowl win against LSU last season.
If this spread doesn’t change, Georgia looks to be easy money. The game is at Clemson, SC., but the Bulldogs are a “dark horse” for a national title at 12-1 odds.
Texas A&M is tied with Georgia at 12-1 odds and could be a serious threat to Alabama’s chokehold on the crystal ball if Manziel can avoid a sophomore slump.
Arkansas is listed as 300-1 odds while Vanderbilt, Missouri and Ole Miss are tied at 500-1.
Tennessee, Mississippi State and Auburn provide the largest bang-for-your-buck payout at 1000-1 odds. Because Kentucky is so bad, Vegas Insider didn’t even bother to rank them.
