LAS VEGAS SUN
Although they covered the point spread with
room to spare, the Fresno State Bulldogs fell short in their bid to
throw the Rose Bowl picture into disarray Saturday night, losing 50-42
to top-ranked Southern Cal in a wild one at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Several
sports books, including those at Station Casinos properties, have
posted an early betting line on the Rose Bowl, scheduled for Jan. 4 and
expected to determine college football's national champion.
USC
opened a 6 1/2-point favorite in the Rose Bowl against No. 2 Texas at
Station sports books. Sensing value on the Longhorns, bettors drove the
line down to 6 points last week before money from Trojans backers sent
it back to 6 1/2, Sunset Station sports book director Micah Roberts
said.
"We're seeing good two-way action," Roberts said.
In
setting the point spread at 6 1/2, oddsmakers figured the line in a
USC-Texas game played at a neutral site would probably be 4 1/2 points,
Roberts said. Then they considered the Trojans would have at least a
moderate home-field advantage in Pasadena. And USC always attracts
money from the "betting public," or recreational gamblers -- if not
professional bettors.
That was the case in Saturday night's
game, in which the Trojans opened as high as a 26-point favorite before
money on Fresno State pushed the line down to 23 or 23 1/2 in Las Vegas
by game time.
The Fresno State money was coming primarily from
"wise guys," or professional gamblers, with the majority of smaller
bets and parlays supporting USC.
"We saw some very respected opinions bet the underdog," Roberts said. "But the general public was definitely on SC."
USC (11-0 straight-up, 5-6 against the point spread) returns to Pac-10 action when it plays UCLA in its season finale Dec. 3.
Although he had not predicted an outright upset, Roberts was not surprised Fresno State gave the Trojans trouble.
"I was saying let's not look forward too much to UCLA or Texas," Roberts said. "This team (Fresno) is a quality team."
Station
sports books temporarily took the early Rose Bowl line off the board
Sunday, but oddsmakers were expected to re-evaluate it and post an
updated number today.
If either USC or Texas fails to make the Rose Bowl, wagers on the early Rose Bowl line will be refunded.
Heisman push from Reggie Bush
Southern
Cal's Reggie Bush made headway in the Heisman Trophy race with his
performance against Fresno, in which he rushed for 294 yards, including
touchdown runs of 45 and 50 yards, and finished with 513 all-purpose
yards.
Those flashy numbers will likely boost Bush's stock in
Heisman wagering at offshore book Pinnacle Sports (pinnaclesports.com),
which had Bush as a second choice in the betting to win the award in
its most recent odds.
Quarterback Vince Young of Texas, which
had a bye this weekend, was favored to win the Heisman at odds of
minus-120 (risk $1.20 to win $1). Bush was listed at plus-150 (win
$1.50 for each $1 wagered), and USC quarterback Matt Leinart, last
year's winner, was 3-1.
The opening preseason line had Young a
7-1 long shot, with Leinart a 13-10 favorite and Bush at 9-2. Young has
compiled 30 touchdowns and more than 3,000 total yards for the No. 2
Longhorns to become the betting favorite, in part because teammates
Bush and Leinart are likely to hurt each other's chances by splitting
the ballots of voters who favor a Trojans player, Pinnacle oddsmaker
Simon Noble said.
Wagering on the winner of the Heisman Trophy
is not permitted in Nevada per state regulations, which allow betting
only on outcomes of athletic contests, not balloting.
Manning Bowl?
Victories
by the Colts and the Giants on Sunday kept alive the possibility that
brothers Peyton and Eli Manning, quarterbacks for Indianapolis and New
York, could meet head-to-head in the Super Bowl.
The Palms
sports book has posted a proposition asking whether that will happen.
Pending adjusted odds after Sunday's action, the line on "No," the
Mannings will not meet in the Super Bowl, was minus-1200; the "Yes" was
plus-900.
The Colts, 10-0 after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 45-37, are heavy betting favorites to win the Super Bowl.
"And
the Giants would have to be considered one of the favorites in the NFC,
right behind the Falcons, Panthers and Seahawks," Palms sports book
director Rich Baccellieri said.
