Sports betting roundup: Underdogs are back in both college football and the NFL

Updated Nov. 18, 2024 9:38 a.m. ET
Associated Press

The underdogs were back in both college football and the NFL over the weekend.

Several teams that were very popular among bettors lost on Saturday, and the NFL was roughly the same on Sunday.

Here’s a look at the action using data from the BetMGM Sportsbook:

Trends of the Week

ADVERTISEMENT

On Saturday, four teams that received more than 70% of the bets failed to cover the spread, which was highlighted by Oregon (-13.5 at Wisconsin). The Ducks received 82% of the bets.

While Oregon came back to win the game 16-13, they didn't cover. The other three teams were Louisville (-20.5 at Stanford), Tennessee (+9.5 at Georgia) and Notre Dame (-22.5 against Virginia).

In the NFL, two of the three most bet teams in terms of money did not cover the spread. The Detroit Lions were the most bet team, and they easily covered the -13.5-point spread against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But the Green Bay Packers (-5.5 at Chicago) and the Baltimore Ravens (-3 at Pittsburgh) did not cover. Green Bay managed to win the game thanks to a last-second blocked field goal, but Baltimore did not win.

The biggest game of the day between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs was pretty evenly split among bettors. The Bills closed as a 2.5-point favorite and took in 49% of the bets and 51% of the money. With the 30-21 victory, Josh Allen improved to 4-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season.

Jake Paul defeated Mike Tyson on Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Paul closed at -190, while Tyson was +190. Tyson was the more popular boxer at the BetMGM Sportsbook, with Paul drawing only 16% of the bets and 41% of the money.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in college football was Louisville losing outright to Stanford 38-35. Louisville closed as a 20.5-point favorite and was ranked No. 19 entering the game.

The Indianapolis Colts had the biggest upset in the NFL, beating the New York Jets 28-27 on the road after closing as 4-point underdogs. Indianapolis brought in 70% of the bets and 56% of the money.

Pittsburgh (+3) beating Baltimore was another upset. The Steelers saw 48% of the bets and 35% of the money.

Coming up

Following the Chiefs’ loss to the Bills, there’s a new team with the shortest odds to win the Super Bowl with Detroit overtaking Kansas City.

The Lions are currently +375, while the Chiefs are +425.

Baltimore (+750) and the Philadelphia Eagles (+850) are the only other teams with odds better than +1000.

___

This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

share