Action report: Vegas hoping for low-scoring Wake Forest cover vs. Boston College
Boston College travels to Wake Forest for an ACC clash on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET, as the game was moved up due to Hurricane Florence. We spoke with Will Bernanke, the lead analyst for CG Analytics in Las Vegas, to offer some insight as to how bettors are approaching the Atlantic Division matchup:
Boston College at Wake Forest
Open: BC -4.5/50 O/U
Current: BC -6/56.5 O/U
Boston College has imposed its will on the ground against two lighter opponents to start the season, routing UMass 55-21 before making quick work of Holy Cross in a 62-14 thrashing last weekend. The Eagles have leaned on star running back AJ Dillon, who has churned out 247 yards on the ground to go along with four touchdowns.
Wake Forest freshman quarterback Sam Hartman was thrown into the fire right away, attempting 51 passes in the Demon Deacons' 23-17 overtime win over Tulane to start the season. Last weekend was more of a breeze for Wake, which mowed through Towson 51-20 behind 242 yards from Hartman and 582 total as a unit.
The Eagles opened as 4.5-point favorites and saw the number shoot up all the way to 7 before coming back down.
"Sixty-four percent of all dollars are on Boston College and 72 percent of all dollars are on the over," said Bernanke, who also added that respected money showed up on the Demon Deacons when the line hit 6.5.
"Ideal result as of now would be a low-scoring Wake cover," he noted.
The book will likely be rooting for the Wake Forest defense from Week 1 as opposed to last Saturday. The Demon Deacons forced seven punts on as many drives in the first half against Tulane, but were less stingy against Towson, allowing quarterback Tom Flacco to complete 35 of his 51 attempts for 345 yards and three touchdowns.
Boston College's defense likely deserves more credit than what the box scores indicate, seeing as the Eagles have only allowed seven first-half points all season.
Wake Forest should be getting at least some attention in betting circles, as Thursday night home underdogs have recently been a pretty safe wager for bettors. Since 2013, home teams getting points in this situation have gone 43-27 (61.4 percent) against the spread, while underdogs +7 or more are 28-11 (71.8 percent).