CFB Week 4 Pros vs. Joes: Sharps fading No. 8 Texas at Texas Tech
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Before you make your college football bets this weekend, it's worth knowing which side other bettors are backing - especially on games drawing sharp action.
We talked to Jay Rood, Bet.Works' chief risk officer and theScore Bet's head trader, to see how sharps and public bettors are playing the Week 4 slate.
No. 8 Texas (-17.5, 70) at Texas Tech
The heaviest-bet game heading into the week is a Lone Star showdown with public and sharp bettors split on a sizable point spread.
Public bettors are all over the Longhorns, who destroyed UTEP two weeks ago and are 4-1-1 against the spread in their last six as double-digit favorites. Texas has drawn three times as many straight bets and eight times as many parlay tickets, but the Red Raiders are backed by 75% of the money as of Friday afternoon.
"The pros are taking the points with Texas Tech at home, and the Joes are happy to be lined up with Texas," Rood said.
The total has also seen some over play, briefly flirting with 70.5 before settling back at the opening 70. The Longhorns have gone over in six straight as double-digit chalk.
No. 24 Louisville at No. 21 Pittsburgh (-2.5, 55)
This is one of three ranked matchups on Saturday's slate, but it's the one bettors are drawn to the most - and they're lining up for the short home favorites.
Parlay bettors are hammering Pittsburgh, which has drawn twice as many tickets and 25 times as much money on parlay slips. That comes even as the line moved slightly in Louisville's favor, though the heavy volume of parlay activity suggests this line could move back to the Panthers' direction by kickoff.
If Pittsburgh can pull this game off, it'd be a departure from its recent performance in this spot. The Panthers are 9-18 ATS as home chalk since 2014 with a 1-4 ATS mark in their last five.
West Virginia at No. 15 Oklahoma State (-7, 52)
Another popular play for parlay bettors is West Virginia, a touchdown underdog against an Oklahoma State team that hasn't played up to its ranking.
The Cowboys were popular plays last week against Tulsa as 23.5-point favorites, but a lackluster 16-7 win has scared off bettors from making the same mistake twice. West Virginia has seen heavy money in straight bets, parlays, and on the moneyline, possibly setting up a dangerous outcome for bookmakers.
"It's all public money," Rood said. "Basically everyone is betting against what they saw last week, which was a fairly pathetic performance from Oklahoma State. So we're going to need the Okies to knock out some liability."
Georgia Southern at No. 19 UL-Lafeyette (-11.5, 52.5)
If you're blindly chasing sharp money this week, it'll lead you to a surprising game in the Sun Belt - but good luck parsing which side to bet.
Rood says his book has almost exclusively taken money on Georgia Southern, which has covered four of its last six as a road underdog. Yet sharps have sniffed around on Louisiana-Lafayette, too, while the public has stayed away completely.
“We’ve taken wiseguy money both ways," Rood said, "so it's kind of an odd game.”
Those in the minority may be onto something. The Ragin' Cajuns are 9-6 ATS as touchdown favorites or more since 2017 with a perfect 15-0 record straight up in those contests.
(Odds source: theScore Bet)
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.