Sports Betting

November/12/2009
Kevin Taylor

The NFL Thursday night schedule kicks off this week with an NFC matchup featuring a pair of teams clinging to post-season hopes. This is “must-win” territory for both the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers.

The Bears, at 4-4 on the season, have not traveled well as of late. They sport a dismal mark of 2-7 straight up in their last nine road games and also are 2-7 against the spread in those games as well.

The Niners, sitting at 3-5 on the year, have been a profitable play for their backers, boasting an 8-3-2 mark against the spread in their last 13 starts.

Online sportsbooks currently have this line pegged at -3 on the home side 49ers. The Over/Under is set at 43.5.

SPORTSBETTING.com is reporting betting action that slightly favors the home side, with San Fran receiving 57% of all the volume that has come in to this point.

The sports betting community hasn’t made their mind up on the Total yet either, as the action is 53% tilted to the “Over”. The favorite and the “Over” isn’t an unusual betting pattern for the “public” when it comes to nationally televised games, but this one is more balanced than usual. Rather than really liking a side, it seems bettors feel they can’t fully trust either team.

Looking at the Total, worth noting is that Chicago has a mark of 9 Overs and 3 Unders the last 12 times they’ve played a team from the NFC West.

When these two meet head-to-head, San Fran has had a clear edge, but keep in mind many of these results were produced with teams that bear little resemblance to the current editions.

Dating back to 1985, Chicago is only 4-10 against the spread 14 contests.

Chicago is also on six-game (0-6) ATS and straight up slump in their last six games visiting San Francisco.

Look for the losing streak to continue on Thursday night, as the Niners running game, led by Frank Gore, and their defense lead them to a home win on this Thursday nighter.

NCAA Betting

Some college football pundits are already forecasting that this year’s BCS championship game will consist of the current BCS No. 3-ranked Texas Longhorns and either the top-ranked Florida Gators or the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, both of who will meet for the SEC title in early-December—Florida is listed at -180 for the conference title and ‘Bama is +140.

Still, all hope is not lost for teams like the Cincinnati Bearcats, who still have a shot at the national title—although Cincy is a +2500 longshot for this season’s BCS championship.

With a home game against No. 25 West Virginia on Friday the 13th, the Bearcats are hoping to get a big win.

Going into this game, Cincinnati is an 8.5-point home favorite, with a Total set at 54.

Bearcats starting QB Tony Pike suffered an injury to his left arm in a game against South Florida back in mid-October and was replaced by Zach Collaros but the team continued to roll and is still undefeated at 9-0 SU.

According to the Associated Press, both will take snaps against WVU with Collaros starting and Pike expected to get some reps as well.

Will that help Cincinnati cover?

In its last 11 home games when favored by more than 8-points, Cincy is 11-0 SU but on the flipside, they are only 3-8 ATS.

Two big game on Thursday (NFL) and Friday (NCAA) should keep the betting boards buzzing.

Good luck with your plays.

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