Michigan (-4 ½) vs. Michigan State – The Wolverines opened as 5 point home favorites against their rivals, but the line has come down to 4 ½ points at most sites. The squares are probably the reason for the move, given that they’re siding with Michigan State at about 3:1. There’s only one question to be answered in this game – can Michigan State stop Denard Robinson? If so, they probably win. If not, they probably lose. Sparty is without head coach Mark Dantonio again this week, who is still recovering from a mild heart attack. Bragging rights are on the line for this in-state battle. Michigan State won last year’s match-up with Michigan, 26-20.
Alabama (-7) at South Carolina – The Crimson Tide opened as 8 point road favorites at South Carolina. Sharp money on the Gamecocks brought the line down to 6 ½ points, but then some sharp buy back on the Tide has pushed the line back up to 7 points. The squares are playing Alabama at better than 3:1. Steve Spurrier had an extra week to prepare for Nick Saban’s squad, which makes this game even more interesting. This will surely be a physical football game. ‘Bama won last year, 20-6, but South Carolina covered the 17 ½ point spread. Mark Ingram was the star of that game, rushing for over 200 yards.
Florida (-6 ½) vs. LSU – LSU takes its undefeated record to the Swamp for one of Saturday’s best games. Florida opened as 7 ½ point home favorites, but sharp money has brought the line down to 6 or 6 ½ points, depending upon the sportsbook. The public is playing the Gators at nearly 85%, which means this line has some serious reverse action. The Tigers got lucky against Tennessee last week when the Volunteers had not just 12 – but 13 players on the field for that ill-fated play. Not sure how that happened. Two great defenses will be on the field in this contest. The Gators took last year’s game, 13-3, holding the Tigers to 162 total yards of offense.
Miami (FL) (-7) vs. Florida State – Miami opened as a 7 point home favorite against their rivals, the Florida State Seminoles. The line has since come down to 6 points, probably due to some sharp money coming in on FSU. The squares are split on this game at nearly 50/50. The two squads have prolific offenses, but each defense has quietly put together a decent season. If the past two years are any indication of how this game will play out, though, look for a high scoring game. Miami won last year, 38-34, while FSU won the year before, 41-39. In each case, the visiting team left town with a win. These two teams have a shot at facing each other in the ACC Championship game at the end of the regular season.
Stanford (-10) vs. USC – The Stanford Cardinal opened as a 7 point favorite over the USC Trojans, but the line has been steamed up to 10 points. The public is backing the Cardinal at 80%. The USC defense is inexcusably bad. They got beat up at home last week against Washington, and now they have to go on the road to play a much more potent offense. The Stanford D got rolled up at Oregon, but that can happen to just about any defense. The game feels like it should go over, but the total has come down from 62 ½ to 59 ½ points, despite the public playing the over at about 95%. That means some serious sharp money has come in on the under, so bettors beware. The Cardinal rolled in last year’s match-up, 55-21.
