🏈 Delay of Games
Circa oddsmaker Jeff Davis called it “a unique situation.”
Indeed. When the FAA grounded flights Friday, roughly 1.5 million people were affected — including college football players. Naturally, bettors jumped on the angle, betting home teams. (I’m sure they checked on their traveling loved ones first . . . maybe, probably.)
“The first, most challenging part of the day was ascertaining which teams were affected in the first place,” Jeff said. “Then we lowered limits on those games where teams had not already arrived at their destination. For the most part, we did not move lines without bets.”
Circa will reassess the situation early Saturday and determine how much weight to give delayed travel. As of Friday night, several games had been moved later in the day, but none postponed.
One example: Arizona State (+3.5) is scheduled to leave early Saturday for its game at UCF. Kickoff has been pushed back two hours to 5:30 p.m. ET.
Colin Wilson of The Action Network assembled a spreadsheet tracking college football team flights.
» Tracking college football team flights
» Adam Burke’s FAA travel and betting update
SPONSOR
🏈 USC–Indiana: Another Line Move
LA’s other college football team has been getting as much attention as UCLA lately. But USC has the spotlight today against defending national champion Indiana.
USC–Indiana caught bettors’ attention Wednesday when the line jumped from Indiana -7 to -11 within an hour. We explained the reason in Thursday’s VSiN Daily.
Circa was at Indiana -7.5 Friday morning before moving to -10 late Friday. USC had already reached Bloomington before the FAA grounding, so that move was about money on Indiana, not travel.
Matt Youmans notes Curt Cignetti went 27-2 straight up and 20-9 ATS in his first two seasons at IU. This season, the Hoosiers are 8-1 SU but just 1-8 ATS. USC is 7-2 SU and 3-6 ATS.
“The Trojans are improving defensively and have the talent to pull this off. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, have played with fire and needed late-game magic in three recent wins,” Matt writes.
Matt cooled off last week (1-4-1), but his Best Bets column still stands at 34-18-6 for the season.
» Matt’s USC–Indiana play plus four more
Wes Reynolds, a proud IU alum but an even prouder handicapper, acknowledges Indiana’s key injuries, including leading rusher Turbo Richard.
“Everything seems to be going against Indiana right now, but that is just how Curt Cignetti likes it.”
» Wes’ USC–Indiana play plus 11 more
Steve Makinen sees value in the matchup through his effective play-by-play ratings.
» Steve’s USC–Indiana bet plus 19 more
SPONSOR
🏆 Circa Invitational: Indiana Draws Four Picks
USC–Indiana drew six selections in the Circa Friday Football Invitational. Four handicappers took Indiana -8.5, including Ed Salmons and Clyde Walker with their Best Bets. Carl Sack and Alex White also backed the Hoosiers. Tony George and Paul Stone each played Under 50.5.
The full card includes 161 picks from 23 handicappers, available to VSiN Pro subscribers.
» See every Circa Invitational pick
🏈 More Saturday College Football Best Bets
Dave Tuley: Five bets. Read Tuley’s Takes
Adam Burke: Three plays. Read Adam’s picks
Zachary Cohen: Seven plays. Read Zach’s picks
In the VSiN Community: Brad Taylor has 14 picks, plus weather-related Unders he likes. See Brad’s card. Brad and Will Hill will host Live Bet Saturday, 3–6 p.m. ET.
Ryan Barrett weighs in on Northwestern–Ohio State. I hope he’s right. Read Ryan’s take.
🏈 NFL in Munich: Nein Danke
Saturday nights at Circa’s Legacy Club prevent me from watching the international games. But here comes another one: Patriots–Lions, 9:30 a.m. ET in Munich.
Dave Tuley weighs in on that matchup and the rest of the NFL slate.
More NFL Best Bets: Adam Burke’s first TD scorers · Adam’s Survivor picks · Zach Cohen’s picks and props · Steve Makinen’s best bets. Look for Matt Youmans and Wes Reynolds later this morning.
Watch: John Hansen’s 14 props · Steve Fezzik’s favorite pick · Dustin Swedelson’s ladder picks.
NFL injury watch: Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III (groin) is questionable for Sunday’s game at Atlanta (+3). Check the new VSiN Injury Hub for NFL, college football, college basketball, NBA and NHL updates.
🏆 Tonight: The Football Contest Show
Matt Brown has one of the 609 remaining Circa Survivor entries. He joins Circa’s Derek Stevens and Jeff Benson to announce the consensus picks for all three Circa contests, 9–10 p.m. ET. Matt is going with the Rams this week.
See the latest Survivor entry listings at Survivor Sweat Marketplace.
Quick Hits: More Best Bets
Best Bets columns for college hoops, NBA and NHL generally arrive by mid-morning.
🏀 College Basketball — 70 games
🏀 NBA — 5 games
🏒 NHL — 14 games
🥊 UFC 334: Gane vs. Hokit
⚽ Shawn Marlow’s USL playoff semifinal picks
🏇 Horse racing at Churchill Downs
Wunderdog: Get a complimentary pick and full write-up by email every day, plus a $50 credit toward Pro Picks in any sport.
» Get the daily pick + $50 credit
Doc’s Sports: Looking for more football selections? Explore the latest picks and free-trial offer from Doc’s Sports.
