There’s no question that Texas-Georgia and Rams-Seahawks will be two of the most wagered upon sporting events this weekend in Las Vegas.
All four teams have marquee names at the quarterback position and three of the four squads have lived up to the preseason hype. And while Texas still has a chance to make the College Football Playoff, the Longhorns haven’t matched the summer billing of national title favorite.
One Vegas bookmaker has slid the Horns’ rating quite a bit.
“I’m down seven points since the opener,” Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons told me from Las Vegas.
“Every time I watch Texas, I come to the same conclusion: When the offense plays well, the defense sucks, and when the defense plays well, the offense sucks. They are what they are at this point.”
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The SuperBook opened Georgia -6.
“I opened a little lower,” Salmons admitted. “People we respect have been betting these ‘dogs off bye weeks and Texas fits that trend this week. Then somebody we respect laid the points.
“Georgia really ran the ball like old-school Georgia last week for the first time in a long time. It’s a team I really didn’t like early, but the more I watch, the more impressed I am with the offense. The defense is the weakness.”
Yours truly is invested in the Horns at +6.5. It’s rare to get a team with that caliber of defensive speed catching almost a touchdown.
Less than 24 hours after Texas and Georgia kick, the Rams and Seahawks meet in a massive showdown with big-time divisional and conference implications. Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold are legit MVP candidates and both teams have stingy defenses and brilliant head coaches.
“I think these two teams are identical,” Salmons said.
“The spread should be 2.5, but it’s a little inflated because we’re expecting Rams money. The public is just enthralled with the Rams.”
Are people sleeping on Seattle?
“I really liked Seattle coming into the year,” Salmons said. “I think highly of [head coach Mike Macdonald]. He’s really prepared, and he knows what he’s doing. And for the first six or seven weeks, the Seahawks were playing without half their secondary and kept winning games.
“Darnold has played great, and their No. 1 receiver has just been phenomenal. I think they’re the real deal.”
It’s been a treat watching Darnold and Stafford sling touchdowns, though I’ll be the first one to admit, I didn’t envision Stafford sitting at 25 touchdowns with just two interceptions in mid-November. Especially not considering all the rumors about Stafford’s ailing back we heard all summer long.
“There was a lot of professional money in the summer on the Rams missing the playoffs and ‘Under’ on wins,” Salmons reported. “Respected guys believed in the Stafford back rumors. That was a real thing.
“He doesn’t get hit a lot. We haven’t seen that yet.”
Finally, I saw a segment on “First Things First” this week in which the hosts debated which team at the top of the AFC standings could be trusted in the playoffs — the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos or New England Patriots.
I think the answer is none of ‘em. Just wait ‘til we get the No. 5 seed Buffalo Bills and No. 7 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
“It wouldn’t be surprising at all,” Salmons cracked.
“When Kansas City beats Denver this week, they’re gonna run a bunch of wins off. Look at their schedule. Denver is so beat up coming into this game, too. And it’s Andy Reid off the bye. We all know what’s gonna happen.”
Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and the BetMGM Network. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. Watch him on FOX Sports’ Bear Bets and follow him on X @spshoot.
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