Sportsbook Industry News – Tuesday, September 26

This was a fantastic weekend for sportsbooks as bettors by and large took it in the teeth on Saturday and Sunday. The overwhelming majority of sportsbooks won big on both days, leading to many bettors replenishing their accounts in advance of this week’s action. Let’s take a look back at the big winners for the sportsbooks and the only real loser.

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BIGGEST WINNERS OF THE WEEK

OREGON VS. COLORADO

After spurring some incredible action through the first few weeks of the season, the Colorado hype train has derailed. The Buffs didn’t come close to covering the college football betting line in either of the last two weeks, and they could have lost to Oregon by 50 points on Saturday. The Ducks were up 35-0 at halftime and the Buffs had just 22 total yards of offense in the first half before Oregon shifted into cruise control in the second half.

WEST VIRGINIA VS. TEXAS TECH

Almost three-quarters of the money was on Texas Tech as a six-point road favorite by the CFB betting odds against West Virginia in Morgantown last week. The Red Raiders completely fell apart outside of Lubbock though with just three points in the first 48 minutes of play on their way to a 20-13 loss to the Mountaineers. Behren Morton made his first career start under center and completed just 13 of 37 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown, as this Texas Tech side is not nearly as proficient on offense as past versions.

HOUSTON TEXANS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

This was a humongous winner for the sportsbooks this week on multiple levels. Jacksonville was such a popular pick that around 40% of entrants selected the Jaguars in the Circa Survivor Pool, and they were the most popular staple in both parlays and teasers on Sunday. Bettors leaped at the chance to tease the Jaguars down from -7.5 on the NFL betting line, but it was the Texans that had the last laugh in a 37-17 beatdown of their AFC South rivals. Rookie C.J. Stroud was excellent under center for Houston, completing 20 of 30 passes for 280 yards with two touchdowns.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS. BALTIMORE RAVENS

One of the other extremely popular parlay and teaser picks on Sunday was Baltimore. The Ravens were laying 7.5 points to the Indianapolis Colts at home, and money poured in on Lamar Jackson and the hosts.

Indianapolis was without exciting young quarterback Anthony Richardson, but Gardner Minshew showed why he is not a quarterback to underestimate under any circumstance. Minshew was sacked five times, yet he was able to move the ball well enough and avoid turnovers to give the Colts an overtime victory.

BIGGEST LOSERS OF THE WEEK

FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES AT CLEMSON TIGERS

For the first time in eight years, the Florida State Seminoles were able to defeat the Clemson Tigers. There was a lot of action on FSU over the course of the week as bettors have largely bought into the Seminoles following their season opening win against LSU. Jordan Travis is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, and the Seminoles are a playoff contender for the first time in almost a decade.

Meanwhile, Clemson is probably eliminated from CFP contention with two losses. The Tigers were somewhat unlucky in their defeats at the hands of Duke and FSU, but it’s Dabo Swinney’s own fault that this team has not strengthened itself with the transfer portal.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS

Woe to the New York Jets. This was the season the Jets were supposed to really challenge for a title after years of mediocrity, but Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury on the fourth play from scrimmage. Now, the Jets are stuck with Zach Wilson under center once more and there is a ceiling on their aspirations.

New England was the most popular side in the NFL last week. The Patriots were staring 0-3 in the face, so they did what they had to do in order to knock off the Jets even though it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. Gang Green had just 171 total yards of offense while New England totaled twice as much yardage.