It turns out that if you’re going to bet on Pac-12 football, you would be wise to bet on Pac-12 football.
At least, that was the case in Week 1, when the league went 8-2 against the spread in matchups with posted betting lines, and 8-1 in non-FCS games — and that one non-cover was UCLA, which fell a half-point shy of covering the 14.5-point spread against Coastal Carolina. (Arizona State also came up well short of covering a 29.5-point spread against Southern Utah, but you really had to go looking for a line on that game.)
Otherwise, Pac-12 teams covered multi-touchdown spreads with aplomb. USC easily covered 38.5 against Nevada (66-14). Oregon State stiff-armed the 16.5 against San Jose State (42-17). Washington made mincemeat of a 14.5-point spread against Boise State (56-19), and Washington State proved my suspicion that 11.5 points weren’t nearly enough at Colorado State (50-24).
And of course Colorado, the league’s lone underdog, not only covered 20.5 at TCU but won straight up with the whole country watching.
My record was less stellar: 4-6 against the spread (with two FCS games off the board), and 11-1 straight up. I thought Boise State would hang around. I thought Nevada could tack on a couple cheap touchdowns. I thought Cam Rising’s absence would be a bigger deal for Utah. I did not foresee Colorado throwing for half-a-thousand yards.
Even with greater competition on the Week 2 schedule, I’m suddenly wary of picking against the Pac-12 in its second week of nonconference play.
All games Saturday. All lines courtesy of BetMGM. Some picks good, some picks bad. You decide which are which.