It's the same sport but a completely different game.
NCAA football no longer serves as the amateur version of the NFL.
College football is about points and passion; pro football features predictable, conservative play-calling which results in every game looking the same.
The player emotion and splendid pageantry displayed at college football stadiums towers over the joyless scene at pro football stadiums where a three-and-out is followed by a long commercial break followed by a longer video review followed by a 50-yard field goal attempt and then another commercial break.
Yawn.
Additionally, college teams play to win the game, NFL teams play to NOT lose.
Not a single game in Week 1 of NFL action offered an over/under of 50 or more points, according to closing numbers at BetDSI.
In contrast, more than 80% of Saturday's college football games on the main betting board closed at 50 points or more.
Of course, the game clock stops on every first down in college football, but the biggest difference between the two products is not point production but rather the critical importance of every game on the schedule.
With the College Football Playoff system in place, college football boasts the most important regular season in all of sport.
For teams with national title aspirations, every regular season game matters.
That's not the case in the NFL where most regular season games are merely one of 16 decisions.
An NFL team, unlike its college counterpart, can recover from a two or three-game losing streak over the long course of a 16-game season.
San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said yesterday after a disappointing home loss to division rival Kansas City that he compares the season to the Tour de France with "16 stages."
And with NFL teams now protecting star players from full-speed practices and preseason games, Week 1 is starting to look a lot like a dress rehearsal stage.
Yesterday's games were marred by a slew of penalties, many dropped passes and countless blown assignments.
Last Thursday night, the first game of the 2018 NFL season featured three-and-a-half quarters of poor quarterback play and a rare missed extra point late in the game which resulted in an odd 18-12 score (instead of 17-13) in favor of Philadelphia over Atlanta.
And here's one final point which makes college football far more exciting than the pro game: Broken plays go nowhere in the NFL.
NFL defensive players are getting bigger, stronger and faster every season while the field dimensions remain the same.
College football, on the other hand, produces exciting plays when superior athletes overwhelm inferior competition or when missed open-field tackles result in explosive plays of 20 yards or more.
COLLEGE TOTALS.....Forty of the 48 college football games on Saturday offered over/unders of 50 or more points.
Of the eight games lined under 50, seven of the eight went UNDER the total and none of the seven reached 40 points, let alone 50.
I once heard it said that if you want to follow the market's lead, then simply bet the lowest totals UNDER and the highest totals OVER.
LIVE WAGERING.....How's this angle for a college football in-game wager?
Bet against a double-digit favorite that kicks a field goal to cap the opening drive of the game.
Would in-game algorithims credit the favorite for a quick three points in the opening minutes of a 60-minute game or promote the underdog for holding the favorite to only three points?
I see the situation as a "false positive" for the favorite.
Bet the 'dog in this spot.
WNBA NOTE.....Seattle leads Washington, two games to none in the Best-of-Five WNBA Finals, but I see the Mystics holding serve at their intimate new home (Smith Center on the George Washington campus) both Wednesday and Friday to force a decisive Game 5 at Key Arena in Seattle on Sunday.
Washington players were disappointed with several officiating calls late in their Game 2 loss to Seattle.
Expect the Mystics to bounce back strongly in Games 3 and 4.
Elena Delle Donne offered a confident line after the Game 2 loss saying, "We learned a lot in Game 2 that we can utilize over the next three games."
I like EDD's attitude.
Not one game at a time but rather the importance of playing three more games this season.
MONDAY'S BEST BET.....Play 924 Los Angeles Angels -120 over the Texas Rangers.
Minor v Barria.
Young Jaime Barria (age 22) is in his best form of the season.
Barria allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his last six starts.
NCAA football no longer serves as the amateur version of the NFL.
College football is about points and passion; pro football features predictable, conservative play-calling which results in every game looking the same.
The player emotion and splendid pageantry displayed at college football stadiums towers over the joyless scene at pro football stadiums where a three-and-out is followed by a long commercial break followed by a longer video review followed by a 50-yard field goal attempt and then another commercial break.
Yawn.
Additionally, college teams play to win the game, NFL teams play to NOT lose.
Not a single game in Week 1 of NFL action offered an over/under of 50 or more points, according to closing numbers at BetDSI.
In contrast, more than 80% of Saturday's college football games on the main betting board closed at 50 points or more.
Of course, the game clock stops on every first down in college football, but the biggest difference between the two products is not point production but rather the critical importance of every game on the schedule.
With the College Football Playoff system in place, college football boasts the most important regular season in all of sport.
For teams with national title aspirations, every regular season game matters.
That's not the case in the NFL where most regular season games are merely one of 16 decisions.
An NFL team, unlike its college counterpart, can recover from a two or three-game losing streak over the long course of a 16-game season.
San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said yesterday after a disappointing home loss to division rival Kansas City that he compares the season to the Tour de France with "16 stages."
And with NFL teams now protecting star players from full-speed practices and preseason games, Week 1 is starting to look a lot like a dress rehearsal stage.
Yesterday's games were marred by a slew of penalties, many dropped passes and countless blown assignments.
Last Thursday night, the first game of the 2018 NFL season featured three-and-a-half quarters of poor quarterback play and a rare missed extra point late in the game which resulted in an odd 18-12 score (instead of 17-13) in favor of Philadelphia over Atlanta.
And here's one final point which makes college football far more exciting than the pro game: Broken plays go nowhere in the NFL.
NFL defensive players are getting bigger, stronger and faster every season while the field dimensions remain the same.
College football, on the other hand, produces exciting plays when superior athletes overwhelm inferior competition or when missed open-field tackles result in explosive plays of 20 yards or more.
COLLEGE TOTALS.....Forty of the 48 college football games on Saturday offered over/unders of 50 or more points.
Of the eight games lined under 50, seven of the eight went UNDER the total and none of the seven reached 40 points, let alone 50.
I once heard it said that if you want to follow the market's lead, then simply bet the lowest totals UNDER and the highest totals OVER.
LIVE WAGERING.....How's this angle for a college football in-game wager?
Bet against a double-digit favorite that kicks a field goal to cap the opening drive of the game.
Would in-game algorithims credit the favorite for a quick three points in the opening minutes of a 60-minute game or promote the underdog for holding the favorite to only three points?
I see the situation as a "false positive" for the favorite.
Bet the 'dog in this spot.
WNBA NOTE.....Seattle leads Washington, two games to none in the Best-of-Five WNBA Finals, but I see the Mystics holding serve at their intimate new home (Smith Center on the George Washington campus) both Wednesday and Friday to force a decisive Game 5 at Key Arena in Seattle on Sunday.
Washington players were disappointed with several officiating calls late in their Game 2 loss to Seattle.
Expect the Mystics to bounce back strongly in Games 3 and 4.
Elena Delle Donne offered a confident line after the Game 2 loss saying, "We learned a lot in Game 2 that we can utilize over the next three games."
I like EDD's attitude.
Not one game at a time but rather the importance of playing three more games this season.
MONDAY'S BEST BET.....Play 924 Los Angeles Angels -120 over the Texas Rangers.
Minor v Barria.
Young Jaime Barria (age 22) is in his best form of the season.
Barria allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his last six starts.
