USC Trojans Win Will be Blow to Books

Following last weekend's biggest win in ages for the online sportsbooks, the time for celebrating has subsided...at least for now.

A win by the USC Trojans of more than 7 points will be a crushing blow for the sportsbooks Saturday night.  That's because 85 percent or more of the action was going the Trojans way and none of the oddsmakers dared to move off the number "7" in the event of a touchdown win by USC.

"As we stand now, the oddsmakers are hoping that USC can win by a touchdown or fail to cover," says Don Shapiro of Gambling911.com.  "The later scenario doesn't seem likely as this team is too good.  But when you start trying to get more action on Ohio State by moving the line to USC -7 ½, you risk the chance of losing all those Buckeys bets with a USC win by 7 points, not to mention losses on early Trojans wagers when the line was less than 7 at some books."

That's not to say we won't see a few fleeting dares of books moving off the -7 to -7 ½ for brief periods.

Planet Hollywood in Vegas held onto the -7 ½ line for a period of no more than 20 minutes on Saturday morning before the Ohio State money began flooding in.

Most of the books will take a bit of a hit even if the game falls on "7".  Betting firms like Diamond Sports International has regularly moved the line to -6 ½.

"The best scenario would be a shocking Ohio State cover," says Shapiro.  "The second best scenario would be a ‘push' on the number ‘7'.  Even with a cover by USC, some of the books losses can be offset with a Michigan cover."

The Fighting Irish were getting significant betting action against the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.  This one seemed to offer a better chance for a Michigan cover or outright win. 

Books were already hit slightly with a Georgia Tech 3 point cover the other night since the line was -2 ½ versus Clemson.  North Carolina failed to cover in its game against Connecticut, helping the books out a bit.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher