The college football betting season ended on a down note for Bodog when Alabama beat Texas 37-21 in the BCS National Championship Game. We saw a late flood of money come in on the Tide, which moved the number from -4 to -5, and we paid the price.

Let’s put it this way: When Marcell Dareus hit Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy early in the contest, injuring McCoy’s shoulder and knocking him out of the game, all our handicapping work went out the window.

Unfortunately for us, these are the things you just can’t predict when it comes to betting on sports.

Not too worry though, we had a very successful college football betting season overall. With the struggles of high-profile programs like USC and Oklahoma, the book had many a good day.

Advertisement

The Trojans went a woeful 4-9 against the spread this season, one of the worst betting records in the nation.

Another famous football school, Notre Dame, was almost as bad as USC, finishing 4-8 ATS.

Not surprisingly, both programs will feature new coaches in 2010.

The Connecticut Huskies were one of the brightest spots for bettors in 2009. Randy Edsall’s squad lost just twice against the spread in the regular season and then beat the number in the Papajohns.com Bowl for good measure.

The Huskies were hardly national-title contenders, finishing 8-5 straight up, but their ability to keep their losses close made them a great bet. Crazy statistic: UConn’s five defeats were by a combined 15 points! Add to the fact they were able to fly relatively under the radar all season and they didn’t have to beat many big numbers in their victories either.

When you look at the college teams that did well against the spread this season (and most seasons), you’ll notice a high percentage of low-profile programs: Central Florida, Central Michigan, Middle Tennessee State, Temple and Wyoming. Not exactly football factories, so sportsbooks like Bodog don’t have to worry about setting a soft line for their games. Seriously, it’s not like we’re going to get buried by a mountain of Blue Raiders action. (That would be the nickname for Middle Tennessee State, if you were wondering.)

Along those lines, that a high-profile school like Ohio State managed to finish 10-3 against the spread was a big story in sports-betting circles. Not many college football teams get as much attention as the Buckeyes, and bookmakers tend to err on the side of caution when they’re involved. Granted, OSU’s early-season loss to USC might’ve taken some of the lustre off, but needless to say we were not fans of the Buckeyes in 2009.