Happy Holidays to everyone out there. I enjoyed a nice break from the action last week and am looking forward to what ought to be an incredible weekend in the sportsbook at South Point.
Many of these bowl games have seen a ton of movement. I believe I have made mention of this in a prior column, but it is worth noting again: these games move a lot more than just a typical Saturday slate of college football. You have the transfer portal, players opting out, coaches changing jobs, etc. It is not necessarily the amount of money being bet, but more so, just keeping up with the volatility in the market. I intentionally left out a few games that either aren't worth noting – or are starting too early by the time this gets posted. We got to most of them, though, and here they are in official Nevada rotation order. Sun Bowl Pittsburgh vs. No. 18 UCLA (-7.5, 54)This game went nuts on Thursday morning. We began the day at UCLA -5.5 and they climbed the ladder with me all the way, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, and we're now at 7.5. Funny, though, I opened this game at UCLA -7. They took 7, 6.5 … we went all the way down to UCLA -4. It slowly climbed back up but then on Thursday morning, as I say, it shot all the way back up to 7.5, with action. This has been a crazy game. We opened the total 57.5. We got bet on the Under all the way down to 53 and then back up to 54.
Gator Bowl No. 20 South Carolina vs. No. 19 Notre Dame (-3.5, 51)We opened Notre Dame 3.5. They took 3.5, took 3, took 2.5, and we went all the way down to Notre Dame -2. Then they laid me back up. Laid me the 2, laid me the 2.5, laid me the 3, and I'm back to 3.5 with the game. I opened this total 52 and I'm down to 51.
Orange Bowl No. 10 Clemson (-5.5, 63.5) vs. No. 6 TennesseeWe opened Clemson -7. They took 7, took 6.5, and took 6. We're at 5.5 now and they are starting to lay back the 5.5. And this has been all sharp money, both ways – in the games listed above, too. Unless it is the big playoff games and such, the public usually does not get involved until the day of the game. No movement on the total.
Music City Bowl Iowa (-2, 31) vs. Kentucky