The Nebraska football team appears to have quite a bit to prove entering the 2017 season. A new quarterback, a new defensive coordinator and a new defensive scheme are enough to make most bettors take a long hard look at how much money they’re willing to put on the Huskers.
The lack of confidence in Nebraska and its ability to handle a ton of unknowns, as well as a more difficult schedule was revealed in some early season over/under odds that claimed the most likely outcome was a six-win season. That was followed up with some early lines on Husker games that showed them favored against Arkansas State and Iowa, but dogs to Wisconsin and Oregon.
Because this is Vegas, not everyone is going to agree on how good or how bad a team like Nebraska is going to do. One major sportsbook, Bovada apparently believes the Huskers are going to do quite a bit better than earlier projections. Bovada has set the Cornhuskers over/under for wins on the season at 7.5 which certainly seems to paint a rosier picture.
Nebraska football favored to have a winning season
While that 7.5 over/under all by itself projects the Huskers to have just a slightly better than .500 record, the betting line itself shows Bovada and the people who set its lines are expecting a fairly good season. The bookmaker has set the over at -165 while the under is at +135.
For those who are not regular gamblers, this means that if someone wanted to make a dollar betting Nebraska will win eight or more games, they would have to bet $1.65.
In contrast, those who bet $1 that the Huskers are going to only win seven or fewer games would make $1.35.
In other words, it’s far more likely to Bovada that Nebraska would win eight or more games, than it is they will win seven or fewer. The lower the odds of something happening, the bigger the payout.
How Nebraska football fares compared to the rest of the Big Ten
The Huskers weren’t the only Big Ten team that was handicapped by the Sports Book recently. Check out the over unders and the odds below:
- Iowa 6.5 (-105/-125)
- Indiana 6 (105/-125)
- Michigan 9 (-150/+120)
- Michigan State 6.5 (-115/-115)
- Northwestern 7 (-125/-105)
- Ohio State 10.5 (-150/+120)
- Penn State 9.5 (+120/-150)
- Wisconsin 9.5 (-150/+120)
So what stands out?
Like the Nebraska football team, Bovada appears pretty confident Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin are going to hit their overs. In contrast, the sportsbook seems fairly confident Penn State is going to top out at nine wins. The Nittany Lions are the only Big Ten team listed which is currently offering a higher payout for taking the overs.
