College football betting: After firing Scott Frost, line moves in favor of Nebraska

Pete Truszkowski

A lot of people thought Nebraska would be a factor in the Big Ten's West division this season. Ahead of the college football season, their preseason win total was set at 7.5 wins and a lot of people thought they could go over that total. However, the start of the season has been catastrophic. They lost as nearly two touchdown favorites in their opener against Northwestern. They stooped even lower last weekend, when they lost as 23.5-point favorites against Georgia Southern.

On Sunday, Nebraska announced that Scott Frost was relieved of his duties. The Frost hire came with a lot of hype, and it's fair to say that his tenure was an extreme disappointment. Mickey Joseph takes over the program on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. Joseph is the brother of former Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph. Can Joseph right the ship over the rest of the season? The betting market seems to have some hope.

Market moves in favor of Nebraska

On Sunday morning, Nebraska opened as a 14.5-point underdog at home against Oklahoma. A few hours later, it was announced that the Cornhuskers had fired Scott Frost. Over the past few days, the spread has moved in favor of Nebraska. Nebraska is now just an 11.5-point underdog in Lincoln.

Oklahoma started slow last week against Kent State, but overall, it's been a solid start to the Brent Venables era for the Sooners. They've outscored Kent State and UTEP by a combined score of 78-16.

As far as Nebraska, it's been a horrid start so far, but there was hope entering the season. Maybe the coaching change shakes things up and the Cornhuskers can find the level many expected. Maybe the rivalry game with their former Big Eight opponent gets them up for the game. These two teams played in Norman last year, with the Sooners puling out a 7-point win.

LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 10: Mickey Joseph of the Nebraska Cornhuskers was named interim coach following the loss against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
Mickey Joseph takes over as interim coach at Nebraska, who have been one of the biggest disappointments to open the college football season. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) (Steven Branscombe via Getty Images)

Potential Slovis injury moves line

Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi hasn't said much about the status of quarterback Kedon Slovis, but the market doesn't seem to think he will play on Saturday against Western Michigan. Nick Patti played the second half last week against Tennessee and wasn't overly impressive. Even he was banged up in that game.

Pittsburgh opened as an 11.5-point favorite against Western Michigan. However, as the market has moved throughout the week, it's moved in favor of the Broncos. Currently, Pittsburgh is just a 10-point favorite.

Almost as notably is the movement in the total. Originally, the game opened with a total of 54.5 points. However, it's dropped six points over the course of the week. Currently, the total is just 48.5 points.

Patti went just 9-for-20 against the Vols last week, averaging under 4 yards per attempt. By comparison, Slovis is competing nearly 63% of his passes and is averaging almost 10.5 yards per attempt through three halves of football.

These two teams met in Pittsburgh last season and Western Michigan pulled out an upset victory. With this game being played in Kalamazoo, are the Panthers in danger of falling to a MAC team for a second straight season?

Other notable line movements

Let's take a look at some other notable movement throughout the week:

  • The biggest line movement of the week so far has been in the Iowa State-Ohio matchup. The Cyclones opened as 21.5-point favorites, but that number is down to just 17.5 at BetMGM.

  • Cincinnati opened as a 19.5-point favorite against Miami Ohio, but that number is up to 22.5.

  • Old Dominion opened as 10.5-point underdog against Virginia, but the underdog has gotten some love. Currently, Virginia is just an 8-point favorite.

  • Despite looking impressive against Missouri last weekend, the line is moving against Kansas State this week. Tulane opened as a 16.5-point underdog, but they're getting just 14 points now at BetMGM.

  • UCF lost outright as a near-touchdown favorite against Louisville last weekend. They opened as a 10.5-point favorite against Florida Atlantic, but that spread is down to just 8 points.

  • Speaking of Louisville, they opened as a 1.5-point home underdog against Florida State. That number has moved to 2.5-points though, suggesting some action coming in on the road favorite.

  • After losing outright as a near three touchdown favorite last week, the market is moving against Texas A&M this week. They opened as 6.5-point favorites against Miami, but that number is down to 5.5 points.

  • Two games have seen movement through the key number of three. Washington opened as a 2.5-point favorite against Michigan State, while Maryland opened laying the same number against SMU. Both teams are now 3.5-point favorites.

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