College football week 7 recap and betting overview

I was 3-2 on the weekend which makes you a winner in Vegas. This brings my overall record to 20-14-1. I am disappointed in my Iowa State Cyclones though. The lack of a QB is really hurting this team. As former Cyclone great Jack Whitver said on the post game show referring to they Cyclones in the Big 12, "This is a championship defense and a 9th or 10th place offense."

Hopefully things get better this week. The defense at Oklahoma State is not that great. This is a good chance to work out some quirks. Right now ISU is +13, I will be using that as one of my games this week.

Now, I mentioned last week I would give a quick synopsis on how to bet on football games and what some of the terminology means. Here is a website with some quick explanations. I will start with the spread.

Vegas sets a line, we will use the Iowa State and Oklahoma State game this week as an example. The spread is Iowa State +13. In the eyes of Las Vegas Iowa State essentially starts the game ahead 13-0.

Next on the agenda is a cover. Using the above spread. If you place a wager or bet on Iowa State to cover, you assume Iowa State will win the game outright or lose by less than 13. If you take Oklahoma State to cover you assume Oklahoma State will win the game by more than 13 points. If Oklahoma State were to win 33-20 the game would be considered a push, no winner.

A push that was listed above is part of the reason you will see a 'hook' or a half point involved. The spread for this game could be moved down to +12.5. The spread or line moves based on the betting involved. If the bets are coming in heavy on the side of Iowa State, the line will adjust downwards meaning the spread will get lower thus indicating people believe Iowa State will keep the game closer than 13 points.

Another way to bet on games is by the total or Over/Under. Again we will use the Oklahoma State and Iowa State game. There is not a total on this game yet but I will use 60 as an example. A bettor can wager whether or not that score will go over 60. The totals can move in the same manner as the spread.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions let me know, comments are always welcome.