The college football conference championship games and Week 14 of the NFL made for some riveting viewing over the weekend.
Following Saturday’s games, the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed, with games beginning Dec. 19.
Here’s a look at how things played out from a sports betting perspective:
Trends of the Week
It wasn’t a good NFL Sunday for the favorites at the BetMGM online sportsbook — they went 6-6 straight up. That included some big upsets, including an 8.5-point underdog winning outright.
The Bears-Packers divisional matchup was the most bet game in terms of number of bets, and Chicago (+6.5) was the most bet team in terms of number of bets. Green Bay won the game 28-21 with a late touchdown.
In college football, Georgia was a 1.5-point favorite against Alabama in the SEC championship and rolled to a 28-7 win. The Bulldogs took in 74% of the bets and 41% of the money.
Upsets of the Week
In the Big Ten championship, Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10 in a game in which the Hoosiers were four-point underdogs. Ohio State was the most bet team on Saturday, both in terms of the number of bets and money.
New Orleans (+8.5) was the second-biggest underdog in the NFL on Sunday, and they won outright against Tampa Bay 24-20. The Saints took in just 33% of the bets and 22% of the money.
Another upset in the NFL on Sunday was the Steelers (+6) beating the Ravens on the road 27-22. Pittsburgh took in 50% of the bets and 43% of the money.
Finally, the Texans beat the Chiefs 20-10 on Sunday Night Football, a game in which they were 4.5-point underdogs. Houston took in 51% of the bets and 50% of the money.
Coming Up
With the College Football Playoff bracket set, the matchups and spreads for the opening round games are:
— Alabama (-1.5) at Oklahoma
— Miami at Texas A&M (-3.5)
— Tulane at Mississippi (-16.5)
— James Madison at Oregon (-20.5)
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
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