College Football 'Games of the Year' Odds Open for Betting at South Point

South Point sportsbook doesn't have a high opinion of Notre Dame for the 2021-22 season, but that didn't stop some sharp bettors from betting the Irish in a couple of Games of the Year.

Patrick Everson
May 21, 2021 • 22:00 ET

As plenty of other things get back to normal, so too does sports. That was certainly evident late Friday morning at South Point sportsbook, where Chris Andrews & Co. restored the late-spring tradition of posting spreads for the College Football Games of the Year.

From early September through mid-December, there are now nearly 100 offerings on the college football odds board. And there was no shortage of bettors, primarily sharp players, eager to find perceived holes in Andrews' opening lines. Many observers noticed that South Point's risk room doesn't think much of Notre Dame.

"I'm not keen on Notre Dame. In my power rankings, I lowered them like eight points from where I closed them last year," Andrews told Covers.

Did early bettors agree? Let's find out by diving into some college football opening lines and early action.

Alabama vs Miami (Sept. 4)

Right out of the gate, there was action and odds movement on this Week 1 clash featuring defending national champion Alabama. The Crimson Tide went a perfect 13-0 last season, capped by a 52-24 boatracing of Ohio State in the title game.

Miami is coming off an 8-3 season, and Andrews expects an improved Hurricanes squad this year. Perhaps so, but early players felt otherwise.

"I opened Bama -13, and it's up to -16," Andrews said, noting bettors piled on the Crimson Tide in the first 30 minutes that this game was on the board. "I'm looking forward to that one, because I think Miami is gonna be really good, and we know Alabama is gonna be good."

LSU vs UCLA (Sept. 4)

In another Week 1 matchup, Andrews pegged Louisiana State as 2-point chalk on this West Coast trip to face UCLA. It didn't take long for bettors to lean toward the SEC unit, pushing the Tigers out to -3.5.

Notre Dame vs Florida State (Sept. 5)

Notre Dame hits the road for one of the bigger Week 1 matchups, laying six points at Florida State. And while Andrews admits he's not bullish on the Fighting Irish, bettor Brad Powers had no problem firing on Brian Kelly's program.

"Obviously, it's a numbers place for me. I thought this line should be a minimum of seven. I made the line Notre Dame -9, and I bet it at -6," Powers said. "The strength of Notre Dame is the defensive line, and the weakness of Florida State is the offensive line. This could be a huge mismatch."

Iowa vs Iowa State (Sept. 11)

Andrews pointed out this September 11 in-state bragging-rights battle based on reaction he got while a guest on an Iowa radio station, a couple of hours before this game went on the board May 21.

"I told them it was gonna be Iowa State -7, and they jumped all over me and said they'll be on Iowa," Andrews said, noting it appears he got the number spot-on, based on early activity. "We took one bet for $100 on the dog. I'm still at seven."

Auburn vs LSU (Oct. 2)

Louisiana State makes a repeat showing in the College Football Games of the Year for an October 2 contest against Auburn. In a battle of Tigers, LSU opened -2 and got bet up to -4 in short order.

"People think LSU is better than I think they are," Andrews said.

Georgia vs Auburn (Oct. 9)

This October 9 SEC clash saw noteworthy movement in a matter of minutes, with Georgia opening -4 at South Point and getting bet up to -6.

"They bet Georgia pretty good," Andrews said.

Central Florida vs Cincinnati (Oct. 16)

Cincinnati had its perfect 2020-21 season spoiled by Georgia in the Peach Bowl, where a 24-21 setback left the Bearcats with a 9-1 mark in a COVID-shortened year. Andrews expects this matchup will be a good one on the Week 7 docket.

"The bettors think Cincinnati is gonna be really good, but I think UCF is gonna be good," Andrews said. "Cincinnati has already gone from -4 to -7."

North Carolina vs Notre Dame (Oct. 30)

To reiterate, Andrews doesn't have a lot of faith in the Fighting Irish for the 2021 season. But he has a lot of faith in what's expected to be a very solid North Carolina outfit. That's why this game opened a pick 'em, even with Notre Dame on its home turf October 30.

That line held perfectly steady at pick after the early crush of betting on May 21.

Iowa State vs West Virginia (Oct. 30)

Iowa State is coming off a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon - the capper to a solid 9-3 season. West Virginia went 5-4 last year, needing a Liberty Bowl victory over Army to crack .500. But early bettors at South Point liked the underdog in this tilt.

"I have Iowa State ranked higher than other people do," Andrews said. "So I opened this Iowa State -8, but it's down to -6."

Texas vs Iowa State (Nov. 6)

Iowa State is well-represented in South Point's Games of the Year, but early bettors definitely feel differently about the Cyclones than does Andrews.

"I think Iowa State will be a very good team. But I opened Iowa State -10 over Texas, and it's down to -7," Andrews said.

Bettor Paul Stone jumped on Texas +10, reasoning that Iowa State will be a public play this season and that the initial value was on the underdog. Stone had this line Iowa State -5.

"Iowa State will go from hunter to being hunted," Stone said, adding he expects new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian to have his squad in good shape by the time this November 6 clash rolls around. "Texas will be a different team by then."

NC State vs North Carolina (Nov. 26)

Set for November 26, this rivalry weekend game opened North Carolina as an 11-point chalk at South Point. But quick and steady sharp play drew this number down to -8.5. Stone hopped on this game, taking North Carolina State +11 and again at +10 for the same reason he played underdog Texas against Iowa State.

"That's a play against a team that I think will be a public darling this year," Stone said. "I made North Carolina -4.5 in this game. Getting double digits was a bonus."

Notre Dame vs Stanford (Nov. 27)

This is another game in which Powers was happy to lay points with Notre Dame, going against Andrews' opinion of the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame opened -6 and quickly moved to -7, which is where Powers got down, but he was satisfied with that number.

"I had it at Notre Dame -10," Powers said. "I'm just very down on Stanford. I think the program is trending in the wrong direction."

Games of the Year odds

Action on various college football games of the year will come thick and fast with books now releasing numbers for games across the 2021 schedule. In addition to action reports for nine hot matchups this fall, here are the spreads for all of the South Point's "Games of the Year" in 2021.

Friday, September 3


Matchup Home Team Spread
North Carolina at Virginia Tech +6

Saturday, September 4


Matchup Home Team Spread
LSU at UCLA +3.5
Louisiana at Texas -9
Indiana at Iowa -5
Penn State at Wisconsin -3.5
Boise State at Central Florida -8.5
Alabama vs. Miami Miami +16 (neutral site)
Georgia vs. Clemson Clemson -3.5 (neutral site)

Sunday, September 5


Matchup Home Team Spread
Notre Dame at Florida State +7

Monday, September 6


Matchup Home Team Spread
Louisville vs. Ole Miss Ole Miss -8

Saturday, September 11


Matchup Home Team Spread
Iowa at Iowa State -6.5
Oregon at Ohio State -13
Stanford at USC -10.5
Utah at BYU +7
Texas at Arkansas +3.5
Washington at Michigan -2.5

Friday, September 17


Matchup Home Team Spread
Central Florida at Louisville +4

Saturday, September 18


Matchup Home Team Spread
Auburn at Penn State -4
Alabama at Florida +11.5
Virginia Tech at West Virginia -5
Purdue at Notre Dame -10.5
Cincinnati at Indiana Pick
Nebraska at Oklahoma -19
Oklahoma State at Boise State +4
Arizona State at BYU +6

Thursday, September 23


Matchup Home Team Spread
Marshall at Appalachian State -6.5

Saturday, September 25


Matchup Home Team Spread
Louisville at Florida State -3
Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin Wisconsin -4 (neutral site)
Toledo at Ball State -2
West Virginia at Oklahoma -17

Thursday, September 30


Matchup Home Team Spread
Virginia at Miami -12

Saturday, October 2


Matchup Home Team Spread
Ole Miss at Alabama -22
Auburn at LSU -4
Cincinnati at Notre Dame -2
Michigan at Wisconsin -7
Nevada at Boise State -6

Saturday, October 9


Matchup Home Team Spread
Georgia at Auburn +6
Alabama at Texas A&M +10.5
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech +3
Penn State at Iowa -2.5
Oklahoma vs. Texas Texas +9 (neutral site)
Utah at USC -4
Virginia at Louisville -1

Tuesday, October 12


Matchup Home Team Spread
Appalachian State at Louisiana -6

Saturday, October 16


Matchup Home Team Spread
Florida at LSU Pick
Miami at North Carolina  -3
BYU at Baylor -1
Central Florida at Cincinnati -7

Wednesday, October 20


Matchup Home Team Spread
Coastal Carolina at Appalachian State +3.5

Saturday, October 23


Matchup Home Team Spread
LSU at Ole Miss +2
USC at Notre Dame -1
Ohio State at Indiana +12
Oklahoma State at Iowa State -8.5
Oregon at UCLA +3
Western Michigan at Toledo -3.5

Saturday, October 30


Matchup Home Team Spread
Ole Miss at Auburn -4.5
Georgia vs. Florida Florida +6 (neutral site)
Virginia at BYU -3
North Carolina at Notre Dame Pick
Iowa at Wisconsin -5
Penn State at Ohio State -12
Iowa State at West Virginia +6
UCLA at Utah -4
UNLV at Nevada -23

Saturday, November 6


Matchup Home Team Spread
LSU at Alabama -19
Liberty at Ole Miss -11
Auburn at Texas A&M -8.5
Clemson at Louisville  +21
Texas at Iowa State -7
Oregon at Washington +3

Saturday, November 13


Matchup Home Team Spread
Miami at Florida State +9
Notre Dame at Virginia +6
Michigan at Penn State -6
UAB at Marshall -4

Saturday, November 20


Matchup Home Team Spread
Virginia Tech at Miami -10
Iowa State at Oklahoma -7
Texas at West Virginia Pick
California at Stanford -1
UCLA at USC -3.5

Friday, November 26


Matchup Home Team Spread
North Carolina at NC State +8.5
Iowa at Nebraska +5
Washington State at Washington -10

Saturday, November 27


Matchup Home Team Spread
Alabama at Auburn +13.5
Florida State at Florida -16
Georgia at Georgia Tech +21
Kentucky at Louisville +1.5
Ole Miss at Mississippi State +6
Virginia Tech at Virginia Pick
Notre Dame at Stanford +7.5
Indiana at Purdue +4.5
Ohio State at Michigan +13
Wisconsin at Minnesota +2
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State +11
Oregon State at Oregon -16
Arizona at Arizona State -21
BYU at USC -13

Saturday, December 11


Matchup Home Team Spread
Navy at Army -6

Where can I bet on college football odds?

You can bet on college football odds at every online and casino sportsbook, including NCAA moneylines, spreads, Over/Under totals, and a ton of college football prop odds. Head over to our best-suggested sportsbooks for the top spots to bet on college football odds in your area.

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