Cotton Bowl College Football Betting Trends: Kansas State vs. Arkansas

Cotton Bowl College Football Betting Trends: Kansas State vs. Arkansas

Bowl Season continues Friday evening with an interesting matchup between the Big 12 vs. SEC, as Kansas State (10-2, 7-2) battles with Arkansas  (10-2, 6-2) in the Cotton Bowl.  Arkansas opened as 7.5 point favorites at the market-setting CRIS sportsbook and is currently receiving 57% of spread bets, according to Sports Insights’ College Football Betting Trends. Although the betting percentages are somewhat even, the line has moved a point to -8.5.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this game is the lack of parity amongst the market-setting sportsbooks. While Cris is currently offering a line of 8.5, Pinnacle has this game available at 9 and Olympic has moved their line all the way to 9.5. In fact, if you’re willing to pay an increased juice there are a number of books offering -10 (+105) including Sportbet and 5dimes. This once again demonstrates the importance of shopping for the best line.

Worth noting is a steam move that came in on Kansas State (+7.5) at Cris (167-148, +3.85 units). Although this system play was triggered on December 5th, it indicates that there is sharp money coming in on K-State. With such an even spread betting percentage and an unimpressive steam move, it is unlikely that this game will qualify as one of our system plays but make sure to check back to see if the Wildcats are included as a Best Bet tonight.

The following table illustrates the breakdown of spread betting percentages from our six contributing sportsbooks.