Amid an NCAA investigation and the hotter-by-the-minute seat under head coach Scott Frost, bettors are split when it comes to Nebraska's win total this season.
The data shows we could be looking at a classic case of pros vs. Joes.
According to BetMGM, 83% of all bets are on under 6.5 wins for the Cornhuskers. Yet, 76% of the total dollars wagered on the total have come in on the over. That signals most of the bets coming in on the under are smaller while the big money is hammering the over.
Bettors on the under may be hoping the investigation into Frost, first reported by The Action Network's Brett McMurphy, creates a distraction. However, the Huskers should be favored in each of their first three games — at Illinois and home vs. Fordham and Buffalo.
It gets tougher from there, with a road game against Oklahoma sandwiched before the bulk of the Big Ten schedule.
Frost has yet to reach 7 wins in his three seasons with Nebraska. He's 12-20 with seasons of 4, 5 and 3 wins in what's been a disappointing homecoming after a 13-0 season with Central Florida.
Nebraska isn't the only Big Ten team with a discrepancy of bets and total handle: Pat Fitzgerald's Northwestern Wildcats have seen 93% of bets come in on the under, but the handle is 67%.
While there's general agreement between bets and handle in the market, Pittsburgh is another team that's flipped with 61% of bets on over 7 wins but 68% of money on the under.
Maryland, Colorado State, Arizona and Arizona State are other examples of teams with differences between bets and handle.
