Last I checked, winning your opening game by 79 points is considered one of the better ways to start a college football season, and gamblers seem to be echoing that sentiment based on how they're playing this week's Syracuse vs. Maryland matchup.
Maryland clearly didn't hold back in Week 1, posting a 79-0 final score against Howard as a 31-point favorite, but the following day the earliest sportsbooks to market listed the Terps at +4 for their Week 2 date with 'Cuse.
That number was immediately deemed too large, as it's now down to 1.5 … in favor of Maryland.
Syracuse vs. Maryland Sharp Report
Maryland is the more popular bet in this game, drawing 59% of bettors and 66% of actual money, but that kind of support isn't generally going to cause a 5.5-point line swing on its own. You can usually assume, barring any major personnel news, that sharps have had some say.
Sports Insights Bet Signals have triggered two steam moves on the home team — coming at lines of +3 and +1 — to get oddsmakers to jump this line across the fence. Steam refers to an overload of money being bet by professional bettors on the same side over a short period of time, and is followed by a line change.
As is the case with any major line move, there's always the chance for buyback to come into play. Sharps bet numbers, not teams, so there's no guarantee that wiseguys who found value on Maryland at +3 still see -1.5 as a worthwhile bet.
With plenty of time between now and kickoff, the next line move — if there is one — should be telling.
