Going Under During the Week in CFB

Now we have never been ones to put any credence into days of the week when we do our handicapping, as we feel that any trend pertaining to specific days is just a random anomaly.

That said, we reluctantly concede that there is a legitimate reason to play the Under almost blindly in any non-Saturday regular season NCAA Football game. Keep in mind that with 95 percent of regular season games played on Saturday, games played on any other day are usually nationally televised games, or at the very least, part of a very light college schedule.

Now keep in mind that the general public loves to play the Over, and with national TV games and on days with light slates, it is not uncommon for these squares to blindly bet the Over on every game. After all, who does not like rooting for points?

Well, based on the results of all non-Saturday games since 1985, it appears that the oddsmakers have incorporated this into the totals, artificially inflating them. As a result, professional bettors that prefer to go against the masses have cleaned up, with the Under going a very lucrative 313-233, 57.3 percent in all college games since 1985 not played on a Saturday!

The busiest day of the workweek for this angle is Thursday, which makes sense since that has been the weekday ESPN showcase night for ages. That said, it has also been the most profitable day of the week for this angle in terms of units won, with the Under going a fantastic 153-104, 59.5 percent in all Thursday regular season games. For the record, Monday has been the most successful night in terms of Under winning percentage, but that is over a very small sampling with a 17-6, 73.9 percent record.

Shifting out focus back to ESPN Thursdays, the Under angle actually goes over the golden 60 percent mark if we look at conference games only. This is a very good sign for the last eight or nine Thursdays of the season, which are almost always failed with conference tilts. Since 1985, in regular season Thursday conference games only, the Under is an amazing 112-73, 60.5 percent!

Finally, here is a list of the top six Thursday Under conferences in the land (Under records are for conference games only):


WAC - 5-1, 83.3%
Sun Belt - 5-2, 71.4%
ACC - 33-14, 70.2%
MAC - 8-4, 66.7%
SEC - 12-7, 63.2%
Big East - 15-9, 62.5%