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The odds may favor the South Florida Bulls by -3 ½, but it’s the Kansas Jayhawks getting all the money. BetOnline.com was offering odds on this game at reduced juice/vig (eg. bet only $1.07 to win $1.00 on favorites compared to the typical $1.10 to win $1.00)
Granted some wagering establishments have this one relatively even action though the norm is for the Kansas Jayhawks to be getting 65 percent or more of the money in.
Kansas was the most bet on College Football team after North Carolina, which played on Thursday. Kansas Jayhawks vs. South Florida Bulls is a game being played out on Friday.
During its last trip to Florida, Kansas grabbed a chunk of national credibility with an impressive victory in the Orange Bowl.
Less than nine months later, the Jayhawks are back in the Sunshine State looking for more.
The Jayhawks will be facing South Florida in an early battle of top 20 teams. It will be a litmus test for both programs, but especially for a Kansas team that has received unprecedented publicity earlier this season.
"I think this is a good measuring stick, to some degree," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "But I don't think it's a game where, if we win, we feel like we're going to win all the rest, and if we lose, we're going to have a bad season."
After last season, the perception of both programs has been transformed. Both teams were briefly ranked No. 2 in the nation last season. The Jayhawks won their bowl game, beating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl for the first program's first victory in a BCS bowl game. USF started 6-0 before losing three straight games that knocked them out of the Big East title hunt.
"It's matchup of a couple of similar programs," Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing said. "They popped up on the scene much like we did last year. They got high in the ratings and made a lot of headway with some guys that weren't highly recruited. It's something that's been the same for both of us."
It’s interesting that sports bettors believe for the most part that Kansas can cover here. Gambling911.com actually has this line around a pick, meaning Kansas might even pull off a win if both teams played to their abilities.
In any event, the line for South Florida is a little on the high side. It wouldn’t surprise us to see the game won by South Florida with a field goal.
The last time these two teams met in 2006, Kansas won by 6 points at home.
