After four weeks of college football and three weeks of NFL, bettors are starting to have an idea of which teams are the likely favorites to compete for championships this fall.
The online sports betting market is taking shape.
NFL
Commanders at Eagles
Sunday, Oct. 1 | 1 p.m. ET | FOX
The Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC in 2022 and have spent the last six months as a top betting favorite in the Super Bowl odds market. Even after a turbulent offseason of personnel changes, Philadelphia is 3-0 and appears in line to compete for the NFC yet again.
The Commanders’ 2-0 start may have been a bit more surprising, but a road win at Denver was a mild surprise that enhanced the new era of good feelings in Washington.
The Bills beatdown may have put a damper on the party last week; Buffalo left Washington with a 37-3 win, where Commanders quarterback Sam Howell was sacked nine times and threw four interceptions.
Last year, the Commanders shocked the NFL world with a win in Philadelphia in Week 10, knocking the Eagles from the ranks of the unbeaten. A similar result this week would be huge for Washington. They’d be tied for the lead atop the NFC East with an early head-to-head result in their pocket.
A loss would still leave Washington with plenty of room to compete for a Wild Card spot. And that’s exactly what the market thinks will happen – Philadelphia was an 8.5-point favorite on Thursday afternoon.
NFL
Buccaneers at Saints
Sunday, Oct. 1 | 1 p.m. ET | FOX
The offseason was full of talking heads saying the NFC South would be a dreadful affair filled with bad teams, yet three of the four teams in the division started with 2-0 records.
Now, in Week 4, the Bucs (2-1) head to the Superdome to play the Saints (2-1) that should officially crown an early, in-season betting favorite in the NFC South odds market.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr suffered a shoulder injury during the third quarter in Green Bay last week and was ultimately replaced by Jameis Winston. Carr’s status for this week is unknown.
The Saints’ offense scored zero points after Carr left the game, so if Winston is announced as QB1 for Sunday’s game, it could spur a stampede of Bucs bettors. For now, BetMGM’s NFL betting odds price the Saints as a 3.5-point favorite.
College Football
Kansas at Texas
Saturday, Sept. 30 | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC
In seasons of old, it was common for a one or two-win Kansas team to sneak up on big, mighty Texas and score a shocking upset. Kansas won only four conference games from 2016-21, and half were against the Longhorns.
But those days are in the past, as Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold has quickly turned them into a legitimately good program. This week, as Kansas heads down to Austin, it’s ranked in the AP Top 25. It’s the second straight year that Kansas has cracked the poll.
The number won’t help them score a road win at Texas, though, which already has a win against Alabama in hand. The Longhorns are looking like one of the safest picks to make this year’s final four-team playoff, ahead of the expansion to 12 teams in 2024.
This game will likely be dominated by offense, as both Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (82.2) and Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels (82.0) rank in the top 20 in all of college football for QBR. BetMGM’s college football odds currently list the game total as 61.5.
