Everything that happens in sports has some additional context when viewed from a sports betting perspective. From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the sports news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.
Key links: Sports betting home | NFL odds page | College football odds page | ESPN BET 
Dec. 1: Eagles, Ravens, Bills vying for third on Super Bowl oddsboard
The three teams vying for third on ESPN BET’s Super Bowl oddsboard will make their case in Week 13’s Sunday afternoon and night games. The Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills are tied at +650 to win this season’s championship, trailing the Detroit Lions (+250) and Kansas City Chiefs (+450), and somewhat comfortably leading the Green Bay Packers (+1400) as the next closest team.
Philadelphia travels to Baltimore for an intriguing matchup that sees the Ravens as three-point favorites, up from the opener of -2.5, per ESPN BET odds. Philly is one of the few underdogs getting public support on Sunday, with ESPN BET, DraftKings and BetMGM all reporting a majority of tickets backing the Birds, with the latter also noting a $100,000 wager on Eagles +120.
That said, each book also reports some slightly positive handle splits for Baltimore, and this specific situation is one where Lamar Jackson and his team thrive: The two-time MVP is 23-1 outright (12-11-1 against the spread) in his career against NFC teams and 18-4-2 ATS when the line is between +3 and -3.
Jackson is currently second-favorite to win his third MVP award at +260 odds, trailing Buffalo’s Josh Allen (+145), and just ahead of Detroit’s Jared Goff (+500) and Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley (+650).
Betting public backing Bills in snow game
Bookmakers expect to have a big decision on the Sunday primetime game in Buffalo, where snowy conditions will be in play. The Bills, who began the week as 3.5-point favorites, were 6-point favorites over the visiting San Francisco 49ers on Sunday morning. The total has settled at 44.5, down from 46.5.
“The 49ers are the biggest need with bettors backing the Bills on Sunday Night Football,” Christian Cipollini, trading manager at BetMGM, said in a release Sunday morning. The Bills had attracted more bets and more money wagered than any other team on the board as of Sunday morning at BetMGM.
49ers QB Brock Purdy (shoulder) is expected to start. After snapping a 36-game streak as favorites in Week 12, the Niners will now be underdogs in consecutive games for the first time since Week 16 and 17 of the 2020 season.
Odds & Ends
• The most-heavily bet player prop at DraftKings on Sunday morning was Falcons running back Bijan Robinson over 3.5 receptions (-165).
• The Steelers are 3-point road underdogs at the Bengals, a position in which Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin has thrived. The Steelers are 51-43 outright as underdogs under Tomlin, having covered the spread in 64.8% of those games.
• A bettor in Nevada placed $200 bet on the New England Patriots (+500000) to win Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome. Potential win: $1,000,000.
A bettor in Nevada placed $200 on the Patriots (+500000) to win Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome 😮
Potential win: $1,000,000 pic.twitter.com/myE7M0OCuf
— Caesars Sportsbook & Casino (@CaesarsSports) November 30, 2024
• The NFC West is currently the only division in the league where every team shows plus-odds to win the division:
Arizona Cardinals (+140)
Seattle Seahawks (+175)
Los Angeles Rams (+475)
San Francisco 49ers (+600)
Nov 30: Michigan’s upset of Ohio State by the numbers
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The numbers behind Michigan’s upset over No. 2 Ohio State
Check out some stats behind Michigan’s upset of No. 2 Ohio State to end the regular season.
David Purdum and Doug Greenberg: Ohio State entered Saturday as one of the largest favorites in the history of its rivalry with Michigan, but it was the Wolverines that emerged from The Horseshoe with an enormous upset victory. Here’s a look at Michigan’s win through a betting lens:
20.5 — Michigan closed as a 20.5-point underdog at ESPN BET, making it the largest upset, point spread-wise, in the rivalry’s history since at least the 1978 FBS-FCS split, according to ESPN Research.
1 — Where Ohio State ranked out of all college football teams in terms of bets placed and money wagered on the money line at DraftKings.
41.5 — The over/under for the rivalry game closed at 41.5. With just 23 points, this was the first Michigan-Ohio State game to go under the total since 2013. ESPN BET reported that The Game represented its most-bet over by tickets for the college football weekend.
83% — Ohio State accounted for 83% of the money bet on the game’s money line at BetMGM sportsbooks.
3 — The Wolverines are the third defending national champion to be a 20-point underdog at any point the following season since 1978, joining 2011 Auburn and 2020 LSU.
5 — Ohio State becomes the fifth team ranked in the top five in the College Football Playoff rankings to lose as a 20-plus-point favorite. It was also the fifth-largest straight-up upset according to the spread this season.
$28,000 — A bettor in Indiana with Caesars Sportsbook placed a $28,000 money-line bet on Ohio State to win the game straight up at -1400 odds. The bet would’ve won a net $2,000.
+450 — Ohio State’s updated odds to win the national championship at ESPN BET. The Buckeyes were the favorites at +250 before Saturday’s loss. Oregon is now the favorite at +350, followed by Georgia and Texas at +450 along with Ohio State.
