Flawless records cancel out

By Jeff Haney

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 2 a.m.

A handful of college football teams remain undefeated against the point spread this season, and two of them clash in a marquee game Saturday.

Big 12 South rivals Oklahoma and Texas, which square off at 9 a.m. PDT Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, both boast 5-0 straight-up records.

Texas is also 5-0 against the spread, and Oklahoma brings a 4-0 mark against the spread into the matchup. The Sooners opened against Chattanooga in a game without a widely available betting line.

Typically when a football team is unbeaten against the spread at this point in the season, it’s an indication the team is exceeding expectations of odds-makers and the betting public. That can often be illustrated by comparing the early-preseason betting line on the team’s next game with the current line on the same game.

Here, evidently, is what happens when both teams are exceeding expectations: The early-bird point spread stays firmly in place as the season progresses.

In the Oklahoma-Texas game, for example, the Sooners opened as a

6-point favorite in July in the Las Vegas Hilton sports book’s special “college football games of the year” wagering.

This week the Sooners are favored by either 6 or 6 1/2 at most local casinos.

The other two teams in college football that are 5-0 against the spread are Ball State of the Mid-American Conference and Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference.

Teams with 4-0 marks against the number include Georgia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference; Oklahoma State, another Big 12 South stalwart; Tulsa of Conference USA; and Northern Illinois of the MAC.

Penn State has also largely surpassed early expectations, although its point-spread record comes with an asterisk. The Nittany Lions, 6-0 straight up, could be considered either 3-0-2, 4-0-1, or 3-1-1 against the point spread because their margin of victory has landed right around the number in their past two games.

Regardless, the Nittany Lions’ success clearly has been taken into account by oddsmakers and bettors. Penn State is favored by 5 points Saturday against Wisconsin, which is having an unremarkable season. On the early line at the Hilton, Wisconsin opened a 3 1/2-point favorite.

Lucky’s ‘carry-over’

The prize pool in the free NFL prediction contest at the Lucky’s group of sports books has grown again for this week’s slate of games after no entrant turned in a perfect card last week.

The prize in the contest, which has a unique format on the Nevada sports betting scene, stands at $36,000 this week. It opened at $6,000 and reached its current level after a five-week carry-over with another $6,000 added to the pot each week.

The prize money will be awarded when someone correctly picks the straight-up winner (no point spreads apply) of each NFL game on Sunday and Monday night.

The contest is free to enter and limited to one entry per person.

This past week, six entrants went 12-1. Three of those lost with the Chargers, who were upset by the Dolphins. Two missed with the Jaguars, who were upended by the Steelers. The other entrant lost a tough one when the Texans blew a late lead and lost to the Colts.

Picks can be submitted any time before 9 a.m. Sunday at any Lucky’s sports book, including those at the Plaza and Terrible’s in Las Vegas. Lucky’s also has locations in Pahrump, Primm and Northern Nevada.

NASCAR update

Jimmie Johnson extended his lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup champ-

ionship with a ninth-place finish in the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega, and the odds on Johnson’s winning the title reflected it.

Johnson is now listed as a 5-7 betting favorite — better than even money — to win the championship at all Station Casinos properties. Those odds are down from 8-5 last week and an opening price of 4-1 late last year.

Johnson is 72 points ahead of Carl Edwards in the championship standings after Edwards finished a disappointing 29th on Sunday.

It would be a third consecutive series title for Johnson.

The 10-race “Chase” reaches its halfway point Saturday with the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where Edwards is favored at 5-1, followed by Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch at 6-1 each. Johnson and Tony Stewart are both 7-1 shots.