First-year Colorado football coach Deion Sanders didn’t need much time to win over my betting experts, Alan and Colden. Both won $5,000 bets on Colorado, a 2.5-point favorite over Nebraska.
Coach Prime isn’t just winning over fans by winning games. His relentless confidence is creating believers.
“We didn’t just want to win,” he said after a one-sided victory over Nebraska. “We wanted to dominate.”
Alan and Colden also want to dominate. And they don’t have to worry about losing since I give them $10,000 apiece in pretend money each week.
Not surprisingly, both Alan and Colden won last week.
Colden lived up to his nickname, “Mr. Parlay,” by winning $6,000 on a two-team parlay of Colorado and Notre Dame -7 over N.C. State. He also just missed on a three-team parlay of Oklahoma -16.5 over SMU, and Auburn -6.5 over California. Auburn beat Cal by only four points.
Net result: After two weeks, Colden is up $6,000
In addition to hitting on Colorado, Alan won a $4,000 bet on Texas +7 over Alabama. He came close to hitting a four-team parlay, missing only on Tulane +6 over Ole Miss.
When Alan made that bet, Tulane star quarterback Michael Pratt was supposed to start. Pratt was scratched due to injury just before kickoff.
Despite missing out on a $25,000 parlay win, Alan is still up $17,200 after two weeks.
This week’s picks: Alan picks Tennessee -7.5 over Florida. Takes Maryland -13.5 over Virginia for $4,000, Minnesota +6.5 over North Carolina for $4,000. He also has a three-team parlay of Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee -7 over Florida. That parlay would pay $11,340 on a $2,000 investment.
Colden’s picks: Tennessee -7.5 over Florida for $5,000. LSU -9.5 over Kansas State, and Kansas State -4.5 over Missouri in a two-team parlay for $2,500. Tennessee -7.5 over Florida, and Ohio State -27.5 over Western Kentucky in two-team parlay for $2,500.
Lines might vary slightly based on which betting service was used.
I don’t bet: But if I did, I would take Kansas and give 28 points to UNLV.
Why? For the same reason I took Southern California and gave Stanford 29 points last week. The Trojans led 49-3 at halftime, and reserves played the second half in a 56-10 victory.
Easy money.
I like high-scoring teams against heavy underdogs if the coach believes in running his basic offense even with an overwhelming lead. It also helps if that high-scoring team has a competent backup quarterback.
Kansas runs one of the most creative offenses in the country. It also has one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in Jalon Daniels, and a competent backup in Jason Bean, who has 37 career touchdown passes.
As for Nevada, it has lost two games by a combined score of 99-20.
ADAMS: Betting on Tennessee football paid off for our gambling experts. Here’s our next winners
Please read: If you think you have a gambling problem, don’t hesitate to email me at the address below. You might just have a losing problem.
I will help you sort things out.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football: Gambling experts on a roll heading into Florida