Pros Betting Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech, Two Other Thursday Night Games

October is arguably the best month of the year for sports bettors. With so many different sports being played all at once, the action never ends. Tonight is a perfect example.

We have Dolphins-Texans, four NBA games and a stacked NHL slate. But when it comes to wiseguy smart money, they all take a back seat to Thursday night college football.

After analyzing Thursday’s five-game slate using Sports Insights’ Sportsbook Insider Pro betting tools, I’ve pinpointed three NCAAF bets that professionals are focusing on, starting at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET.

Betting Terms to Know

Steam Move: Sudden, drastic and uniform line movement across the market caused by an overload of sharp action from respected players.

Reverse Line Movement: When the betting line moves in the opposite direction of the betting percentages. It’s a top smart money indicator.

Line Freeze: When one side is getting heavy betting, but the line won’t budge, indicating sharp liability on the other side.

Juice: The tax or commission that bettors must pay sportsbooks in order for them to accept your wager. A -115 juice means a bettor would have to wager $115 to win $100.

Full Sports Betting Glossary

7 p.m. ET

Sharp angle: Toledo (moved from +6.5 to +5)

Recreational bettors love favorites, home teams and teams with better won-loss records than their opponents. Western Michigan (6-2) checks off all three boxes tonight.

This game opened at Western Michigan -4.5. Heavy public action pushed the line up to -6.5. That's when wiseguys pounced on road dog Toledo (3-4) at an inflated number.

Pros at 5Dimes hit Toledo +7 and +6 and sharps at CRIS hit Toledo +6.5, triggering three separate steam and reverse line moves.

This overload of sharp action has forced oddsmakers to drop the line back down to +5. Some books are even down to +4.5. Toledo is receiving only 26% of bets but 42% of dollars — further indication of smart money in its favor.

Ball State at Ohio

7 p.m. ET

Sharp angle: Ball State (+11 to +10.5)

Another MAC showdown, another Pros vs. Joes betting disagreement.

In the most lopsided game of the night, nearly 80% of bettors are laying the points with home favorite Ohio (4-3). But the sharps are buying low on Ball State (3-4) to keep it close.

Despite receiving only 24% of bets, Ball State have moved from +11 to +10.5. Why would the line move in its favor if the public is fading them?

Because pros at ABC and CRIS got down hard on Ball State, triggering market-wide reverse line movement.

Ball State is down to +10 at BookMaker, one of the sharpest offshore sportsbooks.

All of the bet signals came at Ball State +10.5 or more, so sharps are telling you that the hook is crucial if you're backing the road dog Cardinals.

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech

7:30 p.m. ET

Sharp angle: Georgia Tech (moved from +4.5 to +3.5)

Virginia Tech is 4-2, at home and laying only a handful of points against 3-4 Georgia Tech? Hokies all day!

Not so fast, say the Goodfellas.

Despite receiving 70% of bets, Virginia Tech has fallen from +4.5 to +3.5. This sharp reverse line movement indicates smart money grabbing the points with the road dog Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech is also in a profitable historical spot. Short road dogs (+4 or less) have gone 54.4% against the spread (+72.13 units, 6.1% return on investment) since 2005.

Sharps might even be taking a shot on Georgia Tech to win straight up. Historically, short road dogs on the moneyline have produced +109.82 units with a 9.5% ROI since 2005.

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