Temple vs. South Florida Spread Attracting Sharp Action Thursday

Tonight's sports betting slate is loaded with options across several different leagues, and while there's no question that the NFL will take in the brunt of the action (including some from sharps), the pros have also found plenty of value on tonight's "marquee" college football matchup.

Odds as of Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. Check out PointsBet, where Action Network users can access an exclusive promotion to get a 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).

Temple vs. South Florida

8 p.m. ET | ESPN

A quick resume comparison makes this tiny point spread look like a bit of a head-scratcher. Temple comes in with a better record (5-3) that includes wins over Maryland (No. 21 at the time) and Memphis (No. 23 at the time, and No. 21 in the initial CFP rankings).

South Florida has had one encounter with a ranked team — a 49-0 loss to Wisconsin. And sure, the Bulls are at home tonight, but an opening spread of +2/2.5 sure seems low.

The public (probably using some sort of similar reasoning) has come to that conclusion, anyway, as most spread tickets have been landing on Temple.

But even though Temple is taking in bets at a 2:1 ratio, this spread has fallen from its opening number. The Owls are now just 1.5-point favorites across the market.

As you could've probably guessed based on the article you're reading, sharps aren't taking the Temple bait. Since this line opened, seven Sports Insights Bet Signals, which track real-time sharp action causing market-wide movement, have landed on South Florida at lines of +2.5 or +2. Not a single case of sharp buyback has been spotted to this point.

Also pointing toward professional action on the Bulls has been the discrepancy between the percentage of bets and dollars they've attracted. Their 34% backing has generated 48% of money, meaning they're drawing action from the bigger bettors — the ones more likely to be sharps.

An added bonus from those percentages: Since the money percentage is still a minority, there's no reason to think that books have a monetary liability on South Florida. In other words, they're reacting solely out of respect for their sharper customers taking the points.

Sharp angle: South Florida (moved from +2.5 to +1.5) [In New Jersey? Bet now at PointsBet]