How Sharps Are Betting Friday’s College Football Games, Including Utah at USC

There may be just three college football games on tap tonight, but there's been enough sharp action to cover about 10.

Particularly, Utah vs. USC and Florida International vs. Louisiana Tech have been the landing spots for a few Brinks trucks worth of professional money. Let's take a look.

All odds above as of Friday at 10 a.m. ET. Check out PointsBet, where Action Network users get an exclusive 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).

Florida International vs. Louisiana Tech

8 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network

Opening numbers varied across the market for this Conference USA matchup. But regardless of where a book opened, just about every one listed Louisiana Tech at -10 back on Monday.

Now, just about every shop is at La. Tech -6.5.

A line moving through the 9.5-7.5 range isn't that difficult (8- and 9-point margins aren't that common), but the fact that this spread not only came off a key number (10), but moved through another (7), is telling.

The move is especially significant given that FIU hasn't been the popular bet. Only 42% of bettors are taking the Panthers, but those bettors have made up for 53% of actual money.

While that creates a slight monetary liability for sportsbooks, it more importantly tells us that FIU is drawing bigger bettors — the ones more likely to be sharps.

Sports Insights' Bet Signals — which track and record market moves caused by professional action — have been triggered five times on Florida International at lines ranging from +10 to +8.5. We've yet to see any sign of sharp buyback on the favorite.

Sharp angle: Florida International (moved from +10 to +7)

Utah vs. USC

9 p.m. ET | FS1

On the heels of their overtime loss to BYU — a team that Utah beat, 30-12, in Week 1 — the Trojans are unsurprisingly getting little support tonight. Perhaps using the respective BYU results as a measuring stick, 79% of bettors are laying the short spread with Utah.

The Utes opened at -3.5 or -4 depending on the sportsbook, and they currently sit at … -3.5 or -4, depending on the sportsbook.

That's not to suggest, however, that this line has been stagnant since opening. In fact, it's gone on a bit of a roller-coaster ride thanks in large part to some sharp action.

The overwhelming support for Utah pushed oddsmakers to increase the spread up to -4.5, and even -5 in some cases. Those numbers were met with a healthy dose of pro money.

As a result, books pulled the line back to its opener, only to find that a bit of conflicting sharp action was waiting to pounce on Utah at -3.5.

Overall, though, it's been USC driving most wiseguy bets. The Trojans have triggered 21SI Bet Signals (all at +4 or higher) to the Utes' six (all at -3.5).

It's also worth noting that USC's 27% backing has accounted for 38% of money being wagered on the spread. And with bigger bets usually comes smarter money.

Sharp angle: USC +4 or better