Today we have a loaded College Football Week 8 slate on tap with roughly 100 games to choose from. Let’s examine where smart money is leaning for a trio of matchups using our VSiN CFB Betting Splits, which are updated every 5 minutes and come directly from DraftKings and Circa Sports.

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12 p.m. ET: LSU at Vanderbilt (-2.5, 47.5)

LSU (5-1, ranked 10th) just took care of business against South Carolina 20-10, covering as 8.5-point home favorites. On the other hand, Vanderbilt (5-1, ranked 17th) just fell to Alabama 30-14, failing to cover as 12.5-point road dogs.

This line opened with Vanderbilt listed as a 1.5-point home favorite.

The public sees two good teams with a short spread and doesn’t know whether to take the points or lay them.

However, despite this split ticket count we’ve seen Vanderbilt creep up from -1.5 to -2.5.

In a vacuum, a line shouldn’t move at all if the bets are even because, theoretically, the oddsmakers have balanced action and no need to adjust the price one way or the other. So, based on the line move we can infer that the bigger, sharper wagers have sided with home chalk Vanderbilt.

At DraftKings, Vanderbilt is receiving 51% of spread bets and 70% of spread dollars, a wiseguy “low bets, higher dollars” bet discrepancy signaling an undecided public but also respected sharp action in their favor.

The Commodores have buy-low value as a team off a loss who failed to cover in their previous game against a sell-high team who won and covered their previous game.

Those looking to mitigate some risk in the event of a close game could elect to target Vanderbilt on the moneyline at -125.

At DraftKings, Vanderbilt is receiving 32% of moneyline bets and 43% of moneyline dollars, a sharp contrarian split and further evidence of pro money backing the Commodores to earn a straight up victory.

When two ranked teams face off, the favorite is 175-46 (79%) straight up with a 9% ROI since 2016.

Vanderbilt also enjoys a rest advantage, as the Commodores were off last week while LSU played a tough SEC game against South Carolina.

Home favorites off a bye are 413-362 ATS (53%) with a 3% ROI since 2005.

12 p.m. ET: Washington at Michigan (-4.5, 50.5)

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Washington (5-1) just brushed aside Rutgers 38-19, easily covering as 9.5-point home favorites. Meanwhile, Michigan (4-2) just got rolled by USC 31-13, failing to cover as 3-point road dogs.

This line opened with Michigan listed as a 6.5-point home favorite.

Once again, the public is split and doesn’t know which way to go.

However, despite this split ticket count we’ve seen Michigan tumble from -6.5 to -4.5. This signals sharp 50/50 movement in favor of Washington, as the line has moved toward the Huskies despite the public indecision. In particular, we’ve seen the Huskies fall from +5.5 to +4.5 over the past 24-48 hours, indicating late movement breaking further toward the road dog.

At DraftKings, Washington is receiving 48% of spread bets and 57% of spread dollars. At Circa, Washington is taking in 57% of spread bets and 65% of spread dollars. Both books are showing a sharp “low bets, higher dollars” bet split in favor of the road dog plus the points.

When two teams from the Big Ten face off in conference play, the dog is 18-10 ATS (64%) with a 21% ROI this season. Big Ten road conference dogs are 10-4 ATS (71%) with a 33% ROI. Big Ten conference dogs getting 4.5-points or more are 16-7 ATS (70%) with a 31% ROI.

Washington has additional betting system value as a “dog who can score” system match (33 PPG), which increases the chances they can keep pace or backdoor cover.

The Huskies enjoy a one-day rest advantage, having last played on October 10th compared to the Wolverines last playing on October 11th.

Those looking to back Washington would be wise to shop around, as FanDuel is still offering Huskies +5.5 while the rest of the market sits at +4.5.

7 p.m. ET: Penn State at Iowa (-3, 40.5)

Penn State (3-3) just fell to Northwestern 22-21, losing outright as 20.5-point home favorites. Conversely, Iowa (4-2) just crushed Wisconsin 37-0, easily covering as 5.5-point road favorites.

This line opened with Iowa listed as a 3-point home favorite.

The public is happy to fade Penn State, who has lost three straight, just fired their head coach James Franklin and just lost their starting quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury.

However, despite 56% of spread bets backing Iowa we’ve seen the Hawkeyes remain stagnant at -3. In fact, several shops are juicing up Penn State +3 (-115). This signals a sharp line freeze on the Nittany Lions, as the line hasn’t budged despite the public siding with Iowa.

At Circa, Penn State is receiving 33% of spread bets and 37% of spread dollars, a “low bets, higher dollars” sharp contrarian bet split in a heavily bet primetime game.

Penn State is in the ultimate buy-low spot as a “bad news” unpopular dog on a losing streak against a popular favorite coming off a blowout win and cover.

When two teams from the Big Ten face off in conference play, the dog is 18-10 ATS (64%) with a 21% ROI this season. Big Ten road conference dogs are 10-4 ATS (71%) with a 33% ROI.

Short road dogs +4 or less are 640-564 ATS (53%) with a 3% ROI since 2012.

The Nittany Lions have additional correlative betting value as a dog in a low total game (40.5), with the fewer amount of expected points scored making it harder for the favorite to cover the number.

Penn State is also a buy-low “bounce back” candidate, as teams have historically enjoyed an immediate bump in the first game after firing their head coach.

Those looking to buy low on Penn State would be wise to shop for a hook, as ESPN Bet is still offering Penn State +3.5 (-115) while the rest of the market sits at +3.

The post Top Picks from the CFB Betting Splits for Saturday October 18th appeared first on VSiN.