FSU football: Bettors favoring Noles to cover spread against Georgia Tech?

FSU football opened as double-digit betting favorites over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Are bettors favoring the Noles to cover the spread?

FSU football opened as -11 point betting favorites over Georgia Tech when betting lines were released a few days ago, courtesy of The Action Network.

The first week of college football is always tricky to bet, and this year is even more so because there are so many unknowns going into the season.

The Noles missed 80 percent of their spring practices while looking to implement a new offense and defense.

Georgia Tech’s coaching staff is going into their second year as they’re trying to get away from the triple-option offense Paul Johnson ran there for years.

Georgia Tech was 3-9 last year, with the Noles managing a 6-7 record. However, advanced metrics indicate there’s a larger gap between the two teams. FSU is the more talented team, especially on defense, but it was interesting to see how the betting has gone thus far.

The Noles climbed to -12.5 betting favorites over the Yellow Jackets, with 70 percent of the bets coming in for the Noles. The over/under coming in at 54.5 indicates oddsmakers expect a score of 33-21.

That’s a fairly high scoring game, but we do have to take into consideration the lack of practice time. I’d expect things to be sloppy at times with missed tackles and possibly a score on special teams because players may not be comfortable with their assignments with the lack of practice.

Some of the beliefs in the Noles could be the Mike Norvell effect. He’s had one of the best offenses in the country since becoming a head coach in 2016 at Memphis. The Noles do return an experienced offensive line, experience at quarterback, and wide receiver.

I’d be careful placing any wagers this week due to the number of unknowns. However, if the Noles cover the spread, it would be a welcome sign for FSU football fans.