2005 Army Cadets Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

While Army has not had a straight up winning season since 1996 they have also been an overall loser against the odds. Their problems against the pointspread began in 2000 when they dropped six of their final eight games against the line. In 2001 they produced something of a sports handicapping market correction with a 6-5 mark against the odds. Despite a 1-11 straight up record in 2002 Army was 5-6 against the odds in sort of a sandwich season in which they failed to get the cash in their first two lined games, then rallied to cover five of their next seven, only to then drop their final two games for sports bettors. 2003 was a disaster all the way around as Army disgraced itself with a 0-13 straight up record and 4-9 mark against the odds, again with somewhat of a sandwich pattern in which they dropped both their first four and final four games against the odds.

As they entered the 2004 campaign Army was confirmed as one of college football’s absolute worst programs but sports betting bloggers found a point of light that offered possible hope; new head coach Bobby Ross who was expected to restore discipline and fight to the Cadets. While it may have appeared to be a reach some of these sports bettors considered Army a potential “sleeper” team to consider on one’s list of value football picks.

The 2004 season began as 2003 ended, with a crushing loss, as Louisville bombed the Army 52-21 as 23-point road chalks. This quickly soured many online sports bettors who admitted to possibly “reaching” with Army so soon. By getting clobbered in their season opener, however, the Cadets gained sports handicapping value and a market correction was long overdue, as Army had then made it 12 losses in their last 16 games against the odds.

Army responded to Ross’ new hard nosed approach by not quitting, fighting hard, and proving to be a good sports handicapping value after all by beating the sports betting odds in four of their next five games, winning their last two games of this span straight up. Army, for obvious reasons, is a popular team that everyone wants to do well so when they do they get a lot of extra public sports betting action. Army began to appear on a lot more lists of football picks and this robbed them of their sports handicapping value as they lost four of their final five games against the odds to finish 2-9 straight up and 5-6 against the line. Still, they had their respect back and were back on many lists of football picks by the end of 2004.