2005 BYU Cougars Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

BYU has been a streaky team against the odds in recent years. Although not quite a “name brand” team they are something close to that, as far as Mountain West Conference teams go anyway. Being on the Nevada border, BYU would often get a lot of Utah money bet on their games in past seasons and carried quite a large online sports betting following as well.

The Cougars have given sports bettors a wild ride over the past few seasons. It began in 2000 with eight losses in their first ten games against the odds. They then proceeded to cover their final two games of that season and seven of their first nine in 2001 for a total streak of nine payoffs in eleven games for sports bettors. Then, in a sharp and violent sports handicapping market correction, BYU dropped their final five games of 2001 against the odds. In 2002 they offered no value and finished out of the money eight out of twelve times for a streak of just four payoffs in seventeen games against the odds. BYU had completely soured the vast majority of sports betting bloggers who wrote them off as “yesterday’s news” and a program that would never rise again.

In 2003 BYU started off as quite a bargain with three straight wins against the odds, which naturally caught the attention of the general sports handicapping public and those same sports betting bloggers who only four weeks prior had wrote them off for good. The Cougars quickly lost sports handicapping value and lost six of their final nine games against the pointspread. Since those final five games of 2001 they were 10-19 against the odds and appearing on scant lists of football picks.

As the 2004 season started BYU was a team that had worn out its sports handicapping welcome. The Cougars were in a great spot for their 2004 season opener, however, as 5-point home dogs against one of college football’s ultimate “name brand” teams; Notre Dame. BYU won 20-17 and some sports betting bloggers speculated that perhaps the Cougars were ready for a return to glory. Those hopes were quickly dashed with two straight ugly losses both straight up and against the odds at Stanford and home against USC. Written off by the sports betting bloggers, yet again, BYU regained value and beat the sports betting odds in five of their next six games. Just as the general sports betting public began to believe in them again, however, another sharp sports handicapping market correction took place as BYU dropped their final two games against the pointspread to finish 6-5 against the number, leaving confusion and doubts along the way.