Rutgers Scarlet Knights Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

2004 was head coach Greg Schiano’s fourth at Rutgers and the Scarlet Knights were being touted as a possible surprise or sleeper team in the Big East at many online sports betting blogs and in the general media as well. A sports handicapping warning could have been found by anyone doing his homework, however. Rutgers lost only ONE game against the odds in 2003 and it is EXTREMELY unlikely for a team to even come close to repeating that success rate two years in a row. To put it another way, Rutgers would not offer much in the way of sports handicapping value, as a market correction was highly probable.

In their opening game as 4-point home dogs against Michigan State, Rutgers pulled off a 19-14 upset win that had Tony Saprano himself storming the field with thousands of other Rutgers fans after the game, as it appeared as if Rutgers was, indeed, ready to bowl in 2004. Incredibly enough, however, they lost there very next game 24-35 to 1-AA New Hampshire in a game that was not lined.

After beating Kent State at home 29-21 as 12-point home favorites against the sports betting line, Rutgers hit the road for their Big East opener at Syracuse where they were a 6.5-point dog. If this game didn’t feel right to sports bettors it is quite understandable. Rutgers was a puzzle, while Syracuse was just plain struggling. It was a classic sports handicapping game to avoid and SU won 41-31. Rutgers was 2-2 straight up and 1-3 against the odds as they headed to Vanderbilt to face the doormat of the SEC. The sports betting odds makers installed Vandy as a 6.5-point chalk and Rutgers won an incredible 37-34 shootout to improve to 3-2, and re-ignite their hopes of becoming a bowl team.

Rutgers’ thrilling win at Vandy also caught the attention of sports bettors, many of whom believed it would be a springboard for Schiano’s program. With Big East patsy Temple calling on Rutgers, many in sports handicapping decided to lay the 12-points with the Knights amongst their other football picks. Rutgers won 16-6, failing to beat the sports betting line.

The Temple game began a streak for Rutgers in which they would lose 4 of their last 6 games of the season against the odds, which gave them a final record of 4-6 against the line, as their value evened out for sports bettors from the previous season