- The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Wisconsin Badgers at home for the first time since 2001.
- The Wolverines opened as 9.5 point underdogs but closed as 2.5 point underdogs.
- The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 24-13.
MADISON, Wis. - The Michigan Wolverines highlight this week’s biggest CFB betting upsets, going into Camp Randall and defeating the Wisconsin Badgers for the first time after five attempts.
The Wolverines laid the smackdown on the Badgers, winning 38-17, and covering a spread that opened with them as 9.5 point underdogs, although it did close significantly later on.
In other CFB upset news, the Cincinnati Bearcats, who opened as three-point road underdogs against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, pulled off an upset to win by 11 points.
Let’s break down the bets!
Michigan (Opened +9.5) defeats Wisconsin, 38-17
The Wisconsin Badgers had a pretty decent resume through the early part of the season, with their only loss coming to the 4th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Badgers had won the last five matchups against Michigan at home but that streak came to an end as the Wolverines dominated from start to finish.
While the game did start with Michigan as a 9.5 point underdog, online gambling fans were quick to bet on them, and the spread moved to Michigan +2.5 by kickoff.
Still, even those optimistic fans missed out on the Michigan moneyline. 58% of spread bets were on Michigan but 53% were on the +240 Michigan moneyline.
Michigan had gone 7,259 days without a win at Camp Randall but that record has been broken in dominant fashion.
Cincinnati (Opened +3) Defeats Notre Dame 24-13
The Cincinnati Bearcats opened as underdogs against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but did close as 1.5 point favorites before kickoff.
Still, the Bearcats controlled the game almost entirely, going up 17-0 by halftime before Notre Dame’s offense finally figured out how to function.
This functionality was related to a change at the QB position - Jack Coan was replaced by Drew Pyne, and Pyne helped Notre Dame get back into the game.
But it was too little, too late.
Pyne put up a touchdown and 143 yards, completing 9 of his 22 passes - his performance was good but his 13 missed passes are potentially alarming.
Notre Dame might not have solved their QB problem just yet - and it seems almost certain that they won’t be repeating as College Football Playoff participants this season.