Iowa State football: North Dakota State is no longer favored
By Brian Spaen
Order is starting to get restored as North Dakota State is no longer the favorite over Iowa State according to multiple offshore betting websites.
Chris Williams of Cyclone Fanatic tweeted that 5Dimes is now favoring the Cyclones by 3.5 points, up 5.5 from its recent line of the Bison by 2.
Per 5 Dimes, Iowa State is now a 3.5 point favorite over NDSU. Same site had Bison favored by 2 a few weeks ago. #Cyclones
— Chris Williams (@ChrisMWilliams) August 25, 2014
More from Football
- Iowa State football: DeVondrick Nealy, Tad Ecby leave the program
- National Signing Day 2015: Iowa State picks up stealth RB from California
- Iowa State football: 2015 National Signing Day tracker
- Iowa State football recruiting: Cyclones gain 3-star Kansas OT commitment
- Iowa State football recruiting: Cyclones pick up Florida defensive tackle
Remember, FBS vs. FCS games are not based on an official Las Vegas betting line. Vegas doesn’t recognize matchups between higher and lower division teams. Why does this matter? Because it’s based on an educated guess from the people that operate these websites and not from official oddsmakers.
What this does mean though is people that are betting on offshore websites were slamming on Iowa State, enough to move them all the way up to now over a field goal favorite. Just yesterday they were favored by a lone field goal.
Expect the line to hover around 3-4 points. Since the line is now over a field goal, expect some that waited for the line to move to finally hit on NDSU to lose by just a field goal or less.
Based on the departure of key positions (head coach, quarterback) at NDSU, the expectations they have after three straight FCS titles, and how improved the Cyclones actually should be this year, this is a better line. Iowa State shouldn’t be an underdog at home to NDSU, but they still need to treat this game as a huge test. One thing to keep in mind is despite the Bison beating all the FBS teams they’ve faced since 2010, their last loss to a higher division school was Iowa State — a 34-17 loss in 2009.
Unlike over half the nation that will see 44-7 blowouts this weekend because they’re facing inferior opponents, the Cyclones are playing against a Bison team that’s probably better than half the FBS teams out there despite their FCS tag.