SPORTS
SOURCE: www.kansan.com
Kansas’ 43-28 victory against Oklahoma State continued a dominating undefeated season and pushed the team one step closer to a historic designation. No, not the National Championship.
The Jayhawks are in contention for something just as rare as a Kansas football national title. Kansas, now 9-0 against the spread, could become the first team in NCAA football history to finish a season undefeated against the Las Vegas line.
The Jayhawks, a five-point favorite against the Cowboys, have covered against all nine FBS opponents. Oddsmakers generally do not release point spreads for games between FBS and FCS teams, so a line for the 62-point victory against Southeastern Louisiana was not offered by Sportsbooks.com.
An undefeated season against the spread also has never occurred in the NFL. The New England Patriots had been undefeated against the number before last week, but were blemished after they defeated the Indianapolis Colts by four and failed to cover the six-point spread.
Richard Gardner, a Bodoglife.com bookmanager, said finishing a season undefeated against the spread was not impossible, but Gardner also said surpassing expert’s opinion every week for a season would be a rare feat.
“It would certainly be historic,” Gardner said. “A lot of bettors ride a team until they lose, so once a team starts beating the line repeatedly the value goes out of them fairly quickly. However, it’s more pronounced when that team is a historically good team, like New England. For a team like Kansas that has struggled in the past, it takes a little longer.”
A Lawrence resident that takes sports bets in Lawrence and requested anonymity said he received a surprisingly low amount of bets on the Jayhawks, even though most of his clientele live in town.
“Each week I hear, ‘This will be the week they don’t cover,’” the source said. “It’s scary to bet on them. But they just keep doing it. They are a good team.”
Gardner acknowledged the lack of confidence nationwide.
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