The Texas Longhorns were the hottest team in Las Vegas this week when the South Point sportsbook posted the first college football point spreads in town.
The Longhorns went from underdogs to favorites in their Week 2 clash with USC and attracted enough early action in their annual showdown with Oklahoma to cut the line in half.
Texas hosts the Trojans on Sept. 15. The Longhorns, who opened as 1-point underdogs, drew enough action in the first few hours to move the line to Texas -3.
The Longhorns, in their second season under coach Tom Herman, opened as a 12-point underdog to Oklahoma. That line quickly was bet down to Oklahoma -6. The Sooners and Longhorns meet Oct. 6.
"I'd call that a pretty big move," said Chris Andrews, veteran college football oddsmaker at the South Point. "I must have had Texas, Stanford and Oregon underrated. Every game involving those teams drew action."
Other notable opening point spreads include:
-- Alabama opened as a 7-point favorite over Auburn. The Iron Bowl is Nov. 24, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
-- Ohio State opened as a 9-point favorite over Michigan. The Buckeyes host the Wolverines on Nov. 24.
-- Notre Dame opened as a 1-point favorite at USC on Nov. 24.
The South Point also posted lines for every Week 1 game earlier in the week and attracted early betting action.
Notre Dame opened as a 6-point favorite over Michigan in a marquee Week 1 matchup. By the time bettors were through with it, the Wolverines were 1-point favorites.
"I think it's anti-Notre Dame [money]," Andrews said. "I was pretty high on Notre Dame, maybe a little too high."
Other notable Week 1 lines include:
-- Auburn is a 3-point favorite over Washington.
-- Miami is a 3-point favorite over LSU.
-- Florida State is a 4-point favorite over Virginia Tech.
Betting limits were $1,000, and Andrews said Thursday that he had already taken more than $100,000 in college football bets this week. The lines generally move one point with each limit bet, creating more dramatic line movement than you'd normally see during the regular season.
"With college football, you have some very dedicated clientele," Andrews said. "They really like to get in and crunch numbers. And some of these guys do pretty damn well. I definitely have a lot of respect for the guys who played."