Covers.com: Cal Now Favored by 2 Over Tennessee

Sharp money sends Vols to the doghouse
By Tim Roberts
Over 100,000 people will flock to the renovated Neyland Stadium to watch the nationally-ranked Tennessee Volunteers open their 2006 campaign against the California Golden Bears.
The Big Orange Nation, however, will be playing an unusual role on Saturday: they’ll be cheering for an underdog. The No. 23 Volunteers opened as 2-point favorites, but bettors quickly banked on the No. 9 Golden Bears and turned the pointspread on its head, leaving Tennessee as two-point home dogs.
“We had some wise money coming in that changed the line,” said BetCRIS.com linesmaker Randy Stafford. “And I could see the line going higher unless we get some money coming in on the two points.” There were two main factors making Tennessee the favorite when the line opened. “Home field has a lot to do with it. It means a lot more in college than it does in the NFL,” says the linesmaker. “And Tennessee plays in a stronger conference and gets credit for that. The Pac-10 has four of five solid teams, while the SEC has 10.”
The sharps backing the Bears, however, have the numbers in their favor.
Over the past four years, Cal is 6-1 ATS against BCS conference teams outside the Pac-10. They’re also 6-4 ATS as a road favorite in non-bowl games, and 14-8-1 overall on the road.
Tennessee was a miserable 0-6 ATS in Neyland Stadium in 2005 and have failed to cover the spread in their last 10 home games.
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