2005 Baylor Bears Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

To start 2004 the Baylor Bears were coming of an impressive and long overdue sports handicapping market correction as, entering the 2003 season, Baylor had beaten the sports betting odds in just ten out of their previous forty-two games and was on few, if any, sports bettor’s lists of football picks. In 2003, despite a 3-9 straight up record, Baylor finished in the money with a mark of 7-4 against the odds. Despite this pointspread success, however, Baylor still had a poor reputation amongst the greater sports handicapping community, which was likely to enhance their value in 2004 and prevent a sports handicapping market correction in the other direction. Few sports betting bloggers had anything good or promising to say about Baylor, except to consider them as a potentially strong “go against” team for their lists of football picks.

Baylor seemed to play right into the hands of their doubters by getting destroyed in their 2004 season opener at Alabama Birmingham 14-56 as 14.5-point dogs. A 24-17 squeaker of a win at home against 1-AA Texas State in an unlined game certainly did not enhance Baylor’s sports handicapping appeal as they hosted North Texas in their third game. Baylor proved to be an outstanding bargain as 3.5-home dogs and got the cash with ease in a 37-14 win. Still, Baylor made few lists of football picks in their next game as 38-point dogs at Texas, getting the cash in a 14-44 loss. ASW 20-point home dogs to Missouri in their next game, Baylor settled for a push in their 10-30 loss. Still, Baylor was undefeated against the odds for three weeks running.

Baylor next had the unfortunate task of traveling to Nebraska to face a Husker team coming off a 10-70 humiliation at Texas Tech. Baylor failed to get the cash in a 27-59 loss as 23-point dogs, which seemed to again give them added future value as sports bettors took their failure at Lincoln as a sign of weakness. Baylor now stood at 3-2-1 against the sports betting line and 2-4 straight up, hardly numbers to take away their stigma as a Big 12 doormat or to end up on the lists of football picks for sports bettors.

Incredibly enough, however, Baylor beat the sports betting odds in four of their final five games and beat Texas A&M straight up 35-34 as 25-point home dogs to highlight their season. Baylor has lost just 7 of their last 20 games against the odds.