Show Me the Money! Your Oregon Football Gambling Guide

Some of you may remember the days of the Sunday parlay, before the NCAA strong-armed the state into banning sports betting entirely. Well, the good ol’ days are back. The Oregon Lottery recently announced plans to launch an app called “Scoreboard” that will allow betting on NFL games. Hopefully, the app will allow betting on college football in the near future, but in the meantime those wanting to put their money where their “quack” is can turn to one of the many offshore-based betting websites.

Below are nine different bets regarding the Ducks. From futures to game lines, if you’re a new gambler, a parlay junkie, or have never even placed a bet, we have you covered. I have set a budget of $1,000 dollars. The more I put down on a bet, the more confident I am in it.

Make the Playoff

Oregon: +1000

Wager $100 to win $1000

I don’t think Oregon makes the playoff. The field is too deep, and looking at this realistically, only two spots are available. Alabama and Clemson, each at -600 to make the playoffs, are the closest thing to a lock you can get.

So why would I bet on this, then? I love the odds.

I think Oregon will win the Pac-12 with one loss (those odds will be covered in detail later), and a one-loss Pac-12 champion has a strong chance to get one of those elusive two spots.

Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Notre Dame and maybe Ohio State will be fighting to get in. Look at those teams’ schedules, though, and Oregon’s chances look a little more inviting. OU and Texas play each other. Texas plays LSU. Michigan and Notre Dame play each other. And of course, Ohio State and Michigan face off, as well. Add in a trap game, and at least one of these top teams loses two games.

I like this bet. I don’t love it, and if the odds were +800, I wouldn’t bet on it. But at 10-to-1, I’ll bite.

Conference Championship

Oregon +325

Wager $300 to win $975

First, I want to give a huge thank you to all the coaches and media for picking Utah to win the Pac-12. Those folks changed the odds for us. Before media day, Oregon and Washington were listed as co-favorites with Utah right behind. Now, it’s the opposite.

Are they wrong to pick Utah? No. Utah will have the best defense in the conference. But on offense there are some questions. I believe Oregon is the more complete team and will be able to beat them.

National Championship

Oregon: +5000

Wager $50 to win $2,500

This will require a miracle, like a 1980 Winter Olympics miracle-on-ice miracle. Everyone who has watched college football in the last few years knows what the championship game matchup will be. I don’t know who wins, but I know who is going to play in it (hint: they are -600 to make the playoff), and Oregon isn’t one of them. But if Daniel Bryan can win the title at WrestleMania 30, who’s to say the Ducks can’t beat Clemson?

It’s fun to bet on your team to win it all, especially in the beginning of the season when they are +5000. If it happens, you have a paid vacation to sit on a beach shouting “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” If it doesn’t, skip Starbucks for a week and you’re back to even.

Heisman

Justin Herbert: +2500

Wager $50 to win $1,250

Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence will have to have very special seasons to win over the voters. Another thing that hurts them: they probably won’t play in many fourth quarters. A dark-horse will emerge and win over the voters with a heartfelt story. The hometown kid coming back for a senior year sounds pretty good to me.

 

Over/Under

Over 8.5 wins: -150

Wager $200 to win $133.33

Hammer the over. I repeat, hammer the over.

With seven of 12 games taking place in Autzen, this is a great bet. Also, have I mentioned I think Oregon loses only one game? To me, this bet’s a no-brainer. If you’re only going to make one bet this season, this is the one.

Early Game Lines

Oregon +3 vs. Auburn -110

Wager $75 to Win $68.18

Oregon is currently a 3-point underdog, which is wild considering when this line opened, Auburn was a 6.5-point favorite. The smart guys in Vegas hammered this line down three points to 2.5. Then the money started to even out, and the line has settled at -3. Oregon is ranked higher and has better national championship odds than the Tigers, which means line-setters and voters think Oregon is ultimately the better team.

I strongly believe Oregon wins this game outright. Take the 3 points.

Oregon -2 at Stanford: -115 

Wager $75 to win $65.22

Stanford should be better than last season. Not much better, but better. Oregon will be able to go in to their place and win by a field goal, though. This line will move come Week 4; in fact, it will jump immediately if Oregon beats Auburn.  I wouldn’t be shocked if Oregon gets to -6.5, making the current odds look like a bargain.

Oregon +3 at Washington: -110

Wager $100 to Win $90.91

This is simple: the team I think is going to win the game is getting points. Take ’em.

Oregon +1 at USC: -110

Wager $50 to win $45.45

Yeah, the whole getting points thing again …

How Much Did We Win?

If all nine of our bets hit (disclaimer: they won’t), we’ll walk away with $6,128.09. If we take away the long shot bets, though (National Championship, Heisman and the playoff), we’ll still have a nice payday.

Just by making the safe wagers, you can walk away with $1,378.09. If you steered clear of the risky bets, you would have wagered $800, leading to a nice profit of $578.09. Roll that into the new Scoreboard app for some NFL action and you might get that paid vacation after all.

AJ Costilla 
Wilsonville, Oregon                                                                                                                                                   Top Photo by Andrew Giesemann

 

Phil Anderson, the FishDuck.com Volunteer editor for this article, is a trial lawyer in Bend Oregon.