It’s an exciting time to be a sports betting enthusiast in the state of West Virginia right now. Not only is football back in full swing, but now the Mountain State has two respected WV online sportsbooks available to legally wager on
With the launch of FanDuel and DraftKings, the WV sports betting market has officially joined the times in 2019. Instead of its residents needing to travel across a rural region to place a bet or two, gamblers in the state can now wager as often as they’d like without moving an inch.
Sports betting apps are a benefit to all those in the industry. Bettors now have more options than most retail WV sportsbooks offer and the operators see more betting action overall.
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It was perfect timing for the West Virginia Lottery to have both online apps release before the start of the football season. Both college football and NFL betting have already impacted the sports betting revenue stream from legal gambling and will be two of the most popular markets through online sportsbooks.
This weekend should be no different, as another full slate of college and professional football games take place.
The WVU Mountaineers, as well as the Marshall Thundering Herd, return to the field after both suffering their first loss of the season last week. WVU football lost in a blowout at Missouri, while Marshall was almost able to pull the upset at Boise State.
Both squads return home looking to get back in the win column. The WVU football team is a touchdown underdog against NC State. The Herd, on the other hand, is favored over Ohio University.
There are plenty of NFL football games to bet on, too. After a wild opening Sunday, bettors will be keeping a close eye on the Week 2 lines as the weekend approaches.
Let’s take a look at the football schedule for this week and examine which lines are worth betting.
College football betting week 3
WVU football
It’s an important week of college football betting for both WVU and Marshall. After losing their first road tests of the year, both will be looking to bounce back before the conference schedule begins.
The Mountaineers must shake off what was a terrible week all around. Following an encouraging second half against James Madison, coach Neal Brown and his team were overwhelmed from the start at Missouri.
Once they fell behind early, there was no coming back. Quarterback Austin Kendall and the offense disappointed once again, scoring only seven points and committing several turnovers.
WVU football will have to improve in all areas offensively if it wants to even compete in the Big 12 this year. While Kendall has shown flashes, the offense is only averaging around 230 yards per game.
This week, the Mountaineers take on the NC State Wolfpack team that’s averaging over 37 points per game through two contests.
Even though NC State’s quarterback Matthew McKay has been solid, it’s the team’s running game that’s causing defenses fits. Zonovan Knight and Jordan Houston have paced the Wolfpack, both averaging more than six yards per carry.
If WVU football wants a chance of winning, it will need to get its running backs more involved as well. Alec Sinkfield is the Mountaineers’ leading rusher with just 30 yards on 10 carries. This team is going to have a terrible year if the rushing production doesn’t improve.
Although WVU is still a decent-sized underdog, it should have a real chance to win this week’s game. With two games under their belts, coach Brown and Kendall should have this offense working a little more smoothly in the near future. Hopefully, it’s this week.
WVU vs. NC State
- WVU +7 (-110)
- NC State -7 (-110)
Thundering Herd football
In Huntington, things have been much more successful thus far in 2019. The Herd took apart the Virginia Military Institute in their opener and then nearly escaped the blue turf in Boise State with a victory.
This week, they’ll turn their attention to the Ohio Bobcats. They enter the third week of play with an identical record of 1-1.
While the defense was spectacular yet again, Marshall struggled to move the ball in its last game. Of course, playing one of the better teams in the nation on the road doesn’t help, but seven points isn’t going to win many football games.
It will need QB Isaiah Green to create more explosive plays down the field. Part of that will include Green utilizing his athleticism to pick up chunks of yards with his feet. After rushing for 46 yards on eight carries in the opener, he was held to zero yards on the ground against Boise.
Marshall will also be depending more on running back Brenden Knox going forward. The sophomore is already the team’s leading rusher, however, he will be alone now without teammate Tyler King for the remainder of the season.
King was dismissed from the team this week for a team rule violation. The running back had 91 yards on 15 carries in two games after leading Marshall in rushing in each of the past two years.
It’s a tough loss for the Herd, but they will have to move on without him. Thankfully they have pretty good depth at the running back position.
Like in week’s past, Marshall will enter this game with the expectations of winning it. With the added energy from the home crowd, it should be able to beat Ohio and cover the spread doing so.
Marshall vs. Ohio
- Marshall -5.5 (-110)
- Ohio +5.5 (-110)
NFL betting week 2
As always, the first week of the NFL season was crazy. There was a lot of quality, competitive games, however, there were also some major lopsided finishes.
Now that bettors have seen every team in action, they should have a better understanding of what to anticipate when looking at NFL betting options for Week 2.
Cleveland has been one of the most hyped teams in several years, but it barely showed up in its first game. Baker Mayfield and the Browns got bullied all afternoon against Tennessee, losing 43-13.
They’ll look to recover this week on Monday Night Football against Sam Darnold and the New York Jets. Cleveland is 2.5-point favorites to win.
Another team that has high hopes for the season yet came out extremely flat is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were blown out by the defending champion Patriots last Sunday night.
This week, Pittsburgh will travel home to take on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. Coach Pete Carroll and the Hawks barely came away with a win last week, edging Cincinnati at home, 21-20.
The Steelers are projected to win this matchup, as WV sportsbooks have them listed as 4-point betting favorites.
Another local team that will have a tough test are the Washington Redskins. Following a difficult loss in which they were winning for a good portion of the game against Philadelphia, the Redskins head home for a battle with Dallas.
The Cowboys come to the nation’s capital with intentions of starting the year 2-0. They took down the New York Giants in their opener.
Cincinnati is also in action on Sunday. The Bengals are now 1.5-point favorites after the game’s line opened as a pick’em.
They’ll be looking to win their home game against a San Francisco team that needed a big second half to win a week ago. The 49ers will be without running back Tevin Coleman for this one after he injured his ankle.
According to DraftKings in West Virginia, here are the current odds for this week’s NFL slate:
Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets
- CLE -2.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: -136
- NYJ +2.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: +112
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Seattle Seahawks
- PIT -4 (-110)
- Moneyline: -195
- SEA +4 (-110)
- Moneyline: +160
Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys
- WAS +5.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: +195
- DAL -5.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: -240
Cincinnati Bengals vs. San Francisco 49ers
- CIN -1.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: -125
- SF +1.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: +104