According to legend, early in the week is the time when professional bettors make some of their moves - the other most important time is just prior to kickoff - and they tear apart the ripe lines from the Las Vegas Sports Consultants. For the last two years I have tracked the opening steam movements of lines in both college football and the NFL. The idea was to see if the "sharp" money was really that, or if the idea of trailing these severe early line movements was merely a myth. Well, I'm glad to say that we are back at it this season and ready to build on last year's research.

Here is the basic methodology. If a line starts as Penn State (-1) and moves to Penn State (-4.5) then we're going to track Penn State as our side, because the Lions are getting all of the money and driving the spread up. If the line starts as Penn State (-4) and then moves to Penn State (-1) we're going to track the opponent because they are taking the heavy action and it's moving the line lower.

I have not nailed down a specific movement - either passed on percentage of the spread changed or overall points changed - so I have to admit that my research is a little unscientific and based a bit on "feel". However, having done this as much as I have I would have to say that I have an eye for the odd movements.

That said, two years ago the "sharp" money went just 20-30 for the season and we had a solid fade system. But last year I think I opened the parameters up way too much and our tracked teams went 76-69, which was not statistically significant. This year I want to try to tighten it up and keep the total tracked plays somewhere in the range of 70-90 for the season.

We have still found an exceptional fade system so far this year by playing against the tracked college teams in this space. For the season, the college early line movements are just 10-21 ATS (3-8 L2 weeks) while the NFL moves are a decent 8-5 ATS. Overall, the early big movers are just 18-26 ATS.

This week the SEC is ground zero for the early movements, as four of our top movers come from that conference and a fifth game (Houston at Mississippi State) just missed the cut. Keep an eye out for those big-time games in the Southeast. Here is this week's action:

Kentucky at South Carolina

Open: South Carolina -13
Current: South Carolina -10.5
Tracking: Kentucky

The 'Cocks have been one of the most profitable teams in the nation this year at 4-1 ATS and they have dominated this series. USC has covered four straight against the Wildcats and are 7-2 ATS in their last nine meetings. That said, Kentucky has dumped three straight ATS and have been worked over by Alabama and Florida in the last two weeks and USC struggled to put away South Carolina State. That makes this movement curious.

Alabama at Mississippi (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: Alabama -4.0
Current: Alabama -6.5
Tracking: Alabama

Just a huge game here in the SEC West and the early players have staked a clear claim on 'Bama. So far this year the Tide has just been on another level compared to their opponents and they have been one of the most physically imposing teams in the country. That's just the sort of team (South Carolina) that pushed the Rebels around two weeks ago. The home team is 7-2 ATS in this series and Ole Miss is 4-0 and 6-2 ATS in the last several meetings.

Georgia at Tennessee (12 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: Georgia -1.0
Current: Tennessee -2.0
Tracking: Tennessee

Both teams are coming off losses here but clearly the sharps are into Lane Kiffin's crew in Knoxville. Tennessee has covered three straight and four of five in this series so they have had Mark Richt's number. Also, Georgia has been a drain at the window dating back to last year. They lost a heartbreaker outright to LSU in Athens last week and are now 2-8 ATS in their last 10.

Arizona at Washington (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: 'Pick'
Current: Arizona -3.0
Tracking: Arizona

Washington has now lost two straight games since their upset of USC. Arizona is coming off a bye week and is off a smooth blowout of Oregon State in Corvallis. The Wildcats are rallying around first-year starter Nick Foles, who was great against OSU. Injuries have hit Arizona but they have rolled on to a 3-1 mark despite a very challenging schedule.

Auburn at Arkansas (7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: Arkansas -1.0
Current: Auburn -3.0
Tracking: Auburn

The Tigers are coming off a tight upset win at Tennessee last week and they have improved to 5-0 on the season. Could they pull off back-to-back road wins in the SEC? The Auburn offense has been elite this year and the Tigers are an exceptional 4-1 ATS this season. Arkansas earned its first D-IA win last week by blowing out Texas A&M. But Auburn's attack could have a field day against the Razorback's porous defense. The points won't matter; take the team you think will win.

Idaho at San Jose State (7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: San Jose State -1.0
Current: San Jose State -4.0
Tracking: San Jose State

No one can stop the Idaho wrecking machine. Idaho is 4-1 so far this season and has covered all five of its games. In fact, Idaho is on a 9-2 ATS run dating back to last season and they pulled a great comeback win over Colorado State at home last week. Points are generally at a premium in this series, as last year's meeting was decided by six points and the last four meetings have been determined by an average of 9.0.

Dallas at Kansas City (1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11)
Open: Dallas -7.0
Current: Dallas -9.0
Tracking: Dallas

Yeah, Kansas City sucks. You're always going to have heavy action on Dallas because, well, it is Dallas. But it doesn't help that the Chiefs have the No. 31 offense, the No. 27 defense and that they haven't covered a single spread so far this year in either the preseason or the regular season. That is a stunning 0-8 mark against the spread.

Houston at Arizona (4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11)
Open: Arizona -4.0, 52.0
Current: Arizona -5.5, 48.0
Tracking: Arizona, 'Under'

The movement on this game has been fast and furious. First, the Cardinals are coming off the bye and there are still way too many people that don't realize that Arizona simply isn't that good of a team. Houston has been all over the map and they are clearly going to be a better underdog bet than a favorite. As for the total, it's easy to expect a shootout with two potent offenses and suspect defenses. But Houston's only seen an average of 46 total points per game while Arizona is set at 42 per outing. Looks like the "sharps" are going "against the grain" with the heavy 'under' play.

Indianapolis at Tennessee (8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11)
Open: 43.0
Current: 46.5
Tracking: 'Over'

Things have spiraled way, way out of control for Tennessee and the main reason is because their defense has completely collapsed. Their defense is worst in the NFL against the pass - despite three Pro Bowlers in the secondary in 2008 - and they have allowed 27 points per game this year. 

New York Jets at Miami (8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 12)
Open: New York Jets -3.0
Current: New York Jets -1.5
Tracking: Miami

This is Miami's second Monday Night Football game this year. And after watching each of these teams last week - Miami routed Buffalo while the Jets were gutted by New Orleans - this line move looks like a bit of a momentum play. That said, the Jets absolutely own the Dolphins. New York is 9-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings and 6-0 ATS in their last six trips to South Beach. And some of those wins have been as bizarre as any you'll ever see. It's tough to bet against those trends even if Miami's season is on the line.

Robert Ferringo is a professional handicapper and you can purchase a full season's package of his football selections for just $25 per week! Click here for details.

According to legend, early in the week is the time when professional bettors make some of their moves - the other most important time is just prior to kickoff - and they tear apart the ripe lines from the Las Vegas Sports Consultants. For the last two years I have tracked the opening steam movements of lines in both college football and the NFL. The idea was to see if the "sharp" money was really that, or if the idea of trailing these severe early line movements was merely a myth. Well, I'm glad to say that we are back at it this season and ready to build on last year's research.

Here is the basic methodology. If a line starts as Penn State (-1) and moves to Penn State (-4.5) then we're going to track Penn State as our side, because the Lions are getting all of the money and driving the spread up. If the line starts as Penn State (-4) and then moves to Penn State (-1) we're going to track the opponent because they are taking the heavy action and it's moving the line lower.

I have not nailed down a specific movement - either passed on percentage of the spread changed or overall points changed - so I have to admit that my research is a little unscientific and based a bit on "feel". However, having done this as much as I have I would have to say that I have an eye for the odd movements.

That said, two years ago the "sharp" money went just 20-30 for the season and we had a solid fade system. But last year I think I opened the parameters up way too much and our tracked teams went 76-69, which was not statistically significant. This year I want to try to tighten it up and keep the total tracked plays somewhere in the range of 70-90 for the season.

We have still found an exceptional fade system so far this year by playing against the tracked college teams in this space. For the season, the college early line movements are just 10-21 ATS (3-8 L2 weeks) while the NFL moves are a decent 8-5 ATS. Overall, the early big movers are just 18-26 ATS.

This week the SEC is ground zero for the early movements, as four of our top movers come from that conference and a fifth game (Houston at Mississippi State) just missed the cut. Keep an eye out for those big-time games in the Southeast. Here is this week's action:

Kentucky at South Carolina

Open: South Carolina -13
Current: South Carolina -10.5
Tracking: Kentucky

The 'Cocks have been one of the most profitable teams in the nation this year at 4-1 ATS and they have dominated this series. USC has covered four straight against the Wildcats and are 7-2 ATS in their last nine meetings. That said, Kentucky has dumped three straight ATS and have been worked over by Alabama and Florida in the last two weeks and USC struggled to put away South Carolina State. That makes this movement curious.

Alabama at Mississippi (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: Alabama -4.0
Current: Alabama -6.5
Tracking: Alabama

Just a huge game here in the SEC West and the early players have staked a clear claim on 'Bama. So far this year the Tide has just been on another level compared to their opponents and they have been one of the most physically imposing teams in the country. That's just the sort of team (South Carolina) that pushed the Rebels around two weeks ago. The home team is 7-2 ATS in this series and Ole Miss is 4-0 and 6-2 ATS in the last several meetings.

Georgia at Tennessee (12 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: Georgia -1.0
Current: Tennessee -2.0
Tracking: Tennessee

Both teams are coming off losses here but clearly the sharps are into Lane Kiffin's crew in Knoxville. Tennessee has covered three straight and four of five in this series so they have had Mark Richt's number. Also, Georgia has been a drain at the window dating back to last year. They lost a heartbreaker outright to LSU in Athens last week and are now 2-8 ATS in their last 10.

Arizona at Washington (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: 'Pick'
Current: Arizona -3.0
Tracking: Arizona

Washington has now lost two straight games since their upset of USC. Arizona is coming off a bye week and is off a smooth blowout of Oregon State in Corvallis. The Wildcats are rallying around first-year starter Nick Foles, who was great against OSU. Injuries have hit Arizona but they have rolled on to a 3-1 mark despite a very challenging schedule.

Auburn at Arkansas (7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: Arkansas -1.0
Current: Auburn -3.0
Tracking: Auburn

The Tigers are coming off a tight upset win at Tennessee last week and they have improved to 5-0 on the season. Could they pull off back-to-back road wins in the SEC? The Auburn offense has been elite this year and the Tigers are an exceptional 4-1 ATS this season. Arkansas earned its first D-IA win last week by blowing out Texas A&M. But Auburn's attack could have a field day against the Razorback's porous defense. The points won't matter; take the team you think will win.

Idaho at San Jose State (7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10)
Open: San Jose State -1.0
Current: San Jose State -4.0
Tracking: San Jose State

No one can stop the Idaho wrecking machine. Idaho is 4-1 so far this season and has covered all five of its games. In fact, Idaho is on a 9-2 ATS run dating back to last season and they pulled a great comeback win over Colorado State at home last week. Points are generally at a premium in this series, as last year's meeting was decided by six points and the last four meetings have been determined by an average of 9.0.

Dallas at Kansas City (1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11)
Open: Dallas -7.0
Current: Dallas -9.0
Tracking: Dallas

Yeah, Kansas City sucks. You're always going to have heavy action on Dallas because, well, it is Dallas. But it doesn't help that the Chiefs have the No. 31 offense, the No. 27 defense and that they haven't covered a single spread so far this year in either the preseason or the regular season. That is a stunning 0-8 mark against the spread.

Houston at Arizona (4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11)
Open: Arizona -4.0, 52.0
Current: Arizona -5.5, 48.0
Tracking: Arizona, 'Under'

The movement on this game has been fast and furious. First, the Cardinals are coming off the bye and there are still way too many people that don't realize that Arizona simply isn't that good of a team. Houston has been all over the map and they are clearly going to be a better underdog bet than a favorite. As for the total, it's easy to expect a shootout with two potent offenses and suspect defenses. But Houston's only seen an average of 46 total points per game while Arizona is set at 42 per outing. Looks like the "sharps" are going "against the grain" with the heavy 'under' play.

Indianapolis at Tennessee (8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11)
Open: 43.0
Current: 46.5
Tracking: 'Over'

Things have spiraled way, way out of control for Tennessee and the main reason is because their defense has completely collapsed. Their defense is worst in the NFL against the pass - despite three Pro Bowlers in the secondary in 2008 - and they have allowed 27 points per game this year. 

New York Jets at Miami (8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 12)
Open: New York Jets -3.0
Current: New York Jets -1.5
Tracking: Miami

This is Miami's second Monday Night Football game this year. And after watching each of these teams last week - Miami routed Buffalo while the Jets were gutted by New Orleans - this line move looks like a bit of a momentum play. That said, the Jets absolutely own the Dolphins. New York is 9-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings and 6-0 ATS in their last six trips to South Beach. And some of those wins have been as bizarre as any you'll ever see. It's tough to bet against those trends even if Miami's season is on the line.

Robert Ferringo is a professional handicapper and you can purchase a full season's package of his football selections for just $25 per week! Click here for details.