A clear sign that I’m getting old? This is the start of the seventh season of the Public Action Report. Good things have staying power, I guess.

It’s been a seemingly endless offseason, so it’s a good time to take a good refresher on just what the Public Action Report is all about. Essentially, we are looking at how the public is betting on football games, and we are finding situations where the line movement doesn’t make sense given that public action. In most cases, when a significant percentage of the bets on a game — 70 percent or more — have been placed on one team, the odds for that team should move to become less attractive. That’s just simple market principles — demand increases, so price increases. Sometimes, though, things don’t work that way — and that’s when they get interesting.

We are able to see what percentage of bets have been placed on each team. Sportsbooks understandably won’t tell us what amount of money has been bet on each side, though. Sometimes, then, we’ll see a situation in which a large majority of bets are on a team, yet the odds for that team are getting better — becoming more attractive. There are two big reasons why that could happen. It could be that a small number of high money bettors have bet more on the game than the large number of public bettors, so the public is actually on the side with less money. Or it could be that the money actually matches the public action, but the sportsbooks don’t fear the action. They don’t think that the price represents the actual risk in the game, so they are willing to take even more action than they already have on the side. In almost all cases we can’t know the real cause of the odd line movement, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we know that something has made the less-popular team more attractive, and that we should take a close look at that team as a result.

The Public Action Report is not something to bet blindly. It’s a way to find games to look at that you might not otherwise have and to avoid betting on teams that you might otherwise have been attracted to. Each week we will look at games in both the NFL and college football that fit the criteria. This week we have no NFL games, but we make up for that with one of the busiest college days I have seen in seven years:

Texas San Antonio (+26) vs. Oklahoma State (Saturday, Sept. 7, noon ET)

Nearly 85 percent of bets have been on the Cowboys, yet the line opened at 31.5 and has fallen all the way to 26. That means that UTSA is worth a look. Oklahoma State was not particularly impressive offensively in their opener against Mississippi State, so it’s not a surprise that people are skeptical about their ability to cover a big spread like this.

Illinois (+8) vs. Cincinnati (Saturday, Sept. 7, noon ET)

This game opened with Cincinnati favored by as much as 12.5 points, but has fallen to 8.0 despite seeing four of five bets come in on the Bearcats. Cincinnati had an easy win in their opener, but that was at home against a lousy Purdue team. Testing a new regime on the road against a decent offense is more of a test.

Eastern Michigan (+24) at Penn State (Saturday, Sept. 7, noon ET)

More than 85 percent of bets have come in on the Nittany Lions, yet the line has fallen from 28 to 24. That means Eastern Michigan is worth a look. Penn State is starting a true freshman at quarterback, so it only makes sense to be cautious about such a big spread.

Middle Tennessee (+17.5) at UNC (Saturday, Sept. 7, 12:30 p.m. ET)

Three-quarters of bets have been on the Tar Heels, yet the line has dropped from 21.5 to 17.5. That means that Middle Tennessee is worth a look. UNC had real troubles scoring last week despite having an impressive QB, so this play seems to be concern about that offense.

San Diego State (+27.5) at Ohio State  (Saturday, Sept. 7, 3:30 p.m. ET)

More than three-quarters of bets have been on the Buckeyes, yet the line has fallen from 29 to 27.5. That means that San Diego State gets our attention. The Aztecs are coming off a lousy loss, but this one is all about Ohio State. They made Buffalo look far too good last week, so there is concern about their ability to cover a big spread like this.

South Alabama (+6.5) at Tulane (Saturday, Sept. 7, 3:30 p.m. ET)

This is an interesting one because the line has moved through the key number of 7.0, moving from 7.5 to 6.5, and even 6.0 at some books. That’s despite nearly 85 percent of the action being on Tulane. South Alabama gets our attention. Neither team is very good, so it seems tough to trust Tulane.

Virginia (+23) vs. Oregon (Saturday, Sept. 7, 3:30 p.m. ET)

It’s striking when a team as public as Oregon shows up here. Almost 90 percent of bets have been on the Ducks, yet the line has dropped from 25.5 to 23. That means Virginia is worth a look. The Cavaliers played a feisty game to win their opener against BYU, and Oregon is facing the first real test of the new regime.

Memphis (+4) vs. Duke (Saturday, Sept. 7, 4:30 p.m. ET)

This would be a much more interesting basketball game than a football game. Eighty percent of bets have been on the Blue Devils, yet the game opened at the key number of 7.0 and has fallen all the way to 4.0. That means that the Tigers get our attention. Duke lost their last five last year and are getting far too much credit for a meaningless opening win, so they likely don’t deserve the respect they are getting on the road.

UNLV (+10.5) vs. Arizona (Saturday, Sept. 7, 10:30 p.m. ET)

80 percent of bets have been on the Wildcats, yet the line has fallen by a field goal from 13.5 to 10.5. That means that UNLV gets our attention. The Rebels didn’t look like it last week, but they are an improved squad. Arizona has some questions at QB, and that could be an issue on the road.

Got free picks? Doc’s does. And for new clients we would like to offer you $60 in free member’s college football picks from Doc’s Sports Advisory Board of college football handicapping experts. Click here to sign up today. We never require a credit card for this offer, and you will never have to deal with a salesman.

Read more articles by Trevor Whenham