World Series Leads Off Week's Betting Lines

Sports bettors have a big week on tap with the start of the World Series as well as some key matchups in both Week 9 of the college football season and Week 8 in the NFL. Here is a look at some of the opening lines for the key games as provided by 5Dimes.

Starting with the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have been opened as -118 home favorites for Wednesday night’s Game 1, with the St. Louis Cardinals listed as +108 road underdogs. The total for this game has been set at 7 runs, with Jon Lester on the mound for Boston and Adam Wainwright getting the start for St. Louis.

The college football slate features a Thursday night SEC clash between Kentucky and Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have been opened as 10-point home favorites over the Wildcats. Boise State will take on BYU in a Friday night matchup as a 7.5-point underdog on the road.

The Big 12 takes center stage on Saturday when the Texas Tech Red Raiders travel to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to square off against the Sooners as 7-point road underdogs. The Red Raiders are 4-0 in conference play while Oklahoma looks to remain in the Big 12 title race after suffering an earlier loss to Texas that has it 3-1 in the conference standings.

In two other conference showdowns between ranked teams the UCLA Bruins will face Oregon as 22.5-point road underdogs in a key Pac-12 tilt, while South Carolina looks to rebound from a tough loss last week against Missouri in the SEC. The opening line for that game has yet to be released.

The NFL nears the halfway point of its regular season starting with Thursday night’s Carolina vs. Tampa Bay matchup in the NFC South. The 3-3 Panthers have been opened as 7-point road favorites over the winless Buccaneers with the total set at 40.

Sunday’s schedule features a matchup between the 3-4 Cleveland Browns and the only undefeated team in the NFL, the 7-0 Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns have been opened as 9.5-point road underdogs in this AFC clash, with the total set at 39.5.