Weekend Sports Gambler: Raiders -1.5 vs. Patriots as McDaniels Confronts Familiar Foe

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By Dan Behringer, LVSportsBiz.com Betting Writer

Can this Raiders season be saved?

And can you make money betting on (or against) the Raiders as the season winds down?

Good questions. (You’re welcome.)

But the rest of what has been a disappointing, topsy-turvy season for the Silver and Black begins Sunday when they host the New England Patriots. 

The dominant storyline is widely known. First-year Raiders coach Josh McDaniels vs. his old team, where he put in two stints in various assistant and coordinator roles. He also has six rings to show for his time there.

“To me, I think it’s the next game on the schedule,” McDaniels told reporters. “Look, it is what it is. I used to work there, and we have a couple players that used to be there and a couple coaches, but I mean, this is an important game for the Raiders, whether we were playing the Patriots or any other team.

But the bottom line is that the Raiders (5-8) are -1.5 point favorites vs. Bill Belichick & Co. (7-6) on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. The total is 44.5.

It’s an interesting line for a team that has seen its double-digit leads vanish like water-sprinkler residue in the scorching desert sun.

The Raiders are an underwhelming 6-7 ATS, but 3-2 at home. The Pats are 7-5-1 ATS but 4-2-1 on the road. At Covers.com, 53 percent of the betting interest is on the visitors.

Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m.

Elsewhere:

— Shifting odds: Oregon State opened as -5 point favorites vs. Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday but have been bet up to -10.5.

The shifting odds come as the Gators (6-6 overall) go with third-year sophomore Jack Miller III at quarterback in his first college start when they face the No. 14 Beavers (9-3). Gators starter Anthony Richardson, who amassed 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns this season, left school for the NFL draft. The Gators had three other players also opt out of the bowl game.

The Beavers are pursuing only their third 10-win season.

“Our players are excited to go to Las Vegas,” said Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith, the Pacific-12 Conference’s co-coach of the year told reporters. “A big-time stadium on the West Coast. I couldn’t be looking forward to it more.”

Kickoff at Allegiant Stadium is at 11:30 a.m.

— Knights return home: After a two-game road swing, the Vegas Golden Knights return home to face the New York Islanders on Saturday. 

The Islanders are 17-12-0-1. The boys with the shiny gold helmets are 22-9-1-0. 

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy after the 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawk on Thursday: “They’re never perfect. It’s an imperfect league. We’re still trying to build our game like every team in the league.”

Oddsmakers have the VGK at -188 for the game with the total at 6. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

On the run: After a week off, the UNLV Rebels, still known colloquially as the Runnin’ Rebels, face the San Francisco Dons on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack.

They defeated and covered -2.5 in a 74-70 win over Washington State last Saturday.

“I thought it was a great fight by our guys,” coach Kevin Kruger said after the win. “I felt like we played a lot of that game at Wazzu’s pace and their temperament, but I thought we did a good job of creating enough momentum swings in our direction to where we had favor in the way the game was going.”

The Rebels are still unbeaten at 10-0. The Dons are 8-3. Notably, UNLV has also covered five straight games.

Kruger’s crew picked up 27 votes in The Associated Press’s latest Top 25 poll.

No line yet. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.

— Play of the Week (8-5): No action last week as we avoided (wisely) the NFL and didn’t see a college game that piqued our interest. We’re putting our 8-5 record for the season on the line and playing over 56.5 in the UTSA-Troy Cure Bowl at noon Friday.