#sportsbooks

#sportsbooks

The third week of playoff rankings have been released and the wildest thing is North Texas is sitting -115 both ways to make or miss the playoff ... while not even being ranked. Tulane is the only AAC team the committee is willing to acknowledge, and Navy isn't in the Top 25 either. Yet the books hung a number that basically says: this is the team the market expects to rise.

Oddsmakers -- and some respected bettors -- seemed to believe Jackson would be back, too. The Ravens opened as 6.5-point home favorites over the Chicago Bears and grew to minus-7.5 on Friday at ESPN BET. Up to that point, approximately two-thirds of the bets and money wagered was on the underdog Bears plus the points. Elsewhere, though, sportsbooks such as the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas and Caesars Sportsbook reported receiving bets on the Ravens from sharp bettors.