College football betting: Michigan is public's favorite side

Saturday's college football slate might not be the most enticing we've seen, but there's still plenty of intriguing games on tap. Which games and sides are seeing the most action currently at BetMGM?

9 Michigan @ Nebraska

The Michigan Wolverines are currently 3-point road favorites in Lincoln against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This is currently the most bet game of any on Saturday's slate at BetMGM.

Michigan is the side that bettors are looking toward. Michigan has the most bets placed and has more money wagered on it than any other side this weekend. Over 80% of betting tickets and money wagered is on the Wolverines to cover.

The Wolverines enter this game with a 5-0 record after dismantling Wisconsin on the road last weekend. On the other side, Nebraska has a pedestrian 3-3 record and its wins have come against Fordham, Buffalo and Northwestern.

At surface level, backing Michigan here makes plenty of sense. The Wolverines have looked great and Nebraska has been mediocre. However, despite all of the action flowing in on the Wolverines, the line has not moved. Something smells here.

11 Michigan State @ Rutgers

We turn our attention to another Big Ten matchup, where the Michigan State Spartans are 5.5-point road favorites in Piscataway, New Jersey, against the Rutgers Scarlett Knights. This is currently the second-most frequently bet game of the slate at BetMGM.

Last week, Rutgers fell to Ohio State, 52-13. This used to be an every-week thing for Rutgers under Chris Ash, but with Greg Schiano now back at the helm, there's hope it was an anomaly performance for the Scarlett Knights.

Bettors don't necessarily agree. Michigan State is currently the second-most popular side in terms of both number of bets and money wagered. 94% of the betting handle is currently on the Spartans to cover.

The Spartans find themselves with a 5-0 record, but there's reason to think they've been a little fortunate. Last week, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers posted nearly 600 yards of offense against Michigan State. The week before that, Nebraska outgained Michigan State by nearly 200 yards and still lost. Against Miami, the Spartans had a +4 turnover differential that flipped that game completely.

We have an undefeated team here laying less than a touchdown against a school that's trying to overcome a recent reputation as one of the worst teams in the country. I'm not shocked by how one-sided the action is, but I'd also be wary here.

2 Georgia @ 18 Auburn

Last weekend, the Georgia Bulldogs made clear they are a top-2 team in this country. It's also become obvious through the first five weeks of the season that there's a tremendous gap between Nos. 2 and 3.

With that being said, it's no surprise to see the Bulldogs as a popular bet on Saturday. They are 15.5-point road favorites against Auburn.

This is currently the third-most-popular game to bet of the slate. Georgia has received 81% of betting tickets and 87% of the betting handle to this point.

Auburn might be a good team, but there's definitely a huge gap between these programs. Despite hanging tough with Penn State on the road and beating LSU in Death Valley, bettors aren't giving the Tigers much of a chance on their home field.

Other notes

-Alabama is currently the third-most-popular team on the slate in terms of betting handle. 96% of the money wagered is on Alabama to cover as an 18-point road favorite against Texas A&M.

-71% of the betting handle is on Oklahoma to cover as a 3.5-point favorite in the Red River Showdown. 76% of bets are on that game to go over the total of 63.5.

-78% of the money is on Ohio State to cover as three-touchdown favorites against Maryland.

-68% of the betting handle is on Iowa to cover as a 2-point home favorite against Penn State.