Sports betting roundup: Football bettors gear up, Scottie Scheffler wins again

Published Aug. 18, 2025 11:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Football bettors can rejoice: college football is back. Saturday marks Week 0, with a handful of notable games on deck. The NFL preseason has also given bettors a chance to get back in the game.

In addition, the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour continued, and it was another exciting weekend of MLB action. Lastly, there were tons of good fights Saturday at UFC 319.

Trends of the Week

While the second week of the preseason wasn’t at the same pace as the first week, underdogs and overs continue to be the trend in the NFL preseason at the BetMGM online sportsbook. As of Monday, underdogs are 19-12 against the spread, while overs are 22-9.

The Bears blew out the Bills 38-0 Sunday night as 3-point favorites. Despite going against one of the best teams in the AFC, Chicago drew 58% of the money against the spread betting and 60% of the money on the moneyline (-150).

Khamzat Chimaev (-275) won the main event at UFC 319 against Dricus Du Plessis. Chimaev took in 24% of the bets and 55% of the money.

Scottie Scheffler won for the fifth time this season at the BMW Championship, the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Scheffler had the best odds to win going into the tournament at +240 and took in 11.5% of the bets and 17.4% of the money in pre-tournament outright winner bets.

The underdogs and overs dominated the first week of the NFL preseason. Through 16 preseason games, underdogs have gone 12-4 against the spread, while overs are 14-2.

Upsets of the Week

The Brewers entered Sunday on a 14-game win streak and were +105 against the Reds. Milwaukee was the most bet team in terms of number of bets and money, but in the end fell to Cincinnati 3-2 in 10 innings. The Brewers scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 2-1 lead before the Reds tied it in the bottom half.