Jake’s Takes: Q&A with Huddle’s Lead NCAAF Trader

Q&A with Jake Moszkowski (Content Writer) and James Cranford (Lead Football Trader)

Before the NFL season and College Football season officially kick off, we thought it would be fun to do a Q&A with the Huddle trading team, just to get their thoughts on several elements of the impending football season. We cover everything from popular markets to rule changes to impact transfers in college… and we even talk about what’s new from Huddle this year! 

Question (Jake): So I know you’ve recently been elevated to the role of senior trader, but why don’t you give us a little view into your history here, perhaps some deeper background into who you are and how you got here?

Answer (James): I started, basically, as just a regular junior trader at DeckPrism, almost two years ago now. Started live trading games, on my own, about two months after I started… transitioned last year into football. I’ve since transitioned into taking over the lead role for football this year - and I’m looking forward to an exciting, fun… probably very difficult season.

QJ: Within that expectation, jumping right into football at both the professional and collegiate level, on Huddle’s side, what do you expect to be the most popular markets? And why do you think those markets are going to be the most popular options for bettors?

AJ: I think the most popular markets have always been the three main markets - you have your moneyline, your main spread, and your totals. Those are the easiest ones for bettors to identify with, the ones you’re most comfortable wagering on. When you go and look up any sort of odds provider or sportsbook, those are the first three that you typically see. For us, that’s consistent - the most volume we see and receive is on those three markets. 2nd half markets, particularly for NFL games, we expect to see a lot of action. 

QJ: The rumor mill is churning that you’ll, or Huddle, will be offering a higher quantity of markets this season. Can you dive into that? Is there anything new that bettors should be expecting?

AJ: Yeah, so we also offer roughly 34 alternate spreads and totals, along with quarters. This year, for college football, we’re going to be offering more micro markets like highest scoring first half or second half, most first downs, things like that. That’ll be new this year, but the one we’re most excited about is our same-game parlay (SGP) markets. That’s the one we expect bettors to be most excited about - it gets you more heavily involved with the in-game, live action.

Read the full article here: Introducing Huddle’s Innovative Same Game Parlay Product

QJ: I suppose as a follow-up, are there any things that differ - both for the markets offered as well as the “trading” side of things from college football to NFL? 

AJ: To be honest, I’d say they’re pretty much the same? The only difference that you’d see is in the early season for college football - it’s just slightly less efficient than the NFL. It just takes a little bit less money and also there are far more teams. With the transfer portal, the variance is much wider in the month of September, trying to figure out which players are going to fit in where. Nowadays, players are changing teams with much more frequency than they did in the past. Those early-season markets are much less efficient, so we have to adjust a little bit more based on our bet projections. Then you look at the NFL, where it’s flat out more efficient.

Read the full article on how the Huddle’s traders approach NFL preseason.

QJ: Is there any player off the top of your head that you think will make a big impact as a transfer this year?

AJ: I would probably say Cade McNamara [Iowa Hawkeyes QB] - he’d be the first one that comes to mind. He’s an experienced quarterback, going into an offense that’s desperately in need of stability at that position. The Hawkeyes had a good defense last year, too. He’s the competent quarterback they need, and the first one they’ve gotten in a half-decade plus. I wonder if he’ll be able to open up that offense a little bit more - if he’s good, they should be a Big Ten contender. 

QJ: Are there any new rule changes - as I discussed in a prior “Jake’s Takes” - that you expect to make a big impact in college football? Either on the sport itself, the trading or betting side… anything new that you think will create some waves?

AJ: The biggest rule change is really going to be the running clock on first downs. Pace of play should increase. We’ve actually adjusted our totals by approximately 5-5.5%, as we expect between one and two fewer drives per game as a result. Larger spreads certainly get trickier with shorter time - will larger favorites have a harder or easier time covering? That’s something we’ll definitely be monitoring at the beginning of the season. 

Read the full article on how NCAAF rule changes will affect Huddle’s trading.

QJ: Any rule change you’re really excited about?

AJ: My favorite is the no consecutive timeouts. I hate waiting for a FG at the end of the half when the opposing coach calls two or three timeouts and slows the entire game down. Happy that’s gone. 

QJ: I definitely agree with you there - happy to speed up the end of games. And we all know icing a kicker just doesn’t have any factual basis for working. Last question, as I know we’re running long - and Graham [sports trader], feel free to chime in here, is about how Huddle’s trading team differs from other competitors in the space?

Answer (Graham): I think the biggest difference between us and other places is that we’re up in between plays and we take higher limits. In some ways, it’s really that simple. If you’re a bettor who wants to get a sizable bet down in between plays, you have a better chance of getting it done with us versus anyone else in the industry. 

AJ: Couldn’t have said it better myself. 

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