What Vaccaro and his colleagues recognize is that sports betting is a market just like the Dow and Nasdaq. It has fundamentals. It rewards value. It is often irrational (ask anyone who bet McGregor over Mayweather) and at the mercy of both momentum and unforeseen circumstances.

It is also something that should be taken seriously, especially since the United States Supreme Court is hearing arguments next week on a New Jersey case that could expand sports wagering to states beyond Nevada — wagering that is now leaning away from the N.F.L.

“Some good players have gone down this season, and it has cost us, especially the loss of that pretty good quarterback in Green Bay,” Bogdanovich said, referring to Aaron Rodgers, who has been out with a broken collarbone since Week 6 of the N.F.L. season.

At the Westgate SuperBook, there have been numerous weeks in recent seasons in which Jay Kornegay has watched his clerks write more tickets on N.C.A.A. games than those in the N.F.L. He notes that college football offers a bigger menu of games that can be bet on — often more than 50, spread out from Tuesday to Saturday — and that there has been a steep increase in the popularity of betting apps on cellphones, taking away any stigma attached to wagering.

“You no longer have to tell your wife you are going out for milk to get a bet down,” Kornegay said. “It’s right on the phone for you.”

John Avello, a bookmaker at the Wynn Las Vegas, says gamblers see better opportunity for more lucrative payouts in the college game. Like Vaccaro, he has set point spreads for professional football for decades. He trusts his gut, his experience and the spread he sets for the 16 or so weekly N.F.L. games.

Understanding the hearts, minds and skills of the young men competing in the Toledo-Kent State game is a lot dicier.