Sports Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the DALLAS COWBOYS for our Sunday NFL Star Attraction. After Dallas lost to Denver, people were sour on the Cowboys and they bounced back to win against the Cardinals the following week. After a home loss against the Rams last week, the public is again sour on the Cowboys and they will be hammering the Packers and early consensus reports are proving that. This is a perfect example of the short-term memory of the public as they remember what they saw the week before and take that too much into account. While the Cowboys are just 2-2, they are better than the record shows and we can expect a bounce back and while the sample size is small, the Cowboys have won all three regular season games following a loss over the last two years. There is an exception as they lost in Week 17 to the Eagles and then lost their first playoff game off a bye week and it happened to come right here against the Packers so there is some payback motivation in store as well. Green Bay took care of Chicago last Thursday on a short week as it caught the Bears in a tough travel spot coming off an overtime win over the Steelers four days before. Now the Packers have additional prep and rest this week but they hit the road where they have been very average. Since 2012, the Packers are 21-20 on the highway during the regular season and that is the epitome of average. This is even more true knowing that Green Bay is 33-9-1 at home over this same stretch. The Packers have been outrushed in all four games and they are now thin at the running back position with the injury to Ty Montgomery who is questionable with broken ribs and this not a good matchup as the Cowboys are 15-1 the last two seasons when winning the rushing battle. 10* (472) Dallas Cowboys

This is a play on the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS for our Sunday NFL Enforcer. Seattle pulled away for us last Sunday night over the Colts and that was a much needed second half to try and gain some momentum after an average start to the season. While much has been said about the offense, the further the season moves along, the better they will become and it is hard to ignore the fact they have outgained each of their last three opponents and by a combined 317 total yards. This is one of the most talented teams in the NFL but as is the case most weeks, they are not the public favorite because of what is going on in Los Angeles. The Rams are the talk of the league right now and kudos to head coach Sean McVay for making them relevant again, for at least a quarter of a season. They are coming off an impressive come-from-behind win over the Cowboys last Sunday as they outscored Dallas 19-6 in the second half but the Cowboys did themselves in with mistakes at the wrong times. The other two wins have come against San Francisco and Indianapolis which are the same as Seattle but again, when looking at talent, the Seahawks are clearly superior. The public is on the Rams though and we can thank the media for that despite the fact Los Angeles has been outgained in each of its last three games. Seattle opened as the chalk here but the line flipped and for no reason as it comes back to the talent gap as well as past success or lack thereof. The Rams have played Seattle very tough in recent years as they have covered seven of the last 10 meetings, winning half of those games outright but now that the Rams have caught the public eye, the Seahawks will not be looking past them which they have been guilty of in the past. 10* (467) Seattle Seahawks

This is a play on the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS for our Sunday NFL Supreme Annihilator. The Colts are coming off a loss in Seattle last Sunday but if they can take any positives away, it was how good they played for a half. They led by five points at halftime before Seattle pulled away because of turnovers and it finally got its offense going. It was not a good spot for Indianapolis as the Seahawks were coming off a loss in Tennessee while the Colts were coming off their first win of the season. Obviously, this is a different team without Andrew Luck at quarterback but Jacoby Brissett has been pretty solid and he did have his best game at home in his last start against the Browns and he gets a similar matchup this week. Defensively, the Colts have been awful as they are ranked No. 32 in scoring defense and No. 31 in total defense but they can bring those rankings up after this weekend. San Francisco is coming off a tough overtime loss at home against Arizona which was their third straight close loss. The 49ers have lost their last three games by a combined eight points but two of those are a little skewed and now they head east for the first time this season. The 49ers offense has struggled for the majority of the season as taking away 13 late points scored against the Rams, they have scored just 53 points in their other 236 minutes of play. Noy only is traveling east a bad thing for San Francisco but traveling anywhere has been an issue for a while as it has won just two of its last 18 road games while the Colts have covered 17 of their last 22 games coming off a loss when not playing a division opponent. While the majority of those are with Luck in the lineup, the number they are laying is a short one and should have no trouble covering as a win likely means a ticket casher. 10* (462) Indianapolis Colts

This is a play on the MIAMI DOLPHINS for our NFL Game of the Week. The Dolphins are off to a 1-2 start and should be 0-3 if not for a missed Chargers field goal and while the play has been poor, they have had to deal with one of the worst travel schedules we have seen. The hurricane forced them to cancel their first game of the season and went out west to get ready for the Chargers. Miami then had to travel east to face the Jets and then had to go further East to London to face the Saints. The Dolphins are now ready to finally host their first game of the regular season and it took a month to do so and we will see their best effort of the season after scoring one garbage touchdown with no time left over their last two games. Even going back further, they have not played a home game since August 17 as their last two preseason games were also on the road. The line came out late here because of the uncertain status of Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota but his presence or absence does not matter in this spot as this is more of a play on the Dolphins and the situation that favors them. We played against Tennessee last week in Houston and after getting thumped by the Texans, the Titans would typically be in a great spot to bounce back. This is not one of those however as they are travelling into a tough situation in the second of back-to-back road games with an ailing quarterback. Tennessee has outgained only one opponent this season which is not good for a supposed deep playoff contender and last week could not have gone worse after getting outgained by 260 yards. The Dolphins are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game while the Titans are 4-22-3 ATS in their last 29 games against teams with a losing record. 10* (460) Miami Dolphins

Utah is off to a 4-0 start, both straight up and against the number, and that is normally a situation we like to exploit in going against those streaks but the linesmakers have this one all wrong. The Utes have played a softer schedule than Stanford but they have taken advantage with strong efforts throughout and that is a sign of a very good team that does not let down. They opened Pac 12 play with a win at Arizona two weeks ago and they were fortunate to take advantage of five Wildcats turnovers including an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Now Utah goes from road favorite to home underdog which is a rarity in conference action and that is a sure take as this is the second time in 17 home games the Utes have been a home underdog. The other time resulted in a cover against Washington last season. Stanford is 3-2 with losses at USC and San Diego St. and that loss against the Trojans is looking worse after last week. The Cardinal opened the season by rolling over Rice in Australia but then was outgained in its next three games against USC, San Diego St. and UCLA. Utah did outgain Arizona St. last week thanks to 301 yards rushing from Bryce Love but do not expect a repeat close to that this week. The Utes rushing defense has been a power for years and this season is no different as they are ranked No. 9 in the nation in rushing defense. There is concern about quarterback Tyler Huntley being out but senior Troy Williams is not a downgrade against a Stanford defense that is ranked No. 106 in total defense and is allowing 25.4 ppg after giving up 24 or more points only four times last season. 10* (356) Utah Utes

SMU is off to a surprisingly good start as it is 4-1 which is just one victory short of its win total from all last season. The Mustangs are 5-0 against the number and as mentioned in the Utah analysis, these are the streaks we like to go against when the situation calls for it and this is one of those. Four of those covers have come at home against the likes of Stephen F. Austin of the FCS, North Texas, Arkansas St. and Connecticut and while the road cover came against TCU, they were getting 22 points. This is a vastly improved team but now they are getting a very short price this week to a team that they were getting 23.5 points against last season at home. SMU pulled off the upset over Houston in that game and the Cougars have had this game circled. Houston is 3-1 with the lone loss coming at home against Texas Tech by three points as it committed five turnovers and could not recover from that. The defense has led the way for Houston as it is allowing 14.8 ppg which is No. 14 in the country so it has the capabilities to slow down the Mustangs potent offense. The Cougars are especially strong in red-zone defense, stopping opponents from scoring from inside their own 20 one-third of the time. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver got injuries last week against Temple but all indications he will be fine in wearing a brace on his sprained knee. Offensively, the Cougars are balanced and the SMU defense is horrid, ranking No. 103 overall and No. 94 in scoring defense. The Cougars have played the No. 53 ranked schedule while SMU has played the No. 122 slate in the nation and that is a huge discrepancy making all of the rankings skewed and giving SMU overinflated numbers. 10* (400) Houston Cougars

This is a play on the MARYLAND TERRAPINS for our Saturday Enforcer. We lost by playing against Maryland last week and it was a bad call as we went against the injury factor for the Terrapins as they were down to their No. 3 quarterback. Clearly, Max Bortenschlager was more comfortable with a week of preparation and the coaching staff came up with a great gameplan. Now Maryland takes a big step up in competition but it will be ready to fight as winning in Texas and Minnesota is no easy task and the number the Terrapins are getting here is overpriced based on name. The Terrapins have a slim shot of an upset but they will be playing for the whole game following a 62-3 loss at home against the Buckeyes last season. Rubbing salt in the wound, Ohio St. threw for a 25-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter up 55-3 and running up the score is a big motivator next time out. Ohio St. has been rolling since its loss against Oklahoma as it has destroyed Army, UNLV and Rutgers but it also is taking a step up in competition here. We can compare Maryland to Indiana which Ohio St. defeated in the season opener but the game was closer as Indiana ran out of gas late. Indiana is ranked No. 47 and Maryland is ranked No. 55 which shows an inflation of the line. The Buckeyes have not been tested as mentioned and that can lead to a team going through the motions which can put them in a tighter than expected game against a team that is better than most may think. Ohio St. is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 games when laying 30 or more points with those wins coming against Rutgers last season and Kent St. in 2014. 10* (343) Maryland Terrapins

This is a play on the KANSAS JAYHAWKS for our Saturday Afternoon Dominator. Kansas seems to be up to its old tricks as it is off to a 1-3 start but it has played better than what the record shows. The Jayhawks have outgained two of four opponents and despite losing by 22 points against West Virginia last week, they were only outgained by 71 total yards as the offense has been able to generate movement. The problem has been the defense and turnover margin as they are ranked No. 119 in the letter category and because of that, it hurts the defense putting the unit in shorts fields and bad situations. Last season, Kansas averaged more than 20 ppg on offense for the first time since 2011 and it is averaging 32.2 ppg which is No. 57 in the nation. As far as output, the Jayhawks are averaging 480.5 ypg which is No. 23 as the turnover have cut the points production down. Texas Tech is coming off a heartbreaking loss against Oklahoma St. as it lost by a touchdown with the Cowboys scoring the game winner with 1:12 left in the game. The Red Raiders were outgained by 213 yards so it was not really as close as they benefitted from short and missed field goals from the Cowboys as well as returning an interception 95 yards for a touchdown. Coming off that tough loss and getting up for Kansas is not easy especially with a revenge game at West Virginia on deck for next week. This is a big number for an average Texas Tech team to cover on the road as the improved Kansas offense will keep them in this game with always a potential to strike against a Red Raiders defense that is No. 111 in total defense. Kansas is 4-0-1 ATS since the start of last season as a home underdog while Texas Tech is 0-3 ATS in its last three games as a road favorite. 10* (374) Kansas Jayhawks

This is a play on the NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS for our Saturday Star Attraction. We played against Penn St. last week and while the final score did not go our way, it was a game the Hoosiers held their own but were undone by fumbles and it did not help the Nittany Lions returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Penn St. offense could not do much as it managed only 370 total yards and it outgained the Hoosiers by only 18 total yards. That was clearly a misleading final score and as mentioned numerous times before, it adds value because linesmakers do not set numbers based on boxscores. While the Nittany Lions did dominate the stats in their previous two games against Iowa and Georgia St., the situation they fall into this week is worse than last week. Coming off a pair of Big Ten wins and having Michigan and Ohio St. on deck following their bye week, this is not a good spot to win big on the road. Northwestern has been an inconsistent team to start the season as it rolled over Nevada and Bowling Green but was dominated by Duke and did not look good last week against Wisconsin despite what turned out to be just a nine-point loss. It is a surprise considering the Wildcats brought back 16 starters from a team that finished 6-3 over their last nine games last season that included close losses against Ohio St. and Wisconsin. This is a team than can turn the corner and make a run as it is the second most experienced team in the Big Ten and the No. 17 most experienced team in the country. Penn St. is playing with double-revenge but we do not consider road revenge very strong plus an outright revenge win does not mean a an over two-touchdown cover. The Wildcats are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game. 10* (332) Northwestern Wildcats

This is a play on the TULANE GREEN WAVE for our AAC Game of the Year. Tulane is back in action following a bye week which came after a solid home win over Army to even its record at 2-2. This is the beginning of a very important stretch for the Green Wave as four of the next six games are winnable and they should be favored in all of those before closing the season against Houston and SMU. These four games are big for bowl eligibility and while it is early thinking about that, the fact is Tulane is poised to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2013 and Willie Fritz has this team going the right way. Tulsa is 1-4 after suffering three straight losses and while those games were decided by 3, 3 and 10 points, it was outgained by 131, 160 and 167 total yards in those games. The lone victory this season came against 1-3 Louisiana which was at home. This is the third straight game that Tulsa has faced a run-heavy, option type of offense and while that may seem like an advantage now in the third game, it is not. The Golden Hurricane have been gashed by New Mexico and Navy for 338 and 421 rushing yards and those games were at home so the crowd did not help the stop unit. Even more important heading into this game, the defense was on the field for 42:41 and 39:38 minutes and that is a lot of time so fatigue has been an issue and can be going forward. We know revenge can play factors in motivation and Tulane will be highly motivated here as the 11 seniors on the roster, seven of which are defensive starters, will be out to avenge three straight losses in their tenure here and they certainly have not forgotten the 50-27 loss from last season. Going back, the Green Wave are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (362) Tulane Green Wave

This is a play on the CONNECTICUT HUSKIES for our Friday Night Primetime play. Connecticut returns home following its third consecutive loss, a 21-point setback at SMU. The game was much closer than that however as the Huskies tied the game at 28 early in the fourth quarter but the Mustangs scored three straight touchdowns with the final two needing just 74 total yards because of a bad punt and a turnover on downs by Connecticut. They should have beaten East Carolina the prior week and lost to a very improved Virginia team before that. Memphis dropped its first game of the season as it was dominated at UCF and despite going 3-1 to start the season, the Tigers have been outgained by all three FBS teams. This is a very strong team offensively but it struggled against the Knights as they scored just 13 points and has only 396 yards and while the test will not be as challenging this week, a team that is so bad on defense should not be asked to cover two touchdowns on the road. The Connecticut passing offense has been a liability for years as it has averaged over 200 ypg only three times in the last nine years but that is not the case this season. The Huskies are averaging 329.8 ypg and last season, Connecticut passed for 300 yards or more only once. Returning senior quarterback has been has led the way with two straight 400-yard games while throwing six touchdowns and just one pick. This is not a good thing for Memphis as its passing defense has been obliterated this season, allowing an average of 321.3 ypg which in No. 126 in the country while allowing 13 passing touchdowns. The Tigers are 4-16-1 ATS in their last 21 games on grass while under Randy Edsall head coach, the Huskies are 15-6 ATS as a home underdog. 10* (308) Connecticut Huskies

Houston struck first with a Game One win as the offense got to Chris Sale while Justin Verlander continued his dominance since putting on an Astros uniform. They look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead and despite the easy start yesterday, things will not be as easy today. We played against Sale based on his struggles down the stretch of the season and his lack of success against playoffs teams throughout the season but Boston is in a better spot today with Drew Pomeranz on the hill. As mentioned yesterday, Sale had a 4.63 ERA in 54.1 innings against playoff teams but Pomeranz was much more successful as he put up a 2.62 ERA in 55 innings against playoff teams compared to a 3.64 ERA against non-playoff teams. This included allowing two runs in 12.1 innings over two starts against the Astros. Yesterday, the Astros offense put up eight runs on 12 hits, seven of those runs charged to Sale which would seem to give Houston an edge facing another lefty but during the regular season, the Astros finished under .500 against lefties, going 21-23. Boston had a similar record against lefty starters and it has a good chance to get the offense going today. Dallas Keuchel labored to recover from midseason neck discomfort and while he finished the season with a solid 2.90 ERA, he had a 4.24 ERA in 12 starts after coming back off the disabled list. In three career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox, Keuchel is 0-1 with a 9.88 ERA. We have yet to see a playoff game decided by fewer than three runs but this one is capable of changing that with the Red Sox in good position to even the series. 10* (985) Boston Red Sox Runline +1.5 Runs

This is considered a must win game for the Patriots which are coming off their second loss of the season and could feasibly be sitting 1-3 right now if not for a late comeback against the Texans. While still considered one of the best teams in the NFL, New England is going to be fine once we get into the latter part of the season but right now, this team cannot be trusted laying points on the road with the current state of its defense. Tom Brady has been a master throughout his career when coming off a loss in a game he should not have lost as he has won 16 of 19 games following a loss as a favorite but he has never had a defense behind him like this one. New England has allowed all four quarterbacks it has faced to throw for 300 yards and overall, the Patriots are No. 32 in total defense and No. 31 in scoring defense. To make matters worse, two of their top players, cornerback Stephon Gilmore and linebacker Dont'a Hightower are banged up with leg injuries and are far from 100 percent. Jameis Winston is off to a solid start and can succeed as well but the Buccaneers are not looking to get into a shootout although with his receiver weapons of Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, a shootout would not be a disadvantage. They are getting Doug Martin back tonight which is good for ball control and balance and the aim is to keep the Patriots offense off the field as much as possible. The Tampa Bay defense will be playing a big role in this outcome and while its topline numbers are not very good, the Buccaneers are fourth in the NFL allowing 18.5 yppt. Despite the porous defense, the Patriots are the big consensus once again and the line has gone up because of it. Tampa Bay is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games after allowing 350 or more total yards in its previous game. 10* (304) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This is a play on the NC STATE WOLFPACK for our Thursday Enforcer. This is a statement game for the Wolfpack as they are a team that is flying under the radar and it not getting the respect they deserve. NC State is 4-1 to start the season and it is riding a four-game winning streak following an opening loss against South Carolina. They lost at home by seven points in a game that they dominated. The Wolfpack outgained South Carolina 504-246 and had 17 more first downs but mistakes did them in. Not only did the Gamecocks return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, they also benefited from scoring drives of just 40 and 13 yards following NC State turnovers. Since then, they have impressive wins over Florida St. and Marshall while taking out a sneaky good Syracuse team last week. Louisville is also 4-1 with its lone defeat coming against Clemson but the wins are not overly impressive. They defeated Purdue by just a touchdown, they took out a North Carolina team that is bad this season and the other two wins came against 1-4 Kent St. and 1-4 Murray St. of the FCS. Lamar Jackson is clearly one of the best players in the country and while the Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in total offense, they will be without some key pieces including wide receiver Jaylen Smith and running back Jeremy Smith. This is a revenge game for the Wolfpack that lost by 41 points at Louisville last season but that loss came right after their heartbreaking overtime loss against Clemson. This is a huge home game as this marks the first time two ranked teams will meet at Carter-Finley Stadium since 2000 so the home field edge on Thursday is big and will factor into the final outcome. 10* (306) NC State Wolfpack

The WNBA season has come down to what everyone expected and that is a Game Five in the Finals between Minnesota and Los Angeles in an identical situation as we had last season. Not only is the series the same, we have seen the exact same scenario play out with the Lynx losing Game One at home, winning Game Two, losing Game Three in Los Angeles only to rebound with a Game Four win to set up a winner take all situation for Game Five. Surprisingly, the majority of games in this series have seen one team jump ahead by double-digits so it has not been as close of a series as expected but for this one, we should see a close game throughout. Even with the up and down first four games, in their 12 meetings dating to Game One of the WNBA Finals last year, the Sparks and Lynx each have scored 908 points with four games decided by two points or less. This final game could be decided by the backcourts and Los Angeles has that edge as the Sparks won Game Three because guards Odyssey Sims and Chelsea Gray outscored the Minnesota starting backcourt by a combined 30-0. As long as the backcourt can keep that edge, it silences Lynx power forward Rebekkah Brunson as in the Lynx two wins, she has averaged 15.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg but in their two losses, she has just 4.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg. We like the bounce angle here as the Sparks are 4-0 ATS in their last four games following an ATS loss while the Lynx are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 games following an ATS win. 10* (671) Los Angeles Sparks

The winner of this game heads to Cleveland on Thursday for the ALDS in this win or go home, one-game scenario. Minnesota had a remarkable season as it because the first team in the history of baseball to lose 100 games and then make the playoffs in the very next season. Even more impressive, the 103 losses last year were the most in Twins history so what they did this season was something special. They had a strong second half on offense as the Twins had a .342 wOBA in the second half, which is a big 25-point improvement over their first half performance. The pitching improved as well and very importantly for tonight, their success on the road. The Yankees played well down the stretch to give Boston a run at the division title but they just fell short. New York was involved in 44 one-run games which was the most of any playoff team in the American League and we are banking that to continue tonight. Ervin Santana gets the ball for the Twins and he had a great season with a 3.28 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. His numbers were better away from Target Field where he was 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Of the last seven losses the Twins have incurred with Santana on the hill, five of those were by just a single run so going back to the beginning of July, they have lost only two of his 16 games by more than one run. He is flying under the radar as all the talk is about Luis Severino whose overall numbers were better but not by much. New York was just 3-2 in his five home starts against playoff teams and that does warrant such a big number tonight and that also adds value to the runline. 10* (931) Minnesota Twins +1.5 Runs

This is a play on the WASHINGTON REDSKINS for our NFL Monday Primetime Play. The Chiefs were up to it again last week as they won a game despite losing the yardage battle. They took advantage of three Philip Rivers interceptions to jump ahead early and up by just a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, they scored the final touchdown on a 69-yard Kareem Hunt run. This was the second time Kansas City has been outgained this season after getting outgained the majority of the time last season which shows it takes advantage of opportunities when handed out. People are calling this team the best in the NFL right now but it is hard to make that claim when the Chiefs are ranked No. 11 in the NFL in yardage differential. The Redskins won their second straight game last week and it was a dominating performance over the Raiders as they outgained Oakland by 344 total yards thanks to a defense that gave up only 128 total yards and seven first downs. Kirk Cousins was efficient on offense as he completed 25-30 passes for 365 yards and just as important, he completed passes to eight different receivers. Duplicating that performance this week will be tough to do but we do not need a duplication since Washington is getting a touchdown here which is a very overinflated line. The Chiefs have been somewhat vulnerable on defense but they have not paid a price to this point and this is a team that can hurt them as long as they avoid mistakes. The Redskins have not gotten this many points on the road since November of 2015 and even with lower numbers, they have been very lucrative going 10-2 ATS over their last 12 road games. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games after allowing less than 15 points in their previous game. 10* (279) Washington Redskins

This is a play on the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS for our NFL Sunday Primetime Play. Seattle has gotten off to a rough start. Losing at Green Bay and Tennessee while narrowly beating San Francisco at home. This is nothing new though as the Seahawks have started slow in the past only to recover and make it to the postseason and we can expect that again this year. For a team that has looked nothing like a playoff team, laying a big number such as this may seem illogical, the talent on Seattle is arguably the best in the NFL top to bottom. The Seahawks have covered nine of their last 13 games when laying double-digits. The Colts won their first game of the season last week against Cleveland but they nearly gave the game away after piling up a big lead. Indianapolis made a quarterback change after getting blown out in their season opener against the Rams and Jacoby Brissett has not been bad at all, putting up an 85.8 quarterback rating. His first two starts have come at home making this his first road start and it could not come at a tougher venue. In six previous career appears, he has been on the field for just three plays on the road, all this season at Los Angeles. The Colts have been outgained in all three games and on average, they have been outgained by 94 ypg which is the largest margin in the NFL. So, while two of the games have been close, Indianapolis is playing worse than what its 1-2 record is showing. The Colts are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game while the Seahawks are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games following a straight up loss. Seattle is the only team in the NFL that has failed to cover a game this season and it gets a good opportunity to break that streak Sunday night. 10* (278) Seattle Seahawks

This is a play on the HOUSTON TEXANS for our NFL Game of the Week. Tennessee is becoming a hot topic, going from Week One loser against the Raiders to a team on the rise ready to contend. We are not saying they are not going in that direction but the Titans are not to the point of laying points on the road against one of the best defenses in the NFL. They are coming off a blowout win over Jacksonville and followed that up with an impressive win last week against Seattle at home although they did their best to give that one away. This will be only the second time that Marcus Mariota has faced the Texans as he missed the season finale last year with an injury and the first meeting did not go well as he was just 13-29 with an interception. Houston is coming off a very admiral effort last week in New England as it nearly pulled off the upset but lost in the final seconds. While it was a tough loss, it is one that the Texans, namely Deshawn Watson, can build on going forward. He did throw two picks but also threw two touchdowns while surpassing 300 passing yards and ran for 41 yards so he is getting more comfortable. Houston returns home where it lost its only game but the offense has improved since then and this is a must victory or it will be sitting two games out of first place with a 0-2 divisional record. The defense was not great last week but not many are when facing the Patriots and last season, the Texans had the best home defense in the NFL, allowing just 300.1 ypg. This is a great spot they have thrived in as the Texans are Houston is 11-2 ATS in their last 13 divisional games off a pair of road games while going 13-2 ATS in their last 15 games as divisional favorites against teams off a non-divisional game. 10* (260) Houston Texans

This is a play on the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS for our NFL Sunday Supreme Annihilator. Underdogs were 12-4 against the number last week as bookies cleaned up but we will see more of a favorite/underdog split this week so taking some chalk is not a bad thing after a week like that even though we are more contrarian/underdog players. One of those laying points is New England which has put together a couple of duds at home despite pulling out the win last week. The Patriots offense was atrocious in Week One but it has looked much better the last two weeks, putting up 951 yards of total offense and while it faces a strong defense this week, it faced an equally strong defense last week and put up 36 points. This is an important game for New England as it will be working on a short week with a trip to Tampa Bay on Thursday so this one is big. Defensively, the Patriots have been horrific but that should not matter here. For the second week running, the Panthers offense will take on the league's worst ranked defense. Last week the Saints defense ranked 32nd in the NFL, but after a poor performance from Carolina, New Orleans moved up and New England slid down. The Panthers offense is in trouble. Cam Newton is clearly not healthy and is a shell of himself from two years ago. Tight end Greg Olsen is on injured reserve with a broken foot while wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin is a question mark after he injured his surgically repaired knee in the loss to New Orleans. Newton is expected to play, but there is a sense of uncertainty surrounding his overall potential. Even with the ATS loss last week, New England is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games as a home favorite while the Panthers are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game. 10* (254) New England Patriots

This is a play on the ATLANTA FALCONS for our NFL Sunday Supreme Annihilator. The Falcons dodged a second bullet last week as they were a half-yard away from a loss while in Week One, they were a dropped Chicago pass from losing. They survived both and now they return home where they have been lights out over the last two seasons including an 11-point win over the Packers which was not as close as that final margin shows. Atlanta averaged 35 ppg at home last season and it is right on pace for that again this season albeit after just one game. The Falcons fall into a great league-wide situation as we play on single-digit home favorites that are 3-0 on the season. This situation is 24-7-1 ATS (77.4 percent) since 1980. With a bye next week, the Falcons will be fully focused on Sunday. Buffalo is one of two teams, Kansas City being the other, that has covered all three games to open the season based on the closing line. The Bills defeated the Jets opening week but they did struggle at Carolina as they lost 9-3 and last week, they defeated Denver despite getting outgained by 94 yards. We were on Buffalo against the Broncos but we are fading in a big way this week as the situation is not good at all. The Bills have notoriously struggled on the road with the offense and last season, Buffalo averaged 30.7 ppg at home compared to 19.1 ppg on the road and we have already seen that variance this season. The Falcons passing defense has been suspect but Buffalo does not have the passing game to take advantage and cannot play catch-up when falling behind and forcing to pass the ball. The Bills have yet to be tested by a potent offense and they will not be able to match up here. 10* (268) Atlanta Falcons

This is a play on the UCLA BRUINS for our Saturday Supreme Annihilator. It has not been the season that the Bruins or their fans hoped for but all is not lost and this is the statement game to get back on track. UCLA opened the season with that unbelievable comeback win over Texas A&M and then followed that up with a dominating performance against Hawaii. Then it was time to hit the road and things did not go well as the Bruins were upset at Memphis in a classic back and forth game and then lost by 24 points last week at Stanford. Mentioned numerous times is that while final scores are what counts, looking inside the game gives us a better understanding of what happened and UCLA won the yardage battle in both of those losses. The problem was seven turnovers and teams are not going to be successful when turning the ball over that much. Those instances work for us this week as we are getting line value because of the two losses. Colorado is off to a 3-1 start as it opened with three wins before losing at home against Washington last week by 27 points. The Buffaloes beat Colorado St. but were outgained by 50 yards as they took advantage of three turnovers, beat Northern Colorado of the FCS and beat Texas St., arguably the worst FBS team in the nation. Colorado had a breakthrough season a year ago with 10 wins which matched their win total from the previous three years combined but the Buffaloes lost a lot of talent and it showed last week against Washington and that was a revenge game from the Pac 12 Championship last season. This is the first true road game for the Buffaloes and they are heading no Los Angeles at the wrong time to face the Bruins. 10* (160) UCLA Bruins

This is a play on the EDMONTON ESKIMOS for our CFL Game of the Week. After being the last remaining undefeated team in the CFL at 7-0, Edmonton has lost five straight games to fall into third place in the CFL standings. The losing skid started with a loss against Winnipeg and then a blowout loss against Saskatchewan by 23 points but the difference there was three touchdowns from the defense and special teams for the Roughriders. The Eskimos then dropped consecutive games against Calgary which has won nine straight games and followed that up with a loss in Toronto. A lot of those games were winnable but the good news on the backend of this stretch is that Edmonton had a bye last week and it is typically the best time to have a week off during a poor run. As mentioned, the losing streak started with a loss against Winnipeg so revenge is in order as well. The Blue Bombers have won seven of their last eight games to move into second place in the league standings but it has been a very favorable schedule they have been involved in. of those seven wins, five came against three teams from the East Division that are a combined 11-27 while the other two wins came on their home field. Despite being six games over .500 at 9-3, Winnipeg is outgaining opponents by fewer than 10 ypg and is being outgained on the road even though it is 4-2. This shows the record is skewed somewhat and this is where we can get value with a line that has been erroneously adjusted. The Eskimos are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a bye week and they add to that with a much-needed victory. 10* (624) Edmonton Eskimos

This is a play on the VIGINIA TECH HOKIES for our Saturday Star Attraction. We played against Clemson last week and as expected, the focus was not there coming off two big games and having this game looming. The Tigers swept-walked for three quarters before pulling away in the fourth quarter and while they will be up for the game this week, they are overinflated. Clemson opened as a six-point favorite but it has since jumped over that key number and has even moved over a touchdown in some spots and that is a line it should be laying at home and not on the road. Clemson is one of the best teams in the country but because of that, they get full efforts from every team each week and that will be the case here. Virginia Tech won double-digit games last season for the first time since 2011 and the Hokies are primed to become a perennial force once again. Justin Fuente is one of the top young coaches in the country and he is already making his mark. This is his biggest home game since coming to Virginia Tech and night games in Blacksburg have a special feel to them. He guided the Hokies into the ACC Championship Game last year, where his team came up just short against Clemson, 42-35. Clemson has won 11 straight road games but only two of those have come against ranked teams while four of those wins came by six points or less. The win over Louisville this season was impressive but the Hokies are a stronger team and are getting more points than the Cardinals did. The Hokies are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a winning road record and will use that confidence from the game last season to Clemson all it has. 10* (194) Virginia Tech Hokies

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was feeling the heat after a one-point home loss against Georgia but his team has rallied the last two weeks with wins over Boston College and Michigan St. on the road. The win over the Eagles was a dominating performance but last week, the 20-point win over Michigan St. was very deceiving. The Spartans won the yardage battle 496-355 but mistakes did them in as they threw an interception on their first possession that was returned for a touchdown, fumbled in the Notre Dame endzone in the second quarter while two other possessions that got to the Fighting Irish 11-yard line and six-yard line resulted in no points. After a pair of road wins, teams can fall into letdown mode and that looks to be the case here with Notre Dame. Miami Ohio had one of the worst runs you will ever see as it went 5-41 from late 2012 to early 2016 but then something happened as the RedHawks won their final six games last season and lost by a point against Mississippi St. in its bowl game. They returned 17 starters this season and have gone from MAC bottom feeder to MAC contender. Miami is 2-2 though four games but could be 4-0. The RedHawks lost to Marshall despite winning the yardage battle by 162 yards as Marshall returned two kickoffs back for touchdowns and returned an interception for a score. They lost to Cincinnati on a pick-six with 1:07 remaining two weeks ago but responded with a conference win over Central Michigan last week. Going back to last season, five of their last seven losses have been by a possession and now they are catching three touchdowns in what is an overinflated number than can be attributed to the Notre Dame name. 10* (185) Miami Ohio RedHawks

This is a play on the MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS for our September Game of the Month. Both Iowa and Michigan St. both lost this past Saturday so we need to figure out which team has the better chance of recovering. Losses are losses but how teams lose can have a great impact on how they fare the following week and we think the Spartans have a significant advantage here. They lost against Notre Dame at home by 20 points but in no way does that score show what really happened. Michigan St. won the yardage battle 496-355 but mistakes did the Spartans in. They threw an interception on their first possession that was returned for a touchdown, fumbled in the Notre Dame endzone in the second quarter while two other possessions that got to the Fighting Irish 11-yard line and six-yard line resulted in no points. It was a disappointing loss to take but it is one that shows the team is better than the result and that helps with line value moving forward. Iowa meanwhile is coming off a heartbreaking loss against Penn St. as the Nittany Lions scored the game winning touchdown with no time left. That is a loss that will take time to recover from as the Hawkeyes obviously had their chances to pull off the upset. However, they were outgained by 306 total yards, lost the time of possession by a 2-1 margin and were at a 29-11 first down disadvantage. It was opposite type of game for Iowa than what Michigan St. went through so while the scores say one thing, looking inside the games say another. The Hawkeyes are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game while the Spartans are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. 10* (146) Michigan St. Spartans

Penn St. improved to 4-0 with a win at Iowa last week on the final play of the game. The Nittany Lions dominated that game more than the final score shows as they outgained the Hawkeyes by over 300 total yards and while this typically can cause a line the following week to be off because of the narrow win, that is not the case here because of the public love for Penn St. While losses like the one Iowa suffered last week can be tough to recover from, wins like the Nittany Lions victory are very difficult to back up. This is a very difficult spot coming off a hard-fought road game with another road game on deck next week at Northwestern. We played on Indiana in its season opener and while it held its own against Ohio St. for a half, the Hoosiers ran out of gas on defense and the Buckeyes pulled away. Indiana has won both games since then including a very impressive 17-point win at Virginia, a team that looked very solid last Friday against BYU. The Hoosiers came out of their week off because of a cancelled game against FIU to destroy an overmatched Georgia Southern team as they scored two defensive touchdowns and a special teams touchdown as they played vanilla most of the game. With a bye week on deck, Indiana has no choice but to go all out and with an opponent like Penn St., motivation is not an issue to begin with. The Hoosiers lost at home against Penn St. last season by 14 points but Indiana led by three points with four minutes left but allowed 17 points over the last 3:58. Indiana won the yardage battle 454-409 but could not overcome five lost fumbles. The Hoosiers are 4-0 ATS in their last four road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (151) Indiana Hoosiers

It has been a rough stretch for Tennessee as the hot seat is scorching under head coach Butch Davis. A win over Navy in the season opener in overtime was a solid victory as the Volunteers were outplayed most of the game but found a way to win. The game last week against now 0-5 Massachusetts is a concern to some but it can be chalked up to a lack of focus and while that is on the coaching staff, we will see the opposite this week. Tennessee was coming off that last-second Hail Mary loss at Florida the previous week so the spot against the Minutemen was one of the worst a team could be in especially with a huge conference game on deck. Tennessee is being written off by most but this team is still 3-1 and getting a touchdown at home is a steal. Georgia rolled over Mississippi St. last week but the Bulldogs were coming off a very emotional blowout win over LSU the previous week so Georgia had a solid edge there. That victory may be overblown and we are seeing some of that reflected in this line but the public will still be backing the Bulldogs. Georgia was getting 5.5 points at Notre Dame in its only other road game so the linesmakers are essentially saying Notre Dame is 12.5 points better than Tennessee and that is hardly the case. This is a revenge game for Georgia which lost on a Hail Mary last season but we do not promote road revenge as it can backfire if the situation is is not good and that is the case here. The Bulldogs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win while the Volunteers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game. 10* (180) Tennessee Volunteers

This is a play on the MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS for our Saturday Star Attraction. You have to feel for the Maryland program. The Terrapins went through four quarterbacks last season because of injuries and they are already down to their fourth string quarterback this season as both Tyrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill have torn ACLs while Caleb Henderson has still not seen the field because of an ankle injury. Max Bortenschlager came in last week and looked lost against UCF and he will be getting the start this week. Having a week to prepare helps but this is not the ideal situation and it is unfortunate following that season opening performance against Texas. Maryland's running game, prolific through the first two games, managed just 42 yards on 37 carries against the Knights. The Terrapins were outgained by 231 yards and will be going into a tough environment this week. Minnesota is off to a 3-0 starts and after a shaky opener against Buffalo, the Gophers have turned it up a notch over the last two games in blowout victories. The opposition has been far from strong but this is a team on the rise following a surprising nine wins last season and the bringing in of head coach P.J. Fleck who fits well into the program. While the injury situation is not good for Maryland, it is much better for Minnesota as its top two running backs, Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks, are on track to return to action. The duo rushed for over 1,900 yards last season and has already combined for 435 yards this season. The Terrapins are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games against teams with a winning home record while the Gophers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a bye week. 10* (142) Minnesota Golden Gophers

This is a play on the WASHINGTON ST. COUGARS with our Friday Star Attraction. We have played on USC twice this season, once in a loss to Western Michigan and once to a win against Stanford. The Trojans looked like two different teams in those games and after watching them lose the following week as well against San Diego St. so that USC win is not as impressive. USC is coming off a 10-point win over California last week and that was not a very promising victory as the Trojans were outgained by 60 yards and were fortunate that the Golden Bears committed six turnovers. Now they take a huge step up in competition but are still overvalued with a lot of that based on name. Washington St. is also undefeated at 4-0 and it has been much more dominant in its victories. The schedule has been soft but that is not the fault of the Cougars and the fact they are winning games by big margins is more important than schedule strength. We knew coming into the season that they were going to be a very strong team with an extremely potent offense and a defense that has improved over each of the last four years with nine starters coming back this season. The Cougars won eight straight games at one point last season but lost their last three games and came into this season with a chip on their shoulder knowing they have what it takes to win the Pac 12 North. Washington St. has a huge scheduling advantage here as while both teams have to prepare on a short week, back-to-back road games for USC paired with the abbreviated schedule does not make this anymore ideal. The Cougars are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. 10* (112) Washington St. Cougars

While it is not surprising to see close finishes in the first two games of this series, it is surprising of what took place during both games and the number of comebacks needed. In Game One, Los Angeles ran off to a 28-2 lead in the first 7.5 minutes, only to have the Lynx take two one-point leads in the final minute before the Sparks pulled out the win. In Game Two, the Lynx led by 20 early in the third quarter but they had to make two big defensive stops at the end to preserve the victory. Now the series shifts to Los Angeles and the value is on the road team despite the Sparks dominance at home the last two years. Since the start of the 2016 season, Los Angeles is 33-5 on its home floor. The Sparks have owned every team here except for Minnesota as they are just 2-3 against the Lynx while going 31-2 against every other team. They have lost just once at home this season, a two-point setback against Chicago, but it is interesting what they are laying tonight. In those five meetings against the Lynx, they have never been favored this much so there seems to be a bit of overreaction here based on the solid play in Minnesota coupled with the 18-1 home record this season. Additionally, Los Angeles has covered four straight meetings so the public is backing the Sparks big again tonight so we go contrarian and take the value in what should be another very tight game with Minnesota proving it can win here. 10* (667) Minnesota Lynx

This is a play on the GREEN BAY PACKERS for our NFL Thursday Star Attraction. The Packers are off to a 2-1 start and have not looked good in doing so. They defeated Seattle in Week One and the Seahawks are clearly down right now, they lost in Atlanta in a game that was not as close as the final score showed and it took a last second touchdown in regulation last week against Cincinnati to eventually prevail in overtime. Green Bay could use a stress-free game to get some momentum going and this is the perfect spot and a much needed one with a game at Dallas next week. Under quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have dominated the Bears, winning 15 of 19 meetings while covering 14 of those games. One of those wins came where Rodgers was knocked out early in the game with a shoulder injury so after a subpar start to the season, he should bust out here. Of the Bears seven losses to Rodgers in Green Bay since 2008, five have come by double figures. We won with the Bears last week as the spot was perfect but now they hit the road once again where they lost their only game on the highway this season, a 29-7 loss in Tampa Bay. Chicago has lost nine straight road games and has covered just two of those with the average margin of defeat being 14.4 ppg in those nine games. The Bears defense has played well thus far, namely the rushing defense, but the passing defense has struggled which is not good in this matchup. On the other side, Chicago quarterback Mike Glennon made only five throws that traveled in the air at least 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage last week so look for the Packers to challenge the Bears to throw. The Packers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a straight up win. 10* (102) Green Bay Packers

This is a play on the IOWA ST. CYCLONES for our Thursday Enforcer. Texas hits the road following a bye week which came after a tough loss at USC in overtime. While it was just a three-point loss, the Trojans played down to the competition as opposed to the Longhorns playing up. Through the early stages of the season, USC is overrated so that loss to the Trojans is not as good as it looks on the scoreboard. Additionally, Texas was outgained by 112 total yards as one of its touchdowns was on an interception return and penalties hurt the Longhorns as well. Because of a 56-0 win over San Jose St., the No. 167 ranked team in FBS and FCS according to Sagarin, the overall numbers and ranking are skewed. Iowa St. is also coming off its bye week following a blowout victory over Akron. That win can be compared to the Texas win over San Jose St. but the Zips are ranked higher than San Jose St. and the 41-14 win came on the road. The Cyclones were coming off a devastating loss at home against rival Iowa in overtime in a game where they blew a few late leads including allowing the tying touchdown in regulation with just 1:09 remaining. It was a good bounceback win as Iowa St. could have come out very flat but it showed what the team is capable of. The Cyclones have not been relevant in a while and it is clear that head coach Matt Campbell has the program going in the right direction so night game on Thursday in front of a national TV audience is huge for this team. The Longhorns are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game while the Cyclones are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (104) Iowa St. Cyclones

The Sparks and the Lynx were the two best teams once again and swept their semifinal series to meet in the WNBA Finals for a second straight season. Los Angeles struck first in Game One on Sunday as it started with a 28-2 run and ended on a Chelsea Gray game-winning jumper with two seconds left. It was not the start Minnesota was expecting on its home floor and on Monday, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve questioned the readiness of the team, its effort and its edge to start the game. It is safe to say Minnesota could have had a comfortable win had it not started the game going down by 26 points but now it must come into Tuesday with a sense of urgency as the Lynx cannot afford to go to Los Angeles down 0-2. Minnesota is hosting the Finals at Williams Arena, home of the Gophers, with Target Center and Xcel Energy both unavailable so it is possible the surroundings affect its awful start. We saw something very similar last season as the Lynx lost Game One at home by a bucket and then came back in Game Two and defeated the Sparks by 19 points. As a matter of fact, Minnesota has lost Game One in the WNBA Finals three times in five trips and has won Game Two following all of those losses, going 2-0-1 ATS in the process. The Lynx are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games following a loss while winning 12 of its last 13 games outright following a loss. 10* (666) Minnesota Lynx

This is a play on the ARIZONA CARDINALS for our Monday NFL Primetime play. After opening the season with a pair of road games resulting in a split, the Cardinals are back in Arizona for their home opener. They lost to Detroit in their season opener after blowing an early lead which coincided with the loss of David Johnson with a wrist injury. Arizona bounced back with a win at Indianapolis in overtime last week although it dominated the game more than that score indicates. Arizona was arguably the best non-playoff team in football last season as it went 7-8-1 with five of those losses coming by a possession and on the season, the Cardinals finished No. 9 in total offense and No. 2 in total defense and along with the Patriots, they were the only two teams that finished in the top ten in both categories. The Cowboys are coming off a poor effort last week in Denver so there will be plenty of motivation after getting called out internally and numerous time in the media. While motivation will play a part, it is hard to put Dallas in this spot of a road favorite. The Cowboys have not lost back-to-back regular season games since Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott were drafted and that is playing a role in this number as well. While not all teams are structured like the Broncos, upcoming opponents like the Cardinals now have a basic blueprint to use against Dallas. The public is riding the Cowboys this week looking for a bounce back but the fact this is the first time since 2014 that Arizona is a home underdog makes this a must take. 10* (490) Arizona Cardinals

This is a play on the LOS ANGELES CHARGERS for our Sunday NFL Enforcer. The Chargers are up to their old tricks. We had a play on San Diego Week One and it resulted in a push for most as it had a field goal blocked as time expired which resulted in a three-point loss. They then lost to Miami last week as a field goal was missed in the final seconds that would have won the game. The Chargers won only five games last season but were decimated by injuries (355 man-games lost, most in the NFL) but nine of their 11 losses were by just one possession so going back to December of 2015, 14 of their last 16 losses have been within reach. While it is only Week Three, this is a must win for Los Angeles as it is already two games out of first place which is occupied all three other teams so being three games out after three games could be the end already. Kansas City is 2-0 and following its very impressive win over New England on opening night, the Chiefs followed up with a win against Philadelphia last week but it was a game they got away with. There were dropped passes, missed interceptions and other opportunities for the Eagles to pull out this win as they won the yardage battle by 62 total yards but lost on the scoreboards. This has been typical for the Chiefs which seems to get outgained two of every three games yet somehow manage to win two of those. Kansas City has won seven consecutive road games so putting them in the favorite role here was a must and even with that, the Chiefs are the biggest public consensus on the entire NFL card for the weekend. That makes this a take all the way. 10* (484) Los Angeles Chargers

This is a play on the BUFFALO BILLS for our NFL Game of the Week. Denver must be feeling pretty good about things following a last second victory over San Diego in its season opener and then the dismantling of the Cowboys last week. Now the Broncos go from the rare NFL situation of being home underdogs to road favorites and the spot could not be worse. After opening the season with two home games, Denver has to travel to the east coast for an early start and then heads back home next week to take on hated rival Oakland. The thought is that Denver has a significant home field advantage in December because of the bad weather but it has a bigger edge at home in September because of the altitude and opposing teams not fully conditioned early in the season. The Broncos have now gone 2-0 the last eight times they have opened the season with two straight home games. The Bills could not make it 2-0 as they went to Carolina last week and lost to the Panthers 9-3. The Panthers dominated the time of possession 38:53-21:07 despite running just 12 more plays so Buffalo never really had a chance to get anything going. While the offense struggles, the defense was solid which should carry over into this Sunday. They have notoriously struggled on the road with the offense and last season, Buffalo averaged 30.7 ppg at home compared to 19.1 ppg on the road. The Panthers defense held them in check and while the Broncos defense has been dominant, as said earlier, that was at home. The Bills are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games after accumulating less than 250 total yards in their previous game while Denver is 1-4-1 ATS in its last six games after a win by 14 or more points. 10* (470) Buffalo Bills

We played on the Bears in Week One in a fairly similar situation and we will back them again this week. Chicago nearly defeated Atlanta in that season opener but a dropped pass late in the game prevented a 1-0 start but it still managed the cover and now the Bears are catching a bigger number. They followed that tough game with a 22-point defeat at Tampa Bay last week as they missed out on several opportunities. Chicago was outgained by just one yard but a lot of its own yards came in garbage time and while that can be a red flag when looking at stats, the Bears got inside the redzone three times but managed just one touchdown. Now the Bears return home where they have been much more competitive, going 3-6 since the start of last season with four of those six losses coming by less than a touchdown. The Steelers are off to a 2-0 start but it is not a very impressive 2-0. They defeated the Browns by a field goal in their opener and caught a break last week when Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford was ruled out during warmups. Their defense has led the way as they have given up just 237 ypg which is third best in the NFL but the offense is a concern. While they have scored 47 points in two games, they are ranked No. 16 in total offense and they will be facing an underrated Bears front seven with nose tackle Eddie Goldman, defensive end Akiem Hicks and linebackers Danny Trevathan and Leonard Floyd leading the way. They allowed 372 yards against Atlanta but 88 of those yards came on one play. Pittsburgh is not nearly as good on the road as it is at home and it is 4-14 ATS in its last 18 road games when favored by more than a touchdown. 10* (466) Chicago Bears

Overreactions to the two weeks of the season happen every year and it is no different this season as we are seeing numerous undefeated teams favored on the road because the public loves to ride these supposed great teams. The situation is a little different here as Carolina is playing at home but there is a huge overreaction to what it has done so far. The Panthers are 2-0 with very unimpressive wins over San Francisco and Buffalo. Many will argue that they were in fact impressive considering they allowed just six points total but those came against two offenses that are still searching for answers so those results are a bit skewed. They now face a very potent offense and one that could give them fits which has been the case for years. Offensively, Carolina is challenged as Cam Newton is still not close to 100 percent and not the same player he was two years ago and now he must carry on without tight end Greg Olsen who is out for an extended period of time after breaking his foot last week. The Saints defense is under scrutiny again but they have had a couple tough spot as Minnesota quarterback Sam Bradford tore them apart while Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did the same last week. New Orleans had an awful schedule break last week as it was coming off a short week and had to face New England which was coming off a long week after playing the previous Thursday and coming off a loss only made it worse. This is as close to must win as it gets. The Panthers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games after allowing less than 250 total yards in their previous game while the Saints are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games after allowing more than 30 points in their previous game. 10* (473) New Orleans Saints

The Super Bowl hangover has not affected the Falcons which have won their first two games although they were fortunate to get out of Chicago with a win Week One. They looked great last week at home against the Packers but they were in such a good spot as it was their first home game since losing the Super Bowl and in a brand-new stadium on top of that. The energy was out of control but now they hit the road again as an overvalued team in a suspect role as a road favorite and coming off a Sunday night game against a non-divisional opponent causes a letdown. Clearly, this is a very good team but as pointed out many times over the years, great teams do not win every week and we must find the spots to figure that out. Detroit is also 2-0 following its Monday night win over the Giants. The Lions have been great defensively so far as they are allowing 289 ypg which is No. 7 in the league as they have shut down the Cardinals and Giants. We must decipher if this is a fluke or if the Lions are for real to prove their playoff appearance last season was not a fluke. Last season, Detroit had 26 sacks, tied for second-to-last in the league, forced only nine fumbles and made 10 interceptions, ranking in the bottom third in both categories and that is something that will turn around this season making the defense even stronger. The Lions showed balance on offense last week and they will need that here to control the clock and keep the Falcons offense off the field. Going back, the Lions are 10-3 over their last 13 home games and going back, they are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 games after accumulating less than 150 yards passing in their previous game. 10* (478) Detroit Lions

We lost Wyoming last week as more credit has to be given to Oregon and turnaround that is going on in Eugene under head coach Willie Taggart. The Cowboys remain home for the third straight week as they open conference action in a bad mood. Expectations were huge coming into the season and those expectations should remain high as losing to Iowa and Oregon is nothing to get down about but a strong start in the MWC is vital. Quarterback Josh Allen was an early season Heisman sleeper but he has been horrible looking at the statistics but he is not totally at fault as the receivers cannot separate and have had numerous drops behind an offensive line that has not been able to protect so the hope is that gets shored up as the season progresses and it starts here as the Cowboys take a huge step down in competition. Hawaii is a team on the move but there are still questions surrounding the defense which could hurt this week. The Warriors allowed 35 points against Massachusetts in their season opener and the Minutemen have averaged only 18.7 ppg in their three games since then. UCLA put up 56 points against them two weeks ago and Wyoming is more than capable of naming the score as long as the receivers get their act together which will happen here. Hawaii is coming off a bye week and while that may seem like an edge because of the travel, this has not been the case in the past as the Warriors are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 road games coming off a bye so it has been the opposite effect. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up loss of more than 20 points. 10* (364) Wyoming Cowboys

This is a play on the IOWA HAWKEYES for our Saturday Star Attraction. With a quarter of the season in the books for most teams, we have a good read on what has transpired and how the markets are reacting. Coming into the season, we knew Penn St. was going to be a very solid team that would give Ohio St. and Michigan all they could handle in the Big Ten East and thus far, they have been one of the most dominant teams in college football. But it can be considered somewhat of an illusion based on who the Nittany Lions have played as they have played the No. 148 schedule in the nation according to the Sagarin Rankings and that is the easiest schedule of all Big Ten teams. The win over Pittsburgh may look good but Penn St. was outgained and now it takes to the road for the first time this season. Iowa is also 3-0 including an impressive home win over Wyoming and followed that up with a come-from-behind road win over rival Iowa St. The Hawkeyes could have lost focus after that but they dominated North Texas last week to get ready for conference action and they are catching an inflated number because of the Penn St. hype. The Nittany Lions went 2-0 last season as double-digit road favorites but those came against Purdue and Rutgers which went a combined 5-19 so laying double-digits against a team with a pulse is overaggressive. Iowa is 13-7-2 as a home dog under head coach Kirk Ferentz including 8-4 ATS when getting more than a touchdown. The Hawkeyes defeated No. 2 Michigan here last season and this was after losing at Penn St. by 27 points which was its worst loss since 2014 so revenge is very much in play. The Hawkeyes have played 12 games under the lights at Kinnick Stadium in the Ferentz era and they have gone 9-3. 10* (318) Iowa Hawkeyes

Texas St. comes into Week Four with a 1-2 record, having won its season opener against Houston Baptist by just nine points but losing both games against FBS teams. Last week will be hard to recover from. Texas St. jumped out to a 10-0 lead but managed only one field goal the rest of the way despite getting inside the Appalachian St. 25-yard line in three of its final four drives. The Bobcats missed a field goal and late in the fourth quarter, they recovered a fumble at their own one-yard line and drove 98 yards only to be stopped short at the Mountaineers one-yard line as time expired. The Bobcats are projected to be the worst team in the FBS and if not that, at least in the bottom five as there is not much here. Last season, Texas St. finished No. 126 in total offense including dead last in the nation in rushing offense and No. 117 in total defense. Texas-San Antonio is off to a 2-0 start and while the win over Baylor is not looking as good as it once did, it was still a strong win over a Power 5 team on the road. The Roadrunners are expected to contend in the C-USA West Division and rightfully so as they are the No. 2 most experienced team in the country and coming off the first bowl game in school history. They have a bye next week before conference action starts so there is no reason to think they will not go all out here before a big game against Southern Miss. UTSA has the best defense in the conference so Texas St., which has yet to score more than 20 points, will have a tough time getting points on the board here. 10* (389) UTSA Roadrunners

SMU is coming off a loss at TCU and it was an unfortunate loss as the Mustangs were looking to go into halftime with the lead but the Horned Frogs scored a touchdown on a Hail Mary and then ran off three straight late touchdowns including an interception return for a score. It was still a decent effort for SMU which is turning the corner under head coach Chad Morris. The Mustangs brought back 14 starters and are the No. 10 most experienced team in the country highlighted by an offense that brings back their quarterback, top three rushers and top five receivers. Even though they were not tested, the offense scored 58 and 54 points in its first two games and that offense should keep rolling here. Arkansas St. played well in its season opener at Nebraska, had a bye because of a cancellation and then blew out Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week which is not saying a lot. The Red Wolves finished in a tie for first in the Sun Belt Conference after winning it outright the year before and they are expected to contend again this season. But that is due to the conference being weak as they have only 10 starters back with the defense being bit the most. The offense is one dimensional as SMU's defense will be able to focus more on defending the pass because of Arkansas St.'s lack of a run game. Its leading rusher, junior Warren Wand, is averaging 65.5 ypg and behind him, no one has more than 37 rushing yards this season. Going back, the Mustangs are 6-0 ATS in their last six games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game. Look for a big bounce back performance this Saturday. 10* (378) SMU Mustangs

This is a play on the NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS for our Big Ten Game of the Month. There are already numerous coaches on the proverbial hot seat and you can now add Mike Riley to that list. After a narrow win over Arkansas St. to open the season, the Huskers got thumped at Oregon as the score was not indicative of how the game played out and last week, they lost at home against Northern Illinois. However, that game was not the same as the Oregon game. Nebraska dominated the time of possession 36:34-23:26 and outgained the Huskies 384-236 but could not recover from an early deficit. The Huskers threw interceptions on two of their first four possessions and both were returned for touchdowns. People are down on Nebraska and this is the perfect time to buy low. Rutgers is also 1-2 as it picked up its first win of the season last week against Morgan St. 65-0. The Scarlett Knights were favored by 41 points so that lopsided win came as no surprise and Morgan St. has been outscored 101-0 through three games. They played Washington tough in their season opener but followed that up with a dud against Eastern Michigan as they lost by a field goal as a 5.5-point chalk. Now Rutgers takes to the road for the first time this season and the highway has not been kind to this team. Rutgers has lost seven of its last eight road games dating back to 2015 and it has covered just two of its last nine games as a road underdog. The Scarlet Knights could not be going to Lincoln at a worse time and with Illinois on deck for Nebraska, there will be no lookahead. Based on the first three games, the Huskers have no choice but to put together their best effort of the young season. 10* (350) Nebraska Cornhuskers

This is a play on the NAVY MIDSHIPMEN for our Saturday Supreme Annihilator. This is a great spot for Navy which is coming off a bye week after an average performance the previous week against Tulane. The Midshipmen won by two points but that was a tough matchup considering the Green Wave run a similar option style offense so there were a lot of familiarities on both sides so neither team could break away. They have a much better matchup this week as they open conference action in hopes of getting back to the AAC Championship after suffering a bad loss against Temple last season and this is their first conference home game since then. You know what you are getting with Navy week in and week out and that is a solid running game and disciplined football on both sides. Cincinnati is 2-1 following a win last week over Miami Ohio but it was a victory it never should have had. The Bearcats won the yardage battle 361-291 but scored just once through three quarters as it had two interceptions, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs. Miami kicked a field goal with 4:45 left in the game to take a 17-6 lead but Cincinnati went 75 yards on eight plays to pull within three points and then three plays later, picked off a Gus Ragland pass and returned it 14 yards for the winning score. While they lost by just 22 points at Michigan, the game should not have been that close as Cincinnati was outgained by 214 yards and in its season opener, Cincinnati was outgained by Austin Peay in its 26-14 win. Cincinnati won only four games last season with three of those wins coming against losing teams and another against UT-Martin of the FCS. The Bearcats have just 11 starters back this season as well as a new coach and new systems that they are still struggling with. 10* (358) Navy Midshipmen

This is a play on the BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES for our Saturday Wiseguy Wipeout. Clemson opened its season against Kent St. and we played against the Tigers there with the thought being they would be far from focused coming off their National Championship season. While that was not the case, Kent St. did not help matters by not even showing up. Now we have a similar situation but one that is bookended during the season. Clemson is coming off a pair of high-profile wins over Auburn and Louisville and if that is not enough, the Tigers have a game at Virginia Tech on deck, a team they narrowly escaped from the ACC Championship last season. The Tigers are not in position to lose this game but this is a huge number to cover and it is creeping toward that Kent St. number and Boston College is much better than the Golden Flashes. It may not seem so since the Eagles are 1-2 with the win being a close victory at Northern Illinois but the fact they are 0-3 against the number is also adding value the pointspread this week. The Boston College defense is a perennial strength of this team but it has been shredded the last couple weeks which is a surprise. Offensively is where the challenge come here as the Clemson defense is arguably the best in the country right now but after allowing 27 points against Auburn and Louisville, it will be hard to sustain such a high level of play especially against a team it knows it should beat with ease. Clemson has stepped up its game going back to last season as it has flourished against the elite teams but they have failed to cover seven of their last nine games against teams with a losing record. This is a team that we can step in front of only when the situation is right and it is this Saturday. 10* (319) Boston College Eagles

This is a play on the VIRGINIA CAVALIERS with our Friday Enforcer. We played against Boise St. last Thursday and we will go against the once again overvalued Broncos. We caught a fortunate back-door cover with New Mexico last week but at the same time, we caught a bad break early on when Lobos quarterback Lamar Jordan left the game after a late hit and they were down to their third starting quarterback for over a half. Boise St. was able to keep the New Mexico offense in check but most teams could when facing a third string quarterback and they actually were outgained. It was the offense that continued to struggle as the Broncos managed 44 points against Washington St. but 13 of those points came in overtime and prior to that, they put up just 24 points against Troy. Virginia hits the road for the first time but this is familiar territory for head coach Bronco Mendenhall from his time at BYU and he looks to be turning the Cavaliers program around. The Cavaliers have already matched their win total from last year and the defense has improved by 117 ypg. The rushing defense has been the weaker of the two defensive units but Boise St. has been struggling to run the ball as the Broncos are averaging only 3.78 ypc and last week, Boise State's top two running backs, Alexander Mattison and Ryan Wolpin, combined for a paltry 49 yards (2.9 ypc) against New Mexico. The blue turf used to cause fits for visitors but the home field advantage is gone as the Broncos are 0-10-1 ATS in their last 11 home games. This streak will not last forever but the linesmakers are not doing them any favors by continuing to saddle them with double-digit lines. 10* (305) Virginia Cavaliers

This is a play on the SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS for our Thursday Primetime Play. San Francisco is one of two teams in the NFL that have not scored a touchdown through the first two weeks of the season while the Rams are averaging 33 ppg which is tied for third in the NFL. Because of this, it comes as no surprise the Rams are favored on the road and the public is eating it up. Los Angeles is the better team here but if the better team always won, there would be no point in playing the games. Even saying that the Rams are the better team may not be true because we have yet to see the real 49ers team and what they are capable of in a matchup like this. While they have yet to score a touchdown, they have played the Seahawks and Panthers, two of the strongest teams and defenses in the NFC and the schedule is ranked No. 8. And they were not dominant in those games as they have been outgained by just 70 and 64 total yards. Los Angeles meanwhile has played the No. 29 ranked schedule as it has faced the Colts, clearly one of the worst teams in the NFL without Andrew Luck, and the Redskins, who have their problems as well. They are now favored for a third straight game and in their first road game of the season no less. While the 49ers lack of offense has been the story, the defense has quietly played very well, allowing just 299.5 ypg and 17.5 ppg, both ranked in the top ten. This unit was expected to be much better this season and so far, it has made improvements and the jury is still out on the Rams offense. The 49ers hit the road for three straight games after this so they know this is a big game to not let the season get away from them early and we will see that effort tonight. 10* (302) San Francisco 49ers

This is a play on the SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS for our Thursday Star Attraction. We won with South Florida this past Friday as it put together its best game of the young season, amassing 680 yards of total offense while picking up 38 first downs on 98 plays from scrimmage. The Bulls won their first two games over San Jose St. and Stony Brook but it was not their best efforts although it can be argued they did not want to give too much away. They are laying a couple more points than they did against the Illini but that should not come into play here as there will be plenty of motivation to not only win but to win big. Temple is a shell of the team that rolled to consecutive 10-4 records the last two seasons as the Owls not only lost 12 starters including seven on one of the best defenses in the country but they also lost head coach Matt Rhule who left for the Baylor job. While he is not doing well at his new gig, he was responsible for putting the Temple program back on the map. The Owls have been outgained in all three games including losing the yardage battle by 49 yards against Villanova of the FCS and by 71 yards against winless UMass last week. Those games were won because of special teams and kicking but it is going to take more than that against the Bulls. Temple was outrushed by 337 yards in its season opener against Notre Dame and that is bad news against a South Florida team that is outrushing opponents by an average of close to 200 ypg. The Bulls motivation not only comes from this being the season opener and biggest game in the AAC East Division but also because of looking to avenge the 16-point loss at Temple last season which kept them out of the AAC Championship. 10* (304) South Florida Bulls

This is a play on the NEW YORK GIANTS for our Monday Primetime play. There were four teams from Week One that are expected to be playoff contenders whose offenses looked in shambles, namely the offensive lines of each. The Bengals, Texans and Seahawks were the first three that played this week and none of those looked much better, scoring 9, 13 and 12 points respectively. The Giants are the fourth team of that group and we are expecting them to show the most improvement. They are coming off a dreadful game at Dallas where they managed just three points and 233 yards of offense. The rushing game was non-existent with only 35 yards and while Eli Manning had only 220 yards through the air, he was efficient by going 29-38. Odell Beckham Jr. has been upgraded to probable and his presence alone even though he is not at 100 percent is huge. The Lions defeated Arizona last week in a come-from-behind victory as they scored 26 unanswered points in the second half before the Cardinals tacked on a late garbage touchdown. Detroit was fortunate that Arizona lost David Johnson as the game took the turn once he left late in the third quarter. The Lions struggles in the run game have been well documented, and nothing that happened last week against the Cardinals offers any hope that is going to change. The Giants have one of the best all-around defenses in the NFL with a solid defensive line and a deep secondary and the Lions will not be repeating their offensive outburst this week. This line opened at 5 and has been brought down to the number we were expecting and hoping to get as the Giants rebound and shake off the offensive woes. 10* (290) New York Giants

This is a play on the ATLANTA FALCONS for our Sunday Primetime Play. Atlanta escaped its season opener in Chicago as it dodged a fourth quarter bullet as the Bears were unable to get into the endzone late in the game after driving into the redzone. The Falcons head back to Atlanta for their home opener and first game here since their Super Bowl meltdown and it is going to be an electric atmosphere on Sunday night. This is also the first game in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium so it will be rocking. Atlanta averaged 35 ppg at home last season and after putting up just 23 points in Chicago, this offense will be ready to score a bunch and the Packers know about that all too well. They lost twice here last season, once during the regular season 33-32 and then in the NFC Championship 44-21. This is a different Green Bay team this time around as the defense is healthy so that gives it an edge but Green Bay has never been as good on the road and is coming off a lackluster effort at home against Seattle last Sunday. The Seahawks offensive line showed why it is the weakness of the team so the nine points allowed is a bit skewed because of that. The one weakness in the Packers defense is the secondary and this is not the team it wants to face early in the season especially with Matt Ryan looking in mid-season form, going 21-30 for 321 yards last week. Many will be on the Packers in the double-revenge spot but road revenge is never an easy thing to accomplish and while the Falcons had the Super Bowl hangover last week, that will be gone this week. Any line under a field goal is ideal but even if this settles in at the three points, we are in great shape for an easy cover. 10* (288) Atlanta Falcons

This is a play on the DENVER BRONCOS for our Sunday Wiseguy Wipeout. We played against the Broncos last week which resulted in a win or a push depending where and when it was played but we are backing them this week and not because they won last week. That was more of a play on San Diego which was coming off an injury plagued season and still lost numerous close games and that was the result again in Week One this season. Even though Denver has the disadvantage of playing a game after a Monday night late game, it remains home so any disadvantage is negated. Playing early season home games has been beneficial to Denver with success coming from that and a lot of that is based on the rest of the league not being able to keep up. The Broncos have gone 2-0 the last seven times they have opened the season with two straight home games and that can be attributed to conditioning in the high altitude of Denver while the opposition is not ready for the Mile-High air early in the season. Dallas is coming off an impressive home win over the Giants on Sunday night but some of that can be attributed to the Giants inept offense that has no offensive line and no running game which spells big trouble for Eli Manning. The core group of the Cowboys is back but they did lose 10 players that accounted for over 500 games so depth could be an issue although that did not come into play against New York. At over 5,000 feet above sea level, that will come into play. The Cowboys were an unheard of 10-0 outside the NFC East last season but only four of those wins were against teams above .500. going back to last season, the Cowboys are 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams with a winning record and have no business being a favorite in this spot. 10* (284) Denver Broncos

This is a play on the WASHINGTON REDSKINS for our Sunday Enforcer. Washington is coming off an unfortunate home loss against Eagles in its season opener as a two-point game late in the fourth quarter ended up being a comfortable win for Philadelphia after a late turnover was turned into a touchdown despite it being a questionable one that could have been reversed. The Redskins hurt their cause with four turnovers which included three lost fumbles and those can be considered unlucky breaks at the time. Now the Redskins must trek to the west coast in hopes of avoiding a 0-2 start and they catch a Rams team in the perfect spot. Los Angeles is coming off a blowout win over Indianapolis 46-9 but the game was not as one-sided as the score shows. The Rams returned two Scott Tolzien interceptions for touchdowns as he had a horrible game in his first start with the Colts. Los Angeles allowed single-digits after allowing 24.6 ppg last season, good for No. 23 in the league. There will be people hopping back on the Rams train overreacting to that victory but also knowing that head coach Sean McVay will be facing his former team where he was the offensive coordinator while linebackers coach Joe Barry will also be going against his former squad where he was the defensive coordinator. They will know the tendencies of their former players which can be considered an edge but current Washington coaches will know the tendencies of their former coaches so it can be considered a wash. The Redskins have a solid situation on their side as we play against teams coming off an opening game where they scored 40 or more points and playing a team off a loss. This situation is 12-2 ATS (85.7 percent) since 1980. 10* (281) Washington Redskins

This is a play on the TENNESSEE TITANS for our NFL Game of the Week. We had Best Bets on both Tennessee and Jacksonville last Sunday but managed to hit just one of those as the Titans fell short at home against Oakland. Tennessee was outgained by just nine total yards as the issue was in the red zone. While Marcus Mariota still has never tossed a red zone interception, the Titans were just 1-3 as they had to settle for two short field goals. While they arguably face a stronger defense this week, their offensive line is going to fare a lot better than what the Texans did last week. The Jaguars defense looked like one of the best in the NFL against Houston as they registered 10 sacks while holding the Texans to only seven points and 203 total yards. Mariota was sacked only once last week and Tennessee allowed the seventh fewest sacks last season. The Titans ran the ball only 21 times last week and we should see more balance this week to take some of the pressure off Mariota who was still efficient against the Raiders despite being one of only eight starting quarterbacks not to throw a touchdown pass. The Titans will be out for revenge as well as they lost here by 21 points on Christmas Eve which knocked them out of the playoffs and also knocked Mariota out for the year. While Jacksonville is riding confidence after the big road win, it is in a tough spot as it has to travel to London next week to face Baltimore and teams have gone 10-21-1 in the 32 games prior to their games in London. Going back, the Jaguars are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games after allowing less than 15 points in their previous game. 10* (261) Tennessee Titans

This is a play on the CLEVELAND BROWNS for our Sunday Ultimate Underdog. Baltimore looked very impressive in a 20-0 win over Cincinnati last Sunday but it was more of a Bengals implosion than a Ravens domination. Cincinnati had five turnovers and while it can be argued the Baltimore defense had a lot to do in forcing those, most of those were on Andy Dalton. The Ravens offense is still a concern as Joe Flacco looked like a quarterback that got no substantial preseason snaps, which he did not, and this unit could struggle for a while. The Ravens did rush for 157 yards which was the third highest in Week One but that total came on 42 carries and their 3.7 ypc average was just middle of the pack. The Browns showed a lot of positives last week against the Steelers, especially on defense where they allowed 290 yards including a mere 35 yards on the ground which was tied for fewest in the league while the 2.1 ypc average was second best. There are still concerns on offense but DeShone Kizer looked pretty comfortable in his first start. The one big thing the Brown have going on offense is their offensive line which is definitely in the top part of the league with key additions to go along with future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas. Cleveland could not run the ball which was a surprise but committing to Isaiah Crowell is a must after he averaged 4.8 ypc last season. It is safe to say Cleveland is a better all-around team than last season yet Baltimore is laying more points now than it was in the matchup here last season and Cleveland came into that game 0-9. This is the classic case of bettors backing Baltimore because of what they saw last week and we need to look toward the future and not rely heavily on the past. 10* (263) Cleveland Browns

It is no secret that the East Division is extremely weak as all four teams are at least three games under .500 and it is still wide open. Ottawa was supposed to be the class of the division coming off its Grey Cup win last season but things have not gone well for the RedBlacks although they have started to play better at least from a record standpoint. They started the season 1-6-1 but then went on to win three straight games before falling to Hamilton last week which was a very bad loss. It was a bad loss in more ways than one as quarterback Trevor Harris was placed on the six-game injured list with a shoulder injury meaning Drew Tate will be making the start. He is very capable but has not been in this position in a while. Montreal is a game behind Ottawa and Toronto and it can move into a first-place tie after Week 13 should it win here and Toronto loses to Edmonton on Saturday. Nonetheless, this is a big game for the Alouettes who will be breaking in a new coach with Kavis Reed who is the interim head coach after Jacques Chapdelaine was let go. Montreal has dropped four straight games, three of which have come by way of blowout, as the defense has been a real letdown. The good news here is that the Alouettes will be facing Tate with an offense that is already far from potent. Montreal is the only team in the league that is winless on the road and this is just its fifth game within the division. Two of those games have come against Ottawa, both resulting in losses, so there is the double revenge angle in play. 10* (608) Montreal Alouettes

This is a play on the KENTUCKY WILDCATS for our Saturday Star Attraction. South Carolina is the second highest public consensus home team on the entire Week Three board based on the fact that the Gamecocks are playing their home opener after a 2-0 start and laying a short number. Typically, this is a good spot for a team as they are brimming with confidence while also playing with triple revenge from three losses the last three years. While winning is great, how teams win also has a lot to do with that and South Carolina is fortunate to be in this undefeated spot. In their first game at NC State, the Wolfpack outgained South Carolina 504-246 and had 17 more first downs but mistakes did them in. Not only did the Gamecocks return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, they also benefited from scoring drives of just 40 and 13 yards following NC State turnovers. Last week, they were outgained by 64 yards against Missouri but returned another kickoff for a touchdown and benefitted from a 3-0 turnover edge. So, despite sitting No. 63 in the country in scoring offense, they are just No. 114 in total offense. Kentucky is also 2-0 after a pair of lackluster wins over Southern Miss and Eastern Kentucky but those were two games the Wildcats were not exactly pumped up for. While they do face Florida next week, this is their SEC opener as well and they will be ready. Kentucky is coming off its first bowl game since 2010 and its 17 returning starters is tied for most in the conference so there are big expectations in Lexington this season. If for nothing else, this game would be a pickem on a neutral field so this line is inflated even though it may be considered short to some. When it is feasible that the underdog can win the game outright, that underdog is a take. 10* (111) Kentucky Wildcats

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI ST. BULLDOGS for our Saturday enforcer. LSU is being called a sleeper team in the SEC by some but that mean the Tigers would have to win in Alabama at the start of November which will be a tough task. They are coming off an 8-4 season and after four straight double-digit win seasons, the Tigers have suffered three straight single-digit win seasons. We do not quite think that the Tigers are back to their elite status so they should once again fall into the latter group win total and that boasts well for the Bulldogs which have played the Tigers close each of the last three years with a win by five points and losses by two and three points. LSU has allowed just 10 points through two games but one of those came against Chattanooga of the FCS and the other against BYU which we have seen is offensively inept through its three games. Those are two games that it is hard to judge how good this team really is with this being the first challenge of the season. This is the first big challenge for Mississippi St. as well although it easily defeated a very good Louisiana Tech team last week while holding the Bulldogs to just 21 points after averaging at least 37 ppg on offense each of the last three years. Offensively, this is where the Bulldogs are supposed to improve from the last few years as quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is a duel-threat that is coming off a very strong 2016 season where he passed for 2,423 yards while leading the team in rushing with 1,495 yards, earning him Third Team All-SEC honors. Mississippi St. will not have an easy time with the always tough LSU defense but the Tigers return only five starters which is their fewest since 2013. Additionally, starting defensive end Rashard Lawrence will be out with an ankle injury. 10* (188) Mississippi St. Bulldogs

We played against Western Michigan in Week One against USC and clearly did not get the best effort from the Trojans which seemed to play uninspired with Stanford on deck. We also played against the Broncos last week and they brought nothing against Michigan St. as they managed only 195 yards of total offense as both touchdowns scored were on defense and special teams. While they were underdogs in those games. They were still overvalued based on the spectacular season from a year ago and now they go into the role of a heavy favorite. Granted, it is a big step down in class but Western Michigan lost so much from 2016 that it is going to be a while for this team to come together. The Broncos will be jacked for their home opener but they will not be sneaking up on anyone. We played against Idaho last week but that was more of a play on UNLV than a play against the Vandals with the thinking that the Rebels would bounce back after suffering that horrible home loss against Howard which they did in a big way. Idaho overachieved last season with a 9-4 record that included a blowout win over Colorado St. in its bowl game that was not as close as the final score indicated and this is still a solid team with a lot of senior experience. The Vandals have been one of the best road dogs over the last few years even when they were not winning many games as they are 14-3 ATS when getting points on the highway since 2014. Idaho was riding a six-game winning streak going into last week but caught the Rebels at the wrong time as any other time it results in a Vandals victory. 10* (181) Idaho Vandals

Oregon comes into the 2017 as a team that many are expected to bounce back from a horrific 2016 season but the problem is that the Ducks will not be sneaking up on anyone and that includes the linesmakers. They rolled over Southern Utah in their season opener and looked like they were going to roll again last week against Nebraska but they allowed the Huskers to get back into the game after opening up a 42-14 halftime lead only to win by a touchdown. Now Oregon hits the road for the first time under new head coach Willie Taggart and even in the glory days a few years back, Oregon was not nearly as good on the road. That is not stopping the public however as Oregon is the third highest public consensus on the board despite the books excessively inflating the line. Wyoming struggled in its opening game at Iowa as it lost by 21 points but was outgained by just 30 total yards as the Cowboys were done in by mistakes including the now famous missed punt that led to a touchdown right before halftime. They bounced back with a solid win last week against Gardner Webb where they did not show much looking ahead to this week and they will have a nice home field edge this week hosting a team not used to playing over 7,000 feet above sea level. The Cowboys improved defense is tied for ninth in the country in scoring defense at 12.0 ppg and 12th in total defense at 229.0 ypg. This is a very dangerous team with Josh Allen at quarterback that brought back 14 starters from last season where it went 8-6 with four of those losses coming by three points. 10* (186) Wyoming Cowboys

Situational spots are extremely important in college football and how a team reacts when given those certain situations. Oklahoma is coming off a monster win at Ohio St. as it got revenge from a loss in 2016 and now hosts a Tulane team that has won only 11 games since 2014. The Sooners dominated the second half against the Buckeyes as they scored touchdown on four of five possessions not counting the final one where they were not looking to score. Not only does this spell a letdown spot but the Sooners have their Big XII opener next week on the road against Baylor and while the Bears have looks horrible, it is still a game to be looked forward to. Tulane rolled in its opener against Grambling which is not saying much but it held its own last week at Navy and nearly pulled off the upset, losing by just three points. We rode the Green Wave then and will do so again as this is a team on the rise under head coach Willie Fritz. They were outgained by only 24 ypg and outscored by just 3.6 ppg last season and while the Sooners are clearly the more talented team by a long shot, the line is taking that into consideration but it is not taking into consideration the bad spot. Tulane runs the option which is tough to prepare for and there is no chance Oklahoma was preparing for it ahead of time during Ohio St. week. The Sooners are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game while the Green Wave are 4-1 ATS in their last five games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game. 10* (163) Tulane Green Wave

This is a play on the SMU MUSTANGS for our Non-Conference Game of the Month. While this is a huge rivalry that dates to 1915, it has not been much of a series lately with TCU winning 15 of the last 17 meetings including the last five. The last four games have been decided by at least 19 points but we should see a much close game this season with an improving Mustangs program taking the field. SMU won a total of three games in 2014 and 2015 but finished with five wins last season and have a legitimate shot at making it to a bowl game this season. The Mustangs bring back 14 starters and are the No. 10 most experienced team in the country highlighted by an offense that brings back their quarterback, top three rushers and top five receivers. Even though they have not been tested, the offense has scored 58 and 54 points through two games. This is impressive considering SMU averaged a mere 11.1 ppg in 2014. Defensively, there are still questions along the defensive line but the back seven is loaded. We won with TCU last week as it handled Arkansas which was a big revenge game from an overtime loss in 2016. The horned Frogs went just 6-7 last season but are looking to be a player in the Big XII but they are being asked to lay a big number coming off a big win and having to travel to Oklahoma St. next week for their conference opener. The amount of focus here will be in question as this is the classic sandwich spot and against a team that now knows it is on the rise. TCU has been overvalued for a while now as it has failed to cover nine straight home games while going 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games following a win of 20 or more points. 10* (167) SMU Mustangs

This is a play on the BAYLOR BEARS for our Saturday Wiseguy Wipeout. When you hear the statement, "teams are not as good as they looked last week and teams are not as bad as they looked last week", this game will come to mind although the public will not be buying the aforementioned statement. Duke is going to be a big public play this week if wagering on this game or it will be a pass as laying money on the Bears is not going to happen for a lot of people. The value in this game is arguably the best on the entire board but that is offset by what we have seen through two weeks although the latter does not affect us as I do not care what has transpired the first two weeks. Baylor was shocked at home against Liberty in its first game and followed that up with a loss against Texas-San Antonio last week which in reality is not a horrible loss as the Roadrunners are a very good team. The Bears can throw in the towel for the season or they can rally around each other and we can expect to see the latter tanks to head coach Matt Rhule as he is not going to lose this team three weeks into the season. Duke is 2-0 with an impressive win last week against Northwestern which was one of the biggest head-scratchers of the week. The first win came over North Carolina Central so we cannot get much from that. After a 4-8 season last year, we can expect a rebound season form the Blue Devils based on the simple theory of coming back to the mean but winning this game and winning this game by more than two touchdowns are two different things. Duke has been favored by two touchdowns over a Power Five Conference team only once since 1998 and that was against Kansas. Baylor is no Kansas. 10* (141) Baylor Bears

This is a play on the SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS for our Friday Enforcer. Friday features three games with teams favored by at least two touchdowns and a pass would typically be in order in all of those but we are going to eat some chalk in one of those based on early season results and life in general. South Florida is favored to win the AAC after going 11-2 last season including a 7-1 conference record but there are higher aspirations in Tampa this season. The Bulls are looking at a Group of Five bowl game and crashing the College Football Playoff is not out of the question. While they have won both games this season, they have not looked good in doing so as they spotted San Jose St. a 16-0 lead before finally coming to life and looked hardly like a CFP party crasher in an un-inspirational win over Stony Brook by 14 points as a 35-point favorite. Now there will be plenty of inspiration after the game last week against Connecticut was canceled because of Hurricane Irma and this will be a huge game being played in Tampa for the team and its fans. Illinois defeated Western Kentucky last week and while it was considered an upset based on the line, clearly the Hilltoppers are not what they used to be. The win can be considered unimpressive considering that the Illini managed only 20 points while winning the yardage battle by just 56 yards. In its first game, Illinois defeated Ball St. by a field goal despite getting outgained by 159 total yards. This is one of many fraudulent undefeated teams in the nation and the Illini now hit the road for the first time and head to a place they would rather not be going to at this particular time. While this is a homecoming of sorts for Illinois coach Lovie Smith, the Bulls will prove to be way too much on this night. 10* (108) South Florida Bulls

Saskatchewan had a three-game winning streak snapped with a revenge loss at Winnipeg last weekend despite outgaining the Blue Bombers by 68 total yards. Turnovers and penalties were the difference which can be said for most games if there is a significant variance one way or the other. Winnipeg broke open a close game with an interception return for a touchdown and it was shortly thereafter that Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn left the game with a bruised throwing hand and he is listed as doubtful for tonight. He is having a very solid season but Brandon Bridge is more than capable, especially against a disaster of a defense from the East Division. Hamilton has won two straight games since starting 0-8 but do not read too much into that. The Tiger-Cats defeated Toronto two weeks ago despite getting outgained by 118 total yards and then they defeated Ottawa by four points last week while winning the yardage battle by only six yards. Jeremiah Masoli has taken over at quarterback for the victories but he is below average as he is completing just 54.9 percent of his passes. Also, June Jones has been the head coach for Hamilton after taking over on an interim basis but he is not performing any sort of magic as this winning run is just random. The last first-year head coach to take over in-season and win at least their first three games was Larry Donovan for BC in 1987. Hamilton is 0-6 against the West while the Roughriders are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up loss. 10* (601) Saskatchewan Roughriders

We played against Minnesota in Game One of this best-of-five series with the thought that the rust factor would come more to the forefront than the rest factor. Instead, the Lynx shot lights out as they hit 59.4 percent from the floor including 70.6 percent (12-17) from long range. At one point, Minnesota made 13 straight field goals and nine straight threes, both WNBA playoff records. The key for the Mystics is to play some defense and/or home that the Minnesota offense geos cold as since 2011, the Lynx are 23-0 in playoff games when they score at least 80 points, 12-13 when they don't. It is a pretty simple formula for Washington. For our purposes however, we are concerned about the spread and because of the 20-point defeat, Washington is getting the same number as it was getting in Game One which is surprising as it goes against the linemakers adjusting for the playoff bounce angle. Typically, they would set the number lower knowing that the bounce angle players will take the losing team which takes some of the value out that number. But the number remains the same as they are likely anticipating more action on the Lynx after their dominating performance. Washington feels that it was too passive on defense so we will see a more aggressive effort and at the same time, playing looser overall and get back into the form they displayed in the first two rounds of the playoffs. 10* (689) Washington Mystics

This is a play on the NEW MEXICO LOBOS for our Thursday Star Attraction. Boise St. heads back home following a disappointing loss at Washington St. last Saturday and regrouping will be difficult. The Broncos returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown with 10:53 remaining in the game to take a 31-10 lead only to see the Cougars score three touchdowns including an interception return and the tying score set up by muffed punt. Boise St. eventually lost in triple overtime to even its record at 1-1 and the dominant Broncos days look to be numbered. There are questions all over the field as Boise St. has just nine returning starters from last season which is the fewest in the MWC and it is the No. 119 experienced team in the country (out of 130). New Mexico is coming off a loss against rival New Mexico St., the second straight loss in the series with the Aggies. While the Lobos followed up the loss last season with another loss, that game was against Rutgers where they had to travel to the east coast so this is a much different situation. New Mexico is coming off back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 2006-2007 and are more than capable of making it three straight postseason appearances for the first time since 2002-2004. Certainly, there was no shortage of things the Lobos did wrong against the Aggies including four turnovers, 13 penalties, missed opportunities, lack of a pass rush and poor coverage in the secondary. The good news is a short week can have a positive effect. The home field advantage for Boise St. as it has gone 1-9 ATS in its last 10 home games and that lone cover came by just a half-point. Meanwhile, the Lobos are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games following a straight up loss. 10* (103) New Mexico Lobos

Washington heads to Minnesota for the first game of this best-of-five series and it comes in playing with some solid momentum. The Mystics are coming off a pair of impressive wins in the first two postseason games against Dallas at home and New York on the road and that is a big edge heading into the series opener. Minnesota has not played since September 3 so while the rest can be considered good, the rust factor cannot be downplayed especially when laying close to double-digits. That last game for the Lynx resulted in a 14-point win over Washington but that was a meaningless game as the Mystics did not push their starters to big minutes since the game meant nothing. Minnesota swept the season series 3-0 but Washington as not at full strength in the first two games so none of the three games gives a true indication of how the Mystics match up with the Lynx. The Mystics start three players who are 6 feet 4 or taller and two of those forwards, Elena Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman, are perfectly comfortable taking defenders out to the perimeter and knocking down the outside shot. Lindsay Whalen's health and conditioning is a concern for Minnesota. While she has been back at practice since last Wednesday, she has not played in a game since breaking a bone in her left hand on August 3. 10* (685) Washington Mystics

This is a play on the LOS ANGELES CHARGERS for our Monday Enforcer. Not many people will be high on the Chargers this season but we are not one of those. They will have one of the worst home field advantages because of their stadium but talent-wise, they are right up there. We made a future play on Los Angeles winning the AFC West which is a wide-open division. The Chargers won only five games last season but were decimated by injuries (355 man-games lost, most in the NFL) but nine of their 11 losses were by just one possession so imagine if they can go a season without longterm major injuries. Denver is nothing special with a pedestrian offense including a weak offensive line and questions at quarterback. Last season, the Broncos ranked 27th total offense at 323.1 ypg, 21st in passing at 230.0 ypg, 27th in rushing at 92.8 ypg and 22nd in scoring with 20.8 ppg. Meanwhile, the defense is losing ground. DeMarcus Ware retired, Shane Ray will not be back until at least Week Eight, T.J. Ward was released and Shaq Barrett is still working his way back from an injured hip. These teams are much more equal now. The same two systems apply to the Chargers here. First, we play on road underdogs that have missed the playoffs the last three years and are coming off a season where they won between three and eight games and won fewer games than their opponent. This situation is 36-8-2 (81.8 percent) since 2003 including 13-2 ATS (86.7 percent) since 2013. Second, we play on road underdogs of less than a touchdown that finished last season under .500 and had eight or fewer wins than their opponent. This situation is 47-14 ATS (77.1 percent) since 2004 including 13-3 ATS (81.3 percent) since 2013. 10* (481) Los Angeles Chargers

This is a play on the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS for our Monday Star Attraction. Both Minnesota and New Orleans missed the playoffs last season and both are projected to make runs at the postseason this year. The Vikings made the playoff two years ago thanks to a big run at the end of the season but last year was a different story as after a 5-0 start, Minnesota closed the season by winning just three of its last 11 games. There are issues on offense, especially with the offensive line, so getting the running game going will be difficult and Sam Bradford cannot win a game on his own. The Saints are an improved team which will be out to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. The offense took a hit with the loss of Brandin Cooks but they will be just fine. One major improvement from this team is the defense as the secondary is better with the drafting of Marshon Lattimore and the linebackers will be improved by the drafting of Alex Anzalone, signing A.J. Klein in free agency and hiring Mike Nolan to coach the group. Two excellent situations fall onto the Saints side. First, we play on road underdogs that have missed the playoffs the last three years and are coming off a season where they won between three and eight games and won fewer games than their opponent. This situation is 36-8-2 (81.8 percent) since 2003 including 13-2 ATS (86.7 percent) since 2013. Second, we play on road underdogs of less than a touchdown that finished last season under .500 and had eight or fewer wins than their opponent. This situation is 47-14 ATS (77.1 percent) since 2004 including 13-3 ATS (81.3 percent) since 2013. 10* (479) New Orleans Saints

This is a play on the JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS for our Week One NFL Game of the Week. Week One of the NFL season can be the most difficult to handicap since we have no information on teams that are just getting their season started. However, the people making the lines are in the same boat and that is how we take advantage as this is the only week we are on a level playing field which can be used in our favor. Lines are set based on two factors, what happened last year and expectations for this year with the normal injuries, venue, weather, etc. being taken into consideration as well. We have systems in place that have been very profitable in the first week and the Jaguars/Texans game falls into one of those which we can call the regression perception system. Houston is again expected to make a run at the AFC South title thanks to its potent defense but the offense remains a huge concern going into the season coming off a 9-7 season. Jacksonville went 3-13 last season and is coming off a preseason that was widely regarded as horrible in all aspects. The Jaguars have a season win total of 6.5 games so things are expected to be better but the public is not buying it this week against Houston as the Texans are overvalued yet the public is making the Texans the second highest home consensus on the board. This is only part of the Jaguars value as the system in place backs it up. We play on road underdogs of less than a touchdown that finished last season under .500 and had eight or fewer wins than their opponent. This situation is 46-14 ATS (76.7 percent) since 2004 including 12-3 ATS (80 percent) since 2013. 10* (457) Jacksonville Jaguars

This is a play on the TENNESSEE TITANS for out Week One Enforcer. The Raiders were one of the pleasant surprises last season as they won 12 games but were unable to make a playoff run after quarterback Derek Carr went down. It was a special season and many are picking the Raiders as a sleeper Super Bowl team but they are missing the fact that they won five games by a field goal or less and in overtime and eight games by one possession or less so things could have been a lot different. Oakland now has a healthy Carr back and the signing of Marshawn Lynch should help the running game but this is the classic example of a team that is ripe for regression and a lot of that is based on the number of close wins from last season. Tennessee is a trendy pick to win the AFC South following a 9-7 season from last year and just missing the playoffs. The Titans have missed the playoffs the last eight seasons but now have the team on both sides to make a move. This is a rematch from last season where Oakland came here in Week Three and won 17-10 but this is a different Tennessee team playing for revenge in what turned out to be a heated game. Marcus Mariota was in a funk, Rishard Matthews was still struggling to get comfortable in the offense, and what many people viewed as the team's top two options in the passing game in Kendall Wright and Delanie Walker did not play. Now, Eric Decker, a comfortable and reliable Rishard Matthews, Delanie Walker, Taywan Taylor, and Corey Davis give Mariota multiple options. There is also a great situation the Titans fall into based on regression possibilities as we play against Week One road underdogs that won eight or more games last season and had a better record than their opponent. This situation is 35-10-3 ATS (77.8 percent) since 2004. 10* (464) Tennessee Titans

This is a play on the CHICAGO BEARS for our Week One Wiseguy Wipeout. Atlanta enters a new season following the worst implosion in Super Bowl history as it blew a 28-3 lead late in the third quarter and eventually lost in overtime. Despite the close margin in the end, the Falcons were outgained by the Patriots by 202 yards so they were fortunate to be in that position to begin with. Many will be calling Atlanta to come out with a chip on its shoulder but these situations are tough to bounce back from despite the fact six months have passed and now we have a situation we have not seen before based on the historic collapse. One thing we do know is that teams coming off a Super Bowl loss have not fared well out of the gate. Super Bowl losers have been horrendous against the number in their first game the following season, going 3-17 ATS over the last 20 games. Now the Falcons are laying a touchdown on the road which is horrible situation to begin with. The Bears are coming off a 3-13 season and are projected for 5.5 wins this season so it looks to be another long season in Chicago. They posted their lowest win total in a non-strike year since the 1973 team went 3-11 and most losses since 1969 so not many will be backing this team. Offensively, Mike Glennon gets the call at quarterback and he a solid running game behind him led by Jordan Howard who finished second to Ezekiel Elliott with 1,313 yards rushing. For the Bears to keep things close here and throughout the season, the defense must play well and that is more than possible. The Bears believe they have the makings of a strong front seven if they stay healthy, with nose tackle Eddie Goldman, defensive end Akiem Hicks and linebackers Danny Trevathan and Leonard Floyd leading the way. Since 2001, home underdogs of seven or more points in Week One are 5-1 ATS. 10* (456) Chicago Bears

This is a play on the NEW YORK JETS for our Week One Ultimate Underdog. This play goes along the same lines as the regression perception system but with a couple tweaks that makes it more of a public fade system. Week One of the NFL season can be the most difficult to handicap since we have no information on teams that are just getting their season started. However, the people making the lines are in the same boat and that is how we take advantage as this is the only week we are on a level playing field which can be used in our favor. Lines are set based on two factors, what happened last year and expectations for this year with the normal injuries, venue, weather, etc. being taken into consideration as well. The Jets are projected to win 3.5 games based on the Vegas number and there have been voices saying a winless season is not out of the question. It is clearly a rebuilding season for New York and will be an underdog in every game this season but we must consider what kind of underdog it is going to be based on the spot. Buffalo is projected to win three more games than the Jets but that could be aggressive as the Bills seem to be playing for the future as well by trading some of the better players and loading up on draft picks. At this stage, they cannot be laying a number this big to anyone and even more so with their top two quarterbacks still in concussion protocol early in the week. The situation in play here is we play on road underdogs that have missed the playoffs the last three years and are coming off a season where they won between three and eight games and won fewer games than their opponent. This situation is 35-8-2 (81.4 percent) since 2003 including 12-2 ATS (85.7 percent) since 2013. We see some crazy things in the opening week of the NFL season and a Jets win would be right up there. 10* (453) New York Jets

This is a play on the USC TROJANS for our Saturday Star Attraction. USC was a big letdown for us last week as it did not show up until late in the game to eventually pull away from Western Michigan. The Trojans were likely guilty of looking ahead to this big matchup with Stanford but as noted last week, prior to Stanford last year, the Trojans defeated Utah St. by 38 points and in 2015, they defeated Idaho by 50 points prior to facing the Cardinal. USC should have named the score last week but because of the closer than anticipated game, the Trojans are getting some excellent value in the number this week. Stanford was off last week after dominating Rice in Australia two weeks ago and that was not a game to get a good read on the Cardinal. They are expected to contend with Washington in the Pac 12 North and this is once again a very solid Stanford team despite the loss of Christian McCaffrey. The Cardinal have been a very strong road team but they have had their struggles against top level teams as they are 2-4 the last four years on the road against ranked teams and one of those took place right here. This has been a Stanford dominated series as the Cardinal have won seven of the last nine meetings and the two USC wins have come by just three points each so based on history, no one will be lining up behind the Trojans this week. That is more than fine as USC is coming back to its normal program following years of lowered scholarships and is finally geared up with the talent and depth to make a championship run. The Trojans are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games playing with double-revenge as favorites and they get that revenge Saturday night. 10* (388) USC Trojans

This is a play on the UNLV RUNNIN' REBELS for our NCAAF Game of the Week. UNLV is coming off the worst loss in college football history in line to the pointspread as it fell at home to Howard 43-40 as a 45-point favorite. The Rebels did not show up as they lost three fumbles and committed 13 penalties and those are two areas where the mental side of the game simply was not there and that changes this week. They have heard all week about how bad of a loss it was and because it was so early in the season, they know there is plenty of time to make up for it and we will see an all-out effort this week. Idaho is coming off a bowl win against Colorado St. last season which came out of nowhere as the Vandals were a combined 9-50 in their previous five years. They did return 14 starters and going back to last season, they have won six straight games following a rather unimpressive win over Sacramento St. last week. Idaho returns only five starters on each side of the ball this season and while the Vandals are playing with confidence, they catch UNLV at the wrong time. This is also a revenge game for UNLV which lost at home to Idaho last year in overtime despite winning the yardage battle 539-378. The Rebels were favored by 14.5 points in that game so we are seeing a three-touchdown swing in less than a year and that is too big of an adjustment for these two teams. National embarrassment has a funny way of providing a sudden burst of motivation and UNLV shows that off Saturday night. 10* (389) UNLV Runnin' Rebels

This is a classic example of why looking at final scores can be meaningless when looking at future games and prices. NC State looks to bounce back from a loss against South Carolina as it fell at home by seven points in a game that it dominated. The Wolfpack outgained South Carolina 504-246 and had 17 more first downs but mistakes did them in. Not only did the Gamecocks return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, they also benefited from scoring drives of just 40 and 13 yards following NC State turnovers. The Wolfpack defense allowed just 22 yards over the final five drives on defense and they can absolutely dominate again this Saturday. Marshall won its season opener against Miami Ohio but it was the opposite of what happened with NC State. The Thundering Herd were outgained 429-267 but returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and also returned an interception for another score. The RedHawks controlled the time of possession and allowed just 15 first downs so it was a win by Marshall that was a fortunate as they come. After three straight double-digit win seasons, the Thundering Herd won just three games last year and lost all five road games by double digits. NC State has gone to three straight bowl games and with 17 returning starters, greater things are expected in 2017. That disappointing loss in the season opener is going to fuel the Wolfpack even more and with Furman on deck, they will be fully focused this week. Despite the loss last week, they have covered 11 of their last 14 non-conference games while Marshall is 0-7 ATS in its last seven games following an ATS win. 10* (368) NC State Wolfpack

While Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. are the head of the Big XII class, do not sleep on TCU. The Horned Frogs are coming off a dreadful 6-7 season and we say dreadful because it was their first losing season since 2004 so a big bounce back season can be expected in 2017. Three of the last four times TCU has finished with eight or fewer wins, it has won 11, 11 and 12 games and this team is loaded now. The Horned Frogs bring back 17 starters overall with 10 of those coming on offense including quarterback Kenny Hill and all other playmakers. Their top three rushers and top nine receivers are all back. Arkansas is coming off another average season under head coach Bret Bielema who is now just 26-26 in four-plus seasons following a season opening win over Florida A&M last week. 12 of those 26 wins have come against non-Power Five teams so there is some underachieving going on here in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks bring back a strong offensive line and Austin Allen is a solid quarterback but after that, there is not much on this team. They come in with one of the weakest defensive lines in the SEC and will get shredded against this TCU offense that is ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in running backs, receivers and offensive line in the Big XII. There is revenge on the table for the horned Frogs as well as they are off a loss in overtime last season despite outgaining Arkansas by 169 total yards. TCU is 12-4 on the road over the last three seasons while the Razorbacks have failed to cover six straight games following a win. 10* (363) TCU Horned Frogs

This is a play on the MICHIGAN ST. SPARTANS for our Saturday Enforcer. Michigan St. overcame a slow start last week as it pulled away from Bowling Green in a game that it really dominated. The Spartans defense was the story as they did not allow a touchdown as the Falcons lone trot into the endzone came from a fumble return in the fourth quarter. They allowed only 212 total yards against a Falcons offense that averaged 407 ypg last season despite losing a ton from its record setting offense from 2015. Michigan St. is coming off its worst season ever under head coach Mark Dantonio and its first losing season since 2009. The three wins were the fewest since 1994 and this coming after a berth in the CFP in 2015 but all of this means we can buy low and that is the case here. We played against Western Michigan last week and give the Broncos credit as they went into USC and played the Trojans tough in a game that was not decided until late. USC was not showing its full arsenal early on with a game against Stanford on deck and that nearly came back to haunt the Trojans. Now Western Michigan has to regroup in a hurry and face another Power Five team which is a cause for concern. The Broncos were a special team last season as they opened 13-0 before losing to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl and take away the wins over Northwestern and Illinois and they are just 2-17 in their last 19 non-conference road games with those two wins both coming against Idaho, first in 2008 when the Vandals went 2-10 and then in 2014 when they went 1-10. 10* (310) Michigan St. Spartans

While a win over Grambling should not count for much, it was the first season opening win for Tulane since 2013 for a program that is heading in the right direction. The Green Wave finished with four wins last season which was more wins than in four of the previous five seasons so the first year under head coach Willie Fritz was a success. He led Georgia Southern to an 18-7 record in his two years there before coming to Tulane and he has amassed a 195-74-1 record in his head coaching career. He brought with him his option rushing attack and after a successful first year, things will only be better this time around. Taking over at quarterback this season is Kansas St. transfer Jonathan Banks who fits perfectly into this system and is coming off a great debut. Navy won last Friday in a game that had no rhythm due to storms and delays which hurt Florida Atlantic to get anything going. The Midshipmen now head back to Annapolis for their home opener and are again being asked to lay double-digits only this time against a team that matches up better which we saw last season. Tulane had the lead over Navy late in the fourth quarter but could not hold on as Navy scored the game winning touchdown with 2:57 left and the Green Wave could not pull off the upset. That was one of three losses for Tulane that came by a single possession so their season could have been even better. This is a program on the rise that has not had much go its way with only one bowl appearance since 2002 and with a game at Oklahoma on deck, getting out of here with a great effort is of utmost importance. 10* (347) Tulane Green Wave

We played on Saskatchewan last week as it snapped the Blue Bombers five-game winning streak and got some payback from its only home loss early in the season. Now that revenge goes the other way as Winnipeg will be out for payback in a quick turnaround as the Banjo Bowl sets up the third meeting Saturday afternoon. Besides Calgary, these are two of the hottest teams in the league as the Roughriders have now won three straight games and five of their last seven to move into sole possession of fourth place in the league. The issue has been winning on the road as they are just 1-3 and while the lone victory was against a very good Edmonton team, that game was handed to them by the Eskimos with a pair of interceptions that were returned for touchdowns as well as a blocked punt returned for a score. The last two road losses came against B.C. and Calgary where they were outgained by 198 and 143 total yards respectively. During their five-game winning streak, the Blue Bombers were averaging 36 ppg so last week was a poor effort on offense although the loss can be attributed to Winnipeg catching a very hot team at home. The Blue Bombers will have a final chance to redeem themselves and it is the final time the two teams will square off this regular season, with the implications being more than just saving face for the home team. Winnipeg has covered 12 of its last 14 games against teams with a winning record. 10* (654) Winnipeg Blue Bombers

While we will not go as far to say that Purdue is bound for a big season, we will say that the Boilermakers are heading in the right direction. Purdue has not been relevant since the days of Joe Tiller as it has been to just two bowl games since he retired in 2008. The hiring of Jeff Brohm looks to be a perfect fit here and one that will get the Boilermakers back on the map. They are coming off a solid effort last week against Louisville where they lost by a touchdown but were the victims of four turnovers and while they were outgained by 180 total yards, they have only two fewer first downs. Purdue now takes a step down in competition in its home opener which happens to come in front of a National TV audience. Ohio meanwhile has not had a losing season since 2008 and has been to a bowl game in seven of the eight years since then. The Bobcats are coming off a laugher in their season opener against Hampton as they rolled 59-0 but we can take little from that game based on the opposition. Ohio is expected to contend in the MAC once again this season but there is a big difference between the MAC and the Big Ten even if it is the lower echelon of the Big Ten. The Bobcats are just 2-10 against Power Five teams since 2007 and they are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points. Meanwhile, Purdue has won 13 consecutive home openers and it has covered nine of its last 13 games following a straight up loss. 10* (302) Purdue Boilermakers