Sports Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the BUFFALO BULLS for our CFB Tuesday Enforcer. The Bulls sit atop the MAC East standings and have their best record through eight games since 1959. Buffalo has won 10 of its last 11 games dating back to last season, with its lone loss coming against Army on September 29. They have a chance to pull away in the division as it will be two games with a win tonight and could be two games over Ohio should the Bobcats fall at Western Michigan on Thursday. The key advantage for the Bulls this week is the run game. With freshman Jaret Patterson and redshirt freshman Kevin Marks having great debut seasons, they have a chance to exploit the RedHawks biggest weakness on defense. Making matters worse for Miami, they are totally banged up as four of their starting five defensive backs are questionable as is a starting defensive lineman and linebacker. Quarterback Tyree Jackson can take advantage of that secondary and he keeps the defense off-balanced because of his running ability. Miami has a potent offense as it has put up 30 or more points in each of its last five games and all of those have resulted in covers. This will be a challenge however as defensively, Buffalo limits opposing teams to 21.1 ppg which leads the MAC and it is also leading the conference in total defense. Buffalo 6-0 ATS in its last six home games against conference opponents while going 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games after one or more consecutive straight up wins. While the RedHawks have covered five straight games, they are just 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning record. 10* (302) Buffalo Bulls

This is a play on the STANFORD CARDINAL for our PAC 12 Game of the Year. Washington St. is coming off a win over Oregon to move to 3-1 in the Pac 12 North and remain a half-game behind Washington for first place. The Cougars have been humming as they have outgained all seven opponents including their game against USC, which was their only loss. Additionally, they are a perfect 7-0 against the number which is keeping this number down. Stanford has been up and down and after back-to-back blowout losses, the Cardinals bounced back with a big road win at Arizona St. last week to also move to 3-1 in the conference making the winner of this game still in the Pac 12 Championship hunt. Stanford will be out for double-revenge after getting blown out here by 26 points two years ago and getting outgained 430-198 last season in Pullman. Stanford is 8-0 ATS in its last eight games against teams averaging 5.9 or more yppl. Meanwhile, Washington St. is 1-10 ATS in its last 11 games off two consecutive double-digit conference wins while going 2-10 ATS in its last 12 road road games after allowing 100 or fewer rushing yards last game. 10* (162) Stanford Cardinal

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI ST. BULLDOGS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. We lost with Mississippi St. last week and it did not play as bad as the final score shows. the Bulldogs outgained the Tigers by 21 yards but quarterback Nick Fitzgerald had an awful game as he was 8-24 for 59 yards and he threw four interceptions. After they allowed an opening touchdown, the Bulldogs defense tightened up as they allowed just four field goals the rest of the way. They are facing a strong offense but overall, they are allowing just 282.4 ypg while allowing only 4.4 yppl. The Aggies have won three straight games and to their credit, their only two losses have come against Clemson and Alabama so Jimbo Fisher has come in and done a great job. Texas A&M has outgained six of seven opponents and this is another game with a low line based on the Aggies spread success as they are 6-1 against the number. The Bulldogs can keep their defensive momentum and going back, they are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game. Meanwhile, Texas A&M is 11-24 ATS in its last 35 games against teams averaging 5.25 or more rushing ypc. 10* (174) Mississippi St. Bulldogs

This is a play on the BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES for our ACC Game of the Month. Miami and Boston College come into Friday with identical 5-2 records including 2-1 marks in the ACC so this is a pivotal game for both sides. This is a strength on strength matchup and one that Boston College should have the edge at home. The Eagles are ranked 35th in the nation in total offense, making Boston College the most potent offense Miami has faced this year. It is ranked No. 21 in rushing offense, again, making the Eagles the top-ranked team the Hurricanes have faced that features four players averaging at least 4.9 ypc. One of those returns to the field as the Eagles get running back AJ Dillon back after he missed the last two games with an ankle injury. He leads the team with 652 yards rushing on 6.2 ypc after gaining 1,589 yards on 5.3 ypc last season as a freshman. While the Miami rushing defense is stout, ranked No. 12 in the nation, the Boston College offensive line will pose a big challenge. The Hurricanes are once again making a change at quarterback as Malik Rosier will get the start. This is not a good sing for Miami as Rosier started the first three games of the season and has completed 52 percent of his passes for 781 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He was replaced by N'Kosi Perry who started the next four games but was pulled in the last game against Virginia after going 3-6 with a pair of picks. Boston College is 10-2 ATS in its last 12 games after one or more consecutive wins against the spread while Miami is 9-23 ATS in its last 32 games coming off an upset loss to a conference rival as a favorite. Additionally, we play against road favorites of 3.5 to 10 points coming off a road loss, with a winning record on the season playing another winning team. This situation is 30-8 ATS (78.9 percent) since 1992. 10* (116) Boston College Eagles

This is a play on the GEORGIA SOUTHERN PANTHERS for our CFB Thursday Star Attraction. Appalachian St. is ranked for the first time ever as it crept into the No. 25 spot in the AP Poll but now comes the first real test in a while. It has been an impressive season for the Mountaineers whose only loss came in their season opener against Penn St. in overtime but they are overpriced in this spot by laying doubles on the road. This is a very potent offense that averages 476 ypg and 44.8 ppg but they will be facing their biggest test since opening 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. They did suffer a big hit two weeks ago when leading rusher Jalin Moore suffered a dislocated ankle and was lost for the season. While there are capable backups, his 2,839 rushing yards over the last two and a half seasons will be missed here. The Eagles may not be ranked, but their list of victims includes Sun Belt West favorite Arkansas St., and their only loss is to No. 2 Clemson by a 38-7 score. In his first full year at the helm, Chad Lunsford has the Eagles off to their hottest start in recent history, which is even more impressive considering Georgia Southern went 2-10 last season. The Eagles are averaging 276.6 ypg rushing with quarterback Shai Werts leading the team with 542 yards. Running back Wesley Fields has rushed for 472 but is coming off a groin injury that kept him out of last week's 48-31 win over New Mexico St. The good news is that he is listed as probable this week. On the other side. the Georgia Southern defense this season is allowing 15.6 ppg to Sun Belt Conference opponents, and the unit currently sits at No. 24 in the country in scoring defense with 19.3ppg. there is plenty of motivation for the home team as Georgia Southern has not beaten their arch rival since 2014 and has lost six of the last seven to the Mountaineers. Here, we play against teams with a winning percentage of .800 or better after beating the spread by 49 or more points total in their last five games, playing a team with a winning record. This situation is 59-23 ATS (72 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (110) Georgia Southern Eagles

This is a play on the PURDUE BOILERMAKERS for our CFB Saturday Star Attraction. This is one of the biggest games for Purdue in recent memory as it has been a while since the Boilermakers have been featured on a nationally televised nighttime game. They opened the season with three straight losses but those came by a total of eight points so instead of sitting at 3-3, Purdue could very well be 6-0 at this point. The offense is rolling along with the passing game leading the way but they also possess a pair of backs that is going to present matchup problems for Ohio St. With the Buckeyes struggling in pass defense, they will also have to deal with two very talented runners in the backfield. Purdue has 24 plays of 30 or more yards and Ohio St. is No. 106 in the country in allowing plays of 40 or more yards. Ohio St. is 7-0 but it has struggled in its two road games as TCU kept it close most of the game and it narrowly escaped Penn St. The Buckeyes also feature a strong passing attack but the Boilermakers defensive backs have only allowed two passing touchdowns so far this season. Purdue falls into a contrarian situation where we play against road favorites of 10.5 to 21 points that are outgaining their opponents by 125 or more ypg, after gaining 525 or more total ypg over their last two games. This situation is 47-17 ATS (73.4 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 9* (334) Purdue Boilermakers

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI ST. BULLDOGS for our CFB Saturday Ultimate Underdog. We won with LSU last week as it upset Georgia and it remains home on upset alert. The Tigers lost the previous week against Florida for its first defeat of the season and they have to avoid a letdown here. The public is all over LSU this week after that big upset as they are seeing a line that is considered shorter than it should be. For LSU, the Tigers will look to establish a balanced attack against the Bulldogs, much like they did against Georgia, finishing with 275 rushing yards and 200 passing yards but it will not be easy. The Bulldogs are also coming off an upset of their own as they defeated Auburn at home by 14 points as underdogs but the big difference is that they are coming off a bye week so there is no chance of a letdown. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and running back Kylin Hill stole the show, rushing for 195 yards and 126 yards, respectively and the Tigers linebackers and secondary will be tested by Fitzgerald's ability to turn busted plays into first downs. Here, we play on road underdogs that are averaging 230 or more rushing ypg going up against a team averaging between 190 and 230 rushing ypg, after gaining 6.0 or more ypc last game. This situation is 26-7 ATS (78.8 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 9* (403) Mississippi St. Bulldogs

This is a play on the SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GOLDEN EAGLES for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. Southern Mississippi fell to 2-3 on the season after its second consecutive loss last week. The first loss was a respectable 11-point loss at Auburn but last week, they went to North Texas and lost by 23 points so they will be out for a big win as they return home. They are 2-1 with the lone loss coming by a point against UL-Monroe which was attributed to four turnovers. UTSA had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 31-3 home loss against Louisiana Tech but that winning streak cannot be taken too seriously. Two wins were against the two worst teams in C-USA while the other victory came against the worst team in the Sun Belt Conference. The Roadrunners were actually outgained in two of those victories and on the season, they are getting outgained by an average of 115.4 ypg. Here, we play on favorites of 10.5 to 21 points after two or more consecutive straight up losses, with a winning percentage between .400 and .499 on the season. This situation is 24-2 ATS (92.3 percent) over the last 10 seasons with the average margin of victory being 26 ppg. 10* (394) Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

This is a play on the WYOMING COWBOYS for our Underdog Game of the Year. Wyoming has lost three straight games and five of its last six and it is getting closer to missing out on a bowl game. The recent schedule has been tough as the Cowboys faced Boise St. and lost by 20 points then had to travel to Hawaii where they played a competitive game but fell short and had to turn around to travel to Fresno St. last week where they were overmatched. They are back home and in a great contrarian situation. Utah St. lost its season opener at Michigan St. by just seven points and it has rolled over its last five opponents. The Aggies have covered all six games this season which is inflating this line and while they defeated BYU in their last road game by 25 points, they outgained the Cougars by just 27 yards as they took advantage of three turnovers. Wyoming falls into a great contrarian situation where we play on team after five or more consecutive losses against the spread going up against an opponent after one or more consecutive wins against the spread. This situation is 35-10 ATS (77.8 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (360) Wyoming Cowboys

This is a play on the AIR FORCE FALCONS for our MWC Game of the Month. The points at home look very tempting in this spot but UNLV is at a severe disadvantage in the most significant areas in this matchup. The Rebels opened the season 2-2 with quarterback Armani Rogers behind center and he is one of the most physically talented quarterbacks in the MWC. However, he suffered a significant toe injury in the loss to Arkansas St. and has not played since and it has showed. Though the Rebels lead the conference in rushing offense at 257.2ypg, Rogers ranks second on the team with 488 rushing yards with an impressive average of 6.87 ypc and his absence is striking. UNLV has been outrushed by 276 yards over the last two games and has been beaten by 36 and 31 points. The Rebels have rushed for a combined 197 yards on 75 carries (2.6 ypc) in those games and that will not do the job here against the Falcons which are ranked second in the MWC and eighth in the country having held opponents to 101.2 rushing ypg on 3.2 ypc. They need to load up and stop running back Lexington Thomas, who is banged up with a concussion. The Rebels have had to resort to passing the ball more with Max Gilliam at quarterback and it has not gone well. He was sacked seven times last week and overall, UNLV has averaged 8.9 yards to go on third down, 126th nationally, and their third-down Success Rate is 127th (29 percent). On the other side, Air Force also relies on the rushing game as it is averaging 248.3 ypg and while its quarterback situation is nearly as bad with injuries, the Falcons do not rely on a lot of production from the quarterback. UNLV is ranked last in the MWC and No. 105 in the nation, allowing 199.0 ypg. Here, we play against home underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points that are allowing 35 or more ppg, after a playing a game where 60 total points or more were scored. This situation is 44-15 ATS (74.6 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (309) Air Force Falcons

This is a play on the ARKANSAS ST. RED WOLVES for our CFB Thursday Star Attraction. The bad news for Arkansas St. is that it is 0-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. The good news is that both losses came against Georgia Southern and Appalachian St., the two top teams in the SBC East Division and the Red Wolves reside in the much weaker West Division and if they win out, they will be in the Sun Belt Conference Championship no matter what any other team does. The last two losses were painful in that both were winnable as they lost to the Eagles in the final seconds and against the Mountaineers, the were outgained by just 54 yards but three interceptions and a 3-17 third down conversion rate killed them. The offense is better than what was on display the last two games and they will face one of the worst defenses in the nation as Georgia St. is allowing 491.3 ypg which is No. 119 in the country. The Panthers have allowed 543, 679, 528 and 554 yards in four of their games so if the Red Wolves are to break out, this is the game to do it. They have made some changes on offense as select offensive packages were simplified to boost confidence and to limit excessive thinking. Creating more one-on-one matchups for their offensive skill players, something the Red Wolves have found as their offensive strength, has become prioritized even more. They welcome the Sun Belt's worst scoring offense as the Panthers 22.3 ppg is No. 115 in the country. Georgia St. did put up 46 points against UL-Monroe but has scored no more than 24 points in any of its other five games, averaging just 17.6 ppg. Arkansas St. is 15-5 ATS in its last 20 games against teams allowing 31 or more while going 9-1 ATS in its last 10 home games off a home loss. Additionally, we play on home teams after allowing 5.5 or more rushing ypc last game going up against an opponent after allowing 5.5 or more rushing ypc in two straight games. This situation is 56-25 ATS (69.1 percent) since 1992. 10* (304) Arkansas St. Red Wolves

This is a play on the LSU TIGERS for our SEC Game of the Year. We played against LSU last week as the Tigers went to Florida and suffered their first loss of the season. They are back in Baton Rouge for their first real home test of the season and they have an excellent shot at a big bounceback and to remain in the thick of the SEC West race. A loss here will likely take any chance out as they would fall two games behind Alabama. This is a tough matchup for sure but LSU matches up well against Georgia in their first meeting since 2013. The Tigers are averaging 190 ypg rushing on 4.5 ypc and they have a chance to succeed here as the Bulldogs rushing defense has been nothing special of late. Taking Tennessee out of the equation, Georgia has allowed 4.8 ypc, 4.6 ypc and 4.2 ypc over its last three games. Quarterback Joe Burrow has been very solid as he has given LSU a quarterback that has been able to take some shots downfield for the first time in a very long time and he will be facing a fairly young secondary. Taking nothing away from how Georgia has dominated every game thus far but it has played the easiest schedule of all teams in the SEC. The Bulldogs defeated Missouri by 14 points in their last road game and it was far from a domination as they benefitted from three Tigers turnovers including a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and they also blocked a punt for a touchdown. Georgia is one of the youngest teams in the nation this season as its roster consists of 68.5 percent freshmen and sophomores. That is the youngest in the SEC and 15th youngest in the country and this will be the toughest place those players will have seen as before this is was Auburn which resulted in a blowout loss. The Bulldogs will be starting two for sure, and maybe three, freshmen on the offensive line. They lost a ton from the front seven and coming into this week, the Bulldogs are last of 14 SEC schools in sacks with just six. LSU has been a home underdog just seven times since 2009 and never allowed more than 23 points in any of those games. Additionally, LSU is 9-0 ATS against teams averaging 8.0 or more passing ypa. 10* (198) LSU Tigers

This is a play on the NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. Give a lot of credit to Northwestern as it was coming off a heartbreaking loss against Michigan two weeks ago at home where it blew a 17-0 lead but bounced back brilliantly on the road as the Wildcats went to East Lansing and defeated Michigan St. by 10 points. Those were two very impressive games for Northwestern, which was coming off losses against Duke and Akron, but digging deeper shows they should not have been where they finished. Against the Wolverines, they were outgained by 174 total yards as they benefitted from 11 penalties by Michigan that resulted in 100 yards. Against the Spartans, they were outgained by 44 yards and the winning margin was gained by Michigan St. missing a fourth down on its own 11-yard line with over three minutes left, which was a suspect play call. We are seeing huge reverse line movement in this game as the Wildcats opened as 7.5-point favorites and while over two-thirds of the tickets are on then, the line has dropped considerably. Nebraska is off to its worst start since 1945 and the natives are getting restless as this is not what was envisioned when Scott Frost was hired as head coach. Going back to last season, the Huskers have lost nine straight games so they need to get on the right side of the scoreboard and fast. Three weeks against Michigan was a disaster but the next week, they outgained Purdue but lost because of 136 penalty yards. Last week, they lost at Wisconsin by 17 points but were outgained by just 15 yards as 100 yards in penalties were the difference once again. Two situation favor Nebraska. First, we play on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points coming off two consecutive conference losses by 10 points or more, in October games. This situation is 26-6 ATS (81.2 percent) over the last five seasons. Second, we play on road underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points after gaining 525 or more total ypg over their last two games. This situation is 47-14 ATS (77 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (179) Nebraska Cornhuskers

This is a play on the TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE for our CFB Friday Game of the Month. This is what we can consider a trap line. South Florida, which lost only twice last season, is off to a 5-0 start but it is a misleading 5-0 start. One win came against Elon of the FCS while three others came against Illinois, East Carolina and Massachusetts, not exactly murderers row. The one quality win came against Georgia Tech by 11 points but the Bulls were outgained by 176 total yards as it returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and benefitted from three Georgia Tech turnovers, two of which were at the end of the game and led to two touchdowns. Basically, it was a game the South Florida was completely outplayed in but won thanks to four touchdowns from somewhere other than the offense. Another part of the trap line concept is that the Bulls were favored by 24 points last season at home and we are seeing a 17-point shift which is too big for some to comprehend. Despite the big number, it was only a seven-point loss. South Florida lost one of the best players in the conference in quarterback Quinton Flowers, who was also its leading rusher, its two other top rusher and top receiver as well as six defensive starters. We played against Tulsa last Thursday as it lost to Houston but stayed within the number. The Cougars could not come through with the revenge cover and give the Golden Hurricane credit for staying close nearly the entire game and only getting outgained by 53 yards. They have 15 starters back from their 2-10 team and at 1-4, this is a huge game for a much improved team. They have some tight losses against quality teams from a schedule that is ranked No. 33 in the country. Going back, the Golden Hurricane are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with a winning record. Here, we play on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points coming off two consecutive losses by 10 points or more to conference rivals, in October games. This situation is 26-6 ATS (81.2 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (110) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

This is a play on the TCU HORNED FROGS for our Big XII Game of the Month. Texas Tech has had a nice turnaround after getting crushed in its season opener against Mississippi and a lot of that credit goes to quarterback Alan Bowman. He replaced McLane Carter who had to leave that game with a high ankle sprain and was great by going 29-49 for 273 yards and a touchdown in his first action as a freshman but the defense was the typical Texas Tech defense in the 47-27 loss. Bowman started the next four games but had to leave the last one against West Virginia when a hit partially collapsed a lung and he had to be hospitalized for four days. Jett Duffey took over and he did not play well and he is in line to start tonight as Bowman has been downgraded to doubtful after being questionable all week and all signs are that the Carter ankle will still keep him out. Quarterback play is huge in the Red Raiders system and if this were any normal game, going to the third string might not make a big difference but this is no normal game. They will be facing a 3-2 TCU team that stayed with Ohio St. for three and a half quarters and the following week, had Texas on the ropes but costly turnovers did them in as they outgained the Longhorns. The challenge for the Red Raiders is facing a defense that is allowing just 303.6 ypg, which is tops in the Big XII and No. 12 in the nation. Additionally, the Horned Frogs lead the conference in passing defense and passing efficiency defense, checking in at No. 22 and No. 24 in the nation respectively. In their last game against West Virginia, the Red Raiders came in averaging 621 ypg and was held to 463 yards against a Mountaineers defense that is slightly worse than that of the Horned Frogs. While the strength of the Texas Tech defense is stopping the run, which is the strength of the TCU offense, it is skewed as the Red Raiders are 52nd against the run but 101st in ypc average. Texas Tech is 5-17 ATS in its last 22 games as a road underdog of 3.5 to 7 points while the Horned Frogs are 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (106) TCU Horned Frogs

This is a play on the ARKANSAS ST. RED WOLVES for our CFB Tuesday Star Attraction. We expected this line to go up and that is precisely what it has done as Appalachian St. opened at -7.5 and it is now up to -10.5 in some places. The is a classic reason to wait and let the betting public move the number so we can get on the other side with the added value. The Mountaineers have been great this season as they lost in overtime to Penn St. but have bounced back with three blowout wins. Dominating? Yes. Impressive? No. Those wins came over Charlotte, Gardner Webb and South Alabama and those teams are currently ranked No. 175, No. 243 and No. 162 respectively in the most recent Sagarin Ratings with a combined 4-13 record. Conventional handicapping says to back the better rushing team, especially when there is a large differential between the two teams and in this case, Appalachian St. averages 269.5 ypg on 6.5 ypc while Arkansas St. allows 245.0 ypg on 5.7 ypc. That does not mean a blowout is in order. The Red Wolves got decimated on the ground in their last two games as they allowed 310 yards rushing on 6.3 ypc against UNLV and still won the game. In their last game against Georgia Southern, they allowed 348 yards rushing on 7.1 ypc and they lost by just a touchdown and that was on the road. Georgia Southern is ranked No. 5 in the nation in rushing offense while Appalachian St. comes in at No. 7 so there is no bigger advantage for the Mountaineers. Arkansas St. is ranked No. 87 in the Sagarin Ratings as it is now 3-2 on the season including a 2-0 record at home where it is 36-7 since 2011. Going back to last season, Appalachian St. is on a perfect 8-0 ATS run and do not think the linesmakers do not know that. Meanwhile, Arkansas St. has failed to cover five straight at home which sets up the perfect contrarian scenario. 10* (102) Arkansas St. Red Wolves

This is a play on the FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS for our C-USA Game of the Year. Florida Atlantic is coming off a tough loss against Middle Tennessee as it gave up the winning touchdown with 38 seconds left which was culminated with the two-point conversion. The Owls fell to 2-3 overall and now need to make up ground in the C-USA East Division after losing the conference opener. We saw something similar to this last season as they started the season 1-3 and went on to win 10 straight games. It will be up to the defense to make a similar result which is surprising considering the Owls allowed 390 ypg and 22.7 ppg but those averages have increased to 459 ypg and 39.8 ppg despite the return of 10 starters. However, this regression has been because of two games against UCF and Oklahoma where they allowed and average of 597.5 ypg and 59.5 ppg and Old Dominion is not in that group despite what it did to Virginia Tech. While the Monarchs hung with the Pirates last week, East Carolina dominated throughout as it outgained the Monarchs 492-271 but needed a field goal with less than a minute remaining to pull out the win. The Pirates had two interceptions which both led to Old Dominion touchdowns that totaled 44 yards so that is a big reason the score was as close as it was. Old Dominion has been outgained in four of five games and in that Virginia Tech game, it outgained the Hokies by just 32 total yards. Overall, the defense is allowing 509 ypg and while the Owls offense as not quite as potent as last season thus far, they should be able to name the score here. Old Dominion is 0-8 ATS in its last eight games after allowing 475 or more total yards in two consecutive games and Florida Atlantic falls into a situation where we play on favorites of 10.5 to 21 points after two or more consecutive straight up losses, with a winning percentage of between .400 and .499 on the season. This situation is 23-2 ATS (92 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 10* (328) Florida Atlantic Owls

This is a play on the MARYLAND TERRAPINS for our Big Ten Game of the Month. With all of the turmoil with Maryland entering the season, it is very impressive what it has done. The Terrapins are 3-1 including an upset over Texas and the one hiccup came against Temple, a game they simply did not show up for. They bounced back with a resounding victory over Minnesota and the big part about heading into this week is not just the renewed confidence but the fact they are coming off a bye week and an extra week of preparation before Michigan is a big advatnage. The Terrapins are 20th in the country in total defense, 18th in rushing defense and 52nd in passing defense so the inconsistent Wolverines offense will be put to test. Michigan is coming off a hard-fought physical game against Northwestern and it was fortunate to come away with a victory even though it dominated the stats. Northwestern was a tough test because it was on the road, but Maryland is the best all-around team Michigan has faced since the opener against Notre Dame. Saturday will be the definition of a trap game for Michigan, as the Wolverines are coming off a close, emotional road win and looking forward to three straight games against ranked opponents starting Wisconsin next week in a revenge game. Looking at raw numbers, we see that Maryland has played a schedule ranked No. 48 and Michigan has played a schedule ranked No. 43 so those are a near wash. As far as output, the Wolverines are ranked No. 8 in net yppl at +2.79 but Maryland is not far behind at +1.90. Michigan is 0-6 ATS in its last six home games after allowing 3.75 or fewer yppl in their previous game and Maryland falls into a great situation where we play on road underdogs (averaging 230 or more rushing ypg going up against a team averaging 190-230 rushing ypg after gaining 6.0 or more rushing ypc last game. This situation is 26-5 ATS (83.9 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 10* (337) Maryland Terrapins

This is a play on the MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD for our CFB Friday Supreme Annihilator. Marshall enters Friday coming off a win over Western Kentucky but it was an ugly victory. The Thundering Herd had four turnovers with all of them occurring on the Western Kentucky side of the field, eliminating scoring opportunities for them to distance themselves early. The good news is that it was an important road win and one they can learn from in what is a huge early season conference game. It may only be the second game of the Conference USA slate, but it takes on significant meaning with the Blue Raiders coming in with a 1-0 record and having a win in hand over one of the C-USA top teams. Middle Tennessee defeated Florida Atlantic last week by one point with the winning touchdown coming in the final minute so a Marshall victory here at home put it in the drivers seat over the other two top teams in the East Division. The Blue Raiders are now 2-2 and have been outgained in three of four games. The schedule has no doubt been tough which has included a pair of games against SEC teams. Marshall could have some solid matchup edges here. With Middle Tennessee's blitz-heavy defense, the opportunity opens up for one-on-one situations and mismatches. Given that Marshall wide receivers Tyre Brady and Obi Obialo have excelled in one-on-one scenarios this season, there is plenty optimism that they can take advantage in this particular matchup. The Thundering Herd come in with the better defense, namely against the run where they are allowing 2.0 fewer ypc than what Middle Tennessee is allowing and for a pair of less than average rushing offenses, that is significant. The Blue Raiders are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games following a straight up win and here, we play on home teams rushing for 3.5 to 4.3 ypc going up against teams rushing for 3 to 3.5 ypc, after gaining 125 or less rushing yards in two straight games. This situation is 53-22 ATS (70.7 percent) since 1992. 10* (308) Marshall Thundering Herd

This is a play on the HOUSTON COUGARS for our AAC Game of the Month. Houston was able to bounce back from its only loss of the season at Texas Tech as it rolled over Texas Southern 70-14, racking up 671 total yards in the process. The offense has been rolling all season as through four games, the Cougars are averaging 607 ypg and 52.3 ppg which are good for No. 1 and No. 2 in the country respectively. They have been as efficient as they come with Houston scoring 29 touchdowns and just two field goals in the four games. The big reason for the success is quarterback D'Eriq King. He took over the starting job toward the end of last season and has not missed a beat in 2018 as he has completed 62.7 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,197 yards and he has an unreal 15:1 TD/INT ratio. He has also added five rushing touchdowns. This is bad news for a Tulsa defense that has improved immensely since last season but it has yet to face an offense of this caliber. Houston got thumped in Tulsa last season and it will be out to return the favor. The Cougars allowed 288 yards rushing on 53 carries (5.4 ypc), which was their worst performance of the season. Things have changed however. Tulsa lost leading rusher D'Angelo Brewer and Houston, while giving up a ton of passing yards, have been excellent against the run, allowing just 114 ypg and while a lot of that can be attributed to teams abandoning the run to play catchup, the Cougars are allowing just 2.8 ypc so they have been stuffing the run. Tulsa does not have the offense to play catchup as quarterback Luke Skipper is averaging just 181.8 ypg and he has only four touchdowns compared to six interceptions. Here, we play on home teams with a winning percentage between .600 and .800 after a cover as a double digit favorite, playing a team with a winning percentage of .250 or worse. This situation is 61-27 ATS (69.3 percent) since 1992. 10* (304) Houston Cougars

This is a play on the VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES for our ACC Game of the Year. Virginia Tech is coming off the worst loss of the young season as it lost at Old Dominion by allowing 28 fourth quarter points The Hokies were undefeated and favored by 27.5 points while they ended up allowing 632 total yards. How bad is that? That was the most yards allowed ever under defensive coordinator Bud Foster. To say they will be better this week is quite obvious but the thinking is that it will be considerably better as this week of practice has been extremely intense. With quarterback Josh Jackson sidelined for essentially the rest of the season with a broken fibula, the reigns to the offense have been turned over to backup quarterback Ryan Willis. This is not as bad as it may sound. His athleticism might be more beneficial to the offense as his size, speed, and fluidity with how he moves can help both the zone read and the passing game. He looked good coming in last week and now has had a week to practice with the ones. Duke is off to a perfect 4-0 start but it is somewhat skewed. The Blue Devils predictably destroyed North Carolina Central last week but in their first three wins over Army, Northwestern and Baylor, they were a combined -63 in yardage differential as Army was the only team they outgained. This is the first true test for Duke without quarterback Daniel Jones and All ACC cornerback Mark Gilbert. Surprisingly the Blue Devils have yet to throw an interception in 110 passes through four games and have lost just two fumbles so this will not last. Virginia Tech thrives on forcing turnovers, leading the ACC with a turnover margin of plus 1.67 and it will be more motivated this week than any other week this season looking to get back on track and prove last week was just a fluke. Here, we play on road underdogs that are averaging 230 or more rushing ypg after gaining 6.0. or more rushing ypc last game. Going up against a team averaging between 190 and 230 rushing ypg. This situation is 25-5 (83.3 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 10* (133) Virginia Tech Hokies

This is a play on the NEW MEXICO LOBOS for our MWC Game of the Month. Liberty flamed out for us last Saturday, pun intended, as they were soundly defeated at home against North Texas. The Mean Green dominated from start to finish as they scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and after Liberty cut it to seven points, the Flames crossed midfield only two more times in their next eight possessions. Liberty did get inside the Mean Green 15-yard line twice but tossed an interception and missed a field goal. North Texas racked up 532 yards of offense including 346 yards rushing on 47 carries (7.4 ypc). Now they hit the road as a short underdog and they were soundly defeated in their only road game at Army. New Mexico is off to a 2-1 start with the lone loss coming at Wisconsin which was undoubtedly expected. After a pair of bowl games in 2015 and 2016, the Lobos struggled last season with a 3-9 record as they only returned three starters. One thing to note though is that three of those losses were by three points or less so they were more competitive than the record showed and they have a lot more experience back this season. New Mexico quarterback Tevaka Tuioti got hurt in that Wisconsin game early and missed the New Mexico St. game but is back this week which happens to come after a bye week to give him even more time to get healthy. Tuioti, who has thrown for 382 yards and five touchdowns with one interception on 18-of-29 passing, is a duel-threat that won the job with his athleticism. The running game showed positive signs against the Aggies as redshirt senior running back Tyrone Owens rushed for a game-high 110 yards and a touchdown, while junior running back Ahmari Davis had four rushing touchdowns on 74 yards. Here, we play against teams that are averaging between 4.3 and 4.8 ypc going up against teams averaging between 3.5 and 4.3 ypc, after allowing 225 or more rushing yards in two straight games. This situation is 24-4 ATS (85.7 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (168) New Mexico Lobos

This is a play on the TULANE GREEN WAVE for our CFB Friday Game of the Month. Coming into the season, I expected Tulane to be one of the most improved teams in the country and while it sits at 1-3, that can still happen. Last season, Tulane was three points away from its first bowl game since 2013 as it lost the regular season finale by a field goal to SMU when the Mustangs scored a touchdown with two minutes left. That gave the Green Wave plenty of motivation in the offseason and they will need to finish games better than they did a year ago, when they dropped four games by six or fewer points. Two of three losses have come by a touchdown or less and one of those in overtime and while the other loss was by 43 points, it was against Ohio St. Memphis is off to a 3-1 start with the three blowout victories coming against garbage teams and the one loss coming against Navy, which is not very good either. Memphis went 10-3 last season and because of the high powered offense, they are huge road favorites which is way too big of an adjustment. The Tigers have played a schedule ranked No. 167 in the nation so they have yet to be tested and while their offense is very solid, their defense is not. They could not put away South Alabama last week as they allowed 467 total yards and they were fortunate that the Jaguars fumbled the ball twice, both inside the Memphis 15-yard line so the game could have been even closer. This is the breakout game that is needed for the Tulane offense. Quarterback Jonathan Banks will start at quarterback again as he continues to look for the form he exhibited at the end of 2017. He ranks eighth in the American Athletic Conference in passing efficiency, completing 49.5 percent of his passes for 792 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. He also has lost three fumbles and been sacked 14 times. The contrarian situation here is to play against road favorites of 10.5 to 21 points that are outgaining their opponents by 125 or more ypg, after gaining 525 or more total ypg over their last two games. This situation is 46-14 ATS (76.7 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 10* (106) Tulane Green Wave

This is a play on the MIAMI HURRICANES for our CFB Thursday Star Attraction. In trying to get as much information for this game, it has been announced by North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora that Nathan Elliott will get the start at quarterback for the Tar Heels over Chazz Surratt, who is back following a three-game suspension. Elliott has struggled as he has passed for 670 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions through the first three games. He did have a solid game last week against Pittsburgh but he is taking a massive step up in the opposing defense here. Pressuring the quarterback is something Miami does extremely well and the North Carolina quarterbacks could be in for a very long night. Through the first four games, Miami has 46 tackles for loss to lead the nation. They had 111 in 2017 and are on pace for 138 this season. If Miami gets out to an early lead as they should as a prohibitive favorite at home, that will set up the Hurricanes pass rushers nicely. On the other side, Miami coach Mark Richt declined to say which quarterback would start on Thursday. Malik Rosier opened the season as the starter and he struggled through the first three games so freshman N'Kosi Perry got the nod last week against FIU and he was very solid so likely will see both quarterbacks again here as well. It is not all about the quarterback for the Hurricanes and we should see a healthy dose of the ground game which can flourish in this matchup. Over the last two games, North Carolina has allowed 224.0 rushing ypg as East Carolina ran for 220 yards, while Pittsburgh ran for 228 yards. Miami is averaging 209.5 ypg on the ground. The Hurricanes have won the yardage battle in each game this season, even in the loss to LSU, and they are outgaining opponents by 225.5 ypg. The Hurricanes are 21-5 ATS in their last 26 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game. 10* (104) Miami Hurricanes

This is a play on the UL-MONROE WARHAWKS for our CFB Game of the Week. We were on the Warhawks last week as a four-touchdown underdog and it was a competitive game as they were down by just 14 points with six minutes left in the third quarter but the Aggies went on to score 24 points over the final 18 minutes of the game. UL-Monroe returns home for its conference opener after playing the last two games on the road which included an upset of Southern Mississippi. The Warhawks are capable of a big bounceback and the Trojans have a history of letdowns after big wins. Case in point last season when they defeated LSU on the road only to get bounce the following week at home against South Alabama as 19-point favorites. Troy is coming off a huge win last week at Nebraska but it was a game it never should have won, or one that Nebraska never should have lost. The difference was a fake fair catch on a punt that led to a touchdown as the Trojans were outgained by 111 total yards and lost the first down battle 22-12. Troy is expected to contend in the SBC East just like the Warhawks are expected to contend in the SBC West so the home team should have a significant edge, especially in a night game. UL-Monroe falls into a great situation where we play on teams in the first month of the season, after closing out last season with two or more straight losses, returning eight or more offensive starters including quarterback going up against an opponent returning five or fewer defensive starters. This situation is 62-29 ATS (68.1 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (398) UL-Monroe Warhawks

This is a play on the LIBERTY FLAMES for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. North Texas is another team coming off a huge win over a Power 5 team as it rolled over Arkansas by 27 points on the road. Saying the Mean Green dominated the Razorbacks would be an overstatement however as they did outgain them, but only by 40 yards, as they benefitted from six interceptions. One that was returned for a touchdown as well as returning a punt for a touchdown. This is a big letdown spot, especially with a lookahead game against Louisiana Tech who is the leading contender in C-USA West. Liberty opened its first season at the FBS level with a blowout win over Old Dominion as an underdog. The Flames followed that up with a loss at Army that was not as bad as the final score indicated as they lost the turnover battle 3-0. They were supposed to play last week but the game was postponed due to Hurricane Florence and it actually helped as they were able to rest some nagging injuries and were able to start prepping for North Texas three days sooner. they have a high-powered offense led by quarterback Stephen Calvert who has thrown for 652 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception this season. The Flames are 7-6 in games in which head coach Turn Gill and his staff have extra time to prepare. Liberty will be out to prove itself here after applying to get into C-USA and getting denied and settling for Independent status. North Texas is 4-15 ATS in its last 19 road games off an upset win as an underdog while Liberty is 12-1 ATS in its lined games. 10* (402) Liberty Flames

This is a play on the IOWA ST. CYCLONES as part of our CFB Saturday Trifecta. Some beat writer in Ames said he could not believe that 0-2 Iowa St. is close to a three-touchdown favorite over Akron and called in incomprehensible. That is what most of the public is probably thinking after the Zips upset Northwestern last weekend as 21.5-point underdogs. But scores sometimes do not tell the true story and that is the case there as Akron trailed 21-3 at halftime but were able to generate three defensive touchdowns in the second half so it was a very misleading final. It was the first win over a current Big Ten opponent for Akron since 1894. Not a typo. Iowa St. played well last week against Oklahoma with backup quarterback Zeb Noland surprisingly shredding the Sooners defense with 360 yards passing and two touchdowns. The Cyclones managed only three points in its opener against Iowa but that is when starting quarterback Kyle Kempt got hurt and Noland was forced into the game with no preparation. In last year's game against Akron, when Iowa St. ran out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and outgained Akron, 170-34 in total yards, the lessons that followed are things that are still engrained in the Cyclones memory this year. This is going to be a very emotional game for the Cyclones and they will be honoring and playing for slain golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena and you can bet they will be giving 110 percent. Akron is 0-8 ATS in its last eight games following a win as a double-digit underdog while Iowa St. is 6-0 ATS in its last six games following a loss. 9* (312) Iowa St. Cyclones

This is a play on the USC TROJANS for our CFB Friday Enforcer. Everybody is down on the Trojans and with the way they have played, rightfully so. This team is much better than what its 1-2 record shows and to its credit, the Trojans have played the sixth toughest schedule in the nation. Offensively, the line has struggled, especially last week against Texas as it did not generate any push for the running backs while allowing three sacks. The good news is the last two games were on the road and now the Trojans head home and they remain undefeated at home in 16 games during Clay Helton's tenure and they will be looking to increase that streak to 17. The Trojans are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games following a straight up loss. Washington St. has rolled over its first three opponents as it has outscored Wyoming, San Jose St. and Eastern Washington by a combined score of 131-43. Those three teams have given the Cougars a strength of schedule ranking of No. 135 which is the easiest of any Pac 12 team and is the 28th easiest schedule in the nation. Washington St. brought back only four starters on offense and while it has put up a ton of yards, again, the schedule has a lot to do with that. The USC defense will be tested still but it should pass as long as it does the right things. Between Texas and Stanford, there have been far too many penalties and missed tackles the past two weeks, and if this team wants to keep any hope alive of playing in a respectable bowl game at seasons end, the defense needs to be more consistent from top to bottom. 10* (310) USC Trojans

This is a play on the TEMPLE OWLS for our CFB Thursday Star Attraction. We played on Temple two weeks ago against Buffalo and it lost on a late touchdown by the Bulls, which are showing they are MAC contenders. The Owls bounced back last week with a blowout win over Maryland and the 21-point victory was backed up by a 234-yard differential over the Terrapins and that momentum comes at the right time heading into their conference opener. Temple backup quarterback Anthony Russo got the start last week over Frank Nutile who sat with an undisclosed injury and he was very solid so whoever gets the start this week will be in good shape as the Tulsa defense is allowing opponents a .682 completion percentage. Temple is 12-1 ATS in its last 13 games against teams allowing a .580 or higher completion percentage while going 15-3 ATS in its last 18 games after one or more consecutive wins against the spread. Tulsa opened the season with a less than impressive win over Central Arkansas and backed that up with a pair of losses against Texas and Arkansas St. While the two losses ended up being somewhat close, the Golden Hurricane fell behind 21-0 and 27-7 and made their comebacks late when the opposition was playing prevent. They have been on the same level as Temple on offense but the defense has been much worse and they have just four sacks, which is No. 93 in the nation, and have yet to intercept a pass. On top of it, this is a tough trip for Tulsa as it has to travel east on a short week whereas Temple got to make a short trip homer from Maryland. 10* (304) Temple Owls

This is a play on the UTAH UTES for our CFB Game of the Week. Washington lost its opener against Auburn which took place in Atlanta and it was a poor performance from the offense. Granted, the Tigers possess a strong defense but the stop unit the Huskies face this week is no slouch either as the Utes are ranked No. 1 in the nation in total defense. The Huskies bounced back with a 42-point win over North Dakota last week but it was not overly impressive as they made plays when they should have, but it was far from the crisp domination expected from a top-10 team facing an FCS opponent. Washington has struggled running the ball and it will be difficult getting it going this week against a Utah defense that allowed 117 yards rushing to Northern Illinois last week, but only 2.7 ypc. The Utah offense has been vanilla in their two wins and while it is not exotic, there will be a few new wrinkles that the Huskies have not seen. The offensive line needs to be better after allowing six sacks last week but this is an experienced unit that brought back four starters, three of which are seniors with the other two being juniors. One aspect of the offense that goes unnoticed is the offensive coordinator. Troy Taylor is in his second year which is big as when he arrived at Utah he was the ninth offensive coordinator in ten years so no turnover is important. Washington is 4-14 ATS in its last 18 road games after allowing nine points or less last game while Utah is 15-3 ATS in its last 18 games after allowing 275 or fewer total yards in two consecutive games. Additionally, we play against road favorites of 3.5 to 10 points in a game involving two teams outgaining opponents by 100 or more ypg, after gaining 6.25 or more yppl in their previous game. This situation is 54-22 ATS (71.1 percent) since 1992. 10* (206) Utah Utes

This is a play on the NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH for our CFB Star Attraction. Notre Dame is coming off a closer than expected win over Ball St. as it won by just eight points as a 34-point favorite. The Cardinals went 2-10 last season so the line was based on that but they were young and injuries took their toll and they are expected to be one of the most improved teams in the nation. But give credit to the Notre Dame defense as after giving up an 85-yard scoring drive on the Cardinals' first offensive possession, the Fighting Irish allowed only 36 total yards on the next 19 plays. It was the second close win against the Irish, the first coming against Michigan two weeks ago. This is a big game to remain undefeated as they travel to Wake Forest next week, which is a sneaky tough spot and then they have tough games at home against Stanford and at Virginia Tech. Vanderbilt is also off to a 2-0 start. The Commodores defeated Middle Tennessee St. by 28 points but outgained the Blue Raiders by just 53 yards and last week they took care of an overmatched Nevada team. Look across the internet and people are putting Notre Dame on upset alert but Vanderbilt is not a team that should be able to keep up here. The Commodores are picked to finish dead last in the SEC East by a lot of outlets as they have just 12 starters back. The effort for Notre Dame last week was not good and head coach Brian Kelly shouldered the blame for that and vowed to have his team better prepared this week. Vanderbilt has had its struggles on the road under head coach Derek Mason as it is 5-16 in 21 games. 9* (138) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

This is a play on the OKLAHOMA SOONERS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. Oklahoma is off to a 2-0 start with easy victories over Florida Atlantic and UCLA and this will be the first road game of the young season for the Sooners. There will be plenty of motivation for Oklahoma after losing at home to Iowa St. last season, snapping an 18-game winning streak in this series while also snapping the Sooners 14-game winning streak. With a home game against Army on deck, these is no lookahead factor so we will see a fully focused team that can run the table in getting into the playoffs with the chances of a Pac 12 team making it now very unlikely. Oklahoma has lost just nine games at home since 2005 and in the eight follow up meetings, the Sooners have gone a perfect 8-0 straight up and ATS. That is important here after Iowa St. went into Norman last season and defeated the then-No. 3 Sooners 38-31. That is not good news for Iowa St. which lost its season opener last week against rival Iowa by 10 points as the Cyclones managed just three points and 188 total yards. Making matters worse, they lost their starting quarterback Kyle Kempt with a knee injury and he is out this week. Last season in nine games, he completed 66.3 percent of his passes while throwing 15 touchdowns and just three picks. They will have to try and run the ball but they struggled last week with just 19 yards on 25 carries (0.8 ypc) and going back, the Cyclones are 14-34-3 ATS in their last 51 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game. This being a game at starts at 11 AM local time, that does help the home team. 10* (127) Oklahoma Sooners

This is a play on the WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS for our CFB Thursday Star Attraction. Boston College and Wake Forest have both opened with a pair of wins and even though the Eagles have blown out their two opponents, the quality of competition has been awful and both of those games were at home. They are coming off a 7-6 campaign where they closed 5-1 during the regular season so they do have some solid momentum going. The problem here is the line as they have no business laying this number considering they have not been a conference road favorite this big since 2014 which ironically came here in a non-cover against the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest survived Tulane in overtime in its season opener but that was not an easy road trip. The Demon Deacons returned home last week and rolled over an overmatched Towson team in a 31-point victory. Dave Clawson has done a great job in turning this program around as Wake Forest has put together two straight winning seasons after posting seven consecutive losing campaigns. With 14 starters back, including eight from an offense that averaged 466 ypg and 35.3 ppg, another bowl game is on the horizon. Wake Forest is 11-2 ATS in its last 13 games as an underdog and it falls into a spectacular situation where we play on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points in a game involving two teams outgaining opponents by 100 or more ypg after gaining 475 or more total yards in two consecutive games. This situation is 28-5 ATS (84.8 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (104) Wake Forest Demon Deacons

This is a play on the OLD DOMINION MONARCHS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. One angle we like to look at early in the season is playing on teams that are expected to be improved from last season but came out of the gates slow. If they truly are supposed to be better, they will bounce back sooner rather than later and we are expecting that with Old Dominion this Saturday. The Monarchs got crushed against Liberty which was playing its first game in the FBS as they lost by 42 points and were outgained by 290 yards. Those are some ugly numbers but in this case, it brings the spread down this week for a team that is already in desperate need of a win before the season spirals out of control, especially with this being an early conference game. Florida International played a better game last week as it lost to Indiana by just 10 points but the game was at home and the Panthers were still outgained by 138 yards. We should see some regression from them this season as they went 8-5 but half of their wins came by just one possession and that usually spells a step back the next year. Butch Davis is a solid coach but this is just his second year here so most of his experienced players are those recruited by Ron Turner. Here, we play on teams that were outgained by 75 or more ypg last season, returning 8 or more offensive starters and QB going up against an opponent returning five or less defensive starters. This situation is 30-8 ATS (78.9 percent) over the last five seasons. Additionally, home underdogs in Game Two that lost straight up as road favorites are 7-2 ATS since 1988. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 2-6 ATS their last eight September games. 10* (320) Old Dominion Monarchs

This is a play on the SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS for our CFB Saturday Star Attraction. Georgia had its chance last season as it nearly won the National Championship but lost to Alabama in overtime in what was a classic final. The Bulldogs had no issues with Austin Peay in their opener last week as they rolled to a 45-0 win but the competition takes a big step up this week. It is hard to gauge how the offense will shape up with the loss of running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel who combined for an incredible 2,608 yards rushing last season and as good as Jacob Fromm is, losing that tandem is tough to adjust to. Last season, Georgia possessed one of the best defenses in the country as it returned 10 starters but things will not be quite as stout this season as they lost six starters including All-American linebacker Roquan Smith whose 137 tackles are just short of their top three returning tacklers. South Carolina went through a mediocre three-year stretch before putting together a solid 9-4 season last year and big things are expected in 2018. The Gamecocks also rolled in their season opener against Coastal Carolina so that does not give a great indication of what to expect either. One thing we can take from that is the performance of quarterback Jake Bentley who looked extremely sharp and he has one of his top targets back in Deebo Samuel who was lost after three games last season. South Carolina falls into a simple yet effective situation where we play on home underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points that had a winning record last season. This situation is 84-44 ATS (65.6 percent) since 1992. 10* (348) South Carolina Gamecocks

This is a play on the MIAMI HURRICANES for our CFB Sunday Star Attraction. LSU is one of the most inexperienced teams in the country as it is ranked No. 129 out of 130 teams so the schedule is not in its favor to open the season. Sure, there is talent as there always is in Baton Rouge, but it may take some time for this program to click. Head coach Ed Orgeron has replaced most of his staff after finishing 9-4 in 2017 so they have implemented new schemes. After trotting star running backs to start each of the last five seasons, this may be the first instance in a long time that the Tiger running game may not actually be a strength. Making matters worse, the offensive line is a mess. Starting right guard Ed Ingram is suspended indefinitely, forcing the Tigers to turn to JUCO transfer Damien Lewis to solve the issue on the offensive interior. The turnaround in Miami is officially in place and it once again is a national title contender. The Hurricanes opened last season with a 10-0 record but lost their last three games because of a banged up offense. They bring back 14 starters, seven on each side, and the real strength is the defense which is not a good thing for the Tigers and the offense that is breaking in a quarterback, running back and wide receivers along with the aforementioned offensive line. Joe Burrow is talented at quarterback but he never had the opportunity to play in meaningful snaps at Ohio St. and he will be facing a Miami defense that is loaded at all three levels. 10* (217) Miami Hurricanes

This is a play on the LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS for our CFB Game of the Week. Laying a significant number on the road is never ideal but it is justified here. Louisiana Tech has put together four straight winning seasons and while last year was the worst of the bunch, the Bulldogs went on to win their fourth consecutive bowl game. One thing that has eluded them is a C-USA Championship as they have gone to the title game twice, only to fall short. This could be one of their best team over this stretch as they bring back 15 starters and are the tenth most experienced team in the nation. They are led by quarterback J'Mar Smith who threw for almost 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions and in front of him are four returning starters on the offensive line. South Alabama will be going through some early season struggles. The Jaguars have a new head coach in Steve Campbell who has never been a head coach, or even a coordinator at the FBS level. He is bringing in a high powered aerial offense but the personnel is not in place for it to succeed quite yet. The Jaguars are still unsettled at the quarterback position as there were three possible starters listed on the depth chart released this week. Redshirt freshman Cephus Johnson won the job and this will be his first start. Overall, the Jaguars are one of the least experienced teams in the nation. In front of Johnson is just one returning starter as the offensive line is ranked No. 124 out of 130 teams in experience with just 23 total starts. The Jaguars are 8-17 ATS in their last 25 home games while Louisiana Tech has covered its last six game against the Sub Belt Conference. 10* (177) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

This is a play on the COLORADO ST. RAMS for our CFB Friday Ultimate Underdog. The college football season kicked off last weekend with Hawaii and Colorado St. and we saw the Rams get embarrassed on national television as they lost by nine points as 17-point favorites. They made a late charge after falling behind by 30 points, but it was too little too late. Colorado St. outgained the Warriors by 36 total yards, so it was a game it could have and should have won. That loss will direct the betting public to Colorado and we have seen a move already as this line was seven points before the action last week and we have seen it rise to -7.5 in most places as 80 percent of bets placed at offshore books are on the Buffaloes. Colorado was looking to make it to two straight bowls last season and was well on the way to do so starting off 5-4 but it dropped its last three games to miss out. Some expect the Buffaloes to improve this season, but it could take some time as they bring back only 10 starters and are just No. 107 in the experience rankings heading into the season. With a multi-dimensional offensive attack to defend, Colorado will have their hands full come Friday. Their run defense struggled mightily a year ago and has two inexperienced starters at both end positions. The Buffaloes allowed 451 ypg last season which was 108 more ypg than the previous year. They do bring back starting quarterback Steven Montez Jr. but they lost their top three receivers as well as leading running back Phillip Lindsay who rushed for 1,507 yards. Here, we play on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points after gaining 525 or more total yards in their previous game. This situation is 116-61 ATS (65.5 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (147) Colorado St. Rams

This is a play on the TULANE GREEN WAVE for our CFB Thursday Enforcer. Tulane was three points away from its first bowl game since 2013 as it lost the regular season finale by a field goal to SMU when the Mustangs scored a touchdown with two minutes left. That gave the Green Wave plenty of motivation in the offseason and they will need to finish games better than they did a year ago, when they dropped four games by six or fewer points. They have 14 starters back including nine on the offense that had its best season since 2007. Wake Forest went to its second straight bowl game last season as it defeated Texas A&M in a thriller 55-52. Despite an 8-5 record, the Demon Deacons only outgained opponents by 9 ypg. Tulane has two big edges in this game. The first is at quarterback. Wake Forest starting quarterback Kendall Hinton was suspended for the first three games of the season by the coaching staff and true freshman Sam Hartman is slated to start and he is a pretty big unknown at this point. On the other side, junior-college transfer senior Jonathan Banks returns to lead the triple option based offense. He ran for 729 yards on 128 carries last season and was solid through the air as well which can be rare for an option quarterback. They run the option attack from the shotgun and pistol formations, using a no huddle style to keep opponents from subbing. Last year, the Demon Deacons had a trouble stopping the Georgia Tech triple option, giving up 427 yards on 6.5 ypc. Head coach Willie Fitz has been tough to prepare for early in the season as his teams are 12-3 ATS in the first month of the season. 10* (140) Tulane Green Wave

This is a play on the WYOMING COWBOYS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. Wyoming has made it to a bowl game in each of the last two seasons and while many thing there will be a dropoff due to the loss of first round draft pick quarterback Josh Allen, there should be no dropoff. Allen was not great last season as he completed just 56.3 percent of his passes while throwing for only 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns. Even better news is that only one other starter on the offense has to be replaced. Head coach Craig Bohl is the real deal and the rebuild seems to finally be complete. Now it is time to take it to the next level like he did at North Dakota St. where he went 43-2 from 2011-13 with three straight national titles. The Cowboys did it with defense last season as they cut their ppg allowed nearly in half to just 17.5 ppg and shaved 118 ypg off from 2016. Wyoming brings back eight starters from that unit. The Aggies made it to their first bowl game in 57 years, but it will be difficult making it to two straight despite a favorable overall schedule. While the defense should be formidable for New Mexico St., the offense has to replace five starters including their quarterback, top running back and two top receivers. The offense was terrific thanks to the high-powered passing game that finished sixth in the nation averaging 340 yards per game and while there is potential this season, it may take a while to get going. Three starters return to a line that struggled in pass protection and there is no depth whatsoever. While both teams have solid defenses, the Wyoming offense is much more experienced than that of the Aggies which will be the ultimate difference. 10* (291) Wyoming Cowboys

This is a play on the OKLAHOMA SOONERS for our Rose Bowl Dominator. This is a classic matchup of strength versus strength and we give the edge to the Sooners. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has been battling the flu this past week and luckily it hit early enough where he has had time to recover. What it has done however is move this line a significant amount and from the opening this line has moved 4.5 points. The Sooners have faced a powerful defense three times this season and fared well each time. Oklahoma put 31 points on Ohio St. in Columbus, scored 38 against TCU in Norman and then hung 41 on the Horned Frogs in the Big XII Championship Game. All those scoring outputs were far above what the opposing defense gave up on average this season. The talking heads are claiming that they have not faced a defense as tough as this one from Georgia and while that may be the case, the Bulldogs have not faced an offense as good as this. Georgia has faced just one top-20 offensive S&P+ opponent which was Missouri and the Tigers were one of two teams that put up 28 or more points on the Bulldogs. One aspect of the Sooners offense that is overlooked is the offensive line which is one of the best in the country. The Sooners allow just 1.62 sacks per game and the Georgia front has managed just 26 sacks this season, which is No. 62 in the country so Mayfield should not be under much duress. On the other side, the underrated Oklahoma defense will have to stop the Georgia rushing attack with the goal having the Bulldogs play from behind which they will have a tough time doing. 10* (272) Oklahoma Sooners

This is a big letdown game for Auburn as a loss in the SEC Championship knocked it from the CFP to a bowl game against a Group of Five team. It has been proven to be tough for these teams to get up for their lesser opponents as since the creation of the CFP, the Group of Five representative is 2-1 in New Year's Six games against Power Five competition while going 3-0 ATS. The Knights won the American Athletic Conference title and have remained perfect behind an offense that has averaged 49.4 ppg. They rank fifth in yards per game (540.5) and are led by sophomore Mckenzie Milton, the nation's second-leading quarterback in efficiency behind Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield. While the Auburn defense can out-physical most teams, that will not present an issue here as Speed has been the UCF weapon of choice since head coach Scott Frost took over the program in 2016. He specifically recruited undersized, fast and confident Florida skill players to run the Chip Kelly-inspired system he brought from Oregon. Auburn will not have Carlton Davis, with Malzahn announcing Sunday the junior cornerback has gone home due to an illness. Obviously, the Tigers possess a potent defense, but the absence od Davis is a big void. The strength of schedule based on the conferences is what is driving this number up, but Auburn went 3-3 against the top 30 so it is beatable making this double-digit number very attractive. 10* (267) Central Florida Knights

This is a play on the WISCONSIN BADGERS for our CFB Game of the Week. There is a long list of overrated teams this season in college football and Miami is right at the top of the list. The Hurricanes finished the season 10-2 and there was talk about them going to the CFP should they have defeated Clemson in the ACC Championship, but they proved they did not belong in any of that talk as they were blown out 38-3. They narrowly defeated Florida St., Georgia Tech, Syracuse and North Carolina in a four-game stretch in October and the other loss came against Pittsburgh which finished the season 5-7. Miami is ranked No. 60 in total offense and making matters worse, it will be without its best running back, wide receiver and tight end for this game. Many were proclaiming Wisconsin a fraud as well since its schedule was as easy as it gets but the difference between the Badgers and the Hurricanes is that the Badgers were rarely challenged as they blew out most every opponent. They played Ohio St. tough in the Big Ten Championship but could get nothing going in the running game, but the Buckeyes are No. 6 in rushing defense while Miami checks in at No. 43. Conversely, Wisconsin has the No. 2 ranked rushing defense and the No. 1 overall ranked S&P Defense according to Football Outsiders. While this may be a home game for Miami, the Badgers are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 road games. 10* (263) Wisconsin Badgers

This is a play on the MEMPHIS TIGERS for our Liberty Bowl Dominator. We picked Memphis to win the AAC at +625 in our futures report and it came oh so close as an overtime loss against Central Florida prevented the Tigers from the title. After finishing No. 26 in the country with 464.4 ypg on offense last season, the Tigers put up 548.2 ypg this season, currently No. 4 in the nation and they will be facing a strong Iowa St. defense that held its own in the offensive-happy Big XII. Since much of the success was accomplished in a Group of Five conference, the Tigers offensive players realize replicating their recent performances against a power five school in a high-profile bowl game would offer them a certain form of validation. The Cyclones defense will get its stops but putting the clamps on the Memphis offense will be impossible, so it will be up to the Iowa St. offense to keep up. That could prove difficult despite playing a below average Memphis defense as the Cyclones are ranked No. 76 in total offense, averaging fewer than 400 ypg. Iowa St. has gone over 23 points only once in its last five games which is not a good sign. The Cyclones finished as the best team in the country against the number as they went 10-1-1 ATS which helps the cause here, keeping this number at a playable one that should be higher. 10* (260) Memphis Tigers

This is a play on the NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES for our Arizona Bowl Dominator. Trying to decipher which team will be more motivated to play in one of these lesser bowl games can be tricky but that is not the case in the Arizona Bowl. New Mexico St. is making its first bowl appearance since the 1960 Sun Bowl, ironically which resulted in a win over Utah St. The Aggies needed to win their final two games to become bowl eligible and they did just that with convincing wins over Idaho and South Alabama as they won the yardage battle by 188 and 138 yards respectively. The Aggies will become independent next season and will persist as an FBS program with the ultimate goal getting an invite from the Mountain West Conference to join so a win here goes a long way. Utah St. also finished 6-6 on the season but it was not a very good 6-6. The Aggies do not possess a quality win and they lost to five bowl teams by an average of 26 ppg so they are fortunate to be here. This is an extremely young team that was not expected to make it to a bowl game so there will be motivation here as well, just not nearly as strong. The Aggies finished No. 71 in total offense and No. 74 in total defense which are two very poor rankings for a postseason team. Conversely, New Mexico St. finished No. 22 in total offense and No. 69 in total defense and with the Sun Belt Conference top passing offense averaging 353 ypg, New Mexico St. keeps the pressure on from the start. This will feel like a home game as New Mexico St. fans are expected to pack Arizona Stadium to near-capacity. 10* (254) New Mexico St. Aggies

This is a play on the WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS for our Belk Bowl Dominator. Teams with new coaches or no coaches going into a bowl game are rarely the way to bet and that is the case here with the Aggies. Kevin Sumlin is gone, Jimbo Fisher will be watching from a suite which leaves Jeff Banks as the interim coach for the game today. Aggies defensive lineman Kingsley Keke said the current coaching dynamic has made for "kind of a weird feeling." The same likely goes for some assistant coaches, including Banks, who are hoping to land a spot on Fisher's staff. It has been a tough month for everyone on this team and the regular season did not end well as the Aggies lost to LSU by 24 points while getting outgained by 319 yards. The regular season did not end great for Wake Forest either as it lost to Duke but it is better equipped to make a rebound. Wake Forest comes in with a high-powered offense that should challenge the Aggies. Quarterback John Wolford has been outstanding with 25 touchdowns and just three picks and he could be facing a young Texas A&M secondary without starting safety Armani Watts, one of the Aggies top defenders. The Demon Deacons have averaged more than 39 ppg over the last five games of the season, a stretch that included four bowl-bound opponents. Texas A&M is ranked No. 64 in total defense and No. 81 in scoring defense so this is not a typical stop unit which regressed as the season went on. The Demon Deacons are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record while the Aggies are 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games following a straight up loss. 10* (248) Wake Forest Demon Deacons

This is a play on the MICHIGAN ST. SPARTANS for our Holiday Bowl Dominator. Michigan St. will be pumped following its dismal 3-9 season from last year after finishing with double-digit wins the three previous seasons and it can hit that again with a victory tonight. A blowout loss against Ohio St. was the only big blemish as losses against Notre Dame and Northwestern occurred despite winning the yardage battle in those games by 141 and 108 yards respectively. Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio always strives for balance on offense, and this season was no exception (499 runs, 402 passes). That type of balance is key against a Washington St. defense that was a potent unit and the balance can keep the Cougars off balance. Washington St. got off to a strong start at 6-0 and was highly ranked but then the defense started to get exposed and a 37-3 loss at California led to a lethargic 3-3 finish. The offense is not in very good shape for the Cougars as quarterback Luke Falk has a wrist injury and while he is probable, reaggravating that injury is more than possible. He will be without his two best receivers. Tavares Martin Jr., who led the team in catches, yards and touchdowns, and Isaiah Johnson-Mack, who was second on the team in catches, yards and touchdowns, have been dismissed from the team. That is 130 receptions, 1,386 yards and 14 touchdowns gone. Washington St. will find a way to move the ball but the explosive unit that we are accustomed to will be lacking. 10* (277) Michigan St. Spartans

This is a play on the VIRGINIA CAVALIERS for our Military Bowl Dominator. The consensus is on Navy this afternoon based on this being a home game for the Midshipmen but that is not necessarily an advantage since teams would rather not play at home, especially teams from the northeast. The stadium will not be all Navy fans so there is no home field edge based on that and in this matchup, the Cavaliers have a big advantage in several key areas. The biggest factor could be motivation as this is the first bowl game for Virginia since 2011 so the job Bronco Mendenhall has done in Charlottesville is outstanding and should not go to waste. Another edge for the Cavaliers is the preparation time as they have been off two more weeks than Navy and getting ready for the triple option, that extra time is huge. Virginia already possesses one victory over an option team this season, a victory over Georgia Tech. Offensively, the Cavaliers have a potent passing attack that is ranked No. 43 in the country and should flourish here as Navy has struggled to get any pressure to the quarterback all season. Additionally, the Midshipmen are ranked No. 110 in redzone defense. Virginia meanwhile possesses a strong defense that is No. 36 overall including No. 5 in redzone defense. Both teams come limping in with three-game losing skids to end their regular season and Virginia seems to be better equipped and prepared to end the season with a win. 10* (241) Virginia Cavaliers

This is a play on the MISSOURI TIGERS for our Texas Bowl Dominator. This is a case of who is not playing for Texas as the Longhorns will be missing up to eight players, including many key contributors, after multiple declarations for the NFL Draft, injuries and suspensions. Texas will be without linebacker Malik Jefferson, the co-Big 12 defensive player of the year, who is out with a turf toe injury, as well as defensive backs Holton Hill and DeShon Elliott, who are skipping the game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Tackle Connor Williams will also miss the game due to his decision to enter the NFL Draft, and sophomore receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey was one of three players recently suspended for a violation of team rules. This is a big reason the line has increased but it has not gone up nearly enough to compensate for the Texas personnel issues. Missouri is back in the postseason for the first time since 2014 after winning its final six games following a 1-5 start and it will be carrying that momentum into its bowl game. Both head coach Barry Odom and his players said on Tuesday that since getting to Houston on Friday, the practices they have had have been their best of the season, so this is a team playing with confidence. With all the injuries and early-departures on the Texas defense, the Tigers passing attack will flourish under quarterback Drew Lock. Missouri has scored at least 45 points in every game during this winning streak after averaging 18.4 ppg in its first five games against FBS teams. 10* (239) Missouri Tigers

This is a play on the SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GOLDEN EAGLES for our Independence Bowl Dominator. Motivation plays a huge role during the early stages of bowl season as often times you will get teams typically not playing these lesser bowl games as expectations were not met. This is certainly the case with Florida St. as it came into the season with National Championship aspirations but an opening loss to Alabama coupled with the loss of quarterback Deondre Francois sent the Seminoles on a downhill spiral. Give them credit for winning their final three games to become bowl eligible but those games were against Delaware St., ULM and Florida so losing those games was not going to happen anyway. Motivation is low and making matters worse, their coach walked out on his team before the season ended so Florida St. is a mess right now. There is plenty of motivation on the other side as Southern Mississippi would like nothing more than to take down a Power Five opponent in a bowl game. The Golden Eagles played two teams from that group during the regular season and lost both which adds to the effort today. Southern Mississippi should have a bit more consistency on offense with Kwadra Griggs under center this time around. In eight combined quarters against P5 teams thus far, Griggs only played three of those quarters. Plus, four defensive starters will be out for the Seminoles giving the Golden Eagles ample opportunity to succeed on offense. 10* (235) Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

This is a play on the UCLA BRUINS for our Cactus Bowl Dominator. This was one of those wait and see games because of the status of some players and because of what has transpired, the public is all over Kansas St. which gives us significant line value on the Bruins. UCLA won its final game to become bowl-eligible at 6-6, but quarterback Josh Rosen is not expected to play, and coach Jim Mora was fired after a 5-6 start. Give the Bruins credit for not quitting and we can expect a good amount of fight tonight under interim head coach and offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch. There will not be a huge disadvantage at quarterback for UCLA as redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson, the third quarterback to play for the Wildcats this season, started the final three games, throwing for 515 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions while completing 63.3 percent of his passes. It is impossible to ignore the fact that the Wildcats were outgained in each of their last nine games while getting outgained by 64 ypg on the season. Overall, Kansas St. is ranked No. 96 in total offense and No. 97 in total defense which are numbers that a legitimate bowl team should not possess. The Wildcats will be shorthanded on the offensive line which is a big aspect as they will be without right tackle and top blocker Dalton Risner. 10* (234) UCLA Bruins

This is a play on the FRESNO ST. BULLDOGS for our Hawaii Bowl Dominator. It was a special season for Fresno St. as it went 9-4 and despite losing the MWC Championship to Boise St., the Bulldogs have a lot of momentum built following their 1-11 season from a year ago. They can hit double-digit wins for the first time since 2013 and they will be looking for their first bowl win since 2007 as they have lost six straight bowl games. This is a trend not to worry about as a new coaching staff is in place and Jeff Tedford is the reason as his days at California produced solid results before he was let go after 2012. Fresno St. is outgaining opponents by nearly 70 ypg as quarterback Marcus McMaryion has been extremely efficient and the defense has been potent all season as it is ranked No. 16 overall and No. 9 in points allowed. Houston defeated Navy to end the regular season, but it was a poor second half as the Cougars went 3-3 over their final six games. The potent offense from last season took a step back as it is averaging a touchdown less per game while the defense is allowing nearly 100 more ypg than it did last season. Houston could be shorthanded on offense with top receiver Linell Bonner nursing an arm injury. The Cougars went 3-5 ATS this season as single digit favorites and this is one of those small price situations where the wrong team is favored. That is just fine however as Fresno St. is a perfect 6-0 ATS this season when getting points. 10* (228) Fresno St. Bulldogs

This is a play on the SAN DIEGO ST. AZTECS for our Armed Forces Bowl Dominator. While it was a great season for the Aztecs with a 10-2 record, it was disappointing not to the Mountain West Conference as losses against Boise St. and Fresno St. in consecutive weeks knocked them out of contention. San Diego St. closed the season strong however as it won its last four games in blowouts style and while none of those came against current bowl teams, it provided much needed momentum that was lacking midway through the season. Army is known for its rushing offense as it leads the country, but San Diego St. has its own potent rushing attack as it is ranked No. 11 in the nation led by running back Rashaah Penny who finished fifth in Heisman voting after bursting onto the scene with 2,027 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging a whopping 7.4 ypc. The Aztecs are looking for their third consecutive bowl win after beating Cincinnati 42-7 in the Hawaii Bowl in 2015 and topping Houston 34-10 in the Las Vegas Bowl last season. A win against Army would make it the first time in the San Diego State history to win three consecutive bowl games in a row. It was a great season for Army as well as it lost just three games and defeated Navy for a second consecutive season. The schedule was soft however and the four wins over bowl teams came by a combined 13 points. As mentioned, the rushing game leads the way, but the difference is on defense as the Black Knights allow 5.0 ypc compared to 3.5 ypc for the Aztecs. A victory would give San Diego St. an unprecedented third straight 11-win season. 10* (224) San Diego St. Aztecs

This is a play on the FIU PANTHERS for our Gasparilla Bowl Dominator. FUI exceeded expectations this season as it posted its first winning record since 2011 to make it to its third ever bowl game. The Panthers closed with two straight wins to go 8-4 on the season and a win tonight would give them the most wins in program history. Credit needs to be given to head coach Butch Davis who is in his first season at FIU which shows what good coaching can do. Temple closed the season strong by going 3-1 over its last four games to become bowl eligible. The Owls struggled this season against good opposition as they went just 1-5 against bowl teams and are at a disadvantage playing this gamed in Florida. These teams are very similar to each other and we give the offensive edge to the Panthers. Senior quarterback Alex McGough closed the season on a tear as he threw just two interceptions and completed more than 70 percent of his passes. He'll match up against a Temple defense that leads the AAC in passing yards allowed at 210.0 ypg but has surrendered 21 touchdowns through the air while picking off just eight passes. Additionally, the Owls will have their work cut out for them as they square off against a Panthers offensive line that has allowed just 22 sacks all season. Temple made a quarterback change late in the season and it sparked the offense but the FIU defense is underrated as taking away games against UCF and FAU, the Panthers allowed just 22.9 ppg and Temple is 1-5 this season when being held to fewer than 25 points. Going back, the Panthers are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. 10* (216) FIU Panthers

This is a play on the AKRON ZIPS for our Boca Raton Bowl Dominator. Florida Atlantic is the biggest favorite of the bowl season and it is not even close as it opened at 17.5 and has climbed all the way up to -23 in some spots. The Owls have cruised over the second half of the season, winning their final nine games with all but one coming by double-digits. They were outgained in four of those games however with all of those coming against current bowl participants and while they will be playing this game on their home field, it is too big of a price. Playing in a bowl game is a reward for a great season and it usually comes with a trip to a fun destination but that is not the case for Florida Atlantic so while playing at home is nice, there is some disappointment along with it which brings motivation into question. Many players and fans were disappointed because the team was not going to travel, robbing them of the true bowl experience. Akron comes in at 7-6 after winning the MAC West and playing in Florida is a big deal. This is just the third ever bowl game for the Zips with the first two being played in Detroit and Boise, so they so get the true bowl experience. Akron has played much better after a 1-3 start and it comes down to the defense keeping things close. Akron went 5-1 ATS in its last six games as a double-digit underdog with this being the biggest pointspread of them all. Despite a bad loss against Toledo in the MAC Championship, the Zips are 6-0 ATS in their last six games following a straight up loss. 10* (211) Akron Zips

This is a play on the OREGON DUCKS for our CFB Las Vegas Bowl Dominator. It was an up and down season for Oregon which finished 7-5 and is now going through its second coaching change in two years. Co-offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal takes over for Willie Taggart, who departed for the Florida St. head-coaching job two days after Oregon accepted the Las Vegas Bowl bid. He made it clear that the trip to Las Vegas will be important to set the tone for the program going forward. Injuries played a role in the inconsistency of the Ducks season but now starting quarterback Justin Herbert is healthy. The Ducks are 6-1 when he starts and averaging 52.1 ppg but when true freshman Braxton Burmeister had to fill in while Herbert recovered from a fractured collarbone, Oregon was 1-4 and averaged 15 ppg. The main question still will be whether Royce Freeman plays as he has not decided as of Wednesday afternoon. He did practice with the team however which is a good sign for the Oregon all-time leading rusher to suit up. The Broncos won the MWC Championship over Fresno St. to improve to 10-3, their second straight 10-win season and third in four years under head coach Bryan Harsin. Boise St. did struggle against the better teams on its schedule as the three losses came against bowl teams and none of the victories over bowl teams were impressive. There is a big injury concern for Boise St. as running back Alexander Mattison was hurt in the third quarter Dec. 2 against Fresno St. and leads the Broncos with 1,074 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He will be a game time decision. 10* (205) Oregon Ducks

This is a play on the TROY TROJANS for our CFB New Orleans Bowl Dominator. Troy won a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship with Appalachian St. and kicks off bowl season against North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl. The Trojans finished the season 10-2 with the lone losses coming at Boise St. and at home against South Alabama which may seem like a surprise but that has turned into a bitter rivalry battle. They capped their season with a win over Arkansas St. which prevented the Red Wolves from getting a share of the title and it was a game where they got severely outstated. Troy lost the yardage battle by 313 total yards, but the defense and special teams were the difference and will be the difference here as well. The Trojans are ranked No. 11 in scoring defense and have not allowed more than 25 points in any game. North Texas qualified for a bowl game by winning the C-USA West Division, but this is a team hard to get excited about. Only two of its conference wins came against teams with a winning record in the C-USA and after getting hammered during the regular season by Florida Atlantic, it got hammered again by the Owls in the C-USA Championship. The offense was very good at times, but this is a tough defense it will be facing while its own defense was rough. The Men Green allowed 33.8 ppg which is No. 106 in the country and their 431.2 ypg allowed is good for No. 97. Bowl season tends to favor the better defense and in this case, it will favor the defense that is better by 90 ypg. We have great line value as well with the spread dipped under the key number of seven. 10* (202) Troy Trojans

We won with Army in this game last season and the Black Knights have covered five of the last six meetings and we have been on them in each of those. They snapped the 14-game losing streak in this series last year and one big reason for that can be attributed to the fact Army had an extra week to prepare and the same holds true this season as it has been off since November 18 while Navy played its last game on November 24. It is important because preparing for the opposing rushing offenses can be a challenge. Army comes in with the top ranked rushing offense in the country with 368.1 ypg on 6.24 ypc and most impressive about this is the fact the Black Knights have outrushed their opponents by 200 or more yards in eight of their 12 games. Navy is right there as well as it is ranked second in the country in rushing, but it has not been nearly as dominant as it has outrushed opponents by 200 or more yards only three times. The Midshipmen started the season 5-0 but they have struggled over the latter part as they have gone 1-5 over their last six games and they have been outgained in six of their last seven games. Army has been outgained only twice all season and one of those came against Ohio St. Of the three losses, the other two came by four and three points and the Black Knights won the yardage battle both times. These teams are nearly dead even in power rankings, so the fact Army is the underdog is surprising and we will again take the points with the teams that has played better overall. 10* (103) Army Black Knights

This is a play on the WISCONSIN BADGERS for our CFB Saturday Big Ten Championship Annihilator. Wisconsin can silence the haters with a win here as it has been criticized all season for laying a soft schedule, but you cannot blame the team for it as they have no control how good or bad the teams are. There is a certain calmness and coolness the Badgers have exhibited all year, successfully maintaining focus on Big Ten play despite the national rankings that have had them on the outside of the playoff picture each week. There is pressure to win here for sure but there has been pressure each week and they have passed one. The Buckeyes can sneak into the CFP with a dominating win and some help, but they have struggled this season against the top teams they have played with the exception of a win over Michigan St. Now they will be facing the toughest defense they have seen all season as Wisconsin is No. 1 in the country in total defense. Additionally, it is ranked No. 1 nationally in red zone defense, allowing opponents into the end zone at a 30 percent clip and among all FBS teams, only TCU also sits below 42 percent which shows how good the unit really is. Offensively, the Badgers have one of the best running back no one has heard of in Mike Weber while quarterback Alex Hornibrook has been quietly solid as his 8.8 ypa ranks eighth among Power 5 quarterbacks. Wisconsin has not defeated Ohio St. since 2010 but it is safe to say this is the best Badger team since then when it went 11-2. 10* (328) Wisconsin Badgers

This is a play on the CLEMSON TIGERS for our CFB Saturday ACC Championship Annihilator. Even though Miami lost last week, getting into the CFP is more than possible with a win here so the defeat was not overly costly. What it did do though was give Clemson a good idea of how to beat the Hurricanes and the Tigers have been great at gameplanning over the last few years. Miami deserves to be here to represent the ACC Coastal because it was better than average among the average teams in the division, but it was far from dominant. Four of the Hurricanes conference wins came by just one possession while it took a big comeback to defeat Virginia before losing to Pittsburgh, a team that is not even going to a bowl game. Granted, Clemson lost to a non-bowl contender in Syracuse, but the Tigers lost their quarterback in that game so being No. 1 in the current rankings comes as no surprise. The running game could be huge in this outcome. Clemson running back Travis Etienne is a very underrated player as he averaged 7.4 yards per rush, trailing only Stanford's Bryce Love and Alabama's Damien Harris among Power 5 backs with at least 90 carries. For Miami, Travis Homer has done well filling in for Walton, but last week the Hurricanes had nowhere to run, an ominous sign considering the Clemson run defense is the best in the conference. If the Tigers can get out to a quick start, it could be game over as the Miami offense has been a work in progress all season and faces its biggest test against the best defense it has faced all season. 10* (326) Clemson Tigers

This is a play on the BOISE ST. BRONCOS for our CFB Saturday MWC Championship Annihilator. This play goes against the conference championship rematch sweep situation, but this is a different scenario where the game is not played on a neutral field. We had Fresno St. last week as it won at home to tie Boise St. with a 7-1 conference record and because of the head-to-head win, the thought was that the Bulldogs would get to host. However, that is not how the Mountain West Conference does the tiebreaker as the conference used the average ranking of four computer polls (Anderson & Hester, Billingsley, Colley Matrix and Wolfe) to determine the host team for the title game. Fresno St. got screwed because of this and we will be backing Boise St. this week with a lot of that based on the home field but more so on the line value. The Broncos closed as 6.5-point favorites on the road last week but are now favored by only two points more at home which provides incredible line value. Fresno St. won the yardage battle by only 30 total yards as the Broncos could not convert in vital situations. Boise St. put up 401 yards of offense but four trips into Fresno St. territory came up totally empty including going 0-2 on fourth down and that was the difference. While it may not seem fair, Boise St. has the better body of work. Five of the Broncos eight MWC games were against bowl-eligible teams, while Fresno St. played just three teams that are eligible for bowls. The Broncos only conference loss came on the road against a now nine-win Fresno St. team, while the Bulldogs league loss came at home to five-win UNLV. 10* (324) Boise St. Broncos

This is a play on the AUBURN TIGERS for our CFB Saturday SEC Championship Annihilator. The first thought here is Georgia getting its revenge from its only loss of the season after Auburn coming off ones of its biggest wins in a few years over Alabama. However, history is not on the Bulldogs side based on conference championship rematches. Twenty of 33 conference championship game rematches have resulted in the team that won in the regular season winning again for the league title. The majority have provided the sweep and the strength of the Auburn ranking backs it up further. Five teams ranked in the AP top four at the time of the conference championship game have pulled off season sweeps: 2000 Oklahoma (vs. Kansas State), 2003 LSU (vs. Georgia), 2004 Auburn (Tennessee), 2005 Texas (vs. Colorado) and 2010 Auburn (vs. South Carolina). Four of those teams went on to win the national championship. One concern for the Tigers is the health of running back Kerryon Johnson who has a shoulder injury, but all indications are that he will go. Another concern is being over confident after beating Georgia by 23 points and dominating Alabama last week, but this team does not seem to have that mentality and there is no reason to be overconfident s Auburn has won nothing yet. The Tigers defensive front is for real and only three teams have scored more than 20 points on them this season. 10* (322) Auburn Tigers

This is a play on the USC TROJANS for our CFB Friday Pac 12 Championship. USC and Stanford meet for the Pac 12 Championship for the second time in three years and Stanford took it to the Trojans in the title game in 2015. Now it is the Trojans turn to get their payback and keep their slim CFP hopes alive as a big win here and some help on Saturday could get them in albeit unlikely. People say USC is overrated and while it was crushed by Notre Dame and lost to Washington St., the fact of the matter is that the Trojans are 19-2 over their last 21 games dating back to last season. While Stanford is considered the better rushing team, the Trojans are right up there as USC has outrushed all but two opponents this season and on the year including destroying Stanford on the ground in the first meeting this season. The Trojans held UCLA to 80 yards in their last game and they are 5-1 ATS in their last six games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game. It has been a good season for the Cardinal but a bit deceiving. They have been outgained in six of their last 11 games after defeating Rice including last week against Notre Dame as well as two other wins. They barely got by California, Utah and Oregon St. and on the season, they are outgaining opponents by only 3.0 ypg while USC is +78.4 ypg in differential. The work ethic for Stanford is outstanding as usual but they just do not have the all-around talent to take down the Trojans. 10* (304) USC Trojans

This is a play on the WASHINGTON ST. COUGARS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. It has been a very disappointing season for Washington as it failed to make it back to the Pac 12 Championship after suffering a pair of road losses at Arizona St. and Stanford. The Huskies are coming off a narrow win last week against Utah as it was a flat spot coming off that loss to the Cardinal and while this is a big rivalry, something just does not feel right with Washington which is likely due to not being able to back to the FCP. The defense has been solid once again as the Huskies are ranked No. 4 in the country in total defense but the offense has been held in check as they are just No. 55 in total offense and they will be facing a very underrated Washington St. defense that is ranked No. 11 in the nation. The Cougars opened the season 6-0 but suffered a blowout loss at California even though they were outgained by just 28 total yards. The other loss came at Arizona where they lost by 21 points but outgained the Wildcats by 61 yards. The difference in those losses were turnover they Washington St. lost the turnover battle by a combined 11-3 so what could have been a special season in Pullman was undone by costly mistakes. There is still plenty to play for however as the Cougars would finish tied with Stanford in the Pac 12 with a victory and would head to the Pac 12 Championship because of their win over Stanford three weeks ago. They have struggled here over the years, but this is a different Washington St. team than in the past and coming off a bye week gives them the edge in preparation. The Cougars are 22-8 ATS in their last 30 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. 10* (183) Washington St. Cougars

This is a play on the FRESNO ST. BULLDOGS for our CFB Game of the Week. A big game for both sides as Boise St. heads to Fresno St. in a preview of the MXC Championship game. The Broncos wrapped up the MWC Mountain Division as they are 7-0 in the conference following a blowout win over Air Force last week and they have been pretty dominant throughout conference play. We played against them two weeks ago at Colorado St. and they pulled off a minor miracle by scoring two touchdowns in the last two minutes of the game and then winning in overtime. The undefeated record has given them the role of a heavy road favorite and a very solid team that is having a breakout season. Fresno St. won just one game last season but has now won eight games, the most since going 11-2 back in 2013. Two of the losses this year came at Alabama and at Washington so nothing bad about those but a home loss against UNLV was a surprising loss although it did come right after an upset win at San Diego St. so there was some form of letdown for sure. Overall, the Bulldogs are 4-1 at home and their only other game as a home underdog resulted in a 38-0 blowout of New Mexico. Despite going 1-5 at home last season, they went 5-0 ATS as home underdogs and have now covered seven straight games in that role going back to 2015. Additionally, the 8-0 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning record while the Broncos are 4-9 ATS against teams with a winning record. Since there is no neutral site for the championship game, the winner of this game will get to host the MWC Championship next weekend, so Fresno St. has the edge of playing this game at home. 10* (202) Fresno St. Bulldogs

This is a play on the AUBURN TIGERS for our CFB Saturday Star Attraction. A possible trip to the CFP is on the line in the Iron Bowl as an Alabama win sends it to the SEC Championship to face Georgia while the same holds true for Auburn as well. The Tigers have just one conference loss, a four-point loss at LSU that was decided in the final two minutes. It was a game Auburn could have won but it does not matter as far as the SEC West is concerned and if nothing else, it helps the Tigers with this line as they likely would be favored here if they were 7-0. They have dominated every other SEC opponent and their only other loss on the season came by eight points at Clemson. This is the lowest number of points Auburn has received in this series since 2010 when the Tigers won outright in Alabama which shows how much more even these teams are now. Alabama is coming off an exhibition win over Mercer last week to improve to 11-0 and some say even a loss here could get them into the playoffs still but based on its schedule, it is unlikely. The Crimson Tide have had a favorable schedule as they have played only three true road games and the last two were struggles as they defeated Texas A&M and Mississippi St. by eight and seven points respectively. While Auburn lost to LSU on the road, Alabama defeated the Tigers at home, but it was outgained in that contest. Auburn is 1-1 against top ten teams while Alabama has yet to face one, the only team in the entire conference that has yet to. The Tide are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning record. 10* (226) Auburn Tigers

This is a play on the DUKE BLUE DEVILS for our CFB Saturday Afternoon Dominator. Duke snapped a six-game slide with a blowout win over Georgia Tech last week to keep its bowl hopes alive and now at 5-6, the Blue Devils need this win to go bowling after missing the postseason last year for the first time since 2011. While they were not able to slow down the Yellow Jackets rushing attack, they outgained Georgia Tech on the ground 319-277 while racking up 6.3 ypc. Duke can keep that going here as Wake Forest is allowing over 200 ypg on the ground and is ranked No. 104 in rushing defense. The Blue Devils defense could be the difference here as well as they are ranked No. 28 in both total defense and scoring defense. The Demon Deacons have won two straight games to become bowl eligible including a big win over NC State last week despite getting outgained by 168 total yards. That was the fifth time this season that Wake Forest has been outgained by at least 117 total yards and it has been outrushed in six of its last seven games. That makes Duke a live underdog giving it a chance to win this game outright but the fact the Blue Devils are getting double-digits in the line is even more enticing. They were road favorites against Army in their last road game and now we are seeing a 15-point swing and the gap between Army and Wake Forest is not that big. The Blue Devils are 5-1 ATS in their last six games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game while going 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points. 10* (157) Duke Blue Devils

This is a play on the TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS for our CFB Friday Star Attraction. Texas Tech is coming off a 27-3 loss against TCU despite outgaining the Horned Frogs and it is now forced to win on the road to become bowl eligible which is more than possible. Going to a bowl game seemed more than likely for the Red Raiders but they have lost five of their last six games against a very tough schedule. Being held to three points last week was no surprise considering TCU is seventh in the nation in scoring defense, but they should have a lot more success here even though Texas has had a solid year defensively. The Red Raiders are 19-6-2 ATS in their last 27 games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game. The Longhorns have won two straight games to become bowl eligible and it has been a major turnaround for Texas under first year head coach Tom Herman. The Longhorns caught a break last week when West Virginia lost starting quarterback Will Grier early in the game and the Mountaineers offense could get nothing going after that. Of their five losses, three have come by five points or less including two overtime losses by a field goal so the record could be substantially better. Still, laying double-digits against a quality team that is outgaining opponents by close to 40 ppg is a bit aggressive here as the only two times they have layed double-digits in the Big XII came against Baylor and Kansas which are a combined 2-20 on the season. Going back to the Texas defense, the injury list is long and depth issues could be a big problem against a potent offense like that of the Red Raiders. 10* (141) Texas Tech Red Raiders

This is a play on the SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS for our CFB Friday Enforcer. A lot is at stake in Florida today as South Florida and Central Florida battle for the AAC East Division title and a chance to meet Memphis in the AAC Championship next week. The winner of the conference championship game most likely will gain a slot in a major bowl game, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange or Peach. The Bulls have outgained every opponent this season including their lone loss of the season against Houston which the Cougars won in the final seconds. They have failed to cover four straight games, but they were favored by double-digits in all of those and now the role has switched as South Florida is now a huge underdog. The South Florida defensive improvement provides confidence against the Central Florida offense, which leads the nation in scoring at 48.2 ppg. The Bulls are 21st nationally in total defense, a drastic departure from 2016, when they ranked 120th.While the Knights offense is the headliner here, the South Florida offense is not far behind as it is a very consistent running attack, which ranks eighth nationally at 276.9 ypg. It features running backs Darius Tice and D’Ernest Johnson, along with dual-threat quarterback Quinton Flowers who is one of the feel-good stories of the season. When the season began, the Bulls were picked to win the AAC East by an overwhelming margin and now it is big underdog despite doing almost everything it has needed to do. The Knights are having a special season after going winless just two years ago and this has the makings of a classic rivalry game which makes the overadjusted line more appealing on the underdog side. 10* (137) South Florida Bulls

This is a play on the HOUSTON COUGARS for our CFB Friday Afternoon Dominator. Navy is coming off a tough loss against Notre Dame as it fell 24-17 after giving up a 17-10 lead late in the third quarter. The Midshipmen are now in a tough spot coming off that rivalry game and with their biggest rival on deck in the annual Army/Navy season finale. With its win over Air Force and the Army win over the Falcons, the Commander-In-Chief Trophy will be at stake as well. Moreover, Navy cannot enhance a bowl position with a win here as it is in the Military Bowl with Army taking the spot in the Armed forces Bowl. Houston is coming off a loss at Tulane as a favorite which sets up a good bounce back spot here in what has been a season that could have been. The Cougars are 6-4 and will be playing just 11 games this season as its game against UTSA to open the season was cancelled so the players know what is at stake. The Houston seniors enter this game with 36 career wins and need two more wins to tie the school record that was set by the Class of 2017. Since taking over as Houston's quarterback three weeks ago, D'Eriq King has rushed for five touchdowns and thrown four with only one interception and the offense has finally found some consistency. The Cougars will be out for payback as well as it went to Annapolis last season ranked No. 6 and lost 46-40 knocking them out of the CFP possibilities. This marks the second straight game that Navy is playing an opponent on its Senior Day. 10* (130) Houston Cougars

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI REBELS for our CFB Thursday Star Attraction. With Mississippi sitting at 5-6, this would typically be a must win game for bowl eligibility but with a self-imposed postseason ban in place, the Rebels are essentially playing its bowl game on Thursday. It was a long season for Mississippi with the coaching issues and essentially nothing to play for but give the Rebels credit for not tossing in the towel from the start. They opened the season 2-0 but then endured three straight bad losses but they recovered to win three of their final six games with two of those losses coming by just one possession. The Rebels have lost the yardage battle only three times this season (Alabama, Auburn, LSU) and they have the offense to keep up here and stay within this number. This game means everything to both teams so there will be no lack of effort. The Bulldogs rebounded from their devastating loss against Alabama by beating Arkansas last week to improve to 8-3 and they too would like nothing more than to put the hurt on their rival. The schedule of late favors the Rebels as the Bulldogs will be playing their third SEC game in 12 days when they host the Rebels. Mississippi will also be playing its third game in 12 days, but one of those was a relatively easy non-conference victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. Rivalry games take on a whole different meaning even when teams are not considered equal and while many will be calling for a Mississippi St. domination, it will be closer than most expect. 10* (113) Mississippi Rebels

This is a play on the EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES for our CFB Tuesday Enforcer. While a bowl game is no longer an option for Eastern Michigan, this is an important game to end the season to go into the offseason with momentum heading into next year. It has been a tough season as the Eagles suffered many close losses, so they will be ready to take their frustrations out here on an outmanned team. Eastern Michigan suffered three overtime losses and a five-point loss against Toledo with all four of those teams going to bowl games while also losing by a point to Army and four points to Kentucky. Despite finishing below .500 on the season, Eastern Michigan will post its best two-season win totals in more than a decade. The Eagles currently have 11 wins over the last two seasons, which is the most since totaling 11 in the 1994-95 seasons. In addition, if it wins this game, the 12 wins will be the best two-year stretch since winning 13 games from 1988-89. It has been a rough season for Bowling Green as it opened 0-5 both straight up and against the number and that knocked the wind out of the Falcons early where they could not recover. They closed their home schedule last week against Toledo and were crushed 66-37 to finish 0-5 at home so coming back from that in a meaningless game on the road will be a challenge. Bowling Green ranks last in the MAC in total defense (517.2 ypg), rush defense (252.1 ypg), and pass defense (265.1 ypg). The Eagles were favored by double-digits two other times this season and covered both of those games and going back, they are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game. 10* (104) Eastern Michigan Eagles

This is a play on the VANDERBILT COMMODORES for our NCAA Football Game of the Year. Last season, Vanderbilt went to Missouri with a 4-5 record needing to win two of their last three games to make it to a bowl game but lost to the Tigers 26-17 and were forced to win their final two games which they ended up doing. That creates a revenge angle for this season but there are more situational advantages that are even stronger. The Commodores are 4-6 again this season so they will have to repeat their 2-0 finish to make it to a bowl game and the schedule is good enough to do it. They are coming off a loss against Kentucky in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates but four interceptions did them in. Vanderbilt opened the season 3-0 including an impressive win over Kansas St. but then hit a brutal part of the schedule where it played Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, all resulting in losses. A win over Western Kentucky stopped the bleeding and now they need to step up again and win here and at Tennessee next week which makes this the final home game for 15 starters on the two-deep chart. Missouri needs one win to become bowl eligible, either here or next week at Arkansas. The Tigers are coming off their last home game which could put them in a letdown spot. The schedule has set up perfectly as they had dropped five straight games but then two easy non-conference games came after that and then games against Florida and Tennessee came at the perfect time. Both had lame duck coaches that ended up being fired the next day after the game, so they clearly faced teams that looked to had given up on their coach. Now the Commodores are in the ideal spot and catching more than a touchdown at home. 10* (382) Vanderbilt Commodores

This is a play on the DUKE BLUE DEVILS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. We lost with Duke last week as it could have come one win away from bowl eligibility but now it needs to win its final two games to get back to the postseason. Six straight losses have put the Blue Devils in this situation with four of those coming by seven points or less and the other two coming against Miami and Virginia Tech. the problem for Duke has been a lack of offense as it has scored no more than 21 points during this losing streak, averaging just 12.2 ppg over this stretch. They catch a defense that has not been playing well and is extremely tired as this is the fourth road game in six weeks for Georgia Tech which is coming off an upset win against Virginia Tech last week. The Yellow Jackets improved to 5-1 at home with that victory but they are 0-3 on the road and while losses against Miami and Clemson were expected, a loss to Virginia was not ideal and it is safe to say that the Cavaliers and Blue Devils are on a level plane. Georgia Tech brings in as challenge as far as its option running game is concerned but Duke will not be caught off guard after having a bye week and then playing against the option last week at Army. The Blue Devils held Army to 226 yards rushing on 57 carries (4.0 ypc) which was a season low for the Black Knights, so the defense did its job. Now it is up to the offense to get things going. Duke is 0-5-1 ATS in its last six games which is adding value to this line and despite the run, the Blue Devils are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (328) Duke Blue Devils

We played against Baylor last week and because of the loss, it sets the Bears up for a big game this week. It has been a horrible season in Waco for first year head coach Matt Rhule, but this was expected although maybe not to the extent that has been played out. The Bears are 1-9 on the season with the lone victory over Kansas but this week can be considered their bowl game as it is the final home game of the season as they close the season the day after Thanksgiving at TCU. For 13 seniors, winning their final home game where they have now lost eight in a row would at least send them out with something. The defense has been a big problem, but the offense has been able keep it competitive in a lot of their games as the Bears are No. 51 in total offense as four of their nine losses have come by one possession. It has been a successful year for Iowa St. which owns upsets over Oklahoma and TCU, but it could be fading late. The Cyclones have lost two straight games and have been outgained in three straight games and taking the win over Kansas out of the picture, they have been outgained in six of eight games against FBS teams. The passing defense has been a struggle, and this is not a good matchup as the Bears lead all of FBS with seven plays from scrimmage 70 or more yards and Baylor ranks fifth in FBS with six passes of 60 or more yards and leads the country with six passes of 70 or more yards. The quarterback situation for Iowa St. is a concern as Jacob Park is on a leave of absence and Kyle Kempt is battling through an undisclosed injury, leaving freshman Zeb Noland as the possible starter. 10* (378) Baylor Bears

This is a play on the INDIANA HOOSIERS for our CFB Saturday Star Attraction. Rutgers and Indiana both come in at 4-6 and both needing to win out to make it to a bowl game making this an elimination game. Looking at the total body of work and what has happened on the field records notwithstanding, the Hoosiers are the team that should be in this position and Rutgers should not. The Scarlet Knights have won three of their last five games to get to this point, but they were outgained in all of those and they have yet to outgain an FBS opponent this season. Rutgers is -148.1 ypg in yardage differential against its nine FBS opponents. After winning just two games last season, Rutgers has doubled that output but that does not mean it is that much better. Indiana only has one bad loss meaning losing a game it should have won and that came against Maryland by three points despite winning the yardage battle by 138 yards. Indiana is 0-5 against the top 30 while going 4-1 against teams outside the top 30 and they finish the season at Purdue which could be another elimination game as well. The Hoosiers have been hurt by turnovers as they are -8 in margin which is tied for No. 116 in the nation. This is the final home game of the season for Indiana and the contrarian angle makes this play even stronger with good line value as the Hoosiers have not covered a game since September 23 against Georgia Southern, going 0-6-1 ATS since then. Meanwhile, Rutgers has gone 5-0 ATS in its last five games. The market has been overadjusted because of these streaks and not exactly what has taken place on the field. 10* (322) Indiana Hoosiers

Temple is playing its best football at the right time as it can become bowl eligible with a victory here or next week at Tulsa. The Owls would rather get it done here in the final home game for their seniors as opposed to taking a chance against a Golden Hurricane team on the road out to play spoiler. Additionally, one more victory would give the Temple seniors the most victories for any class in the history of the program. Temple opened the season 2-3 and while it has gone just 3-2 in its last five games, it has won the yardage battle in each of those games and the two losses came by a combined seven points. The fact Temple is catching two touchdowns at home is huge value and going back, the Owls are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games as double-digit home underdogs. UCF has a lot on the line as well as it is currently undefeated at 9-0 but the Knights are in a tough spot to stay focused. No matter the outcome here, the AAC East will be on the line next week when they host South Florida for a chance to go to the AAC Championship. After covering their first five games, the Knights are 0-3-1 ATS in their last four games so the market made the adjustment as needed but it has failed to come back in line, so we can continue to take advantage of the overadjustment. The UCF offense remains the highest scoring team in the nation, but this is a tough Temple defense that is once again playing at a high level. The Knights are 12-27-1 ATS in their last 40 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game while the Owls are 20-8 ATS against teams with a winning record. 10* (332) Temple Owls

We have been high on SMU this season and we will back them once again. The Mustangs became bowl eligible three weeks ago but has dropped its last two games since then, a seven-point loss against undefeated UCF and a three-points loss at Navy. This is their third straight tough opponent, but the matchup is in their favor here compared to the last two games which they still almost pulled out. SMU is ranked No. 9 in scoring offense and No. 12 in total offense in the nation so it is more than capable of keeping up with the potent Tigers offense. Even though we do not advocate road revenge, SMU is out for a little bit of payback after losing 51-7 to the Tigers last season. Memphis has won five straight games since losing to Central Florida as it got thumped pretty good in that game. Looking at its game against Navy, the Tigers won by three points so there was not much of a difference there compared to the SMU loss to Navy. The other Mustangs AAC loss came against Houston but they won the yardage battle and while Memphis defeated the Cougars, it lost the yardage battle. Memphis has a very comparable offense to that of SMU while the defense is right on par as well as the Tigers are ranked No. 111 in total defense compared to No. 121 for the Mustangs. In what should be a shootout, the double-digit line is very inviting which always leaves the backdoor open. The Mustangs are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game while the Tigers are 4-10-2 ATS in their last 16 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. 10* (373) SMU Mustangs

This is a play on the MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS for our Friday Night Lights play. This is a matchup of the two most disappointing teams in C-USA as both were supposed to contend for the top spot in the East, but both are sitting at 3-3 in the conference and 5-5 overall. Western Kentucky is playing its last home game of the season and that is an angle we take a look at is there are other advantages that can play into that but that is not the case here. The Hilltoppers are coming off a loss against Marshall which was their third straight loss following a four-game winning streak that got them into the divisional race. The problem is that not only has Western Kentucky been outgained in all three games of this losing streak, but it was outgained in all four games during that winning streak. A team that has been outgained in seven straight games and has outgained only one FBS team by a total of 29 yards cannot be trusted. The problems for Middle Tennessee are much different however as its issues are injury based, namely one person. First Team C-USA quarterback Brent Stockstill got hurt back on September 9 and missed a total of six games, with John Urzua starting for the Blue Raiders in his absence. The Blue Raiders went 2-4 without Stockstill and have gone 3-1 with him in including wins in the last two games, albeit against subpar competition. Even when he was out, the rest of the team played well as they outgained three of six opponents including East Division leaders FAU and FIU. The Blue Raiders are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following an ATS loss while the Hilltoppers are 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight games following a straight up loss. 10* (317) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

This is a play on the MIAMI REDHAWKS for our CFB Wednesday Star Attraction. Unfortunately, Eastern Michigan will not be going to back-to-back bowl games as it lost at Central Michigan for its seventh defeat. It has been a season of what could have been as the Eagles were looking to top their seven wins from last season but after opening 2-0, they went on to lose six straight games, three in overtime and three by a combined 10 points so even a split of those games would have sent them bowling again but instead, it is time to simply play out the season. Coming off that loss last week will be difficult to regroup from and the lone highlight left for the season is playing their final home game next week against Bowling Green. With nothing to play for here, look for a very uninspired effort from Eastern Michigan. On the flip side, Miami has everything to play for. After a 2-5 start, the RedHawks were forced to win four of their last five games to make it to a bowl games and so far, they have won two of three with the final two games coming against teams with zero motivation, Ball St. being the other coming next week. Miami is not unfamiliar with this as last season, it started 0-6 and went on to win its final six games to go bowling. The RedHawks can build off that as can quarterback Gus Ragland who returned last week and led Miami to a big win over Akron and he is now 10-5 in 15 starts dating back to last season. While an argument can be made that this will be another really close game based on the close call for the Eagles before but those were all games with something to play for. This one is not. 10* (308) Miami Ohio RedHawks

This is a play on the AKRON ZIPS for our CFB Tuesday Enforcer. We had to wait for confirmed information before making a move in this game and it has been confirmed that Akron quarterback Thomas Woodson will be behind center for the Zips. He was suspended last week for the game against Miami and there was no indication from head coach Terry Bowden on whether the suspension who be lifted or not but the best player on the offense is back. We played and won with Ohio last week which was catching points at home against Toledo and dominated from start to finish. That was the third straight home game for the Bobcats which hit the road for the first time in a month. Ohio controls its own destiny in the MAC East as if it wins out, it will be going to the MAC Championship. Standing in the way of the back-to-back championship game trips for the Bobcats are the Zips, who are still alive in their own way for the MAC East. With a win this week against the Bobcats and a win in the Nov. 21 matchup at home against Kent St., it would be the Zips heading to Detroit. They are 4-2 in the conference with the only other loss coming against Toledo and while they are 2-2 on the road in MAC play, they are 2-0 at home. This is one of those games where we know Ohio is the better team overall, but the situation sets up great for Akron as the home field is a big edge in this conference with the top two teams from each division going a combined 17-3. The Bobcats are 4-13 ATS in their last 17 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points while the Zips are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a straight up loss. 10* (302) Akron Zips

This is a play on the COLORADO ST. RAMS for our MWC Game of the Year. Colorado St. is coming off a loss at Wyoming last week in a game that could have gone either way as the weather played a big role. The second half was played in a blizzard and the typically potent Colorado St. offense could muster a mere field goal in the final 30 minutes. The Rams averaged 34 ppg over their previous seven games so the 13 points scored against the Cowboys was an anomaly and we can expect a bounce back this week. They have dropped two straight games and are a game and a half behind Boise St. in the MWC Mountain Division but a win here and some help could push them to the top as their last game is against 1-9 San Jose St. next week. Colorado St. has failed to cover its last four games which is giving us value in the number as is the fact Boise St. has won five straight games. A win over San Diego St. was solid but it struggled against Wyoming and wins over Utah St. and Nevada are far from impressive. The Broncos started the season slow and are peaking at the right time, but this is the first time they have been favored on the road against a winning team and that is an overaggressive move. Colorado St. is +69.2 ypg in yardage differential while Boise St. +67.1 ypg so there is very little difference in on the field play which further diffuses the Broncos being a road chalk. The Rams go from a road favorite to a home underdog which is a situation we love to take advantage of. Going back, the Broncos are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a winning record while the Rams are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a winning record. 10* (218) Colorado St. Rams

This is a play on the MISSISSIPPI ST. BULLDOGS for our CFB Saturday Star Attraction. Alabama has not been tested much this season, but it is coming of a tough matchup last week against LSU where it won by 14 points but got outgained for the first time this season. That was the third consecutive home game for the Tide and with a bye prior to last week, they have gone five weeks without playing a road game going back to October 7. This is just the third true road game of the season and while they destroyed Vanderbilt, the struggled to put away Texas A&M as they won by eight points and won the yardage battle by only 47 yards. While LSU was a good test, this is the biggest test for Alabama to date. Mississippi St. comes in with a 7-2 record as it lost back-to-back games against Georgia and Auburn but both of those were on the and the Bulldogs have reeled off four straight wins since then. They are coming off a disappointing 6-7 season but made some changes, namely on the defensive side where they hired Todd Grantham who is known for turning around defenses. He is up to it once again. Last season, the Bulldogs ranked 110th in total defense, 120th in passing defense, and 70th in run defense. This season they are ranked seventh in total defense, 8th in passing defense, and 23rd against the run so it has been a huge turnaround and that type of defense can keep these types of games close. Alabama has won nine straight meetings in this series, but this is arguably the best Mississippi St. team it has seen with 2014 being right up there and that game resulted in a five-point victory. The Tide are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game while the Bulldogs are 21-5 ATS in their last 26 home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (178) Mississippi St. Bulldogs

We played against Georgia last week as it won by just 14 points and we will be going against the Bulldogs again this week in what is their toughest game since going to Notre Dame back in September. This has been the most dominant Georgia team we have seen in a long time, but the schedule has played a part in this as it has played the No. 52 ranked schedule in the nation which is weak for a team from the SEC which is in a down year with the exception of a few teams. That win over Notre Dame was impressive but if the Bulldogs faced Notre Dame now, the result would be different as the Irish are a much-improved team now. They are 3-0 on the road in the conference but all those games were against teams with a losing record which makes this test even tougher. Auburn is 7-2 on the season with single-digit losses at Clemson and LSU and there is still talk of the Tigers making it to the CFP. Despite two losses, Auburn could move up considerably with a win here and a win over Alabama to end the season and should Alabama lose this week, the tigers could get into the SEC Championship. That is all down the road though and the Tigers need to take care of business here first and this will be a fired-up atmosphere as this is the first home game in over a month as Auburn has played three straight road games with a bye in there as well. This is an offense that can cause some problems for the Georgia defense and while the Bulldogs get the pub about having a great defense, the Tigers are ranked No. 14 overall and No. 9 in scoring defense. The Bulldogs are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game while the Tigers are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game. 10* (188) Auburn Tigers

This is a play on the LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. Louisiana Tech was supposed to contend in the C-USA West Division, but it has not been able to do so as it is 2-3 in the conference and out of first place by 2.5 games. The Bulldogs could very well be in the running however as two of the conference losses came by just one point while the other came in overtime against Southern Mississippi. Additionally, Louisiana Tech lost to South Carolina by just one point so instead of 4-5, it could be 8-1 with a few bounces their way. That 4-5 record means that the Bulldogs have to win two of their final three games to make it to a bowl game and with UTEP and UTSA remaining, the postseason will likely happen. That have lost their two games at home after going 11-1 at home against C-USA foes the last three seasons so there will be plenty of motivation. We played against Florida Atlantic last week and came away with a fortunate cover as the Owls ran out of their own end zone for a safety. It was their fifth straight win following a 1-3 start to the season and Florida Atlantic has a one-game lead in the C-USA East Division. That lead is over rival Florida International who the Owls happen to face next week so there could be a lookahead to that game. The Owls have been outgained in three of their five conference victories as turnovers have been the difference as the Owls lead the nation in turnover margin at +16.This is just the third time over the last four years that the Bulldogs have been home underdogs and you can bet head coach Skip Holtz let his team know about it. Going back, the Owls are 2-10-1 ATS vs. a team with a losing record while the Bulldogs are 4-0 ATS in their last four games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game. 10* (180) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Here we have two teams going in complete opposite directions which sets up the perfect contrarian play, and the public is biting on this line. Duke takes a break from ACC play where it is 1-5 which includes five straight losses. But the schedule has been rough. The only team is arguably should have beat was Pittsburgh and we had them in that game, but the Blue Devils were done in by two long touchdown runs of 79 and 92 yards by the Panthers. Duke has not covered since it defeated North Carolina back on September 23 which is a streak we like to buck, and time is running out for the Blue Devils. They need to win two of their final three games and it will not be easy after this game as they have Georgia Tech and Wake Forest to close the season, so this is one they have to take. Army meanwhile has won five straight games to improve to 7-2 including a win at Air force last week as they defeated the Falcons 21-0. The Black Knights have been somewhat fortunate as they defeated Eastern Michigan by a point and Temple in overtime while beating Buffalo by just four points earlier in the season. They bring in the best running game in the country, but Duke does have a solid rushing defense and the Blue Devils have been great against option teams over the last three years, going a perfect 6-0 ATS. Additionally, Duke is coming off a bye so there has been extra preparation for the option attack. The last time Army defeated Air Force came in 2012 and it put up a dud in its next game against Rutgers and considering the seniors on this team had not defeated Air Force before last week, this has letdown written all over it. Army is just 1-6 ATS in its last seven games against losing teams. 10* (141) Duke Blue Devils

It took nine games for the Bears to finally win a game this season and it came at the expense of Kansas, arguably the worst team of all Power Five squads. While it has been a disappointing season, winning their first game was big for Baylor but do not expect that to carry forward as the Bears want this season to be over. Going back to last season, the Bears are 1-14 over their last 15 games so this dreadful stretch has been going on for some time. Baylor has yet to win a home game all season and while that would normally provide motivation, this is not a home game even though the Bears are listed at the home team as this game is being played in Arlington. The Bears are getting outgained by 79 ypg on the season as the defense is allowing a whopping 6.7 yppl which is tied for ninth worst in the country. Texas Tech can take advantage of this atrocious defense as it is ranked No. 9 in total offense and No. 17 in scoring offense. The Red Raiders meanwhile have lost four straight games, but the schedule was not in their favor as all those games were against winning teams. This is a must win game since Texas Tech needs to win two of its final three games and the last two are against TCU and Texas so there is still no guarantee of a bowl game, but a win here keeps them in the running. The defense has been horrid during this losing streak, but the Bears offense is a shell of what it used to be and in a shootout, they will not be able to keep up. The Bears are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game while the Red Raiders are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. 10* (155) Texas Tech Red Raiders

This is a play on the UNLV REBELS for our CFB Friday Night Lights play. It has been an extremely long season for BYU which came into year with expectations of double-digit wins following a 9-4 2016 season. The Cougars opened the season against Portland St. and nearly lost and that was a sign of things to come. They went on to lose their next seven games before breaking through with a win over San Jose St two weeks ago which also snapped their 0-8 ATS run. BYU also covered last week at Fresno St. as it lost by a touchdown and at this point, there is little to get motivated for. The quarterback situation is a mess once again as Tanner Mangum went out again last week with an Achilles injury and his backup Beau Hoge banged up his ankle and his status is questionable, so Koy Detmer Jr. could make the start and he has played just one game where he went 7-20 for 91 yards and three interceptions. UNLV opened the season 2-5 including that unprecedented opening loss against Howard but it has won two straight games to remain in bowl contention as it needs to win two of its final three games. Both of those are winnable games but winning this one is important since those games are both on the road making this their final home game of the season for the 14 seniors on the two-deep chart. The offense is peaking at the right time as the Rebels have averaged 29 ppg over their last four games and the rushing offense is one of the best in the nation at No. 13. They should have no issues moving the ball once again. This is the first last home game situation of the season and makes it even stronger being a nationally televised game. 10* (124) UNLV Rebels

This is a play on the OHIO BOBCATS for our CFB Wednesday Star Attraction. The MAC East is essentially a two-team race with Akron and Ohio sitting at the top at 4-1 and meeting next week in Akron which makes this game a big one for the Bobcats. They are coming off a win last week against Miami which was their third straight win so they bring positive momentum into this possible MAC Championship preview. The only loss in the conference came against Central Michigan by three points despite them winning the yardage battle with turnovers and special teams miscues being the difference. Toledo has won five straight games and its only loss on the season came against the Miami Hurricanes. After its win over Northern Illinois last week, it separated itself from the rest of the pack and because of the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Rockets can still lose a game and represent the MAC West in the championship game. Ohio averages 41.2 ppg and Toledo averages 39 ppg and these are the highest-scoring teams in the league and have comparable defenses, as the Bobcats allow 25.7 ppg and the Rockets allow 24.4 ppg. Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside has passed for 2,656 yards 19 TD/2 INT. The Bobcats Nathan Rourke has been special as well, passing for 1,504 yards, 13 TD/3 INT, and rushing for 16 touchdowns so these two are also very comparable. They have played similar strength of schedules so when everything lines up like this, the underdog is worthy of a long look, especially a home underdog. The line has come down from opening but we are still over the key number of three as of Tuesday afternoon. The Rockets are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game while the Bobcats are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. 10* (108) Ohio Bobcats

This is a play on the MIAMI REDHAWKS for our CFB Tuesday Enforcer. It is now or never for the RedHawks as they are now 3-6 and must won out to get back to a bowl game. They are coming off a loss at Ohio last week and despite winning the yardage battle in their last four games, they have gone just 1-3 over this stretch. Getting to six wins is very doable for Miami as it hosts Eastern Michigan next week and concludes the regular season at Ball St., so all its difficult games are out of the way. The RedHawks are +27 ypg on the season in yardage differential and they certainly know what is at stake tonight. Akron is the biggest fraud in the MAC as its 5-4 is as deceiving as it gets. The Zips go into their game at Miami ranked 10th in the 12-team Mid-American Conference in scoring, 11th in total and rushing offense, average time of possession and total defense and last in passing defense, field-goal percentage and punt-return average. They have been outgained in seven of eight games against FBS teams and the only game they won the yardage battle came against 2-7 Ball St. and that was by only seven yards. The last two wins for Akron were by a point each despite getting outgained by 211 and 87 yards in those games so it is hard to believe the Zips cane become bowl eligible with one more win. The Miami seniors have never defeated Akron including a 22-pont loss last season so there will be extra motivation tonight although that really is not needed. The RedHawks are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game while the Zips are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. 10* (102) Miami RedHawks

This is a play on the SMU MUSTANGS for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. SMU is going bowling for the first time since 2012 following its win over Tulsa last week as the turnaround by head coach Chad Morris is reaching its peak. The Mustangs have only two losses this season, one against TCU in a game they were leading late in the first half and the other against Houston on the road despite winning the yardage battle by 81 yards. They are 5-0 at home on the season and this will be the biggest test without a doubt, but the line is out of whack based on the opposition. The Mustangs are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game. UCF has been one of the top betting teams this season as it is 5-1-1 ATS and has yet to lose a cover against a team from the FBS as they have been blowing teams out. The Knights did have a push against Navy as they won by 10 points in what was the least dominated game of the season. Now they are on the road again and favored by more points against what we feel is a better team as the adjustments continue to be made to try and defer the betting public. UCF has the top scoring offense in the country, but they have played an extremely weak schedule and SMU is not far behind as it is ranked No. 9 in total offense and scoring offense. This total is set at 75 so offensive fireworks are expected and that favors the underdog when both teams are equal since the Mustangs can keep up. UCF is No. 18 in the first edition of the CFP Rankings showing how the non-quality wins have not been worth much. 10* (376) SMU Mustangs

This is a play on the SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS for our SEC Game of the Year. South Carolina became bowl eligible with its win over Vanderbilt last week, its third straight victory to improve to 6-2 on the season. The Gamecocks lost to Texas A&M by a touchdown and lost to Kentucky despite winning the yardage battle and are guaranteed a bowl game for a second straight season following a miserable 3-9 record in 2015 when it went through two coaches. Will Muschamp is doing a great job in his second season and he will have his team ready in wanting to defeat his alma mater where he played from 1991-1994. South Carolina is 4-0-1 ATS as an underdog this season and is by far catching its biggest number of the season. Georgia plays its first game at the No. 1 team in the CFP Rankings, so it could be feeling the pressure. The Bulldogs have covered six of seven games against FBS opponents, so they have been steamrolling teams, but this will be a test. In their last home game, they were favored by 28.5 points against Missouri which is 3-5 including 0-4 in the SEC and now Georgia is favored by only 4.5 points less against a team that is much better than what that variance is saying. The Bulldogs know every game counts but coming off a win over rival Florida with a game against rival Auburn on deck puts them in a tough spot because getting up for three straight games is tough. They are coming off a huge defensive effort, but the Bulldogs are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game. This is the best defense Georgia has seen in six weeks so look for the offense to not be as efficient. 10* (371) South Carolina Gamecocks

Ohio St. is coming off a comeback for the ages as it rallied late to take out Penn St. and get right back into the Big Ten race and CFP chase. The Buckeyes did struggle to move the ball with consistency until their final two drives and that was only their second victory of the season against a team with a winning record, Army being the other. Ohio St. has outgained every opponent since its loss to Oklahoma by at least 240 yards, so they are playing at a high level but coming off that victory puts the Buckeyes in a very vulnerable spot, especially going on the road with a bulls-eye on its back. The Big Ten East could come down to next week should Michigan St. win since Ohio St. hosts the Spartans next Saturday. The Buckeyes are 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams with a winning record. Iowa bounced back last week with a win over Minnesota following an overtime loss at northwestern the previous week. The Hawkeyes are 5-3 with all three losses by a touchdown or less including a two-point loss to Penn St. at home despite getting outgained by 306 yards. They have been outgained most of the time this season but because of ball control, they are keeping games close so while they rarely blow teams out, they do not get blown out either. The defense allowed 18.8 ppg last season and they have improved this season, allowing 17.4 ppg which is No. 12 in the nation. Iowa is 14-7-2 as a home dog under head coach Kirk Ferentz including 9-4 ATS when getting more than a touchdown. Additionally, the Hawkeyes are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game. 10* (336) Iowa Hawkeyes

The Cavaliers have killed us the last two weeks as they got thumped by Boston College both on the field and on the scoreboard and last week, they outplayed Pittsburgh but ended up 1-5 on fourth down and had a punt returned against them for a touchdown. Now that they have lost two in a row, no one will want to touch them, but we will be backing them here as the line is overinflated. Virginia needs one win to become bowl eligible and is catching Georgia Tech at a very good time to get it done here and it might have to. The Cavaliers remaining schedule after this is brutal with games against Louisville, Miami and Virginia Tech so the urgency will be seen on Saturday. We played against Georgia Tech last week and we had the cover lined up, but the Yellow Jackets scored a late touchdown to grab the push. Now they are playing their third road game over their last four games and despite getting outgained by 200 and 198 yards in those first two road games, they go from road underdogs both times to a double-digit road favorite. It was the third loss for Georgia Tech last week and those are sometimes the worst as it takes them out of any major bowl consideration and while knowing regular season double-digit wins will not be achieved for a third straight season. The offense was shut down last week and while the defense will be less resistant this week, the Yellow Jackets are 0-4 ATS in their last four games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game. The line may say Virginia cannot win but it certainly can and going back, it is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games as home dog. 10* (348) Virginia Cavaliers

This is one of the best college football stories that not many have heard yet. UAB gave up football after the 2014 season as there was no money or success as the Blazers went through the motions for year, having gone to only one bowl game in the history of the program in 2004. The football program was reinstated last year although they did not put a team on the field until this season and it has been a huge success. A loss at Ball St. by 20 was did not look good but UAB outgained the Cardinals by 119 total yards but was undone by turnovers and special teams. The Blazers lost at North Texas by only three points and lost at Charlotte by a point in overtime to account for their only other losses. With the victory at Southern Mississippi last week, UAB is a win away from bowl eligibility and after finishing 6-6 in 2014 and not getting an invite, a 6-6 finish this year will guarantee them an invite. One team that will not be bowling this year is Rice. The Owls lost at Louisiana Tech last week to fall to 1-7 and be officially eliminated from the postseason. This was a surprise to many as the Owls were expected to bounce back from an injury plagued season in 2016 where they went 3-9 but that has not been the case. It has been a tough run as Rice is 5-20 over its last 25 games dating back to midway of the 2015 season. While Rice has seen several starters return in recent weeks, the injury bug has crept back as leading rusher Emmanuel Esukpa is expected to be out under concussion protocol. The Owls are 1-5 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (396) UAB Blazers

This is a play on the MICHIGAN ST. SPARTANS for our CFB Saturday Afternoon Dominator. Michigan St. has been good to us this season as the Spartans have covered on three different occasions and are now in one of their best spots on the season. They are coming off a loss at Northwestern last week in overtime despite outgaining the Wildcats by 108 total yards. While that was a tough loss, Michigan St. is still in contention for the Big Ten Championship as a win here and a win over Ohio St. next week puts them in first place alone with the head-to-head tiebreaker in hand. The offense remains inconsistent, but the Spartans defense is underrated as it is No. 8 in the nation and they allowed more than 17 points in regulation only twice in eight games. While the meeting last season was meaningless, Michigan St. has not forgotten the 45-12 loss last year in the season finale, its worst loss of the season. The Spartans have covered seven of their last eight home games. Penn St. is coming off an epic collapse last week as it blew an 11-point lead with less than five minutes remaining and likely took away at a chance in the CFP. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 7 and will need some help to get back into contention but it is not looking good and the loss last week was deflating which makes this bounce back game a challenge. Being favored on the road here is not a surprise but being favored by this much is a surprise and Michigan St. has thrived by going 5-0 ATS as a home underdog since 2010. Additionally, the Nittany Lions are 1-8-2 ATS in their last 11 games following a straight up loss. 10* (416) Michigan St. Spartans

This is a play on the INDIANA HOOSIERS for our CFB Saturday Star Attraction. It has been a tough season for Indiana but not because it has played bad. The Hoosiers stayed with Ohio St. for a half in their season opener and their last three losses have been brutal. They lost to Michigan in overtime, they were leading Michigan St. for most of the game two weeks ago and last week, they lost by three points at Maryland in a game they led for most of it and outgained the Terrapins by 138 yards. Indiana is now 3-5 so it must win three of its last four games to become bowl eligible and while the last three games are all winnable, this one would go a long way. The quarterback situation is up in the air as Peyton Ramsey is questionable but Richard Lagow has played a bunch and has comparable numbers based on ratio. The Hoosiers are 14-6-2 ATS in their last 22 home games against teams with a winning road record. Wisconsin is No. 9 in the first CFP Rankings and while it feels disrespected, this is where it deserves to be. The Badgers have played absolutely no one as their best win came against Northwestern as their overall schedule is the weakest in the Big Ten. They are coming off a 14-point win at Illinois which is the lowest ranked team in the conference and while the defense has been shutting all teams down, their own offense will be facing a very unrated defense as Indiana is No. 6 in the conference in yppl allowed. Wisconsin has dominated this series with nine straight wins and four straight covers, but this is the first meeting since 2013 when Indiana was horrible. The outright upset would not shock many people. 10* (368) Indiana Hoosiers

It has been a huge turnaround for Florida Atlantic as after a 1-3 start, it has won four straight games and sits in first place in the C-USA East Division. The Owls have won all four of these games by at least 14 points and while they dominated two of those on the stats sheet, they were outgained by Middle Tennessee St. and Western Kentucky, so the results have been mixed. The mix of Lane Kiffin and Kendal Briles has woken up an offense that struggled the first couple games, but things will not be as easy on Friday. They are laying a big number this week against what many still consider the best team in the conference and a preseason favorite coming in. Marshall is coming off a clunker as it lost to Florida International last week by 11 points as a 14.5-point favorite as it was clearly not focused. The Thundering Herd lost the turnover battle 3-0 and fell behind 35-7 before trying to make a charge. They outgained the Panthers by 104 total yards, so it was a game they should have had but there could have been a lookahead to this one. Marshall has outgained each of its last six opponents thanks to a defense that has led the way as it is ranked No. 24 in total defense and No. 15 in scoring defense. The Owls meanwhile has a defense that is ranked No. 94 overall and this time of year is when the defenses tend to rule the games, especially of meaning like this. A win would leapfrog the Thundering Herd over the Owls and would likely control their own destiny with FAU and FIU still having to play each other. Going back, the Herd are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game while the Owls are 4-13-1 ATS in their last 18 home games. 10*(317) Marshall Thundering Herd

This is a play on the IDAHO VANDALS for our CFB Thursday Enforcer. Once Idaho found out it was going to be relegated to the FCS starting 2018, the team made decided to try and go out in a big way. Last season, the Vandals went 9-4 including a bowl win over Colorado St. and they were going for a repeat this season in their final year as an FBS member. It has not been a great season as they are 3-5 but most of those losses have been very close, and they are getting a monster number here and it is actually the biggest of the season. Idaho needs three wins to become bowl eligible and even though the last three games are all winnable, two are on the road so an upset here would go a long way. That is why we will see a full out effort from the Vandals. Troy is a game out of first place in the Sun Belt Conference behind Arkansas St. and Appalachian St. so there is plenty of motivation for the Trojans as well. They became bowl eligible with a win last week against Georgia Southern, but they again failed to cover a big number and are now 2-5-1 ATS on the season including a 1-5 ATS record as a favorite. The victory over LSU has skewed their numbers as the public has not forgotten that victory. Additionally, they have failed to cover a game at home in four chances as this is due to being overvalued and going back, they are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 home games. The Idaho defense has had its struggles in some areas, but forcing offenses into negative plays is not one as the Vandals have registered 58 tackles for loss. As a comparison, the Troy defense which is ranked No. 21 in the country, has generated 61 tackles for loss so a solid effort from the Idaho stop unit could play a big role in the cover here. 10* (315) Idaho Vandals

This is a play on the CENTRAL MICHIGAN/WESTERN MICHIGAN UNDER for our CFB Wednesday Total Dominator. The MAC continues its weeknight run on Wednesday with rivals Central and Western squaring off with the loser out of the MAC West race. We are expecting a grind it out type of game which is something this series has not seen over the years. The Broncos will be without quarterback Jon Wassink who broke his collarbone last game and they will be starting Reece Goddard who has thrown three career passes. To say they will be about ball control is an understatement as we will see a heavy dose of the run, even more than usual which burns clock. Western has rushed for 2,018 yards as a team, led by Jarvion Franklin's 80.2 ypg and seven total touchdowns. The Chippewas are coming off a 56-9 victory at Ball St. during which everything seemed to fall their way as they put up 256 yards rushing, a season high, and the defense held the Cardinals to 208 total yards, the season low for a Chippewas opponent. That defense will have to step up again and because of the quarterback change, they will have a better idea of what is coming. Western Michigan is allowing 385.6 ypg on defense with a lot of those yards coming early in the season. The Broncos have allowed an average of 15.8 ppg over their last five games in regulation as we threw out the overtime points in that crazy Buffalo game and we can expect this defense to come up strong against an inconsistent Central Michigan offense. While the Chippewas put up 56 points last week, they averaged 15 ppg in their previous five games. Central Michigan has gone under in 11 of its last 12 games against winning teams while the under is 5-1 in the Broncos last six games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. 10* Under (305) Central Michigan Chippewas/(306) Western Michigan Broncos