25* CFB Non-Conference GAME OF THE YEAR on Colorado State +23.5

The Iowa Hawkeyes are overvalued after opening the season 3-0 SU & 3-0 ATS.  Now you're paying a tax to back the Hawkeyes since they have a Top 5 ranking next to their name.  It's time to 'sell high' on the Hawkeyes this week.

Iowa just doesn't have the kind of offense it takes to cover these big spreads.  They are averaging just 298 yards per game and 4.5 yards per play on offense this season.  They have simply won with defense by forcing eight turnovers that have resulted in three non-offensive touchdowns and set up several others.

They run a methodical offense eating up most of the play clock before each snap, which is also going to make it hard for them to cover this big number.  They are winning in spite of poor play from QB Spencer Petras, who is completing just 58.3% (49-of-84) of his passes and averaging 153 passing yards per game and 5.0 per attempt.

Iowa's 30-7 win over Kent State last week was misleading, just as their wins over Indiana and Iowa State were as well due to the turnovers.  Kent State was driving to make it a 2-point game in the 3rd quarter but fumbled going into the end zone.  The Golden Flashes never trail by more than 16 until the Hawkeyes scored with 4:07 left in the 4th quarter.

It's a good time to 'buy low' on Colorado State because they had two upset losses to start the season to South Dakota State and Vanderbilt.  They were only outgained by 4 yards by a very good FSC team in SDSU and actually outgained Vanderbilt by 103 yards.  Their true colors showed last week in their 22-6 upset at Toledo has 14.5-point underdogs, and they will come into this game with Iowa with a ton of confidence because of it.  That's a Toledo team that nearly upset Notre Dame the week prior on the road.

Steve Addazio is a Big Ten-type coach who believes in physical football dating back to his time with Boston College, so he will have his players up for this test against a physical Iowa team.  The Rams have made it a priority to stop the run, and they've been great at it in allowing just 122 rushing yards per game and 3.7 per carry this season.  That gives them an excellent opportunity to slow this Iowa rushing attack and force Petras to try and beat them.

Addazio is 13-3 ATS in road games off a non-conference game as a head coach.  The Rams are 19-8 ATS in their last 27 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.  The Hawkeyes could easily be looking ahead to Maryland and overlooking the Rams this week.  They're just not built to cover these big spreads with their weak, methodical offense.  They tend to play to their level of competition.  Bet Colorado State Saturday.

20* Big Ten GAME OF THE WEEK on Rutgers +20.5

Rutgers went 3-6 last season but was competitive in every game with its biggest loss coming by 22 points at Ohio State.  Greg Schiano brought back 21 starters this season, and this Rutgers team remains grossly underrated.

That has shown with a 3-0 SU & 3-0 ATS start this season with the Scarlet Knights winnings 61-14 over Temple as a 14-point favorite, 17-7 at Syracuse as a 2.5-point favorite and 45-13 at home against Delaware as a 23.5-point favorite.  And they continue to get no respect from the books here as nearly 3-touchdown underdogs to Michigan.

The Wolverines are also 3-0 SU & 3-0 ATS with home wins and covers over Western Michigan, Washington and Northern Illinois.  But unlike Rutgers, the Wolverines are starting to get some respect from oddsmakers.  It's time to 'sell high' on them this week.

You know Rutgers wants revenge from a 42-48 (OT) home loss to Michigan as an 11.5-point underdog last year.  They haven't forgotten that game, and you can bet Schiano will be reminding his team this week.  

The Scarlet Knights only give up 11.3 points, 259.7 yards per game and 4.2 yards per play this season.  So while their offensive numbers aren't impressive outside their 41.0 points per game, they are good enough defensively to keep them in this game for four quarters and make life difficult on Michigan's offense.

The Scarlet Knights are 6-0 ATS in their last six road games.  Rutgers is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games vs. a team with a winning record.  The Wolverines are 0-5 ATS in their last five conference games.  Michigan is 0-4 ATS in its last four vs. a team with a winning record.  Schiano is 11-2 ATS in his last 13 road games after scoring 37 points or more last game as a head coach.  Roll with Rutgers Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Early ANNIHILATOR on Vanderbilt +35.5

You're paying a tax on Georgia due to their No. 2 ranking after beating Clemson in the opener.  Clemson nearly lost to Georgia Tech last week.  It's time to 'sell high' on the Bulldogs, which I did successfully last week with South Carolina +32 in a 27-point loss at Georgia.  I'm fading them again this week with Vanderbilt as a 35.5-point home dog.

The Commodores have at least been competitive statistically this season during their 1-2 start that included a upset win at Colorado State and an 18-point loss to Stanford.  Colorado State went on to beat Toledo outright 22-6 as a 14.5-point dog last week.  And remember Stanford upset USC 42-28 that led to the firing of Clay Helton.  So those were two decent performances.

Georgia hasn't won any of its last seven meetings with Vanderbilt by more than 31 points.  That makes for a 7-0 system backing the Commodores pertaining to this 35.5-point spread.  And there were some elite Georgia teams in there and some really bad Vanderbilt teams.  It's simply asking too much of Georgia to go on the road and win by more than five touchdowns to beat us.  Take Vanderbilt Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Non-Conference KNOCKOUT on Bowling Green +31.5

The Bowling Green Falcons are in the third year of this rebuilding journey under head coach Scot Loeffler.  You can already tell this team is greatly improved, yet the oddsmakers and betting public fail to realize it.  We'll take advantage this week and cash in the Falcons as 31.5-point underdogs to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Bowling Green is 3-0 ATS this season.  They covered in a 6-38 loss at Tennessee as 37-point dogs in their opener.  They covered in a 19-22 loss to South Alabama as 14-point dogs in Week 2.  And last week they crushed Murray State 27-10 as 1-point favorites.

I like what I've seen from Bowling Green QB Matt McDonald, a junior who is completing 71.4% of his passes for 716 yards with two touchdowns and only one interception.  This Falcons defense looks greatly improved, giving up a respectable 23.3 points, 347.7 yards per game and 4.5 yards per play this season.

It's a great time to 'sell high' on Minnesota off their 30-0 win at Colorado last week as short underdogs.  That's a bad Colorado offense that was held to 7 points by Texas A&M the previous week.  And they had Texas A&M on the ropes and lost that game 10-7, so it definitely could have been a hangover spot for them against Minnesota last week.

It appears the betting public is quickly forgetting that Minnesota was fighting tooth and nail to beat fellow MAC opponent Miami Ohio the previous week.  They only won that game 31-26 as 18-point favorites and managed just 287 total yards in the win.  That's the same Miami Ohio team that lost 14-49 at Cincinnati the previous week.  I just don't think the Gophers have the firepower offensively to beat Bowling Green by more than 31 points, especially since they lost their best player in RB Mohamed Ibrahim to a season-ending injury.

This is a very low total with a 51-point total, so getting big points on an underdog in a game that is expected to be low scoring is great value.  Bowling Green is 10-2 ATS in its last 12 road games with a total set of 49.5 to 52 points.  The Falcons are 31-14 ATS in their last 45 games off a home win by 17 points or more.  The Gophers are 1-7 ATS in their last eight home games vs. a team with a winning road record.  Bet Bowling Green Saturday.

20* MLB Friday No-Doubt Rout on Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-135)

The Los Angeles Dodgers trail the San Francisco Giants by one game for first place in the NL West.  This is a huge series for them against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and they won't be taking them lightly.  Look for them to win Game 1 by two runs or more to cover this Run Line due to their advantage on the mound.

Tony Gonsolin is 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA in 11 starts this season.  Gonsolin is 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his last five starts against the Diamondbacks, allowing just 4 earned runs in 18 1/3 innings.  He'll be opposed by Humberto Castellanos, who has posted a 4.63 ERA in five starts this season, including a 7.07 ERA in his last three starts while allowing 11 earned runs and 4 homers in 14 innings.

The Dodgers are 14-2 in 16 meetings with the Diamondbacks this season.  Los Angeles is 42-9 in its last 51 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.  Arizona is 34-91 in its last 125 games overall.  The Diamondbacks are 1-8 in their last nine home games.  Los Angeles is 46-11 as a favorite of -200 or more this season and winning by 2.7 runs per game.  Bet the Dodgers on the Run Line Friday.

20* Wake Forest/Virginia ESPN 2 No-Brainer on UNDER 69

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Virginia Cavaliers have both put up great offensive numbers this season.  That has this total inflated, and there's clearly value with the UNDER in this ACC showdown Friday night.

Virginia is scoring 41.3 points per game this season.  But they have played against some poor defenses in William & Mary, Illinois and North Carolina.  And that game against UNC is really what has this total inflated because it went way over the number.

Wake Forest is scoring 39.3 points per game this season.  But it has come against one of the weakest schedules of opposing defenses in the country with three home games against Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Florida State.

Wake Forest will definitely get more resistance here from Virginia's defense.  Conversely, this will be the best defense that Virginia has seen as well.  The UNDER is 3-0 in Wake Forest's three games this year because they have been dominant defensively.  They have held opponents to just 13.3 points per game, 308.3 yards per game and 4.7 yards per play.

Last year Wake Forest beat Virginia 40-23 for 63 combined points and went over the 57.5-point total.  So they have set this total 11.5 points higher than last year's meeting, which also shows there is value with the UNDER considering both teams return mostly intact.

Plays on the UNDER in all teams where the total is 63 or higher (Virginia) - an excellent offensive team that is averaging 440 yards per game are or against a team with a good defense that allows 280 to 330 yards per game, after gaining 525 or more yards in their previous game are 27-7 (79.4%) over the last five seasons.  Bet the UNDER in this game Friday.

15* Panthers/Texans Non-Conference KNOCKOUT on Carolina -7.5

The Carolina Panthers have been as impressive as anyone through two games this season.  They are 2-0 SU & 2-0 ATS with a 19-14 win over the Jets as 3.5-point favorites and a 26-7 upset win over the Saints as 3-point underdogs.

That game against the Jets was misleading as the Panthers got off to a 16-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas.  They outgained the Jets by 129 yards.  The New Orleans win was as dominant as it gets as they held the Saints to just 128 total yards and outgained them by 255 yards.

This Carolina defense is one of the best in the NFL in giving up just 10.5 points and 190.0 yards per game.  Now they get to go up against a rookie quarterback in Davis Mills of Houston after Tyrod Taylor got hurt against the Browns last week.  The Texans dominated the Jaguars with Taylor and were hanging tough against the Browns with him, but then it went south with Mills in their 21-31 loss.

Mills went just 8-of-18 for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Browns with a 10.1 QBR.  Now he is on a short week and will only get in basically one or two practices.  This is a terrible spot for the Texans because of their QB situation, and I look for this dominant Panthers defensive line to get after Mills and make life difficult for him for four quarters.

This Carolina offense is humming now with Joe Brady as their offensive coordinator, Sam Darnold at quarterback and a healthy Christian McCaffrey back at running back.  McCaffrey makes all the difference for this team.  He has already rushed for 170 yards and caught 14 balls for 154 yards through two games.  Darnold is completing 68.5% of his passes and averaging 8.0 yards per attempt.

They should feast on a Houston defense that is allowing 26.0 points per game, 475 yards per game and 6.1 yards per play.  Even the Jaguars had nearly 400 yards against them, and the Browns completed 19 of 21 passes against them while also rushing for 156 yards on them.  Mills and the offense can't be trusted, and neither can this defense.

The Panthers are 7-0 ATS in their last seven road games after going under the total in their previous game.  Houston is 1-8 ATS in its last nine games following a road loss.  The Texans are 2-13 ATS in their last 15 games after playing their last game on the road.  Carolina is 7-0 ATS in its last seven road games.  This is simply a terrible spot for the Texans.  Take the Panthers Thursday.

20* Marshall/Appalachian State ESPN No-Brainer on Marshall +7

I think we are getting some great line value on Marshall tonight against Appalachian State for one reason alone.  Appalachian State beat East Carolina 33-19 at home, while Marshall lost to East Carolina 38-42 at home.  But a deeper dive into those two games shows they were misleading finals.

For starters, East Carolina had a TD taken away right before half that should have stood against Appalachian State, which would have made it a 7-point game instead of a 14-point game.  Marshall had a 38-21 lead over East Carolina with less than 8 minutes to play in the 4th quarter, but gave up 21 unanswered points including an onside kick recovery.  That was as fluky a loss as it gets.

If Marshall had won that game by roughly 10 points, which they should have, this line would be closer to a pick 'em.  Also note that App State was only a 9-point favorite over East Carolina while Marshall was a 10.5-point favorite in that game.  So just last week they had Marshall power rated as a better team than Appalachian State.  I still have Marshall power rated as the better team, so they should not be catching 7 points here even with home-field advantage.

Marshall has already committed 9 turnovers this season and still should be 3-0, which is impressive.  They committed 3 turnovers in their 49-7 win over Navy in the opener.  They committed 3 more in their 44-10 win over NC Central in Week 2.  And last week they committed 3 more in their loss to East Carolina.  They can only be better in that department moving forward.

Marshall has one of the best offenses in the country, and it is going to be very difficult for Appalachian State to prepare for it on a short week.  The Thundering Herd rank 2nd in the country at 603.7 yards per game and 10th in scoring offense at 43.7 points per game.  They are 3rd in passing at 419.7 yards per game and 45th in rushing at 184.0 yards per game.

Appalachian State's 23-25 loss at Miami is also giving them more respect than they deserve.  That was a bad spot for Miami after their loss to Alabama in Week 1.  And they had Michigan State on deck in Week 3, so it was a flat spot for them.  Miami went on to get blown out by Michigan State, so the Hurricanes simply aren't very good.

Plays on road underdogs (Marshall) - a team from a second tier division 1 conference, against a team from a weak conference are 23-7 (76.7%) ATS over the last 10 seasons.  The Mountaineers are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games as favorites.  The Thundering Herd are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as road underdogs.  They will be highly motivated to get the sour taste out of their mouth from that 17-point blown 4th quarter lead against ECU last week with an upset win at Appalachian State this week.  Bet Marshall Thursday.

20* MLB Thursday No-Doubt Rout on San Francisco Giants -108

The San Francisco Giants are just two games up on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and need to keep winning.  The San Diego Padres are 6 games back in the wild card and basically out of it at this point.  The Padres have gone just 2-10 in their last 12 games overall and have basically packed it in.

Logan Webb is 10-3 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.096 WHIP in 23 starts this season.  The Giants are 16-1 in Webb's last 17 starts.  Webb has posted a 2.87 ERA in three career starts against the Padres as well.

Yu Darvish is 8-10 with a 4.13 ERA in 28 starts this season and cannot stay healthy.  He just gave up 8 earned runs and 4 homers in 4 innings of a 9-1 loss to the Giants on September 13th in his last start against them.  Darvish is now 1-4 with a 7.31 ERA in his last six starts, allowing 23 earned runs in 28 1/3 innings.

The Giants are 41-13 in their last 54 games after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game.  The Padres are 1-8 in their last nine games following a loss.  Roll with the Giants Thursday.

20* NL West GAME OF THE MONTH on San Francisco Giants -103

The San Francisco Giants are just one game up on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and need to keep winning.  The San Diego Padres are 5 games back in the wild card and basically out of it at this point.  The Padres have gone just 2-9 in their last 11 games overall and have basically packed it in.

I'll gladly fade San Diego starter Vincent Velasquez, who is 3-7 with a 6.05 ERA and 1.419 WHIP in 18 starts this season, including 0-3 with a 16.21 ERA and 2.161 WHIP in his last three starts.  He is also 0-5 with an 11.63 ERA in his last six starts, allowing 28 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings.  Velasquez is 0-4 in his last four starts against the Giants as well.

The Giants are 40-13 in their last 53 games after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game.  The Padres are 1-7 in their last eight games following a loss.  Bet the Giants Wednesday.

15* MLB Wednesday Undervalued Underdog on St. Louis Cardinals +120

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming up clutch down the stretch as usual as they try and get the 2nd wild card spot in the National League.  They have won 10 straight and are 12-1 in their last 13 games overall.  They are seeing the ball very well right now at the plate.

The Milwaukee Brewers are just 2-5 in their last seven games overall with losses to the Tigers as -210 and -225 favorites, a loss to the Cubs as a -220 favorite, and losses to the Cardinals in Game 1 as a -180 favorite and Game 2 as a -200 favorite.  They just can't be trusted as this big of a favorite right now.  They are just going through the motions knowing they basically already have the NL Central locked up.

Miles Mikolas is coming off one of his best starts of the season.  He pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings in an 8-2 victory over the Padres.  Mikolas is 4-1 with a 4.29 ERA and 0.981 WHIP in six career starts against the Brewers.  He'll be opposed by Brett Anderson, who is 4-8 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.336 WHIP In 21 starts this season.  Anderson is coming off an IL stint that has sidelined him since September 1st.

Anderson's teams are 0-8 in his last eight home starts vs. a team with a winning record and losing by 2.9 runs per game on average in this spot.  St. Louis is 7-0 in its last seven road games vs. a left-handed starter.  Take the Cardinals Wednesday.

15* AL PLAY OF THE DAY on Toronto Blue Jays +108

The Toronto Blue Jays are surging trying to make the wild card.  They have gone 19-5 in their last 24 games overall.  They have scored 5 runs or more in 15 of their last 20 games and are seeing the ball as well as anyone right now.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 6 games up in the AL East with 10 games to play.  They basically already have the division wrapped up and don't have much to play for the rest of the way.  That has shown as they have gone just 5-8 in their last 13 games overall and are just kind of going through the motions right now.

I'll gladly fade Luis Patino, who is 3-3 with a 4.96 ERA and 1.408 WHIP in 14 starts this season, including 0-0 with a 6.92 ERA and 1.769 WHIP in his last three starts which have come against the Tigers (twice) and Twins.  Patino is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays this season.

The Blue Jays are 39-17 in day games this season.  Toronto is 5-0 in its last five games as a road underdog.  The Blue Jays are 10-2 in their last 12 road games overall.  Roll with the Blue Jays Wednesday.

20* MLB Tuesday No-Doubt Rout on Houston Astros -1.5 (-125)

The Houston Astros have the best run differential in baseball.  They have the 2nd-best offense and 4th-best defense.  The Astros are 7-2 in their last nine games overall and hitting the cover off the ball right now.  They have scored at least 4 runs in each of their last six games and are averaging 7.5 runs per game in their last eight games.

The Astros should win by two runs or more against the hapless Los Angeles Angels, who have lost four straight and are averaging just 1.8 runs per game during this skid.  They are missing basically all of their best hitters on offense except Ohtani.

Jose Urquidy should shut down the Angels, too.  He is 7-3 with a 3.38 ERA and 0.982 WHIP in 17 starts this season.  Urquidy has posted a 1.35 ERA in his last three starts against the Angels.  He'll be opposed by Packy Naughton, who is 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA and 1.675 WHIP in three starts this season for the Angels.

The Angels are 6-20 in their last 26 home games after scoring one run or less.  They are losing by 2.2 runs per game in this spot.  The Astros are 93-43 in their last 136 games after allowing two runs or less in their previous game.  Houston is 41-19 in the last 60 meetings.  Bet the Astros on the Run Line Tuesday.

15* MLB Tuesday Undervalued Underdog on St. Louis Cardinals +196

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming up clutch down the stretch as usual as they try and get the 2nd wild card spot in the National League.  They have won nine straight and are 11-1 in their last 12 games overall.  They have scored 7 runs or more in five of their last seven games and are seeing the ball well right now.

The Milwaukee Brewers are just 2-4 in their last six games overall with losses to the Tigers as -210 and -225 favorites, a loss to the Cubs as a -220 favorite and a loss to the Cardinals in Game 1 as a -180 favorite.  They just can't be trusted as this big of a favorite right now.  They are just going through the motions knowing they basically already have the NL Central locked up.

The Cardinals have won each of Jake Woodford's last two starts as +160 and +140 underdogs as he has allowed just 3 earned runs in 8 innings.  He'll be opposed by Brandon Woodruff, who allowed 6 earned runs in 5 innings of a 4-8 loss to the Cardinals as a -185 favorite in his last start against them on August 19th.  Roll with the Cardinals Tuesday.

15* Blue Jays/Rays ESPN ANNIHILATOR on Toronto +100

The Toronto Blue Jays are surging trying to make the wild card.  They have gone 18-5 in their last 23 games overall.  They have scored 5 runs or more in 15 of their last 19 games and are seeing the ball as well as anyone right now.

Alek Manoah is another of the many underrated starters in Toronto's rotation.  He is 6-2 with a 3.39 ERA and 1.032 WHIP in 17 starts this season.  Manoah has owned the Rays this season, going 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA and 0.589 WHIP in three starts against them, allowing just 2 earned runs and 11 base runners in 18 2/3 innings with 29 K's.

The Blue Jays are 5-0 in their last five games following a loss.  Toronto is 6-0 in its last six games after allowing 5 runs or more in its previous game.  Take the Blue Jays Tuesday.

20* NFL TOTAL OF THE WEEK on Lions/Packers OVER 48

This game has shootout written all over it Monday night.  The Detroit Lions showed they are going to be an 'over' team in Week 1.  They allowed 41 points and a whopping 8.0 yards per play against the San Francisco 49ers.  But they didn't quit, scoring 33 points on their own after a big 4th quarter behind Jared Goff.

The Lions are going to have to play in shootouts all season because of their leaky defense.  And things just got worse for them when they lost starting CB Jeffrey Okudah to a season-ending Achilles injury last season.  Aaron Rodgers should have a field day against this Detroit defense.

The Packers gave up 38 points to the Saints in Week 1.  That's a Saints team that is starting Jameis Winston and without their best receiver in Michael Thomas.  That was a very bad showing for the Packers defensively.  It was also a poor showing offensively, but I have no doubt they will get it turned around in Week 2.  There was clearly going to be some rust for them on offense after Aaron Rodgers sat out most of training camp.  And that was a good Saints defense.  This will be a much easier test for Rodgers and company this week.

Both meetings between the Lions and Packers were shootouts last year.  The Packers won 42-21 at home for 63 combined points.  Green Bay also won 31-24 on the road for 55 combined points.  I think we are getting a discount on this 48-point total here Monday night.

The OVER is 7-1 in Lions last eight games following a loss.  The OVER is 35-17 in Packers last 52 September games.  The OVER is 5-1 in Packers last six vs. NFC North opponents.  Bet the OVER in this game Monday.

15* MLB Monday Undervalued Underdog on St. Louis Cardinals +193

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming up clutch down the stretch as usual as they try and get the 2nd wild card spot in the National League.  They have won eight straight and are 10-1 in their last 11 games overall.  They have scored 7 runs or more in five of their last six games and are seeing the ball well right now.

The Milwaukee Brewers are just 2-3 in their last five games overall with losses to the Tigers as -210 and -225 favorites, and a loss to the Cubs as a -220 favorite.  They just can't be trusted as this big of a favorite right now.  They are just going through the motions knowing they basically already have the NL Central locked up.

The Cardinals have won each of Jake Woodford's last two starts as +160 and +140 underdogs as he has allowed just 3 earned runs in 8 innings.  He'll be opposed by Freddy Peralta, who has never beaten the Cardinals, going 0-2 with a 6.56 ERA and 1.457 WHIP in six career starts against them.  Roll with the Cardinals Monday.

20* MLB Monday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -124

The Toronto Blue Jays are surging trying to make the wild card.  They have gone 18-4 in their last 22 games overall.  They have scored 5 runs or more in 15 of their last 18 games and are seeing the ball as well as anyone right now.

Robbie Ray deserves the Cy Young in the American League.  He is 12-5 with a 2.64 ERA and 1.015 WHIP in 29 starts with 233 K's in 177 1/3 innings.  Amazingly, Ray has allowed 4 earned runs or fewer in 30 consecutive starts, including 3 earned runs or fewer in 27 of those.

Ray simply owns the Rays, going 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in his last six starts against them, allowing just 7 earned runs in 39 2/3 innings with 57 K's.  Five of those starts have come this season alone.  He'll be opposed by Shane Baz, who will be making his first start of the season for the Rays.

Tampa is just kind of going through the motions right now knowing it basically has the AL East locked up.  The Rays are 4-7 in their last 11 games overall and coming off two straight losses to the Tigers are -265 and -180 favorites.  Take the Blue Jays Monday.

15* MLB PLAY OF THE DAY on St. Louis Cardinals -107

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming up clutch down the stretch as usual as they try and get the 2nd wild card spot in the National League.  They have won seven straight and are 9-1 in their last 10 games overall.  They have scored 7 runs or more in four of their last five games and are seeing the ball well right now.

Conversely, the San Diego Padres are choking away the wild card down the stretch.  They are 2-7 in their last nine games overall while scoring 4 runs or fewer in all seven losses, including 2 runs or less in six of them.  Manny Machado was in a shouting match with Fernando Tatis Jr. in the dugout yesterday, so this team just has no chemistry right now and is very frustrated.

I'm not backing the Cardinals because of J.A. Happ, I'm backing them because of their positive momentum.  And even Happ has been better than Jake Arrieta, who is 5-13 with a 7.05 ERA and 1.729 WHIP in 23 starts this season.  Arrieta is 0-9 with a 9.92 ERA in his last 14 starts, allowing 54 earned runs in 49 innings.

Arrieta's teams are 0-11 in his last 11 starts.  The Padres are 2-13 in their last 15 games as road underdogs.  San Diego is 21-52 in its last 73 meetings in St. Louis.  Bet the Cardinals Sunday.

15* MLB Sunday Total DOMINATOR on Dodgers/Reds UNDER 9

The Reds have scored 5 runs or fewer in 12 consecutive games, including 4 runs or fewer in 11 of those.  The Dodgers have scored 5 runs or fewer in eight of their last 10 games.  The UNDER is 32-15-6 in Dodgers last 53 games overall.  The UNDER is 9-2-1 in Reds last 12 games overall.

Clayton Kershaw is 9-7 with a 3.33 ERA and 0.985 WHIP in 19 starts this season.  It's rare that you'll see a total this high in a game started by Kershaw.  He is 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA and 0.965 WHIP in 12 career starts against the Reds, including 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his last three starts against them while allowing just 2 earned runs in 23 innings.

Wade Miley is 12-6 with a 3.09 ERA in 27 starts this season, including 7-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 13 home starts.  Miley has had great success against the Dodgers compared to most, going 4-5 with a 3.22 ERA in 17 career starts against them.  Miley is 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his last five starts against the Dodgers, allowing 2 earned runs in 23 innings, the same as Kershaw.  Take the UNDER in this game Sunday.

25* NFC South GAME OF THE YEAR on Carolina Panthers +4

Talk about an overreaction.  The betting public loved seeing what the Saints did last week to the big bad Green Bay Packers.  They beat them 38-3 in an upset.  But the Packers had chemistry and injury issues coming into the season due to Aaron Rodgers sitting out training camp.  It was more bad Packers than it was good Saints, especially with the Packers giving the game away with three turnovers.

The lookahead line on this game was a pick 'em.  Now the Saints are 4-point favorites, a 4-point adjustment.  This despite the Panthers winning and covering in a 19-14 win over the Jets, doing what they were supposed to do.  And the Panthers led that game 16-0 so it was a bigger blowout than the final score would indicate.

Sam Darnold was solid in his first start with the Panthers, and he should be even sharper in his second start under offensive genius Joe Brady.  Darnold went 24-of-35 passing for 279 yards and a touchdown without an interception against the Jets.  Having Christian McCaffrey back healthy makes all the difference for this team.  He rushed for 98 yards on 21 carries, while also catching nine balls for 89 yards.

Speaking of injuries, the Saints are far from healthy.  They are going to be without two of their best defensive players in CB Marshon Lattimore and DE Marcus Davenport.  They are already without their best receiver in Michael Thomas., plus fellow receiver Tre'quan Smith is out as well.  Starting C Erik McCoy went out last week and will miss this game, and this Saints offensive line will be up against an underrated Panthers defensive line that had 17 QB hurries last week. Jameis Winston just doesn't have many weapons right now, and he still needs to prove to me that he can be trusted to not turn the ball over.

Making matters worse is that the Saints have had eight members of the organization test positive for COVID.  The total includes six offensive coaches, one player and a nutritionist.  There will definitely be chemistry issues on the offensive side for the Saints, which is another factor working against Winston.

Sean Payton is 5-13 ATS in road games in the first two weeks of the season as the coach of the Saints.  They are getting outscored by 2.8 points per game in this spot.  New Orleans is 1-6 ATS in its last seven games vs. a team with a winning record.  Carolina is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games as an underdog.  The underdog is 11-3 ATS in the last 14 meetings.  Take the Panthers Sunday.

15* NFL Sunday UPSET SHOCKER on Cincinnati Bengals +3

The Cincinnati Bengals were very competitive before Joe Burrow went down with an injury last year.  His 264 completions were the most ever by an NFL QB through their first 10 career games.  His five 300-yard passing games tied a Bengals season-season record.  He became the first rookie to throw for 300 yards in three consecutive games.

Burrow has returned from his knee injury and actually got to play a drive in the preseason.  Reports coming out of camp are that his arm is stronger than it was before and he is fully recovered.  Burrow has a plethora of weapons now in WR's Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Ja'Marr Chase to go along with RB Joe Mixon.  But the key is the upgrades on the offensive line, where the Bengals didn't allow a single sack in three preseason games.

I cashed in the Bengals last week as +3.5 home dogs to the Minnesota Vikings, and I'm back on them again this week as 3-point road dogs to the Chicago Bears.  The Bengals led that game 21-7 in what was a bigger blowout than the final score showed.  Burrow looked to be in midseason form, completing 20-of-27 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns.  Mixon rushed for 127 yards and a score, and Chase went over 100 yards receiving in his first game in the NFL.

This is an improved front seven defensively for the Bengals as they held Dalvin Cook to 61 yards on 20 carries.  They held the Vikings to just 3.0 yards per rush.  That's important here because the Bears are going to be trying to run the ball, which is the only thing they did well last week against the Rams in rushing for 134 yards on 26 carries.  But that's where the bright spots ended for the Bears.

They averaged just 4.7 yards per play compared to 7.7 yards per play for the Rams, getting outgained by 3.0 yards per play in their 34-14 loss.  Andy Dalton was terrible and refused to try and stretch the field.  He averaged just 4.4 yards per pass attempt, throwing for 188 yards on 40 attempts.  More alarming may be this overrated Bears defense, which gave up 11.6 yards per pass attempt to Matthew Stafford.  Burrow is going to have a field day against this defense, too.

The Bears are without LB Danny Trevathan, RB Tarik Cohen and NT Eddie Goldman.  They could also be without T Jason Peters, who got hurt last week.  There is just turmoil surrounding this team at the QB position with whether or not Andy Dalton should be the starter, and I just don't trust them right now.

Plays against favorites (Chicago) - after a game with a turnover margin of -2 or worse are 96-49 (66.2%) ATS over the last five seasons.  The Bengals are 36-17-2 ATS in their last 55 September games.   The Bears are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games as home favorites.  The underdog is 3-1-1 ATS in the last five meetings.  Roll with the Bengals Sunday.

20* NFL BLOWOUT GAME OF THE WEEK on Los Angeles Rams -3.5

The Los Angeles Rams were as impressive as anyone in Week 1.  And they're a team I trust to carry it over into Week 2.  They beat the Bears 34-14 at home.  Matthew Stafford went 20-of-26 passing for 321 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover in his first start with the Rams.

This offense is going to be scary with how big of an upgrade he is over Jared Goff.  The Rams averaged 7.7 yards per play on offense and held Chicago to 4.7 yards per play on defense, outgaining them by 3.0 yards per play.  They had the top-ranked defense in the NFL last season and it will be dominant again this season.

The Colts are in a world of hurt right now.  They lost their opener 28-16 at home to the Seahawks.  They got a garbage time TD with two minutes left to make it look closer than it was.  They managed just 16 points in Carson Wentz's debut against a bad Seattle defense.  The Seahawks averaged 7.2 yards per play while the Colts managed just 4.7 yards per play, getting outgained by 2.5 yards per play.

Wentz has missed most of training camp and is rusty.  Not helping matters is the cluster injuries along the offensive line and at receiver.  They just lost tackle Eric Fisher to an Achilles injury last week.  They are without their best receiver in T.Y. Hilton.  This offense is a mess right now, and there are significant injuries on defense as well.  This team just can't be trusted early in the season until they show me something.

This is arguably the best team in the NFC West in the Rams in a division that went 4-0 last week with four blowout victories up against the worst division in the NFL in the AFC South that went 1-3 last week.  And the one win was the Texans over the Jaguars in a divisional matchup, so they were guaranteed to have at least one victory.

The Colts are 0-6 ATS in their last six games as home underdogs.  The favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.  Sean McVey is 8-1 ATS in the first two weeks of the season as the coach of the Rams, and they are outscoring opponents by 16.2 points per game in this spot.  This might be the public and square side, but it really will be as as easy as it looks in my opinion.  Bet the Rams Sunday.

15* CFB Saturday Late-Night BAILOUT on Fresno State +11.5

I like Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer, who took over for Jeff Tedford last year after serving as his offensive coordinator previously.  It didn't go great in Year 1 but they did go 3-3 and will make a huge leap in Year 2.  DeBoer welcomes back 19 starters, a potent offense and an improved defense.

QB Jake Haener is back after completing 64.7% of his passes for 2,021 yards with a 14-to-5 TD/INT ratio in just six games last year.  Ronnie Rivers rushed for 507 yards and 7 TD in five games and made first-team All-Mountain West.  All of his top receivers are back as nine starters return in all on offense.

Where the Bulldogs will be most improved is on defense, where they return 10 starters and each of their top 12 tacklers.  That showed in their opener as they beat Connecticut 45-0 and held the Huskies to just 107 total yards.  They came back the next week and nearly upset Oregon, losing 24-31 as 18-point underdogs.  That performance looks even better now after Oregon just upset Ohio State last week on the road.  The Bulldogs got back up off the mat and crushed Cal Poly 63-10 last week as 31.5-point favorites.

Haener is completing 73.6% of his passes for 1,009 yards with an 8-to-0 TD/INT ratio through three games.  Rivers has rushed for 162 yards and a score.  And seven different receivers have caught touchdown passes.  This is one of the best offenses in the country, and the defense is so much better in giving up just 13.7 points per game, 246.3 yards per game and 3.6 yards per play thus far.

It's a great time to 'sell high' on UCLA, which is off to a 2-0 SU & 2-0 ATS start.  The Bruins beat a bad Hawaii team 44-10 in their opener despite poor play from QB Dorian-Thompson Robinson, who I still have my concerns about with his inaccuracy.  Several special teams blunders by Hawaii led to easy scores for UCLA.

Then the Bruins came back and upset LSU 38-27 at home.  But that's a down LSU team that is missing more than a handful of starters due to injury, including their QB, RB and three of their best players on defense.  The Bruins have had two weeks to hear about how good they are in the media after having a bye last week.  They will come out complacent, and the bye week came at a terrible time as they had some momentum going.

The Bulldogs have been covering machines in going 37-17-2 ATS in their last 56 games overall, being grossly undervalued for years.  Fresno State is 18-7-1 ATS in its last 26 road games.  The Bulldogs are 20-6-2 ATS in their last 28 games following an ATS win.  Fresno State is 5-0 ATS in its last five games vs. Pac-12 opponents.  The Bulldogs are 20-5-1 ATS in their last 26 games as underdogs.  The Bruins are 4-13 ATS in their last 17 non-conference games.  UCLA is 1-5 ATS in its last six games vs. a team with a winning record.  Roll with Fresno State Saturday.

15* Auburn/Penn State ABC ANNIHILATOR on UNDER 53

Both Penn State and Auburn have been dominant defensively in the early going.  This Penn State defense is giving up just 11.5 points per game, 5.0 yards per pass attempt and 2.9 yards per carry against two very good offenses thus far in Wisconsin and Ball State.

Now the Nittany Lions will hold this Auburn offense and Bo Nix in check.  Nix has been tremendous at home throughout his career with a 20-to-1 TD/INT ratio at Jordan-Hare Stadium.  But Nix has a 9-to-10 TD/INT ratio on the road while completing just 54.5% of his passes.

I know Auburn has played two cupcakes thus far in Akron and Alabama State, but the defensive numbers are impressive nonetheless.  The Tigers have allowed just 5.0 points per game, 182.0 yards per game and 3.0 yards per play.  This is a Penn State offense that managed just 16 points against Wisconsin, and they will struggle to score points against this Auburn defense as well.

The UNDER is 6-1 in Tigers last seven road games.  The UNDER is 15-6 in Tigers last 21 games as underdogs.  The UNDER is 4-0 in Nittany Lions last four September games.  The UNDER is 5-2 in Nittany Lions last seven vs. SEC opponents.  Take the UNDER in this game Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Non-Conference KNOCKOUT on Central Michigan +19.5

Jim McElwain is in his third season at Central Michigan, which is when coaches usually do their best work.  He came over from Florida and is familiar with the SEC.  Now he gets his chance to face a second SEC team in three weeks to open the season, and he and his players will relish the opportunity and look at this as their Super Bowl.

McElwain wasted no time putting his stamp on this program in his first season, guiding the Chippewas to an 8-6 season and a trip to the MAC Championship Game.  They did go just 3-3 last year but only had 10 starters back, and all three losses came to three of the best teams in the MAC in Ball State, Toledo (by 1) and Western Michigan (by 8).

But now McElwain has a whopping 20 starters back and will contend for a MAC Championship again this season.  I was impressed with their 24-34 loss at Missouri in the opener as they covered as 14-point underdogs and put up 475 total yards on that Missouri defense.  Then last week they shut out Robert Morris 45-0 to cover as 37.5-point favorites, avoiding the sandwich letdown.  Now they go into LSU with a ton of confidence.

Oh how far the mighty have fallen.  After winning the National Championship in 2019, LSU came back last season and went just 5-5.  They have not impressed me at all thus far in 2021, either.  They lost outright as favorites 27-38 at UCLA while giving up 470 total yards in their opener.  Then last week they failed to cover as 38-point favorites in a 34-7 home win over McNeese State.

It's not all Ed Orgeron's fault, but he is probably getting a little complacent with his team.  And no team has been hit harder by injuries in the early going than LSU.  The Tigers are without starting QB Myles Brennan, starting RB John Emery, starting DE Ali Gaye, starting S Jay Ward and starting DE Glen Logan.  Backup RB Armoni Goodwin is out, and starting RT Austin Deculus is questionable.

It's just hard to win by margin with the Tigers missing so much talent and so many starters to injury.  Not to mention this is a flat spot for them with their SEC opener against Mississippi State on deck next week.  And compound that with the fact that the Chippewas are much better than they get credit for nationally and treating this game like their Super Bowl, and we have a live underdog here Saturday.

LSU is 9-21 ATS in its last 30 games as a home favorite of 14.5 to 21 points.  McElwain is 15-6 ATS as the coach of Central Michigan.  The Chippewas are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.  Central Michigan is 4-0 ATS in its last four road games.  Roll with Central Michigan Saturday.

15* Mountain West PLAY OF THE DAY on Utah State +9.5

Utah State went from 11-2 in 2018 to 7-6 in 2019 and just 1-5 last year.  Gary Andersen was clearly not the answer over the last two seasons.  So Utah State went out and hired Blake Anderson, who comes over from Arkansas State after leading the Red Wolves to six bowls in the past seven seasons.  

Anderson brought with him some elite transfers from the Red Wolves in QB Logan Bonner, first-team All-Sun Belt LB Justin Rice and WR Brandon Browning.  He inherits some good talent with 19 returning starters as well, so this isn't a rebuilding year.  And that has been evident in the early going for the Aggies.

They made their mark in Week 1 with a 26-23 upset win at Washington State as 18-point underdogs.  Then they avoided the letdown last week and crushed North Dakota 48-24 as 7.5-point favorites.  The offense is averaging 37.0 points and 531.0 yards per game this season.  Bonner is completing 66.7% of his passes for 533 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Now they take on an Air Force team that hasn't played very good competition thus far.  The Falcons only beat Lafayette 35-14 as 40.5-point favorites in their opener.  And while a 23-3 win over Navy last week would normally look good, keep in mind Navy lost to Marshall 49-7 in their opener.  The Midshipmen are clearly one of the worst teams in the country this season.  And this is a letdown spot for the Falcons off that win over their rivals.

Plays on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points (Utah State) - a team with a poor scoring defense last season that allowed 31 or more points per game, after a game where 70 combined points or more were scored are 31-9 (77.5%) ATS since 1992.  The Aggies are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 September games.  This will be one of your final chances to 'buy low' on Utah State as the betting public will be catching on soon, so we'll take advantage here.  Roll with Utah State Saturday.

20* MLB Saturday No-Doubt Rout on St. Louis Cardinals -115

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming up clutch down the stretch as usual as they try and get the 2nd wild card spot in the National League.  They have won six straight and are 8-1 in their last nine games overall.  They have scored 7 runs or more in four consecutive games and are seeing the ball well right now.

Conversely, the San Diego Padres are choking away the wild card down the stretch.  They are 2-6 in their last eight games overall while scoring 4 runs or fewer in all six losses, including 2 runs or less in five of them.

Adam Wainwright has resurrected his career this season and has been one of the best starters in baseball.  He is 16-7 with a 2.88 ERA and 1.030 WHIP in 29 starts, including 8-5 with a 2.71 ERA and 0.971 WHIP in 17 home starts.  He has allowed 4 earned runs or fewer in 21 consecutive starts, including 3 runs or fewer in 18 of those.

Wainwright is 7-5 with a 2.69 ERA and 1.219 WHIP in 14 career starts against the Padres.  He'll be opposed by Yu Darvish, who just cannot stay healthy this season and has struggled of late because of it.  Darvish is 1-8 with a 7.67 ERA in his last 11 starts, allowing 46 earned runs in 54 innings.  He is also 2-6 with a 6.33 ERA in 11 road starts this season.

The Padres are 2-12 in their last 14 games as road underdogs.  San Diego is 21-51 in its last 72 meetings in St. Louis.  Bet the Cardinals Saturday.

20* SEC GAME OF THE WEEK on South Carolina +32

For starters, this is the largest underdog role for South Carolina since 1999.  So there's value here with the Gamecocks.  Georgia hasn't beaten South Carolina by more than 32 points in any of the last 44 meetings, making for a 44-0 system backing the Gamecocks.  You have to go all the way back to 1974 to find the last time the Bulldogs have won by this kind of margin.

I've been impressed with South Carolina's 2-0 start this season beating Eastern Illinois 46-0 and East Carolina 20-17.  They've shown me enough to know that they can stay within 32 points of Georgia, a team that isn't looking to run up scores, but one that just wants to stay healthy, win and advance.

Speaking of health, Georgia has some serious injury issues on offense.  Both QB's that have started the first two games of the season in JT Daniels and Stetson Bennett are banged up and questionable for this game.  They also have cluster injuries at receiver with George Pickens out, Darnell Washington out, Arik Gilbert doubtful, Dominick Blaylock questionable and Arian Smith probable.

It's just a great time to 'sell high' on Georgia, which upset Clemson in the opener in the biggest game of the year thus far.  Then they came back and won and covered without Daniels against UAB last week behind a brilliant performance from Bennett.  This is the week to go against them now that their stock is as high as it can be.  

The betting public wants nothing to do with this South Carolina team.  They went 2-8 last year and have a first-year head coach in Shane Beamer.  But he was one of the better hires in the country and is getting the most out of this team already.  Beamer coached here under Steve Spurrier and was an assistant head coach under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, so he has learned under the best.  He was also on Georgia's staff in 2016 and 2017 under Kirby Smart, which is a little hidden advantage for him.

Georgia is 6-18 ATS in its last 24 home games off a cover as a double-digit favorite.  Smart is 0-6 ATS in home games off a cover as a double-digit favorite as the coach of Georgia having never covered in this role.  The Bulldogs are 30-53 ATS in their last 83 games following an ATS win.  The Gamecocks are 6-2 ATS in their last eight trips to Georgia.  The road team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings.  Bet South Carolina Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Undervalued Underdog on Georgia Southern +24

This is the ultimate letdown and sandwich spot for Arkansas.  They are coming off a 40-21 upset victory over Texas last week that saw their fans storm the field and tear the goal posts down.  Now what's on deck next week? How about their SEC opener against Top 10 opponent Texas A&M.  They clearly won't be up for this game, and that will allow Georgia Southern to hang around.

They are looking at a Georgia Southern team that just lost 38-6 at Florida Atlantic last week and thinking they just have to show up to win.  But that game could have played out much differently if not for one play.  The Eagles were driving in to go up two touchdowns early and turned the ball over in the red zone.  It was all FAU from there, outscoring them 38-0 the rest of the way.

Georgia Southern is a sleeper in the underrated Sun Belt Conference this season.  Chad Lunsford is in his 5th season here and has gone 10-3, 7-6 and 8-5 over the past three seasons.  Four of their five losses last year came by one score with the only exception being their 14-point loss to Coastal Carolina, which was the best team in the conference last year and nearly went unbeaten.

They lost at Louisiana by 2, at Army by 1, at Georgia State by 6 and to Appalachian State by 8.  Those were four very good teams last year that all made bowl games.  So their only losses last year came to bowl teams.  Now Lunsford has 16 returning starters with eight on both sides of the ball to work with in 2021.

It's a great time to 'buy low' on the Eagles after their 0-2 ATS start.  The biggest reason for their poor start is that they have been without junior starting QB Justin Tomlin for their first two games.  Lunsford said that Tomlin, who was out due to an academic suspension, will start Saturday against Arkansas.  Tomlin has played in 16 games, including four starts.  So they have had to play a pair of freshmen QB's up to this point.

Tomlin is the key to this triple-option attack of Georgia Southern.  Arkansas only has one week to prepare for it and isn't used to seeing teams like this.  They faced a run-heavy team in Rice in their opener in a game that was much closer than the final score would indicate.  That game was actually tied 17-17 in the 4th quarter before Arkansas pulled away late for a 38-17 victory, including two touchdowns in the final four minutes.

The spot is just a terrible one for Arkansas here.  They aren't used to having expectations and they are used to being the underdog.  But now they have moved into the Top 20 in the polls after that win over Texas.  And with the Aggies on deck, they aren't going to be putting their best foot forward here against the Eagles, who are treating this game against an SEC opponent as their Super Bowl.  Take Georgia Southern Saturday.

20* CFB DOG OF THE WEEK on Kent State +23.5

Sean Lewis has done one of the most underrated coaching jobs in the country at Kent State.  He took over a team that hadn't won more than 4 games in any of the previous five seasons.  And after going 2-10 in his first season in 2018, he got them to 7-6 in his 2nd season in 2019 and a bowl victory.  They went 3-1 in a shortened season last year with their only loss to powerhouse Buffalo.

They returned 18 starters this season, including a future NFL QB in Dustin Crum and 10 starters on offense.  Crum threw for nearly 1200 yards last season and accounted for 16 total touchdowns in only four games.  He is a dual-threat that will give Iowa problems.  Iowa isn't used to going up against these spread teams that run up-tempo offenses.

This is a massive letdown spot for the Hawkeyes if I've ever seen one.  They are coming off back-to-back wins against ranked teams in Indiana and Iowa State.  They won't be nearly as motivated to face Kent State as they were last week to win the Cy-Hawk trophy and shut up all the hype around their hated rivals in the Cyclones.

Iowa just doesn't have the kind of offense it takes to cover these big spreads.  They are averaging just 238 yards per game and 3.8 yards per play on offense this season.  They have simply won with defense by forcing seven turnovers that have resulted in three non-offensive touchdowns and set up several others.

They run a methodical offense eating up most of the play clock before each snap, which is also going to make it hard for them to cover this big number.  They are winning in spite of poor play from QB Spencer Petras, who is completing just 50% (24-of-48) of his passes and averaging 126 passing yards per game and 5.1 per attempt.

I like the fact that Kent State already played a Top 10 team in Texas A&M in their opener so they won't be phased by playing a team like Iowa.  The Hawkeyes are starting to read the press clippings and everything that comes with their Top 5 ranking.  This is the week they start to believe the hype and have a flat performance.  

The Golden Flashes are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games after accumulating more than 450 yards in their previous game.  The Hawkeyes are 2-6 ATS in their last eight vs. MAC opponents.  Bet Kent State Saturday.

15* MLB Saturday Total DOMINATOR on Dodgers/Reds UNDER 8.5

This game sets up as a pitcher's duel between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.  Max Scherzer is making his case here down the stretch to win the Cy Young award.  Sonny Gray has pitched his best down the stretch as well.

Scherzer is 14-4 with a 2.17 ERA and 0.821 WHIP in 27 starts this season with 219 K's in 162 innings.  He has gone 7-0 with a 0.98 ERA in his last nine starts, allowing just 6 earned runs in 55 innings.  Scherzer is 5-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 0.890 WHIP in eight career starts against the Reds as well.

Gray is 7-7 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.185 WHIP in 23 starts this season.  He has gone 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his last five starts, allowing just 6 earned runs in 30 innings.  Few starters have had as much success against the Dodgers as Gray, who has posted a 2.18 ERA and 0.726 WHIP in three career starts against them.

The Reds have scored 5 runs or fewer in 11 consecutive games, including 4 runs or fewer in 10 of those.  The Dodgers have scored 5 runs or fewer in seven of their last nine games.  The UNDER is 7-0 in Dodgers last seven games following a loss.  The UNDER is 31-15-6 in Dodgers last 52 games overall.  The UNDER is 8-2-1 in Reds last 11 games overall.  Take the UNDER in this game Saturday.

25* CFB Non-Conference TOTAL OF THE YEAR on Nebraska/Oklahoma OVER 61.5

Oklahoma has now averaged at least 42.1 points per game in six consecutive seasons.  Lincoln Riley has turned the Sooners into an offensive juggernaut.  And this total has been set too low today as Oklahoma should put up 42-plus points on Nebraska, and the Huskers should be able to keep pace for the most part.

The Sooners definitely won't be taking their foot off the gas on offense after nearly blowing a 37-14 halftime lead to Tulane in a 40-35 lead.  They came back last week and throttled Western Carolina 76-0.  And if they get the chance to add on against former Big 12 rival Nebraska they will do just that.

But this Nebraska offense is much improved under Scott Frost.  And they have been effective when Adrian Martinez has been healthy.  That has been the case through three games this season with the Huskers averaging 34.0 points per game and 513.7 yards per game.

It's going to be a perfect day in Norman, Oklahoma with temperatures in the 90's and light winds.  This will be an offensive-friendly atmosphere inside Gaylor Family Memorial Stadium with plenty of offensive fireworks.  Oklahoma has two starters in the secondary that are either questionable or doubtful for this one in NB Billy Bowman and CB Woodi Washington, and there are other injuries that will affect their depth on defense.

Plays on the OVER on home teams where the total is 56.5 to 63 (Oklahoma) - an excellent offense from last season that averaged 6.1 or more yards per play, after gaining 6.75 or more yards per play in their previous game are 28-7 (80%) over the last 10 seasons.  The OVER is 18-7-1 in Sooners last 26 home games.  The OVER is 15-5-1 in Sooners last 21 September games.  Bet the OVER in this game Saturday.

15* VA Tech/WVU FS1 Early ANNIHILATOR on West Virginia -2.5

This is a great time to 'sell high' on Virginia Tech.  The Hokies are 2-0 SU & 2-0 ATS this season.  They upset North Carolina at home in their opener 17-10 as the Tar Heels basically gave that game away with three turnovers.  They only managed 296 total yards against UNC and were outgained by 58 yards.

Then last week they avoided the letdown with a 35-14 win over Middle Tennessee, barely covering as a 20-point favorite.  But that game was much closer than the final score showed.  The Hokies only managed 383 total yards against a bad Middle Tennessee defense and only outgained them by 34 yards.

While this Virginia Tech defense is improved, the offense does not impress me at all.  The Hokies are only averaging 339.5 yards per game and 5.3 yards per play against two suspect defenses.  Now the Hokies will be without their biggest weapon on offense in TE James Mitchell, who had 26 receptions for 435 yards and 4 TD last season.  He got hurt against Middle Tennessee last week after having a big TD catch against UNC in the opener.

Now they take a big step up in class here against a West Virginia defense that was one of the best in the country last year, allowing just 20.5 points per game and 291 yards per game, which is no small feat playing in the Big 12.

Neal Brown in now in his 3rd season at WVU and this is his best team yet with 17 returning starters.  It didn't show in the opener against Maryland as the Mountaineers lost 30-24, but they gave that game away by losing the turnover battle 4-0.  And it's clear Maryland is greatly improved this season with a ton of talent on offense.

That was also a road game for West Virginia.  They returned home to beat Long Island 66-0 last week.  And the Mountaineers are now 6-0 SU & 5-0-1 ATS in their last six home games, outscoring opponents by an average of 30.1 points per game.  You read that right folks.  They have one of the best home-field advantages in the country, and it will be a great atmosphere with Virginia Tech coming to town.  Take West Virginia Saturday.

20* UCF/Louisville ESPN No-Brainer on UCF -6.5

Gus Malzahn made the right choice coming to UCF with the best talent at his disposal of all the Group of 5 teams.  UCF has been a juggernaut for years and continues to be under Malzahn.  That is already evident after two games this season.

I actually believe UCF to be undervalued due to their non-cover in a 36-31 win over Boise State as a 6-point favorite in the opener.  But the numbers show they should have won that game by 20-plus easily.   UCF had 573 total yards while holding Boise State to just 283 yards, outgaining them by 290 yards for the game.

The Knights came back the next week and put it on Bethune-Cookman 63-14 while covering as a 45.5-point favorite.  They had 671 total yards in that game.  Malzahn has elected to keep the up-tempo offense here at UCF that was made famous before him, and it is resulting in gaudy offensive numbers that make me want to lay points with the Knights.

Defensively, Malzahn brought in some transfers and some big-time recruits that has the Knights with one of the best front seven's in the country.  That has been evident as they have held Boise State to 20 rushing yards on 26 carries and Bethune-Cookman to 24 yards on 14 carries.  They are giving up just 1.1 yards per carry this season.

Louisville needs to be able to run the ball to be effective because the passing game just isn't very good.  This is a Cardinals team that went 4-7 last year and only brought back 13 starters.  They lost all of their top playmakers on offense in RB Javian Hawkins (822 yards, 7 TD last year) and WR's Dez Fitzpatrick and Tutu Atwell, who combined for 89 receptions, 1,458 yards and 10 TD last year.  That leaves too much on QB Malik Cunningham's shoulders.

Louisville was shut out in the first half by Ole Miss.  And that game was an even bigger blowout than the final score showed in a 24-43 defeat.  They gave up 569 total yards to Ole Miss and were held to 355 total yards.  I think we see a similar result here.  The Cardinals weren't very impressive in their 30-3 win over Eastern Kentucky as a 30-point favorite last week, either.

Louisville is 7-23-1 ATS in its last 31 games vs. a team with a winning record.  The Cardinals are 7-17 ATS in their last 24 games as home underdogs.  Louisville is 1-5 ATS in its last six games vs. AAC opponents.  This is another opportunity for the Knights to make a statement in a primetime National TV game, and I expect them to do just that.  Bet UCF Friday.

15* MLB Friday Undervalued Underdog on Detroit Tigers +190

The Detroit Tigers are 70-77 (+21.7 Units) on the season.  They have been one of the most profitable teams to back in all of baseball.  They now take on the struggling Tampa Bay Rays, who don't have much to play for the rest of the way with the AL East wrapped up.  The Rays are 3-5 in their last eight games and have been held to 4 runs or fewer in five of those.

Casey Mize has been one of my favorite starters to back this season because he is grossly undervalued.  The Tigers are 15-12 (+11.5 Units) in Mize's 27 starts this season, in which he has posted a 3.66 ERA and 1.140 WHIP this season.

He'll be opposed by Luis Patino, who is 3-3 with a 4.85 ERA and 1.433 WHIP in 13 starts this season, including 1-0 with a 4.97 ERA and 1.736 WHIP in his last three starts.  Patino lost as a -140 favorite in his last start on September 12th to the Tigers while allowing 2 earned runs and 7 base runners in 4 1/3 innings of a 7-8 loss.

Simply put, the Tigers shouldn't be nearly 2-to-1 underdog to the Rays tonight.  They are 5-2 in their last seven games overall with wins as +205, +190, +130, +145 and +115 underdogs.  Detroit is 7-2 (+12.3 Units) in MIze's nine starts as an underdog of +150 or higher this season.  Roll with the Tigers Friday.

20* MLB Friday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (-115)

The Toronto Blue Jays are 16-3 in their last 19 games overall and the hottest team in baseball.  Ten of their last 11 wins have come by two runs or more.  They are battling with the Red Sox and Yankees for the two wild card spots in the American League.  They need to keep winning and will be highly motivated to do so.

The Minnesota Twins are just 2-6 in their last eight games overall.  Now they have to take on a red hot Blue Jays team that has scored 5 runs or more in 13 of their last 15 games, including a combined 58 runs in their last six games for an average of 9.7 runs per game.

The Blue Jays have the advantage on the mound.  Hyun-Jin Ryu is 13-8 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.186 WHIP in 28 starts this season.  He'll be opposed by Michael Pineda, who is 0-2 with a 12.34 ERA in his last three starts against the Blue Jays, allowing 16 earned runs and 7 homers in 11 2/3 innings.

Ryu's teams are 27-6 in his last 33 starts when working on 5 or 6 days' rest and winning by 2.7 runs per game.  Pineda's teams are 1-8 when he's working on 5 or 6 days' rest this season and losing by 1.8 runs per game.  The Twins are 6-16 in their last 22 games vs. a left-handed starter.  Bet the Blue Jays on the Run Line Friday.

20* Giants/Washington NFC East No-Brainer on Washington -3

The Washington Football Team was a 5.5-point favorite on the lookahead line last week coming into this game.  Now they are only 3-point favorites, so there's value here based off of that and a couple other reasons.

The big reason for the move was the loss of Ryan Fitzpatrick to injury early in their 20-16 loss to the Chargers last week.  But Washington played well with Taylor Heinicke, who went 11-of-15 for 122 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 17 yards on three carries.  I don't think he is that much of a downgrade, at least not as much as it is being made out to be.

Washington was an Antonio Gibson fumble as his own 4-yard line away from winning that game against the Chargers despite getting outgained badly.  Washington's defense, which is one of the best in the NFL, held the Chargers to just 20 points and 5.4 yards per play.  Washington averaged 5.3 yards per play to compare.

The Giants lost 27-13 at home to the Broncos as 3-point underdogs in their opener.  Their offensive line, which is one of the worst in the NFL, was atrocious.  They managed just 60 rushing yards on 20 carries and 3.0 yards per carry.  Defensively, they gave up 420 total yards and 165 yards and 5.9 per carry on the ground, so the defensive front seven is a problem too.

That's where this game will be won.  Washington has the best defensive line in the NFL and will dominate this Giants offensive line, giving Daniel Jones all kinds of issues.  Jones is one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL.  Washington will be able to run the ball on this weak New York defense just as the Broncos did, which will take some pressure off of Heinicke.

Washington wants revenge after losing both meetings with the Giants by a combined 4 points last season.  But they shouldn't have lost either game.  They outgained New York 337 to 240 in their 20-19 road loss.  They came back and outgained the Giants 402 to 350 in their 20-23 home loss.  It's revenge time here Thursday night on a short week, which always favors the home team.  Bet Washington Thursday.

15* Ohio/LA-Lafayette ESPN ANNIHILATOR on Ohio +21

The Ohio Bobcats are now way undervalued after starting the season 0-2 with two upset losses.  They go from being 2.5-point favorites against Syracuse to 28.5-point favorites against Duquesne and now 21-point underdogs to Louisiana-Lafayette.  Talk about an overreaction.

While everyone is burying Ohio, they seem to just be forgiving Louisiana-Lafayette for their two performances to open the season.  The Rajin' Cajuns were overmatched in their 18-38 loss at Texas as 8.5-point underdogs.  And we saw what Texas did last week, getting upset in blowout fashion at Arkansas.  

Then last week Louisiana-Lafayette only beat Nicholls State 27-24 as 25.5-point favorites.  They gave up 511 total yards to Nicholls State and were fortunate to win.  I just think that loss to Texas after having such big expectations coming into the season has taken lot of steam and intensity out of the Rajin' Cajuns.  They had dreams of representing the group of 5 teams in a New Year's 6 bowl.  Those were crushed with the loss to Texas.

Ohio hasn't been as bad as the scores would suggest.  The Bobcats were only outgained by 39 yards by Syracuse in the opener.  They are giving up just 5.3 yards per play on defense while averaging 6.0 yards per play on offense, including 4.9 yards per carry and completing nearly 70% of their passes.  They are a great 'buy low' candidate moving forward, especially with 17 returning starters and tons of promise.

Louisiana is giving up 473.0 yards per game and 6.7 yards per play this season.  They are only averaging 387.5 yards per game and 5.8 yards per play.  They lost some players to the NFL and haven't been able to run the ball like they are used to.  They are averaging just 94 rushing yards per game and 3.2 per carry this season.

Plays on road underdogs (Ohio) - a team from a second tier division 1 conference against a team from a weak conference are 23-5 (82.1%) ATS over the last 10 seasons.  The Bobcats are 8-0 ATS in their last eight Thursday games.  Ohio is 6-0 ATS in its last six road games off a close loss by 3 points or less.  The Bobcats are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 road games off a loss by 6 points or less.  Ohio is 13-3 ATS in its last 16 games as underdogs.  The Rajin' Cajuns are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games as favorites.  Louisiana is 1-5 ATS in its last six home games.  Take Ohio Thursday.

15* MLB Thursday PLAY OF THE DAY on Detroit Tigers +190

The Detroit Tigers are 70-76 (+22.7 Units) on the season.  They have been one of the most profitable teams to back in all of baseball.  They now take on the struggling Tampa Bay Rays, who don't have much to play for the rest of the way with the AL East wrapped up.  The Rays are 2-5 in their last seven games and have been held to 4 runs or fewer in five of those.

Tyler Alexander is one of the most underrated starters in baseball, and this Tigers rotation is underrated in general, which is why they have been such big money makers this season.  Alexander is 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA and 1.205 WHIP in 11 starts this season, including 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.048 WHIP in five road starts.

Louis Head will be making just his second start of the season for the Rays.  His first did not go well as he gave up 2 earned runs and one homer in one inning to the Orioles on August 18th.  Alexander beat the Rays as a +145 home dog in a 10-4 victory on September 10th in his last start, allowing just one earned run in 4 1/3 innings.

Simply put, the Tigers shouldn't be nearly 2-to-1 underdog to the Brewers tonight.  They are 5-1 in their last six games overall with wins as +205, +190, +130, +145 and +115 underdogs.  I cash them in each of the last two days in that +200 range, and I'm back on them again today.  Detroit is 9-1 (+12 Units) in Alexander's last 10 starts.  Roll with the Tigers Thursday.

15* MLB Wednesday Late-Night BAILOUT on San Francisco Giants -103

The San Francisco Giants are coming up clutch here late in the season with the NL West division on the line.  They are 9-0 in their last eight games with eight wins by two runs or more.  They have scored at least 6 runs in all nine wins, so they are stupid hot at the plate right now.

The San Diego Padres are falling flat on their faces while trying to make the wild card.  They are 0-5 in their last five games overall while scoring a combined 6 runs in the five losses, averaging just 1.2 runs per game.  They can't be trusted right now.

Dominic Leone is just an opener for the Giants but has pitched 5 shutout innings in three starts in this role.  Joe Musgrove is getting too much respect here considering he is 1-3 with a 5.14 ERA in four career starts against the Giants.  That includes 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in two starts against the Giants in 2021, allowing 9 earned runs and 3 homers in 10 innings.

The Padres are 8-21 in their last 29 games overall.  The Giants are 47-23 in their last 70 home games.  San Francisco is 41-12 in its last 53 games after scoring 5 runs or more in its previous game.  The Giants are 5-1 in the last six meetings.  Roll with the Giants Wednesday.

20* AL East GAME OF THE MONTH on Toronto Blue Jays -162

The Toronto Blue Jays are 15-3 in their last 18 games overall and the hottest team in baseball.  They are tied with the Red Sox and Yankees for the two wild card spots in the American League.  They need to keep winning and will be highly motivated to do so.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 2-4 in their last six games overall.  They basically have the AL East wrapped up at this point with not much to play for the rest of the way.  Now they have to take on a red hot Blue Jays team that has scored 5 runs or more in 12 of their last 14 games, including a combined 52 runs in their last five games for an average of 10.4 runs per game.

Robbie Ray is neck and neck with Gerrit Cole for the Cy Young award.  Ray has allowed 4 earned runs or fewer in 29 consecutive starts, including 3 earned runs or fewer in 26 of those.  He is 1-1 with a 1.65 ERA in his last five starts against the Rays while allowing just 6 earned runs in 32 2/3 innings with 44 K's.  Four of those starts have come this season.

Michael Wacha is 3-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 20 starts this season.  Wacha has been at his worst on the road, going 1-3 with a 5.77 ERA and 1.531 WHIP in 11 starts away from home.  The Blue Jays are 6-0 in their last six during Game 3 of a series.  Toronto is 6-1 in its last seven games following a loss.  Bet the Blue Jays Wednesday.

15* MLB Wednesday Early ANNIHILATOR on Detroit Tigers +211

The Detroit Tigers are 69-76 (+20.7 Units) on the season and 38-36 (+11.5 Units) at home.  They have been one of the most profitable teams to back in all of baseball.  They take on the Milwaukee Brewers, who don't have much to play for the rest the way as they already have the NL Central division title locked up.

Matt Manning hasn't posted great numbers this season, but he has been much more effective at home at 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA in seven starts.  The Tigers are 4-3 (+2.1 Units) in his seven home starts this season.

Brandon Woodruff has posted great season-long numbers, but he is coming off a very poor start against the Philadelphia Phillies.  He allowed 4 earned runs, 3 homers and 10 base runners in 6 innings of a 12-0 loss to the Phillies on September 6th.

Simply put, the Tigers shouldn't be more than 2-to-1 underdog to the Brewers tonight.  They are 4-1 in their last five games overall with wins as +190, +130, +145 and +115 underdogs.  Take the Tigers Wednesday.

15* MLB Run Line PLAY OF THE DAY on San Francisco Giants -1.5 (+120)

The San Francisco Giants are coming up clutch here late in the season with the NL West division on the line.  They are 8-0 in their last eight games with seven wins by two runs or more.  They have scored at least 6 runs in all eight wins so they are stupid hot at the plate right now.

The San Diego Padres are falling flat on their faces while trying to make the wild card.  They are 0-4 in their last four games overall while scoring a combined 5 runs in the four losses, averaging just 1.25 runs per game.  They can't be trusted right now.

Speaking of can't be trusted, Jake Arrieta was a head-scratching acquisition for the Padres at the trade deadline.  Arrieta is 5-12 with a 7.03 ERA and 1.722 WHIP in 22 starts this season.  He is 0-8 with a 9.70 ERA in his last 13 starts, allowing 51 earned runs in 47 1/3 innings.

Arrieta's teams are 0-10 in his last 10 starts with nine losses by two runs or more.  He gave up 6 earned runs in 2 innings in his lone start against the Giants this season.  Anthony DeSclafini is 11-6 with a 3.33 ERA and 1.116 WHIP in 27 starts this season.  He is 1-1 with a 2.90 ERA and 0.967 WHIP in seven career starts against the Padres.

Arrieta's teams are 1-12 in his 13 starts as an underdog of +125 to +175 over the last two seasons.  They are losing by 3.5 runs per game in this spot.  Take the Giants on the Run Line Tuesday.

20* MLB Tuesday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -130

The Toronto Blue Jays are 15-2 in their last 17 games overall and the hottest team in baseball.  They are one game ahead of both the Red Sox and Yankees for the two wild card spots in the American League.  They need to keep winning and will be highly motivated to do so.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 1-4 in their last five games overall.  They basically have the AL East wrapped up at this point with not much to play for the rest of the way.  Now they have to take on a red hot Blue Jays team that has scored 5 runs or more in 12 of their last 13 games, including a combined 52 runs in their last four games for an average of 13.0 runs per game.

Jose Berrios was a great get for the Blue Jays before the trade deadline to add to their already underrated rotation.  Berrios is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA and 0.836 WHIP in his last three starts, allowing just 5 earned runs in 20 1/3 innings with 26 K's.

Toronto is 8-0 after scoring 7 runs or more in three straight games over the last three seasons.  It is coming back to win by 4.5 runs per game in this spot.  Bet the Blue Jays Tuesday.

15* MLB Tuesday Undervalued Underdog on Detroit Tigers +191

The Detroit Tigers are 68-76 (+18.8 Units) on the season and 37-36 (+9.6 Units) at home.  They have been one of the most profitable teams to back in all of baseball.  They take on the Milwaukee Brewers, who don't have much to play for the rest the way as they already have the NL Central division title locked up.

I'll gladly fade Freddy Peralta, who is 0-1 with a 9.39 ERA and 1.956 WHIP in his last three starts while allowing 8 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings.  He won't go long in this game either, so the Tigers will get into their bullpen early.

Wily Peralta has been grossly underrated here and should not be close to a 2-to-1 dog to Freddy Peralta.  Wily is 3-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 14 starts this season, including 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in five home starts.

The Tigers are 6-1 in their last seven games following an off day.  Detroit is 18-7 in its last 25 Tuesday games.  Roll with the Tigers Tuesday.

20* Ravens/Raiders ESPN No-Brainer on Las Vegas +4

The Las Vegas Raiders went 8-8 last season and nearly beat the Kansas City Chiefs twice.  They made big improvements under John Gruden and got even better in the offseason.  Look for a big effort for them on Monday Night Football at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in front of fans for the first time, which will be a big advantage as this has been anticipated by Raiders fans since the move to Vegas.

The Raiders are loaded on offense and finished 8th in total offense last season at 383.3 yards per game.  But the key is the improvement they will make defensively.  They brought in one of the best coordinators in the game in Gus Bradley.  They also added Yannick Ngakoue and Casey Hayward.  And they spent five of their first six picks in the NFL Draft on defense.

The Ravens were celebrating a 20-0 preseason run.  But it didn't last long because injuries have taken their toll on this team.  They lost their top three running backs in Dobbins, Edwards and Hill to potential season-ending injuries prior to the season.  They also lost starting CB Marcus Peters to a season-ending injury in practice this week.  They have injuries at receiver right now as well and are a mash unit coming into the season.

Teams have plenty of game film on Lamar Jackson now to know how to stop him.  Gus Bradley did just that a couple years ago when the Chargers upset the Ravens in the playoffs and Bradley was in charge of that defense that stopped him.  The Ravens ranked just 19th in total offense last year and relied heavily on the run, ranking 1st at 191.9 yards per game on the ground.  They only averaged 171.2 yards per game through the air.  Without their top three running backs, it's hard to see them having nearly as much success this season, especially to start.

The home team is 7-2 ATS in the last nine meetings.  Roll with the Raiders Monday.

20* MLB Monday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -123

The Toronto Blue Jays are 14-2 in their last 16 games overall and the hottest team in baseball.  They are tied with the Red Sox for the two wild card spots and one game ahead of the Yankees.  They need to keep winning and will be highly motivated to do so.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 1-3 in their last four games overall.  They basically have the AL East wrapped up at this point with not much to play for the rest of the way.  Now they have to take on a red hot Blue Jays team that has scored 5 runs or more in 11 of their last 12 games, including a combined 44 runs in their last three games.

The Blue Jays have the advantage on the mound today with Alek Manoah, who is 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.093 WHIP in seven home starts this season.  Manoah is 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 0.937 WHIP in two starts against the Rays this season.  He'll be opposed by Colin McHugh, who will only be pitching a couple innings in this one.

Toronto is 7-0 in its last seven games after scoring 7 or more runs in three straight games coming in.  Bet the Blue Jays Monday.

15* NL PLAY OF THE DAY on Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-130)

The Atlanta Braves are trying to win the NL East Division.  They are coming off a loss as a -250 favorite to the Marlins yesterday and will be highly motivated to bounce back today.  I like their chances of winning this game by two runs or more due to their advantage on the mound.

Max Fried has been dominant down the stretch.  He has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts, two earned runs or fewer in seven of them and one earned run or fewer in five of them.  He has gone 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA in those eight starts while allowing just 10 earned runs in 52 innings.

Edward Cabrera is 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.501 WHIP in three starts this season.  He has allowed 10 earned runs and 4 homers in 12 2/3 innings in those starts, two of which came against the Mets and one against the Nationals.

The Braves are 24-7 in Fried's last 31 starts as a favorite of -110 or higher and winning by 3.0 runs per game in this spot.  The Marlins are 3-15 in road games vs. left-handed starters this season and losing by 2.6 runs per game in this spot.  Bet the Braves on the Run Line Sunday.

15* Interleague PLAY OF THE DAY on Milwaukee Brewers -113

The Milwaukee Brewers continue to play well as they are 10-3 in their last 13 games overall to improve to 88-55 on the season.  Cleveland is 2-7 in its last nine games overall to basically eliminate all hopes of them making the postseason.  The Indians will likely pack it in the rest the way.

The Brewers won 10-3 over the Indians in Game 1 and came back with a 3-0 combined no-hitter in Game 2.  Getting no-hit yesterday says all you need to know about the Indians right now.  And starter Aaron Civale will be making just his 2nd start in the last three months after missing a couple months with an injury, so he'll be limited.

Milwaukee starter Eric Lauer is underrated, going 5-5 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.150 WHIP in 16 starts this season.  Lauer has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in 11 consecutive starts.  He is 4-2 with a 1.46 ERA in his last 10 starts, allowing just 9 earned runs in 55 1/3 innings.

Milwaukee is 39-16 in its last 55 road games.  The Indians are 9-27 in their last 36 games as home underdogs.  The Brewers are 14-2 in their last 16 road games with a total of 8 to 8.5 and winning by 4.2 runs per game in this spot.  Milwaukee is 10-1 in Sunday road games this season and winning by 3.1 runs per game.  The Brewers are 9-0 in road games coming off a shutout this season and winning by 3.6 runs per game.  Roll with the Brewers Sunday.

20* AFC GAME OF THE WEEK on Pittsburgh Steelers +6.5

The Buffalo Bills are getting a lot of hype heading into this season after coming out of nowhere to make the AFC Championship Game last year.  They went 9-2 ATS over their final 11 games last year and put up gaudy offensive numbers.  So you're now paying a premium to back the Bills to start this season.

I did make a lot of money backing the Bills last year, and I am reasonably high on them.  Just not this high.  I like Josh Allen, but he's not going to have as big of a season as he did a year ago.  And it just seems like everyone is sleeping on the Pittsburgh Steelers after a 12-4 season that ended in a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns after the game got out of hand due to turnovers in the playoffs.

The Steelers boast an elite defense that ranked 3rd in the NFL last year at 305.8 yards per game and 3rd in scoring at 19.5 points per game allowed.  That defense can carry them this season.  Big Ben is motivated at 39 years old for one final Super Bowl run, and when he has been healthy he has been very good.  He is also in great shape.  He has a bunch of underrated receivers and tight ends, and now the Steelers should have an improved running game with the moves they made along the offensive line while also drafting Alabama RB Najee Harris in the first round.

Buffalo could not run the ball last year unless it was Josh Allen doing it.  They will be one-dimensional and easier to stop because of it.  They had a middle-of-the-pack defense last year ranking 14th in total defense at 352.5 yards per game.  And this line should just be closer to Buffalo -3 when you factor in home-field advantage.  I have these teams power rated similarly, so give the Bills 3 points for home-field advantage and that's what the line should be.  So we are getting 3 to 3.5 points of value here.

The Steelers are 23-8-2 ATS in their last 33 games as underdogs, including 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games as road underdogs.  You would have to go back a few years to find the last time the Steelers were this big of an underdog with Big Ben as their starting quarterback.  Take the Steelers Sunday.

25* NFL Week 1 GAME OF THE YEAR on Washington +1

The Washington Football Team won the NFC East in Ron Rivera's first season.  They did so with Dwayne Haskins at quarterback for most of the season, and a hobbled Alex Smith for the majority of the rest of it.  That's because they had one of the best defenses in the NFL last season.

That will be the case again this season as Washington is loaded on defense, especially up front with arguably the best defensive line in the league.  They ranked 2nd in the NFL behind only the Rams in total defense last season, allowing 304.6 yards per game.

There's going to be drastic improvements on offense this season.  They brought in Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was a money making machine with the Miami Dolphins last year and proved he still has it.  Studs Antonio Gibson (RB), Terry McLaurin (WR) and Logan Thomas (TE) are all back.  They added in WR's Curtis Samuel and Adam Humphries to give Fitzpatrick more weapons.

The Chargers are getting a lot of hype because of the rookie year that Justin Herbert had.  He has some decent weapons, but he is working behind a revamped offensive line.  Herbert and the OLine will have to deal with crowd noise this season, which they didn't have last year.  And it will be a packed house in the nation's capital with fans rejuvenated for this team after they won the NFC East last year and their bright outlook.

I just like the chemistry for Washington to open the season with their staff and systems in place for a couple years now.  The Chargers are going into this season with a new head coach, new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator.  It is going to take them some time to gel.  And I certainly worry about them at the point of attack on both sides of the ball, where Washington is going to have a big advantage here.

Plays against favorites (LA Chargers) - in the first month of the season, a non-playoff team from last season that won their final two games are 30-6 (83.3%) ATS over the last 10 seasons.  The home team is 3-1-1 ATS in the last five meetings.  Bet Washington Sunday.

15* NFL Sunday UPSET SHOCKER on Cincinnati Bengals +3.5

The Cincinnati Bengals were very competitive before Joe Burrow went down with an injury last year.  His 264 completions were the most ever by an NFL QB through their first 10 career games.  His five 300-yard passing games tied a Bengals season-season record.  He became the first rookie to throw for 300 yards in three consecutive games.

Burrow has returned from his knee injury and actually got to play a drive in the preseason.  Reports coming out of camp are that his arm is stronger than it was before and he is fully recovers.  Burrow has a plethora of weapons now in WR's Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Ja'Marr Chase to go along with RB Joe Mixon.  But the key is the upgrades on the offensive line, where the Bengals didn't allow a single sack in three preseason games.

Speaking of the preseason, the Vikings were terrible.  They went 0-3 and scored just 13.7 points per game on offense while giving up 24.3 points per game on defense.  You can't make a lot of of the preseason, but it's worth noting that the Vikings were previously great in the preseason under Mike Zimmer, so he clearly takes it seriously.

I'm just not a big Kirk Cousins guy, and until they move on from him I'm not going to trust their offense even though he has some decent weapons in Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.  The big concern is a Vikings defense that took a huge step back last year.  They ranked 27th in total defense at 393.3 yards per game and 29th in scoring defense at 29.7 points per game.  They can only be better with improved health, but I don't think they will be any better than Cincinnati defensively this season.

This line indicates that the Vikings would be favored by 6 or more on a neutral field, and I just don't see it.  These teams are much closer power rated in my book with a healthy Joe Burrow for Cincinnati.  So getting 3.5 points with the Bengals in front of a raucous home crowd in anticipation of the return of Burrow is a great value here.

The Vikings are 0-7 ATS in their last seven games overall.  Minnesota is 0-5 ATS in its last five games as a favorite.  Cincinnati is 35-17-2 ATS in its last 54 September games.  The Bengals are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games.  The home team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.  Bet the Bengals Sunday.

15* NFL Sunday Total DOMINATOR on Cardinals/Titans OVER 52

The Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans will be two of the best offensive teams in the NFL this season.  The Titans ranked 2nd in the NFL in total offense last season at 396.4 yards per game and 4th in scoring offense at 30.8 points per game.  The Cardinals ranked 6th in total offense at 384.6 yards per game last year.

There's reasons to believe both offenses will be just as good if not better this season.  The Titans traded for Julio Jones, and he and AJ Brown form one of the best 1-2 punches at receiver in the NFL.  The Cardinals signed AJ Green to pair him with De'Andre Hopkins, giving the Cardinals an elite duo themselves.  It appears both Green and Jones have a lot left in the tank.

The Titans ranked 28th in total defense last year at 398.3 yards per game allowed while also giving up 27.4 points per game.  They did nothing to improve their defense in the offseason and will be terrible on that side of the ball once again.  The Cardinals have a middle-of-the-pack defense and the addition of JJ Watt won't do much other than provide name value.

The OVER is 22-7-1 in Titans last 30 games overall.  The OVER is 15-5-1 in Titans last 21 home games.  The OVER is 9-1 in Titans last 10 home games against NFC West opponents.  Take the OVER in this game Sunday.

20* NFL TOTAL OF THE WEEK on Eagles/Falcons OVER 48

I like the outlook of both the Eagles and Falcons on offense this season.  But I expect these to be two of the worst defenses in the NFL once again this season.  Atlanta gave up 25.9 points per game and nearly 400 yards per game last season.  They ranked 29th in total defense.  Philadelphia gave up 26.1 points per game last season.

The Eagles did get a spark offensively late in the year when Jalen Hurts took over at quarterback, and that experience gained will help him a ton coming into this season.  He led the Eagles for 1,312 yards of offense in his final three starts last year, which was 2nd in the NFL to only the Bills during that stretch.  I like the talent on offense with RB Mile Sanders, young receivers DeVonta Smith and Jalen Raegor, and a pair of elite tight ends in Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.

Speaking of elite tight ends, the Falcons have a pair now themselves in top pick Kyle Pitts from Florida to go along with Hayden Hurst.  Calvin Ridley is one of the best young receivers in the NFL now too.  The addition of Pitts will help ease the loss of Julio Jones, who just wasn't used right in Atlanta, was always injured and almost never happy here.  So it's probably a good thing they moved on from him.

The Falcons should be improved offensively this season with head coach Arthur Smith running the show.  He comes from the Tennessee Titans, where he served as their offensive coordinator and helped lead the resurgence of QB Ryan Tannehill and RB Derrick Henry.  The Titans ranked 2nd in total offense and 4th in scoring offense last season.

Philadelphia signed an offensive mind in Nick Sirianni as their head coach.  He served as offensive coordinator under Frank Reich over the past three seasons.  Reich guided the Eagles to a Super Bowl under Doug Pederson.  So you have to like the OVER when both head coaches are offensive-minded.

The Eagles have a terrible secondary that the Falcons should be able to exploit, and there's just not much to like at all about this Falcons defense outside of maybe linebacker.  The conditions will be perfect for a shootout inside the dome in Atlanta.  The OVER is 32-15 in Eagles last 47 road games.  Roll with the OVER in this game Sunday.

20* Utah/BYU ESPN Late-Night BAILOUT on Utah -7

Kyle Whittingham is one of the best head coaches in the country.  He should have one of his best teams ever with 19 returning starters.  The Utes both the best offensive and defensive lines in the Pac-12, and teams that are strong at the point of attack are good 'bet on' teams.  And they bring QB Charlie Brewer from Baylor to run the offense.

Utah beat Weber State 40-17 as a 28.5-point favorite in the opener.  While that may not seem that impressive since they failed to cover, keep in mind Weber State is one of the best FCS teams in the country.  They were ranked as the 6th-best FCS team coming into the season.  The racked up 450 yards and held Weber State to 270 yards, outgaining them by 180 yards in the game.

Weber State would beat Arizona, which is who BYU played last week and barely snuck by.  The Cougars won that game 24-16 and failed to cover as 13.5-point favorites.  They managed just 368 yards and were actually outgained by 58 yards by Arizona.  That's a bad Arizona team that went 0-5 last season and is in rebuilding mode under first-year head coach Jedd Fisch.

After a huge 11-1 season last year, BYU was due for some regression with all that they lost.  They brought back just 11 starters this season, which among the fewest in the country.  Only four starters are back on defense, and they allowed 426 yards to the Wildcats last week.  They lost QB Zach Wilson as a Top 5 pick in the NFL Draft after a 33-to-3 TD/INT ratio last year.  He is simply irreplaceable.  They also lost leading receiver Dax Milne (70 receptions, 1,188 yards, 8 TD last year).

Utah is 9-0 SU & 6-3 ATS in its last nine meetings with BYU with five of the last eight wins coming by 7 points or more.  That includes a 30-12 in their most recent meeting at BYU in 2019.  The Utes play the big brother role very well in this rivalry and always bring their 'A' game when they meet the Cougars.  That 'A' game will be more than enough to win by more than a touchdown here tonight.  Roll with Utah Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Total DOMINATOR on Washington/Michigan UNDER 48.5

Two teams with elite defenses and suspect offenses square off in this Pac-12 vs. Big Ten showdown when Washington travels to face Michigan Saturday night.  This has all the makings of a low-scoring game, especially with it expected to be windy in Ann Arbor Saturday night.

Washington just lost 13-7 to Montana last week as 22.5-point favorites.  Montana is a good team from the FCS, but it was still a bad loss nonetheless.  While the Huskies have an elite defense under defensive guru Jimmy Lake, their offense is a problem.  They managed just 291 total yards and committed three turnovers in the loss.  But they did hold Montana to 232 yards defensively.

Michigan put up a dominant 47-14 win over Western Michigan in the opener.  They took advantage of a bad Broncos defense, but holding their high-powered offense to just 14 points and 319 total yards was no small feat.  It's clear the Wolverines have made some big improvements on defense already this season under first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald, who comes over from the NFL's Ravens where he served under Jim's brother John Harbaugh.

Injuries at the skill positions for both teams will also help us cash this UNDER.  Michigan just lost leading receiver Ronnie Bell to a season-ending knee injury last week.  Bell led the team with 26 receptions for 401 yards last year and is a big-time talent.  Washington is missing four receivers, including three of its top four on the depth chart in Rome Odunze, Terrell Bynum and Ja'lynn Polk.

The UNDER is 9-1 in Huskies last 10 games as road underdogs.  The UNDER is 8-0 in Huskies last eight games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game.  The UNDER is 14-6 in Huskies last 20 games vs. a team with a winning record.  The UNDER is 4-1 in Wolverines last five vs. Pac-12 opponents.  Bet the UNDER in this game Saturday.

15* MLB Saturday Total DOMINATOR on Yankees/Mets OVER 8

I'm shocked this total is as low as it is today.  The wind is expected to be blowing out to center at 9 MPH at Citi Field tonight.  That will help aid in cashing this OVER a day after the Mets beat the Yankees 10-3 for 13 combined runs.

The Mets should have another big day at the plate against Corey Kluber, who just recently returned from injury.  He missed three months of action and returned a couple weeks ago.  Kluber has posted an 8.21 ERA in his two starts since returning, allowing 7 earned runs, 2 homers and 16 base runners in 7 2/3 innings.

Taijuan Walker is 7-9 with a 4.10 ERA in 25 starts this season.  Walker has really struggled of late as well, going 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA in his last three starts while allowing 12 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.

Kluber is 28-11 OVER in his 39 career road starts with a total set of 8 to 8.5.  The OVER is 5-1 in the last six meetings with combined scores of 13, 15, 11, 16 and 15 runs in the five OVERS.  Roll with the OVER in this game Saturday.

20* MLB Saturday No-Doubt Rout on Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 (-112)

The Milwaukee Brewers continue to play well as they are 9-3 in their last 12 games overall to improve to 87-55 on the season.  Cleveland is 2-6 in its last eight games overall to basically eliminate all hopes of them making the postseason.  The Indians will likely pack it in the rest the way.

The Brewers won 10-3 over the Indians yesterday and there's reasons to believe they will win in a blowout again.  The wind is expected to be blowing out to center at 16 MPH today at Progressive Field.  So we want the ground ball pitcher over the fly ball pitcher.

Well, Corbin Burnes is a ground ball pitcher who is having a fantastic season.  Burnes is 9-4 with a 2.31 ERA and 0.951 WHIP in 24 starts this season with only 5 homers allowed and 196 K's in 144 innings.  He is also 6-0 with a 1.84 ERA and 0.845 WHIP in 11 road starts.  Zach Plesac is 10-4 with a 4.52 ERA in 21 starts this season for the Indians, allowing 20 homers in 119 1/3 innings with only 85 K's.  

Milwaukee is 38-16 in its last 54 road games.  The Indians are 9-26 in their last 35 games as home underdogs.  The Brewers are 14-2 in their last 17 road games with a total of 8 to 8.5 and winning by 4.2 runs per game in this spot.  Take the Brewers on the Run Line Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Undervalued Underdog on UAB +24.5

Bill Clark is one of the best head coaches in the country.  UAB didn't have a football program in 2015 and 2016.  Clark took over and guided them to an 8-5 season in 2017, 11-3 in 2018, 9-5 in 2019 and 6-3 in 2020.  The Blazers have just four losses by more than 24 points in those four seasons.

I fully expect them to be competitive with Georgia Saturday.  The Blazers return 17 starters and are one of the best teams in Conference USA.  They waxed Jacksonville State on September 1st 31-0 in their opener, gaining 518 yards and limiting them to 152 yards, outgaining them by 366 yards.  Now they've had nine days in between games to get ready for Georgia.

This is an awful spot for Georgia.  The Bulldogs are in a letdown spot off their huge win over Clemson last week.  They have their SEC opener against South Carolina on deck, so this is a sandwich spot.  And not to mention the Bulldogs are dealing with COVID issues right now and will be missing several key players due to that and injuries.  

They are really thin at receiver, and QB JT Daniels is battling an oblique injury.  The Bulldogs just want to get out of here with a win and aren't worried about getting margin.  This is UAB's Super Bowl.  Georgia is 29-53 ATS in its last 82 home games off an ATS win.  Take UAB Saturday.

20* CFB DOG OF THE WEEK on Georgia Southern +7

Georgia Southern is a sleeper in the underrated Sun Belt Conference this season.  Chad Lunsford is in his 5th season here and has gone 10-3, 7-6 and 8-5 over the past three seasons.  Four of their five losses last year came by one score with the only exception being their 14-point loss to Coastal Carolina, which was the best team in the conference last year and nearly went unbeaten.

They lost at Louisiana by 2, at Army by 1, at Georgia State by 6 and to Appalachian State by 8.  Those were four very good teams last year that all made bowl games.  So their only losses last year came to bowl teams.  Now Lunsford has 16 returning starters with eight on both sides of the ball to work with in 2021.

I think the fact that Georgia Southern only won 30-25 as a 28.5-point favorite against Gardner Webb last week has them undervalued coming into this week.  They are a triple-option team built for close games.  They rushed for 365 yards on Gardner Webb and will certainly be able to run the ball on Florida Atlantic here to keep this game close, possibly pulling off the upset.

Willie Taggart has been a big disappointment, failing at Oregon and Florida State before coming here to Florida Atlantic last year.  He had to fill the big shoes left behind by Lane Kiffin and didn't do a very good job.  The Owls went just 5-4 last year with their only wins coming against Charloote, WKU, FIU, UMass and UTSA.

One of their losses last season came to Georgia Southern by a final of 20-3.  Georgia Southern rushed for 269 yards on them in the win.  And they should have similar success here, especially after Florida Atlantic just allowed 400 rushing yards on 46 carries in a 35-14 loss to Florida last week.  They are beat up from that physical loss, and they only get a week to prepare for the Eagles' triple-option this week.

Florida Atlantic is 6-17 ATS in its last 23 games as a home favorite of 7 points or less, including 2-12 ATS in its last 14 games as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points.  The Eagles are a perfect 8-0 ATS in their last eight games following an ATS loss.  The Owls are 8-20 ATS in their last 28 games vs. Sun Belt opponents.  Take Georgia Southern Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Non-Conference KNOCKOUT on California +11.5

Justin Wilcox is one of the most underrated head coaches in college football.  He improved Cal from 5-7 in his first season to 7-6 in his second season and 8-5 in his third season.  Then Cal got a late start last season due to COVID and their first game was against UCLA, which was scheduled just three days prior to playing it.

Cal went on the road with a defensive line that wasn't able to practice with the team for two weeks and loss.  Then they lost by 4 to Oregon State and had a PAT blocked in a 1-point loss to Stanford.  After the 0-3 start, the Bears showed some heart with their upset win over Oregon in their finale.  The Ducks went on to win the Pac-12.

Cal has now had a normal spring and is off to a way better start than they were last season because of it.  Wilcox welcomes back 17 starters, and 28 of 33 players who made starts last season.  This will be one of the best defenses in the country, and the offense should be the best of the Wilcox era behind third-year starting QB Chase Garbers and nine returning starters on offense.

I think we're getting good value on Cal this week after getting upset by Nevada at home last week.  But Nevada is one of the best teams in the Mountain West with an NFL QB in Carson Strong, who led the Wolf Pack to a 22-17 victory.  The Bears holding that offense to 22 points is no small feat.  And because of their defense they just tend to play in close, low-scoring games.  I expect more of the same here against TCU.

The Horned Frogs made easy work of Duquesne 45-3 last week.  But they were 42-point favorites so they didn't even cover against one of the worst FCS teams in the country.  I think the fact that Cal play a legit opponent in the opener will have them more prepared for this game than TCU will be after playing Duquesne.

California is a sensational 13-3 ATS in its last 16 games as a road underdog of 10.5 to 14 points.  California is 18-7-1 ATS in its last 26 games as an underdog.  The Golden Bears are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games as road underdogs.  The Horned Frogs are 6-21-1 ATS in their last 28 games as home favorites.  This is simply too many points.  Roll with California Saturday.

20* CFB BLOWOUT GAME OF THE WEEK on Rutgers -2

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are a team I'm high on in the Big Ten.  The Syracuse Orange are a team I'm way down on in the ACC.  So it makes sense that I'm on Rutgers here where they basically just have to win the game as 2-point favorites to cover.

It's a team that went 3-6 in Greg Schiano's first season last year but was competitive in every game.  Now they return 21 starters and I just think Schiano is one of the best coaches in the country.  The Scarlet Knights are off to a great start with their 61-14 beat down of Temple.

Clearly it was a misleading final as they won the turnover battle 5-0.  But they were dominant nonetheless and could be vanilla on offense not having to show much.  They held Temple to 8-of-27 passing in the win.

Syracuse did pick up a good win itself in a 29-9 victory at Ohio last week.  And I think the Orange are now getting some respect from oddsmakers after that upset victory.  But that win was also misleading as Syracuse only outgained Ohio by 39 yards.  That's a down Ohio team this season as well.

Syracuse went 1-10 last year and were outgained by nearly 200 yards per game, and I don't expect them to be much better this year.  So we're getting a middle of the pack team from the Big Ten up against a bottom feeder in the ACC, and I'll take the Big Ten in this matchup almost every time.

Syracuse is 2-13 ATS in its last 15 games off an upset win as an underdog by 14 points or more.  Dino Babers is 0-6 ATS after allowing 9 points or less as the coach of Syracuse.  The Scarlet Knights are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games.  The Orange are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a win.  Bet Rutgers Saturday.

15* WKU/Army CFB Early ANNIHILATOR on OVER 51.5

Western Kentucky clearly wants to chuck it around the yard this season and score some points.  That was evident in their 59-21 win over Tennessee-Martin in the opener.  Houston Baptist transfer QB Bailey Zappe is the real deal.  He threw for over 10,000 yards and 78 touchdowns in his four years there.

Zappe went 28-of-35 for 424 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception in the opener.  The Hilltoppers threw for 478 yards as a team.  And they should be able to move the ball through the air at will on this Army defense, which isn't used to preparing for these types of wide open passing attacks.

Conversely, Army should be able to run the ball at will on this soft WKU defense that allowed 201 rushing yards on 34 carries to Tennessee-Martin last week.  Army rushed for 258 yards in its 43-10 win over Georgia State in the opener.  The Black Knights are up against an inexperienced Hilltoppers defense that returned just four starters this season.

Western Kentucky is 16-4 OVER in its last 20 games after gaining 375 or more passing yards in its last game.  The OVER is 4-0 in Hilltoppers last four games overall.  The OVER is 10-4-1 in Black Knights last 15 September games.  Bet the OVER in this game Saturday.

20* UTEP/Boise State FS1 Late-Night BAILOUT on UTEP +26

The UTEP Miners finally have some stability as they have stuck with head coach Dana Dimel.  After going 1-11 in each of his first two seasons, Dimel guided the Miners to a 3-5 season last year.  They were competitive in every game outside their losses to Texas from the Big 12 and the best team in Conference USA in UTSA.

Now Dimel is in his fourth season and brings back 19 starters this season, including all 11 on offense.  And the Miners are off to an impressive 2-0 start.  They beat New Mexico 30-3 as 9.5-point road favorites, racking up 452 total yards and outgaining the Aggies by 262 yards.  Then they beat Bethune-Cookman 38-28 last week, racking up 473 total yards and outgaining them by 140 yards.

The win over New Mexico State looks even better now after the Aggies went into San Diego State last week and outgained a very good Aztecs team by 11 yards.  They gained 374 yards on a very good San Diego State defense after only managing 190 yards against UTEP.  So this is a big 'buy on' sign on the Miners.

Boise State failed to win the Mountain West last year.  Head coach Bryan Harsin bolted for Auburn.  That leaves Andy Avalos to try and pick up the pieces.  He was the defensive coordinator at Oregon the past two seasons.  And I just think this is a Boise State program that is finally on the decline under Avalos.

The 31-36 loss to UCF last week was extremely misleading.  Boise State only managed 283 yards against UCF and was outgained by 290 yards after giving up 573 total yards to the Knights.  The Broncos managed just 20 rushing yards on 26 attempts, and they gave up 255 rushing yards on 48 attempts.  

I think UTEP can run on this Boise State defense and shorten the game.  The Miners are averaging 246 rushing yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry through two weeks.  QB Davin Hardison has played well, completing 64.1% of his passes for 432 yards with three touchdowns and only one interception while averaging 11 yards per attempt.  Hardison can make some plays if he has to.

The Miners are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as underdogs.  UTEP is 4-1 ATS in its last five road games.  Boise State is 1-4 ATS in its last five games off an ATS win.  Keep in mind this is a tough spot for Boise coming off that huge game against UCF and with Oklahoma State on deck next week, making this a sandwich spot.  Bet UTEP Friday.

20* MLB Friday No-Doubt Rout on Milwaukee Brewers -135

The Milwaukee Brewers continue to play well as they are 8-3 in their last 11 games overall to improve to 86-55 on the season.  The Brewers are rested having yesterday off, while the Indians had to play yesterday against the Twins and are a tired team.  Cleveland is 2-5 in its last seven games overall to basically eliminate all hopes of them making the postseason.

The Brewers have a big advantage on the mound tonight with Adrian Houser, who is 7-6 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.260 WHIP in 22 starts this season.   He is coming off a complete game shutout against the Cardinals last time out.

Eli Morgan is 2-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 14 starts this season for the Indians.  Morgan has been atrocious at home, going 1-5 with a 7.53 ERA and 1.558 WHIP in eight home starts this season.

The Brewers are 6-1 in their last seven games following an off day.  Milwaukee is 37-16 in its last 53 road games.  The Indians are 9-25 in their last 34 games as home underdogs.  Take the Brewers Friday.

15* Yankees/Mets Interleague ANNIHILATOR on New York Yankees -117

I've successfully faded the New York Yankees with the Toronto Blue Jays as underdogs in four straight games.  They handed the Yankees their first four-game series sweep at home since 2003.  But I think this is where it's time to jump back on the Yankees against the struggling New York Mets.

The Yankees now lead the Blue Jays by just 0.5 games for the final wild card spot.  They have no margin for error any more, and they'll be putting their best foot forward.  The Mets trail the Braves by five games in the NL East after losing four of their last six.  They are struggling offensively and just can't be trusted here.

The Yankees have a big advantage on the mound with Jordan Montgomery, who is 5-5 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.193 WHIP in 25 starts this season, including 1-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his last three starts.  He'll be opposed by Tyler Megill, who is 2-4 with a 4.20 ERA in 14 starts this season.

The Yankees are 58-31 in night games this season.  New York is 11-3 in Montgomery's 14 night starts this season.  The Yankees are 8-0 in their last eight interleague games.  The Yankees are 10-1 in their last 11 road games with a total set of 7 to 8.5.  The Mets are 8-22 in their last 30 games as underdogs.  The Mets are 0-7 in their last seven home games vs. a team with a winning record.  Roll with the Yankees Friday.

15* Cowboys/Bucs NFL Season Opener on Tampa Bay -8

Home teams on Thursday night NFL season openers have gone 15-2 SU in the last 17 games.  These teams coming off a Super Bowl win at home usually tend to play well in that first game back the next season.  And that should be the case with the Tampa Bay Bucs, especially now that they'll have a big home-field advantage with a packed house of home fans.

The Bucs are primed to be one of the best teams in the NFL again.  They return all 22 starters from last season, so the chemistry will be there.  The Bucs started slow last year in Tom Brady's first season, but they kept getting better and better as the season progressed, culminating in a dominant win over the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.  They should pick up right where they left off.

Conversely, the Dallas Cowboys have a ton of issues they are dealing with right now.  Dak Prescott is coming off a shoulder injury and didn't get to play in the preseason.  He will be rusty.  He'll be working behind a depleted offensive line that will be without Zack Martin, Brandon KNights, Josh Ball and Mitch Hyatt.  Tyron Smith and La'el Collins are also battling injuries and questionable.

While the Bucs will get plenty of stops with their elite defense, the Cowboys aren't likely to get many, which is why I'm willing to lay the points here.  Dallas gave up 29.6 points and 386.4 yards per game last season and did little to improve their defense on offense.  Instead, they have put their money in their flashy offense at the skill positions.  They aren't building this thing the right way.

Dallas went 0-8 ATS in the first half of the season last season.  Tampa Bay is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games with a total set of 49.5 or higher.  The Cowboys are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games.  The Bucs are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.  Bet the Buccaneers Thursday.

20* MLB Thursday No-Doubt Rout on Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-109)

The Atlanta Braves are trying to win the NL East as they are 2.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place.  They will be highly motivated to bounce back from an upset loss to the Washington Nationals yesterday.

They should do just that thanks to their advantage on the mound. Huascar Ynoa has posted a 3.24 ERA and 1.005 WHIP in 12 starts this season, including a 2.29 ERA and 0.821 WHIP in six home starts.  Ynoa is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two starts against the Nationals this season, pitching 12 shutout innings.

Erick Fedde is 6-9 with a 5.27 ERA and 1.486 WHIP in 23 starts this season, including 0-1 with a 9.72 ERA in his last two starts, allowing 9 earned runs and 19 base runners in 8 1/3 innings.  Fedde has never beaten the Braves, going 0-4 with an 11.02 ERA and 2.449 WHIP in six career starts against them.  He has allowed 14 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings across three starts against the Braves in 2021 alone.  Bet the Braves on the Run Line Thursday.

15* MLB Thursday Undervalued Underdog on Toronto Blue Jays +105

The Toronto Blue Jays have gone 10-1 in their last 11 games overall to inch closer to a wild card spot.  They are hot at the plate having scored 50 runs in their last six games.  They should not be underdogs to the New York Yankees, who are 2-9 in their last 11 games overall.

The trade for Jose Berrios was a great one, giving the Blue Jays yet another top end starter in their underrated rotation.  Berrios is 10-7 with a 3.55 ERA and 1.109 WHIP in 27 starts this season.  He'll be opposed by Nestor Cortes Jr., who is getting too much respect for what he has done over a small sample size this season.

The Blue Jays are 6-1 in their last seven meetings in New York.  The Yankees are 0-6 in their last six games vs. a right-handed starter.  New York is 0-5 in its last five home games.  Take the Blue Jays Thursday.

15* MLB Wednesday Line Mistake on Cincinnati Reds -120

The Chicago Cubs just had their surprising seven-game winning streak against bad competition come to an end yesterday.  Now look for them to suffer a hangover effect here against a highly motivated Cincinnati Reds team that is trying to earn a wild card spot.

The Reds should be more than -120 favorites today.  Vladamir Gutierrez is 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.247 WHIP in 10 road starts this season.  He has posted a 2.55 ERA in three starts against the Cubs this season, allowing just 5 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings.

Alec Mills has been at his worst at home this season, going 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA and 1.337 WHIP in seven starts at Wrigley Field.  Mills is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against the Reds in 2021, allowing 5 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings.

The Reds are 6-1 in Gutierrez's seven road starts at night this season.  The Cubs are 1-11 in their last 12 home games vs. a team with a winning record.  Cincinnati is 9-4 in the last 13 meetings.  Take the Reds Wednesday.

20* MLB Wednesday No-Doubt Rout on Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-110)

The Atlanta Braves have a lot to play for right now as they are 2.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East.  They have a big advantage on the mound over the lowly Washington Nationals tonight.

Touki Toussaint is 3-2 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.215 WHIP in eight starts for the Braves this season.  He'll be opposed by lefty Sean Nolin, who is 0-2 with a 5.71 ERA and 1.673 WHIP in four starts this season, including 0-2 with a 6.57 ERA and 1.865 WHIP in three road starts.

The Braves are scoring 5.9 runs per game vs. left-handed starters this season.  Atlanta is 22-6 in its last 28 games as a favorite.  The Nationals are 17-43 in their last 60 games overall, including 6-21 in their last 27 road games.  Atlanta is 26-10 in the last 35 meetings.  Bet the Braves on the Run Line Wednesday.

15* MLB Wednesday Undervalued Underdog on Toronto Blue Jays +108

The Toronto Blue Jays have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games overall to inch closer to a wild card spot.  They are hot at the plate having scored 44 runs in their last five games.  They should not be underdogs to the New York Yankees, who are 2-8 in their last 10 games overall.

Alek Manoah is just another of the underrated starters in Toronto's rotation.  He is 5-2 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.097 WHIP in 15 starts this season.  One of those starts came against the Yankees on May 27th when he pitched 6 shutout innings in a 2-0 victory at New York.

The Blue Jays are 6-0 in their last six games vs. a right-handed starter.  The Yankees are 1-6 in their last seven games following a loss.  Two teams headed in opposite direction and we'll back the hot team in the underdog role.  Roll with the Blue Jays Wednesday.

15* MLB Tuesday No-Doubt Rout on Cincinnati Reds -147

The Cincinnati Reds will be highly motivated for a victory tonight as they continue to pursue a wild card spot, but are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Cubs in Game 1 of this series.  Look for them to have their revenge due to their advantage on the mound.

Wade Miley has quietly gone 11-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 25 starts this season, including 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 12 road starts.  Miley pitched 7 shutout innings in a 14-5 win over the Cubs on August 16th in his last start against them.

Adrian Sampson will be making just his second start of the season for the Cubs.  He is 6-13 with a 5.42 ERA and 1.467 WHIP in four years in the majors across 164 1/3 innings.

Miley's teams are 16-2 in 18 starts as a favorite of -125 to -175 over the last two seasons.  The Cubs are 1-10 in their last 11 home games vs. a team with a winning record.  Roll with the Reds Tuesday.

20* NL East GAME OF THE MONTH on Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-113)

The Atlanta Braves have a lot to play for right now as they are 1.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East.  They are rested having yesterday off, while the Nationals played yesterday and will be playing their 6th game in 5 days.  The Braves have a big advantage on the mound over the lowly Nationals tonight.

Max Fried has been dominant for a couple months now.  He has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in seven consecutive starts.  Fried has gone 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA in those seven starts, allowing just 9 earned runs in 46 innings.  He is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last two starts against the Nationals this season, allowing just 2 earned runs in 12 innings.

Paulo Espino is 4-3 with a 4.33 ERA in 14 starts for the Nationals, including 1-0 with a 5.21 ERA in five home starts.  Espino faced the Braves once this season on August 15th, allowing 5 earned runs, 3 homers and 10 base runners in 4 innings.

The Braves are 39-13 in Fried's last 52 starts as a favorite of -110 or higher, outscoring opponents by 2.6 runs per game in this spot.  The Nationals are 17-42 in their last 59 games overall, including 6-20 in their last 26 road games.  Atlanta is 25-10 in the last 35 meetings.  Bet the Braves on the Run Line Tuesday.

15* MLB Tuesday Undervalued Underdog on Toronto Blue Jays +200

The Toronto Blue Jays have gone 8-1 in their last nine games overall to inch closer to a wild card spot.  They are hot at the plate having scored 39 runs in their last four games.  They should not be +200 underdogs to the New York Yankees, who are 2-7 in their last nine games overall.

Gerrit Cole is the Cy Young favorite but Robbie Ray of the Blue Jays should give him a run for his money.  As good as Cole has been, he still shouldn't be this big of a favorite.

Steven Matz is 10-7 with a 3.80 ERA in 24 starts this season, 7-4 with a 3.54 ERA in 13 road starts, and 0-0 with a 2.12 ERA in his last three starts.  Matz held the Yankees to one earned run in 6 2/3 innings of a 6-2 win at New York as a +155 dog in his last start against them on May 25th.  Take the Blue Jays Tuesday.

20* Louisville/Ole Miss ESPN No-Brainer on Ole Miss -9

I have high hopes for the Ole Miss Rebels this season.  They did great to get to 5-5 in Lane Kiffin's first season last year after a win over Indiana in their bowl game.  They gave Alabama their toughest game of the season as it was tied 42-42 in the 4th quarter to flash their potential.

Now Kiffin welcomes back 17 starters and some of the best talent in the entire country thanks to the job he has done in recruiting plus what was done before he got there.  The offense is going to be one of the best in the country after averaging 39.2 points and 556 yards per game last season.  Eight starters are back including QB Matt Corral, who completed 79.9% of his passes for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns last year, while also rushing for 506 yards and four scores.

The offense will get their points, and the defense should be one of the most improved in the land with nine starters back.  They will be much better conditioned to deal with all the plays they have to face due to their quick-paces offense.  Ole Miss had to face 77 plays per game last year and should be in better shape to deal with it this year.

Louisville took a big step back in Scott Satterfield's second season last year, which is a bad sign.  After going 8-5 in 2019 they slipped to 4-7 last year.  Their four wins came against Western Kentucky, FSU, Syracuse and Wake Forest in four games they were favored in.  And now they have just 13 starters back, which is a low amount compared to most teams in this aberration season.  

They lost three of their biggest playmakers on offense.  WR's Dre Fitzpatrick and Tutu Atwell are gone after combining for 89 receptions, 1,458 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.  Leading rusher Javian Hawkins (822 yards, 7 TD, 6.2/carry) is also gone.  Five of the top seven tacklers have departed on defense as well, which is going to make the task of stopping Ole Miss' offense in the opener a daunting one.  Bet Ole Miss Monday.

20* MLB Monday No-Doubt Rout on Cincinnati Reds -141

The Cincinnati Reds are fighting to make the postseason.  The Chicago Cubs are getting too much respect from oddsmakers after winning six straight coming in against the Pirates and Twins, two of the worst teams in baseball.

The Reds have a big advantage on the mound today with Sonny Gray, who has been at his best on the road this season at 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA in nine starts away from home.  Gray is really feeling himself of late, going 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 0.556 WHIP in his last three starts while allowing just 2 earned runs and 10 base runners in 18 innings.

Justin Steele is 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA and 1.415 WHIP in four starts this season for the Cubs, including 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA and 1.499 WHIP in two home starts.  Gray is 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA and 0.940 WHIP in nine career starts against the Cubs.

The Cubs are 14-39 in their last 53 games as underdogs.  Chicago is 5-21 in its last 26 vs. a team with a winning record.  The Cubs are 1-10 in their last 11 home games vs. a team with a winning record.  Cincinnati is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings, including 4-1 in the last five meetings in Chicago.  Take the Reds Monday.

15* MLB Monday Undervalued Underdog on Toronto Blue Jays +125

The Toronto Blue Jays are 7-1 in their last eight games overall and thriving under the pressure of trying to make the postseason.  They are very hot at the plate right now, scoring a combined 29 runs in their last three games.  The Yankees are struggling, going just 2-6 in thier last eight games overall.

The Blue Jays have the advantage on the mound today and shouldn't be underdogs because of it.  Hyun-Jin Ryu is 12-8 with a 3.92 ERA and 1.172 WHIP in 26 starts this season, including 6-4 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.073 WHIP in 13 road starts.  Ryu is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts against the Yankees, allowing just 5 earned runs in 25 innings.

He'll be opposed by Jameson Taillon, who is 8-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 26 starts this season.  Taillon has really struggled of late, going 1-1 with a 9.22 ERA in his last three starts, allowing 14 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings.  He allowed 5 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays in his lone start against them in 2021.  Roll with the Blue Jays Monday.

15* Notre Dame/FSU ABC ANNIHILATOR on Florida State +7

The Florida State Seminoles are primed to make a big leap forward in head coach Mike Norvell's second season.  He stepped into a difficult situation last year and had just three spring practices to get his team ready.  At the end of the year due to opt outs, transfer and injuries, Norvell had just 50 scholarship players to work with.

The talent is definitely there at Florida State now.  Norvell has 17 returning starters and another great recruiting class.  I think this is the year the Seminoles finally start to turn things around since Jimbo Fisher left, and it starts in Week 1 against Notre Dame.  Norvell is an offensive genius, and he has 10 returning starters on offense plus brings in UCF transfer McKenzie Milton at quarterback.

Notre Dame loses almost everyone from the team that went 10-2 last season and made the four-team playoff.  They have just nine starters back in all, which is very low for this season in particular compared to every other team.  They must replace nine NFL draft picks, including QB Ian Book, who set a career ND record with 30 wins.  

There's a reason QB Jack Coan was replaced as the starter at Wisconsin, and he is a big downgrade from Book.  And he'll be working with four new starters alone the offensive line.  It will be a rough start to the season offensively.  The defense should still be solid, but it's worth noting they did allow 31 or more points in four of their final six games last year.

Plays on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points (Florida State) - a bad defensive team from last season that allowed 425 or more yards per game, with eight or more offensive starters plus the QB returning in the first month of the season are 57-25 (69.5%) ATS since 1992.  Take Florida State Sunday.

15* MLB Run Line ANNIHILATOR on Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (-107)

The Tampa Bay Rays are 15-3 in their last 18 games overall with 14 wins by two runs or more.  The Minnesota Twins are 0-4 in their last four games with all four losses by two runs or more.  It should be more of the same Sunday.

The Rays have the advantage on the mound behind Louis Patino, who is 3-2 with a 2.15 ERA and 0.988 WHIP in six home starts this season.  Griffin Jax is 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA and 1.366 WHIP in eight starts this season for the Twins.  He has allowed 15 earned runs and 5 homers in 9 2/3 innings in his last two starts coming in.

Minnesota is 1-10 in its last 11 road games after scoring four runs or less in four straight games.  The Rays are 47-19 in their last 66 Sunday games.  Tampa Bay is 51-15 in its last 66 games following a win.  The Ryas are 66-19 in their last 85 home games vs. a right-handed starter.  Roll with the Rays on the Run line Sunday.

20* MLB Sunday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+100)

The Toronto Blue Jays are 6-1 in their last seven games overall as they make their push for the postseason.  One of the teams they are chasing is the A's, who they are trying to sweep today.  They have scored 11 and 10 runs in the first two games of this series, so they are clearly swinging the bats well.

Now the Blue Jays won't even need that much run support to cover this Run Line.  That's because one of the best starters in baseball goes today for them.  Robbie Ray has amazingly allowed 4 earned runs or fewer in 27 consecutive starts.  Ray has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts, and 3 earned runs or fewer in 16 of his last 17 starts.

Cole Irvin has allowed 3 earned runs or more in each of his last four starts.  The Blue Jays will tag him today.  Oakland is 0-7 this season after a game where the bullpen gave up 5 earned runs or more.  It is coming back to lose by 3.7 runs per game in this spot.  Take the Blue Jays on the Run Line Sunday.

15* Nevada/Cal FS1 Late-Night BAILOUT on California -3

Justin Wilcox is one of the most underrated head coaches in college football.  He improved Cal from 5-7 in his first season to 7-6 in his second season and 8-5 in his third season.  Then Cal got a late start last season due to COVID and their first game was against UCLA, which was scheduled just three days prior to playing it.

Cal went on the road with a defensive line that wasn't able to practice with the team for two weeks and loss.  Then they lost by 4 to Oregon State and had a PAT blocked in a 1-point loss to Stanford.  After the 0-3 start, the Bears showed some heart with their upset win over Oregon in their finale.  The Ducks went on to win the Pac-12.

Cal has now had a normal spring and is off to a way better start than they were last season because of it.  Wilcox welcomes back 17 starters, and 28 of 33 players who made starts last season.  This will be one of the best defenses in the country, and the offense should be the best of the Wilcox era behind third-year starting QB Chase Garbers and nine returning starters on offense.

Nevada is getting a lot of hype coming into the season.  The Wolf Pack went 7-2 last season, but it came against what turned out to be a very weak Mountain West.  They had one-score wins over Wyoming, New Mexico and San Diego State.  The other four wins came against UNLV, Fresno State and Tulane.  And they lost their toughest game to San Jose State in the Mountain West Championship Game.

No question the Wolf Pack have a great offense and great QB in Carson Strong.  But they are a flashy team.  Cal's defense will be up to the task, and a bigger concern for Nevada is a defense that allowed 599 yards to Fresno State and 506 yards to San Jose State in their final two games of the regular season last year.

Cal is undefeated in regular season non-conference games under Wilcox, going a perfect 9-0 SU with wins over the likes of Ole Miss (twice), UNC (twice) and BYU.  The Golden Bears lead the all-time series with Nevada 22-3-1.   Roll with California Saturday.

20* CFB BLOWOUT GAME OF THE WEEK on South Alabama ML -115

South Alabama is definitely a sleeper in what has turned out to be a very underrated Sun Belt Conference this season.  Louisiana, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State proved last year that the Sun Belt is no joke.  And the Jaguars are definitely flying under the radar this year in that conference.

First-year head coach Kan Wommack spent the last two years as the defensive coordinator at Indiana.  He is a familiar face here as he was the defensive coordinator for the Jaguars previously.  Wommack finished as a finalist for the Broyles Award last year, which goes to the top assistant coach.  He brings with him offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, the former Houston head coach.

Wommack has 17 returning starters to work with and a ton of talent.  He brought in Utah transfer Jake Bentley to start at quarterback.  He also brought in Mississippi State transfer Kareem Walker at running back, who was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school.  RG James Jackson is a Mississippi State transfer, and WR Allen Dailey is a Kentucky transfer.

The Jaguars already boast one of the conference's best receivers in Jalen Tolbert, who had 64 receptions for 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games last year.  They have one of the best defensive lines in the Sun Belt.  And keep in mind they beat what at the time was a healthy Southern Miss team outright as 13-point underdogs in the opener last year.

Speaking of Southern Miss, the Golden Eagles are on the decline.  They went just 3-7 last year and went through three different head coaches.  They settled on former Tulane offensive coordinator Will Hall as their new head coach.  He does inherit 17 returning starters, but there are a ton of questions surrounding this team.

There is no proven QB to turn to here at Southern Miss as they lose their top two from last year.  The defense is a problem after allowing 32.3 points and 181 rushing yards per game last year.  This defense gave up 32 points and 526 total yards to South Alabama last year.

The Jaguars are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games, including 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games as home favorites.  The Golden Eagles are 0-6 ATS in their last six non-conference games.  Bet South Alabama on the money line Saturday.

15* NL PLAY OF THE DAY on St. Louis Cardinals +130

The St. Louis Cardinals are quietly making a run at the postseason.  They have gone 16-9 in their last 25 games overall.  The just beat the Brewers 15-4 yesterday, who are going to have a hard time being motivated the rest of the way now that they basically already have the NL Central locked up.

The wrong team is favored here as the Cardinals have the advantage on the mound.  Kwang-Hyun Kim is 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.211 WHIP in 20 starts this season.  Kim owns the Brewers, going 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 1.096 WHIP in three career starts against them, allowing just 2 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings.

Adrian Houser is 6-6 with a 3.85 ERA and 1.339 WHIP in 21 starts this season for the Brewers.  He just gave up 5 earned runs in 5 innings to the Twins last time out.  Houser is 2-2 with a 4.43 ERA and 1.836 WHIP in five career starts against St. Louis.  Bet the Cardinals Saturday.

15* Interleague PLAY OF THE DAY on Detroit Tigers +180

The Detroit Tigers have been consistently undervalued this season.  As a result, they have been one of the most profitable teams to back.  That was the case again yesterday as they crushed Cincinnati 15-5 as a big underdog.  The Reds are now just 1-5 in their last six games overall and struggling right now.

The Tigers shouldn't be this big of an underdog when you consider they actually have the advantage on the mound today.  Matt Boyd hast posted a 3.50 ERA and 1.219 WHIP in 14 starts this season, including 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA in his last three starts.

He'll be opposed by Tyler Mahle, who has been great on the road this season, but terrible at home.  Indeed, Mahle is 3-3 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.444 WHIP in 12 home starts this season.  Roll with the Tigers Saturday.

20* CFB DOG OF THE WEEK on Louisiana Tech +23.5

Skip Holtz is one of the most underrated college football head coaches in the country.  He hasn't had a losing season here since his first year in 2013.  He rarely has many returning starters as he tends to find some gems in the transfer portal.  He has had 15 or fewer returning starters in all eight seasons in Ruston and 13 or fewer in seven of them.

Now Holtz welcomes back 17 starters from a team that was ravaged by COVID last year.  They opened 5-3 last year including an upset of UAB before a their depleted team lost their final two games.  They had a patchwork offensive line and it just wasn't pretty down the stretch for them with games cancelled due to COVID.

10 starters are back on defense on what should be one of the most improved units in the country.  Remember, LA Tech allowed 21.8 PPG, 23.0 PPG and 25.4 PPG their previous three seasons before giving up 34.7 PPG last year with just one returning starter on D.  They only had 6 returning starters in all last year.  They get DE Willie Baker back after sitting out last year and he is probably their best player defensively.

Offensively, the Bulldogs should get back to the high-powered offenses of the past.  They averaged at least 30 PPG in five of their previous six seasons before falling to 26.7 PPG last year.  They have seven returning starters on offense and add in WVU transfer Austin Kendall at quarterback, who is getting the start for the opener.

Kendall backed up two straight Heisman trophy winners at Oklahoma in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.  He was the starter for WVU in 2019 with a terrible cast around him and a first-year head coach.  Kendall and has thrown for 2,418 yards with 17 TD's and 10 INT's in his collegiate career.  He sat behind Jarrett Doege last year, but replaced him in the second half of WVU's bowl game to lead a comeback win over Army and threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns.  That performance will have him coming into 2021 with a ton of confidence.

I'm way down on Mississippi State this year.  The Bulldogs went 4-7 in Mike Leach's first season with their only win against a team with a winning record coming against Tulsa in a 2-point win in the bowl game.  But they were outgained by 213 yards by Tulsa in that bowl game and it was a fluke win.   They didn't win any games by more than 19 points last year.

Asking Mississippi State to beat LA Tech by 24-plus points to cover is asking too much.  No question they will be improved in Mike Leach's second season, but they had all season to try and get better last year and it really didn't happen.  And they had 20 players hit the transfer portal in the offseason as many guys did not like Leach's 'my way or the highway' approach.

The Air Raid offense can only be better after averaging just 21.4 PPG last year.  But I like the fact that Skip Holtz is familiar with this offense and has all offseason to prepare his team for it.  I think Louisiana Tech will get enough stops in this one, and they'll be able to put up enough points offensively behind Kendall to keep them within this 23.5-point spread for four quarters.  Bet Louisiana Tech Saturday.

15* WVU/Maryland Non-Conference KNOCKOUT on West Virginia -2.5

Neal Brown did big things at Troy before coming here with three straight double-digit win seasons.  It was a rebuilding year in his first season in 2019 with just seven returning starters.  But he brought back 14 starters last year and the Mountaineers were much better, going 6-4 in his second season.  The 3rd season is when head coaches usually make their biggest leaps, and that should be the case with the Mountaineers in 2020.

West Virginia returns 17 starters.  Eight are back from one of the best defenses in the country that allowed just 20.5 points and 291 yards per game last season.  Nine starters are back on offense from a unit that put up 413 yards per game last year.  So they outgained their opponents by 122 yards per game last year and were even better than their 6-4 record would indicate.

I think Taulia Tagovailoa being the brother of Miami Dolphins QB Tua has Maryland overhyped.  He was not very good as a freshman with a 7-to-7 TD/INT ratio.  He does have some good receivers to throw to, but I just think the Terrapins are a flashy offensive team that everyone likes.

The problem with the Terrapins is the defense, which gave up 32.0 points and 430 yards per game last season.  They could not stop the run as they gave up 230 rushing yards per game.  They are starting five underclassmen on the offensive line, so they are very weak in the trenches on both sides of the ball.  WVU will have the advantage at the point of attack on both sides, which is a big reason I like them to win and cover here.

Maryland hasn't had a winning record since 2014 and just can't be trusted.  The Terrapins are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games as underdogs.  The Mountaineers are 7-2 ATS in their last nine September games.  West Virginia is 7-2 ATS in the last nine meetings.  The Mountaineers are 9-1 SU in the last 10 meetings with all nine wins coming by 3 points or more and seven wins by double-digits.  Take West Virginia Saturday.

15* CFB Saturday Undervalued Underdog on Fresno State +20.5

I like Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer, who took over for Jeff Tedford last year after serving as his offensive coordinator previously.  It didn't go great in Year 1 but they did go 3-3 and will make a huge leap in Year 2.  DeBoer welcomes back 19 starters, a potent offense and an improved defense.

QB Jake Haener is back after completing 64.7% of his passes for 2,021 yards with a 14-to-5 TD/INT ratio in just six games last year.  Ronnie Rivers rushed for 507 yards and 7 TD in five games and made first-team All-Mountain West.  All of his top receivers are back as nine starters return in all on offense.

Where the Bulldogs will be most improved is on defense, where they return 10 starters and each of their top 12 tacklers.  That showed in their opener as they beat Connecticut 45-0 and held the Huskies to just 107 total yards.  And I like the fact that they have a game under their belt already, which should have them being the sharper team here against Oregon early on.

It's generally a good idea to fade Pac-12 teams, and I have no problem doing just that in the right spots.  I think Oregon is being overvalued here in the early going after winning the Pac-12 last year.  But keep in mind they didn't win a single game last year by more than 21 points and found themselves in dog fights each week.

Oregon does have 16 returning starters, including nine on offense and will be good offensively.  But they do lose QB Tyler Shough to the transfer portal, and former Boston College QB Anthony Brown is almost certainly a downgrade.  More concerning is an Oregon defense that brings back just six starters from a unit that allowed 28.3 points and 406 yards per game last year.

Injuries are showing up for Oregon defensively already, too, so Fresno State should be able to match them score for score here.  The secondary injuries are concerning as two projected starters in CB DJ James and S Jamal Hill are both out due to suspension.  The Bulldogs will be able to dice them up through the air, so they'll never be out of it.

Fresno State is 35-17-2 ATS in its last 54 games overall.  The Bulldogs are 19-6-1 ATS in their last 26 games as underdogs.  Fresno State is 4-0 ATS in its last four vs. Pac-12 opponents.  The Ducks are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 non-conference games.  Take Fresno State Saturday.

15* NL PLAY OF THE DAY on St. Louis Cardinals +161

The St. Louis Cardinals are quietly making a run at the postseason.  They have gone 15-9 in their last 24 games overall.  They come into this series rested after having yesterday off, while the Brewers had to fly back from a series that ended in San Francisco yesterday and will be fatigued.

Ace Adam Wainwright goes for the Cardinals tonight and has been lacking respect all season.  He is 13-7 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.031 WHIP in 26 starts this season.  Wainwright has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in 15 of his last 16 starts and 4 earned runs or fewer in 18 straight.

Wainwright is 6-1 with a 1.55 ERA in his last eight starts, allowing just 10 earned runs in 58 innings.  He is 18-12 with a 2.55 ERA and 1.082 WHIP in 39 career starts against Milwaukee.  He'll be opposed by Freddy Peralta, who has posted a 4.73 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in his last three starts.  Peralta has never beaten the Cardinals, going 0-1 with a 5.49 ERA in five career starts against them.

The Cardinals are 12-2 in Wainwright's last 14 starts after losing their previous game.  St. Louis is 10-3 in its last 13 road games.  Roll with the Cardinals Friday.

15* AL PLAY OF THE DAY on Cleveland Indians +160

The Cleveland Indians have quietly gone 9-3 in their last 12 games overall and are playing their best baseball of the season right now.  They have now scored at least 3 runs in 18 consecutive games and are coming to life at the plate.

Cal Quantrill is having a great season for the Indians.  He is 4-1 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.182 WHIP in 17 starts.  He has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in 11 consecutive starts.  Quantrill is 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA in his last nine starts, allowing just 9 earned runs in 55 innings.

One of those starts came against Boston on August 28th in his last outing where he allowed just one earned run in 7 innings.  He'll be opposed by Nathan Eovaldi, who is 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA and 1.522 WHIP in four career starts against the Indians.

The Indians are 6-1 in their last seven games vs. a right-handed starter.  The Red Sox are 5-14 in their last 19 vs. a team with a winning record.  Coming off two straight wins over the division rival Rays, this is a bit of a letdown spot for the Red Sox, who are also dealing with COVID issues right now.  Take the Indians Friday.

20* UNC/Virginia Tech ESPN No-Brainer on North Carolina -5.5

The North Carolina Tar Heels are going to be one of the best teams in the country this season.  This is Mack Brown's third season here and he has brought in some tremendous recruiting classes each year.  The fruits of his labor should pay off in a big way this season as his team is an ACC and National Title contender.

The Tar Heels went 8-4 last season and had Top 5 Texas A&M on the ropes in their bowl game despite missing several of their best players who sat out to get ready for the NFL Draft.  Now They bring back 18 starters and only lose a couple of those players that sat out at the skill positions.  Sam Howell is one of the best QB's in the country and will be working behind a veteran offensive line, so they will be fine offensively.

What has me really excited about this team is the improvements they should make defensively.  After giving up 29.4 points per game last year, the Tar Heels welcome back 10 starters on defense and this should be their best stop unit in at least a decade.  Many times their offense was asked to win shootouts last season, but that won't be the case nearly as much in 2021.

I'm just not a huge fan of Justin Fuente, and it's hard to trust the Hokies now that legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster has departed.  We saw what happened to the Hokies in their first season without him last year.  Despite having 10 returning starters on D, Virginia Tech allowed 32.1 points and 447 yards per game.  They gave up 56 points to North Carolina in a loss to them last year.

Offensively, the Hokies lost QB Hendon Hooker to transfer.  He was a great player for them and finished with 620 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground alone last year, so he will be missed.  They also lose leading rusher Khalil Herbert, who ran for 1,182 yards and 8 touchdowns at 7.7 yards per carry.  Their 15 returning starters is actually among the fewest in the ACC.  Fuente is coming off a 5-6 season and this team is just on the decline.  Bet North Carolina Friday.

15* NL PLAY OF THE DAY on Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-105)

The Atlanta Braves come in highly motivated for a victory after getting swept by the Dodgers last series with their three losses coming by a combined four runs.  They just got done playing the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees the last three series and now take a big step down in competition against the Rockies and should dominate Game 1 of this series.

The Braves have a big advantage on the mound that should have them winning by two runs or more.  Touki Toussant has been at his best on the road this season, going 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.042 WHIP in four starts away from home.

Chi Chi Gonzalez hasn't been good anywhere.  He is 2-5 with a 6.15 ERA in 16 starts for the Rockies this season, including 0-1 with a 10.50 ERA in his last three while allowing 14 earned runs in 12 innings.

The Braves are 18-4 after losing four of their last five games coming in over the last three seasons.  They are coming back to win by 3.0 runs per game in this spot.  Atlanta is 41-14 as a road favorite of -125 to -175 over the last three seasons, winning by 2.3 runs per game.  Roll with the Braves on the Run Line Thursday.

20* AL GAME OF THE WEEK on Cleveland Indians -106

The Cleveland Indians are quietly making a run at the postseason as we enter September.  They have quietly gone 8-3 in their last 11 games overall while scoring 5 runs or more in eight of their last 12 games and 3 runs or more in 17 consecutive games.

The Indians have a big advantage on the mound tonight over the Royals and should be bigger favorites because of it.  Triston McKenzie has been lights out, going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 0.429 WHIP in his last three starts while allowing just 3 earned runs and 9 base runners in 21 innings.

McKenzie owns the Royals, going 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 0.652 WHIP in four career starts against them.  He has pitched 12 shutout innings against the Royals in 2021 alone.  He'll be opposed by Mike Minor, who is 8-11 with a 5.30 ERA in 26 starts this season.  Minor is 0-1 with an 8.68 ERA in two starts against the Indians in 2021, allowing 9 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings.

Kansas City is 1-16 off two straight home losses to a division opponent over the last two seasons.  It is losing by 3.6 runs per game in this spot.  Cleveland is 37-17 in its last 54 games as a favorite.  The Indians are 14-2 in their last 16 meetings in Kansas City.  Take the Indians Thursday.

20* Ohio State/Minnesota Big Ten No-Brainer on UNDER 63.5

The Ohio State Buckeyes lose a ton of talent on offense this year.  They lost QB Justin Fields and RB Trey Sermon.  They won't be as good as they were offensively the past couple seasons under Fields.  It will take them some time to hit on all cylinders, especially in Week 1.

Ohio State's defense slipped last year and should be improved.  They gave up just 98 rushing yards per game last year but 304 passing.  Their secondary will be one of the most improved in the entire country, and the defensive line is as talented as any in the land.

Minnesota went from giving up 22.5 points per game in 2019 to 30.1 points per game last year.  But they had just four starters back on defense last year and were inexperienced.  Now the Gophers return 10 starters on defense and will be one of the most improved units in the country.

Minnesota wants to slow this game down and run the football to try and keep it competitive.  They have averaged at least 171 rushing yards per game in all four seasons under PJ Fleck, so running the ball has been a priority.  I expect Ohio State to rely on the run as well to try and ease freshman QB CJ Stroud into the season.  

Defenses are usually ahead of the offenses in Week 1 of the season.  That will be the case for both of these teams in 2021 with what they have returning on D.  Bet the UNDER in this game Thursday.

20* MLB BLOWOUT GAME OF THE WEEK on Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (-126)

The Baltimore Orioles are 3-23 in their last 26 games overall with a whopping 21 losses by two runs or more.  That's a big reason I'm willing to lay this juice on the Run Line on the Toronto Blue Jays, who need a big finish to make the postseason and won't be taking the Orioles lightly.  They'll come back highly motivated after an upset loss to the Orioles yesterday.

The Blue Jays have a big advantage on the mound tonight behind Steven Matz, who is 10-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 23 starts this season.  Matz has been very good of late, going 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 0.882 WHIP in his last three starts.

Matt Harvey is one of my favorite starters to fade in all of baseball.  He is 6-14 with a 6.18 ERA and 1.508 WHIP in 26 starts this season.  Harvey is also 0-2 with an 8.56 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season, allowing 13 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings.

Baltimore is 2-29 after a 5-game span where the bullpen had a 7.00 ERA or rose this season.  It is getting outscored by an average of 4.0 runs per game in this spot in these 31 games.  Bet the Blue Jays on the Run Line Wednesday.

20* MLB Tuesday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (-147)

The Baltimore Orioles are 2-23 in their last 25 games overall with a whopping 21 losses by two runs or more.  That's a big reason I'm willing to lay this juice on the Run Line on the Toronto Blue Jays, who need a big finish to make the postseason and won't be taking the Orioles lightly.

The Blue Jays have a big advantage on the mound tonight that should have them winning by two runs or more.  Hyun-Jin Ryu is 12-7 with a 3.88 ERA and 1.176 WHIP in 25 starts this season.  He has never lost to the Orioles, going 4-0 with a 3.44 ERA and 1.173 WHIP in six career starts against them.  That includes 3-0 in 2021 alone with the Blue Jays winning those games by 8, 8 and 3 runs.

Keegan Akin is one of the worst starters in baseball.  He is 1-8 with a 7.86 ERA and 1.842 WHIP in 12 starts this season, including 0-5 with a 9.73 ERA and 2.163 WHIP in seven road starts.  Akin is 0-1 with a 7.72 ERA and 1.630 WHIP in three career starts against the Blue Jays as well.  He allowed 6 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 12-4 loss to Toronto in his lone start against them in 2021.

Baltimore is 1-29 after a 5-game span where the bullpen had a 7.00 ERA or worse this season, losing by 4.1 runs per game on average.  Ryu's teams are 55-17 in his 72 career starts against teams with losing records, and they are winning by 2.8 runs per game.  Toronto is 14-1 vs. a starting pitcher with worse than a 20% winning percentage and winning by 4.0 runs per game in this spot.  Bet the Blue Jays on the Run Line Tuesday.

20* MLB Monday No-Doubt Rout on Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (-155)

The Baltimore Orioles are 2-22 in their last 24 games overall with a whopping 20 losses by two runs or more.  That's a big reason I'm willing to lay this juice on the Run Line with the Toronto Blue Jays, who need a big finish to make the postseason and won't be taking the Orioles lightly.

Robbie Ray is one of my favorite starters to back this season.  Ray is 9-5 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.031 WHIP in 25 starts this season, including 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA and 0.988 WHIP in 13 home starts.  He has a whopping 192 K's in 152 1/3 innings this season.

Amazingly, Ray has allowed 4 earned runs or fewer in 26 consecutive starts, including 3 or fewer in 23 of those.  He'll be opposed by Chris Ellis, who will be making just his second start of the season after allowing 3 earned runs in 3 innings against the Angels in his first start on August 25th.

The Orioles are 11-40 in their last 51 road games.  The Blue Jays are 83-39 in their last 122 home meetings.  Toronto is 37-17 in the last 54 meetings overall.  Bet the Blue Jays on the Run Line Monday.

20* AL GAME OF THE MONTH on Seattle Mariners -145

The Seattle Mariners will be highly motivated for a victory Sunday after dropping the first three games of this series to the Kansas City Royals as big favorites.  Now they are the smallest favorite they have been in this series and will avoid the sweep.

Marco Gonzalez has been at his best down the stretch for the Mariners.  He has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts.  Gonzalez is 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA in his last seven starts while allowing just 9 earned runs in 43 2/3 innings.

Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last three starts against the Royals as well.  He'll be opposed by Brady Singer, who is 3-9 with a 5.07 ERA and 1.631 WHIP in 22 starts this season.  Singer is 1-4 with a 4.83 ERA and 1.610 WHIP in nine road starts as well.

The Mariners are 8-0 in Gonzalez's last eight home starts when working on 5 or 6 days' rest.  Seattle is 8-0 in its last eight during Game 4 of a series.  Bet the Mariners Sunday.

15* NL PLAY OF THE DAY on Cincinnati Reds -1.5 (-109)

The Cincinnati Reds have a big advantage on the mound today over the Miami Marlins that should have them winning this game by two runs or more to cover this Run Line.

Tyler Mahle is 10-4 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.196 WHIP in 26 starts for the Reds this season.  Mahle has been at his best on the road, going 7-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 0.996 WHIP in 14 starts away from home.  He has also posted a 3.27 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in two career starts against Miami.

Jesus Lazardo has been a dumpster fire this season for the Marlins.  He is 3-6 with a 7.51 ERA and 1.847 WHIP In 11 starts this season, including 1-2 with a 9.94 ERA and 2.368 WHIP in his last three starts.

The Reds are 30-12 in their last 42 games as favorites.  Cincinnati is 20-7 in its last 27 during Game 3 of a series.  Miami is 1-8 in its last nine vs. a team with a winning record.  The Marlins are 19-40 in their last 59 games as underdogs.  Cincinnati is 11-2 in the last 13 meetings.  Roll with the Reds on the Run Line Sunday.