Game 168 (3:30 pm est): 3* Michigan State -17

Game 127 (2:00 pm est): 4* Akron -1.5

Game 152 (2:00 pm est): 3* Colorado +14

Game 138 (12:30 pm est): 3* Virginia -6.5

Game 157/158 (12:00 pm est): 4* UAB/Arkansas over 65.5

Game 116 (10:00 pm est): 3* California +18

Game 109 (7:30 pm est): 3* Troy +15

Game 107 (8:00 pm est): 3* Miami (Fla) -2

Game 400 (7:30 pm est): 4* Northwestern +7

Game 392 (7:00 pm est): 3* Florida -5.5

College Football Top-Play Total

Game 349/350 (7:00 pm est): 5* Southern Mississippi/North Texas under 55.5

Game 313 (6:00 pm est): 4* Marshall -22

Game 379 (7:00 pm est): 3* New Mexico State +5

Game 343/344 (3:30 pm est): 3* New Mexico/Air Force over 57.5

Game 334 (3:00 pm est): 3* UMass -14

College Football Game of the Month

Game 354 (3:00 pm est): 5* Troy -7

Game 327 (12:30 pm est): 3* Virginia +3

Game 326 (12:00 pm est): 4* West Virginia +8.5

Game 345 (12:00 pm est): 4* South Florida -1

Game 348 (12:00 pm est): 3* Louisiana Tech -12.5

Game 312 (9:00 pm est): 3* Houston -7.5

Thursday Night College Football Game of the Year

Game 307 (10:00 pm est): 5* Utah -2.5

Game 301 (8:00 pm est): 3* UL-Lafayette +3

Game 200 (10:30 pm est): 5* Nevada +2.5

Game 198 (8:00 pm est): 4* Tulane -3.5

College Football Total of the Month

Game 195/196 (8:00 pm est): 5* ODU/UTEP over 67

Game 159/160: 4* Alabama/Arkansas over 55.5

Game 177 (5:00 pm est): 3* Central Michigan +9.5

Game 151 (3:30 pm est): 3* North Texas +6.5

Game 123 (2:00 pm est): 3* UMass +2

Game 134 (12:00 pm est): 4* Miami (Fla) -16.5

Game 143 (12:00 pm est): 4* West Virginia -6

Game 115/116 (12:00 pm est): 3* Northwestern/Minnesota under 44.5

Game 122 (12:00 pm est): 4* Marshall -24.5

Game 110 (10:00 pm est): 3* UNLV +10

Game 352 (7:30 pm est): 4* Kentucky +4

Game 329 (7:00 pm est): 4* Memphis +4

Game 398 (7:00 pm est): 3* Texas State -17

Game 366 (7:00 pm est): 3* UL -Lafayette -15.5

Game 404 (7:00 pm est): 4* Arkansas State -12

College Football Total Top-Play

Game 371/372 (7:00 pm est): 5* LSU/Auburn over 57.5

Game 394 (4:00 pm est): 5* Colorado +7

Game 346 (3:30 pm est): 4* Northwestern +8

Game 355/356 (3:30 pm est): 4* Buffalo/Bowling Green over 78

Game 339 (12:00 pm est): 3* Marshall -17.5

Game 326 (12:00 pm est): 3* Maryland +7

Game 311/312 (10:00 pm est): 4* San Diego State/Fresno State over 57.5

Game 310 (7:00 pm est): 3* Syracuse +2.5

Game 305 (7:00 pm est): 4* UCF +3.5

Game 305/306 (7:00 pm est): 3* UCF/Houston under 51

Game 194 (7:00 pm est): 4* UL Monroe -14

Game 198 (7:00 pm est): 4* Air Force +13

Game 182 (3:30 pm est): 3* NC State +19

Game 142 (3:30 pm est): 3* Louisville -21

Game 145 (3:30 pm est): 5* Miami Oh +6.5

This is a major contrarian play for us at 68% of the money is on UB and it is public money. Miami Oh stinks and we know that as they are 0-4 SU but 3-1 ATS. They played a very good Marshall team really well and only lost 42-27 as a 34-pt underdog. They lost to Cincinnati 31-24 as a 30-point underdog. This team is improving and they go against a Buffalo team that is horrible defensively.

The Bulls have allowed 36.7-ppg and 6.5-ypp vs teams that combine to allow 5.8-ypp. Bad defenses are not good wagers as favorites. UB's only two wins were against FCS teams (Duquesne and Norfolk St). 

Look for Miami Oh to keep this one close as Buffalo falls into a negative 20-61 ATS system that allows us to play against an average team (+/- 0.6 YPP) against a poor team (outgained by 0.6 to 1.2 YPP), after allowing 225 or less total yards in their previous game. We will call for the upset today.

Miami Oh 34-31

Game 153 (3:00 pm est): 3* Bowling Green -4.5

Game 117 (1:30 pm est): 4* Maryland +4

Game 125 (12:30 pm est): 3* Western Michigan +21

Virginia Tech is as overrated as they come after beating Ohio State on the road. Everyone thought they were god and look at their performances since that win. It has not been good as they have lost two in a row at home to teams they should have beat. Virginia Tech is 5-14 ATS  as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.

Our ratings have Va Tech -24 and computer is calling for a 26-point win. Tech applies to a 26-84 ATS negative momentum situation that caught our attention. Western Michigan is an improving team and will keep it close this week.

Virginia Tech 31-17

Game 140 (12:00 pm est): 4* Kentucky -17

Our ratings have Kentucky -22.5 in this one and computer is calling for a 23-point win. Kentucky is one of the most improved teams in the country. They should not be taken lightly anymore. Kentucky wins big

Kentucky 37-13

College Football Total of the Month

Game 149/150 (12:00 pm est): 5* UTEP/Kansas State over 51.5

Utep's defense is not good. They are allowing 7.7-ypp this season but only 26.0-ppg. The reason why they have only given up 26.0-ppg is that they have won the turnover battle 6-1 this season. We look for a different outcome in that category today as they go on the road to a hostile environment. UTEP is 10-2 OVER in road games after a win by 17 or more points since 1992

Kansas State will put some points up today because they won't turn it over carelessly.  Kansas St is 39-16 OVER after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses since 1992. Kansas State is 5-1 OVER their last 6 games vs teams with a winning record. 

Our ratings project 59-points in this one. We like it big.

Kansas State 45-16

Game 110 (8:00 pm est): 3* Old Dominion -3.5

Game 392 (10:00 pm est): 3* Arizona -7.5

Game 365 (8:00 pm est): 4* Clemson +15

Game 386 (8:00 pm est); 4* New Mexico State +3.5

Wrong team is favored in this one. Our ratings have New Mexico State -1 and computer is calling for 3-point NMSU win. New Mexico State is 7-0 ATS in a home game where the total is greater than or equal to 63 since 1992.

New Mexico State 37-30

Game 382 (7:00 pm est); 5* Arkansas -13.5

Arkansas went into Texas Tech last week and absolutely destroyed them. Their running game is really starting to get in full gear and the system is starting to take over the Hogs. The Hogs fall into an incredible system that allows us to play against underdogs of 10.5 to 21 points (N ILLINOIS) - in the first month of the season, after closing out last season with 2 or more straight losses against opponent in the first month of the season, after closing out last season with 4 or more straight losses, 26-6 (81.2%) since 1992.  Arkansas rolls big today.

Arkansas 47-24

Game 307 (4:00 pm est): 4* Indiana +14

Game 331 (3:30 pm est): 3* North Carolina +3

Game 311 (2:00 pm est): 3* Marshall -9

Marshall is the class of Conference USA and have one of the best offenses in the country. Look for them to rack up some yards and points in this one.  Marshall falls into a great system that allows us to play on a road team (MARSHALL) - after allowing 17 points or less in 2 straight games against opponent after a loss by 17 or more points, 44-16 (73.3%) over the last 5 seasons.  Our ratings have Marshal 14 in this one and computer is calling for a 15-point win.  With the situation backing Marshall we look for a big win from them today.

Marshall 41-24

Game 344 (2:00 pm est): 4* Colorado -8.5

Colorado is a team that we feel will improve as the season goes on. They have been so bad for so long but are headed in the right direction. They played a very good Arizona State team last week tough only losing by 14 points and that is with a -3 turnover disparity.  Our ratings have Colorado -10.5 in this one.  Look for Colorado to make a statement in this one.

Colorado 33-20

Game 337/338 (12:00 pm est): 3* Eastern Michigan/Michigan State over 52

This game has blowout written all over it.  Eastern Michigan's defense is atrocious allowing 6.8-ypp and 36.7-ppg this season.  Michigan State, even with their back-ups in the game in the second will be conservative and run the football. EMU can't stop the run as they allow 5.5-ypr. Our computer is calling for 55-points to be scored in this one.  With EMU getting at least 1 score in this game that will give us a cushion with the over. Take the over.

Michigan State 55-6

Game 305/306: 3* Connecticut/South Florida under 44

Game 304 (7:30 pm est): 3* Kansas State +9.5

Auburn is 2-0 SU and ATS to start the season.  Their win against Arkansas has proven to be impressive with the Hogs going into Texas Tech last week and dismantling them.  The Tigers are avg 7.6-ypp over their first two games and 52.0-ppg.  The offense shouldn’t be the issue this year for the Tigers.  However, the defense could be a problem even though the defense has performed well in the first two games.  They are allowing 4.7-ypp to start the season.  They now face their first top offensive team that has balance on both sides of the ball.

Kansas State is 2-0 SU but 0-2 ATS.  This is the game they have been waiting for to start the season.  They get the BCS runner-ups in a non-conference game on ESPN Thursday night.  The crowd will be load and the energy will be on their side.  The Wildcats have a legend as a head coach in Bill Snyder and he always seems to do his best in underdog situations against high-profile top-rank teams.   Snyder is 20-10 ATS as an underdog as the coach of Kansas State and is 14-2 ATS as an underdog with 10 outright upset wins since 2010! 

Wildcats are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a bye week.   Wildcats are 18-7-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.   Kansas State is 13-4 ATS after playing a conference game over the last 3 seasons.  Even though Auburn has been the ATS darlings over the last two seasons, it is very difficult to go against Bill Snyder when given time to prepare for a big match-up.  Our ratings have Auburn -7.5 in this one and that is where the line opened up but has quickly gone to -10 has the public has jumped on Auburn big-time.  Over 63% of the money is on Auburn because of who they are and how quickly everyone forgets or doesn’t know how good of a coach Bill Snyder is.

Our computer is calling for a 6-point Auburn win.  We will side with the motivated double-digit underdog in this one, even though we feel Auburn will squeak-out the win.  However, an outright upset would not surprise us in this one.

Auburn 38-35

Game 204 (11:00 pm est): 3* Arizona -18

Game 188 (8:00 pm est): 3* UTEP -10

Game 153 (3:30 pm est): 4* Arkansas +1

Game 136 (3:30 pm est); 5* Iowa -12.5

Game 142 (12:30 pm est): 4* Virginia +7

Game 111 (12:00 pm est): 4* Indiana -7.5

Game 115 (12:00 pm est): 3* Central Florida +10.5

Game 122 (12:00 pm est): 4* Ohio State -31.5

Game 139 (12:00 pm est): 3* Pittsburgh -25

Game 107 (7:00 pm est): 3* Toledo +10

Toledo was blown out at home last week against an underrated Missouri team.  Toledo is not a bad team.  They took care of FCS New Hampshire in week 1 but didn’t play as well as they were capable of against Missouri.  Offensively, Toledo is avg 7.0-ypp which above the national average.  Toledo should be able to put up some numbers in this one and they face a Bearcat defense which we rate below Missouri.  Toledo lost QB Phillip Ely for the season with a knee injury.   

The Bearcats have some talent on offense led by Notre Dame transfer Gunner Kiel.  Cincinnati has some talented skill players and they have been eager to showcase their abilities as this is their first game of the season.  Toledo has the advantage of already playing two games while Cinci has the advantage of playing at home.  Look for motivational edge to favor Cinci in this one with it being their first game and on Friday Night.

One of our favorite situations is to play on a team that lost a key offensive player (QB, RB) in the first game after the injury.  The team usually rallies around the back-up and Vegas over compensates the line for the loss of the key player.  Toledo responds well after big losses as they are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.  Toledo is 25-12 ATS after allowing 475 or more total yards in their previous game since 1992.

Our ratings have Cinci -11.5 in this one and our computer is calling for 10-point Bearcat win.  With Toledo being undervalued in this one we will jump on them.

Cincinnati 30-26

Game 347 (4:30 pm est): 5* Ole Miss -19.5

The Rebels are for real this year. Our ratings have them -27 in this one (yes, even on the road).  The Rebels fall into a 28-6 (82.4%) ATS system based on offensive stats in this one.  Vanderbilt struggled to score against an average Temple defense last week.  Our computer is calling for a 28-point Mississippi win.  Take Ole Miss in this one big.

Mississippi 42-17

Game 368 (4:00 pm est): 3* Tulane +10

Our ratings have Georgia Tech -7.5 in this one.  Tulane falls into a home underdog momentum situation that is 31-6 (83.8%) over the last 5 season.

Georgia Tech 27-24

Game 314 (3:30 pm est): 3* Iowa -17.5

Our ratings only have Iowa -17. Ball State falls into a negative 5-22 ATS stat indicator play of ours. Our computer is calling for Iowa to win by 23. Iowa gets it done at home after a poor showing last week.

Iowa 37-13

Game 324 (1:00 pm est): 4* Temple +3

Temple is a rising team.  Our ratings have this game at pk. Temple falls into a 20-3 ATS stat indicator play of ours that we really like.

Temple 33-29

Game 309 (12:00 pm est): 4* Kansas State -12

No full analysis this weekend. Listed below are our ratings and projected final.

On top of the fundamental analysis, K-State falls into a great system that allows us to play on any team - good team from last season (60% to 80%) playing a team who had a losing record last year, in conference games, 25-5 (83%) over the last 5 seasons.  Our ratings have Kansas State -17 in this one.

Kansas State 37-17

Game 322 (12:00 pm est): 4* Toledo +4

No full analysis this week. Ratings and projected final listed below.

Rockets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game. Rockets are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games in September. Toledo falls into a 31-6  (83.8%) home momentum underdog situation in this one.  Our ratings have Toledo/Missouri at a pick em. Take Toledo.

Toledo 37-33

Game 302 (8:00 pm est); 4* UTSA +7.5

No better time than to jump on UTSA and to go against the public.  The public has over-reacted to Arizona's bug win over an awful UNLV team. Also, the public doesn't know anything about UTSA and Teams that come off big wins usually catch the public's attention the following week.  The public will find out just how good this UTSA team is this year in this one.  UTSA just went into Houston as an 8-point underdog and beat them outright.  UTSA dominated in that game as they only gave up 7-points to a very good Houston offense.  That positive momentum will cary over big in this one.

Arizona dominated UNLV last week as they outgained the Rebels 8.4-5.2-ypp.  Our ratings don't have UNLV as a very good team this year and Arizona did what they needed to do in that one.  Arizona has some skilled weapons but UTSA has a very underrated defense.  The UTSA crowd will be emotionally charged for a Thursday night college football game on the Pac-12 Network and HC Larry Coker will have his boys ready.

UTSA falls into a great system that allows us to play on home underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points  - team that had a winning record last season, in non-conference games, 30-6 (83.3%) over the last 10 seasons.  In the same token Arizona falls into a negative 16-45 ATS that allows to play against road favorites of 3.5 to 10 points- in a game involving two teams that had winning records last season, in non-conference games.  UTSA is 8-1 ATS their last 9 non-conference games.  Take UTSA + the points in this one as our ratings have Arizona -3.5 so we have some good line-value based on the situation.  Arizona squeaks this one out but an outright upset would not surprise us.

Arizona 27-26

Game 401/402 (7:00 pm est): 3* Utah State/Tennessee under 51.5

Game 195 (10:30 pm est): 4* Washington -17

HC Chris Peterson leaves Boise St for big and better things in the Pac-12 and he will bring his magic and trick plays with him. Peterson did an incredible job at non-bcs Boise State and buildt them into a national power. He will do the same at UW and we wouldn’t put it past him that it starts this year. He has 14 returning starters back from a team that was really good on both sides of the ball.

Hawaii is a terrible football team and there are talks that the team may have to drop football because it is costing them too much money. Norm Chow is not a good HC and this team will struggle again this year.  Hawaii will win more than 1 game nut it won’t be pretty.

Washington falls into a great system that allows us to play on road favorites of 10.5 to 21 points- solid team from last season - outgaining their opponents by 75 or more yards/game, 30-7 (81%) over the last 10 seasons.  The Huskies are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.   Our ratings have Washington -24 in this one and computer is calling for a 30-point win.  We will meet in the middle as UW gets an easy blowout win.

Washington 44-17

Game 202 (8:00 pm est): 4* New Mexico -7.5

Both of these teams are horrible defensively but New Mexico has the better coach by a wide-margin in this one. UTEP is about as bad as bad gets. You wanna know how bad UTEP is? We have Southern Mississippi rated as a better team than UTEP and that's gross. UTEP does have 15 starters back from a 2-10 team so we expect so improvement in the numbers on both sides of the ball under 2nd year coach Sean Kugler.

Bob Davie is turning the Lobos program around. He has a non-nonsense approach the team will get better each year under him. The Lobos have to get better defensively after allowing 42.8-ppg and 7.4-ypp last year! That is not good. Davie is in his 3rd year and he has the team believing and that's where it starts.

New Mexico upset UTEP on the road last year in OT 42-35 as a 6.5-pt underdog. They will be motivated at home in the opener. UTEP was 0-9 ATS as an underdog last year and they are 6-23 ATS overall their last 29 games.  With the two bad defenses, the line is set at New Mexico -7.5 for a reason.  Our ratings have the Lobos -8.5 in this one and computer is calling for 14-point win. New Mexico gets the big win at home.

New Mexico 47-30

College Football Game of the Month

Game 173 (3:30 pm est): 5* Marshall -24

Marshall is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball this year. They come into this season with high expectations and this could be the team that everyone is talking about to get in the Final Four to play for the national championship when it is all said and done.  They have 14 returning starters back including 6 on offense. The offense averaged 42.1-ppg and 6.4-ypp and those numbers will go up. We expect Marshall to avg close to 50-ppg and over 7-ypp this year. QB Rakeem Cato is an NFL draft prospect that no one is talking about this year. Look for him to put up some mammoth numbers this season.

Head Coach Doc Holliday knows he has a special team this year and we fully expect him to blowout several of the weaker opponents early to get the Marshal Thundering Herd name out there to the public.  The defense will be improved with 8 returning starters back that allowed 22.9-ppg and 4.9-ypp.  With the offense and defense improving and added depth, they will be tough to beat this year.

Miami Oh is awful. I mean really awful. If it were not for UMass, they Redhawks would be the worse team in the MAC. It is close though in our talent ratings with both UMass and Redhawks as far as who is worse. Miami averaged 9.8-ppg and 3.7-ypp last year on offense while defensively they allowed 35.7-ppg and 6.4-ypp.  They should be improved this year from an 0-12 performance last year but don’t look for more than 2 wins this season.  They do return 15 starters and will be hungry til they get their first win. It just won’t happen in this one.

Marshall is 7-1 ATS against Miami since 1992. Marshall was 6-0 ATS last season as a favorite of 14-points or more. Last year Marshall destroyed Miami 52-14 as a 20.5 point favorite.  Miami 1-7 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games. Miami is 2-11 ATS in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons. Our computer has Marshall -30.5 and computer is calling for a 31-point win. We think it will be bigger with the motivation of Marshall to get noticed early in the polls.

Marshall 52-16

Game 163 (12:00 pm est): 3* Troy +3.5

Troy is an undervalued in this one as they have 12 returning starters back from a 6-6 team a year ago. HC Larry Blakeney is in his 24th year and could be wearing out his stay there after 3 sub-par seasons in a row. Look for Troy to be motivated as underdog against a team they should beat.

UAB is coming off a horrific 2-10 season and new HC Bill Clark makes his debut in this one. With 15 returning starters back they will be improved but are still a year or two away from really making noise in Conference USA. The defense is awful as last year they allowed 43.8-ppg.  We do some improvement but not a lot.

UAB is not good in a favorite role as they are 22-42 ATS since 1992. UAB falls into a negative 0-9 stat indicator situation. Our ratings have Troy -2 and computer is calling for a 4 point Troy wins. We feel Troy wins in a close one.

Troy 38-33

Game 147 (7:30 pm est): 4* Bowling Green -7.5

Bowling Green has a new Head Coach in Dino Babers and he brings his high-octane offense with him from Eastern Illinois.  Babers did a fantastic job in turning around the Eastern Illinois program as he was 19-7 in 2 years there.  Babers wants to run as many plays as possible and he is all about tempo, tempo, and more tempo.  The Falcons shoukd have any easy transition with this offense with 7 returning starters back including QB Matt Johnson.  Johnson passed for 3467 yards and had a 25:7 td:int ratio.  Look for the offense to really put up some big numbers this season and improve on their 34.8-ppg average from last season.  The defense will be solid this season with 5 returning starters that only allowed 15.9-ppg and 5.1-ypp.

Western Kentucky breaks in a new coach, again, with 1st year HC Jeff Brohm.  If Brohm’s name sounds familiar well, it should as he was the QB for Louisville from 1989-1993.  Brohm was the Assistant HC under Bobby Petrino last season.  This will be WKU’s 3rd head coach in 3 years.  That takes a toll on a team psychologically early in the year.  Brohm will transition the team in nicely with his system as he likes Petrino’s offensive philosophy. The offense should be decent but we look for the defense to take a step back this year with onl4 returning starters.

Bowling Green is 6-0 ATS on the road over the last 2 seasons and 14-5 ATS as a favorite.  BGSU is 4-0 ATS their last 4 in August games.  WKU is 1-5 ATS their last 6 non-conference games.  Our ratings have BGSU -10 and computer is calling for a 8-point BGSU win.  We really like what Dino Babers has to offer with his offensive system and we look for a big BGSU road win.

Bowling Green 40-23

Game 145 (7:00 pm est): 3* BYU -16.5

The Cougars come into this game off an 8-5 season last year.  They have 14 returning starters with 8 back on the offensive side of the ball.  The offense was a little better than average last year as the scored 30.2-ppg and put up 5.8-ypp.  The offense is going to have to get better this season, and it will this season.  The schedule is a little more manageable this year as last year it was a very difficult.  BYU has not played well on the road the last four years as they are 10-13 SU.

UConn is a horrible football team and there is really no way around explaining that.   First year coach Bob Diaco has tough mountain to climb with team.  The Huskies have not had a winning season since 2010 and we don’t look for one this year as well.  The offense was putrid last season as they averaged 20.6-ppg and only 4.6-ypp.  Not good.  The defense was below average as well allowing 30.3-ppg.  The Huskies do have 13 returning starters back but it will take time to learn Diaco’s system.

UConn will have a tough time scoring on BYU in this one.  BYU has a strong defense returning from a team that only allowed 22.8-ppg and 4.8-ypp.  With BYU’s offense improved they will be able to put some points up in this one.  BYU runs a fast-tempo offense and should wear down the Huskies in this one.  BYU falls into a nice syatem that allows us to play on favorites of 10.5 to 21 points (BYU) - solid team from last season - outgaining their opponents by 75 or more yards/game, in a non-conference game between two teams from major division 1-A conferences, 26-6 (81.2%) over the last 10 seasons.  Our ratings have BYU -18.5 and computer is calling for a 20-point win.  We think it will be much more based on the new HC and new system that UConn will have to learn and the motivational factor of BYU looking for a big season.

BYU 37-13

Game 141 (9:15 pm est): 4* Temple +13.5

When we look at this game it was interesting to see the line open up at Vanderbilt -21 and it is now all the way down to -13.5.  The line was completely off and the sharps pounded this game early and then Vegas made the adjustment accordingly.  Temple is coming off back-to-back losing seasons after a nice run from 2009-2011 where they had three straight winning seasons.  Second year coach Matt Rhule has 13 returning starters back that will help his team improve from a 2-10 record.  Rhule has an extremely athletic QB in PJ Walker and we look for him to have a big year.  The offense needs to improve on their 5.7-yards per play average this season in order to be successful and it did over the Owls last three games last season.  They averaged 32.7-ppg and 6.3-ypp during that time.

Vanderbilt first year Head Coach Derrick Mason has big shoes to fill after the departure of James Franklin to Penn State.  The Commodores have a new system to learn as Mason comes over from Stanford.  Look for his to employ much of the defensive concepts he did at Stanford.  Vandy lost a lot of talent and only return 10 starters.  The defense was solid last season only allowing 5.1-ypp which was better than the national average.  We think this is a team that will need some time to develop but will get better as the season goes on.

Temple will be motivated in this game as they feel they have a shot at winning this game.  Vanderbilt talent-level is better than the Owls.  Temple was 7-1 ATS as an underdog last year and they play better in that role. Our ratings have Vanderbilt -10 in this one and computer is calling for a 12-point Vandy win.  We think this will be a little closer considering the adjustment the Commodores have to make with a first year head coach and the Owls have the experience and are in the 2nd year of their system under Matt Rhule.  Take the points in this one.

Vanderbilt 27-20

Game 137 (8:00 pm est): 3* Tulane +6.5

The line opened at Tulane -3 and is now up to -6.5.  The public is on Tulsa in this one as they expect a bounce back year from the Golden Hurricane.  Tulsa had a horrible year in 2013 finishing 3-9.  The defense was not good as it allowed 33.9-ppg.  With 15 starters back this will be an improved team under 4th year HC Bill Blankenship.  The QB situation is unstable as Sophmore Dane Evans gets the start this season.  Evans only completed 43% of his passes and had a 4-10 TD-INT ratio.  Obviously, those numbers need to improve in order for Tulsa to have a better record this year.

Tulane is heading in the right direction under Curtis Johnson who is now in his 3rd year as Head Coach.  The Green Wave looks to make a splash in the AAC as they have made the jump, along with Tulsa, to the conference.  Tulane has a strong defense as they only allowed 21.4-ppg and 4.9-ypp last season!  With 6 starters back on defense this unit will be very good this season.  The offense needs some work but with 7 starters returning they wil be much improved.

Tulsa has dominated Tulane as they are 8-1 SU and ATS against them.  Tulane falls into a great system that allows playing on teams that are road underdogs of 3.5-10 points, in the first month of the season, after closing out last season with 2 or more straight losses, team that had a winning record last season, 34-6 (85%) since 1992.  Tulsa falls into a negative 9-35 ATS situation that allows us to play against home teams in the first month of the season, after closing out last season with 4 or more losses in last 5 games, with 5 offensive starters returning, in the first month of the season.  Our ratings have Tulsa -2 in this one and computer is calling for a 3-point Tulsa win.  We really like Tulane’s defense and the motivation from last year’s winning team that got to a bowl game.  Take the points in this one.

Tulsa 21-20