Run Line Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #912 Tuesday 10* Top Play Houston Astros Run Line -1.5 runs +125 vs Washington Nationals @ 8:07 ET - In the many years of World Series history there have, of course, been some great stories. I look for this one to be added to that list after Game 6 goes in the books as an Astros victory. It would involve Houston roaring back to win 4 straight after dropping each of the first two games on their home field. It would involve Justin Verlander finally winning an MLB decision in the World Series after beginning his career 0-5 in World Series decisions. It would also involve the home team finally getting a win after the road team won each of the first five games. The reason I am playing the run line here is partially because I simply don't like laying -175 prices on the money line. As long-time followers know, I am very careful when it comes to money management and risk. That said, I like the fact we can get as much as +125 (as of early game day morning) by laying the -1.5 runs with Houston. Another reason I like the run line here is each of the past 4 games have been decided by big multi-run margins. The Astros have been swinging the bats well in recent games while the Nationals have been struggling badly at the plate. The momentum has completely shifted in this series and now the Astros and Verlander finish off the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg. The Astros are 24-5 this season when playing after a day off. Washington is 11-15 this season as an underdog of +125 to +175. Verlander has had fantastic numbers since coming to the Astros from the Tigers. Incredible results in a Houston uniform and, I look for him to win this rematch with Strasburg as Verlander also has been solid overall in his home appearances in this post-season. Momentum and the hotter sticks lead to a big home win in this one. 10* HOUSTON -1.5 runs

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #278 Monday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (-) vs Miami Dolphins @ 8:15 ET - I know it may seem tough lay big points with a 2-4 Steelers team. However, keep in mind we're fading an 0-6 Dolphins team and Pittsburgh is at home and coming off a bye week. Also, Miami had scored an average of just 8.4 points per game in their first 5 games this season! Certainly the Dolphins showed a little more on offense last week but that came against a Bills team that promptly got blasted by the struggling Eagles yesterday. In other words, perhaps one shouldn't put too much weight into Miami's performance at Buffalo last week. Also, the Steelers are on a 4-0 ATS run. They've gone 2-1 SU in their last 3 games and the lone loss was in overtime. In regulation time Pittsburgh has allowed 14.3 points per game their past 3 games. Not only is the defense playing well but the offense gets QB Mason Rudolph back for this one. The most comparable game to this one is when the Steelers hosted Cincinnati on a Monday night. The Bengals were (and still are) win-less. Pittsburgh rolled Cincy by a margin of 24 points and that is what I am expecting here as well. The fact the line moved down from a 17 to a 14 means we've got even more line value here. I am going with my highest rating of a 10* Top Play as a result. Lay it as the Steelers make it 5 straight covers! 10* PITTSBURGH

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #276 Sunday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (+) vs Green Bay Packers @ 8:20 ET - The Chiefs have no chance here without Pat Mahomes, right? Actually I feel better about Kansas City than most do heading into this situation. Keep in mind, this is still a quality team on both sides of the ball and it is not as if they are now turning to a rookie QB with zero NFL experience. The fact is that Matt Moore is a 35 year old veteran with plenty of NFL experience and he had to play many years on mediocre Dolphins teams. Now he is surrounded by teammates that are part of a legit Super Bowl contender. Having had a full week and a half to prepare for this game (after being thrown into the fire Thursday night at Denver), Moore will be ready here. The Packers laying nearly a full TD on the road in this one is simply too much. Keep in mind, Green Bay has had the luxury of a very favorable schedule as this is just their 2nd game away from Wisconsin in the past 7 weeks! Also, this will be just their 3rd game this season against a team that currently has a winning record. In the other two games (against Dallas and Minnesota) the Packers did get the win in each game but the stats tell the full story! Green Bay was outgained in both games and, in fact, was outgained by more than a total of 300 yards by the Cowboys and Vikings. Now the Packers take on a strong Chiefs team on the road and are laying nearly a TD...I don't think so! Green Bay struggles to run the ball on offense and their defense is suspect against both the run and the pass. The Chiefs strength on defense is against the pass and I also look for the KC defense to really ramp things up at home as they are fired up about hosting Aaron Rodgers and his high-flying Packers in this one. The Chiefs D will be ready and, on the other side of the ball, Moore will utilize his weapons very well and the KC offense will take advantage of Packers weak defense! 10* KANSAS CITY

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #505 Sunday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) @ Minnesota Timberwlves @ 7:05 ET - I am very well aware of the old "rule" about never playing a team off an OT win in a back to back spot but there is simply too much value to ignore in this one. I also like the fact that it is early in the season and also yesterday's game was an early game for Miami and then it was a short flight from Milwaukee to Minneapolis. That being said, we're getting some extra value (+7) here because of the situation and I feel the Timberwolves are being given far too much respect. Keep in mind that this is a team that came into the season projected to win about 35 games while the Heat came into this season projected to win about 45 games. What I like about Miami here is their resiliency. They were down big on the road against the Bucks, an NBA title contender, and then came roaring all the way back for the eventual overtime win. That is a confidence booster to say the least. It also means that even if the Heat get down to the Wolves in this one by a sizable margin, which not be a total surprise given this is Minnesota's home opener, one can fully expect the high-powered Heat to battle back and get right back into the game. Miami has been putting up a ton of points early this season and that makes them a dangerous dog in a spot like this. This one is all about the situational value and, even though the Wolves are 2-0, they played one very bad team and won their other game in OT by a single point. Lets not get carried away with Minnesota's 2-0 start. So another way to look at this is we have a Heat team projected to be a 45-win team this season getting a full +7 against a Minnesota team projected to be a 35-win team this season. I understand the situational edge for the home team here but this line could easily be much closer to a pick'em! Give me the big points! 10* MIAMI

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #269 Sunday 8* Carolina Panthers (+) @ San Francisco 49ers @ 4:05 ET - It looks easy to take the undefeated team here considering they are at home and laying a short number. However, in typical contrarian fashion, I am grabbing the road dog in this one. Keep in mind, the Niners are off a road trip to the east coast last week as they were in Washington DC to take on the Redskins. Also, SF is actually on a 5-13 ATS run as a home favorite. Each of the last 6 meetings between these teams have seen Carolina get the cash! Also, the Panthers have covered 10 of their last 13 when they are a road dog and not facing a divisional opponent. I like the fact that Carolina is playing with plenty of confidence as they are 4-0 (both SU and ATS) with Allen at QB. Unlike San Francisco, the Panthers are very rested here as they are coming off their bye week. This one sets up well for big situational edges for the road dog and I am grabbing the points. I would not be surprised to see the 49ers unbeaten season come to an end here but I am grabbing the points as added insurance should the Panthers fall just short on the scoreboard. 8* CAROLINA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #261 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Buffalo Bills @ 1 ET - After getting thoroughly embarrassed with their performance at Dallas on Sunday night, look for a tremendous response from the Eagles this week. Philadelphia will take advantage of a Bills team that is over-valued right now. Buffalo is off a win versus Miami last week but they were out-gained in that game. The Bills won the game but were not impressive and certainly the win was aided by a pair of Dolphins turnovers. Philly is on a 15-6 ATS run in games against AFC opponents. In regular season action, the Eagles are 13-0 ATS when they are on the road after a game in which they were held to 10 or less points! Also, Philadelphia is 6-0 ATS when they are off B2B SU losses and facing a team off a SU win by a double digit margin (Bills won by 10 last week). The Eagles already cashed in this role earlier this season when they upset the Packers at Lambeau Field! Bills head coach Sean McDermott is 1-5 ATS when off B2B SU wins. Also, in games 5 through 8 of a season, Buffalo is 2-10 ATS when at home and facing an opponent off a SU loss by a double digit margin. As you can see, great situational edge here for the road dog in this one. Also, included in the strong trending above, a pair of perfect angles combining for a 19-0 ATS mark in support of the Eagles in this match-up. The public is considering the Eagles a dead team after B2B poor road performances. When a team is most under-valued, it is the best time to step in. Hungry road dog gets it done here! 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #208 Saturday 10* Top Play Michigan Wolverines (+) vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ 7:30 ET - Once again I am making a top side play that is contrarian to public opinion. This line was around a -2.5 on Michigan and now the Wolverines are the underdog in this match-up. Once again the public thinks there has been some kind of mistake here as, after all, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh so often loses the bigger games. Long-time followers know how I feel about supposed "mistakes" by the odds-makers. There is a REASON why the odds makers made the lower-ranked team the favorite. Yes Notre Dame is in the top ten while the Wolverines are barely hanging on in the top 25 but I like a couple key factors here. One is that this game is at Michigan and the host is 8-1 (both SU and ATS) in the last 9 meetings between these teams. Another key I like here is that the Wolverines have played the tougher schedule. Michigan got embarrassed at Wisconsin earlier this season but they've been a different team ever since and actually outgained the Nittany Lions by over 130 yards last week and had a huge 26-14 edge in first downs. The Wolverines didn't get what they deserved on the scoreboard at Penn State but they'll make up for that here at home. The only truly tough match-up for Notre Dame this season has been facing Georgia. The Irish lost that game. I know the Fighting Irish have the better offense in this match-up but the Wolverines have the better defense and the home field edge and Michigan is ready to make the most of what is their one and only home game out of a 6-week stretch from early Oct to mid-Nov. The Wolverines lost at Notre Dame by a TD in the season opener last year. That is noteworthy here as Michigan is 5-0 ATS the last 5 times they have been at home and playing with revenge against an opponent with a winning percentage of .899 or less. The Wolverines already rode their defense to a big home revenging win earlier this season when they held Iowa to just 3 points in avenging a loss in their prior meeting with the Hawkeyes. Look for payback here and take advantage of additional line value offered by the line move in this one. Notre Dame has had a very home-friendly schedule this season and now drops to 1-2 SU on the season away from home with losses to the Bulldogs and the Wolverines! 10* MICHIGAN

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #189 Saturday 8* Miami Hurricanes (+) @ Pittsburgh Panthers @ Noon ET - QB N'Kosi Perry has been upgraded to probable for the Hurricanes in this one and is expected to get the start. He has completed 60% of his passes and has 7 TDs against just 1 INT since moving into the primary QB role this month. Miami is off a disappointing OT loss to Georgia Tech last week and, as a result, will bring their "A game" on the road at Pittsburgh this week. The Panthers are just 2-11 SU in their last 13 games against Miami but are favored here due to being at home plus the Canes recent disappointment. That said, the result is great line value in a spot like this. Pittsburgh has won 4 straight games but they have not won 5 straight games in TEN years! Also, the Panthers 4 wins have all come by just a single score. Prior to being Syracuse by a TD last week, Pitt's 3 prior wins in this streak all came by 3 or less points. I see great value here with catching, as of early game day morning, +4.5 with the Hurricanes in this one. The Orange team that the Panthers beat last week by a TD is really down this season. Syracuse wins have come against Liberty, Holy Cross, and a MAC team. In other words, don't put too much stock into the Panthers beating Syracuse. Pitt's most recent home game is also quite telling as they won by just 3 points against Delaware! The Panthers were a 30 point favorite in that game and yet scored only 17 points! Now Pitt faces a tough Hurricanes defense off a disappointing loss. The last time Miami visited Pittsburgh, 2 years ago, they entered the game 10-0 on the season but the Panthers upset them. The Canes got some payback with last year's home win but they still want to get it done AT Pittsburgh as well. They won't let this opportunity pass them by! Grab the handful of points here but we shouldn't need them. 8* MIAMI

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #534 Friday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (-) vs Toronto Raptors @ 7:05 ET - The Celtics ran into a buzzsaw in the form of a determined and hungry 76ers team in Philly on Wednesday. The Sixers had long been the punching bag of Boston and wanted to prove they are ready to live up to their lofty expectations this season. Now the Celtics get a much better match-up in Game 2 of their season and in what is Boston's home opener. The Raptors are coming to down. Of course Toronto's expectations are down quite far this season as Kawhi Leonard is now wearing a Clippers jersey! Also, the Raptors handed me an early candidate for "bad beat of the year" with their OT win (and inexplicable cover!) in their overtime 8 point win over the Pelicans on opening night on Tuesday. That said, I already had my eyes on this match-up ever since that game and things set up perfectly after the Celtics were throttled in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Boston was held in check thanks to stifling defense of the 76ers and now the Celtics will enjoy a lot more open court and open looks in this match-up against the Raptors. After shooting poorly from the field (including from beyond the arc) and also shooting poorly at the foul line, the Celtics will turn in a much stronger performance on their home floor on Friday evening. Look for the host to win this one in an absolute rout. 10* BOSTON

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #104 Thursday 10* Top Play Houston Cougars (+) vs SMU Mustangs @ 7:30 ET - With SMU off a blowout win over Temple and Houston off an unimpressive win against a bad UConn team, the markets are shaded heavily toward the Mustangs here. In typical contrarian fashion I am on the Cougars here! Give me the big points with the home dog as Houston is known for playing much better at home and also they get their QB back this week after he missed last week's game and the Cougars were down to #3 on the depth chart with Logan Holgorsen. Houston will have Clayton Tune back this week and I look for him to atone for his 3 INT performance in his most recent game as that was against a tough Cincinnati defense. Note that SMU has allowed an average of 30 points per game in their 3 road games this season! Also, the Mustangs are overvalued here because they have been a covering machine this season. The Cougars have done well in the big dog role and I fully expect that to continue here as you know Houston will be "up" for this game against an in-state conference foe that is undefeated on the season and also ranked in the top 25. This is a big game for the Cougars that they are relishing to have at home and with the ESPN cameras rolling! Houston is a perfect 4-0 ATS when off a SU road win in conference action. As a dog of +1.5 or more, the Cougars are 15-3-1 their last 19 games. More of the same expected here! SMU is 0-4 ATS when off a win by a double digit margin over a conference rival. Not only are the Mustangs off the big win over the Owls last week, they also have a huge game with Memphis on deck. 10* HOUSTON

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #527 Thursday 10* Top Play Atlanta Hawks (+) @ Detroit Pistsons @ 7:05 ET - Give credit to the Pistons as they went on the road, sans Blake Griffin, and beat a solid Indiana team last night. However, a look inside the numbers shows why some struggles are to be expected tonight. An early season back to back is tough as teams aren't use to that yet this early in the season. Also, Detroit knocked down 46% of their 3-pointers and also 56% from inside the arc. That hot shooting is unlikely to be repeated against a hungry Hawks team that will be flying all over the floor looking to win their season opener. Also, with Griffin out, Andre Drummond is the most important player on the floor for the Pistons and he played 41 minutes last night. That is going to be tough on the big man for tonight as, no matter how well-conditioned you are, a back to back is particularly tough on a big man. Drummond was key to the win last night and his minutes could be limited tonight. Grab the fresher team as the trend we saw toward road covers in yesterday's first big card of NBA action continues in this one Thursday as the home teams are a little over-valued early in the season when a lot of these games are "anybody's game" and, given the rest edge for the Hawks here, I look for the road team to pull away late. 10* ATLANTA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #512 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Boston Celtics @ 7:35 ET - The betting markets tend to put a lot of weight into historical data. That is why this line is only a -5 on Philadelphia as of early game day morning. That said, the line is far too low and I will step in and take advantage. The fact is that the 76ers have a history of recent struggles against the Celtics and that is why Boston is getting plenty of attention in this match-up. However, the fact is that the Celtics are trending the wrong direction away from NBA Championship contender while the 76ers (along with the Bucks) are now considered a frontrunner to come out of the Eastern Conference and battle for the NBA Title in June. In other words, we've got the stronger team and we've got the team that wants to exterminate a long-time nemesis and we've got them on their home floor and they're laying just 5 points. I'll take this kind of situation all day every day. In terms of additional support for this one, Boston is just 9-15 SU as a road dog of 6 points or less while Philly is 65-19 SU as a home favorite including 29-10 SU as a home favorite of 6 or less points. In other words, it is very likely that Philly gets the SU win here and having the Sixers in the -5 range is a great value. The 76ers are on an 8-3 ATS run and continue to be undervalued by the markets while the Celtics are on a 1-4 ATS run entering the new season and are overvalued here due to past successes against the Sixers. Philly is in the process of turning the tables on Boston and "the process" continues here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Month Run Line - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #802 Tuesday 10* Top Play Houston Astros Run Line -1.5 runs (+120) vs Washington Nationals @ 8:08 ET - Great line value here in my opinion because the Astros are nearly a 2 to 1 favorite on the money line but yet we can get Houston in the +120 range by laying the 1.5 runs and taking them on the run line. I know Max Scherzer is a solid pitcher but Gerrit Cole has been unbelievably dominant. In other words, this one belongs to Cole an the Astros! Cole went 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA in the regular season and, for an encore, he has gone 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA in the post-season! Again, Scherzer is solid but he is not as dominant as Cole. In the regular season Scherzer went just 6-5 in 17 night game starts. Also, in the month of September, the Nationals right-hander had a 5.16 ERA in his 5 starts. By the way, 9 straight Washington games (and 14 of their past 15) have been decided by a margin of 2 or more runs. In other words, a 1-run game unlikely here. As for the Astros, 13 of their past 14 games have been decided by 2 or more runs. Looking only at Houston's wins, 13 of the Astros past 14 victories have come by a margin of 2 or more runs. The Astros are the most dominant home team in MLB in 2019 and that continues in Game 1 of the Worlds Series. 10* HOUSTON -1.5 runs

TNT Annihilation - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #501 Tuesday 10* New Orleans Pelicans (+) @ Toronto Raptors @ 8:05 ET - The Pelicans are without Zion Williamson due to his injury but lets not forget that the Raptors no longer have Kawhi Leonard. That said, I feel we have great line value here with this line as it first opened up around a 5 and is now up to a 7 as of early game day morning. New Orleans has gone 51-36 ATS in road games the past two seasons. Also, within that stat for the Pelicans is a tightener as well. New Orleans is 13-7 / 65% ATS when they are a road dog in a range of +6.5 to +12 points. As you can see with the huge total posted on this game, a lot of points are expected in this one. That is another key that trends very much AGAINST Toronto here. The Raptors, in a home game where the total is posted at 220 or more, have gone 16-28-3 ATS long-term. Look for the Pelicans to take this one to the wire north of the border Tuesday. Having Jrue Holiday back at the point is a key for the Pelicans as he missed the final 5 weeks of last season and is a tremendous player and a floor leader. Also, I like the addition of JJ Redick for a strong outside shooting threat as well. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #473 Sunday NFL 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 8:20 ET - Dallas has lost 3 straight games. That said, the ability to get +3 in going against them in a huge divisional rivalry game is an absolutely massive value. Keep in mind, the Cowboys have 3 wins this season and those came against teams that are now a combined 3-14 on the season. The Eagles, like Dallas, are only 3-3 on the season but they at least have one signature win as they handed Green Bay (now 5-1) their only loss of the season. That is the same Packers team that beat the Cowboys. Also, Philly absolutely dominated the Jets and the Cowboys are off a loss to the Jets in New York last week. The Eagles are getting a little help back in the secondary this week and that will be a key against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. Note that Dallas has beaten Philly 3 straight times but one of those victories was the meaningless season finale two years ago when the Eagles were resting players for their playoff run which culminated in a Super Bowl Title. That said though, Philadelphia certainly hasn't forgotten about being swept by their most hated rivals since taking home the Lombardi trophy! It is payback time Sunday night in Big D and right now, Carson Wentz is playing more consistently than Prescott. Wentz has one more TD toss and HALF as many picks as Prescott so far this season. Also, the Eagles rush defense is one of the best in the league and Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott has struggled against top competition this season. When Philly is playing with revenge against an NFC foe and the Eagles are on the road and entering the game off an ugly ATS loss by a double digit margin, they are 8-1 ATS! After getting embarrassed at Minnesota last week, the Eagles come out with fire this week and get their revenge. Look for the Eagles to get the upset but I'll grab the points as added insurance. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #458 Sunday 8* Detroit Lions (+) vs Minnesota Vikings @ 1 ET - The Lions are on a short week coming off a Monday Night trip to Lambeau Field. However, the set-up here is otherwise perfect. Detroit is back at home after falling just short against the Packers. The Lions catch the Vikings off a huge win over the Eagles last week. Detroit has double revenge here from getting swept by Minnesota last season. Also, the Vikings have struggled early this season on the road in divisional action as they already lost at Green Bay and Chicago. The Lions have covered 6 of their last 8 games overall. The Vikings, in games 5 through 8 of a season, when on the road after an ATS win by a double digit margin, have gone 2-9 ATS. In other words, don't be surprised if they fall flat away from home after trouncing Philly in Minnesota last week. As for the Lions, they are on a 4-0 ATS run but have lost SU each of the last two weeks. Note that, under head coach Matt Patricia, the Lions are 4-1 ATS when they enter a game off consecutive SU losses. Detroit, in games 5 through 8 of a season, when facing a team with a winning record are 10-2 ATS when coming off a SU loss in divisional action! After getting swept by the Vikings last season, the Lions respond in their first opportunity against them this season. 8* DETROIT

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #324 Saturday 8* Georgia State Panthers (+) vs Army Black Knights @ 7 ET - The Panthers coaching staff includes personnel very familiar with the option. That gives Georgia State an added edge here that most teams don't have when facing Army. Additionally, the Black Knights offense has actually struggled this season and ranks #117 in the nation based on total yardage. Conversely, the Panthers offense ranks 19th in the nation based on total yardage. I am aware of the fact that Army has the much better ranking defense in this match-up. But again, the fact that the Black Knights are now running into a team whose coaches have experience in how to defense the option attack which Army employs certainly gives a bit of an edge there. Additionally, the way the Georgia State offense has been playing, I don't see Army being able to shut them down. The Panthers also have the home field edge here and have scored 31 or more points in 5 of their 6 games this season! This is just the 3rd home game of the season for Georgia State and, in the first two, they scored an average of 50 points per game! Last week's loss at Western Kentucky was the 3rd time this season that Army has been held to 14 points or less. The Black Knights have now lost back to back games SU and are also on an 0-3 ATS run. On the other hand, Georgia State is off back to back wins and covers. Momentum clearly in favor of the Panthers in this one and I'll grab the home dog as they stay hot. 8* GEORGIA STATE

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #688 Saturday 10* Top Play Calgary Stampeders (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 7 ET - I am well aware of the fact that Calgary has had trouble covering the spread this season but in this revenge game I foresee them getting a big home win. The odds makers opened this one up with a line of -7 with good reason. The fact is that the Stampeders are 6-2 at home this season and also 6-1 in divisional games. Note that Winnipeg is only 3-5 on the road this season. The Blue Bombers got a win last week but they previously had lost 4 of 5. Unlike slumping Winnipeg, Calgary actually entered last week's action having won 4 of 5 SU and they won again last week! The Stamps have dominated this series long-term and, having lost at Winnipeg at earlier this season (a rare loss for them against the Blue Bombers) I know they won't take their foot off the gas in this one. As a result, look for a home win by a double digit margin. 10* CALGARY

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #390 Saturday 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (-) vs Baylor Bears @ 4 ET - The Bears are 6-0 on the season and, for the first time under head coach Rhule, are ranked in the top 25. That said, the odds makers must have made some kind of mistake here, right? After all, how can the unranked Cowboys be favored over a Baylor team that has won 8 straight games dating back to last season? Exactly! Don't be fooled. It is no mistake. The odds makers know what they are doing. The Bears are off a tough game where they had to rally to force OT and ended up winning in double-OT over Texas Tech. Keep in mind, this was a game in which Baylor was favored by double digits so, in other words, quite unimpressive. Speaking of unimpressive, look at the Bears schedule this season! That said, they now face their toughest test of the season and I like an Oklahoma State team playing at home and that comes in rested off a bye week last week! The situation is set up perfect for the Cowboys to roll at home and their potent offense won't take their foot off the gas either. That's because last year the Bears took it to Oklahoma State and won the game 35-31. Now it is time for payback! The Cowboys are 9-1 ATS in the last 10 home games against Baylor. Also, note that the host has won 8 of the last 9 meetings between these teams SU. While the Bears are off a dramatic win last week, the Cowboys suffered a loss by 10 to the Red Raiders two weeks ago at Texas Tech. That was prior to the OSU bye. That is noteworthy here as Oklahoma State is 7-0 ATS the last 7 times in their first game after playing Texas Tech. Also, when playing with extra rest following a SU loss by a double digit margin, the Cowboys are 9-1 ATS! 10* OKLAHOMA STATE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #343 Saturday 8* Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Iowa Hawkeyes @ Noon ET - Ideal set up for grabbing a huge underdog in what should actually be a very competitive game. Of course in comparing Iowa and Purdue, the Hawkeyes are the much better team and plus are at home for this one. However, the Boilermakers enter this game off a confidence-boosting 40-14 win over Maryland and they catch Iowa off very physical and emotionally draining losses at Michigan and versus Penn State the past two weeks. Of course the Hawkeyes want to get back into the win column and I certainly expect them to do that here. However, how much will they have left in the tank in terms of truly putting on a beatdown of a Big Ten rival that will certainly have no shortage of emotion for this game. This spread is around 18 and, keep in mind, the Hawkeyes have been held to scoring 18 points or less in 3 of their past 4 games. Also, Purdue is playing their 7th game of the season and they've only had 2 ugly losses this season. The Boilermakers other 2 losses were tight and, with last week's win over the Terrapins, they now have 2 SU wins this season as well. The visitor is actually 9-0 ATS in the last 9 meetings between these teams and the Boilermakers do have a history of playing well here. They made some changes to their O-line last week and their back-up QB had a huge game as a result. Iowa, of course, has a very tough defense, but this road dog has some confidence now and the Hawkeyes defensive energy is a little worn down after facing the Wolverines and Nittany Lions the past two weeks. 8* PURDUE

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #681 Friday 10* Top Play Toronto Argonauts (+) @ Montreal Alouettes @ 7 ET - The Alouettes have already clinched their playoff position. Of course Montreal does not want to go into the post-season on a losing streak but the fact is they are not highly motivated for a blowout win here either. Even if they were I am not sure they would get it as the Als have been scuffling a bit and plus QB Adams was a turnover machine last week! McLeod Bethel-Thompson returned to the starting role for the Argonauts last week and they got a much-needed win versus Ottawa. Trust me, I know that Toronto is not a very good football team as they have had a frustrating season. But some recent organizational changes as well as the strong QB play they got last week plus the fact this is a divisional match-up for pride...all of these factors have me very happy to grab the double digits in points being offered here. The Argos will go hard here and I am not so sure the Als will even be able to match their intensity considering their playoff position is set and they already won at Toronto earlier this season. Now the Argonauts seek to return the favor at Montreal! While they may not get the outright win I do expect this game to be decided by a TD or less! Grab the generous points! The Alouettes are 6-14 ATS (and SU!) the last 20 times they have faced a team with a losing record! Tonight's game is likely to be a much closer game than many are expecting. 10* TORONTO

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #310 Friday 10* Top Play Florida Atlantic Owls (-) vs Marshall Thundering Herd @ 6:30 ET - The Owls got blasted at Marshall last season and are looking forward to revenge here at home. Florida Atlantic is lead by head coach Lane Kiffin and he is on a 13-6 ATS run in games against Conference USA opponents. The Thundering Herd have been trending the other direction as they have lost the money in 13 of their past 18 games! Marshall is off a non-covering win against a bad Old Dominion team and the Thundering Herd entered that game having scored an average of just 16.8 points per game in their 4 prior games. That has a lot to with QB Green not exactly "lighting it up" for the Thundering Herd. On the other hand, Owls QB Robison certainly has been strong this season for FAU. With a very manageable number at home I have no hesitation in laying the short number here. In Kiffin's first year on the job the Owls went 9-0 in conference action in 2017. However, in 2018 they went only 3-5 SU. Of those 5 SU losses, 3 of the opponents were to be faced by FAU again this season. Those 3 were Charlotte, Middle Tennessee, and Marshall. So far the Owls are 2-0 on the revenge tour with wins over the 49ers and Blue Raiders. Now it is time to make it a 3-0 revenge tour sweep by knocking off the Thundering Herd and I look for the Owls to do just that! 10* FLORIDA ATLANTIC

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #303 Thursday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) @ Denver Broncos @ 8:20 ET - Broncos off a home shutout win while the Chiefs are off a home upset loss. That makes this the perfect set up for backing the small home favorite. Patrick Mahomes (ankle) has been upgraded to probable for this game. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid's teams are 11-3 ATS when they enter a game off a straight up loss in non-divisional action and are facing a team off a straight up win. KC is now off back to back losses after a 4-0 start while the Broncos are off back to back wins after an 0-4 start. That makes this the ideal spot to back Kansas City. Denver has gotten the cash just once in their last seven meetings with the Chiefs and the Broncos have not gotten the cash a single time in their last five as a host in this series! There is an old adage about "defense wins football games" and I am well aware of the fact that Denver has the much better defense in this match-up. However, not only is Kansas City's offense much better than the Broncos offensive attack, this one is also simply very strong from a situational standpoint. I don't see KC losing 3 straight and I don't see the Broncos winning 3 straight. That said, I have no hesitation in taking advantage of the line move here and laying the short number with the Chiefs. 10* KANSAS CITY

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #305 Thursday 8* UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns (-) @ Arkansas State @ 7:30 ET - UL Lafayette is off a low-scoring loss but they faced a tough Appalachian State team. Now the Ragin Cajuns face the struggling defense of Arkansas State and I expect this one will turn into a road road. UL Lafayette entered their game against the Mountaineers having averaged nearly 550 yards and 45 points per game! Their offense will surely bounce back against a Red Wolves defense that has been hurt (literally) by injuries this season. Arkansas State has allowed averages of 45 points per game and over 600 yards a game the past month. The Ragin Cajuns are on a 7-1 ATS run (not including bowl game) in their last 8 games played away from home! The road warriors get the job done again Thursday as they bounce back off their first ATS loss of the season. Arkansas State is off a bye week which was preceded by them getting blasted 52-38 at Georgia State. The Red Wolves are 0-6 ATS when they are a dog of 6.5 points or less and off a game in which they allowed 36 points or more. The Ragin Cajuns are 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings between these teams. 8* UL LAFAYETTE

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #271 Sunday NFL 10* Top Play Tennessee Titans (+) @ Denver Broncos @ 4:25 ET - The Titans lost to the Bills by 7 points last week but they missed 4 field goals in that game! As for the Broncos, they are off their first win of the season and it was an upset win at Los Angeles over the Chargers. After that big road win over a division rival, Denver is in the perfect spot to take a tumble back down to reality this week. The win last week for the Broncos was their first ATS cover too in their past 9 games! As for the Titans, they have covered 5 of their last 6 non-divisional road games. Tennessee's strength on offense is their running game. The Broncos weakness on the other side of the ball is stopping the run. That said, and with Denver off a win and the Titans off a loss, the road dog is the play here! In games 5 through 8 of a season, when Tennessee is off a SU loss and facing an opponent off an outright upset win as an underdog, the Titans have gone 9-2 ATS. Also when in games 5 through 8 of a season and off an ATS loss where they missed covering by a double digit margin, the Titans have gone 9-2 ATS in their next game when that game is against an opponent with a losing record on the season. The Broncos, in games 5 through 8 of a season, are 0-7 ATS off a divisional game and facing an opponent off a non-divisional game. Another issue for Denver here is they have a huge game coming up Thursday as it is a divisional game hosting the Chiefs. That makes this a sandwich spot for the Broncos (off a big divisional game and with a big divisional game up next). The fact their next game is Thursday also hurts Denver in this one. Look for the Titans to get the upset. 10* TENNESSEE

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #266 Sunday NFL 8* Los Angeles Rams (-) vs San Francisco 49ers @ 4:05 ET - This line opened up in the 4.5 range and is now down to a -3 as of early game day morning. In typical contrarian fashion I am going against the line move and backing the favorite in this one. I had my eyes on this match-up when the lines first came out as the Niners are off to a surprising 4-0 start this season but off a Monday night game versus the Browns. Now San Francisco catches an angry Rams team off back to back losses. Los Angeles laid an egg two weeks ago in their loss to Tampa Bay two weeks ago. Then they fell short at Seattle in the Thursday night game last week. The Rams missed a late field goal that would have won the game. That said, LA has plenty of motivation here plus they have a significant rest edge since they played on Thursday of last week while the Niners are on a short week since they played on Monday. Los Angeles is on an 8-3 ATS run in divisional action while the 49ers have failed to cover 5 of their last 6 in NFC West action. This is the perfect spot to back a Rams team that blasted San Francisco by an average margin of 22.5 points per game in their two meetings last season. Yes I know the Niners were without Garoppolo in those games but LA didn't exactly just squeak by in those games either. Lay the short number here! 8* LOS ANGELES RAMS

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #261 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Minnesota Vikings @ 1 ET - Revenge game for Eagles after the Vikings (who had playoff revenge) handed Philly a 2 point loss in their meeting last season in Philadelphia. Now Minnesota is laying 3.5 points here after they ran all over the Giants last week. The Vikings won't be able to run like that this week as they face an Eagles run defense that ranks #1 in the NFL. That said, the game is in the hands of Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins. Of course there has been a lot of negative talk going on around (and within!) the Vikings organization when it comes to their QB situation. That was quieted last week because they ran the ball so well but that was against a weak Giants team. Now the Vikes face a Super Bowl contender known for stout run defense. This match-up sets up perfectly for the Eagles as a sizable underdog here. Philadelphia has covered 6 of its last 8 games as a non-divisional road dog. This game will come down to Carson Wentz and Cousins. That said, whom do you want running your offense in crunch time? Not only do we get Wentz here, we get more than a field goal on our side. Although I am making this play fully expecting an outright Eagles win, I could certainly see this game being decided on a late-game field goal as well. In other words, there is a lot of value with having the 3.5 points on your side in this one! 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #129 Saturday 10* Top Play Nebraska Cornhuskers (+) @ Minnesota Golden Gophers @ 7:30 ET - I am aware of the injury issues for the Huskers and that includes QB Adrian Martinez and WR JD Speilman. My sources are indicating both will play at Minnesota tonight. If that would end up not happening, the fact is that I still expected Nebraska to get the cover here and they absolutely have a shot at the outright upset too. The Golden Gophers are 5-0 on the season but they are so vastly over-rated at this point. Minnesota has seen 4 of their 5 wins come by 7 points or less and, keep in mind, their schedule has been very weak. The Gophers have beaten South Dakota State (FCS School), Fresno State (2 OT), and Georgia Southern (Sun Belt school). Their two big ten wins came against Purdue (QB Sindelar HURT) and Illinois (one of worst Big Ten programs). Now Minnesota faces a Nebraska team that is 4-2 on the season and that blew a huge lead in an OT loss at Colorado and whose only other loss was against a Ohio State team that is one of the best teams in the nation this year on BOTH sides of the ball. That said, the Huskers are flying under the radar a bit heading into this contest. As for Minny, their 5-0 record has them a little over-hyped right now and I feel an upset is going to be the end result in this one Saturday night. If the Huskers fall short of that they'll still get the cover in my opinion. The Cornhuskers hammered Minnesota by 25 points last year and have won and covered in 3 of the last 4 meetings. Nebraska has covered 22 of their last 32 road games. If Martinez can't go or gives it a go and then must exit, note that Noah Vedral has a dozen games of experience and the back-up QB did lead the game winning drive last week. The Corhuskers lone loss (ATS and SU) in their last 4 meetings with the Golden Gophers was in their last visit to Minnesota. The Huskers got hammered in that one in 2017 and now it is payback time. 10* NEBRASKA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #694 Saturday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Blue Bombers (-) vs Montreal Alouettes @ 4 ET - The Blue Bombers saw the Stampeders beat the Roughriders yesterday. How does that impact Winnipeg? It means that with a win today the Blue Bombers can also each 20 points in the West Division standings just like Calgary and Saskatchewan. I like having the Bombers off a loss here and look for Streveler to have a much better game under center. Winnipeg is off a loss and Montreal is off a win. In a spot like this I'll gladly lay the short number with the small home favorite off a loss. The Blue Bombers are 5-2 ATS in their 7 home games this season and only have 1 SU home loss on the year. The Alouettes have lost 4 of 7 road games this season. Also, Montreal is thrilled they have clinched a playoff spot. Could they be flat after last week's win? I just don't think they'll be able to match the intensity of a hungry Bombers team off a loss in this one. 10* WINNIPEG 

Rickenbach CFB Rotation #147 Saturday 8* Washington State Cougars (+) @ Arizona State Sun Devils @ 3:30 ET - I still feel Arizona State is over-rated. Yes they are off a win at Cal which preceded their bye week. However, the Golden Bears are looking less impressive as each week goes by. As for the Sun Devils, the last time they were at home they did lose to Colorado. They face a tougher challenge now in this home game and ASU's early season hype had a lot to do with a D that didn't allow many points in their first 3 games. However, Arizona State faced Kent State, Sacramento State and Michigan State. Of course the only tough opponent in that grouping was the Spartans and they put up over 400 yards of offense in the game but poor play-calling and turnovers led to Michigan State scoring just 7 points in the game. Now Arizona State faces a Washington State team that is also off a bye week but in a different frame of mind than the Sun Devils right now. That's because the Cougars got blasted at Utah prior to their bye. They can't wait to get on the field as that game was preceded by the insane 67-63 loss to UCLA that was at home for Washington State. The Cougars are in big-time "payback mode" here and ready to resume their early season winning. There is a reason this line was set the way it was (pick'em range) even though ASU is at home and the Cougars are off B2B losses. In other words, don't be fooled as the road team is the play in this one! 8* WASHINGTON STATE

Rickenbach CFB Rotation #178 Saturday 8* Wisconsin Badgers (-) vs Michigan State Spartans @ 3:30 ET - The Spartans offense and play-calling is horrible. That said, even though they have a respectable defense, they aren't going to be able to hang around in this game. Keep in mind, Michigan State is just 2-4 ATS on the season for a reason. They underachieve. They managed only 7 points in a loss to Arizona State and that was at home. In their most recent road game they did face a strong Ohio State team so is understandable they only scored 10 points there. But that game also was just last week. This is a horrible spot for the Spartans from a scheduling standpoint. They had to go toe to toe on the road last week with one of the best teams in the nation last week and then they follow it up by making a road trip the very next week to Wisconsin. It doesn't get much worse than that for a team that struggles to consistently score against strong teams. Note that the Spartans now face a rested Badgers team that has allowed an average of just 5.8 points per game on the season! I say "rested" because Wisconsin was able to rest guys last week thanks to a 48-0 plastering of Kent State! Also, the Badgers have been at home ever since their opening season road trip to South Florida in August! This scheduling situation is fantastic for Wisconsin and horrible for Michigan State and now we take advantage! Spartans on the road for the 3rd time in 4 weeks. The Badgers have been at home in Madison the entire month of September and first two weeks of October. 8* WISCONSIN

Rickenbach CFB Rotation #172 Saturday 8* Houston Cougars (+) vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ 3:30 ET - Once the Cougars had their #1 QB and WR redshirt for this season after 4 games, they were left for dead by most pundits. However, this Houston team has depth at both those positions and their first game after the announcements saw the Cougars knock off North Texas by 3 touchdowns. Since then they have had a bye week and now they host Cincinnati before a trip to face a bad Connecticut team next week. In other words, Houston is certainly focused and rested for this opportunity this week as a host against a ranked Bearcats team. The Cougars are catching Cincy at a good time to upset them as the Cats are off an upset win over Central Florida last week. Keep in mind that was the Bearcats first upset win over a ranked foe in 10 years! That emotional game could leave Cincy a little flat here but there is no doubt the Cougars are up for this game. Houston is off a bye week and playing their only home game in a 5-week stretch! Head coach Fickell for Cincy has failed to cover 9 of the last 12 times he was a favorite by 9.5 points or less. The Cougars have failed to cover only 4 times the last 20 regular season games in which they were an underdog. This one has upset written all over it and, if the Cougars do fall short, I expect it to be by just a field goal. 8* HOUSTON

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #125 Saturday 8* Oklahoma Sooners (-) vs Texas Longhorns @ Noon ET - Many will look at this game and say it is too many points to lay. After all, the last five regular season meetings have been decided by a TD or less. In typical contrarian fashion I am laying the points. The Longhorns have issues defending the pass and this weakness is made even more concerning by the fact that Texas has injuries in its defensive backfield as well. The Sooners have allowed an average of just 16 points per game their past 4 games. The Longhorns have allowed 30 points or more in 3 of their last 4 games. The Sooners hammered the Horns in last year's Big 12 Championship Game and I am looking for more of the same here. These teams are close in the rankings and this is a neutral site game. That said, the odds makers are well aware of that and also very aware, of course, that the the recent history between these teams would suggest a tight game. Like I said, they knew all that and yet still opened this line up at double digits. They know what they're doing and so do we! Lay it! 8* OKLAHOMA

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #103 Thursday 10* Top Play New York Giants (+) @ New England Patriots @ 8:20 ET - This is simply too many points. Yes, I am aware of the history rookie quarterbacks have when visiting Foxboro for the first time against Belichick and Brady. However, I am also aware that the Giants have covered 12 of their last 18 in non-conference action and 7 of their last 9 as a road dog. Also, certainly I would never argue the fact that New England is a great team. They prove themselves year in an year out. However, before you go announcing them as Super Bowl champions this season, note that they have played only one tough team (Buffalo) this season. Note that the struggling Steelers they faced are 1-4 on the season. Additionally, the Patriots other 3 games were against the Jets, Dolphins and Redskins. Those teams are a combined 0-13 SU on the season! Not exactly a powerhouse schedule that the Pats have faced thus far. That being said, don't be surprised when the scrappy Giants hang around in this one and get the cover as massive underdogs. 10* NEW YORK GIANTS

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #102 Wednesday 10* Top Play UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (pick) vs Appalachian State Mountaineers @ 8 ET - This line is right around a "pick'em" even though the Mountaineers are undefeated this season and have also won each of their last 6 meetings with the Ragin' Cajuns. Long-time followers know how I feel about spots like this. I am going contrarian here. This line will be so attractive to those wanting to back Appalachian State for their SU winning streaks (this season and in this series) to continue. As usual I am going against the grain and backing the other side here. However, it certainly is not without plenty of logic. For one thing UL-Lafayette is not lacking for motivation as they lost in the regular season and in the Sun Belt playoff game versus the Mountaineers last season. Also, though both offenses are rolling early this season, the difference in this match-up is the way the defenses have been playing. While Appalachian State is allowing 420 yards per game, the Ragin' Cajuns have shown improvement on defense this season and are allowing only 345 yards per game. When entering a revenge game on a winning streak of 2 or more games SU (in this case 4 straight), Louisiana is 6-0 ATS! UL-Lafayette is also 9-1 ATS versus a conference opponents with a winning percentage of .667 or better. The Ragin' Cajuns are also 6-0 ATS in their game preceding facing Arkansas State. The Mountaineers are 1-6 ATS when when facing an opponent with revenge that is coming off a SU win by a double digit margin. Plenty of support for a play on the home team here and keep in mind Appalachian State had a new coach this year as Scott Satterfield is now the head man at Louisville. The Ragin' Cajuns finally get over the hump against the Mountaineers. This is the year the streak snaps! 10* UL-LAFAYETTE

Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #909 Tuesday 10* Top Play Houston Astros Run Line (-) @ Tampa Bay Rays @ 7:05 ET - Yes the Astros are in the -135 to -140 range on the run line here but I still see value considering the large pitching mismatch here. The Rays are relying on bullpen arms with Diego Castillo starting as the opener in this one and unlikely to pitch deep. On the other side you have the Astros going with dominating ace Justin Verlander. The Houston right-hander is known for dominating in starts that involve elimination as he is 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA the 4 times he has started in a game that is a "clinch" opportunity for his team. Verlander has dominated the Rays this year to say the least! In two regular season starts and one post-season start, Verlander has held Tampa Bay to just 1 earned run only 8 hits while striking out 21 in 19 and 1/3 innings! Of course in comparing these two teams the Astros also have the much stronger lineup and that is why I am comfortable laying the price here and looking for the road team to win this game by 2 or more runs. 10* HOUSTON -1.5 runs

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #477 Monday 10* Top Play Cleveland Browns (+) @ San Francisco 49ers @ 8:15 ET - In my analysis of yesterday's play on the Packers I noted how over-rated the Cowboys were because their 3-0 start was helped tremendously by playing 3 teams that now are a combined 2-12 on the season! Now we have a similar situation here. The 49ers are coming off their bye week (by the way they have ZERO wins - SU or ATS - the L7 times off a bye) and San Francisco enters this week with a perfect 3-0 record. Note that the Niners have played Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. Those 3 teams are a combined 3-12 on the season. Now, I am not saying that Dallas is a bad team or San Francisco is a bad team. I am merely stating that each of these teams is a little over-rated right now in my opinion. I went against the Cowboys in each of their games since their 3-0 start and I won with New Orleans and Green Bay in doing so. Now I will take a scrappy Browns team against go against the 49ers after their 3-0 start. When bettors think of Cleveland they can't help but think of their opening game debacle against the Titans and that is part of the reason there is current value with the Browns. Cleveland did catch a break with the Jets on their schedule but their other games were against Tennessee, the Rams, and Baltimore. All 3 of those teams are tougher than the teams the Niners have faced this season. The Titans went 9-7 last year and just missed the post-season, the Ravens went to the playoffs, and LA went to the Super Bowl. Don't underestimate the Browns here and catching 5 points with them is an absolute high value spot as it makes even a 4-point loss a win at the betting window and I look for Cleveland to be in this one all the way! By the way, the Browns are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 against NFC opponents and I also look for them to move to 9-3 ATS their last dozen games in a road dog role as they get the cash here! 10* CLEVELAND

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #475 Sunday 8* Indianapolis Colts (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 8:20 ET - Make no mistake the Chiefs are a great football team but the situation here is perfect (literally!) to back the Colts. Not only is Indianapolis 6-0 / 100% their last 6 when playing in a game prior to a bye week, the Colts also have playoff revenge from last season. Additionally, I like the fact that the Chiefs are off a nail-biter last minute win at Detroit last week while Indy is off a disappointing home loss to the Raiders. Again, the set up here is literally perfect. I am not saying I expect the Colts to win outright but I am saying I expect this game to be decided by no more than a TD which means we've got great value here with the big points. Keep in mind, when lines were out this summer this line was closer to a -4 and now we're seeing -11 on this game for KC. Of course this has a lot to do with Andrew Luck's retirement but this is an over-adjustment in my mind. Also, the Chiefs defense continues to be an area of weakness and though Kansas City does hold the edge in terms of overall offense, the Colts have had the better ground game this season. Couple that with the better defense overall and you can make a case for Indy being "in this one" all the way! Under Frank Reich, the Colts are 6-1 ATS when they face a team with a winning record that is off a non-divisional game. By the way, while it is true that the Chiefs are undefeated on the season it also true that each of their last two wins have been very tight games. Also, 3 of Kansas City's 4 games have come against non-playoff teams that had a combined record of 15-33 last season. The Colts are well-coached and will give KC all they can handle in this one. Look for another tight Chiefs win. 8* INDIANAPOLIS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #473 Sunday 10* Top Play Green Bay Packers (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 4:25 ET - It was great to watch the over-rated Cowboys flounder when they finally faced a formidable opponent last week. The Saints didn't even have Drew Brees and yet still beat Dallas even though the game was very poorly officiated. As per usual the flags seemed heavy against New Orleans and light against the Cowboys and yet even that wasn't enough to rescue "America's Team". Now instead of facing a back-up QB the Cowboys face Aaron Rodgers and he was on fire for the Packers in their home loss to Philadelphia last week Thursday. Yes Green Bay fell short in that game but they did outgain the Eagles by a substantial margin. Lets not forget that Dallas' wins have come against the Dolphins and Redskins and Giants. The former two teams are still winless on the season and New York is fortunate to be 2-2. The Giants only beat TB because of a late missed chipshot FG by the Bucs and then the G-men got another win because of facing the floundering Redskins. The point is that Dallas still hasn't proven they can beat a good team this season and yet many are already pronouncing them as the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. As for the Packers, their wins including knocking off quality defenses in the Bears and the Vikings. Now the Cowboys face an angry GB team after a home loss on national TV in a game in which they were favored. Note that, even though this is a revenge game for Dallas, the fact is the Packers have had their number. Also, in Games 5 through 8 of a season, when the Packers have a winning record but are an underdog and are facing a team that also has a winning record and has revenge too, GB is actually a stellar 10-1 ATS in this situation! Additionally, note that the Cowboys are 0-11 ATS as a conference favorite of 3.5 points or less when they are facing a team with a winning percentage of .667 or greater. That system also fits here. The Packers got punched in the mouth by the Eagles ground game last week. They'll come ready to play this week after that debacle and there is no doubting the offense of the Pack will be the toughest offensive unit that Dallas will have faced this season! 10* GREEN BAY

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #455 Sunday 8* Arizona Cardinals (+) @ Cincinnati Bengals @ 1 ET - While it may seem hard to take any winless team on the road catching only a field goal, it is not as tough when the team you're playing against is Cincinnati. The Bengals looked like absolute garbage on Monday night. Now the fact is one should never put too much weight into just one game but the key here is that the Bengals were 0-3 and facing a division rival on Monday night football. That is the type of game that EVERY team in the NFL gets up for! That said, to see a lifeless Cincinnati team look like absolute trash in a situation like that says an awful lot about just how bad of a mess things are with the Bengals franchise right now. Conversely, the Cardinals at least are showing signs of life. Yes they lost by 17 to the Seahawks last week but the stats in that game were roughly equal. In other words, it was a bit of a "phony" final score. Also, the Cards rallied in the first game of the season to force OT. The fact is Arizona, unlike Cincinnati, is at least showing signs of life under their young head coach and rookie QB. I would not be surprised to see them get the outright upset here but certainly have no hesitation in grabbing the 3 points in this one. The Bengals are 1-9 ATS as a favorite of 6.5 points or less when they enter a game off an ATS loss by a double digit margin. 8* ARIZONA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #359 Saturday 10* Rice Owls (+) @ UAB Blazers @ 7 ET - Rice is in their second season under head coach Mike Bloomgreen and they have turned into the type of scrappy underdog that no one wants to face. It is a slow process but he has made great strides this season thanks to it being his 2nd year with the program and the fact that the Owls returned players with a lot of playing experience from last season. Conversely, even though UAB is an 11-win team from last season, they lost as much (if not the most) playing experience from last season's team and this is out of 130 FBS teams in the nation. Of course this is why the Blazers (11 wins last season) are not an even heavier favorite against a Rice team that entered this season having only won a total of 3 games the past two seasons. I love looking for spots like this because the marketplace is simply behind the power curve in a situation like this and the Owls make for a dangerous dog in this spot. Rice does have a bye week on deck and the Blazers could be guilty of looking right past them and underestimating them. That is because UAB  blasted the Owls 42-0 last year and that game was at Rice. Remember what I said about the coach and about experience above? The fact is that Bloomgreen and his players remember all too well the embarrassment of that ugly home shutout in his first season as head coach last year. It is time for payback at UAB this year. Now I don't necessarily expect Rice to win this game outright but I do expect there is a chance of that as I see this game being decided by the margin of a single score as it will be tight all the way. 3 of the Owls 5 losses this season have been decided by 8 or less points. That means we've got great value here with the Owls available as a double digit dog. By the way, Rice has battled hard with Army, Baylor, and Louisiana Tech this season. Even their game against Wake Forest was much more competitive than the final score indicated. The only game in which the Owls truly got blown out was against Texas and the Blazers most certainly are not the Longhorns! 10* RICE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #356 Saturday 8* Michigan Wolverines (-) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ Noon ET - The Hawkeyes are currently ranked higher than the Wolverines and yet the odds makers opened this game up closer to a 6 than a 3. However, many are anxious to back Iowa here because everyone remembers how Michigan got bullied at Wisconsin a few weeks ago. First off, the Wolverines were done in by turnovers in that game. Secondly, the game was at Madison. Thirdly, Iowa is not Wisconsin! In fact, one could easily question whether or not the Hawkeyes deserve the current lofty rating they have. Iowa has played a rather soft schedule and, in the only tough game, the Hawkeyes were very fortunate to defeat rival Iowa State. The Cyclones outgained Iowa by a significant margin in that game. Remember a few weeks ago there was an early line on this game and it was in the range of 2 TDs. The odds makers then opened this up closer to 1 TD this week because they knew how the markets would react after recent game results. Sure enough the market pushed it even closer down to a FG. That means we're only laying close to a FG that, only a few weeks ago, was considered 2 TDs better when hosting this opponent. I'll grab this every single time as Michigan has also heard plenty about being manhandled by the Badgers and they look to atone for that performance here. The Hawkeyes are leaving the state of Iowa for the first time this season and they aren't known for traveling overly well. As a road dog, the Hawkeyes are 3-6 ATS the past 3 seasons. The Wolverines are 14-1 SU the last 15 times they have been a home favorite and I have no hesitation in laying the small number in this one. 8* MICHIGAN

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #308 Friday 10* Top Play Cincinnati Bearcats (+) vs Central Florida Knights @ 8 ET - Last year both these teams were ranked and they matched up in a big game with ESPN Gameday cameras rolling late in the season and the Bearcats proceeded to get embarrassed in an ugly loss. Statistically the game was not so bad for Cincinnati but, on the scoreboard, they did lose by 25 points for a very ugly loss and now it is payback time. What most people are remembering about the Bearcats right now is how they got manhandled by Ohio State earlier this season. However, the Buckeyes have been demolishing anyone and everyone that has had the misfortune of having them on their schedule this season. The point is that UC's very ugly loss to Ohio State is actually helping to give us some value in this spot because this is still a Bearcats team that has gone 3-0 in its other games and allowed an average of only 13.7 points per game to teams not named the Buckeyes! As for UCF, they are 4-1 on the season but did lose their only true "test" of the season thus far and that was a road game at Pittsburgh. In my mind losing to the Panthers as a double digit favorite is even worse than the Bearcats getting blasted by one of the best teams in the nation. The Knights do have a bye on deck while the Cats do have Houston on deck. However, UC is actually a perfect 6-0 ATS the game before the Cougars the last 6 times. Payback time here. 10* CINCINNATI

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #926 Friday 10* Top Play Houston Astros -1.5 runs -100 vs Tampa Bay Rays @ 2:05 ET - The opportunity to have arguably the best home team in baseball with the best pitcher in baseball at even money is something I won't pass up on. Yes we have to lay 1.5 runs to get it but Houston, with Justin Verlander on the mound, should win this one in a rout. Keep in mind, the Rays Tyler Glasnow missed a lot of this season. While it is true that he has performed well since coming back, the fact is that Glasnow did not see a lot of action and particularly not against a very tough lineup like he will face here. Adding value for the Astros here is they did face him very early this season and they hit .316 against him in that 5-inning start. Note as well that Glasnow did have a strong season on the road this year but that was in limited appearances. That is noteworthy because Glasnow entered this season having gone 3-10 with a 5.85 ERA in road games in his career. Verlander went 2-0 against the Rays this season and he dominated them as Tampa Bay hit just .159 against him in those two outings. Verlander went 8-1 in his 11 day game starts this season. More domination here and, of course, I am not laying a -220 price on the money line but I'll gladly grab the even money price on the Astros run line for this one! 10* HOUSTON -1.5 runs

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #301 Thursday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Rams (+) @ Seattle Seahawks @ 8:20 ET - The Rams opened up as the favorites here. Unsurprisingly everyone jumped all over the Seahawks since they are also 3-1 like Los Angeles is and plus they have home field here and Seattle is a tough place to play. As per usual, I am fading the line move and I particularly love this play. The Seahawks are 3-1 but their lone loss came against the only tough team (Saints) that they faced. Seattle's 3 wins came against teams that, through 4 weeks of action, have totaled ONE win between the 3 of them. The fact is the only win among those teams came because they played each other (Cin @ Pit MNF). As for the Rams schedule, they have played 4 teams of which only 1 of the 4 has a losing record. Also, I love the fact that Los Angeles is off an embarrassing home loss to Tampa Bay. The Rams will be ready to respond here and, by the way, as tough as it is to play at Seattle, LA has won each of its past two visits here. Look for the Rams to improve to 8-3 ATS in their last 11 divisional games as they get a convincing road win here. 10* LOS ANGELES RAMS

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #306 Thursday 10* Top Play East Carolina Pirates (+) vs Temple Owls @ 8 ET - I am aware of plenty of technical data that supports the road favorite Owls in this one. However, from situational standpoint, the Pirates are the play here. I know East Carolina has been a bad team for a number of consecutive seasons now but there have signs of life in East Carolina again thanks to a new head coach and wins in 3 of their last 4 games. I know the Pirates have not played a tough schedule but playing at NC State was certainly tougher than any game Temple has played this season. So, the point is, the Owls haven't exactly played a tough schedule either. Their only road game also saw them installed as a double digit favorite and Temple lost the game outright by double digits. Also, the Owls have a big game coming up hosting Memphis. It would be easy for Temple to look right past the Pirates and be looking ahead to the Tigers. Conversely, there is no doubt that East Carolina is fully focused on this game. It is a home game on a weeknight with the ESPN cameras rolling and the Pirates seek revenge for an embarrassing loss at Temple last season. I do expect the Owls to find a way to win this game but I expect the margin to be just a single score. That said, I am grabbing the big value with the double digit home dog in this one that is showing improvement this season. With each win, their confidence is growing right along with their belief in the system the new coach has put into place. They ride the momentum again here. 10* EAST CAROLINA

Puck Line Punisher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #2 Wednesday 10* Top Play Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 goals -110 vs Ottawa Senators @ 7:05 ET - Yes it was only preseason but a couple interesting facts from that. The Senators beat the Maple Leafs in both preseason meetings but that was early on. What I like about Toronto here in terms of momentum here is they finished the preseason very strong with 4 straight wins. Also, as a host, their only loss was to Ottawa as the Leafs then won 3 straight as a host and the victories came by a combined score of 11-0. The Sens are now coached by DJ Smith and he was an assistant coach under Toronto's head coach Mike Babcock. Rest assured the veteran coach doesn't want to lose the home opener to his understudy and the Maple Leafs have plenty of motivation here as the Senators are known for giving them problems. Ottawa is projected to be the worst team in the NHL this season while Toronto is a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. I do feel the Sens will be scrappy and will eventually be a little better than most are projecting. However, that is not going to happen early in the season as, with all the changes, Ottawa is going to suffer some breakdowns on defense and some poor positioning of players in certain situations too. This is going to lead to odd man rushes for the opponent and, of course, the Maple Leafs are absolutely stacked with high-skilled forwards. This is why the Leafs opened up as 3 to 1 favorites on the money line in this game. Where the value is, in my opinion, is with the puck line available at a pick'em price as a home rout ensues and the Maple Leafs win this game by 2 or more goals. TORONTO puck line -1.5 goals

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #276 Sunday 8* New Orleans Saints (+) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 8:20 ET - The 3 teams the Cowboys have beaten this season are a combined 1-8 and easily could be 0-9 as the Giants got their first win only because the Bucs missed a rather short game-winning field goal last week. The fact is that Dallas has had a fortunate early season schedule and this is not only the first playoff team from last season that the Cowboys are facing, it is also the first team with a winning record from last year that they are facing AND it is a road game. Even without Brees at QB, the Saints are a solid team and they are going to give the Cowboys their first true test of the season. New Orleans has played a much tougher schedule than the Cowboys as they have faced teams that went a combined 34-14 in the regular season last year. In fact, all 3 teams the Saints faced were playoff teams from last year and New Orleans was on the road for 2 of the 3 games. In other words, they are much more battle tested than the Cowboys early this season and that is why sometimes you have to throw early season stats out the window. "On paper" the Cowboys look like the better team right now but, again, they don't play the games "on paper" and the early season schedule certainly should be factored in. Also, note that New Orleans is on a 6-1 ATS run as a home dog. Also, this is a revenge game as the Saints had won 10 in a row last season before facing Dallas and being handed a tough 13-3 loss. New Orleans hasn't forgotten about this. The Saints are 8-0 ATS when off an outright upset as an underdog and, though heavily out-statted, they got the outright win at Seattle last week. Also, NO is 16-2 ATS when facing an NFC foe that has a winning percentage of .667 or greater. The Cowboys are 0-10 as favorites of 3.5 points or less when facing an NFC foe. Also, Dallas is off an easy win versus the hapless Dolphins and the Cowboys are 2-10 ATS when favored in NFC action and coming off a SU win in non-conference action. A lot of nice systems here plus revenge and home field all in favor of the Saints here. 8* NEW ORLEANS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #273 Sunday 10* Top Play Jacksonville Jaguars (+) @ Denver Broncos @ 4:25 ET - The Broncos certainly didn't look good last week at Green Bay as they were forced into 3 turnovers and allowed 6 sacks. Keep in mind that is the same Packers defense that the Eagles looked pretty strong against in terms of pass protection and that also opened up holes the size a Mack Truck could run through for the Philadelphia running game to get going. The point is that the Broncos care likely to be in trouble again here with their suspect offensive line. Their now taking on a Jaguars defense that tallied 9 sacks in their Thursday night win over the Titans. Jacksonville has been solid in pass protection and in terms of their sack percentage their defense ranks #1 in the league. Now they take on a Broncos team that is near the bottom of the league when it comes to pass protection and when it comes to generating pressure on the opposing QB. With young QB Minshew continuing to look quite solid as he replaces the injured Foles, I like the fact the Jags also have had extra time to prepare for this game. They enjoyed the luxury of playing at home Thursday while the Broncos were at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Additionally, note that the 3 teams the Jags have faced this season, 2 were playoff teams and the other one almost was last season - the combined record of those teams was 32-16 for a .667 winning percentage. The 3 teams the Broncos have faced had a combined record of 22-25-1 last season. Another reason to like the Jaguars here. Don't be fooled by the short line here on the Broncos at home. You know this is an invitation to take Denver at home as this one has "trap line" written all over it. The Jags, under head coach Doug Marrone, are a perfect 4-0 ATS when off a home game and facing an opponent off a SU loss by a double digit margin. Denver lost by 11 at Green bay and the Jaguars destroyed Tennessee at home on Thursday so that system fits perfectly here. Ride the momentum with the road team here as the home team Broncos get dominated in the trenches once again! 10* JACKSONVILLE

Game of the Year - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #910 Saturday 10* Top Play St Louis Cardinals Run Line -1.5 runs +100 vs Chicago Cubs @ 7:15 ET - The Cubs would love to play the role of spoiler and did a good job of it yesterday with their 8-2 win over the Cardinals. Of course St Louis is already guaranteed of a playoff spot but the Brewers are just 1 game behind them and falling to the Wild Card spot is the last thing the Cardinals want! You can NOT play a team (or at least it is not wise to play a team) just because they need to win. However, when the situation is ideal and, of course the motivation is there, then a "need to win" team can be a great investment. I feel strongly that this is the case on Saturday. The Cards got blasted 8-2 yesterday but should respond big here as they have a huge edge on the mound in this one. The home/road dichotomy relating to these pitchers is significant. Chicago is starting Cole Hamels and he is 4-6 with a 5.40 ERA in road games this season. Opponents have hit .304 against the Cubs left-hander when he is away from Wrigley Field. I know he has great stats against the Cardinals this season but note that Hamels is 1-4 with a 6.39 ERA in his 9 outings since coming off the injured list. The lefty is not in good current form and the Cards take advantage. The Cardinals are starting Adam Wainwright here and he has been fantastic at Busch Stadium this season. Wainwright has gone 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in his 15 home starts. Opponents are hitting just .236 against him in home outings this year. Prior to yesterday's win the Cubs had lost 9 straight games! In terms of "trusting" the run line here (need STL to win by 2 or more runs), the last 4 Chicago games have been decided by an average margin of 4.8 runs per game. The Cardinals, prior to yesterday's loss, had won 19 of past 25 games (76%) at home! 15 of the 19 wins came by at least 2 runs. We don't even have to lay any juice here to have the heavily favored team here and, for the reasons note above, I am looking for a blowout home win here. 10* ST LOUIS Run Line -1.5 runs

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #166 Saturday 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (-) vs Kansas State Wildcats @ 7 ET - The Wildcats are ranked and the Cowboys are unranked and yet Oklahoma State opened up as a sizable favorite here. Must be a mistake, right? Long-time followers know how I feel about odds maker "mistakes" and I love fading this false perception when it arises. In this case, I will fade Kansas State. I am well aware of the fact that the Wildcats have a great long-term reputation in the underdog role but I don't see them as being able to score enough here to keep with the Cowboys in Stillwater. Note that Oklahoma State ranks in the top twenty in the nation for pace on offense as well as offensive efficiency. Especially with them being at home for this one I just don't see Kansas State keeping up on the scoreboard. The home team has gotten the SU win in 13 of the last 16 match-ups between these teams and, with this line at a -4, any OSU win is likely to be an ATS win as well! The Cowboys certainly want to make the most of this one as it is their only home game in a span of 5 weeks and, trust me, they are well aware of the fact. Also, Oklahoma State can't wait to get back on the field and erase the taste of a bitter defeat at the hands of the Longhorns in Texas last week. The Cowboys are catching Kansas State off an upset win in their most recent game (but Kansas State was not impressive statistically at Mississippi State). The Wildcats then had a bye week after beating the Bulldogs but now they run into a buzzsaw with the Cowboys angry off a loss plus playing this game with double revenge! Yes, the Cats actually won in 2017 at Stillwater too. Payback time here. The Wildcats are 1-3 ATS when off an upset win as an underdog. The Cowboys are 9-5 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points and also 4-0 ATS when off a road loss. 10* OKLAHOMA STATE

National TV Annihilation - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #173 Saturday 8* Virginia Cavaliers (+) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ 3:30 ET - Many are looking for Notre Dame to bounce back after the loss at Georgia last week. However, that was a physical battle against one of the best teams in the country. It is not easy to turn around and face a quality opponent immediately after a game like that. Virginia is a ranked opponent and certainly a very dangerous double digit dog in a spot like this. Yes I know the Cavaliers are off a very sub-par performance against Old Dominion last week as they even trailed 17-0 at one point but clearly Virginia overlooked the Monarchs as they were looking ahead to this big game. What I particularly like about the Cavs here is they have piled up 18 sacks this season and are allowing just 75 rushing yards per game and they have a secondary led by star Bryce Hall. The Cavaliers will bring their "A game" in this one and that means the Fighting Irish are in for a dogfight in this match-up! Cavs head coach Mendenhall has never beaten Notre Dame (0-3 SU) in his career and he is a solid coach that will have a good game plan here to change that. Even if they fall short of the upset I expect this game to be decided by just a single score. Look for the Cavaliers to be in it all the way. Though the Irish rolled at home earlier in their only game as a host this season that came against a bad New Mexico team. Also, even with that win and cover over the Lobos, Notre Dame is just 2-5 ATS the last 7 times they've been a home favorite of 7.5 points or more. The Cavaliers are 9-3 ATS their last dozen games against teams with a winning record. 8* VIRGINIA

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #116 Saturday 8* Boston College Eagles (+) vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons @ 3:30 ET - What sticks out in the minds of many is that Boston College lost to Kansas this month. But the Eagles did bounce back from that defeat with a win over Rutgers and, as for the loss to the Jayhawks, the fact is Kansas is a little better this season with Les Miles now at the helm. Boston College enters this home game 3-1 on the young season and one of the victories was over Virginia Tech. That said, they are getting very little respect here from the markets considering they are at home and Chestnut Hill can be a tough team on visitors. I know Wake Forest has had some success here but the Demon Deacons enter this game over-rated because of their 4-0 SU start to the season. This is the 3rd time under head coach Clawson that WF has reached a 4-0 record but the 5th game each time previously has been the one that trips them up and I look for that to be the case again here. This is the first time Wake Forest has been a road favorite in an ACC game in 8 years and keep in, the Demon Deacons are on an 0-3 ATS run as an away favorite. You have to like the ATS runs for the Eagles here as they have excelled in ACC play (15-3) and as a dog (10-2) and particularly as a home dog (6-1). Wake's defense has struggled at times early this season (against Utah State and they gave up 21 points to a Rice team that annually struggles). That was their only road game thus far and now Wake Forest takes on a Boston College team playing its first home game since the embarrassing home loss to Kansas. You know the Eagles want to make up for that in this ACC match-up and I expect them to do just that! 8* BOSTON COLLEGE

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #689 Friday 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 8:30 ET - I know this is a revenge for Winnipeg and they are at home but is very hard to trust the Blue Bombers right now. They are off a gut-wrenching loss at Montreal last week where they blew a huge lead and lost in the final seconds. Their defense is a question mark and certainly that is the case in comparing their D with that of the Tiger-Cats. Yes, Hamilton also blew a big lead last week but they managed to get the win on a last-second field goal. That leaves the Ti-Cats with a much different feeling than that of the Bombers coming into this week. Also, Hamilton notched 3 sacks and 3 interceptions in the win over the Eskimos. Dane Evans has been very impressive in filling in for the injured Jeremiah Masoli. He has been putting up big numbers compared to that of Winnipeg's Chris Streveler. Prior to last week's rather high-scoring win, the Tiger-Cats had allowed an average of only 15.8 points per game their 4 prior games. I like having a high quality team getting significant points here when they have been the ones playing better defense and they also have a solid offense. As for the Blue Bombers defense, they have now allowed an average of 30 points per game in their last 3 games against East Division opponents. Hamilton is on a 7-3 ATS run as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points and the Tiger-Cats are on a 14-3 ATS run in Friday games. 10* HAMILTON

Friday ATS Blowout - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #107 Friday 10* Top Play Penn State Nittany Lions (-) @ Maryland Terrapins @ 8 ET - The Terrapins are improved this season but just how much better are they really? Maryland has played Howard, Syracuse and Temple. Howard is an FCS school. Syracuse lost their star QB among many other personnel losses coming into this season and they are just 2-2 with wins over Liberty and a MAC school. As for Temple, their football program continues to lack in continuity as they constantly change coaches. Anyway, the point is that just as many are questioning the Nittany Lions because of a rather soft early season schedule the same could be said of Maryland and here is what we do know. The Terrapins entered this year having had 4 straight losing seasons. Maryland has a combined record of 18-31 the past 4 seasons. Penn State is expected to regress some this season as they lost key players but this is still a team that entered this season having gone 31-9 the past 3 seasons. Yes they struggled with a scrappy Pitt team two weeks ago but that is the same Pittsburgh team that upset a ranked Central Florida team this past weekend. The Panthers can play. Now with the added edge of a bye week to prepare for this game (Terps had a bye too...I am aware of that) the Nittany Lions are likely to play their most complete game of the season. In comparing these teams PSU is the more talented team and to get them at less than a TD on the road here is a bargain. The reason for the low line is because the Terrapins have earned some style points with the market place because of big wins early this season. But now Maryland faces a Big Ten foe in their Big Ten opener and this is a foe that has beaten them by a combined 142-20 in the 3 meetings the past 3 seasons. This game will absolutely be much more competitive but I still expect the Nittany Lions to win this game by at least two touchdowns. The Terrapins are improving but they have a ways to go! Maryland is off a loss to Temple that preceded their bye week. The Nittany Lions are 7-0 ATS when facing a team with winning percentage of .749 or less that is off a SU loss as a favorite. Keep in mind Maryland was favored by a touchdown in that Temple game and they lost outright. That Terrapins defeat was against the same Owls team that then preceded to get blasted by Buffalo in their next game. Of course that is the same Buffalo team that Penn State, after a lackluster first half, ended up blowing out 45 to 13 early this season. See where I am going with all these comparisons? Road rout time! 10* PENN STATE

Thursday Night Best of the Best - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #101 Thursday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Green Bay Packers @ 8:20 ET - This one is all about the line value of the situation. Give the Packers credit for their 3-0 start to the season but they also are +6 in turnovers on the season. Green Bay came into the season with a projected win total for this year that was less than the Eagles but now Philadelphia is a tough 1-2 to start to the season and being written off by many. How quickly things change in terms of betting market perception. Now, even though the Eagles are getting healthier with some guys back on both sides of the ball this week, they are still catching about 4.5 point in this one. Again, even factoring in home field this match-up is one that would have been around a pick'em before the start to the season that these two teams have had. So again it comes back to value and Philadelphia being very hungry off back to back losses and getting WR Alshon Jeffery back for this game. Though still without DeSean Jackson for this game, Jeffery makes a difference and Nelson Algoholor is still in there at WR along with Zach Ertz at tight end and the two tight end sets are an option again with Dallas Goedert now healthier too. In terms of points allowed (a stat that often gets skewed) the Packers defense looks much better than the Eagles early this season but in terms of actual yardage these teams are nearly equal on defense. As for the offense, even though the Eagles have dealt with injuries they have been much more impressive than the Packers statistically on that side of the ball. Again, not taking anything away from Green Bay and their 3-0 start but it is leading to great underdog value here. The Packers haven't won more than 3 games in a row (and the Eagles haven't lost more than 2 games in a row) since the 2016 season! Philadelphia is on a 4-0 ATS run in Thursday games. Also, the Eagles are a perfect 5-0 ATS when they are off B2B SU and losses and facing a team that is off a SU win by a double digit margin. That system fits perfectly here and Carson Wentz and Company, backed into a corner, get back into the win column in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #104 Thursday 10* Top Play Memphis Tigers (-) vs Navy Midshipmen @ 8 ET - Navy won only 3 games last season and then returned only 4 starters on each side of the ball entering this season. Complicating matters in terms of this game, the Midshipmen have only played 2 games so far and both were against much weaker competition than what they are facing here. Navy has faced East Carolina and Holy Cross in their only two games so far this season. Now, after a bye week, the Midshipmen run into a "buzzsaw" called Memphis. The Tigers averaged 44 points per game the past two games. As for the defense, they returned 8 starters on that side of the ball this season. This could be their best team yet in Mike Norvell's 4 years with the program and remember they won 10 games back in 2017. Remember last year they were ahead 21-9 in the 4th quarter against Navy and then lost 22-21. This is a revenge game for them and also their AAC opener. Like Navy, Memphis is off a bye here. The Tigers are on an 8-1 ATS run in weekday action versus a conference opponent. Memphis is also 7-0 ATS when playing with rest. Navy has Air Force on deck and that is always a big game for them as they battle for the Commander in Chief Trophy. That said, it comes as no surprise that the Midshipmen are 2-5 ATS the past 7 times in their game that is played the week before facing the Falcons. Navy has lost 13 straight road games and I know this is a lot of points but the Tigers are strong enough on both sides of the ball to dominate this game and the revenge factor insures they will keep the pedal to the metal in this one. 10* MEMPHIS

Monday Night Mauling - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #490 Monday 10* Top Play Washington Redskins (+) vs Chicago Bears @ 8:15 ET - Teams almost always are amped up for Monday Night Football but this is particularly when they enter a game winless on the season and playing on their home field. Teams view this is as a great opportunity to right the ship while not only their home crowd, but also all of football nation, is tuned in with Monday Night cameras rolling. The fact we can get the Redskins at nearly a full TD underdog price here is a great value considering that the Bears have averaged scoring only 9.5 points per game in their first two games this season. Chicago was fortunate to get the win at Denver last week. Give them credit for sure as they finally got the clutch kick they needed but now there is even concern there again as the Bears kicker is hurting heading into this game. The Redskins have covered 9 of their past 12 games against non-divisional opponents. The Bears have an anemic offense but do have a strong defense. However, the Broncos did throw for nearly 300 passing yards against Chicago last week. The Bears have been strong at getting sacks but the Redskins have done a great job of limiting sacks early this season. That said, don't be surprised if Washington enjoys some success through the air in this game and I don't expect the Bears to be able to get much of, if any, margin in this contest. The Redskins are fired up off back to back divisional losses including the most recent one coming last week as a host. Note that Washington is 5-0 SU/ATS off a home loss by 10 or more points. Chicago is 2-10 ATS their last dozen games against NFC East opponents. 10* WASHINGTON

Run Line Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #951 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Run Line +1.5 runs @ Washington Nationals @ 7:05 ET - The Phillies aren't going to quit until it is officially over in terms of their Wild Card odds. Yes, it would take a minor miracle now for Philadelphia to get there now, but the fact is they are facing the right team to gain traction. They have 5 straight games against Washington now and it is the Nationals that are 6 games ahead of them in the race for 1 of the 2 Wild Card spots. Again, it is a tremendous longshot but until the Phillies are officially eliminated they are not going to stop treating each game like a playoff game. That said, after getting blasted last night at Cleveland 10-1, I look for Philadelphia to respond big here. They have a red hot pitcher on the mound in Zach Eflin (2.23 ERA in his last 6 starts) and they face Patrick Corbin in this one. The Nats left-hander had a gem against the Phillies this season but in his other two starts against Philadelphia he did allowed 3 earned runs in 6 innings in each of those outings. The total on this game is only 9 runs and, with a pitchers duel expected, the Phillies getting at least their typical 3 runs off Corbin would go a long way toward cashing this ticket. I am grabbing the Phillies at +1.5 runs on the run line in this one. If they lose a 1-run ball game we still get the cash and note that Washington's bullpen ERA of 5.87 on the season ranks dead last in the majors. 10* PHILADELPHIA +1.5 runs

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #488 Sunday 8* Cleveland Browns (+) vs Los Angeles Rams @ 8:20 ET - The Rams are off a big home win versus the Saints but took advantage of a big early turnover in the game plus the Drew Brees injury. An in-game injury to a star player early in a game is very tough to come back from - just ask the Steelers (Roethlisberger) and Eagles (Jeffery and Jackson) how early game injuries can have a rough impact on a team. The point is that LA certainly took care of business at home last week but they had some good fortune due to the Saints misfortune. As a result, the Rams are now a little over-valued on the road here as this line has been driven up to as high as a -4 on Los Angeles. The Browns already laid an egg in their Week 1 home game and they certainly don't want to do it again here. That said, after taking advantage of facing the Jets last week, Cleveland now is back home with renewed confidence and ready to atone for their season-opening disappointment in front of the Browns faithful. Note that Cleveland is 4-0 ATS their last 4 against NFC teams. Also, in games 1 through 4 of a season, the Browns are 8-1 ATS as underdogs when facing a team of B2B SU wins. The Rams are off B2B games against NFC opponents plus have another NFC game, versus Tampa Bay, on deck. Los Angeles is 15-24 ATS in a road game where the total is between 45.5 and 49 points. The Rams have failed to cover 10 of their past 14 non-divisional match-ups and, after catching breaks early this season (Panthers Newton is not right, Saints Brees hurt in first quarter), LA now runs into a healthy team out to prove their first home game was a complete fluke. Per my projections, the Browns will do just that! 8* CLEVELAND

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #485 Sunday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (+) @ San Francisco 49ers @ 4:25 ET - Certainly the Niners deserve some credit for their 2-0 start but they are taking on a Steelers team that, even without Big Ben, is certainly much better than their 0-2 record would indicate. Also, San Francisco's two wins have come against a Tampa Bay team that has won just 5 games in each of the past two seasons and a Cincinnati team that entered this season off 3 straight losing seasons. Now the 49ers take on a team that is annually a threat to make a run at a Super Bowl team. Trust me, I fully realize this Steelers team is not at the same highest level that it once was. However, catching nearly a full TD here with them in a desperation spot is something I won't pass up. I liked San Francisco coming into this season and I still like them now but they are simply over-rated at this point and I could see them getting upset here which is why I like having the big point so much. Coming off back to back road wins back east and with a bye week on deck, the Niners could get caught thinking they can coast at home here and they get caught already looking ahead to their early season bye. San Francisco entered this season 1-13 ATS the last 14 times they have been a favorite. Also, head coach Kyle Shanahan is 0-7 ATS at home when off a non-divisional game and facing an opponent off a SU loss. Also, Shanahan is 1-8 ATS at home off a game in which his team scored 23 or more points. The Steelers are 12-1 ATS as a dog against an opponent with a winning record. Head coach Mike Tomlin is 11-1 ATS as a road dog against a team off B2B SU wins. 10* PITTSBURGH

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #481 Sunday 8* New Orleans Saints (+) @ Seattle Seahawks @ 4:25 ET - The Saints are a much better team than they have shown early this season. The key word there being team as, keep in mind, it is about much more than just Drew Brees. Sure his absence hurts but don't be surprised if you see a huge response from New Orleans this week and, certainly, we have line value on our side here. This line has gone from a pick'em range all the way up to a 5 and the Seahawks are off an upset win back east. This is not the greatest of situations for Seattle and yet many are backing them here. In typical contrarian fashion, I am on the other side. The Saints are on a 15-2 ATS run against NFC opponents with a win percentage of .667 or better. Of course that system fits here with the Seahawks undefeated on the season. Keep in mind Seattle has played an awful Cincinnati team and a Steelers team that lost their QB to injury early in the game. That is often tough for a team to overcome in the game in which it happens. The Seahawks are on a 1-6 ATS run when favored against an NFC South team. Look for the scrappy Saints to respond after they lost Brees early in their match-up at Los Angeles against the Rams last week. 8* NEW ORLEANS

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #464 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Detroit Lions @ 1 ET - Just prior to kick off this season the Eagles win total was 10 and the Lions had a 6.5 for their win total. I am just trying to give you a point of reference here when looking at how over-adjusted the line line on this Sunday match-up is. Philadelphia is HOSTING Detroit here too and they are a Super Bowl contender while the odds makers, as you can from the preseason win total, do NOT expect the Lions to even be a playoff threat this year. So far Detroit has an unimpressive tie at Arizona (blew HUGE lead over the Cardinals...yes THE Cardinals!) and then the Lions beat a Chargers team that is a quality team but lets give that some perspective too. LA, a Pacific Time team was playing a 10 AM game on their body clocks at Detroit and were off a win over an AFC playoff team (Colts) with another AFC playoff team (Texans) on deck. That was a horrible scheduling spot for Los Angeles and the Lions took advantage. But how impressive was the win? The Lions lost the yardage battle BOTH on the ground AND through the air but managed to notch a tight win. Now, because the Eagles have had some injury issues we're seeing the typical over-reaction of the marketplace. Philly, a legit super bowl quality team, is laying 4.5 points at home against a Lions team that won 6 games last season and, really, how great was the Detroit offseason? Also, the Eagles still have Zach Ertz (Carson Wentz favorite target) and Nelson Agholor (huge game at Atlanta) and though Alson Jeffery is still expected to miss, TE Dallas Goedert has a decent chance of playing this week and will be a pre-game decision depending on how warm-ups go. Philadelphia, under head coach Doug Pederson, is 9-2 ATS when they are at home hosting a team off a SU win. This line was as high as a -8 and the oddsmakers were aware of the Eagles injury situation as all these happened early in the Falcons game. That said the line is now down to a 4.5 from the 8 that it was. I'll take advantage and grab the added value with the short home favorite! 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #351 Saturday 10* Top Play Colorado Buffaloes (+) @ Arizona State Sun Devils @ 10 ET - Tough spot for ASU. I know on one hand they do have revenge against the Buffaloes since they lost to them last season. However, on the other hand, the Sun Devils are off an emotional come from behind win at Michigan State last week and they won the game in dramatic fashion. Give Arizona State credit for "finding a way" last week but also note that the Spartans play-calling on offense is horrific for a top tier Big Ten program that should have much better performance in that regard. Even with that, Michigan State still outgained ASU by nearly 200 yards. With Arizona State off an upset win and the Buffaloes off an upset loss at home, this one sets up well. Keep in mind, Colorado had beaten Nebraska the week before and that followed demolishing Colorado State in their season opener. The Buffaloes also have a bye week on deck and have a very dangerous offense that is going to test an ASU defense that is highly over-rated right now. Yes the Sun Devils have some great numbers on the season but I already mentioned Michigan State's horrible play-calling above and note that Arizona State's first two games were against Kent State and Sacramento State! The Sun Devils defense is going to be stretched out in this game like it hasn't been stretched yet this season and I expect the Buffaloes to give them trouble all game long. Look for Arizona State to drop to 6-12 ATS as a home favorite of 7.5 to 10 points. 10* COLORADO

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #324 Saturday 8* Illinois Illini (+) vs Nebraska Cornhuskers @ 8 ET - I know the Illini are not a very good football team but this is the perfect "flat spot" for fading Huskers and Nebraska has a penchant for underachieving in a spot like this. Note that the Cornhuskers are off a dominating home win over Northern Illinois. However, in their only challenging game this season they blew a big lead at Colorado and lost outright. Now, of course I am not saying that the Illni are on par with the Buffaloes (not at all) but I am saying I like having Illinois getting nearly two touchdowns with Nebraska coming off a big home win and with a huge home game versus Ohio State on deck! While the Cornhuskers were happy with their performance last week versus Northern Illinois, the Illini are coming off a very disappointing home loss to Eastern Michigan. Simply put, Illinois is in "response mode" here and they have averaged scoring 35 points per game this season. The Illini had allowed only 13 points per game in their first two games before their disappointing 34-31 loss to the Eagles. Look for the home dog to respond big here and the Cornhuskers get caught still celebrating last week's win over the Huskies plus looking forward to facing the Buckeyes next week. As a result, Nebraska is in an dogfight here and I expect the Illini to fall short by just a single score in this one. 8* ILLINOIS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #686 Saturday 10* Top Play Montreal Alouettes (+) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 4 ET - Love this situation. The Blue Bombers opened up around a pick'em in this game so, of course, the markets jumped all over one of the best teams in the CFL and this line has moved to a -3. Keep in mind, Winnipeg is off a bye week but has a game versus Hamilton on deck. Why does that matter? The Tiger-Cats are the #1 team in the East and also handed Winnipeg their first loss of the season! Don't be surprised if the Bombers make the mistake of looking right past the Alouettes in this one. That will prove to be a mistake because, as strong as Winnipeg is this season, they are still just a .500 team on the road. Montreal has a winning record at home and has been getting strong QB play from Vernon Adams. Of course Winnipeg has been dealing with the QB injury to Matt Nichols. They do get RB Andrew Harris back this week but the Als have a great rusher of their own in William Stanback. They will call this one an upset but, from a situational perspective, truly the home team is the one that should win this game and I won't be surprised when they do. The Alouettes are off a loss and respond here as they catch the Blue Bombers in the right situation to knock them off. 10* MONTREAL

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #320 Saturday 8* Pittsburgh Panthers (+) vs Central Florida Golden Knights @ 3:30 ET - Pittsburgh is the kind of team that is very physical and likes to play "smash mouth" football and this is particularly true when you face them in their house. Yes, the Panthers are off a big game at Penn State last week but the positive they have going for them early this season is that Pitt has never left the state of PA. As for UCF, they are far away from home for this one and really aren't used to facing teams from Power 5 Conferences in back to back weeks. They hosted a Pac-12 foe (Stanford) last week and now face an ACC foe this week in Pittsburgh. The Panthers only have Delaware on deck and their fully focused on this game after getting blasted at Central Florida last season. By the way, the Panthers entered this season 7-1 ATS when playing with revenge against a team that is off a SU/ATS win the prior week. That system fits here as UCF blasted the Cardinal last week. The Golden Knights do have their AAC opener on deck and this is the first time this season they have to leave the state of Florida. Plus how good is this UCF team really? They've played Florida A & M, Florida Atlantic, and a normally strong Stanford team that truly seems to have fallen apart this season. Look for the scrappy home dog Panthers to keep this game much closer than many are expect. 8* PITTSBURGH

Conference Clash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #310 Friday 10* Top Play Boise State Broncos (-) vs Air Force Falcons @ 9 ET - With this line having dropped to a solid painted 7 across the board as of early Friday morning it is "go time" with Boise State in this one. Air Force is off a huge effort on the road at Colorado last week in an emotionally charged OT win over the Buffaloes. Now the Falcons are in the 2nd of B2B road games while Boise State is enjoying the comforts of home. The Broncos are enjoying an entire month at home actually as they haven't been on the road since their season opening win over the Seminoles down in Florida at the end of August. Boise State has a bye week on deck before traveling to UNLV for their first game of October. From a situational standpoint, this one favors the Broncos in a big way. Also, even though Air Force would like to get payback for losing at home to Boise State last season, the fact is that the Falcons are 0-7 ATS when they are on the road and playing with revenge and are coming off consecutive SU (and ATS) wins. That is the case here and I like the fact that the Broncos return 7 starters on defense this season, are doing a great job against the run this season, and also have done a solid job against Air Force's option attack the past two seasons. The Falcons have covered just 2 of their past 7 Mountain West road openers. The Broncos, as a home favorite of 7 points or less, are 9-3 ATS! This one has definitely dropped into their sweet spot and I especially like this after oddsmakers had opened this one up at nearly a double digit line! 10* BOISE STATE

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #303 Thursday 10* Top Play Houston Cougars (+) @ Tulane Green Wave @ 8 ET - I am well aware of the fact that Tulane has a strong defensive line. However, the Cougars are well-coached (particularly on offense) and they also have a ton of talent at the skill positions. Houston will figure out ways to quickly get the ball in the hands of their play-makers and combat an aggressive Green Wave defensive line. Also, the Tulane secondary is where the weakness lies with their defense. That said, Houston will certainly test that as well. The Cougars are 1-2 SU on the season but the two losses were to Oklahoma and Washington State! Tulane is 2-1 SU on the season but their two wins were over FIU (CUSA school) and Missouri State (FCS school). Although the Green Wave did play (and lost) against Auburn, I feel the schedule has Houston as the more battle-tested team heading into this one. I also love the line move here. This one opened up as low as a 2.5 globally but is now up to as high as a 5.5 as of game day morning. I love the value with the road dog that possesses the stronger offense in this match-up. Keep in mind, Tulane's offense really sputtered it their only game against quality competition. I know the Cougars defense is an area of concern (again) this season but the Green Wave are getting a little too much respect here. Tulane is 0-5 ATS the last 5 times they have entered a contest off a game in which they scored more than 35 points. Houston is 7-0 ATS in the 1st of B2B road games and they are at North Texas next week. In addition to the combined 12-0 (100%) ATS mark I am happy to test here, note that the Cougars are 6-1 ATS the last 7 times they have been on the road against Tulane. The Green Wave, when playing after a win by a margin of 21 or more points, are 1-5 ATS. Again, I am testing the aforementioned 12-0 combined ATS mark with a hungry road dog that should be in this game all the way and has a great shot at the upset. 10* HOUSTON

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #902 Wednesday 8* St Louis Cardinals Run Line +1.5 runs vs Washington Nationals @ 1:15 ET - The Cardinals will be looking to bounce back off last night's 6-2 loss. St Louis entered Tuesday's action on a long-term 26-11 run. Also 5 of those 11 losses came by just 1 run. That means if you had played the Cardinals at +1.5 runs in their 37 games heading into last night's 2-run loss, you had a record of 31-6 in those games! Considering the Cardinals are off a loss and laying very small juice here on the run line, that is why I am recommending grabbing St Louis at +1.5 runs in this one. The Nationals are getting a lot of respect from the marketplace here but Max Scherzer has a 4.15 ERA in his 6 starts since the All Star break. He has struggled at times as he is still trying to get back in top form following missing time with injury issues. As for the Cardinals Adam Wainwright, he is red hot heading into this start. He is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in the month of September. Also, Wainwright is 8-3 with a 2.26 ERA in home games this season and 5-1 with a 1.87 ERA in day games this season. As you can see, the Cardinals have a great shot at the outright upset in this battle between teams with high hopes for the post-season. In a game that is expected to be a pitchers duel (posted total is just 7.5 runs) I like having the extra 1.5 runs should this one end up being a 1-run loss for the home team. 8* ST LOUIS Run Line +1.5 runs

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #283 Sunday 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (+) @ Los Angeles Rams @ 4:25 ET - The Saints barely beat the Texans last week at home but did outgain Houston by about 100 yards in the game. Also, could anyone blame New Orleans if they were perhaps looking ahead to this showdown with the Rams? The loss to LA that kept the Saints out of the Super Bowl will go down as one of the most controversial finishes ever in a playoff game. In any event, this week it is payback time and the Rams, despite last week's win, do have issues in terms of Super Bowl losers "hangover". They got manhandled by the Patriots in the Super Bowl last year and even though they won at Carolina last week it was not that impressive. They benefited from turnovers and keep in mind that this was against the same Panthers team that lost to the Buccaneers (yes those Bucs!) in Carolina to open up Week 2 NFL action. I am expecting the Rams to have a dropoff this season but early this season we're still getting value because it is not evident to the masses just yet that this LA team is set to have a dropoff. As for New Orleans, they're going to ride the hunger of last season's disappointing end result and of feeling cheated. A lot of emotions and positive energy for the Saints here and I'll take Drew Brees over Jared Goff any place any time. The Saints are 15-1 ATS when facing an NFC opponent with a winning percentage of .667 or greater. The Rams are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 as a non-divisional home favorite. I am grabbing the couple points being offered here and I expect a big road win. 10* NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #272 Sunday 8* Washington Redskins (+) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 1 ET - The Cowboys blasted the Giants last week in Dallas so they'll have no trouble here, right? That is the prevailing opinion of the marketplace on this game but I'll gladly grab the home dog. The Redskins put up a helluva fight against the Eagles last week in Philly. Yes they let a big lead get away in that game but being on the road makes a big difference. Also, with getting in the backdoor for the late cover, Washington is now 10-2 ATS in the underdog role in early season (games 1 through 4) divisional games. Of course the Redskins are again in that role here and I like the protection they gave to QB Case Keenum last week plus the way the defense played early. Washington just couldn't sustain it for the full sixty but now they are at home against a hated division rival and they've got another shot at the outright upset here, just like last season. The Redskins outgained the Cowboys by a net of 51 yards in their two meetings last year. Also, Washington did a good job of controlling the ground game and Ezekiel Elliott showed last week that he still has a ways to go after missing training camp. Washington is 6-0 ATS the last 6 times they've been a home dog against a team with a winning percentage of .601 or greater. Look for the Cowboys to drop to 1-8 ATS when off a game against the Giants. They have a recent history of struggling in their next game after battling with the Giants. That continues here. 8* WASHINGTON

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #194 Saturday 10* Top Play Nebraska Cornhuskers (-) vs Northern Illinois Huskies @ 8 ET - Nebraska is off an inexcusable loss at Colorado last week and that means they are going to come back home and put a beating on a foe that can't keep up. The Cornhuskers go from a road game against a Pac-12 team to now hosting a MAC team and this one is going to get ugly quick as Nebraska takes out the frustration of blowing a 17-0 lead against the Buffaloes last week. The Huskers have a lot to play for besides last week's loss too. Two years ago Nebraska hosted Northern Illinois and lost 21-17 as a double digit favorite. Of course that makes this a revenge spot for the Cornhuskers and note that the Huskies entered this season 0-5 ATS when they are off a non-conference game and now facing a team that is off a SU/ATS loss and playing with revenge. That is a 100% perfect situation that is in play here with the Huskers having revenge from the 2017 game plus coming off an outright upset loss at Colorado in OT last week. This is the final non-conference home game for Nebraska and they need a much better performance in their final tune-up before Big Ten action begins next week at Illinois. The Cornhuskers were unimpressive in their season opening win over South Alabama and then only played one good half at Colorado last week after that season-opening wake up call from the Jaguars. Now, after what happened last week with the OT loss to the Buffaloes, look for the Huskers to finally put it together for the full 60 minutes in this one. Prior to losing the last meeting by 4 points, the Huskers had beaten the Huskies by a combined 77 points in the two prior meetings! Remember Northern Illinois has a new head coach in Thomas Hammock and this is a 2nd straight road game for the Huskies. It is payback time and the Huskers are an angry bunch. The Huskies are walking right into a hornets nest in this one because the talent level disparity is too great and the home team is motivated by last week and by revenge. 10* NEBRASKA

Rickenbach CFB Rotation #160 Saturday 8* Michigan State Spartans (-) vs Arizona State Sun Devils @ 4 ET - As long-time followers know I am generally against the line moves and very rarely am on the same side as a move. This is one of those rare exceptions and I have been waiting for this match-up for a long time and will not shy away from it even with the line being nearly painted 14.5 across the board as of Friday evening. Michigan State didn't just lose at Arizona State last year, they lost the game on a late field goal after never trailing the entire game. Now they get their long-awaited shot at revenge and they get it on their home field while the Sun Devils make their first road trek of the season. Note that ASU has won just TWICE in their last 11 road openers! Okay, so Sparty gets the win but what about covering the large spread here? Couple keys to that. One is revenge as, because of what happened last season, the Spartans will NOT take their foot off the gas here no matter what the score is. Secondly, Arizona State is going to have a helluva time scoring on this Michigan State defense! When you put those two factors together you have great potential for an absolutely massive home blowout! I also like the fact that Michigan State really got their offense going in a big way last week against Western Michigan. Certainly facing the Broncos was a tougher challenge than the Sacramento State team that Arizona State struggled with last week. Not only did the Sun Devils have less than 100 yards of offense at the half, they didn't even get the game-deciding touchdown until under 5 minutes were left in the game! Spartans are going to have tremendous intensity for this game and it will get ugly. They have one of the, if not the, best defenses in the nation and their offense used the Western Michigan game as a tune up for laying the boom on the Sun Devils this week. 8* MICHIGAN STATE

Rickenbach CFB Rotation #135 Saturday 8* Stanford Cardinal (+) @ Central Florida Golden Knights @ 3:30 ET - Stanford got rolled 45-20 at USC last week and this game is a classic example of over-reaction by the marketplace. Now everyone is viewing the Cardinal as trash and as having no chance in this game against Central Florida. This has resulted in a big line move toward the Golden Knights and the result is solid value on the Pac-12 dog no one wants here. If you think the Cardinal aren't going to come to play after giving up 45 points last week to the Trojans you don't understand the mindset of a proud football team. The Cardinals aren't used to getting beat like they did last week. They were a field goal underdog in that game and it got ugly. They make up for that performance here. Central Florida's first two games this season were against Florida A & M and Florida Atlantic. Stanford, on the other hand, faced a Big Ten team (Northwestern) and then a Pac-12 foe (Southern Cal) in conference action last week. In other words, BIG difference in the quality of opponents faced. That is not being viewed properly by the markets here. Keep in mind, UCF lost a lot of starters from last season's defense also. This line is now in the 9 to 9.5 range and that is worth noting as Stanford is 8-0 ATS the last 8 times they have been a dog of more than 8 points. Also, though they have Oregon on deck, the Cardinal are actually a fantastic 12-1 ATS when they enter a game with the Ducks up next. Off last week's beatdown they bring a huge effort on the road and they certainly won't look past a ranked UCF team. 8* STANFORD

Rickenbach CFB Rotation #116 Saturday 8* Temple Owls (+) vs Maryland Terrapins @ Noon ET - The Terrapins are a popular choice right now because they blew out Syracuse last week and have looked great in their first two games. However, Maryland faced a very weak team in week one and then faced an Orange team in week two that was looking ahead to hosting Clemson this week. Sure some credit is due to Maryland but they're getting far too much credit now as they lay a TD on the road against a Temple team that is coming off a bye week and that throttled them last season. The Terrapins are 1-9 ATS the last 10 times they were off a game in which they scored more than 35 points. Maryland does have a bye on deck but Temple's situation is even better as they are coming off a bye. Don't be surprised if the Terrapins come into this game overconfident after back to back blowout wins and knowing they have their Big Ten opener (Penn State) coming up after their bye week. Grab the big home dog. 8* TEMPLE

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #690 Friday 10* Top Play BC Lions (-) vs Ottawa Redblacks @ 10 PM ET - A match-up of struggling teams and, of course, many were surprised to see a 1-10 BC team open up as a 7.5 point favorite over a 3-8 Ottawa team! Of course the markets have since pounded this "mistake" by the oddsmakers and the line has dropped down to the -5 range. I have said it many times before and I'll say it many times again in the future, the oddsmakers don't really make "mistakes". The line was set this way with good reason and I love the Lions in this spot. BC is still searching for their first home win. Even though they've still been losing in recent weeks the Lions have made improvements on defense and the offensive line is also giving better protection to QB Mike Reilly as evidenced in last week's game. BC is extra hungry to get that home win but also has extra fire about this game because of hosting former Lions QB Jonathan Jennings whom jettisoned BC to go to Ottawa in this past offseason. Rest assured, BC wants this game very much and they are starting to jell despite what their record would otherwise indicate. Take advantage of the "false" line move here and lay those points knowing that you're getting the best of the number and that you've got a highly motivated team that appears poised to play their best game of the season tonight! Look for the Lions to improve to 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings between these teams as they get the much-needed home win tonight and it comes by a convincing margin. 10* BC LIONS

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #101 Thursday 10* Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+) @ Carolina Panthers @ 8:20 ET - With their failure to cover last week's game, the Panthers are on a 2-7 ATS run dating back to last season. Carolina's Cam Newton insists he is healthy but he continues to avoid throwing the deep ball. There are many questioning the health of his shoulder. The Buccaneers are also off a non-covering loss but statistically they should not have lost the game by 14 points. The difference in the game was two Bucs picks returned for touchdowns. With both teams off sub-par performances last week I like having the big dog in this spot on a short week. Carolina is looking to get into the win column in a back to back home game situation but the way Newton looks right now they will be in a dogfight just to win this game let alone cover the spread. I know Jameis Winston is off an ugly game for Tampa Bay but if you review his numbers through his career he has shown a knack for bouncing back after a disastrous game and certainly last week's game falls into that category. Look for him to be much better in week two. Carolina is on a 1-8 SU run and that includes losing 4 in a row at home. So not only are the Panthers being asked to win this game but also cover the 7 points. I just don't see that happening. The home team covered both match-ups last season but previously the road team was 7-1 ATS in the 8 meetings between these teams in the 4 prior seasons. In other words, consider last season an aberration and look for the ATS road dominance to resume. The Buccaneers allowed only about 250 yards last week and, despite the scoreboard result, have new life under head coach Bruce Arians. 10* TAMPA BAY

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #480 Monday 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (-) vs Houston Texans @ 7:10 ET - In the history of the NFL it is hard to think of many teams that feel more "cheated" entering a season than the Saints. Without a doubt, that infamous non-call when their receiver was "mugged" by a Rams cornerback was the difference in why Los Angeles went to the Super Bowl and New Orleans stayed at home. Now the Saints get the perfect chance to show the World what a great Super Bowl we could have watched last season had it been (as it should have been) the Saints against the Patriots instead of the snooze-fest we witnessed due to one of the worst Super Bowl coaching performances (thanks Sean McVay) ever seen. The point is that New Orleans comes into this game ready to flex their muscles in what, to them, is much more than just a season opener or home opener as this is a chance to show the entire NFL what they missed out on last February. I know the Saints are known for slow starts in season openers but this year's situation is about as unique as it gets and you're going to see an extremely focused and well-prepared New Orleans team on both sides of the ball as they have been waiting to get back on the field for 8 months since their unbelievable OT loss to LA in January. The Texans are a playoff team from last season but they're expected to be a .500 team this season and keep in mind they went 4-12 in 2017. The Saints have averaged a dozen regular season wins per game the past two seasons. They also have the home field edge here. That said, the ability to get New Orleans at less than 7 (plenty of 6.5 out there as of early Monday morning) is a great value. The Saints do have a negative here in that they have the aforementioned Rams on deck BUT, even with that revenge game looming, there is no way that New Orleans is going to overlook facing a playoff team in their home opener. The Saints have been waiting a long time to get rid of the bad taste of that "playoff ripoff" from January. Look for the Texans to drop to 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against NFC opponents as the Saints improve to 9-0 SU (and 7-2 ATS) as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #477 Sunday 8* Pittsburgh Steelers (+) @ New England Patriots @ 8:20 ET - The Steelers beat the Patriots in December and they should beat them the December before as well. That 2017 game was a 3 point loss for Pittsburgh which would have been a cover given the line on this Sunday night game. However, this game is at New England which certainly makes a difference but I do feel the Steelers aren't getting enough respect here. This is still a quality football program that will actually prove to be better for getting rid of a couple of malcontents: Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. As for the Patriots, they recently lost their starting center (David Andrews) for the entire season. New England already was without the now-retired Rob Gronkowski. It is actually a bit humorous that the Patriots have now signed the aforementioned Brown but he won't play in this game anyway as his signing can't become official until tomorrow on Monday. The Steelers are actually 6-0 ATS the last 6 times they have been a road and EACH of those last FIVE victories have been OUTRIGHT wins. It would not surprise me to see the upset here as the Patriots demise begins this season. The Eagles put them in their place in the Super Bowl that followed the 2017 season but surprisingly the Pats made one last hurrah the Super Bowl that followed the 2018 season. I look for 2019 to begin the permanent decline for New England as truly everything fell into place for the Pats to get to the Super Bowl last season and they have lost some key components from last year's team.  The Patriots, as much of a juggernaut as they have been for so many years now, have shown some early season vulnerability. Last season they failed to cover 2 of their first 3 games and the season before they began 0-3 ATS in games played at Foxboro. In my opinion those trends will ring true again here in this early season match-up and the Pats will be in a dogfight just to win this game let alone cover it! 8* PITTSBURGH

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #456 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Washington Redskins @ 1 ET - Normally I don't lay big points in NFL. The key word in this case being "normally" as there are always rare exceptions. The Eagles should blast the Redskins on Sunday. Philadelphia is one of the top teams in the NFL and also enters this season with a chip on their shoulders. The Eagles are sick and tired of being questioned by naysayers about the fact Nick Foles is now with the Jaguars. Carson Wentz is their guy and the Eagles are loaded with talent surrounding him. As for the defense, lets not forget their secondary was ravaged with injuries last season. Again, Philly is tired about being questioned about their defense as they practically played defense last season with one arm tied behind their back as they were so limited by injuries. It is a miracle the Eagles went as far as they did last season considering all those injuries. This is a very tough spot for the Redskins as they face an Eagles team that has used them as a punching bag in recent seasons and that comes into this year very fired up about flexing their muscles and establishing dominance early. Washington is off back to back losing seasons and projected to be even worse this season. They're also breaking in a new QB on the road against a division rival in a hostile environment. As noted above, this is one of those rare situations where laying the big points is absolutely a quality option. The Redskins are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games against Philadelphia. The Eagles are 5-1 ATS the last 6 times they've been a favorite of 7.5 or more. In other words, don't let the big line keep you away! 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #453 Sunday 10* Top Play Atlanta Falcons (+) @ Minnesota Vikings @ 1 ET - It looks easy, right? Take the home team laying a short number and you're "home free" as you cash in later at the betting window. Not so fast. The Vikings were down across the board last season statistically and didn't have a whole lot of areas to point to as to why. Also, their QB (Kirk Cousins) has an overall losing record in his career. As for the Falcons, they also are off a sub-par season but were done in by some key September injuries too. I like the weapons they have for QB Matt Ryan and also I'll take him any day of the week over Cousins whom I just don't trust at all in big games. Certainly this is a big game and I love having the 3.5 points with an Atlanta team that could be playoff bound this season. The Falcons have shored up their offensive line and I expect the defense, now healthier, to be much better under defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn. Both teams have plenty of hunger for this season after last year's disappointment but Atlanta also has some momentum after winning each of their final 3 games last season. The Vikings lost 3 of their final 5 games and, overall, had a very disappointing 2nd half of the season. The Falcons are 4-1 ATS (and 5-0 SU!) the past two seasons in a road game where the total is between 45.5 and 49 points. An outright upset here would not surprise but I am grabbing the 3.5 points currently being offered as of very early Sunday morning. The Vikings are 2-6 ATS their last 8 games in which their line ranged from +3 to a -3. In this particular case the line is a 1/2 point outside that range but the reason I mention it is because it supports the fact that Cousins and his Minnesota teammates tend to fall short at the betting window in games projected to be a tight battle. This one certainly fits the bill in that regard and I am riding with Ryan and the underdog Falcons in this one. 10* ATLANTA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #369 Saturday 10* Top Play LSU Tigers (-) @ Texas Longhorns @ 7:30 ET - Both teams are off easy wins last week as they faced easy opponents. That said, it is hard to say we know much about either team at this point since neither team faced a true test. However, what I do know is that Texas lost a lot of key players on both sides of the ball from last season and I felt coming into this season that some strong value would be available going against them early when they're facing a strong opponent. Certainly LSU fits into that category very well. In my mind, the Horns are still highly ranked in part because of what they did last season and whom their QB is. However, the Longhorns lost so much from last season's team. As for the Tigers I feel the best is yet to come and their time has arrived. Their offense got stronger and stronger as the season went on as QB Joe Burrow got more and more comfortable. Unlike Texas, LSU returned 8 starters on each side of the ball and this should be reflect in more early-season continuity as well. The fact this game is at Texas is helping to give us value as the Tigers would be a very large favorite if this game was at Baton Rouge. With LSU being on the road we've got a very manageable number to work with and I'll lay it! The Tigers are 3-1 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points and also a long-term 4-1 ATS against Big 12 opponents. The Longhorns are 0-5 ATS the past two seasons in a home game where the total is between 56.5 and 63 points. Texas lost too much from last season while the Tigers are much stronger than they were last season in my opinion. 10* LSU

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #327 South Florida Bulls (+) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ 2 ET - South Florida got obliterated by Wisconsin last week while the Yellow Jackets also got blasted last week at Clemson. The Bulls missed the mark by a mile and they'll be ready to respond here as, of course their offense is much better than what it showed in an embarrassing loss to the Badgers last week. As for Georgia Tech, the problem with their offense has a lot to with the system. The Yellow Jackets are changing things up this season and they're going to have growing pains as a result. I love fading favorites when they are going through changes and still very early in the implementation mode. In this case, after so many years running the triple option at Georgia Tech, pain comes with the change. South Florida has SC State on deck so there is certainly no lookahead. Even though the Yellow Jackets are playing this game with revenge, the bigger story with that is that they lost to USF by double digits last season even though they were a better team then. Truly the Jackets are going to struggle in this campaign with what amounts to a "transition year" for them. The Bulls got embarrassed at home as they were blasted right away in the first half. That is noteworthy here as South Florida is 8-1 ATS after trailing in their previous game by 24 or more points at the half. As for Georgia Tech, they are in the same situation, but they are 1-4 ATS after trailing in their previous game by 24 or more points at the half. USF has now lost 7 straight games but they were a double digit dog in 5 of those 7 games. Look for the Bulls to make the most of this "winnable" game opportunity. 8* SOUTH FLORIDA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #306 Saturday 8* Pittsburgh Panthers (-) vs Ohio University Bobcats @ 11 AM ET - This line has dropped from as high as a -7 down to a -4 as of Friday afternoon. Yes, Pittsburgh lost last week while Ohio won but there was a big difference in level of competition. The Panthers faced ACC foe Virginia while the Bobcats took on Rhode Island! That is a huge difference and speaking of differences, lets not forget the disparity between the MAC and ACC. Additionally, the Panthers also have the home field edge here. Simply put, this one has been bet down too low and now offers great value on the home favorite. Pittsburgh is well aware of the fact that they really need this game if they're to avoid an 0-4 start as they have very tough match-ups (Penn State and UCF) on deck! Both teams lost quite a bit from last season's respective teams but the Bobcats lost even more. The Ohio offense returns only 4 starters and they'll be exposed this week after taking advantage of a weak opponent last week. Conversely, the Panthers are the team taking advantage of a lesser foe this week as they take advantage of a step down in level of competition after facing a tough Virginia team last week. Last week the Bobcats faced a Rhode Island team that is an FCS school. This will the Ohio's first game against an FBS team this season and, the past 3 seasons they are 0-3 ATS in their first game of the season against an FBS team. 8* PITTSBURGH

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #301 Friday 10* Top Play Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-) @ Rice Owls @ 8 ET - The Demon Deacons have plenty of momentum after scoring late to beat a solid Utah State last week. Wake Forest has a quick strike offense and loves to play fast. Their average scoring drive last week was less than a 2 and 1/2 minutes. This presents a match-up problem for a Rice team that scored only 7 points last week. Yes that game was on the road and this one is at home for the Owls. However, Rice is actually a poor 1-6 ATS when they are at home following a game in which they scored less than 10 points. Also, last season the Demon Deacons were up 42-3 by halftime of their game against the Owls. Wake Forest then cruised to the 56-24 victory. That said, I like the value here with the Demon Deacons laying less points in this one because it is on the road. The fact is that, even though it is on the road, Wake Forest has edges all over the field and, just as was the case in last season's match-up, the Owls will not be able to keep up on the scoreboard. I also like the fact that the Demon Deacons failed to cover last week while Rice had an easy ATS cover. Now the roles reverse this week! 10* WAKE FOREST

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #451 Thursday 10* Top Play Green Bay Packers (+) @ Chicago Bears @ 8:20 ET - Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are playing this game with a chip on their shoulders and I don't see them being denied. After back to back losing seasons (a rare occurrence) Green Bay also had to look up in the standings at the Bears (another rare occurrence) as Chicago was one of the surprise teams of the NFL last season. This included a key late season win for the Bears over the Packers in Chicago and now it is payback time. In 21 starts against the Bears, Rodgers has a 16-5 SU record. Also, we're seeing this line move toward 3.5 so even a Packers loss by 3 points still gets us in the win column here. We don't even need the SU win that Rodgers has so often provided against Chicago. I like the fact that the Packers outgained the Bears in their two games combined last season even though Chicago covered both games. That is noteworthy as these teams have met 21 times in the past 10 seasons (1 playoff meeting) and NEVER in these 10 years has there been a 3-0 ATS streak in the series for the Bears. I don't see that changing here either. Look for the Packers new wrinkles in their offense under new head coach Matt LaFleur to keep the Bears defense off balance enough that it will have an impact on the outcome of this game. I like having Rodgers over the Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky. Note that the Chicago signal-caller threw 5 INTs against 4 TDs in his final 3 regular season home starts last season. He and the Bears deserve congrats for their big season last year but they're sneaking up on no one this season and the Packers have had their number for a long time and resume that series dominance starting tonight. 10* GREEN BAY

ESPN Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #217 Monday 10* Top Play Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Louisville Cardinals @ 8 ET - I like the hiring of Scott Satterfield as the new head coach for Louisville and, eventually, he is going to lead the Cardinals back to success. However, this program is in a complete rebuild right now after last year's disastrous 2-10 campaign. Satterfield had great success at Appalachian State but let's go back to his first year there for comparison's sake. The Mountaineers started the season 2-8 in their first 10 games under Satterfield. Their opening game that season saw them get blasted 30 to 6. Satterfield had his work cut out for him then and the same holds true here. He is known as a strong offensive mind but they've had to simplify the offense this season for QB Jawon Pass. Mistakes were too prevalent last season and now the Cardinals open their new season facing a tough Notre Dame team that is anxious to finally have a chance to put last season's playoff beatdown (versus Clemson) behind them. The Fighting Irish have been waiting ever since January for someone to punch in the mouth. Now that "someone" is Louisville and the Irish are the better team all over the field in this game. They are so explosive on offense thanks to QB Book and they are strong in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame will beat the Cardinals at the point of attack all game long and this one turns into a road rout. Louisville is 2-9 ATS the last 11 times they have been an underdog. In games when the total is between 49.5 and 56 points Notre Dame is 9-4 ATS the past two seasons. The Irish allowed just 18 points per game while the Cardinals allowed an average of 57 points per game their final 7 games of last season. 10* NOTRE DAME

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #690 Sunday 10* Top Play Saskatchewan Roughriders (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 3 ET - This line was as high as a -7 on the Riders and has dropped down to as low as a -5 as of early game day morning. In my typical preferred contrarian style, I am fading the market move and grabbing the extra line value here. This is Saskatchewan's chance to catch the Blue Bombers in the standings. How can they do that when they are 4 points back? Well the key is that this is the first game of a "home and home" series with the Bombers as they meet again in Winnipeg next week. Saskatchewan also gets the benefit of catching the Blue Bombers without their starting QB and now their RB will miss both games of this series. Andrew Harris was suspended by the league for two games and that certainly will hurt the ground attack of the Bombers. That will put even more pressure on QB Chris Streveler (filling in for the injured Mike Nichols). Yes Streveler was under center for Winnipeg's win last week but he was held under 100 passing yards in that game! The Roughriders, conversely, saw Cody Fajardo have another big game at the pivot for them last week as he threw for 241 yards. Saskatchewan is known as the toughest place for road teams to play in this league and you know it will be rocking for this huge match-up hosting the top team in the division standings. That said, I am happy to lay the small points here in what shapes up to be a home blowout. The Riders are riding a 5-0 SU/ATS win streak heading into this one and I look for the Roughriders to improve to 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home meetings with Winnipeg. 10* SASKATCHEWAN

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #186 Saturday 10* Top Play Stanford Cardinal (-) vs Northwestern Wildcats @ 4 ET - It seems like only yesterday when, here in Vegas where I live now, the first lines for CFB came out for small limit wagers. One of the big movers then (in late May) was on this game as the Cardinal were opened up as a double digit favorite but quickly got bet down to a -7. Now, as of the night before the game, the line is down to a -6 and it is "go time" for me on a game I have had my eyes on ever since the "false move" by the market 3 months ago. Why is the market mistaken here in my opinion? It is because they're looking at a match-up featuring a pair of teams that each won 9 games last season and felt that in an "even match-up" the big line was way off. However, the fact is that this is no longer an "even match-up" because the Wildcats are going to be vastly different from the 2018 team! Losing QB Clayton Thorson (now with the Philadelphia Eagles) has this Northwestern offense looking much weaker and the Wildcats also lost their leading receiver from last year's team. I know what you're thinking...Stanford also lost a lot from last year's team too. However, they have a strong QB in KJ Costello and his guidance for the Cardinal offense will be a key here as the Wildcats struggle to get acclimated to life without QB Thorson. Northwestern has gone 2-5 ATS in non-conference games the past two seasons. The Cardinal are a long-term 5-0 SU (and 4-1 ATS) in August games and also enter this game on a 6-3 ATS run in their last 9 home games. Home field makes a difference here as the Cardinal get payback for a 10 point loss at Northwestern as a 10 point favorite to open up the 2015 season. Of course these players weren't here for that but the coaches were and David Shaw is in his 9th season with Stanford and that is the ONE AND ONLY time that the Cardinal have started a season with a loss under Shaw's watch. It is PAYBACK time here. 10* STANFORD

Daytime Dominator RL Rout - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #913 Thursday 10* Top Play Oakland A's Run Line -1.5 -125 @ Kansas City Royals @ 1:15 ET - The A's are off a 4-2 loss to the Royals yesterday. Look for an immediate bounce back Thursday. Kansas City entered that game having lost 23 of their past 30 games! Also, Oakland is a perfect 7-0 the last 7 times they have been off a loss by a margin of 3 runs or less. Of course the A's are a huge money line favorite here but we can get value and lay a much smaller price by taking Oakland on the run line in this one. The last 6 times the A's were off a loss by margin of 3 or less runs they have won their next game by a margin of 2 or more runs all 6 times! The Athletics Chris Bassitt is 7-2 with a 2.96 ERA in his 11 day game starts this season. The Royals Glenn Sparkman is 1-5 with a 5.87 ERA and a .314 BAA in his 8 day game appearances this season. The KC right-hander has been hit at a .314 clip in afternoon games. Look for a road rout in this one. The A's were 18-8 their last 26 prior to yesterday's loss. 12 of the Athletics last 15 wins have come by 2 or more runs and this one should as well. 10* OAKLAND Run Line -1.5 runs

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #901 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Run Line -1.5 runs (-120) @ Miami Marlins @ 1:10 ET - The Phillies have one of the worst managers in MLB. That was on full display Friday when Gabe Kabler completely mismanaged the game and the Phillies blew a 7-0 lead against the worst hitting team in baseball. The good news here for Phillies fans is that Philadelphia is still playing the Marlins and, with Aaron Nola on the mound, it becomes much more difficult for Kapler to give away games. Nola should do his thing here (pitch deep into the game and dominate) and, at the same time, the Phillies should give him plenty of run support as a result of facing Elieser Hernandez. The Marlins right-hander has a 6.46 ERA in his last 3 appearances and he has given up 4 or more earned runs in 3 of those outings. Philly will be facing Hernandez for the 3rd time in the past 2 months which also is an edge to the hitters. As for Nola, he has a 2.48 ERA in the past two months and has gone 6-1 in those 10 starts. The Phillies are 17-6 in his last 23 starts including 8-2 in his last 10 road starts. Of course this is why Philly is about a 2 to 1 favorite on the money line but I love the value with Philadelphia in the -120 price range on the run line. 12 of the Phillies last 14 wins have come by a margin of 2 or more runs. 18 of the Marlins last 23 losses have come by a margin of 2 or more runs. Lay it! 10* PHILADELPHIA -1.5 runs

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #291 Saturday 10* Top Play Florida Gators (-) vs Miami Hurricanes @ 7 ET @ Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL - This line opened up at an 8.5 and has dropped to a 7. In typical contrarian fashion I am fading the line move and laying the points here. Florida was 10-3 last season and that was head coach Dan Mullen's first season with the team. I am projecting the Gators to be even stronger now that it will be Mullen's second season at the helm. Mullen has been a head coach since 2009. As for the Hurricanes Manny Diaz, he has never been a head coach at any level of football. Yes, he had been the defensive coordinator for the Hurricanes under Mark Richt but being a head coach is still a much different task. While the Gators have experience at the QB position, the Hurricanes are starting a redshirt freshman. Jarren Williams is likely to struggle here against a talented Florida defense. Yes the Hurricanes defense also certainly commands respect but I like the talent level of the Gators (including on offense) and expect them to have some success putting points on the board. I give Mullen the coaching edge, the Gators the overall experience edge, and I like the fact that the Hurricanes are 7-9 since they were 10-0 and ranked 2nd in the nation back in 2017. It has been all downhill since then for the Canes and the Gators are off a 10-win season they are fully prepared to build on as well. The Hurricanes are on a 9-16 ATS slide the past two seasons. The Gators are 6-2 ATS in non-conference games the past two seasons. Look for the SEC to flex its muscles again in this battle with an ACC foe that is likely to endure some growing pains early this season as they adjust to Diaz at the helm plus an inexperienced quarterback. 10* FLORIDA

Game of the Year - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #684 Saturday 10* Top Play Saskatchewan Roughriders (-) vs Ottawa Redblacks @ 7 ET - Saskatchewan is off a bye week. Ottawa is off another disappointing loss last week as their offense continues to flounder. The Roughriders also are playing this game with revenge since a Week Two loss to the Redblacks. Ever since that game in Ottawa, this is a case of two teams going in opposite directions. The Redblacks have lost 6 of their past 7 games and have been held to an average of just 11.5 points in those 6 losses! The Riders, on the other hand, have won 5 of their past 6 games and they have averaged 31.2 points in those 5 wins. Saskatchewan enters this game fresh off a bye and they are known for being very tough at home where they have arguably the best home field advantage in the CFL with a strong fan base. The Riders have won 4 straight games and will make it 5 in a row here. Considering the big difference in the way the offensive units have been performing for these two teams, as well as the revenge angle and the home field edge, it is plain to see why I am willing to lay the big points here. The line opened up at 10.5 with good reason but has fallen to a 9.5 and I look for the Riders to win this game by at least a pair of touchdowns. The Roughriders are also 2nd in the league for total offense and total defense while the Redblacks rank near the bottom in both of those categories. Also, if you look at those stats from Week 3 onward, the difference in these teams is even more pronounced. In terms of trending, Ottawa is 2-4 ATS when off a loss against a divisional foe. The Riders are 4-2 ATS when coming off a bye week and are also on a 6-2 ATS run in August games. More of the same expected here. 10* SASKATCHEWAN

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFLX Rotation #267 Saturday 10* Top Play Arizona Cardinals (+) @ Minnesota Vikings @ 1 ET - The betting markets are enamored with the Vikings here as this line got driven up from a 4.5 to a 7 before settling in at a 6. Yes the Vikes have a great preseason history under head coach Mike Zimmer but lets not forget they went only 3-5 ATS the past two preseasons. Also, they were 0-2 ATS in home preseason games in BOTH 2017 and 2018. That said, after a big win and cover last week at home, I do not expect a repeat this week. The Cardinals have a first year head coach in Kliff Klingsbury and new head coaches tend to be a good "play on" team in preseason action. I am not saying the Cards win this game but I expect them to stay inside the inflated number and, certainly an outright upset would not be a surprise. Arizona went 3-2 SU in preseason games played away from the home the past two seasons and one of those losses came by just 2 points. I look for them to hang in this game for the full sixty as well! In their last 4 true road games, Arizona is 3-1 SU and ATS and the only SU/ATS loss was a meaningless week 4 game in 2017. Week 3 always carries more meaning and the Cardinals have covered this game each of the past two seasons while the Vikings have not. Minnesota drops to 1-5 ATS the last 6 times they have been a home favorite. Give me the big points with the underdog Cardinals. 10* ARIZONA

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #681 Friday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Blue Bombers (+) @ Edmonton Eskimos @ 9 ET - Big line move toward Edmonton here. That is because everyone is aware that Winnipeg QB Matt Nichols left last week's game in the 4th quarter with an injury. However, what is being under-estimated by the betting markets here is that Blue Bombers back-up QB Chris Streveler got plenty of experience filling in for Nichols last season plus he has seen action this season as well. He is not a "normal" back-up in the sense that he gets used at times throughout games. That said, this is a huge game where a pair of teams are battling it out for West Division supremacy. Yes the Eskimos have revenge but they are being overvalued here. The Blue Bombers have covered 5 of the last 7 meetings between these teams. Also, Winnipeg is 8-4 SU and ATS when, in the 2nd half of a season, they are playing against a team with a winning record. The Eskimos are 6-15 ATS (including 1-3 ATS this season) as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Prior to last week's cover against a bad Argonauts team, Edmonton was on a 3-7 ATS run in August games. That poor trending resumes here! The Blue Bombers are 4-0 SU in divisional games this season while the Eskimos are only 2-2 SU in divisional games. 10* WINNIPEG

CBS Smash Pass - Rickenbach NFLX Rotation #265 Friday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (-) @ Detroit Lions @ 8 ET - In regular season NFL over the past two decades I have enjoyed plenty of success fading line moves. Knowing when and why to go contrarian to the market moves is a key to beating regular season NFL games. However, preseason NFL is an entirely different animal and the line moves, especially in 2019, have proven to go the right way more often than not. That said, despite a move here (which of course is generally sharp and not square money when it comes to preseason), I still see great value with the Bills laying as little as a -2 in this match-up. When you see a 2-0 preseason team getting the action over an 0-2 team in preseason you know it is sharp money as, generally speaking, backing the winless teams in Week 3 of preseason over undefeated teams is a smart play. The key to this match-up is the Lions defense has been atrocious in this pre-season. The Bills defense has been much better. Also, the Lions are now 1-5 in preseason games under head coach Matt Patricia. The Bills are a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS in their last 3 preseason road games. Buffalo's QB rotation has been performing much better than Detroit's counterparts. Also, history is not on the side of the Lions here either as they are actually 4-10 ATS in preseason action when they enter a game off two or more consecutive preseason losses. Look for the Bills to improve to 5-1 ATS in preseason games under head coach Sean McDermott the past 3 years combined. 10* BUFFALO

RL Game of the Week - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #905 Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Phillies Run Line -1.5 runs @ Miami @ 7:10 ET - The Phillies have plenty of momentum after their sweep of their short two-game set in Boston earlier this week. Philadelphia has now won 6 of their past 8 games and they were off yesterday and hold a big edge over the Marlins on Friday. While Philly is still very much alive in the Wild Card race, the Marlins have lost 9 of their past 10 games (and 14 of their last 18) after losing again at Atlanta last night. Miami enters this game with no rest and struggling while the Phillies come in rested and confident. The Phils also rare a big pitching edge in this match-up. Of course all of the above is the reason why the Phillies are favored in the -180 range on the money line in this one. That said, the value here is with the run line where Philadelphia is available at a pick'em price if you lay the -1.5 runs. That is the way to go as the Marlins Hector Noesi keeps giving up too many homers and is 0-3 with a 9.39 ERA. As for the Phillies Vince Velasquez, he struggled at Miami in late June but that was just his 2nd poor start against the Marlins in his last 8 outings. Velasquez generally has fared very well against Miami and he enters this outing on an overall run that has seen him allow 3 earned runs or less in 5 straight starts! Also, the Phillies bullpen is well-rested after off days Monday and Thursday and they performed very well in the Red Sox series. The Marlins bullpen has a 5.13 ERA which ranks them as one of the worst in the majors. 10* PHILADELPHIA Run Line -1.5 runs

Rickenbach MLB Rotation #977 Tuesday MLB 8* Cleveland Indians Run Line -1.5 runs (+) @ New York Mets @ 7:10 ET - While it is true that the Mets have been a hot team - just like the Indians - as they make a playoff push, the fact is that New York also benefited from a favorable schedule that featured a lot of weak and / or struggling foes. The Mets now face a red hot pitcher and a red hot team and I look for the Indians to prevail in a big way on the road. I don't like laying juice, even in the 150 or 160 range, so I am opting for the run line here. Note that 42 of the Mets 60 losses - 70% - have come by 2 or more runs. The Indians have seen 61 of their 74 wins - 82.4% - come by 2 or more runs. This is why I am comfortable laying the 1.5 runs here and that is available for a plus money return as of early game day morning. Cleveland's Shane Bieber has been dominant while the Mets Steven Matz remains inconsistent. Bieber has a 1.89 ERA in his last 5 starts and continues piling up the strikeouts. Matz is off a rare good start against a quality team as he surprisingly pitched well against the Braves in his most recent outing. Prior to this, Matz had one very impressive start against the Pirates since returning to the rotation after the All Star break. In his other 4 starts since the All Star break, Matz allowed 24 hits in 20 and 1/3 innings! Comparatively, Bieber has allowed 2 or less earned runs in 5 straight starts and he faced much tougher opponents than Matz did. His starts included facing the Angels respectable lineup plus the Red Sox, Twins, and Astros! Look for Bieber to outpitch Matz by a wide margin in this one. 8* CLEVELAND Run Line -1.5 runs

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFL Rotation #693 Saturday 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (-) @ Ottawa Redblacks @ 4 ET - Both teams have injuries at the QB position but the Tiger-Cats are getting much better play at that spot. Dane Evans helped lead Hamilton back from a big late-game deficit last week and certainly has not been making the same mistakes that the Ottawa QB has. The Redblacks have had to turn to Dominique Davis at the pivot and he has a 5 TD's against 11 INT's! Davis leads the CFL in interceptions and, of course, that is not a category for which one wants to hold that distinction! Though some will view this game as a big motivational edge for the Redblacks as they host the first place team in their division, there is actually another way to look at this that I believe is a key factor in motivation. The first-place Tiger-Cats have lost 5 straight meetings with Ottawa. Their head coach, Orlondo Steinauer, certainly hasn't forgotten as he referenced that they (Redblacks) got them good last year. In other words, the Ti-Cats are out for some revenge this week and I like the fact that Ottawa is going through a lot of personnel changes at all the skill positions plus has a turnover-prone QB. Davis will be throwing to some new starting receivers this week too plus their running back is now out. The Tiger-Cats are not without injuries too but they are a much more "settled team" at this point in the season and they get revenge for last season's series sweep at the hands of Ottawa. Keep in mind, the Redblacks enter this game having lost 5 of their last 6 games. This line opened up at a -4 and has dropped to a -2 on the Tiger-Cats. I love to fade line moves like this one given the above. 10* HAMILTON