Thursday Thrasher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #105 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arkansas State Red Wolves vs Georgia State Panthers @ 7:30 ET - Georgia State averages 81.5 plays on offense per game. That is one of the fastest paces in the nation. Arkansas State averages 6.47 yards per play on offense which ranks them in the top 15 of the nation. I know this is a big total posted on this game but it is absolutely justified in a game that I project to get into the 80s. The Panthers have a solid ground game and play fast. Remember that Arkansas State allowed 52 points to a Coastal Carolina team that also has dangerous runners. On the flip side, the Red Wolves have a very dangerous passing attack and the Georgia State secondary will absolutely struggle as the Arkansas State receivers are big and talented. The Red Wolves just played their first home game and put up 50 points! Also, they scored 35 points in an upset at Kansas State earlier this season. The Panthers also rolling with confidence here after scoring 49 points in their most recent game. The last two meetings between these teams each totaled more than 85 points and, with perfect weather expected in Jonesboro AR this evening, this one gets into that range as well. 10* OVER the total in Arkansas State

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #169 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers @ 7:30 ET - I really like what I have seen from Coastal Carolina's offense this season as they have scored an average of 44.3 points per game this season. Of course the Chanticleers have been helped by facing a weak schedule but confidence for QB Grayson McCall and the Coastal Carolina offense is growing immensely with each win. So this is a match-up of two undefeated teams but the fact the Chanticleers defense hasn't been tested greatly is going to be an issue here. Yes, UL-Lafayette has averaged only 28.3 points per game this season but they have faced a much tougher schedule. The Ragin' Cajuns also come into this game well-rested as they haven't played a game yet this month. Louisiana put up 48 points at Coastal Carolina last season and they certainly are capable of another strong offensive performance in this one. That is particularly true because the Ragin' Cajuns are at home and the weather forecast is great for this one. Light winds, clear skies, pleasant temperatures. I am looking for points early, often, and throughout this game. 10* OVER the total in UL-Lafayette

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #482 Tuesday 10* Top Play Tennessee Titans (+) vs Buffalo Bills @ 7 ET - Long-time followers know I am a contrarian across all sports but this is particularly true in the NFL. That said, I love taking the Titans in a spot like this. They are the ones that forced a cancellation of last week's game due to Covid-19. They are the ones who are 0-3 ATS on the season. Yes, I'll take Tennessee to finally get the cash at the window this week. Even though they are 3-0 SU on the season they have been a favorite all 3 weeks and have failed to cover each game. The Titans 3 games have all been decided by 3 or less points. Now that they are a dog that makes them well worth the investment here. This is especially true with the Bills moving up to a 3.5 point favorite. I know QB Josh Allen has been huge for Buffalo this season but you can bet the Titans are drawing motivation from that and also the fact that they are undefeated and at home and yet they are the underdog here! Tennessee will absolutely "bring it" in this primetime affair and, keep in mind, the Bills have the super bowl champion Chiefs up next on Sunday while the Titans have the 1-4 Texans next up on the docket. Grab the value with the home dog in this one. 10* TENNESSEE

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #477 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New Orleans Saints vs Los Angeles Chargers @ 8:15 ET - I don't trust either defense here and expect both offenses to be able to move the ball quite well in this one. The Chargers defense ranks poorly in terms of defending the pass and that was on full display when they blew a 24-7 lead and lost to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in their most recent game. Of course Drew Brees arm is not nearly what it used to be but he still helped lead the Saints to an average of 30.8 points per game their first 4 games this season. That ranks among the best in the NFL. Though the Chargers have not scored as well, their offense actually entered this week's action ranked in the top ten in the NFL based on yardage per game. That said, Los Angeles may not have trouble finding the end zone against this New Orleans team. The Saints are allowing an average of 30.8 points per game on the year. Chargers rookie QB Hebert threw for nearly 300 yards last week and 3 touchdowns! We have finally see the over trend in primetime games slow down recently but Saints games are 4-0 to the over this season and, with this total dropping some from an opener of 52 down to 50 we have extra value here. That has me going to my highest level in terms of the rating on this one. 10* OVER the total in New Orleans

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #475 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Seattle Seahawks vs Minnesota Vikings @ 8:20 ET - The Vikings defense has had a major dropoff this season. They have one of the worst pass defenses in the league and now take on a Seahawks passing attack that is one of the best in the league. At the same time, the Minnesota offense will be able to take advantage of facing a Seattle defense that has struggled badly this season. This total opened up in the upper 50s but has dropped to a 56 as of game day morning and now we're getting to the value area with this total. Yes I know it is still a big total but it is absolutely justified as I just can not foresee many defensive stops in this game. The Vikes have scored 30 or more points in 3 of their 4 games this season while the Hawks have scored at least 31 points in all 4 of their games. Yes we could (should!) see each team get to the 30 point mark in this one and, either way, I am expecting this game to get into the 60s. The Seahawks are allowing an average of 27 points per game this season and are a 7 point favorite in this one. That puts this game potentially into the 34-27 range and, keep in mind, Minnesota allowed 34 points per game in their first 3 games this season. Even against a winless Texans team last week the Vikings allowed 23 points plus nearly 300 passing yards! Seahawks QB Russell Wilson should have another huge day here but his teammates on defense will again be on their heels all game long in another wild one. 8* OVER the total in Seattle

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #473 Sunday 10* Top Play Indianapolis Colts (+) @ Cleveland Browns @ 4:25 ET - Long-time followers know I love to fade line moves in the NFL when the situation is right and that is the case here in my opinion. The Colts were as high as a 3 point favorite in this game and now are a 1 point underdog as of early game day morning. While Cleveland is an improved team this is a horrible spot for them. They are off a road dog upset win at Dallas where they blew a huge lead and then had to hang for dear life against the Cowboys. Now they are back home but have a huge divisional game on deck with Pittsburgh. Yes, the Steelers team that is undefeated and in first place in their division. In looking at this match-up, yes the Colts are also off a road win last week but it was an expected road win. Indianapolis was the favorite and the Bears scored very late in that game. In other words, the Colts not only won the game, they dominated as it nearly ended a 19-3 final. Chicago's TD and 2 point conversion came very very late. The key to the value in this match-up is that the Browns caught a lot of eyes with their win at Dallas last week but the Cowboys defense is atrocious this season. Now Cleveland goes from facing the league's worst defense to facing the #1 defense in the league. The Colts have simply dominated on that side of the ball. Indy has allowed an average of 9.7 points per game the last 3 weeks. The Browns have allowed an average of 31.5 points per game this season. With Cleveland's big game on deck against division leading Pittsburgh, this is the ideal spot to fade them and back the Colts as they look to win for the 9th time in the last 10 meetings between these teams. The Browns had covered just 4 of 15 games overall before upsetting the Cowboys last week. Ideal setup here. 10* INDIANAPOLIS

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #465 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ Pittsburgh Steelers @ 1 ET - The Steelers are undefeated with one of the top defenses in the league. Talk to me when they play somebody with a pulse! I am not saying Pittsburgh is not a good team. I am just saying it is easy to be the #1 defense and have an undefeated record when you have played 3 of the worst teams (and worst offenses) in the league. The Steelers have played the Texans, Broncos, and Giants this season. All 3 of those teams rank at the bottom of the league statistically on offense and are a combined 1-11 this season! The Eagles have played the Rams and 49ers and yes San Francisco is hurting some but so too is Philly and yet they beat them outright on the road Sunday night. The 4 teams the Eagles played this season have a combined record of 7-8-1. That is not earth-shattering by any means but much better than the slate of teams with the combined 1-11 record which is who the Steelers have faced thus far. Also, even with facing a much tougher schedule, the Philly defense ranks just behind Pittsburgh's highly touted defense in terms of yardage allowed per game. The Steelers got a bye they didn't want last week. Teams don't want a bye this early in the season but covid-19 changed Pittsburgh's schedule. They are in a lookahead spot here with the 3-1 Browns on deck plus that is followed by a tough Titans team and then the 3-1 Ravens. So two key division rivals coming up and an undefeated Tennessee team whom the Steelers had already been game planning for before the cancellation happened. Facing an NFC team is not high on the Steelers list of concerns when you look at their upcoming schedule. Perhaps they do win this game but I expect the margin to be a single score and with this line having moved to 7.5 the value is clearly with the road dog in my opinion. Memo to the Steelers for this week: you're finally playing a team with a pulse. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #352 Saturday 10* Top Play Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (-) vs UTEP Miners @ 7:30 ET - I don't normally lay big points for a top play but this is a rare exception as I expect a thorough beating on the part of the Bulldogs here and a 3-1 Miners team is on the receiving end of it. Yes, UTEP is 3-1 this season but they've played two FCS schools. In their only tough game they were completely annihilated 59-3 by Texas! In their 4 games this season, even with playing a pair of FCS schools too, the Miners are averaging just 18.8 points per game. UTEP simply won't be able to keep with an angry Louisiana Tech team. The Bulldogs were 2-0 prior to last week's beating at the hands of a BYU team that has been annihilating everyone this season. Keep in mind, Louisiana Tech was averaging 48.5 points per game prior to getting hammered by the Cougars last week. This Bulldogs team can put up a ton of points here at home and the Miners simply won't be able to keep up. Last year, Louisiana Tech was up 42-7 before allowing two late TDs after the game was already decided. Look for another dominating win this season and it may end with an even greater margin than last season's 42-21 final. That's because Louisiana Tech is angry after what happened at Brigham Young last week. Also, Texas El Paso does have the attention of the Bulldogs here since the Miners are 3-1 this season. That means they won't be overlooked and that is bad news for UTEP as the home team really pours it on this one and should be fully focused from the opening kickoff too. The spread is -14 on this one but I am very comfortable laying the big points in this mismatch! 10* LOUISIANA TECH

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #325 Saturday 8* Texas Tech Red Raiders (+) @ Iowa State Cyclones @ 3:30 ET - The Red Raiders are off back to back losses but they never should have lost to Texas as that was an overtime defeat in which they allowed the Longhorns to rally late. Also, in their game last week, Texas Tech had the edge in first downs and in overall yardage but fell short on the scoreboard against Kansas State. Now the Red Raiders get a shot at an Iowa State team that beat them last season for the 4th straight time. Prior to these 4 straight defeats in the series, Texas Tech had won 11 of 14 in this series. The Red Raiders catch the Cyclones off an upset win over Oklahoma last week so the set-up here is perfect. Iowa State is over-valued (and Texas Tech under-valued) based on last week's results. I really like the fact that Texas Tech has a respectable ground game that utilizes multiple running backs. Their offensive line has paved the way for big gains plus they have done a great job in pass protection with just 1 sack allowed on the season! Even though the Red Raiders lost last week, they were done in by a blocked punt, an interception, and two missed field goals). Texas Tech offering line value as a huge dog this week as a result of last week's missed opportunities. Also, QB Bowman is expected back for the Red Raiders here but QB Colombi did play well in his place after he exited last week's game. Looks like Bowman will be back though and that is a big boost for this team. The Cyclones have covered just twice the last seven times they have been a home favorite and this is a particularly bad spot for Iowa State after their huge upset of Oklahoma last week. Grab the big points in this one. 8* TEXAS TECH

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach Rotation #323 Saturday 8* Oklahoma Sooners (-) vs Texas Longhorns @ Noon ET - Sooners off back to back losses and unranked. But it was no mistake that the odds makers installed Oklahoma as the favorite in this one. Just because OU has disappointed early does not mean they won't bring their "A game" to the Red River Showdown on Saturday. That said, if the Sooners bring their "A game" and with Texas in a down cycle this season too, which team wins this game? Exactly! Oklahoma was highly regarded for good reason coming into this season. This OU team is capable of plenty and they will respond big this week. While the yardage stats were about equal in the Sooners loss AT Iowa State last week, the Longhorns saw TCU get 25 first downs while UT was held to just 16 first downs and that game was a home game for Texas last week. In their prior game the Horns were lucky to escape Lubbock with a victory as they had to put forth a big rally late and then they won it in overtime. I know the Sooners have not impressed early this season but I especially do not trust this Longhorns team and feel this is the game OU will put it all together. Look for the Sooners to win this rivalry match-up rather handily! 8* OKLAHOMA

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #305 Friday 8* Louisville Cardinals (-) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ 7 ET - People seem to be remembering Georgia Tech's upset of Florida State in their first game of the season. At least based on the way this line has moved. I disagree with the line move. The Seminoles are just 1-2 on the season now with their only win against Jacksonville State and they lost by 42 to Miami. In other words, the Jackets upset of the Noles looks even less impressive now. Also, since that upset win Georgia Tech has lost each of its last two games and the average margin of defeat was 22.5 points per game. Louisville off a tough, tight loss to a Pittsburgh team with, as usual, a very solid and physical defense. I am not holding that 3 point loss against the Cardinals too much. That Panthers team is tough to face especially at Pittsburgh. That defeat, in fact, is now helping to give us value with the Cards in this one. Louisville started the season with a big win over a Western Kentucky team that is better than people realize and then followed that up with putting up 34 points on Miami. Even though the Cardinals lost that game to the Hurricanes, note that the Canes are now 3-0 on the season. When these teams met two years ago, the Yellow Jackets were still running the triple option and they destroyed Louisville's defense as the Cardinals were enduring some dreadful times then. EACH of these teams is different now and this is payback time for the Cards. They get revenge in a big way here against a turnover-prone Yellow Jackets team that has failed to cover EACH of the last SIX times they have been a home dog. Georgia Tech QB Sims has thrown 3 TDs and 8 INTs. Look for the Cardinals to win this one by double digits. 8* LOUISVILLE

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #302 Thursday 8* Chicago Bears (+) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 8:20 ET - I know the Bears looked ugly in their home game versus the Colts on Sunday but that was, in my opinion, not unexpected. The head coach of Indianapolis is Frank Reich. He was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles and knows plenty about Nick Foles (Super Bowl winner with Philadelphia a few years ago). The Indianapolis defense is ranked #1 this season and, thanks to Reich's knowledge about Foles and his tendencies the game planning Indy had for that game was top notch. That was part of the reasoning behind why I faded the Bears last week and used the Colts as my top play of the week and it paid off as they dominated. Now I come right back and play ON Chicago as I expect them to bounce back here at home on a short week. The travel situation is certainly tougher for the Buccaneers as they were at home in Tampa Bay plus expended a lot of energy in rallying from a 24-7 late first half deficit against the Chargers. Give TB credit for that rally and I know they are a good football team but this looks like a bad spot for them. The Bears will respond off their first loss of the season. Chicago has allowed an average of only 16 points per game in their two home games this season. I know some pick-sixes have played a role too but, the fact remains, the Buccaneers have allowed more than 30 points now twice in their first four games. I like the Bears defense at home in this one and fully expect a big bounce back effort from the offense here. 8* CHICAGO

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #304 Thursday 8* Houston Cougars (-) vs Tulane Green Wave @ 7:30 ET - The big storyline here is that the Cougars have not played a game yet this season while the Green Wave have 3 games under their belt and therefore hold a huge edge. I certainly understand and respect that viewpoint but it doesn't mean I agree with it! Tulane has played a rather weak schedule thus far. The Green Wave did not impress me until they blew out Southern Miss 68-24 two weeks ago after trailing 14-0 in the first quarter. However, that one big win doesn't mean all is fixed for a Tulane team that barely beat South Alabama in their first game this season and then blew a 24-0 lead to a Navy team that is looking more and more like the Midshipmen team that went 3-10 a few seasons ago. Now the Green Wave take a big step up in level of competition to take on a Houston team that can't wait to finally get on the field and play a real football game! The Cougars have been chomping at the bit and they can't wait to get revenge against Tulane! Last year the Green Wave rallied from a 28-14 halftime deficit to beat the Cougars 38-31. Houston hasn't forgotten as they made the mistake of relaxing after piling up a yardage edge of over 200 yards by halftime of that game! Even though the Cougars lost their QB in an off-season transfer, Tune will be under center and he did get significant playing time last season. That is a key here along with the fact that Houston does return nearly all of their starters from last season! This is a good football team and, even though they may show some rust early on, the Cougars will eventually pull away for a dominating home victory. 8* HOUSTON

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #279 Monday 10* Top Play Atlanta Falcons (+) @ Green Bay Packers @ 8:50 ET - Winless teams bring a little extra hunger to games at this stage in the season. Yesterday the winless teams whom were not facing a team that was also winless went a perfect 3-0 ATS as the Bengals, Giants, and Eagles all covered. Also, in the other two match-ups this week involving winless teams it was a battle of teams seeking their first wins as the Broncos faced the Jets Thursday and the Vikings faced the Texans Sunday. In both cases the road team (and the dog) won each game outright. You can see where I am going with this. Yes, the Packers are undefeated on the season and the Falcons are winless but I am riding with the road dog in this one. This game is at Lambeau Field so normally about 3 points added for that. That said, Green Bay opened up as low as a 5-point favorite in this one. I love being a contrarian. That line is saying the 3-0 Packers are only two points better than the winless Falcons on a neutral field. Of course the betting markets are in love with the Pack here and the line is now up to a -7 as of game day morning. I'll gladly grab the points here. The Falcons come in angry as they have blown huge leads (inexcusable!) to the Cowboys and Bears this season. Big dogs left for dead across the sports world are capable of rising up when others least expect it. That was the case with the Eagles last night in the NFL and the Heat in the NBA as well. I sense another shocker here as the Falcons first game of the year was against a tough Seahawks team and then they did build HUGE leads against both Dallas and Chicago before losing those games. The point is that the Falcons are a better team than many are thinking right now and I know what kind of effort they will bring on a Monday Night with the nation walking. Guys show up big for games like this when they are highly motivated and certainly the winless Falcons play this game with a chip on their shoulder. 10* ATLANTA

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #277 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (+) @ San Francisco 49ers @ 8:20 ET - This is more of a play against the 49ers. San Francisco will again be without QB Jimmy Garappolo this week and, on the other side of the ball, are without CB Richard Sherman and 2019 Defensive ROY Nick Bosa. The 49ers are 2-1 to start the season but the 3 teams they have played were a combined 16-31-1 last season. Based on last year's records, this is the toughest team that the Niners have faced yet this season and yet the line keeps climbing and climbing. Yes the Eagles have some injury issues but, as you can see above, so does San Francisco. The fact we can get more than a TD with a Philly team that was up 17-0 versus Washington and lost plus comes into this game very hungry after missing an opportunity for a win (and settling for a tie) versus the Bengals last week is a solid value spot here. The Eagles remain very hungry for that first win of the season and this is a team with a roster full of proud players only a couple seasons removed from a Super Bowl win and still stinging from last year's first round exit from the playoffs. Hungering for their first win they may not get it here but, if they don't, look for the Eagles to fall short by just a single score in this one. Philly defense is allowing just 330.7 ypg this season while the Niners are allowing only 304 ypg. Keep in mind the Eagles had to face the Rams this season. San Francisco has only faced 3 non-playoff teams. That is the story line here as this will be the toughest match-up the Niners have faced and I know the Eagles defense is going to "bring it" in this one too. Nick Mullens had great numbers last week but this isn't the Giants or the Jets defenses that he faced in his first two appearances! By the way, San Francisco has covered just 7 of their last 25 as a home favorite! That is a 28% ATS rate! Getting 7.5 or 8 here is a real bargain in fading the 49ers in this one. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #251 Sunday 10* Top Play Indianapolis Colts (-) @ Chicago Bears @ 4:25 ET - The Bears are 3-0 this season and yet they are an underdog, even though at home, against the 2-1 Colts. As a result, many are calling this line a "mistake" but long-time followers know how I feel about "mistakes" in terms of lines! The fact is that Indianapolis is deservedly the favorite here. The Bears have come back from huge deficits against the Lions and Falcons for two of their three wins this season and they barely held off the hapless Giants for their other victory this season! Those 3 teams that Chicago has barely (and in two cases, fortunately) beaten were a combined 14-33-1 last season! Now they take on a Colts team that looks like the real deal. Yes I know that Indianapolis also has played a rather weak schedule but the Vikings did go 10-6 last season and Jacksonville is better than their early season record would indicate. The road loss to the Jaguars in the season opener for Indy is their only loss so far on the young campaign. Indianapolis outgained the Jags 445-241 in that game but were done in by turnovers. The way I see it the Colts could easily be 3-0 on the season while the Bears aren't too far off from being an 0-3 team this season. We are only in Week 4 of the season and Chicago is already the first team in NFL history with two wins in the same season in games in which they trailed by 16 or more points in the 4th quarter. That won't happen here against a team that ranks as the #1 defense in the NFL so far this season. The Bears scoring defense ranks decently but their yardage defense ranks middle of the pack (15th) in the NFL and again they have faced teams that went 14-33-1 last season. I know Nick Foles is still a solid QB as he showed last week, but the Colts are well coached and Frank Reich (former Eagles offensive coordinator) knows plenty about Foles. Their top-ranked defense will frustrate Foles and the Bears in this one and I look for QB Philip Rivers and company to pull away as this one goes on. 10* INDIANAPOLIS

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #265 Sunday 8* Los Angeles Chargers (+) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 1 ET - Now that this line has climbed to as high as a 7.5 as of early Sunday morning, it is "go time" with this one. Rookie Chargers QB Hebert is making his first ever road start but I like what I have seen from this LA offense. In fact statistically they rank much better in yardage than the Bucs. The fact is, based on stats, the Chargers should have more points than the Buccaneers early this season but that is reversed right now and that results in value in spots like this. Last week the Chargers outgained the Browns by 134 yards and had a 26-14 first down edge and yet lost the game outright. That results in line value in a situation such as this particular one and TB doesn't exactly have a good history as a home favorite. In fact, the Buccaneers have covered just 5 of their last 22 when in that role! With the defenses about equal and the Chargers offense averaging 425.7 ypg comparted to just 334 ypg for the Buccaneers, I am grabbing the big dog value in this one. 8* LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Game of the Week – Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach CFB Rotation #154 Saturday 10* Top Play Georgia Bulldogs (-) vs Auburn Tigers @ 7:30 ET – The Bulldogs just might have the best defense in the nation. I know the offense didn’t look sharp in their win over Arkansas last week but they at least got some confidence with their 32-point outburst in the 2nd half of that game (helped by turnovers). After working out the kinks last week against the Razorbacks, look for the Georgia offense to be a little stronger this week and, again, there is no questioning how good this Dawgs defense is! As for Auburn, though they won their game against Kentucky by a double digit margin last week, they were quite fortunate! The Tigers actually were outgained by the Wildcats by a margin of 60 yards. Auburn was fortunate to have a 3-0 turnover edge and that helped set them up on a short field for some late scoring. The Tigers truly benefited throughout the game as every key call and bounce of the ball seemed to go their way. With Auburn off that deceiving final score, there is excellent line value here on the Bulldogs as I am projecting a win by a double digit margin here. Georgia has won 6 of its last 7 games both SU and ATS plus the home team has covered 10 of the last 13 games between these teams. Having home edge and the much better defense and an offense that built up some momentum with last week’s performance in the 2nd half, the Bulldogs are the play here in a game they should win big as they wear down Auburn as the game goes on. Lay the points. 10* GEORGIA

Afternoon Annihilation – Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach CFB Rotation #125 Saturday 8* OVER the total in SMU Mustangs vs Memphis Tigers @ 3:30 ET – Yes this is a huge total posted on this game but these teams combined to eclipse the century mark in points when they met last season! Also, the set up is ideal here for a very high-scoring rematch as well. Memphis will be playing for the first time in 4 weeks due to Covid-19. The Tigers are ultra-talented though and their offense will have no problem moving the ball against a weak SMU defense. However, the Mustangs strength is also on offense and the Memphis defense could be particularly susceptible to big plays after the long layoff between games and a lot of missed practice time. Each of these teams averaged 40+ points on offense last season. The Mustangs week 1 game stayed under the total but they combined with Texas State to put up a ton of yardage and the game should have gone over the total. They made up for it in their next, and only other game, against an FBS school so far this season as their 65-35 win over North Texas reached the century mark in points. Both teams have very talented QB’s and a bevy of wide receiver talent to open up the passing games full tilt. The running game of Memphis took a hit with Gainwell opting out but that just means more and more passing here which, of course, helps the cause in terms of seeking an over. Look for each team to be content to turn this one into a track meet as they each march up and down the field for quick scoring drives. Weather conditions also are forecast to be ideal here for an over. 8* OVER the total in SMU

Earliest Cash – Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach CFB Rotation #118 Saturday 8* West Virginia Mountaineers (+) vs Baylor Bears @ Noon ET – This is a tough spot for Baylor. They are playing just their 2nd game of the season and first road game. They have a first year head coach and missed a lot of valuable time when spring practice schedules were disrupted by the pandemic. Yes, the Bears did roll to a big win on the scoreboard in their first game but that was against a bad Kansas team. Also, Baylor only outgained the Jayhawks by 24 yards so the huge margin of victory was quite deceiving. Neal Brown is in his 2nd year as head coach of the Mountaineers. This is a West Virginia team that returns quite a lot of experience from last year’s team and will be extra motivated to bounce back at home this week after losing their Big 12 opener by a two TD margin at Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers have revenge on their minds here as they lost at Baylor last season. I like the defense of West Virginia and they also returned 8 starters on offense (including QB Doege) this season. Look for the home team to improve to 6-3 ATS in the last 9 meetings between these Big 12 foes. The more experienced team and in their 2nd year under their head coach’s new systems, etc compared to a Baylor team that will have some early season growing pains under 1st year head coach Aranda. Grab the value here with the small home dog. 8* WEST VIRGINIA

Thursday Thrasher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #101 Thursday 10* Top Play Denver Broncos (+) @ New York Jets @ 8:20 ET - Do you think the odds makers didn't know about the QB situation for the Broncos? Or that they were clueless about everything when they set this line in the -2 or -2.5 range on Denver? In fact, a few days ago this line had the Broncos favored by 3 points and then now they are a 2-point underdog? Long-time followers know how I feel about line moves like this and I'll absolutely grab the value here with the Broncos after a 5-point line swing! The fact is both these teams have injuries on both sides of the ball and it is an ugly match-up as each team is 0-3 to start the season. Of course many will argue that the Jets have the home field edge but, again, the odds makers knew where this game was being played when they made the line! I expect QB Rypien to have a solid start for the Broncos against a bad Jets defense. The fact he got some work in the last game and threw a pick on his final pass (after 8 straight completions) is actually a good thing. If he gone 9 for 9 with a TD pass he might have lost focus here. That interception, which did not cost the Broncos the game by the way, was actually the best thing that could have happened to him. Watch this Denver team come into East Rutherford fully focused on both sides of the ball and get their first win of the season. Keep in mind, the Jets haven't even been close this season. New York has lost all 3 games by a double digit margin and their average margin of defeat is 19 points. The Broncos lost last week was their first ugly one. They lost their first two games by a COMBINED 7 points. Both teams have struggled early this season as their 0-3 records indicate BUT the Broncos have been the more competitive team and we'll see that again in this one. I'll gladly take the points here. 10* DENVER

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #490 Monday 10* Top Play Baltimore Ravens (-) vs Kansas City Chiefs @ 8:15 ET - Two very strong teams but the Ravens have won 14 regular season games in a row SU and are at home for this game and have revenge from last year's loss at Kansas City and have the much better defense in this match-up. Indeed, even though the Chiefs have not allowed a lot of points this season their defense statistically (based on yardage allowed) comes into this week ranked poorly. The Ravens defense comes into this week ranked as one of the best in the NFL and that was the case last season as well. By the way, Chiefs ranked in middle of pack defensively last year. KC wins games with their offense and, also, their defense is known to not travel as well. The Chiefs D is known for being tougher when at home. That said, I really like the Ravens in this key early season match-up and possible AFC Championship preview. The better D, the home field, the revenge factor, and Baltimore is on an 11-1 ATS run. The Ravens have quite a solid offense as well even though the Chiefs get more of the hype. That said, we'll fade the hype and lay the small number to have a highly motivated small home favorite in this one. This is a statement game for the home team against the defending Super Bowl champs. 10* BALTIMORE

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #488 Sunday 8* New Orleans Saints (-) vs Green Bay Packers @ 8:20 ET - I know these teams had identical 13-3 records last season but didn't it seem like almost every break imaginable went the Packers way last year? That type of "magic" is, of course, unlikely to be repeated again this year and, in fact, things usually play out in opposite fashion after a year like that. I know Green Bay is already 2-0 this season but they beat a Vikings team that has some major issues (how about that performance, coming off a loss, against the Colts last week?) and the Packers other win was against a bad Lions team. The Saints won in week 1 against a Bucs team many feel has a great shot at a super bowl run with Brady now at QB. Now off a loss in week 2 against a Raiders team that felt like it had to lift the city of Las Vegas onto its shoulders as it opened up the new stadium Monday night, look for New Orleans to respond off defeat. The Saints were on a 12-3 ATS run prior to the loss to the Raiders. Also, I like the fact this line was a -6 when it opened and it has crashed all the way down to a -3. I am aware of the injury situations for both teams and this line move is simply not justified in my opinion. Saints at home and off a loss and taking on a Packers team that hasn't been truly tested yet this season. I like this set-up a ton and will lay the short number. 8* NEW ORLEANS

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #484 Sunday 10* Top Play Denver Broncos (+) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 4:25 ET - This line has shot up from a 3.5 to as high as a 6.5 and, of course, that is mostly based on Broncos QB Lock being out for this one. However, Driskell actually played quite well in relief of Lock and that was against a tough Steelers defense. Now he takes on a Bucs team that was one of the worst teams in the league last year against the pass. Also, I am not sold just yet on Tampa Bay. They have all this hype now because of Tom Brady at QB but last time I checked this is still a team that didn't have a winning record last season. Now they are on the road against a Broncos team that finished up last season on a red hot streak in home games. I know they are 0-2 this season but Denver played a pair of tough teams and lost the games by a combined total of just 7 points. Look for the Broncos to be in this game all the way. Denver has a respectable defense and, even without a stadium full of fans the Broncos have an extra home field edge do the elevation there. That is something visitors are not as use to. That is part of the reason the Broncos have failed to cover only TWICE the last DOZEN times they have been a home dog. The Buccaneers were helped by 4 Carolina turnovers last week and they lost their opening game (and only road game) to the Saints thus far. I feel this TB team is way over-rated and an outright upset here would not surprise me which is why I am elevating this play (at plus the points) to my highest level. 10* DENVER

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #474 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Cincinnati Bengals @ 1 ET - Third time will be the charm for the Eagles (and for me). I would not be touching this game if the line had moved 2.5 points the other way but the way this line moved we have strong value with the home favorite in this one. The Eagles opened as high as 6.5 in many books. If the line had gone to a -9 then of course I am not touching them. But the line went the other way to a -4 and the Eagles are a in a great situation here at home and off a home loss. Yes each team is 0-2 to the start the season and I understand Bengals QB Joe Burrow has looked good thus far. But are people forgetting Cincinnati went 2-14 last season while Philadelphia won 4 straight games to close the season out with a winning record and a playoff berth? These teams have not changed that much that they are now essentially equal! Keep in mind teams are normally assessed about 3 points for their home field edge. I know the home field edge is different early this season because of the whole covid-19 situation but the betting markets pushing this line to a 4 are very close to saying the Bengals and Eagles line would be almost a pick'em on a neutral field. I certainly don't see it that way. Philly is angry and has 3 turnovers in each of their first two games. Cincinnati played teams that went a combined 11-21 last season. I know the Eagles also matched up with a weak team (Washington) in game one but they gave that game away after amassing a 17-0 lead. Last week they played a tough Rams team that still has plenty of talent. I think the markets are all wrong with their current assessment of these teams and the Eagles offer great line value at this low number. The Eagles are healthier on the offensive line and defensive line than they've been in their other games early this season and they will win the wars in the trenches in this one. This is a VERY angry and proud team that will show up at home for this one and I see them winning by at least a full TD. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #454 Saturday 10* Top Play Virginia Tech Hokies (-) vs NC State Wolfpack @ 8 ET - This line was as high as a 10.5 earlier this week and now fell to as low as a -6. The fact it is below the key number of 7 as of early game day morning is leading to excellent line value in this match-up. I know NC State has an advantage in terms of having a game under their belt but they just allowed 42 points to Wake Forest. The Wolfpack hung on for the 3-point win but certainly were not overly impressive on the defensive side of the ball as the Demon Deacons piled up 32 first downs in that game. Now they take on a Virginia Tech team that returns nearly the entire defense from last season. The Hokies are undervalued here because some expect them to struggle in their first game without defensive coordinator Bud Foster. I definitely do not see it that way and I also like the fact that a lot of players got valuable experience last season by being "thrown into the fire". Enduring those growing pains last season has the Hokies positioned well for success this season. Justin Fuente is a solid coach and this is the best-looking roster he has had since the 2016 season and Virginia Tech won the ACC Coastal Division that season. History is certainly on the side of the Hokies as they have won 4 straight meetings with NC State and each of the last 3 were double digit wins. Virginia Tech can't wait to get back on the field as they were 8-3 last season before losing their season finale to Virginia and then the Hokies also lost their bowl game. They have waited a long time to again taste victory and they'll be ready here. As for the Wolfpack, they had actually lost 6 straight games to close out last season and barely hung on for 3-point win last week. NC State won't be so fortunate this week as they drop to 1-7 SU their last 8 games. Hokies roll to double digit win. 10* VIRGINIA TECH

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #451 Saturday 8* Texas State Bobcats (+) @ Boston College Eagles @ 6 ET - The Eagles are off a win at Duke but, though they won that game by 20 points, the yardage stats were nearly equal. That is helping to give some value with this line and, from a situational standpoint, I feel we have tremendous value here. The Bobcats are already rounding into mid-season form. Yes, it may be early in the season for many teams but this will be the 4th game already for Texas State. After two tight losses to open up the season, the Bobcats got a huge confidence boost with a road win at UL-Monroe last week. Keep in mind, Texas State lost the game prior to that in double-OT and then their season-opening win was an impressive hard-fought loss by a single possession to a solid SMU team. The Bobcats have a respectable offense with two QB's equally capable of leading the team to big points. With Boston College off an ACC win and having another big ACC game versus North Carolina on deck, I just can't see the Eagles being fully focused here. The Bobcats are in their 2nd year under head coach Jake Spavital and they already look much better in the 2nd year of his systems. Look for them to play the role of "scrappy underdog" in this one and, as a result, it will be tough for the Eagles to build up much of a margin in this one. 8* TEXAS STATE

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #416 Saturday 8* Oklahoma State Cowboys (-) vs West Virginia Mountaineers @ 3:30 ET - Never over-react to just one game but that is exactly what the betting markets have done in this case. A line that was nearly a 10 has dropped to under the key number of 7 and I won't hesitate to get involved here. Yes, I am aware of the Cowboys QB injury situation but they have options at the position as they proved in surviving a scare from Tulsa last week. That tight win over the Golden Hurricane is helping to give us line value this week because it was unimpressive. However, it was still a win and OSU allowed just 7 points in the game. I know West Virginia is off a bye and they won their first game of the season 56-10 but they played an FCS school, Eastern Kentucky, who has now lost their first two games by a combined score of 115-10. No the Colonels didn't play Alabama in their first game, they played Marshall and lost 59-0 to the Thundering Herd. The point is that Eastern Kentucky is not a good barometer for an FBS team to test themselves against. The Mountaineers take a big step up in level of competition this week in this Big-12 match-up and Oklahoma State is 5-0 SU/ATS in the last 5 meetings between these teams. The Cowboys, of course, are not happy with their performance in last week's win over Tulsa and will be much better this week as they roll to a big home win. 8* OKLAHOMA STATE

Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach CFB Rotation #455 Friday 10* Top Play Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (+) @ UTSA Roadrunners @ 8 ET – Why would the odds makers open up UTSA as a favorite of slightly less than a TD against a Middle Tennessee State team that has been blasted by a combined score of 89 to 14 in their first two games? Precisely! That -6.5 on the Roadrunners looked quite enticing and sure enough the early action has been on UTSA and has driven the line up to the key number of 7 which makes this an easy choice for me. I am happy to grab the +7 with a hungry underdog that takes a step down in level of competition here against a team that is a bit over-valued right now. First off the Roadrunners are 2-0 but faced an FCS team, Stephen F Austin, last week and a Texas State team that is annually a bad team and coming off a 3-9 season last year. The Roadrunners are on an 8-16 ATS run as a home favorite. Also, these teams have met twice in recent years and the road team won each game. Also, UTSA was originally scheduled to face Memphis but then the Tigers covid-19 situation changed all that so now bring in MTSU. This is a match-up the Runners may think they want but I have a strong feeling this will be upset city. The Blue Raiders are not a great team but they are certainly much better than the performances they have shown against Army and Troy. The key is that MTSU, in my opinion, is the best team that UTSA will have faced so far this season while the Roadrunners are the weakest team the Blue Raiders have faced this season. Don’t let the records fool you here. Great situation for an angry underdog playing with a chip on its shoulder in this one. 10* MIDDLE TENNESSEE 

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #301 Thursday 10* Top Play Miami Dolphins (+) @ Jacksonville Jaguars @ 8:20 ET - The first lines on this one were as low as a "pick'em". Keep in mind this is a match-up of teams featuring an 0-2 Dolphins team and a 1-1 Jaguars team that did win their only home game. In other words, it is "too easy" right? Just take the home team to win and, of course, that is what everyone is doing as the line has been driven up to a -3 on Jacksonville as of early gameday morning. In typical contrarian fashion I am on the other side of the line move. Dolphins hungry for that first win of that season and wrapped up last season on a 3-2 ATS run their last 5 road games. Their first road game this season was at New England and they failed to cover. However, though the Jaguars might be improving some they are not the Patriots! Also, the Jags are now 3-7 SU their last 10 games overall. I'll grab the points here. 10* MIAMI

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #417 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in South Alabama Jaguars vs UAB Blazers @ 7:30 PM ET - Neither one of these teams was known for their offense last season and I am aware of the Blazers injury situation at QB. However, this total has dropped from a 51 to a 47 and I like the value with the over here. The Jaguars came into this season knowing they must score more points after disappointing offensive production last season. They have already done just that as they were a double digit underdog in each of their first two games and yet they have averaged 28 points per game thus far on the season. Now they are at home and should score just fine but will struggle to stop a very experienced UAB team. Keep in mind, South Alabama was not a very good team on defense last season and the Blazers have the talent on offense to take advantage. UAB struggled, of course, against a talented ACC defense (Miami) two weeks ago. However, in their season opener the Blazers scored 45 points. Even with the back-up quarterback, they'll again move the ball just fine in this one too. The result? Plenty of points! 10* OVER the total in South Alabama

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #289 Monday 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (-) @ Las Vegas Raiders @ 8:15 ET - Interesting that the Raiders barely beat the Panthers last week and the Saints were quite dominant against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers and then when you look at yesterday's results. Tampa Bay really "took it" to Carolina yesterday. You can see where I am going with this. I just feel that the Saints are the much better team than the Raiders and that this is especially true at this early stage of the season. New Orleans was better defensively last week and last season in comparison with the Raiders. I know this is the first game in the new stadium here in Las Vegas where I live but it is not the same atmosphere that it would have been had fans been allowed to attend. That said, it is not a huge home field edge really and with the Saints having opened up at nearly a full 7 point favorite and now being available at -5.5 I won't hesitate to step in. The Raiders, though off a win in Week 1, wrapped up last season on a 1-6 run. Also, 6 of their 9 losses last seen came by a margin of 18 or more points! The Saints are off a 13-3 season but very hungry after getting bounced in their first game of the post-season last year. In other words, this is a team on a mission and I don't see them losing a game like this. Not at this early stage of the season at least and based on the Raiders penchant for blowout losses I am comfortable laying the -5.5 here. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #288 Sunday 8* Seattle Seahawks (-) vs New England Patriots @ 8:20 ET - This is a contrarian play. But being a contrarian is perhaps most important in the NFL over any other sport in the league. Everyone is enamored with the Patriots here because they are an underdog which is so rare with a Bill Belichick team. Well this New England team has problems. Yes they beat the Dolphins at home in Week 1 but who wouldn't beat the Dolphins at home in Week 1? Now Cam "full of himself" Newton is going to visit Seattle and get crushed by a Seahawks defense that honestly got caught looking ahead to this game and were fortunate to get past the Falcons last week. Oftentimes when team lookahead they lose but Russell Wilson completed a ridiculous 31 of 35 passes and wouldn't allow that to happen as they escaped defeat at Atlanta. Over 300 yards passing and 4 touchdowns for Wilson as he led them to victory. Now a Patriots defense that lost a couple of key players to the Lions over the off-season is going to try and stop Wilson and company on the road. It won't happen. What will happen is that the Seahawks defense plays much better at home than they did on the road. This is the norm for Seattle. The Seahawks had a rough year defensively last year and are anxious to make up for that here and will be fired up for their home opener and a Sunday night game. Seattle has gone 13-4 ATS its last 17 home openers. The Patriots are just 5-5 (including playoffs) since their 8-0 start to last season. Also, Brady now plays in Tampa Bay in case you haven't heard. In all seriousness though, the oddsmakers set the opening line on this one at Seahawks -3.5 for a reason and I look for a home win by double digits in this one as the much-weakened Patriots get exposed in their first true test after the Tom Brady era. 8* SEATTLE

Total of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #281 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Cardinals vs Washington @ 4:05 ET - These were two of the worst defensive units in the NFL last season. These two teams are both off upset wins in Week 1. Historically I have done well taking overs when a team is off an upset win. This is particularly true when that upset win was in a divisional game. That is the case for both teams here. What happens here is that, even if it is on a subconscious level, teams tend to lose a little bit of their defensive intensity when off an upset win of a division rival. Keep in mind this week now features a non-divisional match-up. At the same time, coming off a win, the offensive units feel like they can "get it done" and "whatever it takes" to win. They have that confidence of having won the week before and the Cardinals certainly have plenty of playmakers on offense and an offensive-minded head coach. However, this is a team whose defense has been sorely lacking and now they face a Washington offense that has some confidence after rallying from a 17-0 deficit to win 27-17 last week versus the Eagles. The result will be plenty of points in this one and I also like the fact that no many are paying attention to this total. This O/U has stayed in the same spot since it opened and I like games that off the radar a bit as we tend to get even more value in spots like that. Lets take advantage again here using a system that has worked very well for me through the years in the NFL. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #262 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles Money Line (-) vs Los Angeles Rams @ 1 ET - Right away when this line opened up with Philly -3.5 I knew what was going to happen. That was an open invitation to take the Rams and of course that is what happened. The bets flowed in on Los Angeles and drove this line into the pick'em range. Of course the reason for that is bettors have a short memory span. They remember what they just saw and, of course, everyone saw the Eagles blow a 17 point lead at Washington to lose to a lousy football team while then later watching the Rams beat "America's Team" on national television. Never put too much weight into one week's results. Also, the Eagles will have Lane Johnson back for the offensive line this week plus their starting RB Miles Sanders too. Those are two very key pieces and will help rectify the fact that QB Carson Wentz had no chance in Week 1. He was sacked 8 times and threw 2 picks and also lost a fumble. The Eagles will be better able to establish the ground game this week which will open up the passing game which will also feature better pass protection based on healthier bodies. The Rams are a good team for sure but they are coming off a home win while the Eagles are off a road loss. Now LA is all the way on the East Coast for a game that starts at 10 AM on their body clocks and they're facing an angry Eagles team. Philadelphia won each of its last 4 regular season games last season and also 4 of their last 6 home games in regular season action. Back home and off a disappointing road loss and catching the Rams off an upset win, situations don't get much better than this. With the line having settled back into the -1.5 range on this one, the best value in my opinion is to utilize the low price on the money line. 8* PHILADELPHIA money line (-120 range)

Total of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #135 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs Troy Trojans @ 3:30 ET - The Blue Raiders are off an embarrassing 42-0 loss at Army. However, the Black Knights might have a little something going up there at West Point! They have won their first two games by a combined score of 79-7. Middle Tennessee is well-coached and will respond in a huge way at home. The weather is going to be perfect in Murfreesboro this afternoon as well. The reason I am not backing the Blue Raiders here is because even though I expect their offense to respond huge here, I don't trust their defense and they are hosting a tough Troy team. The Trojans, just like MTSU, can put up points in a hurry but struggle on defense. Troy averaged 34 points a game last season but allowed 35 points per game and the Trojans were particularly bad against the pass. That plays right into the hands of a Middle Tennessee offense which is led by dual-threat QB Asher O'Hara. Coming off that ugly effort at Army two weeks ago, the Blue Raiders will look like a different team against the Trojans defense. However, the issue for MTSU is their defense is a major question mark again this season and they really struggled against the pass last season and that is forecast to continue this season as well. Two very bad pass defenses, two dangerous passing attacks, and beautiful autumn afternoon weather with light winds...the set up is deal for this game to get into the 70s and possibly even 80s when all is said and done. 10* OVER the total in Middle Tennessee

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #134 Saturday 8* Tulane Green Wave (-) vs Navy Midshipmen @ Noon ET - The situation at Navy is a mess. It is about more than just the embarrassing 55-3 loss to BYU to open the season (by the way, that was a HOME game for the Midshipmen). The fact is that Navy's offensive line lost key players from last season and, for an option team, the blocking patterns of your offensive line and how they function together are critical. Already without their star QB from last season, now the next guy up (Perry Olsen) has indicated he is transferring out of the program. The QB position is critical for any football team of course but especially for one running the triple option like the Midshipmen do. That said, the offense is a mess and lets not forget the defense got thrashed by the Cougars in their season opener. As for Tulane, yes they are off a non-covering win but they rallied to get it and that was on the road. After playing much better in the 2nd half than the 1st they have some momentum here. Speaking of rallies, the Green Wave rallied multiple times after digging a 24-0 hole at Navy last season but ultimately lost the game on a late field goal. Tulane has revenge here as a result and now they are at home for this one. I liked the way the Green Wave defense responded after a poor 1st half on the road in their season opener. Additionally, their offense got a little more comfortable as the game went on and this is a unit that averaged 33 points per game last season. With Navy's offense a mess right now, the Midshipmen won't be able to keep up in this one as it turns into a home blowout. Like the line move from an opener of 8 down to as low as a 6 for this one. 8* TULANE

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #101 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals @ 8:20 ET - Both teams games stayed under the total in Week One but yet this total opened up as high as a 46. Not surprisingly, the total has since dropped by about a field goal. In typical contrarian fashion, I am on the other side of the line move and taking advantage of the added value. Of course being on the other side it is not without reasoning of course. For one thing, even though the Browns scored only 6 points in Week One, they faced a very tough Ravens defense. Also, Cleveland had 20 first downs in that game so they were able to "move the chains" decently but were done in by 3 turnovers and a lack of execution at key times. The Browns will undoubtedly be able to execute a little better against a Bengals defense which ranked dead last against the run last season and was one of the worst defenses in the league overall based on yardage and scoring. The Browns defense wasn't a whole lot better as they were #30 against the run last season and also ranked 20th or worse in the categories of overall defense based on yardage and scoring. Cleveland got Hunt and Chubb going on the ground in Week One and Cincinnati got solid yardage on the ground from Mixon plus from QB Burrow. Establishing the ground game can open things up for the aerial attack and both Burrow and Browns QB Mayfield should have stronger games this week. I know the Bengals game totaled just 35 points last week but Cincinnati and the Chargers both had wasted scoring opportunities and also settled for field goals instead of touchdowns. All of this has led to line value with this total this week and I won't hesitate to step in on this one. Both teams will "open up the playbooks on offense" a little more after a conservative Week One efforts that were practically like preseason games for teams to try and work out the kinks after a strange off-season. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland 

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #479 Monday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (-) @ New York Giants @ 7:15 ET - Continuity matters in a season like this that is being played without a normal off-season to say the least. Not only that, no pre-season either. That said, can a situation be any worse than that of the Giants. They brought in a new head coach, new offensive coordinator, and new defensive coordinator. New York begins the season by taking on a Steelers team that gets a big boost with the return of QB Ben Roethlisberger under center. The Pittsburgh offense stumbled badly in 2019 without him but were solid in 2018 with him. As for the Giants, a number of concerns along the offensive line and I expect the Steelers to dominate this game in the trenches. New York will struggle to establish the run as a result and this will turn Giants QB Jones into a sitting duck for the Steelers blitz-heavy packages. This one can (and should) get ugly and I am laying the points with the road team. Yes it may seem a bit much but it is justified. In fact, the Giants are on a 1-10 ATS run as home dogs! Also, the Steelers are on a 6-2 ATS run against NFC opponents and New York has failed to cover eight straight home openers! This one turns into a road rout. 10* PITTSBURGH

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #478 Sunday 8* Los Angeles Rams (+) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 8:20 ET - Speaking of hype machines, there tends to no team getting more positive press coming into each season then America's Team. This season is no different and the Cowboys once again are penned by many as a team to beat this season. I know they now have McCarthy at coach but I think it is an organizational issue in Dallas that trickles down from the top level down through the staff and players and the results are not pretty. So now this Cowboys team that lost 5 of its last 7 road games is favored on the road against a Rams team playing with a chip on its shoulder after a disappointing 2019. I am not done yet. Dallas had 3 road wins last season and they came against teams with the following "impressive" records: 4-12, 3-12-1, 3-13. Super Bowl contenders, eh? Dallas first needs to prove they can win a road game against a decent football team! They never did it last season and I challenge them to do it right away here in Week 1 against a Rams team that has revenge from a 44-21 loss at Dallas last season. What happened in that game? LA was off back to back divisional wins and had just beaten Seattle 28-12 plus had another divisional game on deck at San Francisco. Scheduling situations don't get much worse than that. In other words don't let last season's result between these teams fool you. Rams are fully focused here and that is bad news for an overly hyped Cowboys team that can't beat a good team on the road to save their life. I'll gladly grab the home dog here. 8* LOS ANGELES RAMS

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #476 Sunday 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (-) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 4:25 ET - Remember all the hype last season about the Browns? Then Cleveland began the season with a 43-13 loss in their season opener on their way to a 2-6 start. The Browns also lost their final 3 games of the season to finish 6-10 for the year. Now certainly I am not saying the Bucs are down so low that they are on the same level as Cleveland. But what I am saying is sometimes playing against the "hype machine" is one of the best things you can do. TB is so over-rated right now in my opinion because of Brady and Gronkowski. Let me remind some people of some facts about this Buccaneers team. Tampa Bay is off a losing season, ranked 24th in the NFL for rushing yardage, near the bottom of the NFL in both punt returns and kick returns, 30th in the NFL for pass defense and 29th in the NFL for scoring defense. Now they are very small 3.5 point dogs ON THE ROAD against a Super Bowl contender coming off a 13-3 season and very hungry after losing their playoff game in overtime. The Saints have covered 11 of their last 14 games overall and this line was up closer to 6 and now is down near a field goal. That is big time value especially when you consider that Tampa Bay has covered just 3 of its last dozen games. I really enjoy watching over-hyped teams get blasted and am confident that we will see exactly that right here. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #463 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (-) @ Washington @ 1 ET - Hungry football team here with the Eagles off the disappointing playoff loss. So here you have a playoff-caliber team taking on a Washington team that doesn't even know what its name is. Washington also is having off-field issues relating to its front office and truly this is an organization that I have pegged as the worst team in the NFC. Washington is on a 1-7 ATS run in their last 8 home openers and the Eagles are confident when facing this team. Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings and this line (currently 5.5 and having dropped from opening at -7) offers great line value. The Eagles average margin of victory in those 5 wins is 13 points per game. Philadelphia has covered 6 of its last 7 as a road favorite in divisional action. Washington, against NFC East foes, is on an ugly 4-15 ATS run. The much better team rolls to a double digit win here as they get rid of the bitter taste of last year's playoff defeat at the hands of the Seahawks. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #429 Saturday 10* Top Play Tulane Green Wave (-) @ South Alabama Jaguars @ 7:30 ET - Long time followers know I am a contrarian and so, of course, this match-up caught my eye. You have Tulane laying double digits on the road against a South Alabama team that just won outright at Southern Miss last week. Huge mistake by the odds makers, right? Long time followers also know how I feel about that! The fact is that the old expression "on any given Sunday" that is talked about in NFL is also true in College Football. It is the "anything can happen" that happened for the Jaguars against the Golden Eagles but this is still a South Alabama team with a lot of issues and that went just 5-19 the past two seasons combined. As for Tulane, they crushed that same Southern Miss team in their bowl game last year to cap off a winning season. The Green Wave are a much better team than they used to be and have some true game-breakers at the RB position. I look for Tulane to run all over the Jaguars in this one. South Alabama still not use to facing the option attack and are not a very good team defensively. They allowed over 300 yards rushing last season against Georgia Southern (option team) and the Green Wave variation will prove even tougher to stop. Also, the Jags QB did throw two picks last week and was seen limping off the field late in the game. I know he is "good to go" here from what I am hearing but neither one of those things is a good sign and I just can't see South Alabama stopping this Green Wave offense and, therefore, it turns into a road rout. 10* TULANE 

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #421 Saturday 8* OVER the total in Texas State Bobcats vs UTSA Roadrunners @ 3:30 ET - Perfect weather expected in central Texas today with warm temperatures and light winds. That means no limits for either offense in this one and that is the strength of each team while the defense is a weakness for each team. The Bobcats game versus SMU last week stayed under the total but the teams combined for nearly a thousand yards of offense. The fact it stayed under the total simply helps to give us more line value this week because this total could easily be into the 60s. Texas State allowed over 500 yards last week and have an offensive-minded head coach. The Roadrunners defense returns very few starters and was also a weakness last season. UTSA has 8 starters back on offense however and a good QB competition that is enjoying an added infusion of talent. So, while this total may look too big to many, in typical contrarian fashion I am going with the over. Yes these were two of the lowest scoring teams in the nation last season but both return much more on offense than they do on defense. Also, new head coach Jeff Taylor is going to an up-tempo approach on offense this season while the Bobcats already showed (against the Mustangs) that they will be improved in their 2nd year under their new head coach. 8* OVER the total in Texas State

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #452 Thursday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs Houston Texans @ 8:20 ET - Continuity is always very important in the NFL from year to year. It helps a team get a season off to a good start. There has probably never been a year that it has been more important then 2020! With all the issues relating to the pandemic this year it has certainly been an unusual off season, training camp, etc. That said, I give a big edge to the Chiefs here and am happy to grab the line value here as well. This line was in the 10.5 range when it opened but has now dropped to as low as a -9 as of early game day morning. I'll grab the value and lay the points here. Keep in mind, the Texans made some changes at the skill positions of RB and WR. How quickly will everyone "click" and "mesh" and this could be even more problematic when you are on the road and playing in the rain (which is expected throughout the game at Arrowhead tonight). Also, how confident can the Texans be here. They had a 24-0 lead in the post-season game and inexplicably got outscored by a 44 point margin the rest of the way. Yes, JJ Watt is back for this game but he can't play defense all by himself for Houston. I also don't necessarily agree with whom they have at defensive coordinator now either. 40 year old Anthony Weaver will be the one play-calling here and trying to stop Patrick Mahomes and company. What a way to start your career as a DC for the first time! In any event I know Romeo Crennel, former DC, is still on the staff as assistant head coach but he couldn't figure out how to stop the Chiefs either! I just don't see the Texans as being able to get enough stops here to stay within single digits here and don't be surprised if their offense has some miscues early considering some of their personnel changes. 10* KANSAS CITY

Thursday Thrasher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #393 Thursday 10* Top Play UAB Blazers (+) @ Miami Hurricanes @ 8 ET - The Blazers already played last week and they defeated Central Arkansas. The fact they gave up a lot of points in the 45 to 35 win is deceiving. Just look at the yardage stats for the real story as Central Arkansas certainly didn't do much. Now, this week of course it is a major step up in class for UAB as they travel to Miami. However, this line is much different too as a result and the Hurricanes are over-priced in my opinion. The last two times the Blazers faced teams from Power 5 conferences they lost badly both times but the yardage starts told a different story. That is similar to the value we're seeing because of last week's "unimpressive win" for UAB. The point is that value gets baked into the lines as a result and especially after the markets start pushing them around. With this one now climbing up to as high as a 14.5 as of gameday morning, it is go time for me. The Blazers have a lot of talent and a lot of returning seniors still hungry to put last season's disappointing ending to the season behind them. Remember they lost in the CUSA Championship game plus lost their bowl game. The Hurricanes probably do find a way to win this game but they are working in a transfer QB (King) and could be a little overconfident too as they take on a team from Conference USA. Also, the game under the belt edge is one that should not be ignored. Give me the big points. 10* UAB

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #243 Monday 10* Top Play BYU Cougars (-) @ Navy Midshipmen @ 8 ET - This line is right around a pick'em so the first thing I want to mention is that if you can not get BYU at plus points then I would recommend playing the money line with Cougars rather than laying points. Of course line movement could impact that decision but just keep that in mind when you go make this wager. Many saw Army, another option team, blast Middle Tennessee on Saturday afternoon and are likely siding with Navy here under the same angle that a defense will struggle badly against the option attack. However, there are some key factors here that have me thinking contrarian to that. One is that, unlike the Blue Raiders, BYU has a strong defense and they return the majority of their top tacklers from last season's defense. Another factor here is that Navy lost their QB from last season and he was truly a special performer, a true star for the program, and is a key loss. Overall, when you look at returning personnel from last season, it is a huge edge for the Cougars in this one in terms of experience level on the roster compared to that of the Midshipmen. Additionally, even though this game is being played at Navy the Midshipmen won't have the usual crowd edge and plus it is a night game so it is no problem for the body clocks of BYU coming from out west. Sometimes when a team like the Cougars has an early game (Noon ET) back east those types of situations can be a problem. Again, no issue with that here and Brigham Young's offense battled a lot of injuries last season but look for the now much healthier unit to surprise some people with how successful it will be early this season. 10* BYU

Super Bowl Slaughter - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #101 San Francisco 49ers (-) vs Kansas City Chiefs @ 6:30 ET Sunday - The Chiefs have won and covered 8 games in a row. However, Kansas City has allowed an average of 25.3 points their last 3 games. The 49ers, conversely, have allowed an average of just 17 points their last 3 games. KC can be run on and San Francisco can and will emphasize the ground game here. That will help limit QB Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs scoring opportunities in this game as the Niners can use their ground game to control the tempo a bit in this game. The 49ers outrushed KC by over 100 yards in their meeting last season. San Francisco allowed 125 rushing yards in a recent game versus Seattle. However, in their other 4 recent games they have allowed an average of 61 rushing yards per game. Conversely the Chiefs have allowed 97 rushing yards per game their last 4 games. The Niners this season are 5-0 SU and ATS in their 5 games this season with lines ranging from -3 to +3. Can the Chiefs stay hot after scoring so many points in consecutive game? History says no. Kansas City is 4-9 ATS when they enter a game having scored 30 or more points in 3 straight games. The Niners have averaged running for 200 yards per game their past 3 games. San Francisco has scored an average of 32 points per game their last 6 games. The better defense and better ground game has me siding with the 49ers here. 10* SAN FRANCISCO

Total of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #312 Sunday 10* Top Play UNDER the total in San Francisco 49ers vs Green Bay Packers @ 6:40 ET - This total has moved from a 44.5 to a 46.5 and I like the extra value here in a game where the Packers know they need to run the ball and take pressure off QB Aaron Rodgers. This means running clock and that means keeping the 49ers offense off the field. Yes, San Francisco scored 37 points in the first meeting between these teams but they had only 339 yards of offense in that game. Speaking of low offensive numbers in that game, the 49ers allowed just 198 yards of total offense to Green Bay in that one. The Packers game last week versus Seattle snuck over the total but Green Bay entered that game on a run in which 7 of 8 games resulted in an under. The Packers D has allowed an average of just 16 points per game in its last 6 games. The 49ers D has allowed 21 points or less in 11 of 17 games this season. San Francisco's defense turned things up a notch in the 2nd half of last week's game and will carry that momentum right into this game. Dating back to the early nineties, there have been 7 times in which the Packers have played with revenge from a blowout loss of 28 or more points. The result in that situation? 0 overs and 7 unders! Look for that trend to hold true again on Sunday. The Niners have had 5 unders and 2 overs in their last 7 games against NFC North opponents. Both teams willing (and hoping) to grind out yardage on the ground in this one and the total has simply climbed too high considering the factors above as well as the fact each of these defenses rank in the top ten this season for points allowed. 10* UNDER the total in San Francisco

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #313 Sunday 10* Top Play Tennessee Titans (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 3:05 ET - One look at the box score tells you the Titans won with "smoke and mirrors" last week at Baltimore. However, this is as much a play against Kansas City as it is a play on Tennessee. More on that in a moment. First, more about the Titans. You can't discount how much momentum means to a football team and the fact is Tennessee is rolling with confidence right now. Why? Well a team that started the season 2-4 has now won 9 of 12. Also, the Titans are on the road for the 4th straight week but who cares? You think they are going to fall flat or get tired in a game in which they have a chance to go to the Super Bowl? Of course not. Plus Tennessee is 5-0 SU in their last 5 road games. Now, about going to the Super Bowl, lets talk about Kansas City and specifically Andy Reid. I have been in this business for two decades now. Long-time followers know my family roots are in Rickenbach, PA. Google it. Small town area about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia. In any event I follow the Eagles VERY closely. What does that have to do with this play? Andy Reid started coaching the Eagles two decades ago in 1999. I have closely followed his career every since. With BOTH the Eagles and with the Chiefs, the fact is he can not win the big game. He has had 6 chances in a Conference Championship Game and won just once! That was the lone season he took Philadelphia to the Super Bowl in 2004 and they lost to the Patriots. So he is 1-6 SU in the Biggest Games of his career and yet here his KC team is laying 7.5 points to a Titans team that seems to be a team of destiny this season. As bad as Tennessee was statistically last week against the Ravens, they did run the ball very well and they will pound the Chiefs on the ground in this game too. While Kansas City has given plenty of bulletin board material to the Titans defense for this game as their receivers are so good nobody can cover them according to the Chiefs. The Titans have allowed just 15.4 points per game in their last 5 road games. The Chiefs have allowed 21 points or more in 6 of 9 home games this season. KC may find a way to pull this game out but, if they do, I expect it to be by 3 or 4 points (and 7 at the most). With 7 plus the hook available (as of Thursday evening), I am pulling the trigger right now on this one. 10* TENNESSEE

The Big One - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #283 Monday 10* Top Play Clemson Tigers (+) vs LSU Tigers @ 8 PM ET in National Championship @ Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA - I have plenty of respect for both of these teams of course but this is simply too many points for LSU to be laying in a game that Clemson certainly has a great shot at winning outright. First off, about the points, Clemson's win over Ohio State to get here was the FIRST TIME this season that they allowed more than 20 points in a game and yet they still allowed only 23 in that game. In their first 12 games this season, Clemson allowed 14 points or less in 11 of the 12 games! To put that in proper perspective lets compare that to their opponent here. LSU has allowed 37 points or more 4 times this season and also allowed 28 points in 2 other games. That means that in nearly half their games this season LSU has allowed 28 points. Again, that is something the Clemson defense has not done a SINGLE time this season. Now I know LSU has a prolific offense but you can see why I like the defense-first dog in this match-up. The Clemson defense rates a bigger edge than the LSU offense rates when comparing these two teams. Why? Because the Clemson offense is very impressive too! They have averaged just a field goal less on offense while their defense has allowed 10 points less per game. In terms of the experience factor, I like that Clemson has been here so frequently in recent seasons. It definitely rates an edge for their program in that regard in this match-up. In terms of long-term trending here. When LSU enters a game on an ATS winning streak (as a favorite) of 3 or more games they have gone 3-8 ATS. As for Clemson, as a neutral field underdog of 3.5 to 7 points, they have gone 10-3 ATS. I expect an upset but will grab the points for extra insurance in case LSU squeaks out the SU win. 10* CLEMSON

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #308 Sunday 8* Green Bay Packers (-) vs Seattle Seahawks @ 6:40 ET - Seattle took advantage of a wounded Eagles team and even inflicted further injury upon them by knocking Carson Wentz out of the game in last week's playoff victory at Philadelphia. Whether playing dirty or not it was an ugly way for Seattle to win a game and they now face a much tougher test this week. The Seahawks face a Packers team that is much healthier than the Eagles were and that also is coming off a bye week. Keep in mind, Seattle had lost 3 of their last 4 games prior to knocking off a badly depleted Philadelphia team last week. Also, the Seahawks have been held to 17 points or less in 3 of their last 4 road games. The Packers, on the other hand, have scored 21 points or more in all 8 of their home games this season. Green Bay has averaged 25.6 points per game as a host this season and we've got a small line to work with here. Seattle is a long-term 4-8 ATS when off a game in which they allowed 14 or less points. Green Bay is 4-0 ATS when off a win by 3 or less points. The Packers are 5-0 ATS when off a non-covering win. 8* GREEN BAY

Playoff Game of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #306 Saturday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs Houston Texans @ 3:05 ET - The Texans were fortunate to rally back from a 13-0 deficit last week and eventually beat the Bills in overtime. However, Houston was fortunate that Buffalo made key mistakes that also played a role in the comeback plus the Texans were at home for that game. This is a much different situation this week. Now Houston is on the road and facing a Kansas City team which is off a bye week and also has won 6 straight games. The Chiefs are playing this game with revenge from a rare home loss to the Texans earlier this season but, revenge or not, Kansas City is destined for a blowout win here. KC has outscored the opponents by an average score of 28 to 11 during this 6-game winning streak. Their defense has been fantastic and the Texans have been at the other end of the spectrum in terms of how they finished up the season. Houston was again outgained in last week's playoff win over the Bills and the Texans have now been outgained in 6 of their past 8 games. The Texans haven't just been getting nipped in the stats department either. Houston was outgained by an average of nearly 100 yards per game in those 6 games. The Texans are 1-6 ATS this season when coming off an ATS cover. When the Chiefs are off back to back covers as a favorite they have gone 9-3 ATS including 3-1 ATS this season. The KC defense has held 3 of their last 4 opponents under 300 yards of offense. Also, the Houston defense has allowed 26.6 points per game in its last 8 games. There is simply no comparison in terms of the way these two defenses have been playing of late and the Chiefs also have the rest edge and home field edge. 10* KANSAS CITY

Playoff Total of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #303 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Ravens vs Tennessee Titans @ 8:15 ET - Of course the Titans would like to slow this game down by utilizing their ground game to keep the dangerous Ravens offense off the field. However, I don't see that happening here. I look for Baltimore to get a big lead and then, the only way for Tennessee to battle back will be by utilizing the aerial attack too. Prior to last week's under at New England, Titans games were on a 9-1 run to the over. Baltimore's defense has been great down the stretch run but I think one has to respect the huge point totals that Tennessee has been putting up over the latter half of this season as well. As for the Ravens offense, it is unquestionably among the most dangerous in the NFL. Considering those factors as well as the fact that unseasonably mild weather is taking hold on the east coast Saturday, this one should see points aplenty. Note that the Titans have scored at least 20 points in 11 straight games. The Ravens are favored by 10 here. You can see why I am expecting this game to get into the fifties given those numbers. The Ravens points scored ranks them #1 in the NFL this season. The over is 5-0 this season when Baltimore enters a game having won 2 of their last 3 games. The over is 9-5, including 4-2 this season, when the Ravens are off back to back games in which they have allowed 17 points or less. Big game for both offensive units in this one. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore 

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #301 Saturday 10* Top Play Minnesota Vikings (+) @ San Francisco 49ers @ 4:35 ET - That was a very strong Saints team which the Vikings defeated last week. Of course the 49ers have the rest edge here but I like what I have been seeing from this Minnesota team down the stretch run while the same can not be said for the 49ers. The Niners went 3-2 SU in their final 5 games of the season but all 3 wins came by 5 or less points. San Francisco is on a 1-3-1 ATS run in home games. The Vikings are 9-4 SU in their last 13 games and only 1 of the 4 losses came by more than 7 points. Both teams have solid defenses but San Francisco did give up 20 points or more in 8 of it last 9 games. The Vikings allowed 24 points or less in 14 of 17 games this season! Given those numbers, an outright upset here would not surprise and certainly value is on our side in having the full TD with the underdog. Long-term, San Francisco has covered just 5 of last 20 home games when they are a favorite. Look for that trend to continue here. 10* MINNESOTA

Bowl Total of the Year - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #279 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs Miami-Ohio RedHawks @ 6:30 ET in Mobile, AL @ Alabama Bowl - The RedHawks are a scrappy underdog but the only way their going to hang around in this game is to score some big points. Miami-Ohio, even with scoring well, is still likely to lose this game by a margin of at least two touchdowns and that is why I like the over in this one. The Ragin' Cajuns are a high-scoring machine. Louisiana has averaged nearly 40 points per game their last 7 games. Keep in mind this total is only in the mid-50s. Also, in their first 5 games this season the Ragin' Cajuns averaged nearly 45 points per game. The RedHawks played 8 games away from home this season and allowed an average of 36 points per game in those. Though Miami has a rather mediocre offense, they still managed to score an average of nearly 30 points per game over their final 4 games of the season. Both teams trended under in the latter half of the season but that is merely serving to give us line value in this spot as it keeping the total lower than it should be given the above long-term stats for these teams this season. The Ragin Cajuns had one strong game on defense away from home this season but, in their other 6 games away from Louisiana, they allowed an average of 30 points per game. If the RedHawks get into the 25 to 30 point range and the odds makers are correct about UL-Lafayette being at least 2 TDs better (which I feel they are), this game gets into the 60s or 70s before all is said and done. That said, huge value with this one. 10* OVER the total in Alabama Bowl

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #148 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (+) vs Seattle Seahawks @ 4:40 ET - The Eagles have that "feel" of a team of destiny again this year just like their magical run to the Super Bowl two years ago. Now, the fact is that once they run into one of the true powers in this season's loaded NFC they are likely to be in trouble. For example, a team like the Saints or the 49'ers. However, against the Seahawks and playing at home the Eagles absolutely should advance. Yes they are banged up at the wide receiver position but they are expected to have Ertz back at TE for this one plus they have a solid TE in Goedert as well. Plus at WR others have stepped up. That is why, even without Ertz, the Eagles Carson Wentz still threw for nearly 300 yards last week. Keep in mind this is a team without its top receivers. Wentz has done an incredible job and Miles Sanders and Boston Scott have been huge out of the backfield. Scott also caught 4 passes for 84 yards in the playoff-clinching win over the Giants last week. Now of course the Seahawks are a much better team than the Giants but to close the season the Eagles faced 4 straight must-win games (including a very talented Cowboys team) and all 4 were against divisional foes that wanted nothing more than to knock them off. Resilient Philly survived it all even with all the injuries on offense. I certainly respect the Seahawks offense but this is a team that lost 3 of its last 4 games plus Seattle allowed an average of 27 points per game over their final 5 games. Philadelphia, on the other hand allowed an average of only 13.3 points per game over their final 6 home games. The Eagles are very tough at home and when the Seahawks beat them here in Philly in November it was a deceiving final score. Philly had 9 more firstdowns than Seattle in that contest. The Seahawks were outgained by 371 yards over their last 4 games. The Eagles have outgained their opponents in 4 straight games by 339 yards. Philly continues to find a way to win games and I don't see Seattle winning again here. Its payback time and the Eagles are loaded with confidence right now and their defense doesn't get as much respect as it should. They're going to give Russell Wilson and company trouble in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #145 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New Orleans Saints vs Minnesota Vikings @ 1:05 ET - The Vikings offense will be strengthened by the fact that both running backs, Cook and Mattison, are healed up and ready to go here. Minnesota has averaged 31.7 points per game in their last 6 road games! The over is a perfect 5-0 in the Vikings last 5 road games! The over is 5-2 in the Saints last 7 games overall. New Orleans averaged 28.6 points per game this season. The Vikings defense is highly respected but this Saints offense generally operates at a level that is much higher than the rest of the league! New Orleans wrapped up the regular season by scoring 34 points or more in 6 of their last 7 games. The Saints allowed an average of 28 points per game in their final 4 home games of the season. Based on all of the above stats you can see why I would not be surprised to see either one of these teams, if not both, get into the 30 point range. That means great value here with this total in the upper 40s. Both games Saturday stayed under the total in the NFL post-season but this indoor game Sunday has all the makings of a shootout. New Orleans' Drew Brees is one of the best in the business. Vikings Kirk Cousins is out to prove all the doubters wrong in a big game. The over is 5-2 this season when Minnesota is off a home game. Also, the over is a long-term 5-1 when the Vikings are off consecutive home losses. The over is a long-term 6-1 when the Saints are off a blowout victory by a margin of 28 points or more over a division rival. 10* OVER the total in New Orleans

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #143 Saturday 10* Top Play Tennessee Titans (+) @ New England Patriots @ 8:15 ET - The Patriots are at home and laying a short number in the playoffs and, of course, have the incredible long-term numbers that coach Belichick and QB Brady have put together through their many years of making New England a dynasty. However, this team is nowhere close to being a dynasty anymore. The Eagles proved that when they beat the Pats in the 2018 Super Bowl and truly it was a miracle that New England won it all again in February of 2019. The run has ended however and this Patriots team is a shell of its former self and is having major troubles on offense. Brady is not what he once was and also does not have the weapons at his disposal that he once possessed. The defense is now the Pats strength but can they hold down the Titans potent offense enough to be able to score enough points to win this game? My answer to that question is an emphatic NO! Tennessee has NOT been held below 20 points in any of their past 10 games. During this stretch the Titans have scored an average of 30.4 points per game! Compare that with a Patriots team that had a chance to secure a first round bye and possible long-term home field edge in the post-season but blew it last week by losing AT HOME to the Dolphins! Absolutely inexcusable and the Pats even scored 24 points in the defeat. The Pats have scored more than 24 points just once in the past 8 games and, prior to that contest 3 games ago, New England had been held to an average of just 17.6 points per game over a 5-game stretch. I also like the coaching angle here with Vrabel facing his former team (both as a player and a coach) and he bested Belichick and the Pats when they most recently met. That was a dominating 34-10 win last season for the Titans over the Patriots. While this game will be a lot closer I am expecting the Titans to get the win. If they do fall short look for it to be by just 3 or 4 points and this line is currently a 5. I'll gladly grab the points here as the Titans defense allowed 24 points or less in 13 of 16 games and they have the better offense in this match-up too. 10* TENNESSEE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #141 Saturday 8* Buffalo Bills (+) @ Houston Texans @ 4:35 ET - Everyone is jumping on the Texans here. They have the home field edge. They are getting JJ Watt back on defense. The Bills have a young quarterback making his first ever playoff appearance and it is coming on the road. So of course everyone jumping on Houston and laying the short number. In typical contrarian fashion here I am grabbing the road dog. When a line looks funny or a little off it pays to be mindful of that. In this case I feel Buffalo is much better than people realize and I expect the outright win but will grab the points. The Texans defense has allowed an average of 28 points per game in their last 6 games played in Houston. By comparison the Bills have allowed an average of just 15.6 points per game in their 8 road games this season. You saw the Texans average on defense at home the past 6 games, now note that Buffalo never allowed more than 24 points in ANY of their 8 road games this season! In fact the Bills allowed 20 points or less in 7 of 8 road games. Also I don't trust Texans head coach Bill O'Brien in a playoff game. He has gone 1-3 in the NFL playoffs since he came to Houston from Penn State. The Bills lost here last season but had the yardage edge in that game and I look for the Bills Josh Allen to have a big game against a suspect Texans defense. 8* BUFFALO

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #277 Saturday 10* Top Play Tulane Green Wave vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles @ 11:30 AM ET - The Green Wave lost 5 of their last 6 games this season so it must be some kind of big mistake that this 6-6 Tulane team is favored by a TD over a 6-6 Southern Miss team, right? Of course long-time followers know how I feel about supposed mistakes by odds makers. Look for the Green Wave to blast the Golden Eagles in this one. Southern Mississippi lost their last two games each by a margin of 17 points or more and I expect a similar result here. When you look at their results this season, the Eagles wins almost always came against struggling and/or very weak teams. The Green Wave played a slightly tougher schedule and also hold a big edge in the running game in comparing these two teams. Tulane averaged more than twice as many yards per game on the ground (250) in comparison with Southern Miss (122). Look for the Green Wave to control the clock and control the ground game and wear down the Eagles as this game goes on. I look for Southern Mississippi to struggle with the QB McMillan and the option attack as the Green Wave will also do some damage through the air as the Eagles defense has to respect the ground game of Tulane. As for Southern Miss QB Abraham, he finished the season with a ration of just 6 TDs and 11 INTs in his last 6 games! I feel strongly that that Green Wave will prove to be the better team both on the ground and through the air in this one and I am aware of the fact that Southern Miss has won the last 6 meetings but these teams haven't met in nearly a decade and the Green Wave are a MUCH better football program in recent seasons than in the past. 10* TULANE

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #275 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Ohio University Bobcats vs Nevada Wolfpack @ 3:30 ET - The Wolfpack are without three defensive starters for this game and another for the first half of the game due to suspensions after the ugly fight with UNLV in their season finale. That leaves the Nevada defense short-handed and they allowed 30.5 points per game their past two games. The Wolfpack had previously held down New Mexico (bad team) and San Diego State (low-scoring defensive-minded team) but this followed allowing 39.8 points per game in their 4 previous games. Certainly Nevada can give up points in a hurry. So too can this Bobcats defense. The Ohio University defense gives up too many yards per carry, struggles to get pressure on the QB, and also struggles against the run. Even playing relatively weaker competition in the MAC, the Bobcats allowed nearly 30 points per game in all their games this season prior to crushing a bad Akron team in their regular season finale. Both teams come into this one hot on offense and the over went 3-0 in Ohio U's last 3 games as they averaged scoring 50.7 points per game! The Wolfpack also saw each of their final two games go over the total as they scored an average of 32.5 points per game. Considering all of the above as well as the suspensions on defense for the team that WOULD have had the stronger defense in this match-up, I look for this one to fly over the total with good weather conditions expected in Boise, ID as well. 10* OVER the total in Potato Bowl

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #272 Thursday 10* Top Play Cincinnati Bearcats (-) vs Boston College Eagles @ 3 ET - Similarly to when I used Cal over Illinois a few days ago, I really believe this is another great opportunity to fade a team that is fortunate to even be in a bowl. Yes, the Eagles finished the season with the requisite requirement of 6 wins just like the Illini did. However, just like Illinois, Boston College statistically is not a very good football team and they are fortunate to be here. The Eagles defense has been absolutely horrific this season. Now they take on a Cincinnati team known for its defense. That said, this is a big mismatch. Keep in mind, were it not for a final game upset over Pittsburgh, the Eagles would not have even made a bowl game. The Eagles are allowing 480 yards per game this season. Cincinnati, even though they had to face Memphis twice and Ohio State once, allowed 100 yards LESS per game than Boston College's defense. Other than the 2 games against the Tigers and the one against the Buckeyes, the Bearcats had one other tough performance on defense (a surprising one against East Carolina). But in their other 9 games this season Cincinnati allowed just 15 points per game. Their defense will be the difference in this game. Boston College, prior to the upset win of the Panthers, had allowed 38 points per game in their 6 prior games! The Eagles head coach Addazio was fired so Boston College is using wide receivers coach Gunnell as the interim HC in this game. All the way around this is simply not a good situation for the Eagles and I expect the Bearcats to roll. 10* CINCINNATI

Bowl Game of the Year - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #270 Wednesday 10* Top Play Georgia Bulldogs (-) vs Baylor Bears @ 8:45 ET - Value, value, value! The Bulldogs were an 8.5 point favorite and have dropped to as low as a 3.5 point favorite as of New Year's Eve before settling in at a -4. I know the prevailing theory is that Georgia is going to be so disappointed here since they had higher hopes this season before the loss to LSU in the SEC Championship. However, they were a 7 point dog in that game. Yes they got blown out by the Tigers in that game but their season is not defined by that game and it is not as if they went into the game as a 7 point favorite and then blew it. They were a 7 point dog and LSU proved to be too much. Using that as motivation as well as last season's loss to Texas right here in the Sugar Bowl, I expect the Bulldogs to come up with a tremendous effort here. Keep in mind Georgia faced a tougher schedule than Baylor. Keep in mind the Bears lost to Oklahoma twice and those were the toughest match-ups that Baylor faced this season. They fell short each time and the Bears have a history of struggling in big games against tough competition. Yes they won their bowl game last season but Baylor faced Vandy. Now they go from facing a perennial SEC doormat to an SEC team that is one of the best in the country year in and year out. I like the odds for the Bulldogs coming up with a big win here. They were upset by South Carolina this season but won the yardage battle by nearly 200 yards in that misleading game. Also, the Bulldogs only other loss was to LSU and we all saw what the Tigers just did to Oklahoma - the same Sooners team that handed the Bears their two losses this season. I feel strongly that Georgia is the better overall team in comparison with Baylor. Also, their 11 wins this season all came by 6 or more points. That is why this line move is truly giving us incredible value here. The Bulldogs remember what happened to them here in the Sugar Bowl last season and, as a results, they're playing this game with something to prove. The favorite rolls in this one. 10* GEORGIA

Rose Bowl Annihilation - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #268 Wednesday 8* Oregon Ducks (+) vs Wisconsin Badgers @ 5 ET - Two teams I respect greatly but I feel we have solid line value here with the Ducks as a field goal underdog in this one. Oregon allowed 17 points or less in 8 of their last 12 games. That included a blowout win in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Now of of course Wisconsin is a strong team offensively and they're going to get their fair share against the Ducks defense but you can see why I am giving some shading toward the Oregon D getting more stops than the Badgers D in this one. I like the way the Ducks O matches up with the Badgers D. Led by QB Justin Herbert, Oregon has a solid and balanced offensive attack and their offensive style presents similar challenges to the Wisconsin D that Ohio State did. That is certainly noteworthy as the Buckeyes put up at least 34 points in each game against the Badgers this season. The way the Ducks are built on offense, they will also give Wisconsin some trouble and this is particularly true of their young secondary. Oregon only has 2 losses this season and one came by just 3 points in an upset while the other came on a TD with just 9 seconds left in the game. The Ducks have not been blown out. Now I am not saying Oregon is Ohio State BUT I am saying they are similar and the Buckeyes got the best of the Badgers twice this season and the average margin of defeat was 22 points. Considering all of the above plus the fact we're getting a full field goal here, I am grabbing the dog. Keep in mind, the Badgers ended the regular season on a disappointing note with the loss to Ohio State while the Ducks are riding high and with plenty of momentum after what they did to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. 8* OREGON

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #257 Tuesday 10* Top Play Kansas State Wildcats (+) vs Navy Midshipmen @ 3:45 ET - This is an ideal situation in terms of the contrarian aspect that is a big part of my handicapping style. How in the world did an unranked 8-4 team open up as a 2 point favorite over a ranked 10-2 team? Exactly! So the whole world, of course, has jumped on Navy here and moved the line to a -3 for the Midshipmen. That means we now get Kansas State +3 when they were originally favored for a reason. Again, just reiterating I love contrarian spots like this. The fact is that the Midshipmen played a weaker schedule and, in addition to a special teams edge (often overlooked but an important aspect in football), the Wildcats are likely to be successful defending the option. Of course, as per usual heading into a bowl game, Kansas State has had extra time to prepare for Navy's option. But the big key to being able to defend it well is the fact that the Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman just came from spending 5 years as the HC at North Dakota State. He won 4 national titles in his 5 years there and the Bison had to defend the option in FCS action. Also, Klieman's staff includes personnel also experienced with defending the option. Look for Kansas State to hold this Navy offense in check throughout this game. While statistically the defenses look about equal in this match-up they really are not. It comes down to strength of schedule and the types of offenses they faced. The Wildcats faced much tougher tests in the Big 12 than what Navy faced. When the Midshipmen stepped up in level of competition they consistently allowed big point totals. Against Memphis, Tulane, Notre Dame, SMU and Houston it was an average of 39 points per game allowed by Navy. To put that in proper perspective, the Wildcats allowed 27 points or less in 10 of their 12 games this season. The only two they didn't were against Baylor and Oklahoma and it was only the high-scoring Sooners that really gave the Cats D trouble. You can see based on the defensive numbers above why it would not surprise me to see the dog win this game outright by double digits. I'll gladly grab the points here. 10* KANSAS STATE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #292 Tuesday 8* Virginia Tech (-) vs Kentucky Wildcats @ Noon ET in Charlotte, NC - The Wildcats are a run heavy team as they switched up their offense after making the QB change to a dual threat QB and running an option offense. I expect the Hokies to do just fine defending the option here. With this expected to be Bud Foster's last game at defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech you know this defense is going to play extremely hard for him. They have had plenty of time to prepare to face Kentucky's option offense and I expect them to play it extremely well in this match-up. The Hokies offense has become stronger with Hooker at QB. Keep in mind they won 6 of 7 after making the QB switch and the only loss was by 1 point to Notre Dame - a game which Hooker was forced to miss with injury. Virginia Tech has the stronger passing game and also I like the fact they have a shot at controlling the ground game with the extra time to prepare for this one. After rare back to back strong games offensively, Kentucky gets held in check in this one as the Hokies go all out for Foster. The Wildcats are 12-23 ATS (8-27 SU) when off back to back games in which they scored 31 points or more. Virginia Tech is 5-0 SU when off a road game this season. Also, in the past 3 seasons combined, the Hokies are 4-1 SU when off an upset loss as a road favorite. 8* VIRGINIA TECH

Total of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #251 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Florida Gators vs Virginia Cavaliers @ 8 ET - Florida has a strong defense but Virginia dual threat QB Bryce Perkins presents a unique challenge. Even the best of defenses can struggle when facing a quarterback that has the type of ability Perkins does. Keep in mind he threw for 266 yards and ran for 58 against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Of course the Tigers are one of the best teams in the nation and that says a lot right there. In his final 4 regular season games prior to the ACC Championship, Perkins ran for over 105 yards in 3 of the 4 games! In terms of passing numbers, Perkins threw for an average of 286.5 yards per game in his final 4 games while completing 92 of 137 passes. I look for Perkins to have a big game here even though I certainly respect the Gators defense. The reason Florida is favored by two touchdowns here is because not many respect the Cavaliers defense and certainly I don't think too highly of them either. The Cavs defense got shredded for 62 points by Clemson. Even prior to that effort, the fact that Virginia allowed 27 points or more in 5 straight games prior to the ACC Championship says a lot! The Cavaliers faced some unimpressive competition in that 5-game stretch too. The Gators scored 38 points in 3 of their last 5 games and they can certainly get to that level here against a sub-par Cavs defense. If odds makers are right about the 2 TD spread that means you are looking at game that gets into the 60s (a 38-24 type game) and I am expecting at least that here. 10* OVER the total in Florida

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #250 Monday 10* Top Play California Golden Bears (-) vs Illinois Illini @ 4 ET - Illinois is such a bad team statistically and yet they somehow battled and made it to a 6-6 record and a bowl game. The Illini thrived on turnovers as that was a key to the few victories that they did have over quality competition. That is unlikely to work in the favor of Illinois in this one as California is known for taking good care of the ball. That said, I look for the Illini to struggle badly in this one. Cal has a great defense and also their offense - though certainly no powerhouse - does play much better when QB Garbers is healthy and under center. The Bears have the much stronger defensive line (which will be a key in this game) and they played a tougher schedule overall and this bowl game is practically a home game for Cal with how close it is to their campus. The Illini had a fluke 4-game winning streak that involved some miracle wins but their last two games of the season (both losses by 9 or more points) and the fact their 4 most recent losses have come by an average margin of 17 points tell the full story here. Also, in Big Ten action Illinois benefited from not facing Penn State or Ohio State this season. My projection is a win in the 17 point range for Cal as their defense has allowed 24 points or less in 10 of 12 games this season and the Illini defense is going to struggle to stop the Bears offense now that Garbers is healthy again. Illinois gave up an average of 37 points per game in their match-ups with E. Mich, Nebr, Minn, Mich, Mich St and Northwestern. 10* CALIFORNIA

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #129 Sunday 10* Top Play San Francisco 49ers (-) @ Seattle Seahawks @ 8:20 ET - The Seahawks let an opportunity slip away with their inexcusable home loss to the Cardinals last week. Seattle has now allowed an average of 27 points per game their past 4 games and they are banged up on offense too. The Niners are ready to swoop in and take advantage of the situation. Things are very simple for the 49ers here as they control their own destiny across the board. A win not only clinches the division and a first round bye for them, it also clinches home field edge for the post-season! San Francisco is not going to let this opportunity pass them by. The Niners and the Saints look like the two best teams in the NFC hands down no questions asked. That said, I don't foresee SF slipping up here. Other than their recent game at New Orleans - an absolute shootout - the 49ers have allowed 14.3 points per game on the road this season! Compare that to a Seahawks team that has allowed 30.5 points per game in their last 6 home games. Seattle actually was better on the road than at home this season while the Niners were also better on the road than at home this season. Seattle once was a tough place to play and a tough venue to score points in but, as you can see per the above, that is no longer the case. Also, San Francisco also has revenge here from a home OT loss to the Seahawks last month. It is payback time for the Niners and they are the healthier team and are 6-1 SU on the road while Seattle is 4-3 SU at home on the season. Comparing these two defenses there is no comparison! That is why I am happy to lay the small points here with the 49ers in a game I fully expect to turn into a road rout! 10* SAN FRANCISCO

Game of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #115 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (-) @ New York Giants @ 4:25 ET - The Eagles certainly have injury issues but they are not significant enough to prevent them from winning the NFC East. With a win Sunday at New York over the Giants they accomplish that goal. We are getting line value here because of the injury situation for Philadelphia. Now lets examine some important facts here. The Giants are just 4-11 this season. One of the wins came at Tampa Bay against a Buccaneers team that has won just TWO home games this season. Another Giants win came against a Dolphins team that is 4-11 this season. The other two New York victories came against the 3-12 Redskins. The point is that the Giants haven't won a challenging game all season. Sure New York would love to spoil the Giants division title hopes but I look for Philadelphia to dominate the ground game on both sides of the ball in this one and that will be a key. With rainy weather expected in East Rutherford, New Jersey this afternoon and into the evening, look for the ground game to be of particular importance. The Eagles are one of the best teams in the league at stopping the run. The Giants defense is bad overall and that includes stopping the run. New York's recent home games,, in terms of run defense, have included allowing 122 yards to Miami, 172 yards to Dallas, and 156 yards to Arizona. The Eagles run defense has had one bad game (versus Seattle) in their past 8 games. In the other 7 games they allowed 74.3 rushing yards per game. The Philadelphia defense has allowed 17 points or less in 6 of its last 8 games. The Giants defense has allowed 31 points or more in 5 of its last 8 games. Everyone focused on some Eagles injury issues here but their defense is quite healthy. The absence of CB Darby (constantly getting burned for big plays prior the injury) is honestly a case of addition by subtraction. The Philly secondary is better off without him. Look for the Eagles defense to lead the way here. The Giants D, on the other hand, has allowed an average of 29 points per game in its past 5 home games. Making that stat even more alarming is the fact that two of the games came against teams that currently have 5 or less wins on the season. This is a case of incredible line value because of the Eagles injury issues on offense. Yes, they have had injury issues at WR and now have lost TE Zach Ertz too. But Dallas Goedert has been strong at TE and Greg Ward has stepped up at WR with Whiteside also coming up with big catches. The backfield has plenty of options too with Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and now Jordan Howard is back from injury as well. The Eagles will get the ball into the hands of those guys as well including through the air. Philly has covered 5 of their last 6 as a divisional road favorite while the Giants are on a 1-4 ATS run as a divisional home dog. On both sides of the ball, the Eagles are strong in the trenches (and could have Lane Johnson back on the offensive line too) and I look for them to wear down the Giants as this game goes on. The last 15 times the Giants have been a home dog of 7 or less points they have gone 2-13 SU and 3-12 ATS. Look for the Eagles to win this one in a road rout and I'll take advantage of the small number posted on this game. Lay it! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #131 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Denver Broncos vs Oakland Raiders @ 4:25 ET - Drew Lock has now played in 4 games at QB for the Broncos. He had one bad game at Kansas City but is almost never fun to face the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Raiders defense is most certainly NOT the KC defense! In his other 3 games Lock has completed 65 of 88 passes with a TD-INT ratio of 6-2. Though Denver's season is over, the Raiders still have a mathematical shot at the post-season with a win here. You know the Broncos want to reduce those odds of an Oakland post-season bid from slim to none though and they can do it with a home win here. That said, I look for a huge effort from Denver here at home. Of course the Raiders are going to want to do everything they can to give themselves a shot at the post-season but they are going to have to do it with their offense. The Oakland defense ranks among the worst in the league. As for the offense, we actually get some value with the over here because statistically the Raiders rate 14th in the league (out of 32 teams) but they just don't have the points to show for it. The point is that Oakland moves the ball better than what their scoring would lead you to believe. Though it will be cold in Denver today the winds will be 10 mph or less and yesterday's precipitation has moved out of the area. The result will be plenty of offense in this one. The over is 5-2 in the Broncos past 7 games. The Raiders have been trending under of late but this is an Oakland team that has allowed an average of 30 points per game when playing away from home this season. More of the same here. 10* OVER the total in Denver

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #124 Sunday 8* Detroit Lions (+) vs Green Bay Packers @ 1 ET - The Packers need to win. As a result, they are severely over-priced here. Lets not forget this is a short week for Green Bay (played on MNF) and they were on the road last week (at Minnesota) and now are on the road again. Yes the Lions have been struggling but what better way to end the season than coming up with a big home win as a double digit dog against a division rival that needs to win? I am not saying that I am predicting Detroit to win this game outright. However, I do feel they keep this game within single digits and, in fact, most likely a game decided by 7 or less points. Green Bay rallied to beat the Lions in their first match-up this season which was at Lambeau Field way back in mid-October. Ironically that 1-point loss to the Packers was the last time that Detroit has registered an ATS cover. This has led to extreme line value here. Yes the Lions have issues but they were only a 3-point dog in the first meeting despite being on the road. Now Detroit is at home for the second meeting and they are a 13-point dog. Even just using the normal 3 point home field edge that means the betting markets are saying the Lions are now 16 points worse than the Packers on a neutral field because keep in mind the original line would have meant the teams were about equal on a neutral field. This a 16-point line swing and it is way too much to ignore. The Packers are 12-3 SU this season but when you look at their yardage stats and game by game statistical results this is NOT a typical 12-3 team and they are definitely over-priced here. Look for the hungry Lions to make a game out of this one. 8* DETROIT

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #243 Saturday 10* Top Play Ohio State Buckeyes (+) vs Clemson Tigers @ 8 ET in Fiesta Bowl @ State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ - I feel we're getting excellent line value here. Of course both teams are undefeated on the season but the Buckeyes have played a much tougher schedule. The Tigers were favored by at least 24 points in 12 of their 13 games this season! Clemson really hasn't been tested this season. As for Ohio State, they faced a tough Wisconsin team twice and also did battle with Penn State and had to play at Michigan this season. All of those were true battles where the Buckeyes had to up their game. Did they do it? You bet! They didn't just win those games...they dominated. Ohio State won those 4 games - all against quality competition - by a combined score of 156-72. That works out to an "average" score of 39 to 18 and there is certainly nothing "average' about that when you consider the quality of those opponents. The only time Clemson was favored by less than 24 points was when they faced Texas A & M. Though they did win that game by 2 TDs they only won the yardage battle by 100 yards. The Aggies were hurt by 2 turnovers and 85 yards in penalties. I respect Clemson (who wouldn't respect a 13-0 team?) but I feel strongly that the battle-tested Buckeyes are going to prove to be the better 13-0 team on Saturday! Keep in mind the Tigers were lucky to beat North Carolina earlier this season and won that game by just a single point. Compare that to an Ohio State team that has, without a doubt, played the tougher schedule, and yet has won EVERY game by a double digit margin. Look for Clemson to drop to 8-14 ATS when they enter a game on an ATS winning streak of 4 or more games. The Buckeyes, when the posted total is in a range from 56.5 to 63 points, have gone an incredible 45-1 SU the last 46. They win again in that role here as the Tigers offense (held under 400 yards by A & M and UNC this season) won't be able to keep up with Ohio State in this one. Keep in mind the Buckeyes defense has been fantastic this season even against tougher competition than the types of teams that Clemson faced this season. 10* OHIO STATE

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #241 Saturday 8* Oklahoma Sooners (+) vs LSU Tigers @ 4 ET in Peach Bowl @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA - Too many points here. This line opened up at 11.5 and has gone all the way up to a 14 in most books as of early game-day morning. The Sooners defense has quietly become much better than people realize. That is helping to give us line value in this game because everyone still thinks of Oklahoma as only being a powerhouse on offense but OU has proven they can get some stops when they need to. As for LSU, of course it goes without saying that they have had a fantastic season but many are overlooking the fact that the Tigers defense actually has allowed more yardage than the Sooners defense on the season. LSU has played a tougher schedule BUT only slightly tougher. This Tigers team is simply not two touchdowns better than Oklahoma. No way. Because Oklahoma has one loss and LSU is undefeated on the season, we're seeing a bit of an inflated line here. That is also because the Sooners are on a 2-6 ATS run their last 8 games. Keep in mind the Tigers have allowed 37 points or more 4 times this season! Oklahoma has allowed 27 points or less in 9 of 13 games this season. The Sooners only loss came by just 5 points. LSU has had 3 wins of 7 or less points. I am looking for this game to go down to the wire and if the Tigers do pull it out, look for it to be by a single possession. Look for OU to improve to 4-1 ATS the last 5 times they have been an underdog. Grab the big points in this one. 8* OKLAHOMA

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #233 Friday 10* Top Play Iowa Hawkeyes (-) vs USC Trojans @ 8 ET in Holiday Bowl @ SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, CA - With USC having won 5 of their past 6 games and also playing this game practically in their back yard, many will be siding with the Trojans here. In typical contrarian fashion, I am on the other side in this one. Iowa is the much better defense in this match-up and here is an intriguing stat for you about this one: the favorite won ALL 12 Hawkeyes games this season SU. Look for that trend to continue here and, as only a 2 point favorite in this one, any SU win by Iowa here is likely to also be an ATS win. After 3 straight seasons of allowing less than 400 yards per game, the Trojans defense regressed this season. USC allowed 415.2 yards per game on the year and 28 points per game. The Hawkeyes defense allowed less than HALF that average as they gave up just 13 points per game this season. Iowa is also highly motivated to try to get a 10-win season while USC's best finish would be a 9-win season and the fact is coach Helton already appears to be off the hot seat since the Trojans went 5-1 after a 3-3 start this year. Southern Cal is on a 5-15 ATS run in December games. USC also has gone 0-6 ATS the past two seasons when they entered a game on a winning streak of 3 or more games SU. The Hawkeyes are 5-1 ATS when playing with 2 or more weeks of rest between games. I am going with a motivated team that has the much better defense in this one. Look for Hawkeyes QB Stanley, whom did have some big games this season against lesser defenses, to take advantage of facing a rather mediocre defense in this one. 10* IOWA

ESPN Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #231 Friday 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (+) vs Texas A & M Aggies @ 6:45 ET in Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX - The Aggies went 7-5 this season. NONE of the 7 wins came against a team that finished the regular season with a winning record. All 5 times that Texas A & M stepped up in class (in terms of the level of opponent they were facing) they lost all 5 games! That said, Oklahoma State is no cupcake and I like the Cowboys in this match-up! Oklahoma State was 8-3 this season prior to losing their regular season finale to the Sooners. Though known for their offense, note that the Cowboys actually held the high-powered Oklahoma offense to their season low in total yardage this year! Though Aggies head coach Fisher led them to a big bowl win last season, he entered last year's bowl with a mediocre 4-3 record in bowls. Cowboys coach Gundy has a 9-4 record in bowls! Last year's Texas A & M bowl win was their first since 2014 and I still don't trust them in bowls. One game doesn't change everything. This is the 14th straight bowl for the Cowboys and Gundy's 9-4 mark in bowls is no fluke. The fact that we also get them as a sizable dog in this match-up and the fact that they have the definitive edge on offense is why I am backing OSU big in this one! Keep in mind the Aggies scored just 7 points against LSU in their regular season finale. That is the same LSU team that, though very powerful on offense, allowed 37 points or more 4 times this season and yet Texas A & M scored a measly 7 points against them! Aggies won't be able to keep up with the Cowboys in this one. 10* OKLAHOMA STATE

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #224 Thursday 10* Top Play Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (+) vs Miami Hurricanes @ 4 ET in Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA - The location of this game certainly favors the Bulldogs as they are about 70 miles east of Shreveport. The Hurricanes certainly have a history of disappointing in bowl games and I don't see them being too excited for this one. Also, as a favorite of 31 points or less this season, Miami went 2-6 ATS this season! 5 of those ATS losses were also SU losses as the Canes are no strangers to upsets. Another one could be on tap here! The Bulldogs have won 5 straight bowl games while the Hurricanes have lost 8 of their last 9 bowl games. Louisiana Tech is on a 4-1 ATS run in bowls while Miami is on a 1-7 ATS run in bowls. Of course looking at this regular season the Hurricanes have played the much tougher schedule but are they really ready to play here? Certainly going to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport was not something on the preseason "goals list" of the Canes. Conversely, the Bulldogs are certainly hungry to go for a 10-win season here and to be able to do that so close to home. Motivation is a key in a match-up like this and I am grabbing what is, in essence, a home dog in this one. The Bulldogs also benefit from being as high as a +7 in some spots as of game day morning. 10* LOUISIANA TECH

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #221 Tuesday 10* Top Play Brigham Young Cougars (-) @ Hawaii Rainbow Warriors @ 8 ET - Why is the team with two less wins favored here even though they are on the road? Exactly! In typical contrarian fashion I am on the side which, perhaps, on the surface seems a little off. Look for the Cougars to crush the Warriors in this one. Yes, Hawaii has the better numbers on offense but BYU is the much better team on the defensive side of the ball. The Cougars are off a low-scoring loss at San Diego State in which they held the Aztecs to 13 points. Over their final 5 games of the season, Brigham Young allowed only 17 points per game. Give the Warriors credit too as they did beat San Diego State and they held them to just 11 points. But lets talk about how Hawaii's defense performed in their other 4 home games dating back to October. In those 4 games as a host, the Warriors have allowed an average of 42 points per game! Again, you can see the huge differences in terms of the level these two defenses have been playing at. In their 5 losses this season Hawaii has allowed an average of 48 points per game! In their 5 losses this season, BYU has allowed an average of 28.6 points per game! Look for the stronger defense to be the key in this match-up. The Cougars are 6-2 ATS when off an upset loss as a favorite. When the Warriors are off a road loss in conference action they have gone 0-6 ATS in their next game. BYU has failed to cover 4 straight games while Hawaii had covered 3 in a row prior to the deflating loss to Boise State. That is helping to give us even more line value here as there is negative perception about the Cougars even though they had won 5 in a row SU prior to the loss to San Diego State. Also, Brigham Young has defeated the Warriors each of the past two seasons by an average margin of 18 points. Look for another double digit win here. 10* BYU

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #481 Monday 10* Top Play Green Bay Packers (+) @ Minnesota Vikings @ 8:15 ET - Winning breeds confidence no matter the opposition. The point is that Green Bay comes into this game with plenty of confidence as they are on a 3-game winning streak and allowed 15 points or less in all 3 games. Granted, none of those teams have a winning record on the season but, as my opening sentence stated, winning leads to confidence. The Packers have only lost 3 games on the season and one of those was to Philadelphia when they did outgain the Eagles by a large margin. Another loss was to a Niners team that looks like one of the best teams in the NFL this season. The Packers really have had only one ugly defeat and that was that game at LA against the Chargers when they played like a team that didn't even show up for the game. Trust me, Green Bay is showing up for this divisional showdown with the Vikings. Also, the Vikings have been hot too and are on a 4-2 SU win but two of those four wins came by just 4 points. That means that laying the points that Minnesota is in this game, they would be on just a 2-4 ATS run. Green Bay is going to be tough for the Vikings to put away here. QB Aaron Rodgers is a big game player who has had many huge efforts in primetime action. Certainly for QB Kirk Cousins that is not the case. In fact, Cousins teams are 0-8 SU and ATS in Monday Night games! 8 LOSSES and ZERO wins! The Packers have a great shot at the outright upset here and if they do fall short I expect it to be by a field goal or less. Look for quite the game in Minneapolis Monday. Look for the Pack to improve to 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings with the Vikings. 10* GREEN BAY

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #219 Monday 10* Top Play Marshall Thundering Herd (+) vs Central Florida Knights @ 2:30 ET in Gasparilla Bowl @ Tampa, FL - The Knights, as you can see from the big line posted on this one, are no doubt the much better team in this match-up. However, how motivated will they be here after playing on a much bigger stage in recent bowl seasons and now being relegated to the Gasparilla Bowl on the Monday before Christmas. UCF had actually been playing on New Year's Day bowls in recent seasons. As for Marshall, their certainly happy to be here and have played well in Tampa in recent bowl seasons. The Thundering Herd also are lead by a coach (Doc Holliday) whom has great success in bowls - 6-0 SU and ATS his last 6. Now I am certainly not projecting an outright upset here but I am projecting that the Herd will have no problem staying within two TDs here and I actually expect them to lose by just single digits. Marshall has a respectable defense and prior to their season-ending 30-27 win, had allowed 24 points or less in 6 of 7 games. In those 6 games the Thundering Herd allowed an average of just 17.5 points per game and keep in mind that is what the spread on this game opened up at. In other words, great value considering Marshall is certainly not going to get shutout here! The Herd are taking on a UCF defense that allowed just 7 points in their season finale but the Knights entered that game having allowed 21 points or more in 9 straight games! When coach Holliday's teams are an underdog they have produced a 10-3 ATS record the last 13 times. Look for another cover here as the Thundering Herd take advantage of a Central Florida team lacking in motivation in this one. 10* MARSHALL

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #480 Sunday 8* Chicago Bears (+) vs Kansas City Chiefs @ 8:20 ET - The Bears are eliminated from playoff contention but you won't see them laying down in a spot like this! Here Chicago is playing their final home game of the season and it is a big primetime Sunday night game hosting Patrick Mahomes and company. The Bears will go all out here to win their final home game of the season and that means we have exceptional line value being offered here. Chicago is available at nearly a full TD as a home dog in this spot. Prior to their loss at Green Bay last week, the Bears had won 3 straight games. The Chiefs have failed to cover 2 of their past 3 true road games (also faced the Chargers in Mexico). Chicago is a perfect 3-0 SU in their last 3 home games. Kansas City has been hot but they are 1-7 ATS when they enter a game after having won 6 or 7 out of their prior 8 games. The Bears are 8-1 ATS the last 9 times they have been a home underdog! Look for them to surprise the masses and get the job done again in that role here. 8* CHICAGO

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #476 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (+) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 4:25 ET - The whole world seems to be lining up on the Cowboys here and you know how that usually plays out! In typical contrarian fashion I am fading the big move toward Dallas here but certainly it is not without good reasoning. Yes the Eagles have some injury issues - namely at WR but also RT Lane Johnson. However, this is a big-time revenge game for Philadelphia going against their most hated rival and this time the game is at Philly. Plus the Eagles rely a ton on their TEs and are strong at that position plus they've seen WR Greg Ward step up. Yes Dallas is off a blowout win over the Rams but they had lost 3 straight games prior to that. The Cowboys are a very inconsistent team from week to week prone to mistakes and certainly coach Jason Garrett is not exactly highly regarded. Watch him get out-coached in this one. The rematch will play out much differently than the first game. Dallas was at home last week but now returns to the road where they have lost 4 of their past 6. The Cowboys have 3 road wins on the season and ALL 3 came against teams that have just 3 wins on the season! Giants and Redskins are 3-11 and the Lions are 3-10-1. The Eagles are 18-6 SU in their last 24 home games. Philadelphia is 4-0 SU when off a game in which they scored 35 or more points. The Eagles, after failing to cover the spread in 4 out of their last 5 games, have gone 6-1 SU. Look for the Cowboys to drop to 2-5 ATS the last 7 times they've been a road favorite of 3 or less points. The Eagles defense is going to make up for an embarrassing performance the last time these teams met. Also, the Dallas defense has allowed 27 points or more in 2 of its last 3 road games. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Total of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #457 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Denver Broncos vs Detroit Lions @ 4:05 ET - I am aware there was some illness issues in the Broncos locker room this week but that truly has subsided as of now. Also, I am aware that both of these offenses have had some recent issues. But this total is simply far too low. Denver can be snowy and cold in December for sure but that is not the case here with a high temperatures in the 60s on a very beautiful afternoon with light winds too. That is going to allow for plenty of scoring too. Keep in mind the Broncos were held down by the snow in Kansas City last week. The prior week Denver put up 38 points at Houston! Speaking of 38, which also happens to be the posted total on this game, the Lions defense got mauled at home for 38 points last week versus Tampa Bay. This is simply not a very good defense and where is the motivation here? The fact is this is a meaningless late season game that is a non-conference match-up. Defensive intensity tends to range between minimal and none in situations like this and I expect both offenses to move the ball much better than many any expecting here. Keep in mind, the Lions defense has allowed 28.4 points per game in its last 11 games. Detroit has allowed at least 19 points (1/2 of today's total) in 13 of its 14 games this season! The Broncos defense has some injury issues here and they have allowed at least 19 points in 6 straight games. You can see why just an "average" game gets us to the total points we need but I am expecting much more than an "average" game here. The Lions had an ugly game on offense last week but Blough had been better at QB in his two prior games. Also, the Broncos were simply held back on offense by snowy conditions last week at Arrowhead Stadium. The over is 8-4 in the Lions last 12 games. The over was 4-1 in Denver's 5 games preceding last week's bad weather game. The over is 12-4 in Detroit's last 16 against AFC West opponents. 10* OVER the total in Denver

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #464 Sunday 8* Tennessee Titans (+) vs New Orleans Saints @ 1 ET - The Saints have been playing very well and I am well aware of the fact they are still motivated here in terms of playoff positioning in the NFC. However, the Titans motivation is even stronger as they are fighting for their playoff lives. Also, Tennessee is a home dog and I like catching New Orleans on short rest here plus, literally, out of their element as this is an outdoor game the running game may end up being of a little more importance here. The Titans have the stronger ground attack on offense, the home field edge, and they're catching as much a field goal in this one as a home dog. After falling just short versus Houston last week, look for the home team to respond in a big way this week. Also, after the Saints played so flawlessly well against the Colts on Monday Night Football, don't be surprised if we see a big drop-off here. Look for the Titans to grab the outright win to keep their playoff hopes alive. 8* TENNESSEE

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #215 Saturday 10* Top Play Washington Huskies (-) vs Boise State in Las Vegas Bowl @ 7:30 ET - Just one loss on the season and playing already on December 21st? Say hello to Boise State. An underdog even though playing a 7-5 team? Say hello to Boise State. Ranked and facing an unranked team and yet still not favored? Say hello to Boise State. You get the point. The Broncos might fool the masses here but they're not fooling me. This line is set this way for good reason. I am taking the unranked 7-5 team. Sure the Huskies had bigger hopes this season but when the Pac-12 portion of the schedule starts 2-4 SU your fate is pretty well sealed. What happened since then? Washington won 2 of their last 3 games including blasting rival Washington State in their season finale. The Huskies are playing hard for coach Petersen here in his final game. Lets also not forget he use to coach Boise State. Some nice added motivation here for sure. The Broncos lone loss this season was at BYU in OT. That is the same Cougars team that Washington (also facing them on the road) smashed by 26 points! The Huskies have played the much tougher schedule this season. Also their defense is very good this season. In road games the Huskies allowed an average of 19 points per game. Boise State, in road games this season, allowed 26.5 points per game this season. Strength of schedule, intangibles, the coaching factor, the neutral site, it all adds up to a ranked team being the dog here for all the right reasons. The Huskies roll by double digits in this one. 10* WASHINGTON

AFC East Game of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #453 Saturday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (+) @ New England Patriots @ 4:30 ET - The Patriots crushed Cincinnati last week but it was thanks to 5 turnovers! The Bengals actually outgained New England in that game. Speaking of misleading scoreboard results, the Patriots won the first meeting with Buffalo this season but the Bills outgained New England by 151 yards and had more than twice as many first downs. The Patriots offense continues to struggle and the Bills are a high-quality football team that is just one game in back of the Pats in the AFC East. Buffalo is on an 11-4 ATS run and also 7-1 ATS run as a divisional away dog. Don't be surprised if the Bills get the outright upset here and, if they do fall short, look for it to be by only 3 or 4 points. Grab the points in this one. 10* BUFFALO

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #204 Friday 10* Top Play Utah State Aggies (-) vs Kent State Golden Flashes @ 7:30 ET in Frisco Bowl @ Arlington Stadium in Frisco, TX - Give Kent State credit for getting here but they were fortunate to say the least. It wasn't that long ago that the Golden Flashes sat at 3-6 on the season and they were trailing 27 to 6 against Buffalo before a fantastic rally (or collapse by the Bulls!) saw Kent State rally for a miracle win. Without that win Kent State wouldn't even be here and I feel strongly they are outclassed here and are going to get steamrolled. Aggies QB Jordan Love will be entering the 2020 NFL draft and he is about to put on a show here on Friday night. Love had a great 2018 season with a 32-6 ratio. This season his ratio is 19-17 so he had a big dropoff to say the least. Now, against a MAC defense that is one of the worst in the nation in pass defense efficiency and that also generated just 21 sacks on the year, is about to be picked apart! The Golden Flashes can't just focus on the run either. That's because Utah State has a very capable ground game and, by the way, Kent State allowed 249 rushing yards per game this season. This is a sizable mismatch and the fact the line was up near 10 was more in line with where it should be as this one will be a blowout by a double digit margin. The fact this line fallen below a 7 means superb value with the favorite and I won't hesitate to go to my highest rating in this one. 10* UTAH STATE

Monday Night Game of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #333 Monday 10* Top Play Indianapolis Colts (+) @ New Orleans Saints @ 8:15 ET - Both teams are off tight losses last week but the Saints are off an absolute war against the 49ers. In fact New Orleans did lose key players to injury including two starters on the defensive line both out for this game and likely for the season as well. While the Saints have already locked up their division and a playoff spot plus lost their best chance at home field edges in the post-season by losing to San Francisco last week, the Colts are fighting for their playoff lives. They should renewed spirits too as the Steelers loss to the Bills last night was good news for Indianapolis. Both Pittsburgh and Tennessee are 8-6 on the season and the Colts can move to 7-7 on the year with a win here. That would put them 1 game back of the other two teams fighting for the last wild card spot and this is with two games to go. Now I am not forecasting the outright upset here but I do feel the points being offered are very generous given the situation. Both teams are struggling on defense but those D-line injuries for the Saints move the needle a lit bit in favor of the Colts defense here. Also, the Indy offense could get a boost with TY Hilton returning at wide receiver tonight. I know that is not a certainty and the Colts are being coy about it but I am expect him not to miss a game like this. Tonight is Indy's season essentially. Of course I respect Drew Brees and the Saints offense tremendously but Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich is a great coach and will have his guys ready here. The Colts have 7 losses on the season but only ONE by more than 7 points! The Saints have 10 wins this season but only TWO by a double digit margin! I like the odds here in favor of a tight finish in this game. Look for this one to be decided by a single possession on the scoreboard. 10* INDIANAPOLIS

Sunday Night Game of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #321 Sunday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (+) @ Pittsburgh Steelers @ 8:20 ET - The Steelers have won 7 of 8 games with the lone loss coming at Cleveland. However, many of those wins have been against bad teams. In fact the only team that Pittsburgh has beaten this season that currently has a winning record is the LA Rams. Note that the Steelers lost to high-quality teams like the Patriots, 49ers, Ravens and Seahawks. That said, with a 1-4 record against winning teams, the Steelers are in trouble here against a surging Bills team. I know Buffalo fell just short versus the Ravens last week but this is a very strong team that also has traveled well this season. The Bills are 5-1 SU in road games on the year. One certainly could question Buffalo's schedule as well but I like the fact that they played the Ravens very tough and also lost by just 6 to New England earlier this season when the Patriots offense was firing on all cylinders but the Bills defense stifled them. The Bills also did defeat the Titans at Tennessee. Of course this is a key battle in the playoff race and I feel the QB edge for the Bills here will prove to be huge. While the Steelers have been bouncing between Rudolph and Hodges at QB since Roethlisberger went out with injury, the Bills are set with Josh Allen under center. Allen has been even stronger on the road than at home this season. Away from home he has averaged 246.5 passing yards per game. Also, he has a 7-1 TD-INT ration in his last 5 road games. The Bills have the much better rushing offense in this match-up and that will help open up the passing attack for Buffalo downfield. The Bills have NOT had an ATS loss in any of their past 9 road games! Look for the Bills to improve to 4-0 ATS this season when off a SU loss. Pittsburgh, when they enter a game after having won 8 or more of last 10 games, has gone 1-6 ATS. Look for that trend to continue here as they are over-valued and the public money is pouring in on the Steelers. The sharp money, and ours, is on the other side! 10* BUFFALO

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #329 Sunday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Rams (-) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 4:25 ET - These teams are currently heading opposite directions and that is why the Rams are a "pick'em" here on the road at Dallas. The Cowboys simply are a mess right now and have lost all confidence. The fact they are at home is certainly not a big edge. Keep in mind, Dallas has covered just 2 times out of the last 11 times they have been a home favorite against an opponent from outside the division. Now I know this line is now near pick'em but you get the point. Cowboys haven't exactly excelled in terms of winning games at home against non-NFC East competition. Dallas has had a chance to lock up the NFC East for awhile as the Eagles continue to be saddled with injuries. However, the Cowboys have failed to do so as they have lost 3 straight games. Keep in mind this is a Dallas team that is only 3-7 SU since their 3-0 start to the year! The Cowboys are well known for struggling against top level competition and they are certainly facing that here. The Rams have won two straight games and 5 of their last 7 games. Recent wins over a potent offense (Seattle) and stout defense (Chicago) shows that the Rams can do something the Cowboys haven't been able to do this season - beat a high quality team. The Cowboys beat the Eagles but with Philly at 6-7 and struggling badly that is not so impressive. As it stands now Dallas doesn't have a single win over a team with a .500 or better record. In fact the other 5 wins the Cowboys have were against teams that all currently have 3 wins or less on the season! The Rams win over the Seahawks was critical and has kept LA in the playoff hunt. They will play with that same desperation here while the Cowboys will continue to find ways to lose. 10* LOS ANGELES RAMS

Total of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #325 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Cardinals vs Cleveland Browns @ 4:05 ET - I am expecting quite the show in this one with two former OU quarterbacks squaring off against bad defenses. It is the Browns and Mayfield going against the Cardinals and Murray. Note that Cleveland is off a win last week against miserable Cincinnati but they were very fortunate on defense thanks to 3 turnovers. The Browns D actually gave up over 450 yards to the Bengals! Speaking of bad defense, the Cardinals D ranks as one of the (if not the) worst in the league! Arizona has given up 29 points per game on the season. By the way, the Browns have allowed an average of 25.4 points per game in their past 5 road games. I certainly would not be surprised to see this game get closer to 60 points than 50 points! When off a home win against a divisional opponent, the Browns are 3-0 to the over. Cleveland is also 3-0 to the over this season when facing a team with a losing record. Arizona's over is 2-0 when off consecutive home losses. Also, the over is 3-0 this season when the Cardinals are off a loss by a margin of 6 or less points. The Cards will bounce back on offense here against a struggling Cleveland defense but their own D will not be able to stop the Browns either. I am expecting huge performances from both Mayfield and Murray in this one. Scoreboard operator will be busy in this one...a very unique situation. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #313 Sunday 8* Houston Texans (+) @ Tennessee Titans @ 1 ET - Titans off a big win on the West Coast at Oakland. Coming back east after a trip out west is not the easiest trip to make for sure. Making matters even more challenging for Tennessee in this one is the fact that they're facing an angry Texans team here. It took Houston awhile to wake up in last week's game versus Denver (perhaps the Texans were looking ahead to this showdown) and, by the time they did get going, it was far too late. I like having the +3 on my side with the road dog in this one! Houston blasted the Titans in their second meeting last season and that makes this a revenge game for Tennessee. With the Texans off an ugly loss, note this stat entering this season for coach Bill O'Brien: 11-2 ATS when his team is off a SU/ATS loss and facing an opponent playing with revenge. Of course that system fits perfectly here and Houston is fired up after losing by double digits as a nearly double digit favorite last week! It was ugly! In the 4th quarter of a season (Games 13 through 16), Tennessee is 1-10 ATS when they enter a game off consecutive SU wins and are facing a team that is off a non-divisional game. Also, when the Titans are at home in divisional action and off a game in which they scored more than 35 points, they are 1-8 ATS! The above angles combine for a 29-4 ATS spot in favor of the Texans. I'll take it! 8* HOUSTON

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #303 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Navy Midshipmen vs Army Black Knights @ 3 ET in Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field - I am well aware of the history of unders in this series but feel this total has been pushed too low and that Army's defense is not as strong as this season while the Navy offense is quite strong. Of course this combination means Navy is going to score plenty and Army will have no choice to be aggressive in trying to answer. Now I know both of these teams mostly rely on the ground game but each team has thrown the ball a fair amount this season and it is enough to keep the defenses honest to say the least. They can't just solely focus on the option attack. Back to the low-scoring recent history in this series I know that each of the last two match-ups between these two teams totaled only 27 points. However, that was preceded by a stretch that saw 5 of 7 all total at least 38 points. The posted total on this one is a low as a 40 and we've seen a handful of games exceed that number in recent meetings. In other words, the under streak has to do with bigger totals too. I am aware of some wind possibly moving into the Philly area as this one goes on but the main emphasis is still the ground attack for each of these teams. Also, I like the fact that Army has scored an average of 17 points per game in the last 4 meetings between these teams and Navy is a double digit favorite here. 28-17 game gets us into the mid-40s here and I am expecting at least that as the under streak in this series (13 straight) finally comes to an end on Saturday afternoon. Yes the recent competition was weaker but Army does have a lot of confidence on offense coming into this game as they have scored an average of 47 points per game their past 3 games. Navy has scored at least 34 points in 9 of 11 games this season. History says under but current play says over and I am going contrarian here and playing the over and facing the move from mid-40s down to as low as 40 as of early Saturday morning. 10* OVER the total in Army/Navy game

Thursday Night NFL Total of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #301 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Ravens vs New York Jets @ 8:20 ET - The Jets secondary is banged up and that is bad news here. That's because the Ravens enter with the #1 rushing attack in the NFL thanks in large part to the running ability of QB Lamar Jackson. But if he can also attack downfield through the air that means this Jets defense is going to struggle all night long. Also, I don't see the Ravens taking their foot off the gas in this one as they are still highly motivated to lock up the #1 seed in the AFC post-season. Baltimore is off a "grinder" type game against the Bills in which both teams struggled to move the ball very well. That was in windy Buffalo and the Bills are known for their defense. The Jets have respectable numbers on defense this season too but they are banged up right now and I expect the Ravens to take advantage. At the same time I do expect the Jets offense to enjoy some success. Baltimore's defense has had to step up big against quality teams in recent weeks. Don't be surprised if there is a bit of a let up here as they now take on a weaker foe and on a short week. It is simply hard to maintain that high-level intensity and physicality in a situation like this and the Ravens were truly taken to the wire by the Bills last week. The Jets have won 4 of 5 games so they have some confidence in terms of moving the football and playing winning football. They'll score quite well here but I don't foresee New York being able to get many stops on defense. The Ravens are scoring an average of 35 points per game in their last 7 games. Also, the weather will be chilly but light winds and no precipitation in Baltimore tonight. A beautiful night for football. The Jets have won 4 of 5 games and scored an average of 31 points in the 4 victories. Look for a surprising number of points in this game and I see it soaring over the total. The over is 3-0 this season when the Jets are off consecutive ATS losses. The over is 6-1 in the Ravens last 7 games against AFC East opponents. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #160 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs New York Giants @ 8:15 ET - The Eagles have won 5 straight games against the Giants. Also, in games played in Philadelphia they have won 7 straight games against New York. The Eagles are 4-1 in Monday Night games under head coach Doug Pederson. The Giants enter this game having lost 8 in a row and now have to go back to Eli Manning at QB as rookie QB Daniel Jones is injured. Manning struggled badly early this season and that is why New York turned to Jones and a look at the future. Of course Manning and company would love to play the role of spoiler here but he is likely to be rusty seeing his first game action since September and Philly enters this game angry and with plenty of motivation. Philadelphia has lost 3 straight games but keep in mind two of those defeats came against a pair of teams (Patriots and Seahawks) that entered this weeks's action with identical 10-2 records on the season. The loss to the Dolphins last week was, however, inexcusable and I expect the Eagles defense to stand up strong after that horrific effort at Miami. Note that Philadelphia is 10-1 ATS when they are off a SU loss as a non-divisional favorite and now facing a divisional foe that is off a SU loss. Of course with the Eagles ugly loss as a big favorite at Miami coupled with the Giants 8th straight SU loss last week, that 91% system fits perfectly here. The Eagles were a double digit favorite last week and lost outright to the Dolphins as Miami hung 37 points on them. That is noteworthy here as the Giants are 2-12 ATS when they face a divisional foe that is off an ATS loss by a double digit margin in a game in which they allowed more than 35 points. As you can see here we have a pair of systems combining for 22-3 (88%) ATS mark favoring the Eagles and going against New York. The points are big but Philly can tie Dallas for 1st place in the NFC East with a win here (and they face the Cowboys in two weeks too) so the highly motivated Eagles are very likely to dominate the hapless Giants here. Lay it! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #158 Sunday 8* Los Angeles Rams (+) vs Seattle Seahawks @ 8:20 ET - The Rams and Seahawks met earlier this season in Seattle and the line was nearly identical to today's line. What that means today is that we're getting some fantastic value considering this game is being played at Los Angeles. The line should have swung at least 6 points considering the 3 points (at least) of value given to teams based on home field. Of course the reason the line did not move at all is because the Seahawks are undefeated on the road this season and everyone is enamored with Seattle right now while a lot of people are very down on the Rams this season because they have had ups and downs. The result in a spot like this is superb value and I won't hesitate to get involved here. The Seahawks did have a very impressive road win at San Francisco in OT this season but the other 5 wins have come against teams with a combined record of 23-36-1 on the season. The Rams have some swagger back after the blowout road win at Arizona last week. Also, Los Angeles has faced a very tough home slate as 4 of their 5 games thus far in LA have been against teams with a combined record of 37-12! The result here is that the Rams are perceived to be a weaker team than they really are. The fact is that their schedule has been brutal and they could finish the season very strong and still make the playoffs. They have their work cut out for them but a win here is critical to keeping the hopes alive. After falling just short at Seattle by a single point in the first meeting, look for them to get revenge here. The Rams strength on offense is the passing attack and the Seahawks are one of the worst teams in the league defending the pass. Look for the LA aerial attack to key the victory in this NFC West showdown. The Rams have the rest edge here too since the Seahawks played on Monday night. 8* LOS ANGELES RAMS

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #151 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New England Patriots vs Kansas City Chiefs @ 4:25 ET - The Chiefs have had one low-scoring game on offense this season. Kansas City was held to 13 points by Indianapolis. In their other 11 games this season, the Chiefs have scored an average of 30.5 points per game! The Patriots offense has struggled recently but watch them have a breakout game on Sunday at home. The weather is going to be cold but clear skies and light winds. Temperatures just above freezing means the weather conditions are really not all that bad by December standards for Massachusetts. That being said, the Patriots offense is going to take advantage of a Chiefs defense that ranks among the worst in the NFL. I know they have allowed few points in their past two games but last week's effort against the Raiders was turnover-driven and KC's prior game was played on a questionable field in Mexico and unique circumstances. Now the Chiefs defense is on the road and facing a Patriots offense known for huge games at home. New England averaged 31.3 points per game in their first 4 home games this season prior to being held in check by Dallas in the Pats most recent game at Foxboro. The Patriots vaunted defense has allowed 28 points or more in 2 of its last 4 games. That said, Mahomes and company (Chiefs have one of the top offenses in the NFL) certainly will provide a challenge to that defense as well. The over is 14-2 the last 16 times that the Chiefs are on the road against a non-divisional AFC foe! Look for that trend to continue here. 10* OVER the total in New England

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #132 Sunday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bills (+) vs Baltimore Ravens @ 1 ET - The Bills have the home field edge here plus the rest edge here as they played Thanksgiving Day at Dallas. The Ravens are off a physical battle with the 49ers Sunday in Baltimore and now must go on the road knowing they have a short week ahead too as their next game is Thursday! This is a really tough spot for the Ravens and I am happy to grab the Bills catching nearly a full +7 here as a home dog. Buffalo has played very well this season and they also have had this game circled after the Ravens introduced them to the 2018 season with a 47-3 beating at Baltimore last September. Buffalo would like a little payback at home in this one. Baltimore is 10-2 on the season but, keep in mind, the Bills are 9-3 on the season and two of Buffalo's 3 losses have come by 6 or less points. The Ravens certainly have been red hot but note that the Bills are 3-0 SU and ATS their last 3 games. Baltimore is 1-9 ATS the last 10 times they have faced a non-division opponent off B2B SU/ATS wins. That system fits in this one and I look for the home dog Bills to cash in here. They have a great shot at the outright upset and if they do fall short I expect it to be by a field goal or less. 10* BUFFALO

Power Five Top Play - Rickenbach CFB Rotation #117 Saturday 10* Top Play Georgia Bulldogs (+) vs LSU Tigers in SEC Championship Game @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA @ 4 ET - LSU opened up around a 3 point favorite in this game and now the line has been driven up to the Tigers becoming a 7 point choice in this match-up. It makes sense because offense is what grabs the public's attention but it is the Bulldogs edge on defense that I feel gives the underdog a significant edge in this one. Georgia is a 7 point dog here and, keep in mind, this is a team that has NOT allowed more than 17 points in regulation time of ANY game this ENTIRE season! I know the Tigers offense has been fantastic this season but lets not discount what the Bulldogs defense is capable of here. Last year Georgia lost badly to LSU but that was a turnover-driven defeat plus this year's Bulldog's defense is way ahead of last year's D. The Dawgs are allowing an average of only 10 points per game this season! Note that LSU has allowed 28 points or more in FIVE games this season! Also, in games played away from home, the Tigers allowed 37 points or more in FOUR of FIVE games! Their offense is great but those are scary numbers for the LSU defense when they are away from home. Look for Georgia to take advantage and I would not be surprised to see the Bulldogs get the upset here and certainly they are in line for the cover. The Bulldogs are on a 7-1 ATS run in neutral site games. The Tigers are on a 1-4 ATS run when they enter a game off a 2-game homestand. The LSU defense has not traveled well this season and I look for that trend to reach 1-5 ATS when the final gun sounds on this one! 10* GEORGIA