Just six days ago the Miami Heat blew out the Cavaliers on the road by eleven points. The final score was not indicative of the halftime twenty-four point lead the Heat held over Cleveland. In the second half the Heat scored just forty points. This time around look for value on the Cavaliers as the Heat’s unblemished 5-0 home record gets tested. 

A team that has carried over their strong home court edge from the past two seasons has been the Toronto Raptors. They’re 5-0 at home and have been soaring past the ATS number. Tonight look for that to change based on Orlando Magic team soaring with confidence. They’ve won three straight games and will be aiming to avenge last year’s embarrassing playoff series against the Raptors. Grab Orlando. 

A team that has passed the eye test amongst smaller conferences thus far has been Ball State. They have hindered opposing teams in Illinois-Chicago and Indiana State to an average of 51.5 points. Their lone loss was against an Evansville team that toppled Kentucky. While Northern Kentucky has hold over upperclassmen talent they’re missing interior defense and prone to turnovers. Grab Ball State. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off one of the biggest ATS meltdowns in recent memory. The botched field goal gave the Titans new life and they stole the win. Issues around the offensive play calls and inconsistency at tailback should play into the hands of the Chargers. Expect the Chargers to continue to have key play calls minus Ken Whisenhunt and hang around in Mexico City. Grab the points.

It’s hard to argue that the Bears offense has been the worst over the last five to six weeks. The ratio of yards rushing and passing ranks towards the bottom of football in both categories. Yet defensively they should be able to be the latest to stunt the offense of the Rams. Jared Goff and company do not look comfortable. Turnovers continue to happen. Expect the Bears to capitalize in prime time. 

For the second consecutive season Arizona State has had a quick reversal to their season. Shocking wins early on got them ranked inside the top twenty five. Three straight losses have exposed how far back their offense is in the conference. Add a worn down defense and ASU could be in trouble for a fourth straight loss. Yet look for Oregon State’s tempo offensively to fit ASU’s style of play. Grab ASU. 

Young teams in a tough conference are going to tailspin south. That has been the case for South Carolina as their battles in-conference carried over to an out of conference loss last week. Appalachian State out of the Sun Belt defeated the Gamecocks 20-15. Now the Gamecocks must travel on the road to face an Aggies team playing their best football of the season and off a bye. Still grab the Gamecocks on a number just a bit too high. 

A week ago out in the Sun Belt South Alabama nearly upset Texas State. They took advantage of key field position and volume carries for their tailbacks. Saturday UL Lafayette will feature their own high dosage of strong running that will make South Alabama one dimensional. That will put pressure on their inexperienced quarterbacks and give UL Lafayette a chance for fifty plus points. Grab UL Lafayette.

The Oklahoma City Thunder return home in hopes of reversing losing three of their last four games. A positive is they’ve been a juggernaut at home ATS, covering four of their last five. For the 76ers their road heavy schedule to start the season has shown in the wins and loss column. Overall in 11 games they’ve played seven on the road. Look for the Sixers to shown a road warrior mentality in this one and get the win ATS. 

A small sample size to begin the season has shown huge weaknesses for Florida Gulf Coast. Their athleticism from their hey day runs has diminished. Furthermore they’re 0-3 to begin the year and are coming off just a 49 point performance. Traveling on the road against former conference rival Mercer is an untrustworthy spot from oddsmakers. Instead look for FGCU to overcome their small sample size woes and get the cover.

Phoenix was brought down to Earth two nights ago as the Lakers pulled away to defeat them. They’re now 6-4 but have caught the attention of NBA circles with their strong starting five and young bench. Thursday they’ll face an electric young Hawks team that is coming off a big outright win over the Denver Nuggets. Yet Thursday look for the Suns hosting their fifth straight home game to pull through ATS.

Wednesday saw a Big 10 school in Ohio State destroy Big East and national power Villanova. Thursday a short handed Seton Hall squad must try and halt an experienced Michigan State team. Turmoil of Pirates Coach Willard serving a suspension and injury to star Myles Powell are signs to fade the Pirates. Instead look for the Pirates to show the level of maturity of a Big East school that deserves to be ranked in the top twelve. Grab Seton Hall

A first true road game for any college basketball team is difficult. Tonight power five school Oklahoma State heads to take on College of Charleston. Expect the Cowboys balance offensively and defensively to prove to be a challenge for College of Charleston. Turnover issues from the Cougars should lead to the ATS road pull away tonight. Grab Oklahoma State. 

The Memphis Grizzlies head to take on a Charlotte team Wednesday that has lost a bit of their early success. After beginning the season 4-3 they’ve dropped three straight. Offense shouldn’t be an issue for the Hornets tonight at home but look for their defense to continue to suffer. Memphis gets the job done Wednesday with their impact young roster.

The winless Akron Zips are running out of time to get a win in 2019. Tonight they’ll host an Eastern Michigan team that’s lost four of five but been in games. The Zips on the other hand have been blown out with very little offense. Look for the Zips to finally show some worth ATS in this one. Grab Akron 

The Dallas Cowboys looked like a shaky team Monday Night in a road environment against the Giants. Late third they were able to turn the corner as the defensive line over powered the Giants offensive line. They’ll need a similar defensive effort to overcome an offense that has been sporadic since the first two games. Look for another poor prime time performance from Kirk Cousins and the Cowboys to cover.

What will give Sunday? The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a back to back scenario. Typically back to back games involve travel but that’s not the case as the Thunder are hosting consecutive nights. The team they will play in the Milwaukee Bucks is enduring their fourth straight road game. Expect the Bucks to get back on track after a let down against the Jazz Friday. Grab Milwaukee. 

The Carolina Panthers have been a team that has taken care of business against subpar teams. Sunday they’ll have a huge step up in class as they travel on the road against the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay comes in off a loss to the Chargers. In years past the offense has struggled in streaks. Look for the Panthers to have a disguised defense and enough offensively to cover the number. 

The Rams have changed their offensive philosophy. Unlike a year ago the blowouts have been toned down as the team finds their new strength. Ball control and finishing teams off has been their strength. Pittsburgh has enjoyed the benefit of not traveling on the road for nearly a month. Three straight victories and improved defense have helped masked Rudolph’s issues. Look for the Rams to spring to life and pull away in the second half. 

Over reaction to game one of the college hoops season can lead to quick over reaction. For Princeton they had a sizable early lead over Duquense before things snow balled quickly. They ended up yielding over ninety points defensively and were blown out. Now they’ll travel to play a San Francisco team at the brand new Chase Center. As balanced as San Francisco is they play a heavy rotation. Look for that to open the door for Princeton to get the cover. 

The Pelicans have shown flashes of what they can be but are lacking a secondary scorer. Brandon Ingram needs help and should get it Saturday against a Hornets team that has issues with on ball defense. Expect Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart to be able to attack and get their shots. The Pelicans finally get back in the win column and go to 2-7.

One of the more intriguing college hoops matchups Saturday involves San Diego State and BYU. Both have already opened up the season with wins. This is an old Mountain West matchup that changed when BYU joined the WCC. BYU can be a difficult place to play but look for the Aztecs to hang for two halves. Take the points 

The unknown Saturday comes into play with how effective Alabama quarterback Tua Tagavailoa will be. In years past Tua has been able to come back and not skip a beat. Yet Saturday’s challenge is much different. Alabama’s dominance over LSU has featured several blowouts and a win over the Tigers in seven straight years. Look for the Tigers to finally challenge the Crimson Tide and cover. 

Execution of game plans has been one of the main strengths of Virginia Tech. Through numerous issues at the quarterback position they’ve found a way to win or be in winnable situations. Their only bad loss came against Duke. Look for the Hokies to be up for the challenge to limit Demon Deacons quarterback Kaleb Newman. Grab Virginia Tech.

Two teams that have been plagued with poor play in the Sun Belt are South Alabama and Texas State. South Alabama comes in with an edge in terms of having a bye week last Saturday. Having faced the upper echelon of the Sun Belt in consecutive weeks figures to  the advantage of Texas State. Yet quarterback Tyler Vitt has been extremely turnover prone. As inefficient as South Alabama has been offensively look for short fields to spark them ATS. Grab South Alabama.

Losing a coach from a smaller school typically gets side stepped. That’s not the case for Georgia State as losing Ron Hunter to Tulane made waves throughout college basketball. Although College of Charleston has some holes offensively they play solid half court ball denial defense. Look for their sets to frustrate Georgia State. Grab College of Charleston 

The Miami Heat extend their NBA road trip as they play the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s hard to argue the Heat’s depth and team defense. That’ll put up a challenge against a Lakers team that has still shown to be highly vulnerable defensively. Still look for the Heat to showcase a bit of tired legs in the second half. Grab the Lakers. 

The Thunder went from 1-4 to 3-4 thanks to consecutive home wins over the Pelicans and Orlando Magic. Still they have a lot of pieces in their starting five and bench rotation that are becoming accustomed to NBA minutes. Facing a well coached veteran Spurs team on the road will be a challenge. Yet look for the Thunder to continue to be competitive and close within the number. 

For the first time in a couple of seasons Florida State begins the year outside of the top twenty five. Three straight years of seeing talent head to the NBA has left them with several voids on the bench and amongst their starting five. They’ll face a Pittsburgh team that endured the rigors of a team in transition in 2018. Returning four starters gives them automatic cohesion for game one. Yet look for Florida State’s athleticism to lead them to victory and a cover. Grab Florida State. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off one of the worst home losses by an NBA team this young season. Against the Dallas Mavericks they were gave up 131 points in a twenty point blowout loss. This loss showcased their young back court and inexperienced NBA coaching from John Beilein. With the Celtics coming off strong wins look for value here on the home Cavs. 

The Toledo Rockets will one again be without their top two quarterbacks. For the second straight game Eli Peters will get the start. Peters is not lacking of experience with several starts under his belt last season. Kent State should hang around in this one but look for Toledo to make the necessary adjustments and power run game to pull away. 

A contrast of styles will take place tonight as East Carolina hosts VMI. VMI is known for a fast pace tempo with scorers multiple volume scorers. A four-game win streak to conclude the regular season in 2018 should embolden a team that has four of five starters back. Yet look for East Carolina’s transition defense to lead to easy baskets and a pull away from the number. Grab East Carolina.

Preparation to change over at the key position of quarterback is never an easy change. For the Washington Redskins they’ve dealt with a plethora of injuries and off/on field issues to suffer to a 1-7 record. They’ll face a Bills team that’s been dominant at home and coming off their worst loss of the season. While Haskins has not shown promise yet this should be a good spot for safe short throws that aided the Eagles last week. Grab Washington. 

The Bears offense does not seem to have any life to it. On top of it they now have uncertainty with their kicking game. Defensively they’ve shown to be a bit worn down and will face an Eagles team returning home after three weeks on the road. Yet look for this team to find life to capture a bit of their road block from last season’s playoff loss to the Eagles. Grab the Bears. 

The Indianapolis Colts have shown their versatility all season long in ways they can win. They toppled the Chiefs, Texans, and Broncos with an array of differences other teams in the NFL have not shown. Pittsburgh’s challenges offensively are not going to go away. Where they can muster proficiency is with a defense that has shown the same trait as years past. They’re improving as the season goes on. Although Jacoby Brissett is use to being a starter this is his first year as the main guy. Expect the Steelers to pick up on game film tendencies and disrupt Brissett and the Colts offense. Grab Pittsburgh. 

Indiana has just one win on the season and will be without Myles Turner tonight against the Cavs. That shouldn’t stop their potent offensive attack and may even increase their pace to a higher level. That’s concerning for a Cavaliers team that uses several big men for offensive balance with Kevin Love/Tristan Thompson and still has a young back court adjusting to the NBA. Grab Indiana here.

The switch to Ryan Tannehill for the Titans proved right for last week. Now they’ll face a Tampa Bay team fresh off a bye week. It’ll be interesting to see how aggressive the Titans call their offensive plays against a dynamic Bucs team. Even with the Dolphins Tannehill showed he can be a streaky winner. Look for that to continue as the defense makes enough plays to keep Tannehill comfortable. 

After showing signs of life at 2-2 with Daniel Jones things have quickly changed. Three straight losses for the Giants have been caused by poor defense and Jones looking confused at times. They’ll face a Lions team that has looked great but lost in winnable games against the Chiefs, Packers, and Vikings. Expect the Giants to finally be in a game and cover Sunday.

Tough schedules are a by product of sports. The Philadelphia Eagles will embark on their third straight road game as they travel to face the Buffalo Bills. Thus far the defense has not been up for the challenge as the Eagles have given up 37 and 38 points the past two weeks. Facing the red-hot Bills is going to be a challenge but look for the Eagles to be up for the challenge. Grab Philadelphia. 

The Temple Owls main weakness this season has been on the road. Last week’s loss to SMU marked their second road loss by double-digits this season. At home though they’ve been unblemished with a 4-0 record. Yet they’ve faced octane offenses in consecutive weeks against Memphis and SMU that has exposed them. Look for Central Florida to attack often and cover the double-digit number. 

The Tennessee Volunteers will host the 3-4 South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. They’ll do so with uncertainty surrounding who starts at quarterback. A bright spot is that the Volunteers defense showed strides in putting up a respectable effort against the Tide. Still look for the Gamecocks to get back to .500 with the in-season experience freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski has gained. 

The Bulldogs switch to freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader has been a true transition. The freshman showed flashes in a loss to Kansas State and built upon that with a pull away win against Kentucky. Since those brief flashes the offense has struggled in the mighty SEC faltering three straight. Saturday expect the Bulldogs to be competitive on both sides of the football against an Aggies team that’s been poor ATS all season. Grab the Bulldogs. 

The pressure is on the LA Lakers after an opening night loss to the Clippers. In the loss they showed they do have the offense to contend right away. Several spurts erased big Clippers leads but the defense just was not there. That’s going to continue to be a problem for Friday’s contest against the size and half-court sets of the Jazz. Grab Utah. 

For the first time in several seasons the New York Knicks have formidable players at every starter position. Backing the starters up will be one of the more intriguing second units in the NBA. What will be missing in game one against the Spurs is on court execution. Expect the Spurs embedded style of basketball to wreak havoc in turnovers for the Knicks and create pull away opportunities. Grab the Spurs. 

The new look Boston Celtics will be missing three familiar players in Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, and Terry Rozier. They’re now expected to let their young stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum take the next step forward alongside free agent pickup Kemba Walker. Facing a Philadelphia 76ers team that has elevated expectations and improved defense will be an immense challenge. Yet grab the Celtics to make a statement and cash Wednesday. 

The second day of the NBA season features a bevy of marquee games. One that will fly under the radar are the Timberwolves vs the Nets. Minnesota’s core of players has the same featured talent while the Nets kick things off with Kyrie Irving. Lacking big names around him should provide Irving a calmer setting to just play his game. Look for the Nets to feed off his play while the Timberwolves falter in the second half. 

The new season kicks off with all eyes on the new acquisitions of both LA teams. The Lakers of course added Anthony Davis and a bevy of veteran free agents. Their quest looks much stronger than the youth mix they had a season ago. Meanwhile the Clippers big acquisitions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be minus George to start. That’s a factor but expect the Lakers units to struggle at times adjusting to the new season. That’ll leave the door open for the Clippers to cash in a neutral site game. Grab the Clippers. 

Can the Jets build off their outright win over the Dallas Cowboys? They’ll face a New England team that has been unstoppable ATS. They’ve covered every way imaginable and have extra rest from their week six Thursday win. With the Jets offense a bit more comfortable look for the Jets to have enough answers to sneak within this steep MNF spread. Grab the Jets. 

The Bears hope to shake the offensive and defensive rust exhibited in their overseas game against the Raiders. The shaky performance does cast doubt offensively with Mitch Trubisky set to return. They’ll face a stout Saints defense that’s helped boost Teddy Bridgewater to a 4-0 record. Yet expect both teams offensive limitations to bode to the advantage of the Bears. Grab Chicago. 

The NFC North has been hard to figure out because of how stout the division is. Minnesota has answered most questions except inside their division. Against the Packers and Bears their offense was hindered based on Kirk Cousins play. Traveling on the road may trigger some of Cousins problems. Yet this is a sound team that has overcome internal adversity to focus on the season at hand. Look for their team confidence to shine once again. Grab Minnesota. 

The Army Black Knights have fallen in consecutive games to Tulane and Western Kentucky. They’ll head on the road for a second consecutive week and face a Georgia State team with a similar offensive attack. Expect the Black Knights to run over the Panthers smaller sized defense and win the turnover advantage. Grab Army.

The Ohio Bobcats peculiar season has featured a 2-4 start. Under senior quarterback Nathan Rourke they’ve failed to muster proficiency to finish off games. In fact two of their losses have been by three points or less. Saturday look for Kent State to be the latest to get Ohio to play to the level of their competition. Grab the points here. 

Syracuse’s woes on the offensive side of the football are proven to be uncorrectable in-season. As the offense continues to work on getting better it’s created a burden for the defense. At the mid-season point look for Syracuse’s defense to show more and more cracks against a sound Pittsburgh team. Grab Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome to get the win and cover the number ATS. 

Off a bye week Arkansas State will have rest and extra preparation over Thursday’s opponent in UL Lafayette. It’ll be interesting to see how UL Lafayette adjusts from another loss last week to the Sun Belt’s premier team in Appalachian State. Road environments have been friendly for the Ragin Cajuns with their offense producing forty-five points against Ohio and thirty-seven against Georgia Southern. Look for their offense to be a catalyst edge over Arkansas State. 

The Green Bay Packers showed last week they can override injuries as long as Aaron Rodgers is at quarterback. The Packers veteran tore apart the Cowboys with key throws and strong running from Aaron Jones. With divisional success against the Vikings and Bears look for that to change over with the Lions. Grab Detroit as the small road underdog. 

The Dallas Cowboys have not been sharp ATS aside from blowouts against the Redskins and Giants. Consecutive weeks as favorites against the Saints and Packers whittled with the offense not showcasing strong efforts. Against the Jets look for the Cowboys to get back to the basics on both sides of the football. Grab the Cowboys. 

The Rams have faltered in consecutive games with sloppy defense. Now they’ll face an undefeated 49ers team that has displayed exceptional proficiency. Although the Rams will likely be without Todd Gurley, expect the Rams to have enough offense to clear the 49ers defense. The masked issues of Jimmy Garrapollo will finally come to fruition. Grab LA. 

The Big Ten will take center stage for a key top twenty-five matchup Saturday night. Hosting will be the Iowa Hawkeyes as they look to topple undefeated Penn State. The Hawkeyes are coming off a sputtering performance in which the offense scored just three against Michigan. Meanwhile Penn State has defeated Big 10 opponents by a whopping 93-7 advantage. Yet look for the Hawkeyes to be ready to answer off last week’s disappointment and protect their home field. Grab Iowa. 

Georgia State had the biggest upset of the season when they toppled Tennessee in September. Last week against Arkansas State they bounced back to win by two touchdowns. The win ended a two-game losing streak and showcased the high skillset of quarterback Dan Ellington. Yet Saturday look for Coastal Carolina to keep up with the Panthers offensively and cover the small number.

Two teams that are in transition phases will battle each other Thursday. The Syracuse Orangemen travel to face the Wolf Pack of NC State. Both teams are coming off bye weeks and looking to gain their fourth wins of the season. A simple fact of the matter for Syracuse has been the struggles of sophomore quarterback Tommy DeVito. That has created issues for the Syracuse defense over the course of four quarters. Lean on NC State here even with Bailey Hockman getting his second starter at quarterback for the Wolf Pack.

Both Appalachian State and UL Lafayette in action for the Sun Belt Wednesday have had extended rest. Neither team has played since Saturday September 28th. UL Lafayette has been unfaceable ATS going unblemished on the season. Yet I expect that to change Wednesday as Appalachian State’s size defensively will hinder UL Lafayette’s potent run game. Grab Appalachian State for a Wednesday winner. 

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to see a high rise on their number ATS each week. With the Colts surrendering a loss against the Raiders many red flags were raised. Still early in the season Jacoby Brissett is going to have to burden immense pressure to keep them in Sunday’s contest. Look for him to be up for the challenge and the Colts to be the latest to get the cover against the Chiefs. 

Probably the biggest game Sunday will be played in Dallas. Green Bay comes in banged up with their biggest weapon out in wide receiver DaVante Adams. Targets for the Packers receivers will now go to a cast of former third and fourth wide receivers. Woes offensively for Green Bay have featured sporadic play. That combined with the Packers poor run defense leaves Sunday’s matchup in doubt. Still the Cowboys are prone to leaving teams in games. Look for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense to have just enough surge to cover this spread. 

The Saints have changed over their offensive game plan to fit their strengths minus Drew Brees. The change over has featured short throws and opportunistic defense. What will give Sunday as the Saints face one of the top offenses in the league in Tampa Bay? Tampa put on a big display of points against the Rams and has been in every one of their games win or loss. Yet look for the Saints to pull through with a strong fourth quarter. 

The Atlanta Falcons had one of the biggest let downs last week a home loss to the Titans. The offense was inept and the defense was torn apart by a formerly struggling Marcus Mariotta. Now they’ll travel on the road to face a Texans team that’s been strong defensively and has weapons galore on offense. Look for the Falcons to rise to the occasion on this one and get the cover. 

The 1-4 UCLA Bruins could easily be 0-5. Their lone win came in a desperation comeback down four touchdowns against Washington State. Last week’s golden opportunity to get a win with Arizona’s quarterback out faltered. Now they’ll face an Oregon State team that nearly comeback to defeat Stanford. They also have a senior quarterback in Jake Luton at their disposal that will test a poor UCLA defense. Still the Beavers always find a way to neutralize themselves on the field. Look for key penalties to derail their chance at a cover. Grab UCLA. 

The Arizona Wildcats will venture on the road for the first time since their loss to Hawaii. Two solid wins in a row have still placed doubt on Arizona’s offense that has not looked like a Kevin Summerlin type. Yet their defense has rose to the challenge and gave Colorado quarterback Steven Montez troubles in last year’s contest. Grab Arizona to win the turnover battle and secure an ATS cover. 

One of the biggest letdowns last week in college football was Nebraska. They faltered as steep home underdogs against the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes. This week they’ll get a chance to avenge that embarrassing loss as they remain at home against Northwestern. The Wildcats have looked sloppy at times but remain well coached. Look for Northwestern to  have the edge and get the cover. 

One of the key early morning games will come between Army and Tulane. Both teams are well-rested with Tulane coming off the memorable thrilling cover against Houston. They’re capabilities offensively will test an Army squad that may still be without quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. Expect a back and forth affair with Army gaining the pace and key stops late to get this cover. 

The Dallas Cowboys have torn apart the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. Their strength of schedule will take a big rise Sunday night as they face the New Orlean Saints. Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints defense were strong in their road win over the Seahawks. Factoring the Saints home edge and prime time spot should put the Cowboys in a tough spot. But look for the focus of this Cowboys team to remain sharp. Grab Dallas. 

The Bears are now 2-1 but many are basing that on the quality of their opponents. They barely escaped Denver and clearly won a sloppy performance against the Redkins on Monday Night. Stepping up against a higher caliber opponent in the Vikings will be a tough challenge. Defensively the Vikings have a solid script on Mitch Trubisky based on their past meetings. With Dalvin Cook running wild this could be a pace game that the Vikings dictate. In the end though look for the Bears to convert their red zone opportunities into touchdowns and prevail ATS. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have shown that they’re still exhibitioning some of the characteristics under their old regime. Two home losses were both led by execution failures against the 49ers and Giants. Now they’ll travel to California to face one of the best teams in football the past two seasons in the LA Rams. Issues may continue arise for the Bucs offense but look for their defense to show up and override last week’s meltdown against the Giants. Grab Tampa Bay. 

The Arizona Cardinals are putting a big burden on rookie quarterback Kyler Murray. While he may have the eye-popping stats the on field results have been lackluster. Yet look for this week to be a competitive game for the Cardinals. Seattle has been prone to playing down to a team home or away. Grab Arizona to put in a quality effort and cover the home points here. 

The Buckeyes inexperience at quarterback has not hurt them one bit. Justin Fields has stepped in and took the reigns with no problem. In a big home spot for the Cornhuskers look for Fields to have the edge over Nebraska’s quarterback in Adrian Martinez. Grab the Buckeyes to continue to cover at a blistering rate.

The Stanford Cardinals free-fall has put them in unchartered territory. At 1-3 they’ve been blown out by double-digits in their last three games. They level of competition will be a couple of steps down for them this Saturday against Oregon State. Yet this is a chance for the Beavers to exact revenge for years of Cardinals beat downs. Grab Oregon State. 

The Fighting Irish did not fall much in the polls after their competitive loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Defensively they showed they are more than capable of contending with anyone on any given Saturday. Yet look for the challenge of slowing Bryce Perkins to be a different beast. Virginia may be prone to close games but that bodes to their advantage in this tough road environment. Grab Virginia.

The Sooners and Texas Tech will open up Big 12 conference play Saturday morning. Both teams come in having had a full week of rest in between their last games on September 14th. Don’t expect the Sooners to have any display of rust. They’ll keep their octane offense and show enough improvements defensively to cover a nearly four touchdown spread.

The Bears are fortunate to not be 0-2. Thanks to a miraculous long range field goal week two to defeat Denver they are 1-1. That does not provide relief for an offense that has looked MIA for the first two weeks of the season. Yet, Monday expect things to open up for the run game and eventually Mitch Trubisky. Washington is vulnerable on both sides of the football and will give the Bears opportunities for short fields. Grab Chicago.

The San Francisco 49ers took care of business to jump out to a 2-0 record. They’ve done so with injuries at the tailback position and re-acclimating Jimmy Garrappollo to the offense. It’s working and right now they have a prime spot to unleash years of misery for the 49ers franchise. Pittsburgh will fight to avoid an 0-3 start but this is a 49ers team out the gate with high intensity offensively and defensively. Grab San Francisco. 

Making a quarterback change in the NFL to a rookie is usually done in an opportune spot. Facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers improving defense under Todd Bowles may serve to be a tough challenge for Daniel Jones. With an extra three days off since their win over Carolina the defense should be extra prepared. This is a spot that I’ll side with the underdog as they find a way to lean on Saquon Barkley and get the tempo in place to keep Daniel Jones unnerved. Grab the Giants. 

Could this be de ja vu for the Arizona State Sun Devils? Similar to last year an upset over Michigan State led to a top twenty five ranking for the Sun Devils. This time around though they are not led by a senior quarterback. Instead they’re led by a freshman who the Sun Devils have kept under wraps in wins over Sacramento State and Michigan State. This week look for the Sun Devils to continue to lean on their defense and get enough from their offense. Grab ASU. 

Comfort in a home schedule for the entire month of September did not bode to the advantage of Mississippi State last week. The game slipped away as Kansas State answered a score with a special teams touchdown. Saturday expect the Bulldogs to learn from that situation regardless of who is quarterback. Kentucky has looked the part with a cover over Toledo and nearly upsetting Florida last week. Expect this to be a reality check matchup with the Bulldogs succeeding. 

Saturday, Texas A&M finds themselves crunched with two top matchups over the next three weeks. Saturday they’ll face Auburn before they host Alabama in two weeks. This matchup is a rematch of one of the worst meltdowns of a team in-conference last season. Texas A&M let a sure win slip away in the final minutes by allowing two touchdowns in the final five minutes. Expect A&M to show pride this time around and get the win over a better Auburn Tigers team.

The Philadelphia Eagles survived a scare in week one against the Washington Redskins. Now they’ll face an Atlanta Falcons team that has their backs up against the wall after a poor showing against the Minnesota Vikings. Offensively the Falcons look a few notches behind what you would expect with the veteran talent they have. Look for the Eagles to put on a showcase performance and the Falcons to start off 0-2. 

The Chiefs potent offense did not skip a beat week one with an injured Tyreek Hill. They’ll travel to face an Oakland team that does not have the weapons to play at a face pace. Yet look for the Raiders to benefit from two home games to start the season and ride their rookie tailback Josh Jacobs as they did against Denver. Grab Oakland here. 

Saturday an odd matchup will take place between the Sun Belt’s Georgia State and MAC’s Western Michigan. Just two weeks ago the Panthers pulled off the biggest upset of the young season over Tennessee. That was nearly overrode last week in a close victory over Furman 48-42.  Look for Western Michigan to take advantage of a poor Panthers defense and cruise Saturday  

The Bulls find themselves in a similar spot as a season ago when they were six point favorites on the road against Rutgers. This time they’ll face a Liberty team that has not shown the offensive flashes they did a season ago with quarterback Stephen Calvert. The senior has just one touchdown in two games with a QBR rating of 11.7. Although the Bulls are led by a freshmen quarterback look for them to have the edge and ATS cover here. 

A year ago Herm Edwards Sun Devils were able to stun Michigan State on their home field. It was the type of game that the offense did very little until the final window of the fourth quarter. That’s fresh in the minds of a Michigan State team that will have opportunities against a different caliber ASU team. Don’t expect them to let off the gas in this one. Grab Michigan State. 

Saturday morning SEC’s Mississippi State will host the Big 12’s Kansas State. This matchup marks the third straight home game to begin the season for Mississippi State. Penn State quarterback transfer Tommy Stevens has looked efficient. Yet look for Kansas State’s pace of play to be a boost ATS here. Grab the full touchdown of points.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will aim to go 3-0 as they travel in-state to take on Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have shown a prolific offense scoring 38 points and 41 to begin the season. They’v also played both of their first two games on Friday. Look for a full four quarters of focus to continue to benefit the Tar Heels. Grab North Carolina. 

The prime time lights will feature two Monday night football games. One of focus will be the Saints. They’ll take on a Houston Texans team that has octane weapons at wide receiver and one of the streakiest quarterbacks in football in DeShaun Watson. The Saints will have to adjust without former tailback Mark Ingram and the fact that there are still concerns at the receiver position behind Mike Thomas. Expect the ageless veteran Drew Bree’s to deliver a typical Brees prime time performance and a Saints cover. 

Over the years the Carolina Panthers have developed a stout reputation with Cam Newton under center as a great home team. They’ve had a way of controlling pace and finishing off games in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile the Rams were one of the few teams to not play their starters one bit in pre-season. Expected rust and a long road trip have trimmed this spread down. Yet I expect to see Jared Goff prepared with his vast weapons at wide receiver to showcase the Goff that flashed to begin 2018.

The hype for the Cleveland Browns finally takes center stage Sunday. All the additions and coaching changes have shifted the mentality of on field expectations. They’ll face an AFC opponent in the Titans that have under achieved multiple years with Marcus Mariotta as quarterback. His pre-season performance put a cloud on if he’ll be able to maintain the starting job over Ryan Tannehill. Defensively they can stay in this game. While the Titans offense gets enough done to cover here. 

Justified concerns exist for both Stanford and USC entering Saturday. Injuries to their top quarterbacks have cast doubt on the prospects of their season. Stanford showed in week one that their offense is going to be a work in progress all season, and this hit probably expands those worries. As much as people harp on David Shaw’s coaching style this is the type of game where he can lean on a structured balanced game plan. Grab Stanford.

The Colorado Buffaloes showed strengths and weaknesses in their opening victory over Colorado State. Their offense is dynamic with multiple potent weapons in their backfield and familiar names at wide receiver. A plus for their quarterback Steven Montez is his best collegiate performance came against Nebraska last year in which he threw for 351 yards. Trying to replicate that performance and an up tempo game plan bodes to the advantage of the Cornhuskers. Grab Nebraska to avenge last year’s home loss.

One of the worst performances of week one came from the Akron Zips. They were blown out by an Illinois team that dominated from start to finish 42-3. Returning home for week two they’ll face a UAB team that struggled to beat Alabama State 24-19. Yet look for UAB’s dual threat quarterback Tyler Johnston III to keep pace on UAB’s side. Eventually look for the ground game of the Blazers to over power the Zips. Grab UAB. 

The first game to kick things off Saturday comes between the ACC Pittsburgh Panthers and MAC Ohio Bobcats. This is a familiar spot and number for Ohio who faltered a year ago against Virginia. Senior quarterback Nathan Rourke has never been a light it up type of collegiate quarterback but has the savvy to keep the Bobcats in this one. Expect a close competitive game where the Bobcats hold on for the cover in the fourth. 

For the second straight week the Wake Forest Demon Deacons will play on Friday. Last week they had a thrilling comeback victory and held off Utah State. Now they’ll face a Rice team that had a disastrous 2018 season in which they finished 2-11. Offensively they did not show much in week ones loss to Army scoring just seven points. Yet they gained confidence defensively and should maneuver against a Demon Deacons defense that isn’t as strong as years past. Grab Rice

The Oklahoma Sooners will be in the Sunday prime time spot as they take on the Houston Cougars. Lots of changes have been made for the Houston Cougars as they brought in former West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. Holgorsen inherits lethal dual threat senior quarterback D’Eriq King and a talented Cougars team that finished he regular season 8-4. Holgorsen’s familiarity of the Big 12 and Oklahoma could be a catalyst early for the Cougars. Yet expect the Sooners who have steadily improved defensively to push through for the cover. Grab Oklahoma. 

Virginia Tech and Boston College will kick off the first true conference matchup on the new ACC network. The Golden Eagles ended last season on a three game slide after starting the year 7-2. The Hokies will attempt to avenge last years home loss to the Golden Eagles. Similar to last year the point of the season for this scheduled matchup gives the edge to the Golden Eagles style. Grab Boston College