This is an 8* on SEATTLE 

Arizona may have looked good last Monday (we had them!), but this is not a good situation to be facing the undefeated Seahawks. The Cardinals are working on a short week here. Seattle is off a bye. The Seahawks will not play the same kind of mistake-filled football Arizona saw in Dallas Monday night. Russell Wilson is having an MVP-caliber season right now. His team has covered seven straight when playing with AT LEAST seven days rest. They are 3-0 ATS the last three seasons off their bye. The Seahawks’ offense is averaging nearly 34 points per game and almost 7.0 yards per play! Remember that the Cardinals have lost to the likes of the Lions and Panthers, the former coming right here at home. The four teams they’ve beaten - San Francisco, Washington, the Jets and Dallas - aren’t exactly off to great starts. Excluding the 49ers, the other three teams Arizona has beaten are a combined 3-15 SU. They are not in the Seahawks league … yet. Play on SEATTLE

AAA

This is a 10* on LA DODGERS

The Dodgers were one out away from taking a 3-1 lead in the World Series and making this an elimination game for the Rays. By now, we all know that is not what happened. A dramatic 2-out single in the bottom of the ninth by Brett Phillips, which led to the Dodgers making TWO errors on the play, resulted in an 8-7 win for Tampa Bay and now we’re knotted at two games apiece. We expect Los Angeles to bounce back though as they send out Game 1 winner Clayton Kershaw to the mound tonight. Kershaw was masterful in Game 1, allowing just one run on two hits over six innings. He now has a 2.38 ERA and 0.84 WHIP this season and the Dodgers have won 11 of his 14 starts. Kershaw will again be opposed by Tyler Glasnow in Game 5, same as he was in Game 1. Glasnow was left in too long by Rays manager Kevin Cash in Game 1, which led to much deliberation, as he threw more pitches than any Rays starter has in any game this season. Glasnow has not made it a full six innings in any start this year and walked six batters in Game 1. How much mileage Cash can get out of his bullpen tonight, based on usage last night, is up for debate. What we do know is the Rays offense remains entirely too dependent on the home run ball. The Dodgers are 17-5 off a loss this year. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

The Chargers are 1-4 but as is usually the case, they’re losing close. All four losses have been by seven points or less, three of them coming against the Chiefs, Saints and Bucs. Two of those three were in overtime! They are off a bye here and facing a Jaguars team that also has just one win, but has been a lot less competitive in doing so. Jacksonville lost 34-16 at home to Detroit last week, making it five straight games they’ve allowed 30 or more points. All five have been losses. The Chargers offense scored 31 and 27 against Tampa Bay and New Orleans as rookie QB Justin Herbert continues to perform better than expected. He very well could be in for his best day as a pro this week. He might have to be, seeing as the Chargers defense has given up 38 and 30 points in those last two games. Jacksonville’s Gardner Minshew has attempted 40 or more passes in each of the last five games. The Over is 7-3 in the Jags previous 10 conference games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on TB

Not sure how bumping this game UP helps the Raiders, who have had to place their entire starting offensive linemen on the COVID-19 list! We liked Tampa Bay BEFORE the unfortunate news hit Las Vegas’ ranks and now this sets up to be an even better spot to take the Bucs. They should overwhelm the Raiders up front. Honestly, the Raiders were going to struggle in pass protection even with their normal starting offensive line. Tampa Bay’s defense is #1 in the league in stopping the run and total yards allowed. They’ve got the second most sacks with 22. Just last week we saw the Bucs beat a previously unbeaten Green Bay team by four touchdowns. Since losing at New Orleans in Week 1, TB has gone 4-1 with that one loss coming by a single point on a Thursday night game. (They probably should have beaten Chicago too). Tom Brady is 21-12 ATS L33 as a road favorite. The Bucs have quietly scored the second most points in the league, are fully healthy on offense and are facing a defense that has given up 30 or more points in four of its five games. Play on TAMPA BAY

AAA

This is a 10* on NO

New Orleans is dealing with injuries at receiver, but not having Michael Thomas for most of their games hasn’t slowed them down thus far. They’ve scored 30 or more in all but one game this season. So even with Emmanuel Sanders set to be out, we still think the Saints will find a way to put up enough points on the Panthers this week. Look for the offense to lean on Alvin Kamara, who has four straight games of 100+ total yards and has way more receiving yardage than any other back in the league. Remember the Saints are off a bye here, so they’ve had two weeks to prepare for a Panthers team that is starting Teddy Bridgewater at QB. Bridgewater started five games for the Saints last year, so they know him well. Though only 3-2 straight up to this point, October is when the Saints get hot. They are 15-2 ATS in the month of October since 2016, which is the best record in the league over that span.  They’ve also covered 21 of the last 31 division games. Carolina didn’t look very good against Chicago last week and has topped 23 points in just two games, both times at home. Play on NEW ORLEANS

AAA

This is an 8* on ATL

Atlanta finally won a game! They beat Minnesota last week, handily, 40-23 as a 4-point road underdog. That was the first game since firing Dan Quinn. Interim Raheem Morris now looks to make it two in a row as the Falcons are set to host Detroit this week. The Lions are similar to the Birds in that they too are off a win and probably should have a better record. The Lions have led in all five of their games including by double digits in all three losses! But Atlanta can top that as they held double digit 4th quarter leads in two of its losses. Detroit was off a bye facing Jacksonville last week, so that helped. The last time they won two straight games was when they started 2-0-1 last year. Since then, they’ve won just three of 18 games. They are 3-9 ATS their last 12 games as an underdog. The Lions’ defense is 4th worst in the league right now so look for Falcons RB Todd Gurley to potentially have a repeat of his performance two weeks ago when he went for 121 yards on 14 touches. Atlanta will win its first home game of the season. Play on ATLANTA

AAA

This is a 6* on GB 

Green Bay suffered its first loss of the season last week and it came in humiliating fashion, 38-10 at Tampa Bay. But despite giving up 38 unanswered points, the Packers were not necessarily dominated to the degree that you might think. Two Aaron Rodgers’ interceptions, one of which was returned for a TD, really swung that game in the Buccaneers’ direction. Prior to last week’s loss, GB hadn’t turned the ball over once all year. The offense scored 30+ points in each of the first four weeks. Now they’ll face a Texans defense that is in tatters after giving away the lead late last week and losing in overtime to Tennessee. Other than Jacksonville, all of Houston’s opponents have scored at least 28 points. The Texans are 30th in total yards allowed and last against the run. They’ve also allowed 13 passing TDs in six games. So Rodgers should have a nice bounce back game here. He’s already 5-0 ATS off his previous five losses. Houston has not covered (0-4 ATS) as an underdog this season. The Packers are 8-2 ATS L10 vs. AFC teams. Play on GREEN BAY

AAA

This is an 8* on UNDER

Despite being a pretty big underdog for this unification bout, Gaethje does have a path to victory, which is something you can’t say about virtually any of Nurmagomedov’s previous 28 opponents (all of whom have lost). Gaethje is not only a great striker, but possesses tremendous takedown defense. He will be the first former D-1 NCAA wrestler that Nurmagomedov has had to face. Gaethje has only been taken down twice in his entire UFC career. Nurmagomedov almost always gets his opponent down to the mat. The problem for Gaethje is he’s never dealt with the kind of grappler Nurmagomedov is. (Few have, except those who have faced him). Gaethje’s preferred chance here is to keep the fight standing and hopefully deliver one fatal blow. Almost all of his wins have come by TKO/submission, so there is that. But the more likely outcome is Nurmagomedov eventually does get Gaethje down and ends it as per usual. Regardless, this fight will end before the 5th round expires. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is an 8* on CANNONIER

A lot is on the line here for Cannonier (13-4) as a win would likely put him in line for a shot at Middleweight Champ Israel Adesanya. It’s been a bit of a shocking rise for the native Alaskan. Cannonier actually began his UFC career as a heavyweight, but has since dropped down TWO classes and finally found success at 185 lbs. He’s won three straight fights, all by TKO, none of them reaching the six minute mark. Whittaker (21-5) has taken a different path to middleweight as he actually moved UP a class after struggling as a welterweight. He too found success at 185, even claiming the division’s title, but that was a while ago and Whittaker’s only 2020 fight (a decision win over Darren Till) wasn’t all that impressive. The bottom line here is that he’s going to be at an extreme size disadvantage and we don’t see how he can successfully counteract that. Play on CANNONIER

AAA

This is an 8* on TROY 

Troy is 3-1 with the three wins all coming against bad teams and the loss being to BYU. They shouldn’t have much trouble defeating a Georgia State team that is simply not very good on the road. The Panthers, now 1-2, gave up 59 points in a loss at Arkansas State last Thursday. It was their second “close” conference loss (also lost 34-31 to Louisiana in OT) but the bottom line is they are now just 2-11 SU L13 road games. We faded them at Arkansas State, noting GSU was listed as a home underdog against East Carolina several weeks ago. Though they did win that game 49-29, it says a lot when you’re an underdog at home to East Carolina. As mentioned at the outset of the analysis, Troy has handled its business as a favorite this year, winning all three times in that role. While they only beat Eastern Kentucky by two, the other two wins were by 33 and 20 points. Georgia State’s defense is allowing over 40 PPG so far and the team/coaching staff has been impacted by COVID-19. Can’t see them winning here. Play on TROY

AAA

This is a 10* on VA TECH

Virginia Tech is 3-1 and coming off an impressive 40-14 win over Boston College last Saturday night. The Hokies have scored 38 or more in every game this season. They now face a Wake Forest team that’s won two in a row after an 0-2 start. The Demon Deacons have put up 40 or more in three straight games themselves, but were also the clear beneficiaries of a +3 turnover margin in last week’s 40-23 upset of Virginia. The WF defense is going to have all sorts of problems stopping the run this weekend. They gave up 270 yards rushing to NC State and 218 more to Virginia. Led by Kansas transfer Khalil Herbert, Va Tech has run for at least 260 yards in every game. Wake has covered just once in its last six tries as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. They are also just 2-4 ATS coming off back to back wins. The only time that the Demon Deacons have beaten Va Tech in the last five meetings was an ugly 6-3 win back in 2014. The Hokies won 38-17 last season in Blacksburg and not enough has changed on the WF side to convince us this one will go much better. Lay the points! Play on VIRGINIA TECH

AAA

This is a 9* on MARSHALL

Marshall, along with Arkansas, is one of two 4-0 ATS teams in the country. The Thundering Herd are also 4-0 straight up though and winning in convincing fashion. They’ve posted four double digit victories, the most recent being 35-17 over Louisiana Tech last weekend, while outgaining the opposition by an average of nearly 156 yards/game. We still don’t know a ton about this week’s opponent, Florida Atlantic, who has played just one game thus far. That one game was an uninspiring 21-17 win over Charlotte, which was at home and saw FAU get outgained by almost 100 yards. Marshall is 6-1 all-time vs. FAU with a 36-31 win last year in Boca Raton. The Herd come in averaging 37.3 points per contest and 213.8 yards rushing per game. The one game that FAU played was three weeks ago, so simple stuff like tackling on defense could be an issue for them. The Owls were actually down 21-7 at home in that game vs. Charlotte. Marshall is ranked and a pretty strong team at home. The defense allowed just 7 yards rushing last week and has given up only 38 points on the year! FAU is nowhere near as good as they were last year under Lane Kiffin. Play on MARSHALL

AAA

This is an 8* on AUBURN 

Two SEC teams coming off misleading (and probably undeserved) losses last week meet here in Oxford. Auburn lost 30-23 to South Carolina last week, despite leading the whole first half and outgaining the Gamecocks 481-297 for the game. That loss dropped the Tigers to 2-2 and they’d be 1-3 if not for a lucky break against Arkansas. Speaking of Arkansas, Ole Miss’ result from last Saturday was even more misleading as they lost 33-21 to the Razorbacks despite having the edge in total yards. The Rebels turned it over SEVEN times, which was their undoing. In this battle of desperate teams, we like the visitors to walk away with the victory as Ole Miss is ranked last in the country in scoring defense, giving up 47 points/game. Auburn’s run game has gone for 259 and 209 yards the last two weeks behind back Tank Bigsby. That’s how we think they’ll control this one. Can’t see Gus Mahlzan’s team losing two in a row as favorites. Off an SEC loss, Auburn is 8-1 SU the last three seasons. They are also 33-11 all-time vs. Mississippi and won four straight years. Play on AUBURN

AAA

This is an 8* on NC STATE

The “Mack Brown express” ran into a brick wall last weekend, losing 31-28 to 1-win Florida State as a 2 TD road favorite. North Carolina came into that game ranked #5 in the country, but obviously tumbled down the polls by losing to a team that had yet to beat a FBS opponent this season. The Tar Heels return home to Chapel Hill this week, to face in-state rival NC State, who will be without their QB Devin Leary. Because Leary is out, this line has been steamed up to the point the Wolfpack are now a solid value plus the points. While it’s never good to be without your starting QB, NC State has an experienced backup in Bailey Hockman. The North Carolina defense has been gashed the last two weeks, first giving up 45 to Virginia Tech, then 31 in the first half to Florida State. NC State is 4-1 and off three consecutive victories, two of them coming as underdogs. They aren’t going to roll over without Leary. Take away the Virginia Tech game and North Carolina is averaging only 28.3 points in its other three contests this year. We don’t think they can score enough to cover the large spread this week. Play on NC STATE

AAA

This is an 8* on ALVAREZ

Let’s start early in the morning with a couple of lightweights. Alvarez (17-2) has won his last two fights, both as an underdog, stopping Danillo Belluardo and Joseph Duffy. The win over Duffy came back in July and ended in the 1st round with Alvarez winning by 1st round submission. He employed a guillotine choke few saw coming. Now Alvarez is favored over the veteran Yakovlev, who has tasted defeat 10 times before. The most recent loss occurred back in November, which is the last time he fought and was against Roosevelt Roberts, a decision loss. It was the third time in his last four fights that Yakovlev came out on the losing end. The thing with Yakovlev is that he’s too small to be a welterweight, but cutting weight to make 155 lbs seems to adversely affect his stamina. We can’t see him even making it the distance here, but even if he does, it’ll be another loss. Play on ALVAREZ

AAA

This is a 10* on the UNDER

This is the best starting pitching matchup we’ve had thus far in the World Series as Walker Buehler goes for the Dodgers and Charlie Morton goes for the Rays. Buehler threw six scoreless innings the last time we saw him and has given up just four runs total his last five starts. He’s allowed just 16 hits during that time and while there have been some issues with control (not the last start), perhaps the most important thing is he’s given up just two home runs this postseason. The Rays are getting an irregularly high amount of their runs from the long ball, which just isn’t sustainable. The Under is 5-0 in Buehler’s previous five starts. Morton has been even hotter than Buehler, if you can believe it. In the playoffs, Morton has a 0.57 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He didn’t allow runs in either start in the ALCS. Game 2 was Tampa Bay’s highest scoring game since Game 3 of the ALDS against the Yankees. They have scored four or more in back to back games only one time in the playoffs and that was Games 3-4 of that series with the Yankees. The Under is 5-1 the L6 times they’ve been off a win. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on UAB

This is a rare non-conference showdown this season, pitting top teams from the Sun Belt and Conference USA. Louisiana came in with a lot of hype this year after winning 11 games in 2019. They opened 2020 with an upset of Iowa State, but haven’t looked impressive since then. They’ve now been outgained in 3 of 4 games, including the win over Iowa State, and are off a loss - 30-27 to Coastal Carolina - where they were nine-point home favorites. Proud to report we were on the dog in that one as we told you that Louisiana’s two prior wins had been by 2 points and 3 in overtime. They trailed for most of those games (against Georgia State and Georgia Southern). Now the Cajuns must deal with a UAB squad that is 4-1, the only loss coming to Miami FL. The Blazers also played for their conference championship last season and have won three straight in fairly impressive fashion. They beat Western Kentucky 37-14 on Saturday for their 21st consecutive win at home. As you can see, this game takes place in Birmingham. The big problem for Louisiana so far is that they are giving up almost 200 yards/game on the ground. That’s a problem vs. UAB, who averages 175 rush yards/game and is 19th in the country in yards/carry. The UAB defense has allowed an average of just 12.3 points the L3 weeks. Play on UAB

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The NFC East is a total joke right now. Despite losing Dak Prescott for the year and getting blown out Monday night, Dallas is still in first place with a 2-4 record. Either the Giants or Eagles will join the Cowboys at 2 wins after Thursday. That is unless they tie, which Philly did earlier in the year against Cincinnati. The Giants were the last team in the division to record a win, doing so last week, appropriately against Washington. They scored just 20 points though and that was with a defensive score. New York is 31st in both yards and points per game offensively and their scoring average of 16.8 PPG would be significantly lower if not for putting up 34 points against the worst defense in the league (Dallas). The Eagles scored 28 last week against the Ravens, but a lot of that came in “garbage time.” Carson Wentz isn’t having a good year at all and TE Zach Ertz is going to be out for at least 3-4 weeks. Running back Miles Sanders will also miss this game. They aren’t turning things around on a short week. The only good news for Eagles fans is that the Giants have topped 16 points on offense in only one game this year (at Dallas), so they won’t be scoring much here. The Under is 5-1 for the Eagles, their last six games as a home favorite while it’s 4-1 for the Giants in their last five as a road underdog. Play on UNDER. 

This is a 10* on APP STATE

Appalachian State finally gets to return to the field after a several week hiatus. The last time the Mountaineers played a game was September 22nd vs. Campbell, which was a 52-21 win. They host SunBelt foe Arkansas State on Thursday night. The Red Wolves were a winner for us last Thursday, outlasting Georgia State in a wild 59-52 affair, which was their second straight game scoring 50 or more. But they can expect far more resistance in this one, facing a Mountaineers defense that is giving up just 19.3 points/game so far. The most points allowed by App State through three games is 21. Perhaps it’s because they are 0-3 ATS, but this line clearly opened too low. As good as the Arkansas State passing attack has been this year, they couldn’t run the ball against Georgia State (just 1.5 yards/carry) and the defense was atrocious. The defensive coordinator and another coach were both let go with the Red Wolves allowing 481.8 yards/game (worst in the Sun Belt) and 39.8 points/game (2nd worst). App State should be able to run the ball at will in this game as they come in as the number five rushing team in the country at 269.3 yards/game. Play on APPALACHIAN STATE

AAA

This is an 8* on LA

Pretty much everything we said in our Game 1 analysis rang true last night as the Dodgers opened the series with a 8-3 win. The Rays have gotten shockingly little offense in the postseason, outside of when they are hitting home runs. As mentioned in yesterday’s writeup, almost 72% of their runs scored in the playoffs have come via the long ball. While the Dodgers homered twice in Game 1, they also showed they can string runs together without hitting out of the park. Scoring eight times across three innings was more than enough in Game 1. Though Tony Gonsolin will start Game 2 for LA, this likely turns into a “bullpen game” for them. Though Gonsolin wasn’t very good against Atlanta in the NLCS, he does have a 2.74 ERA and 0.82 WHIP for the season. Blake Snell goes for Tampa Bay tonight. He isn’t likely to go as long as Tyler Glasnow did last night for Kevin Cash. An issue for Snell this postseason has been control of his fastball, which has led to 10 walks. An issue here is that the Dodgers have a .990 OPS in the playoffs vs. left-handers and they’ve hit a lot of homers. The Dodgers, who have won 42 of their last 55 games and are 17-4 vs. the AL this season, are simply the better team here. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA

This is a 10* on LA

We were behind the Dodgers in their NLCS comeback, taking them in both Games 6 & 7. While rallying back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Braves certainly had to take a lot out of the club, let’s not discount what the Rays just went through. They led the ALCS 3-0 before Houston stormed back to force a Game 7. So we’ve got a World Series where both participants have to feel like they’ve been through a war. Clayton Kershaw, who did NOT get called into duty in Game 7 vs. Atlanta, now gets the Game 1 start for LA. You can certainly question Kershaw’s postseason resume as it is nowhere near as impressive as his regular season accolades. But it’s hard to question a pitcher that has a 0.87 WHIP across his 13 starts this year. Plus, Tampa Bay really struggles to score when they are not hitting home runs. Almost 72% of the Rays’ runs scored during the playoffs have come via the long ball. Kershaw has allowed just 8 HR’s going back to August. Three of those were in his L2 starts but he was also facing the #3 and #2 scoring offenses in baseball. The home run ball likely will be a deciding factor in this series as the Dodgers just set a record by hitting 16 in one series. They hit the most homers in the regular season. Game 1 starter for Tampa Bay, Tyler Glasnow has allowed six HRs in 19 ⅓ postseason innings. Uh oh. Another edge for the Dodgers is they have been playing here in Arlington while the ALCS was in San Diego. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA

This is a 10* on ARI

Dallas has struggled all season on the defensive side of the ball. Actually, to call it “struggling” would be putting things rather mildly. They have flat out stunk defensively. Even last week, when they won, they gave up 34 points to a Giants team that had previously not scored more than 16 points in any game this season. And the Cowboys needed two field goals in the final two minutes, including the game-winner with no time left, just to come out ahead. Through five games, America’s Team has given up more than 400 yards and 36 points/game. The numbers get even uglier when analyzing just the last four games. Only five defenses have given up more yards per game while no one has allowed more points. But of course, on top of that horrific defense, the bigger story is now the loss of QB Dak Prescott (broke his ankle) for the rest of the season. Prescott was putting up historic numbers and doing his best to counteract the defense. Now it’s Andy Dalton under center. Arizona is coming off an easy 30-10 win over the Jets and should again put up plenty of points on Monday night. The Cardinals are now 8-2-2 ATS L12 road games while Dallas is the only team in the league that hasn’t covered a single game this season. Play on ARIZONA

AAA

10* play on SF

So the 49ers played a terrible game last week. They lost 43-17 at home to Miami. It happens. Admittedly, San Francisco should be worried as the week before that they lost at home to Philadelphia. Now they face the prospect of a third consecutive home defeat as the Rams come to town Sunday night. Don’t look for that to happen though. This line “flipped” pretty quickly as it was San Fran that opened as a favorite. The line move has been pretty severe and an overreaction (our opinion) to what happened last week. The Rams are 4-1, but have beaten some pretty weak teams along the way. The last two weeks have seen them get to face the Giants and Washington, who are a combined 1-9. This is the first time all season that the 49ers will be an underdog. It comes at a time when the offense is the healthiest it's been all year. They defeated the Rams both times last year. Let’s just chalk up last week to a “one week thing” as SF should bounce back in primetime this week. They are 5-1 ATS their last six games as an underdog. Play on SAN FRANCISCO

AAA

This is an 8* on LOS ANGELES

We rolled with the Dodgers in Game 6 and that’s who we are going with again in Game 7. LA was able to jump on Atlanta starter Max Fried early yesterday, scoring three runs in the first inning and that held up in a 3-1 win. They’ll face Ian Anderson in Game 7. While Anderson hasn’t allowed a run this postseason, he was a bit wild back in Game 2 when he walked five hitters. Remember that the Dodgers just handed Fried his first losing decision of the year. It was only the second time this season that the Braves lost with Fried pitching. So Anderson should not be viewed as infallible. The Dodgers were baseball’s best team in the regular season and by that measure, we’re getting them at a fairly discounted price here in Game 7. They are 40-13 L53 games. They have yet to make a decision on who will start tonight, but you know it’s going to be a combined effort on the mound with Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias and maybe even Clayton Kershaw all making an appearance. The Braves have scored three runs or less in three of the last four games. Play on LA DODGERS

This is a 10* on the OVER

With the exception of the Monday night game vs. Kansas City, Baltimore has run roughshod over the rest of the league, winning four games by 14 points or more. This week they travel to Philadelphia to face a wounded Eagles team that’s 1-3-1 overall and just gave up 38 points to Pittsburgh last week. Seeing as how the Ravens have scored at least 27 points in all of their wins this year, we see this game going Over the total with little drama. The Ravens probably could have scored even more if they “wanted” last week, but with such a commanding lead over the Bengals, they clearly took their foot off the gas in the second half. The Eagles are likely to be playing “catch up” most of the way here and one positive for them is that they have increased their scoring from the previous week in every game this season. But a defense that’s given up an average of 29 points/game while facing some not very good offenses is in for a rough one this week. The Over is 4-0 for Philadelphia the last four seasons in Week 6. That trend stays alive this week. Consider how much scoring we’re seeing across the league this year, this number seems low. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on CAROLINA

Two overachieving teams meet in Charlotte this Sunday with the 3-2 Panthers hosting the 4-1 Bears. What’s really remarkable about those two won-loss records is that the teams have combined to be favored in just ONE game all year. That was when the Bears hosted the Giants and they did not cover the spread! Carolina has won as an underdog each of the last three weeks. We do not see an upset in this game. In three of their four wins this year (Giants being the exception), Chicago has come back from a double digit deficit. They gained just 4.1 yards per play against Tampa Bay last Thursday and were outgained by nearly 100 yards in the game. That they won should be considered a minor miracle. This is an offense that has failed to gain even 300 total yards in either of the two games Nick Foles has started. They have scored just 31 points in those two games. The Carolina defense has looked much improved during the three-game win streak, giving up an average of just 17.7 points/game. A 4-1 team that’s being outgained per play and per game would seem to be rather fraudulent. The Bears are just that and they are 0-5 ATS off their last five ATS wins. Play on CAROLINA

AAA

This is a 9* on ALABAMA

Alabama may not have a good recent history as a home favorite of 7 points or less (0-4-1 ATS with four outright losses), but what the Crimson Tide do have here is some serious motivation, coming off last week’s lackadaisical defensive effort vs. Ole Miss. The Tide gave up 48 points and more than 600 yards in one of the worst efforts of the Saban era. With Saban himself testing positive for COVID-19, everyone seems to be counting out Bama this week against Georgia, but not us. The Tide looked just fine to us the first two games, so we’ll call last week a bad matchup. Saban has even suggested Lane Kiffin (former assistant) may have known Bama’s defensive signals. Georgia’s offense is struggling to run the ball, averaging only 3.8 yards/carry. Alabama QB Mac Jones is completing almost 80% of his passes. Saban’s absence from the sidelines would loom large Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, but the home team will still find a way to win … and cover. Play on ALABAMA

AAA

This is a 10* on BOSTON COLLEGE

Just how LETHAL has Boston College been as an underdog? Well, they are already 3-0 ATS this season when taking points. That includes outright wins over Duke when they were +6 (won 26-6) and last week against Pitt when they were +6.5 (won 31-30 in OT). The only non-cover for BC this season was in an uninspiring non-conference game vs. Texas State, which they won 24-21. Going back several seasons, the Eagles are now 20-5-1 ATS their L26 ACC games. As an underdog, that record jumps to 17-2-1 ATS and they’ve won 11 times outright! That can’t be music to the ears of Virginia Tech, who just gave up 56 points last week at North Carolina and is 1-6 ATS the last seven times it has been installed as a double digit favorite. Keep in mind that BC held North Carolina to only 26 points and almost beat them earlier this month. While it’s true Virginia Tech is now healthier at QB and can run the ball, this BC defense hasn’t given up more than 26 points in regulation all year. That BC is 3-0 ATS as a dog despite no real running game of their own is impressive. They are now a passing offense with Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec averaging nearly 300 yards/game. Play on BOSTON COLLEGE

AAA

This is a 10* on LOS ANGELES

The Dodgers season appeared to be hanging by a thread in Game 5 as they found themselves down 2-0 early. But then they struck for three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, a Will Smith HR being the deciding blast. So here we are in Game 6 Saturday with LA needing to win to force a deciding Game 7. We like their chances to do so. It’s a rematch of the pitching matchup we had in Game 1 with Max Fried taking on Walker Buehler. Fried is 7-0 in 14 starts with the team winning 13 times. He did not factor into the Game 1 decision as remember that was a 1-1 game going into the ninth. Buehler has a 9-2 TSR and allowed just three hits in five innings back in Game 1. To us, this play simply boils down to who is the more complete team. That would be the Dodgers, who were so dominant in the regular season and are now 39-13 L52 overall. Play on LOS ANGELES

AAA

This is an 8* on VIRGINIA

Virginia played a really sloppy game last week against NC State, which is why they lost 38-21 as a seven-point home favorite. But please do not make the mistake of judging that game by its final score. The Cavaliers outgained the Wolfpack 405-363. So how did they lose by 17, you ask? Turnovers. There were four of them by UVA (only 1 by NC State). All were costly, especially a late pick-six that broke the game open. Turning it over on downs in the 4Q led to another late NC State TD. This week the Cavaliers are at Wake Forest, who is off a bye, but also is 0-2 vs. the ACC. The Demon Deacons got predictably blown out by Clemson then lost 45-42 at NC State. Their only win was against FCS Campbell. So both teams losses were to the same two teams (with both covering vs. Clemson), the only difference is Virginia actually beat an ACC team (Duke) rather than a FCS one. We know there are some question marks at QB for the Cavaliers (Brennan Armstrong got knocked out of last week’s game with a concussion, another bad break), but backup Lindell Stone looked good enough (save for the pick-six). No matter who is the QB, look for the road team to win Saturday afternoon. Wake Forest’s defense is the worst in the ACC on third down (52.4% conversion rate) while Virginia’s defense is great at stopping the run (allows only 3.4 yds/carry). Play on VIRGINIA

AAA

This is an 8* on USF

Last week, we told you to fade Temple in its very first game of the season. The Owls lost, 31-29, to a Navy team that had really been struggling this season. While a late 2-pt try could have tied it, Temple never led in the contest, though it did outgain the Midshipmen. Still, that “moral victory” will be of no use here as the Owls are being asked to lay double digits, something they are clearly not ready to do at this juncture of the season. South Florida has been bad, losing three straight by 20 or more points. But two of those were against really good teams (Notre Dame, Cincinnati). We don’t know what to say about last week’s 44-24 home loss to East Carolina. The Bulls secondary actually held up against both ranked opponents and is allowing only 6.6 yards per attempt this year. Including an ATS win at Cincinnati, USF is 5-1 ATS off its previous six ATS defeats, so they tend to bounce back from disappointing efforts. This is enough points for us to feel comfortable in selecting a pretty desperate underdog. Play on USF

AAA

This is an 8* on CLEMSON

While Clemson had been winning comfortably, they were 0-3 ATS heading into last week’s heavily hyped showdown with Miami. On Saturday night, the Tigers reminded us all why they are considered one of the elite CFB programs in this country. They blew the doors off the Hurricanes, winning 42-17, and easily covered the 14-point spread. Even after a high profile win such as that, Clemson shouldn’t have much trouble covering this larger spread this week at Georgia Tech. Not only are the Yellow Jackets 0-5 ATS their L5 vs. ranked opponents, they have failed to cover all four times in program history when they’ve been an underdog of at least 27 points. Clemson is 16-5 ATS L21 ACC games and 18-7 ATS its last 25 times as a double digit favorite. The last two years, they’ve beaten Georgia Tech 49-21 and 52-14. The Yellow Jackets defense has been really bad this season, even giving up 37 to Syracuse. Last Friday’s 46-27 win over Louisville was a completely misleading final score. The Jackets were actually outgained (gave up 471 yards) but got lucky with a +3 turnover differential. Clemson won’t be so generous here. Play on CLEMSON

AAA

This is a 10* on LIVERPOOL

What an early season showdown we’ve got here in the Premier League as current table leaders Everton take on last year’s standard-bearer Liverpool. Not being entirely sold on Everton, we’re backing Liverpool in a serious way on Saturday in the 288th edition of the Merseyside Derby. When these sides take the pitch on Saturday, it will have been 10 years to the date since Everton last beat the Reds. It will also be the 5-year anniversary of Jurgen Klopp taking over the reigns of Liverpool. That the Reds are coming off their worst Premier League loss ever, 7-2 at the hands of Aston Villa two weeks ago, only adds to the drama here. Liverpool has never dropped two straight EPL fixtures under Klopp and coming off the International Break will certainly be ready for this one. Everton is the only EPL side to have taken all the possible points from their first four matches and there is no doubt that the Toffees are feeling good entering this one. But history is not on their side here. Not only has it been a decade since they defeated their rivals, they have not started a Premier League campaign with five straight victories since 1938-39. Though they did defeat Tottenham Hotspur a few weeks back, that remains Everton’s lone win over a “Top Six” team since Ancelotti took over. Too much pressure on Everton here. Play on LIVERPOOL

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER 

While it would be accurate to say both BYU and Houston come into this Friday night matchup “undefeated,” it’s also a tad bit misleading. BYU is 4-0, but Houston is only 1-0 after finally opening its season last Thursday. Still this should be a pretty exciting game. After rolling through its first three games (Navy, Troy, La Tech) by a combined score of 148-24, Brigham Young was finally tested last week and it was by perhaps the unlikeliest of opponents. UTSA, a 34-point underdog, hung close in what was a 27-20 final. That said, BYU did move the ball a lot in that game, gaining 476 yards. But they had issues finishing drives. They fumbled inside the red zone on the opening possession, then turned it over on downs (in UTSA territory) on the second. Don’t worry about a Cougars offense that is averaging 7.8 yards per play thus far. Nor should you worry about a Houston offense that put up 49 points last week despite its own early troubles. QB Clayton Tune had two 1st quarter turnovers (INT, fumble) that were returned for Tulane touchdown, but recovered to throw for over 300 yards. The BYU defense just allowed a season-worst 287 pass yards against UTSA and Tune should easily eclipse that mark. Look for a lot of fireworks in this one. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on HOUSTON +1.5

Going into Game 4 of the ALCS, Tampa Bay was up 3-0 in the series and owned a MLB-best 16-5 record in one-run games this season. That was the best win percentage in one-run games for any single season in the history of baseball. Well, as you know, the ALCS is still going on. The Rays are now just 16-7 in one-run games having lost Games 4 and 5 by identical 4-3 scores. Last night it was a Carlos Correa walk-off that proved to be the difference for the Astros. Houston has outhit Tampa Bay in this series, even when they were losing, so we’re not surprised that they’ve climbed back into the series. With the series being so low-scoring thus far (every game has stayed Under), taking Houston +1.5 in a must-win spot seems ideal. On the mound, it’ll be a rematch of Game 1 starters tonight. Framber Valdez allowed just two runs on four hits for the Astros in Game 1. He’s gone at least six innings in all but two of his 12 starts in 2020. Blake Snell hasn’t gone a full six (innings) one time this season. He did give up just the one run in Game 1, but Astros’ hitters were making good contact with him and had six hits. Snell also had only two strikeouts, compared to eight by Valdez.  Play on HOUSTON +1.5 (RUN LINE)

AAA

This is a 6* on LA DODGERS

This is a “whole new series” now. The Dodgers scored a MLB postseason record 11 runs in the first inning of Game 3 and rolled to a 15-3 win. They’ve now scored 22 times on a Braves staff that had only allowed five runs total in its first six postseason games (four shutouts). For Game 4, Los Angeles gets a shot at another shaky looking starter for the Braves, that being Bryse Wilson. Meanwhile, they (LA) now get to turn to Clayton Kershaw after he was scratched from his previously scheduled Game 2 start. The Dodgers’ bats have clearly “woken up” and Kershaw will take care of the Braves hitters in this one. Something that must be pointed out is the fact that while Atlanta has gone 19-4 in the 23 starts made by Fried and Anderson this season, they are just 23-22 otherwise. Wilson only started two regular season games. Kershaw is now pitching on extra rest after looking good in both previous starts this postseason. We think the moneyline for Game 4 “says it all” as the Dodgers are a lock to even this series up at two games apiece. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA

This is an 8* on ARKANSAS STATE 

Arkansas State (2-2) holds a win over Kansas State, which is looking more and more impressive as time wears on. (Kansas State has since gone 3-0 with a win over Oklahoma). The Red Wolves did get their doors blown off at Coastal Carolina, but finally got a home game last Saturday and in it defeated Central Arkansas 50-27. While that’s a FCS team, the Red Wolves have obviously proven they can beat a good team. They are 3-0 ATS besides the games vs. Coastal Carolina, who may be a better team that most realize. As for Georgia State, we know they almost upset Sun Belt standard bearer Louisiana. But they lost that game in overtime. That was almost a month ago. The Panthers’ lone other contest took place 12 days ago and they had little problem beating East Carolina 49-29. That they were 17-point underdogs to Louisiana and a slight underdog at home to ECU should tell you what the market thinks of them. Now COVID-19 played a role in those lines, but we think they are getting a bit too much respect Thursday in Jonesboro. GSU is just 2-10-2 ATS its L14 road games. They won’t win here. Play on ARKANSAS STATE 

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Tampa Bay has done all the “little things” right in taking a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead in this year’s ALCS. Last night, it was their defense that carried them to a 5-2 victory. Houston is hitting the ball hard in this series. The ball just keeps landing in the gloves of the Rays fielders. They’ve also had MORE hits in the series compared to the Rays. But none of that matters now. We do think the Astros, who have been held to just five runs in three games, are going to score more in Game 4. Whether it’s enough to keep the series going remains to be seen. Zack Greinke will start tonight for Houston. He’s not lasted over five innings in any of his last five times out and has given up at least three runs in four of those five outings. He allowed two homers in the LDS start vs. Oakland. Tyler Glasnow will start here for the Rays. He has an 11-0 TSR his L11 starts, so they couldn’t have asked for a better scenario as they look to advance to the World Series. However, be aware that Glasnow only made it through 2 ⅓ innings his last time out and did give up four runs in his first of the two LDS starts. We know the first three games all stayed Under, but Game 4 should sneak Over. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on Inter Miami

Our weekly foray into MLS takes us to this clash between Inter Miami CF and the Atlanta United. While both clubs reside near the bottom of the table, Inter Miami has got all the momentum right now as for the first time in franchise history they’ve won back to back games. Since the restart, some signings have really provided a jolt to the team and they are flashing far better form than Atlanta right now. They’ve also had the United’s number this season, winning twice and playing to draw in the three previous head to head meetings. A win here would allow Inter Miami to leapfrog Atlanta in the table. The United are nowhere near as good as they were last season and have been unable to string together many victories. They’ve been kept clean in three of the previous four matches including the last two, which have seen them lose to NYRB and draw with Orlando. Inter Miami has the edge in this one. Play on INTER MIAMI CF

AAA

This is a 10* on Coastal Carolina

Louisiana won 11 games last year and is currently unbeaten and ranked #21 in the country. They defeated nationally ranked Iowa State in their season opener. But the resume for this Ragin Cajun team isn’t as rosy as you might think. They have been outgained in two of their three games, including the upset of Iowa State, and their last two wins have been by 2 points and 3 in overtime. They did not come close to covering the 17-point spread vs. Georgia State nor the 12-point spread vs. Georgia Southern, even trailing outright for a considerable portion of those two games. In comes Sun Belt rival Coastal Carolina, who is also 3-0 on the road. The Chanticleers have also beaten a Big 12 team this year (Kansas) and scored 95 points in the two wins since. They’ve had excellent line play on both sides of the football. Throw in the fact this game has had to be moved twice and you’ve got all the makings of an upset Wednesday night on ESPN2.  Coastal Carolina has covered each of the last four tries as a road underdog while Louisiana is 0-4 ATS the L4 times it has been a favorite. Play on Coastal Carolina

AAA

This is a 8* on LA DODGERS

Both the Dodgers and Braves entered the NLCS with perfect postseason records. Obviously, that could continue for only one team moving forward and surprisingly it’s the Braves that now own a 7-0 playoff record. Game 1, they broke things open in the ninth. They took control much earlier in Game 2 as it was 6-0 at the end of five (innings). But while they lost, a positive sign for the Dodgers was that they finally broke through against the vaunted Braves’ bullpen, scoring seven runs over the final three innings. It was just a matter of time before baseball’s highest scoring offense (from the regular season) “woke up” and we like LA in Game 3 as Atlanta’s lack of depth in the starting rotation will again be tested. So far the Braves have only had to use three starters the entire postseason. Max Fried and Ian Anderson have accounted for six of the seven starts. Kyle Wright made the other and while it couldn’t have possibly gone any better (six shutout innings), his YTD numbers suggest that was an outlier performance. Urias will be the Dodgers’ Game 3 starter and he’s allowed two runs or less in 8 of his 10 starts. Los Angeles is “too good” to go down 0-3 in this series. They have NEVER lost three in a row all year, going 4-0 off back to back losses. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA

This is a 10* on the UNDER

The 4-0 Bills and 3-0 Titans had to wait a couple extra days, but finally get to “hook it up” in a special TUESDAY night edition of the NFL. Tennessee did not play last week as it was a COVID-19 outbreak among their ranks that not only forced a cancellation, but the postponement here. Buffalo was originally going to host Kansas City this Thursday, but that game had to be bumped back to Monday due to the situation here. So by the time these teams do hit the field, there will have already been a lot of moving pieces dealt with. We don’t think either offense is going to be firing on all cylinders given the circumstance and will take the Under. Depending on what your closing line for last week’s game with Las Vegas was, there is a chance that you have the Bills at 4-0 Over. They’ve hit 30+ points three weeks in a row as the offense has greatly exceeded expectations thus far. Tennessee is off two straight 30+ point games, but those might as well have been last season. They are missing multiple receivers now including Corey Davis. This will be the highest total either team has faced so far this season. Under is 20-8-1 Bills L29 road games. Play on UNDER

NO ACTION DUE TO PITCHING CHANGE

This is an 10* on LA/NO Over

New Orleans has gone Over in every game thus far, scoring 30 or more points themselves three times. They’ve also given up 29 or more points in three straight games. Last week, they won a 35-29 shootout at Detroit. We had the Saints in that one and watched them score touchdowns on five consecutive drives after trailing 14-0 early. They had 29 first downs and this was without WR Michael Thomas, who could be back for this game. As long as Alvin Kamara is part of the offense, it will continue to score. He already has 557 total yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. The Chargers had not gone Over in a game this year until last week’s 38-31 loss to the Buccaneers. That was a wild one and while LA lost, the offense is definitely in better hands with rookie QB Justin Herbert guiding it as opposed to veteran Tyrod Taylor. We think both teams are going to be able to move the ball up and down the field in this Monday nighter and given NFL games are averaging right around 51.5 points for the year, this total is too low considering the Saints are involved. The Over is 6-2 in New Orleans’ last eight MNF appearances, one of those coming three weeks ago vs. Las Vegas. The Over is also 10-4 the Chargers’ L14 games after allowing 30 or more the previous week. The Over is 5-0 the L5 times these teams have met. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on LA

Atlanta has had it fairly easy, at least by playoff standards, in the first two series. They got two pretty weak offensive teams - Cincinnati and Miami - and boy did they take advantage. Five wins, four of them shutouts! But now they’ve got to go through baseball’s best team, that being the Dodgers. Los Angeles also boasts a 5-0 playoff record. They scored more runs in their last game (12) than Atlanta has allowed the entire postseason (4). All four runs the Braves have allowed during the playoffs belong to tonight’s starter Max Fried. Fried lasted just four innings in Game 1 of the LDS against the Marlins. A similar start here would mean major trouble, even with that stellar Braves’ bullpen. It’s not Miami they are facing here, but Walker Buehler, who just doesn’t give up many runs. The Dodgers are also averaging 6.0 runs/game when facing a left-handed starter. Not only have the Dodgers won 9 straight overall (goes back to regular season), they’ve won the last eight times Buehler has started. Play on LA DODGERS

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

Houston took an early 1-0 lead in Game 1, but did not score after the first inning. As a result, they dropped Game 1 by a score of 2-1. That was still a winner for us, mind you. We had the Astros +1.5. Two of the game's three runs came on solo HRs - Jose Altuve for the Astros and Randy Arozarena for the Rays. We don’t anticipate much scoring taking place in Game 2 either. Consider that Tampa Bay has just 12 hits - total - its last three games. All three runs they’ve scored in the last two games have been solo shots. So they’re not doing much scoring otherwise. Houston’s Game 2 starter Lance McCullers did have a bit of a rough go in the LDS vs. Oakland, but prior to that hadn’t allowed a single earned run over his previous three starts. The three HR’s he allowed to the A’s was more than he gave up in his previous 8 starts combined. Tampa’s Charlie Morton has allowed just 1 HR in his L7 starts and only 4 all year. He’s yet to allow multiple HR in the same start. Two starters that are good at preventing the long ball should help keep this one Under the total rather easily. Under is 8-1-1 the Rays’ L10 after scoring 2 runs or less last game. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on MIA

Miami isn’t going down without a fight -- that is if they go down at all! As we said prior to Game 5 - “if there’s one thing we’ve learned this postseason, it’s that the Heat are a resilient bunch.” We saw it in Game 3 when they won outright as a 9-point dog, 115-104. Game 4 was “close” too; or at least Miami covered again thanks to a made 3-pointer from Tyler Herro with 1.1 seconds left. By pulling the upset in Game 5, the Heat now have a 15-4-1 ATS playoff record and they are 14-6 straight up as well. They’ve been beaten in back to back games just one time during this run, that being Games 1 and 2 of this series. We said to bank on them shooting better in Game 5 than they did in Game 4 (when they finished with a 42.7 FG%) and they did, finishing at 42.9% from three-point range. (They were above 50% overall in both Games 2 and 3). Bam Adebayo is now back after missing Games 2 and 3. He’s had a combined 28 points and 11 rebounds since returning. But of course it has been Jimmy Butler “carrying the load” with those great individual efforts in Games 3 (40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists) and 5 (35-12-11). At one point in Game 5, the Lakers were shooting 56.3% and still losing. Now Anthony Davis is banged up. All the pressure is on the Lakers. Play on MIAMI

AAA

This is a 10* on HOU +1.5

There are no off days in the LCS, so these teams could be playing as many as seven games in seven days. We think there’s going to be a real premium on starting pitchers going deep into games. Granted, Tampa Bay is never afraid to have a “quick hook” and turn to its bullpen, which has been successful for them all year. But with just one day off between series and Game 1 starter Blake Snell having yet to pitch a full six innings even one time in 2020, the Rays seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage here. Astros Game 1 starter Framber Valdez has gone a full seven innings in 7 of his 13 outings this season. The team that homers more has gone 22-1 this postseason. Houston homered 12 times in 4 games vs. Oakland, Tampa Bay homered 11 times in 5 games vs. the Yankees. This pretty clearly isn’t the same Houston team we saw struggle in the regular season. They are healthier now and motivated by the cheating scandal. Last year, they ousted TB in 5 games in the LDS. They took the first two games of that series. Taking the ‘Stros on the run line here is a tremendous value as we just can’t see them doing any worse than a one-run loss in Game 1. Play HOUSTON +1.5 (RUN LINE)

AAA

This is an 8* on DALLAS 

The Cowboys are 0-4 against the spread. The only other winless ATS teams are: the Jets, Texans and Titans. The Titans have played only three games (but are 3-0 straight up!) while the other two teams on that list are both 0-4 SU. The Cowboys are lucky not to be 0-4 SU also. Their only win was a huge comeback at Atlanta. Dak Prescott and the offense are doing just fine, thank you (#1 in yards per game!). But the Dallas defense stinks right now as it is giving up the third most yards and most points per game. That’s where a matchup with the 0-4 Giants comes in. New York’s offense, minus Saquon Barkley, simply isn’t good enough to take advantage of the Dallas defense the same way previous opponents have. The G-Men are averaging the second fewest yards and the fewest points in the league right now. We faded Dallas last week (outright winner with Cleveland!) and while we don’t necessarily trust them to cover the full game spread this week, we expect a fast start. All they need to be is up a touchdown and that seems very doable against a side averaging just 5.5 points per game in the first half this year. Play on DALLAS 

AAA

This is a 10* on ARIZONA

Arizona seemed like it would be a “surprise team” in 2020 as they started 2-0, including a win over the NFC Champion 49ers. But the last two weeks have seen them lose as favorites to the Lions and Panthers. That’s just not acceptable if they wish to be taken seriously. Fortunately for Kliff Kingsbury, this week’s opponent is the Jets and that’s a team no one is taking seriously right now. The Jets might be the worst team in the league at this point. Sam Darnold wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire before getting hurt last Thursday vs. Denver. If he’s out, then the Jets would have to go with the ancient Joe Flacco at quarterback. In that Thursday night game vs. the Broncos, the Jets were +3 in turnovers and still lost by nine at home. That was to a winless team starting the undrafted Brett Rypien at QB on a short week! Arizona easily could have been 3-0 going into last week’s game. They played poorly at Carolina, plain and simple. But they are talented enough to bounce back with a big win here against a team that’s giving up almost 35 points per game over the L3 weeks. The Jets offense has no talent left at the skill positions and has lost every game by at least nine points. Play on ARIZONA

AAA

This is a 10* on Moraes

This is the main event of the card, so these bantamweight fighters are scheduled for five rounds. At 23-6-1, Marlon Moraes is the more proven fighter and we like him quite a bit as an underdog against 12-2 Corey Sandhagen. Moraes has gone toe to toe with Henry Cejudo, the only man to defeat him in the last six fights and that was with the Bantamweight Title at stake. Moraes rebounded with a decision victory over Jose Aldo last December, but has very much been the “forgotten man” in the division (at least among top contenders) ever since. He can remind everyone of his talents tonight against Sandhagen, who obviously is not the same caliber of competitor as Cejudo is. Sandhagen had a seven-fight win streak stopped back in June at the hands of Aljamain Sterling, who finished him in Round 1 with a rear-naked choke. Keep in mind that’s the same Sterling that Moraes knocked out in just 67 seconds back in 2017. Sandhagen is a disciplined fighter, but his willingness to stand in and bang with Moraes will be his undoing. Play on MORAES

AAA

This is a 10* on NAVY

Navy is not having a good start to the season. The Midshipmen are 1-2 and the two losses have been by 52 and 33 points. In their only win, 27-24 over Tulane, they trailed 24-0 at the half. They were actually FAVORED by 6.5 points last week when they lost to Air Force 40-7. But we are not ready to declare this a “sinking ship” just yet. This week the Middies welcome Temple to Annapolis. The Owls have yet to play a game in 2020, so we don’t know a ton about them. What we do know is that this game was originally set to take place on 9/26, but Temple coach Rod Carey said his team “needed more time to prepare.” That was awfully nice of Navy to give Temple an extra two week. Something else that needs to be pointed out is that the Midshipmen played last week’s game without their starting QB Dalen Morris. He is slated to return for this game. With all four of its non-conference games cancelled, Temple is just too big of a question mark to lay points on the road. Coach Ken Niumatalolo will have Navy ready to play here. Play on NAVY

AAA

This is a 9* on UNDER

The ACC will be front and center on Saturday as four of its five ranked teams will square off in a pair of marquee matchups. While Va Tech-North Carolina may not get the same amount of press as Miami-Clemson, the former figures to be a tight game and we think it’ll be a little lower scoring than expected as well. North Carolina’s first two games have both stayed Under. The key here will be their run defense, which is ranked #1 in the country, stopping Hokies running back Khalil Herbert. Herbert, a transfer from Kansas, had 212 yards rushing and a school-record 358 all-purpose yards in last week’s 38-31 win over Duke. That’s more than double the number of rush yards this Tar Heels defense has allowed in two games. UNC allowed just 22 total points to Syracuse and Boston College. While Virginia Tech is better than either of those teams, their offense can certainly be one-dimensional. The QB situation is unsettled and they completed only nine passes vs. the Duke defense. The Hokies won’t be scoring anywhere close to the number of points we saw from them in the first two games nor will this one be anything like last year’s 6OT marathon with the Tar Heels, which Va Tech won 43-41. An interesting note about the game, which was the longest in ACC history: it was just 29-29 at the end of regulation. The Under is 8-3 the L11 times the Hokies have been a road underdog. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is an 8* on FLORIDA

Things aren’t looking too rosy for Texas A&M right now after an unimpressive win over Vanderbilt and a blowout loss to Alabama. Still ranked (for now), Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies must now face Florida, another top five team that is scoring in bunches. The Gators have put up 89 points in two wins, both of which were by double digits. They won at Ole Miss 51-35 with 642 yards offense, then took care of South Carolina 38-24. While that second game ended up being pretty even in terms of total yards, Florida was ahead 38-14 late in the 3rd quarter and clearly took its foot off the gas. South Carolina was pretty lucky to go 11 for 23 on third/fourth down, something we don’t see the Aggies replicating. Even more so than giving up a 31-3 run to Alabama, A&M’s poor showing vs. Vandy casts a real “shadow of doubt” over the team’s preseason ranking. They have not done well in the past at home vs. top five opponents, losing all five such matchups since 2000. Florida has won all seven times they’ve been a road favorite under Mullen with the tightest margin of victory being eight points. This is a “friendly” line for the favorite too! Play on FLORIDA

AAA

This is a 10* on MIAMI

Miami is down to their “last proverbial out.” It’s win or go home time as they trail the Lakers 3-1 in the series. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned this postseason, it’s that the Heat are a resilient bunch. We saw it in Game 3 when they won outright as a 9-point dog, 115-104. Game 4 was “close” too; or at least Miami covered again thanks to a made 3-pointer from Tyler Herro with 1.1 seconds left. That leaves the Heat with a 14-4-1 ATS playoff record and they are 13-6 straight up as well. They’ve been beaten in back to back games just one time during this run, that being Games 1 and 2 of this series. Bam Adebayo is now back after missing Games 2 and 3. He had 15 points and 7 rebounds in Game 4. Of course, Jimmy Butler had that great individual effort in Game 3 with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. Bank on the Heat shooting better than they did in Game 4 when they finished with a 42.7 FG%. (They were above 50% the previous two games). This might very well turn out to be the last game of the NBA bubble/season. But the Heat, who haven’t failed to cover in B2B games the entire playoffs, won’t go down without a fight. Play on MIAMI

AAA

This is a 10* on TAMPA BAY (RUN LINE)

It’s come down to one game for the Yankees and the Rays as Game 5 is Friday night with the winner moving on (to face the Astros) in the ALCS and the loser going home. After staying alive with a 5-1 win in Game 4 last night, the Yankees are favored here as they’ve got Gerrit Cole on the mound. As great as he’s been over the last month, a lot of his success has to do with run support and we don’t think Cole can necessarily count on that tonight. Tampa Bay is taking a different approach as Tyler Glasnow, who started the Game 2 win, will open. From there, we’re likely to see Blake Snell and others. With Glasnow, not only did he strike out 10 Yankees in just five innings back in Game 2, he also has a 10-0 team start record in his L10 starts! Over the L7 starts, Glasnow has a sub 1.00 WHIP. So we've got full confidence in him for however long he’s in there tonight. The Rays pitching depth is such that there will be no drop off when they do decide to make the change. (Snell is a former Cy Young winner!) There has yet to be a one-run game in this series, but remember that Game 1 was 4-3 heading into the ninth inning. We say that Tampa Bay does no worse than a one-run loss in Game 5 and we obviously give them a great shot at winning “outright!” Play on TAMPA BAY +1.5 (RUN LINE)

AAA

This is a 10* on LOUISVILLE

For the second straight day in College Football, we’re a bit perplexed by a line move. It was only three weeks ago that Louisville was ranked 18th in the country. Now they are laying a very small number to a Georgia Tech team that simply isn’t very good. Yes, the Cardinals have dropped two straight. But those losses came to Miami and Pittsburgh, both of whom were top 25 teams at the time (Miami is now in the Top 10). Georgia Tech is probably the worst team in the entire ACC and also coming off two straight losses. Their losses were more severe though as they were beaten 49-21 by UCF and 37-20 by Syracuse. The Yellow Jackets lone win was by three points over struggling Florida State, a game that featured a long weather delay. The Jackets’ defense is probably in a lot of trouble Friday night. They gave up 37 to a Syracuse team that had previously scored just 16 pts in two games. Louisville comes in averaging over 400 yards/game behind QB Malik Cunningham. Ga Tech is 0-5 SU/ATS L5 as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. Play on LOUISVILLE

AAA

This is a 10* on TB

In a year where scoring is at an all-time record pace, the Bears seem to be a little “slow on the uptake.” They are averaging only 21.3 points per game, which ranks in the bottom quarter of the league, and that number would be even lower were it not for a couple of miracle 4th quarter comebacks against Detroit and Atlanta, two of the worst defensive teams in football. Switching to Nick Foles at QB produced a “one-week miracle” against Atlanta, but had no effect last week when the Bears faced the tough defense of the Colts. Up until a “garbage-time” drive late in the 4th quarter, Foles and the Bears offense had produced all of 3 points and 179 total yards vs. Indy. Now, on a short week, they must deal with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, who have won three straight (averaging 32.3 points/game) since a season-opening loss to the Saints (whom they held below 300 total yards). The Bucs had almost 500 yards of offense last week in a comeback effort over the Chargers. Brady threw TD passes to five different receivers. Chicago is 4-12 ATS its last 16 games and 0-6 ATS its L6 vs. teams with winning records. That 3-0 start was a total mirage as they beat three teams that are now a combined 1-11 SU. Play on TAMPA BAY

AAA

This is a 10* on TULANE

The line move earlier in the week is something we found to be rather curious. Houston has yet to even play a game! They’ve obviously tried. But five games have had to be cancelled or rescheduled due to COVID-19. That’s insane. This is a team coming off its worst season in 15 years as they went 4-8 SU in 2019. Injuries really took their toll on the Cougars last year. Coach Dana Holgorsen is bringing in a TON of transfers (33!) this year, but also lost QB D’Eriq King to Miami via the transfer portal and it can’t be understated how significant that is. Tulane has already played three games this season and would be 3-0 if not for a stunning 2nd half collapse at home vs. Navy. Two weeks ago, the Green Wave put up 66 points in a total beatdown of Southern Miss, which was the second road win of the season. Their defense has also been pretty good as it ranks third among AAC teams in total yards per game allowed (368.3). Houston’s defense gave up 35.5 points/game vs. FBS foes last season including 38 in a last second loss at Tulane. Not only do we think the underdog will cover the spread here, there’s a very good chance they take the game outright. Play on TULANE

AAA

This is a 10* on NY YANKEES

Scoring runs really hasn’t been an issue for the Yankees as they have 40 in five playoff games so far. It’s slowing down the Tampa Bay offense that is now the priority as they look to stay alive in Game 4 of the ALDS (in San Diego). The Rays, whose lineup includes the scorching hot Randy Arozarena, has gone off for 7 homers and 15 runs these last two games. The burden for slowing them down falls on New York’s starter Jordan Montgomery, who will be making his first career playoff start tonight and his first start of any kind since September 24th. While Montgomery’s ERA isn’t all that great, his WHIP of 1.08 in the last three starts is certainly something to lean on here. The number of runs given up relative to the number of baserunners he allowed seems high, so it’s fair to say Montgomery pitched better in the regular season than the raw numbers seem to suggest. He also had a 24:3 strikeout to walk ratio in his last three starts. Tampa Bay is opting for the opener route, first using Ryan Thompson and then Ryan Yarbrough is the probable pitcher to follow. The Yankees need to take advantage of no dominant starter being in there. This is a lineup that’s homered 14 times in five games. They are 35-16 L51 playoff games when favored. Play on NY YANKEES

AAA

This is a 10* on PHILADELPHIA 

The Philadelphia Union, currently 4th in the MLS Standings, will look to strengthen their position in what looks to be an easy one against bottom feeder Cincinnati FC. The goal difference between these two clubs is pretty wide. Philly has scored 25 times while conceding only 13 and Cincinnati FC has scored only 8 goals (a league low) while conceding 23. These teams did play to a 0-0 draw two weeks ago at Nippert Stadium. But with the Union now as the home side, look for a much different result. The Union’s recent form has been quite good as they’d been unbeaten over five matches before running into Toronto FC Saturday night. Toronto FC is a top tier team, however, and there’s no shame in that 2-1 loss (that saw Philly score first). Meanwhile, Cincinnati FC has been kept clean in three straight games, one of which was the draw with the Union and the other two being losses. This is a side that has failed to score at all in eight of its last 10 games. The other two saw them score just a goal apiece. An easy fade Wednesday. Play on PHILADELPHIA

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

With a huge 7th inning, Atlanta powered past Miami 9-5 in Game 1. That was a good result on this end as we took the Braves. For a while there, things looked a bit dicey. The Braves were down 4-3 entering the home half of the 7th, but that’s when they sprung for six runs as the Marlins bullpen really failed starter Sandy Alcantara. Unfortunately for Miami, Alcantara can’t pitch every day. While charged with five runs, Alcantara only gave up three. We’ve got less faith in a quality start from Game 2 starter Pablo Lopez as he didn’t have any such outing in six away starts in the regular season. This will be Lopez’s postseason debut and he’s up against the second highest scoring team in baseball. One of Lopez’s three starts vs. Atlanta in the regular season saw him give up seven runs in 1 ⅔. For what it’s worth, Miami has scored five runs in two of its three playoff games. So they should be able to put enough on the board to help Game 2 go Over. The Braves go with Ian Anderson, who is off an excellent start in the 1st round vs. Cincinnati. But Anderson didn’t win either of his 2020 starts vs. the Marlins. Over is 20-9-4 L33 times Atlanta has been a favorite. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on MIAMI

Turns out that people were writing off Miami a little earlier than they should have. As a 9-point underdog, the Heat won Game 3 outright, 115-104. They were led by Jimmy Butler’s triple double of 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. That’s just a tremendous individual effort in the wake of the injuries to both Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. Neither of those two are guaranteed to return for Game 4 (though Adebayo has said “he hopes to”). Nevertheless, even without Adebayo and Dragic, Miami starters outscored their Lakers brethren 89-51 in Game 3. The Heat have shot better than 50% overall the L2 games, so they’re pretty locked in offensively right now. As we’ve talked about before, there’s a lot of talent on hand for coach Erik Spoelstra, such as Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder. All three of those players were in double figures in Game 3. For the Lakers, beyond LeBron James and Anthony Davis, there isn’t exactly a ton of talent depth. Though the Lakers have not dropped two straight in any playoff series so far, it is Miami that owns the better ATS record (13-4-1) this postseason and, while the number is down from Game 3, they are still getting too many points here. LA is just 2-8-1 ATS the L11 times they have been off an ATS loss. We never stopped believing that the Heat could compete in this series and taking the points is the way to go for Game 4! Play on MIAMI

This is a 10* on the OVER

Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm are one win away from a 4th WNBA title. Standing in their way is the Las Vegas Aces, whom they’ve already beaten 93-80 and 104-91 in the first two games. The Aces face a daunting task having to beat the Storm three times in a row, but will undoubtedly be “ready to go” in Game 3. All five Seattle starters were in double figures in Game 2, led by Breanna Stewart’s 22, but what really caught our eye was the Finals’ record 33 assists the team dished out. What has to be disheartening for Las Vegas is that they shot 52.0%, scored 91 points and still lost by double digits. (Seattle shot 57.1% in Game 2 after shooting 50.0% in Game 1). But Aces coach Bill Laimbeer (yes, him!) rightly pointed to the fact his team shot only FIVE free throws in Game 2). During the regular season, LV averaged 23 FT’s per game. WIth Laimbeer being vocal about the FT disparity in the last game, expect his team to get more attempts from the charity stripe tonight. The first two games of this WNBA Finals have obviously been very high scoring (especially the last one) and we don’t see any reason why Game 3 should be any different. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 7* on ATLANTA

The Miami Marlins have somehow made it to the LDS. Shockingly, it didn’t take them very long to eliminate the Cubs as the pitching staff allowed just ONE run in the two game sweep at Wrigley. This is a team that was shut out more times than anybody in the regular season and finished with a -41 run differential. Of course, that run differential was largely irrelevant once the postseason began. However, it is INSTRUCTIVE and indicative of the kind of team they truly are. We just are not buyers on them right now as they get set to face an Atlanta team that - unlike the Cubs - can score runs in bunches. The Braves also made short work of their first round opponent, Cincinnati, holding them to ZERO runs in two games and keep in mind they had to play 22 innings of baseball (Game 1 went 13). While the Braves’ offensive prowess wasn’t really on display vs. the Reds, they did score the second most runs in all of baseball during the regular season. The Game 1 starter for Atlanta is Max Fried and he hasn’t dropped a decision in 2020, going 7-0 in his 12 starts (11-1 TSR) with a 2.00 ERA. That includes two vs. Miami (both Atlanta wins). Sandy Alcantara is Miami’s Game 1 starter, and while a worthy adversary, he’s facing a much tougher lineup than what Fried will see Tuesday. The Braves are also 12-3 in day games this season. Play on ATLANTA

AAA

This is an 8* on TAMPA BAY +1.5 (RUN LINE)

The Yankees and Rays meet in the LDS. Though Tampa Bay finished with the best record in the American League, they are the underdogs in Game 1. We see some real value on the Rays in this situation, especially when it comes to the run line where we can get an additional 1.5 runs at a fairly reasonable price. The Rays were 8-2 against the Yankees in the regular season, beating Game 1 starter Gerritt Cole twice. While Cole has been excellent over the last month, he’s been getting a ton of run support and that doesn’t figure to be the case here as Tampa Bay goes with Blake Snell, who has been every bit as good as Cole recently and over the course of the whole season for that matter. Snell allowed just one hit to Toronto in the last series and it was the third time in the past four starts he gave up one run or less. One of the Yankees two wins in Cleveland was by one run as they had to rally back from a 4-run deficit. The Rays are 32-12 vs. righties this season, the Yankees are just 7-8 vs. lefties. While this series is being contested in San Diego, not Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, it still matters that the Yankees weren’t a great road team in the regular season. Five of the 14 homers that Cole has allowed this year came by the Rays. Play on TAMPA BAY +1.5 (RUN LINE)

AAA

This is a 10* on OAKLAND

Division rivals Houston and Oakland meet in this best of five LDS. Obviously, the teams are very familiar with one another and there’s some bad blood. The A’s went 7-3 against the Astros in the regular season, 6-1 at home, but that latter record really doesn’t matter now as this series is being contested in Los Angeles. Still, the fact the A’s beat the Astros in 7 of 10 head to head matchups remains relevant. They were the better team all year as they won the AL West and had a much better run differential than Houston. Chris Bassitt will get the Game 1 nod for the A’s after a great start in the last round against the White Sox. Bassitt went 7 innings and allowed just one run as he improved his team start record this year to 9-3. He has 2.19 ERA and 1.143 WHIP. For Houston, Lance McCullers got the surprising call over Zack Greinke and we think that’ll end up being a mistake. McCullers had an 0-4 TSR in September (did not pitch against the Twins) and did not win any of his six starts away from home during the regular season (7.33 ERA, 1.71 WHIP). Play on OAKLAND

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Two playoff teams from last season both have their fair share of issues going into Sunday night. The 49ers are as banged up as any team in football right now, having already lost their QB, RB, top two receivers and top two defensive players. Some of those players could return this week though. TE George Kittle is the most likely (to return) while WR Samuel also could find his way back on the field. Regardless of the absences, the 49ers have found a way to score 30+ points in back to back games. Backup QB Nick Mullens is fine. Philadelphia is 0-2-1 with QB Carson Wentz struggling. But we can seem him getting things going this week against a 49ers defense whose numbers are skewed after facing the likes of Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones the last two weeks. Two of the Eagles three games have gone Over and had they not settled for a tie with the Bengals last week, the Over would be 3-0. This is a low total relative to the rest of this week’s card. The Over is 18-5 the L23 times Philly has been a road underdog. It is 6-2 Over the L8 times the 49ers have been home favorites. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on SEA

Seattle, for all its defensive faults, still has Russell Wilson and as long as they’re letting the early frontrunner for MVP “cook,” they’ll be just fine. A Miami team that’s off a very misleading 31-13 win over Jacksonville 10 days ago is simply no match here. The Dolphins actually gained less than 300 total yards in that Thursday night win, a number which simply won’t cut it against an opponent like the Seahawks that has put up 35+ points in every game. Wilson’s 14 TD passes through three weeks is an NFL record. The Miami defense really struggled against running QBs Cam Newton and Josh Allen the first two weeks. They gave up an alarming number of yards per play against Buffalo in Week 2. Early start times don’t bother the 3-0 ATS Seahawks, who have covered the number 7 of the last 9 times they’ve played at 1 PM ET (7-1-1). That includes a dominant win over Atlanta in Week 1 (they are the only team not to fall behind by double digits against the Falcons). Laying less than a touchdown is key here. Play on SEATTLE

AAA

This is a 8* on NO

New Orleans is off to a bit of a slow start. After beating Tampa Bay in Week 1, the Saints have subsequently lost to the Raiders and Packers, leaving them at 1-2 despite being a favorite all three times. They’re a favorite again here in Detroit against a Lions team that just won for the first time last week, a surprise upset at Arizona. This marks the first time the Saints have lost two straight in three years. They are expected to get WR Michael Thomas back, which is huge, and laying points shouldn’t concern you as the team’s 12-4 record as a road favorite is a league-best since 2016. Overall, they’ve covered 24 of their last 33 road games, also the best run in the league. There really is nothing wrong with the Saints offense as Alvin Kamara has a NFL-high six touchdowns and now gets to go against a Detroit defense that has really struggled for Matt Patricia. If not for a +3 turnover margin last week vs. Arizona, the Lions would likely be 0-3 coming into this game. Laying a short number seems like a real steal given the disparity in talent between the two teams. Play on NEW ORLEANS

AAA

This is an 8* on CLE

Even though the Cowboys are 1-2, they are still considered one of the more talented teams in this league. And the Browns needed five turnovers last week to beat Washington 34-20. So “the world” figures to be laying the points in this one. But we’re taking ‘em (the points, that is) as Dallas would be 0-3 right now had they not delivered that miracle comeback in Atlanta two weeks ago. They are 0-3 against the spread. In three games, they have had the lead for less than 14 minutes. The defense has given up 77 points the last two games and now faces a Browns offense that has scored 69 the last two weeks. Cleveland has a very good running game, thanks to perhaps the best duo of backs in the league, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. That Dallas defense is giving up over 400 yards per game including 128 on the ground. The Cowboys have covered just one of the last five times they have been the betting favorite. Play on CLEVELAND

AAA

This is a 10* on LEICESTER CITY

Leicester City is flying high so far having claimed all nine possible points from their three matches. While the club has NEVER opened with four straight wins in Premier League play, they are quite likely to change that in 2020 with an ideal matchup early Sunday at King Power Stadium against West Ham. WHU picked up its first win of the season last week and did so in shocking fashion, beating the Wolves 4-0. It was just the third clean sheet in the calendar year for the Hammers, the fewest of any Premier League club involved in both seasons. Fresh off that stunning upset, West Ham is ripe for a letdown this week as they face a side that has scored more times than any other club so far in this EPL season. They haven’t kept back to back clean sheets since September of 2019. Leicester won 5-2 last week against Man City, scoring on three penalties. They’ve now tallied 12 goals in the three games thus far. That’s three more than the next highest scoring team, Liverpool, who has nine goals. Can’t see West Ham slowing the Foxes down here. Play on LEICESTER CITY

AAA

This is a 10* on Lookboonmee

This prelim bout is in the women’s strawweight division. Lookboonmee is coming off a loss by decision back in February that dropped her to 4-2 in her MMA career. Three of her four wins have come by decision, one of which was her UFC debut against Aleksandra Albu nearly one year ago. Frey just made her own UFC debut and was unsuccessful, losing by submission in June. She’s 9-4 with six wins coming by decision. In terms of striking ratio, Lookboonmee has a tremendous edge, landing 5.07 per minute while absorbing 3.77. Frey lands only 2.09 per minute while taking 2.49. Lookboonme will get the ‘W’ here as she’s got more experience inside the Octagon and far better striking. Play on LOOKBOONME

AAA

This is an 8* on AUBURN

It didn’t take long for the SEC to produce its first top 10 showdown of 2020. It’ll go down this Saturday in Athens where #4 Georgia hosts #7 Auburn. The visiting Tigers have already beaten one Top 25 foe, that being Kentucky, in the opener last week. It was an impressive win too, 29-13, and it could have been even more lopsided had a 100-yard INT return not been called back on a questionable penalty. Georgia’s win last week wasn’t nearly as impressive, although the final score was 37-10. That was against Arkansas, who is certainly the worst team in the SEC West and probably the worst team in the whole league. The Bulldogs couldn’t run the ball against the Hogs, averaging only 2.9 yards per carry, and they have some real uncertainty at the QB position right now. The Dawgs trailed at halftime last week and didn’t take the lead for good until there were only six minutes left in the third quarter. So it was a bit of a misleading final score. It was a defensive score, late in the third, that really broke the game wide-open. Auburn hasn’t had much luck against Georgia in recent years, but three of the last five losses have been by just a touchdown. We like what we saw from QB Bo Nix last week and think this is the Tigers time to break through. Play on AUBURN

AAA

This is an 8* on OKLA

Oklahoma was shocked last week at home, blowing a three touchdown advantage and losing 38-35 to Kansas State. (We discussed this in the Kansas State writeup as well). That’s not what the Sooners were expecting in the Big 12 opener and now they’ll try and even their conference record up at 1-1 when they visit Ames Saturday night. Iowa State has also been at home this year. They lost their season opener 31-14 to Louisiana. Really, the Cyclones are lucky not to be 0-2 entering this game. They were outgained 499-423 last week by TCU, but did manage to hold on for the 37-34 victory. Under Matt Campbell, ISU has been more competitive vs. Oklahoma, but a 2017 upset in Norman remains the Cyclones lone victory in the last 21 tries. They’ve lost to them 24 straight times here in Ames. Oklahoma typically bounces back from a loss as they have not dropped two straight in the regular season since 1999. Last week was their first loss in September under Lincoln Riley. Unfortunately, this makes the second year in a row Iowa State has to face OU off a loss. Last year’s game was close (42-41) but having dropped to #18 in the rankings, the Sooners are out for blood here. Lay the short number. Play on OKLAHOMA

AAA

This is an 8* on KENTUCKY

Kentucky came up short against Auburn last week, losing 29-13. The game really swung on an interception near the end of the first half. Down 8-7 (yes, that was the score), UK had driven the ball 64 yards down to the Auburn 1 yard line. It was then QB Terry Wilson made a terrible decision and threw an interception that was returned the length of the field for a TD. The ‘pick-six’ was actually called back, but the INT was a mistake that the Wildcats never recovered from. They lost the turnover battle 3-0 and the game 29-13. Still that was a very good team they were up against on the road. A home game vs. Ole Miss should go a whole lot better. Ole Miss also lost to a top 10 team last week, 51-35 vs. Florida, though it was at home. Losing his debut wasn’t what Lane Kiffin wanted, but he was a heavy underdog. Still that underdog status doesn’t justify giving up over 600 yards, even though the Rebels gained 600+ themselves. It’s a much shorter line this week and that means trouble for Ole Miss as they’ve lost 13 straight times as a dog (just 4-9 ATS). They are also 3-6 SU, 1-8 ATS L9 road games. Lay the points with UK, who was ranked themselves last week and remains a good team. Play on KENTUCKY

AAA

This is a 8* on OVER

Kansas State and Texas Tech had different results last Saturday, but both games were certainly high scoring. Kansas State pulled off what is - to this point - the upset of the season in College Football with a 38-35 stunner over Oklahoma. It wasn’t just that the Wildcats won as a four-touchdown underdog, but how. They came back from a 21-point second half deficit in Norman! Later in the day, Texas Tech happened to blow a late double digit lead against Texas and lost in overtime 63-56. That they lost was no matter to us. We had the Red Raiders plus the points and they easily covered. In fact, at no point during the game were they NOT covering. Facing each other this week, Kansas State and Texas Tech may have trouble duplicating the excitement of last week’s contests, but this should certainly be another high scoring one. Remember that not only did TT give up 63 points last week, they also permitted Houston Baptist to gain 600 yards in the season opener. Kansas State has given up 35 points in both of their games. We see both teams scoring 30+ again this week and that makes for an easy Over. The Over is 9-2-1 in the last 12 meetings. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on BAYLOR

Baylor FINALLY got to open its season last week and for first year coach Dave Aranda, the former defensive coordinator at LSU, it was worth the wait. The Bears made it look easy, beating Kansas 47-14 as a 17-point favorite. Now Aranda probably knows Kansas is as easy an opponent as you’ll find in the Big XII. But last week’s win definitely showed us this Bears team may be better than expected. Last year they were 11-3 in Waco, but no one is expecting a repeat of that in 2020. Still, the Bears do have Charlie Brewer back at QB and ran for over 200 yards last week. West Virginia only wishes it could say that about their offensive performance last week vs. Oklahoma State. But in a game they were pointing to all offseason, the Mountaineers came up well short. They scored only one offensive touchdown in a very disappointing 27-13 loss. While it’s a return to Morgantown this week, home field advantage doesn’t mean in 2020 what it used to and WVU has actually lost its last FIVE Big 12 home games! You can bet Baylor smells “blood in the water” as they seek to win for the first time ever in Morgantown. Off a better than expected performance last week, we’re on the road favorite. The Bears have won five straight times as a road favorite, covering four. Play on BAYLOR

AAA

This is a 10* on MIA

Miami got blown out in Game 1. Along the way, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler all got hurt. Butler will play in Game 2 but the other two are officially listed as doubtful. So basically everyone is going to write off the Heat. We will not. While injuries obviously do matter, this number is far off from where it was in Game 1 when a LOT of bettors were taking the points. If Miami does lose Game 2, it will be the first time they’ve lost consecutive games in the playoffs. The Lakers are 7-2-1 ATS L10 games, but several of those wins have come by single digits. This play is classic “zig zag theory” as the previous game loser was blown out and now getting more points to work with in the next game. Given all the hype that existed around Miami less than 48 hours ago, we believe it foolish to simply write them off after one bad loss. Their 2-3 zone can keep them in this one. Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro are a pair of 3-point specialists that can help Jimmy Butler with the offense. The Heat are 35-15-2 ATS off an ATS loss including 3-0 in the playoffs. Play on MIAMI

AAA

This is a 10* on La Tech

Louisiana Tech and BYU are both 2-0, but the Cougars have obviously been the more impressive of the two. That’s why they are favored by more than three touchdowns at home Friday night. However, we’re here to say that you should not go discounting the underdogs. La Tech has already gone on the road as an underdog one time and won. Granted, that was vs. Southern Miss, but a “win is a win.” Last week’s 66-38 beatdown over Houston Baptist now looks a bit more impressive in retrospect seeing as the Texas Tech team that almost upset Texas was given a run for their money by that particular FCS opponent. BYU has won 55-3 and 48-7 over Navy and Troy. But this is by far their biggest spread yet. They were only 1-pt favorites against Navy and 14.5-point favorites over Troy. Louisiana Tech isn’t a bad team by any means. They’ve won six straight bowl games and are 12-3 SU L15 games overall. Assuming they do lose for the first time in 2020, it won’t be without a fight. Do not forget BYU was 0-7 ATS as a favorite last season while La Tech is 9-3 ATS the L12 times it has been a dog. The Bulldogs are too good to be getting this kind of number. Play on LA Tech

AAA

This is a 10* on LAS VEGAS

This is Game 1 of the Best of Five WNBA Finals. Both Seattle and Las Vegas were 18-4 in the regular season. Las Vegas swept the season series, though Seattle was dealing with key injuries for both games. The Aces did need the full five games to eliminate Connecticut in the semifinals while Seattle swept Minnesota. Now it's LV that’s going to be missing a key piece, Dearica Hamby, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Connecticut series. But the Aces still have both MVP A’ja Wilson as well as Angel McCoughtry under their sleeve and that should be plenty for them to cover the spread here. The Aces have covered five straight times as underdogs. Play on LAS VEGAS

AAA

This is a 6* on the CUBS

These teams were rained out Thursday, so they’ll give it a go again Friday. Miami won Game 1, 5-1, scoring all of their runs in the seventh. The loss was a real “head-scratcher” for the favored Cubs, who now need to win two straight or they’re eliminated. Fortunately for them (and us), it will be Yu Darvish getting the baseball for Game 2. Darvish had a really stellar regular season with the most wins among NL starters (8) and a career-low 2.10 ERA. Since the All-Star Break of last season, he has a 2.40 ERA with 211 strikeouts vs. only 21 walks in 157 ⅔ innings. He’s exactly who the Cubs want on the mound Friday. Making his first career playoff start will be Sixto Sanchez for Miami. After five strong outings to begin his rookie season, Sanchez didn’t finish well as over the final two, he allowed nine runs in seven innings. Miami is 25-52 L77 in Game 2 of a series. Play on CHICAGO

AAA

This is a 10* on DEN

Denver has made the decision to start Brett Rypien at QB this week. He’ll be their third starter in as many weeks. The Broncos are 0-3 and averaging just 15 points/game. They are off a terrible showing vs. Tampa Bay where they were beaten 28-10 at home and barely gained over 200 yards. BUT…. Thursday night they are up against the Jets, who have been the WORST team in the league through three weeks. The Jets are also 0-3, but all of their losses have been by 10 points or greater. At least you can say Denver has been competitive this year as they lost to Tennessee on a last second field goal and then hung with the Steelers (in Pittsburgh), losing by just five points despite Jeff Driskell being called into emergency QB duty. The Jets only average 12.3 points/game and each loss has gotten progressively worse as they’ve lost by 10, 18 and then 29. Denver is 10-3 ATS their L13 Thursday night games and a perfect 5-0 ATS after being held to 15 points or less in their last game. While the injuries remain a concern, the Broncos were expected to be competitive this year. Can’t say the same for the Jets as Adam Gase has proven himself to be a horrendous coach. Rypien will play well enough to win here. Play on DENVER

AAA

This is a 10* on SD

San Diego got blitzed in the first inning of Game 1 (allowed 4 runs) and never really recovered, losing 6-4. Now they face the possibility of elimination on Friday, a situation where we’ll back them. In retrospect, the decision to start Paddack in Game 1 will be second-guessed. He didn’t last long and the heavy bullpen usage yesterday leaves manager Jayce Tingler with some uncomfortable decisions for Game 3, if that’s even necessary. But tonight it’ll be Zach Davies on the mound and we look for him to be the star of the game. Davies has proven himself to be durable this season, going six or more innings in half of his starts. He was 7-4 in 12 starts (8-4 TSR) with a 2.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Opponents hit just .216 off him and he allowed an on base percentage of only .269. In his 69 ⅓ innings pitched, he allowed just 55 hits and 63 strikeouts against only 19 walks. He’s always pitched well here at Petco Park where SD remains highly profitable to bet on this season. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright has a 1-4 career record pitching here. Yesterday’s offensive explosion by St. Louis was rare for them and unlikely to be repeated.  Padres are 6-1 L7 after allowing 5 or more runs in their last game. Play on SAN DIEGO

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Both the Heat and Lakers come into this series on a bit of an “Over roll.” Miami has gone Over in four straight and the Lakers three in a row. The Over was 5-0-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Miami’s shooting, which had begun to cool off as the ECF progressed, got hot again in a major way Sunday night in the close out game. They shot 56.3% overall and 48.1% from three against one of the better defensive teams in this league. The Lakers shot better than 50% three times against the Nuggets. LeBron James has not faced his former team in some time. You’d have to go all the way back to December when the Lakers won 113-110 down in Miami. Before that, the previous meeting was November of 2019! If you’re looking at playoff averages, Heat games are seeing 219.4 points/game scored. Lakers games are at 220.4. There were just two instances in LA’s last nine games where they did not score at least 110 points. Miami has hit 112 or higher seven times in its last 11 games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on SD

San Diego enjoyed a real “breakout” 2020 season as they finished the regular season with the 2nd best run differential in all of baseball, trailing only the Dodgers. The Padres scored the third most runs and that’s despite a bit of an offensive slump in September. They have a formidable bullpen and for Game 1, Chris Paddack gets the start. Paddack ran “hot and cold” down the stretch, but does have a 1.07 WHIP at home this year. It’s good that the Padres got to secure home field advantage as they went 20-10 at Petco Park in the regular season including 9-3 as a favorite of -125 to -175. St. Louis is a team that didn’t qualify for the postseason until the final game and was downright mediocre all year. They often struggle to score runs, which should be obvious when you look back and see that they were shut out in two of the last three regular season games. They hit the fewest number of home runs this year (all teams). Kim will toe the rubber for the Cardinals in Game 1 and there’s a lot of pressure on him. The Cards have played 53 games in the last 44 days, including 11 doubleheaders, the latest of which was Friday. They may be a tired ballclub heading into the postseason. We just don’t think they can score enough to win today. Play on SAN DIEGO

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This is an 8* on ATLANTA

This line is way too short given the rather sizable disparity that exists between the two clubs, offensively. Yes, there’s an outstanding starting pitching matchup here with Bauer going for the Reds and Fried for the Braves. Looking at the respective numbers of the two Game 1 starters, it’s essentially a wash. But the problem for Bauer and the Reds is that Atlanta simply has a much stronger lineup. Cincinnati might be the weakest hitting team to have EVER made the MLB playoffs. Atlanta scored the second most runs in all of baseball, trailing only the Dodgers. At home, they averaged 6.3 runs/game while the Reds average just 3.5. It’s asking a lot of Bauer to rectify that discrepancy by himself. The Reds offense ranked dead last in all of baseball in runs scored by means other than a HR. Braves pitching happened to allow the fewest % of runs via the HR in the league. Cincinnati hit just .211 on the season, making them a great matchup for a pitcher like Fried, who is 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 11 starts this year. Play on ATLANTA

AAA

This is a 10* on NYY

The Yankees and Indians meet in perhaps the most evenly matched Round 1 series. A late regular season charge got Cleveland home field here but there was a lot of Detroit and Pittsburgh mixed in there. Also, don’t forget the Indians had an eight-game losing streak at the start of the month. Their lineup can really struggle to score runs at times. They barely averaged more than four runs/game during the regular season, which is why they didn’t finish higher in the standings, despite the excellent pitching. They scored three runs or less in nearly half their games (27 times!). As good as Game 1 starter Shane Bieber was in the regular season, he is untested in the playoffs. Can’t say the same for the Yankees Gerrit Cole, who is a postseason veteran. The Yankees also won his L3 regular season starts - by a combined score of 31-3! We think a Yankees lineup that is now as healthy as it’s been all year can get to Bieber. Cole’s ERA and WHIP - 0.86 and 0.62 - in his last three starts was every bit as good as Bieber. The Indians just don’t score enough! Play on NY YANKEES

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This is an 8* on OVER

The A’s got a pretty tough first round draw here with the White Sox, who - despite finishing as the 7-seed - were tied for the best run differential (+60) in the American League. Not only have these teams never met in the postseason, they didn’t meet all in 2020. We’ve got Lucas Giolito starting for the White Sox and Jesus Luzardo starting for the A’s in Game 1. Oakland home games were pretty low scoring in 2020 (averaged just 7.3 runs/game) but this is a low total and the White Sox average 5.1 runs/game. That was second most in the American League and they were second in slugging as well. Chicago’s last four regular season games went Over with them allowing 10 twice. None of those were with Giolito on the mound, but we’ve got to point out the fact he’s allowed at least one home run in four of his last five starts. Luzardo got this start because he’s been so good at home, but he too had a problem with the long ball of late. Luzardo also got to pitch against a lot of weak teams in the regular season. San Diego was one of the few top-level offensive teams he faced and he gave up four runs in 4 ⅔. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on KC

What a matchup we have Monday night as it’s the Chiefs taking on the Ravens in a battle of the two top AFC teams. Winner here could very likely have an inside track on home field advantage for the playoffs, which is now more important than ever with the format having changed (only one team gets a first round bye). While Baltimore has won 14 straight regular season games outright (11-2-1 ATS!), all good things must come to an end as KC found out last week when their own 10-game ATS win streak ended with a close overtime victory in LA over the Chargers. The key here is the Chiefs being underdogs. They’ve covered 10 of the last 13 times getting points including 5-0-1 ATS with Mahomes as the starting QB. In the past 20 seasons, defending Super Bowl Champs getting points in the first three weeks of the season have gone a remarkable 11-1 ATS. Last week marked just the second time in Mahomes career that he didn’t cover in the month of September. In 12 career September games, he has an outrageous 28-0 TD-INT ratio! This matchup is a little bit of the “immovable object” against the “irresistible force” and we love the idea of getting points. Play on KANSAS CITY

This is a 10* on OVER

The Saints might be at home and favored, but the Packers are the team with all the momentum heading into this Sunday night matchup. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay are 2-0, having put up two 40+ games so far. Now those came against Minnesota and Detroit, two teams that are a combined 0-4. But let’s not forget the Saints just allowed 34 points Monday night to Las Vegas. Even though the narrative is that New Orleans’ offense is “struggling,” that group is still averaging 29 points/game. Most teams would love for that to be considered “struggling.” The Over is a combined 4-0 in these teams games this season. Expect this to be another shootout as its two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time going up against some suspect defenses. Green Bay did allow a frightening number of yards per play against Minnesota in Week 1 (7.8). They also gave up touchdowns on the first two drives vs. Detroit.  This is one of those deals where the oddsmakers probably can’t make the total “high enough” as the Over is 23-11 in GB’s last 34 road games. The Over has also gone 7-1 the last eight times these teams have played. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on MIAMI

Miami failed in its first try to put away Boston, uncharacteristically blowing a double digit lead. The game swung pretty dramatically in the third quarter when the Celtics outscored the Heat 41-25. Miami’s three-point shooting for the game (19.4%) was dreadful as it’s been now for the last 13 quarters of the series (below 25%!). Expect the Heat to rediscover their touch from downtown Sunday. As we know, the Heat have not lost two in a row since the playoffs began. They’ve only been beaten in regulation twice, both times in this series, in 14 games. Off a double digit loss, they are 9-3 SU this season. While we won’t predict the Heat win straight up here, it’s very likely that they will and thus finish off the series. Take the points. Play on MIAMI

AAA

This is an 8* on SEATTLE

This will be a big game in the 4PM (ET) window as the 2-0 Seahawks host the Cowboys. Dallas is very lucky not to be winless after two weeks. Last week, they had an incredible rally from a 19-point deficit that included 16 points in the final five minutes. It’s a good thing they were playing Atlanta as the Falcons seem like one of the few teams capable of blowing a lead like that. Seattle is a different story. Russell Wilson has this team looking very good. They didn’t have any problems with Atlanta, beating them 38-25 in Week 1. Then they came home to defeat New England 35-30 in the Sunday night game last week. The Seahawks offense is averaging 7.2 yards per play so far and it’s not like the Dallas defense has looked all that great. Mike McCarthy isn’t a great coach either. The Dallas offense, despite all the talent, tends to struggle on the road. Remember they lost to the Rams in Week 1 and scored only 17 points. That was the 4th straight road loss for Big D and the offense has failed to score a TD in two of those four losses. In its last 45 drives on the road, the Cowboys have found the end zone a total of five times and three of those were in the fourth quarter of a 31-24 loss at Chicago. They are just 2-7 ATS L9 games vs. a team that has a winning record. Play on SEATTLE

AAA

This is a 10* on the CHARGERS

Carolina wasn’t expected to be very good. But with the loss of their best player, things figure to get even worse. RB Christian McCaffery is out for at least the next three weeks. The Panthers have started 0-2 with losses to the Raiders and Buccaneers. Their defense has given up 65 points and now the offense, which turned it over four times last week, has been severely weakened. It is very difficult seeing Carolina breaking into the win column without McCaffery. As for the Chargers, they nearly beat the Chiefs last week and that was despite losing starting QB Tyrod Taylor shortly before kickoff. First round draft pick Justin Herbert stepped up and had a promising pro debut, throwing for over 300 yards. But perhaps more impressive was the defense holding Patrick Mahomes to 20 points in regulation. Were it not for TWO 58-yard field goals from KC’s kicker, the Chargers would have won that game. They’ll win this one - pretty easily in fact. With Carolina’s defense being so bad, the Chargers will have their highest point total to date. With McCaffery out, and the Chargers allowing just 18 PPG, the Panthers aren’t going to score much. Add it up and we’ve got a potential blowout on our hands. Going back to last year, Carolina has lost 10 straight games. They’ve covered just 5 of their last 16 road games. Play on LA CHARGERS

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

It’s a matchup of 1-0-1 sides in North London Saturday. Tottenham lost their Premier League opener, 1-0 to Everton. But with Everton now sitting at the top of the table, that loss no longer looks bad. The Hotspurs’ form since that loss has been stellar. They are 3-0 across all competitions including a 5-2 win last week over Southampton. Newcastle has gone about their results in a different manner. They started with a 2-0 victory over West Ham on the opening weekend of the campaign. But then the Magpies suffered a much different fate last weekend when they were beaten 3-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion. For those “keeping score,” that’s three clean sheets (either way) in EPL play between these two sides. Both have been kept clean once. Gareth Bale is still a few weeks away from making his Tottenham debut. So don’t go expecting another five goal effort from the Spurs this weekend. Meanwhile, Newcastle just scored 7 goals at Morecambe in Carabao Cup action earlier this week. That’s not going to happen again either. With Newcastle having kept three clean sheets in their last four across all competitions (and being held scoreless themselves in the other), Under is the call here. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER (2.5 rounds)

A fight for the Middleweight Title headlines UFC 253. Champion Israel Adesanya comes in at a perfect 19-0 with 14 of those victories coming by either KO or TKO. But the challenger, Paulo Costa is also undefeated with a 13-0 record and only one of those victories have required the judges to render a decision. But with two fighters this skilled matched up against each other in a championship situation, look for this fight to go longer than expected. Costa’s last four fights have all reached the second round with the most recent being that lone decision win (over Yoel Romero). Adesanya has finished only two of his last seven opponents and is also off a decision victory over Romero. This fight should reach the third round and possibly go even longer. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on the DODGERS

It shouldn’t take much convincing to take the Dodgers at any price. They are baseball’s best team this year and by a pretty overwhelming margin. But at this price and at home, Dodger Blue is a MUST play tonight. They face LA’s “other team,” the Angels, whom they easily defeated Friday night by a score of 9-5. Now Tony Gonsolin and his 1.26 ERA + 0.71 WHIP are set to take the mound Saturday. Gonsolin just doesn’t give up much to opposing hitters. In seven starts, he’s allowed six runs and one wasn’t even earned. At home he’s allowed just two runs total, including the unearned one. He had 10 strikeouts at Coors Field his last time out and now gets to face an Angels lineup that just hasn’t been producing at the rate you’d expect, considering they have Mike Trout. Dylan Bundy goes for the Angels tonight. While he’s arguably been their most reliable starter, that isn’t saying much as he has a 4.91 ERA this month. Play on LA DODGERS

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This is a 10* on DEN

For a third straight series, Denver finds itself down three games to one. Before this year’s playoffs, no team in history had ever come back from multiple 3-1 series deficits to win a series. Only a handful of teams had ever come back from one 3-1 series deficit. Of course, you could say Denver has the Lakers “right where they want them.” Since losing Game 1, the Nuggets have played LA tough with the two losses coming by a total of eight points (six and two). While they’re 0-3 SU in Game 4’s this postseason, they are obviously perfect in Game 5’s and 6-0 SU overall from Game 5 on. They are also 8-1 ATS when down in the series this postseason and that record could be 9-1 if you got the Nuggets at +6.5 on Thursday. Denver has shot the ball very well in this series, including right around 52% the last two games. In Game 4, the Lakers had tremendous advantages in both second chance points and free throw attempts, but those kinds of disparities are not something they should expect again. Take the points. Play on DENVER

AAA

This is an 8* on ALABAMA

Alabama is a far more talented team than Missouri. But you didn’t need us to tell you that. Still, the oddsmakers are being far too conservative with this Week 1 line as the Tide are going to roll in Columbia. Mizzou has a new coach and just 69 players set to dress Saturday. This seems like a major problem when getting ready to face the #1 team in the country. Alabama, having gone a whole TWO YEARS without winning a National Championship, is likely to be very motivated this season. If there’s one coach that can have his team properly focused during a time like this, it is Nick Saban. As per usual in Tuscaloosa, there are multiple players on the roster projected to be first round draft choices by the NFL. The fact that QB Mac Jones got some playing time last year when Tua was hurt is beneficial. That Missouri’s potential starting QB decided to transfer is not! The Tigers have failed to cover in seven straight SEC games and adding ‘Bama to the schedule certainly didn’t help their cause in 2020. Play on ALABAMA

AAA

This is a 10* on LSU

With the loss of Joe Burrow and countless others, it seems as if a lot of people are “writing off” LSU coming into the season. We’re here to tell you that’s a mistake. One of the most successful programs in all of CFB, the defending champs should be “just fine” in 2020. The Tigers are rated #6 for a reason. They’ll have a great defense again. While 10 SEC games is tough, Mississippi State is an ideal opponent to open against. The Bulldogs have a new coach and while that coach is Mike Leach, this is a very difficult circumstance to implement a brand new offense. For years, we’ve seen a run-based offense in Starkville. Now they are switching to the “Air Raid.” MSU had ZERO spring practices so the preparation for 2020 is about as limited as it gets. Remember that Arkansas made a similar switch from a run-heavy to pass-heavy offense in 2018. They haven’t won an SEC game since! LSU is 18-2 SU vs. Miss State in the 2000’s and has won 13 of the past 14 here in Baton Rouge. The lone home loss occurred in 2014. Even worse is the fact the Bulldogs have failed to cover their last six times as a road underdog. LSU is on a 16-7 ATS run in SEC games. Play on LSU

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