Announcement

**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 08:50 AM

Sunday’s betting tips: Raider Nation inspired

Who’s hot

NFL: The Bengals are 6-1 ATS in their last seven overall and 6-0 ATS in their last six against the AFC.

NFL: The 49ers are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five overall and 3-0-1 ATS in their last four home games.

MLB: The Brewers are 16-0 in Zack Greinke's last 16 home starts.

NHL: The Penguins are 6-1 in their last seven road games.

Who’s not

NFL: The Eagles and Jaguars are 1-6 ATS in their last seven overall.

NFL: The Vikings are 0-3-1 ATS in their last four home games and 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 against the NFC.

MLB: The under is 1-5 in the Cardinals' last six road games.

NHL: The Canadiens are 1-5 in their last six overall.

Key stat

15 – The Eagles have done very little right this season, but they are tops in the NFL in one category—sacks, with 15. Seven have come courtesy of league-leader Jason Babin. Something will have to give on Sunday when Philly travels to Buffalo to face the prolific 3-1 Bills. A big reason for Ryan Fitzpatrick’s success is a strong offensive line in front of him. The Bills have allowed just three sacks all season long, second fewest in the league.

Injuries that shouldn’t be overlooked

Ben Roethlisberger is not only Steeler banged up after last week's loss at Houston. Pittsburgh has a serious situation at running back, with Rashard Mendenhall questionable due to a hamstring injury. Mendenhall had been out all week but practice on a limited basis Friday. One backup, Mewelde Moore, is already out with an ankle problem. If Mendenhall can't go, Isaac Redman will get most of the work out of the backfield. The Patriots are going up against a Tennessee defense that is currently eighth in the NFL against the run at 87.8 yards per game.

Biggest games on the slate

New York Jets at New England Patriots (-7.5, 50)

Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons (5.5, 52.5)

Notable quotable

“We're getting back to the basics. That's how I would define this week. Getting back to the things we do well. That's how we're going to get it done.” – New York Jets’ running back LaDainian Tomlinson on his team’s mentality heading into a Week 5 showdown against the Patriots. New York is coming off a well-publicized Sunday night loss at Baltimore.

Tips and notes

Oakland Raiders' head coach Hue Jackson on the passing of Al Davis: "Obviously, it's a tremendous loss. I just know coach. He would want us to go out and play like Raiders. What a tremendous person; tremendous man. I owe him so much. This league owes him so much. He's a legend and an icon, and we're going to honor him by playing the way the Raiders should play." They will look to do that on Sunday at Houston, an important AFC clash between the 2-2 Raiders and the 3-1 Texans.

Not surprisingly, there won't be much love lost between the Cardinals and Brewers when the division rivals battle for the National League Championship, and a lot of that obviously has to do with Nyjer Morgan. After a heated regular-season clash between the two teams, Morgan hurled his chewing tobacco at Chris Carpenter and called Albert Pujols "Alberta" in a tweet. In early September, when St. Louis appeared out of it, Morgan offered a grammatically-challenged tweet: "Where still n 1st and I hope those crying birds injoy watching tha Crew in tha Playoffs!!! Aaaaahhhh!!!"

As of Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers' starting goalie for Sunday's season opener is still a mystery. Devan Dubnyk and Nikolai Khabibulin will compete for playing time and will likely split starts until one separates himself from the other, just as they did throughout much of last season. Dubnyk (2.71 GAA) played in 35 games last season while Khabibulin (3.40 GAA) appeared in 47 contests.

**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 08:53 AM

Sunday's six-pack

Six most popular picks and six least popular picks in Hilton handicapping contest, which has 517 contestants, all of whom who pick five NFL games a week against the spread. They put up $1,500 each, so these are serious handicappers........

6) Minnesota 145
5) Tennessee 148
4) Atlanta 157
3) New Jersey Jets 158
2) Cincinnati 162
1) Philadelphia 174
27) Kansas City 66
28) Houston 54
29) New England 51
30) Jacksonville 46
31) Seattle 32
32) Arizona 16

******************

Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday......

13) Ohio State scored with 10:53 left in third quarter to go ahead 27-6 at Nebraska, then completely fell apart, getting outscored 28-0 in final 22:23 of play, losing 34-27 in Lincoln in the Huskers' Big Dozen home opener. Buckeyes completed just six of 18 passes in the game.

12) Its one thing to lose a game, quite another to lose a game and have your whole season screwed up in process; not only did Tennessee lose 20-12 to Georgia, they lost QB Tyler Bray with a broken right (passing) thumb.

11) Louisville offensive coordinator, former UNLV coach Mike Sanford, didn't make the trip to Chapel Hill, amid rumors he was fired by Cardinals' coach Charlie Strong Friday. Losing creates tension, thats for sure. North Carolina beat Louisville 14-7; Cards' only score came with 0:42 left.

10) Texas Tech ran 105 plays for 523 yards, didn't turn the ball over once, and still lost 45-40 at home to a Texas A&M squad that finally won after leading (31-20) at halftime. Very seldom a team snaps the ball 100+ times in one game.

9) Few years ago, Charles Barkley made it clear he wanted Auburn to hire Turner Gill and not Gene Chizik; wonder what he thinks now? Gill is the coach at Kansas; his Jayhawks trailed 56-7 at the half Saturday. Auburn lost at Arkansas, but its clear Chizik is an excellent coach.

8) Illinois is 6-0 for the first time since 1951; they had three TDs of 66+ yards at Indiana Saturday. Illini host the reeling Buckeyes next week.

7) UCLA scored with 3:26 left to nip Washington State 28-25 and even its record at 3-3, quieting speculation about Rick Neuheisel's job status, well at least for one week. Coogs by the way, are much improved this season- they could've been 4-1 had they held on win this game.

6) When Pitt forced Dave Wannstedt out after last season, four of his old assistants signed on to coach at Rutgers; those guys got revenge Saturday when Rutgers beat the Panthers 34-10 in the Garden State.

5) Maryland/Georgia Tech combined to complete only 12 of 45 passes in Tech's 21-16 win; not sure how Tech converted 13 of 20 on 3rd and only scored 21 points, especially with only one turnover.

4) Miami Hurricanes gained 519 yards at Virginia Tech, 236 on ground, 283 in the air, but lost a fun game 38-35 in Blacksburg. Sure it wasn't fun for them, but was fun for me to watch, since I didn't care who won. Miami is getting better though. Al Golden is a good coach.

3) Florida State was minus-5 in turnovers, lost 35-30 at Wake Forest, its third loss in a row. Have felt for long time now that Wake coach Grobe is one of the best in America. He gets a lot out of a little with the Deacons.

3a) Brown improved to 3-1, beating Holy Cross 20-13, thanks to a clutch 99-yard TD drive late in the game; its Ivy League play rest of the year for Brown- they lost their Ivy League opener to Harvard.

2) Moreso in college football than the NFL, you need QB who can run the ball, especially in the red zone. Having a running QB makes your offense so much more dangerous-- you can outrun defenders, unlike in the NFL.

Michigan was 14-17 on 3rd down; Denard Robinson ran for 117 yards and threw for 290 more. Thats what makes a great college quarterback.

1) LSU became the first team I know of to lose a TD to unsportsmanlike penalty caused by taunting. Weird thing is, it was the LSU punter scoring on a fake punt, but he acted out on about the 10-yard line and got flagged and it cost LSU four points they really didn't need in their 41-11 win. It is a safe bet every team in America will see the video this week.

**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 09:05 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Pittsburgh at Edmonton
The Oilers open their regular season by hosting Pittsburgh tonight. Edmonton is the pick (+125) according to Dunkel, which has the Oilers favored by 1/2 a goal. Dunkel Pick: Edmonton (+125). Here are all of today's picks.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9

Game 51-52: Montreal at Winnipeg (5:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Montreal 11.893; Winnipeg 10.928
Dunkel Line & Total: Montreal by 1; 6
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 53-54: Pittsburgh at Edmonton (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh 11.127; Edmonton 11.554
Dunkel Line & Total: Edmonton by 1/2; 5
Vegas Line & Total: Pittsburgh (-145); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Edmonton (+125); Under

NHL

Sunday, October 9

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Trend Report
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5:00 PM
MONTREAL vs. WINNIPEG
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Montreal's last 14 games when playing on the road against Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Winnipeg's last 5 games at home
Winnipeg is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games at home

9:00 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. EDMONTON
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing Edmonton
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Edmonton's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
Edmonton is 2-8-2 SU in its last 12 games ,when playing Pittsburgh

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NHL

Sunday, October 9

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Ice picks: Sunday's best NHL bets
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Montreal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets

Welcome back to Winnipeg, NHL.

The last NHL sighting in Manitoba was on April 28, 1996, when the Jets lost to Detroit in Game 6 of a first-round playoff series. They moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes one year later.

Of course, we can't forget that these new Jets are still the Atlanta Thrashers. Or are they? A big problem in Atlanta (the franchise never won a single playoff game) was a general lack of excitement and enthusiasm rather than a lack of talent. The former certainly won't be a problem in Winnipeg, especially not for Sunday's season opener.

"There's a real genuine excitement," said GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. "I think it's a pure excitement. I don't even know how to put it. It's the excitement of a little kid at Christmas, I guess."

The feeling can't be the same for the Canadiens after their opener, as they put up a goose-egg at Toronto on Thursday. Montreal's offense went AWOL and goalie Carey Price allowed two goals on just 18 shots in a 2-0 loss.

Pick: Jets

Pittsburgh Penguins at Edmonton Oilers (128, 5.5)

It's the season opener for Edmonton and excitement will be buzzing at home. Not only is it the first game, but the Oilers are going to give the fans what they want to see in the form of No. 1 draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The 18-year-old from British Columbia only increased the hype by leading his team in scoring during the preseason with one goal and five assists. It could earn him a spot on the first line in between forwards Taylor Hall and Ales Hemsky.

"I'm going to play him," head coach Tom Renney assured. "This is about two points now and the guys who can help us do that will play. I fully expect Ryan will be an important contributor to our needs every night."

The Oilers were atrocious in 2010-11, owners of a league-worst 62 points. However, they were one of the youngest teams in the business and figure to be on the way up. Jordan Eberle, last season's team leader in points, is 21; Taylor Hall, last year's team leader in goals, is 19; Sam Gagner, tied for second in points with Hall, is 22.

The Penguins, meanwhile, could be dealing with a fatigue factor. They are contesting their third game of the season and they have quick turnaround after Saturday night's visit to Calgary.

Pick: Oilers

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**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 09:13 AM

MLB
Dunkel

Detroit at Texas
The Cardinals look to build on their 10-2 record in their last 12 games as a road underdog. St. Louis is the pick (+125) according to Dunkel, which has the Cardinals favored by 1/2 a run. Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (+125). Here are all of today's picks.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9

Game 903-904: St. Louis at Milwaukee (4:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis (Garcia) 15.618; Milwaukee (Greinke) 15.135
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-145); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (+125); Over

Game 905-906: Detroit at Texas (7:45 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Scherzer) 16.066; Texas (Holland) 15.033
Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Texas (-135); 9
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (+115); Over

MLB

Sunday, October 9

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Trend Report
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4:05 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. MILWAUKEE
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games on the road
Milwaukee is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 6 games when playing at home against St. Louis

7:45 PM
DETROIT vs. TEXAS
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Detroit's last 9 games when playing on the road against Texas
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Texas
Texas is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
Texas is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing Detroit

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MLB

Sunday, October 9

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Hot lines: Sunday's best MLB bet
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St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers (-144, 7.5)

The Brewers didn't merely win Game 5 against the Diamondbacks on Friday night. They did it just in time to prevent Zack Greinke from taking the mound in extra innings.

Greinke was warming up in the bullpen when Nyjer "Tony Plush" Morgan delivered a walk-off single that sent Milwaukee into this NLCS. As a result, the right-hander will be able start Game 1 on Sunday against St. Louis.

That's music to the Brewers' ears but not good news for the Cardinals, because the Crew is an incredible 16-0 in Greinke's 16 starts at Miller Park in 2011. Greinke went 11-0 with a 3.13 ERA at home during the regular season, striking out 119 batters in 95 innings. By comparison, he went just 5-6 with a 4.70 ERA on the road.

"The starting pitching has been a group effort, because they've all been good," said Milwaukee's Craig Counsell. "The fact Zack was coming in the game (on Friday) was because we had to win the game, and if that happened, then, well, that's the way it had to happen. Now he can pitch Game 1, and we like that, obviously."

Greinke is 2-1 with a solid 3.15 ERA versus the Cardinals. As for St, Louis, starter Jaime Garcia has been effective but--like Greinke--he is far better at home (2.55 ERA) than on the road (4.61 ERA). He allowed seven runs in five innings in his only start at Miller Park, on August 2.

Garcia better watch out for Milwaukee's Ryan Braun. The NL MVP candidate remained on fire in the division series, batting .500 with one home run and 16 total bases.

Pick: Brewers

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**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 11:05 AM

MLB
Long Sheet

Sunday, October 9

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ST LOUIS (93 - 74) at MILWAUKEE (99 - 68) - 4:05 PM
JAIME GARCIA (L) vs. ZACK GREINKE (R)
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 179-151 (-20.1 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 83-75 (-28.7 Units) against the money line against division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 92-85 (-21.7 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 100-68 (+22.7 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
MILWAUKEE is 61-24 (+29.8 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
MILWAUKEE is 14-0 (+14.2 Units) against the money line in home games when playing on Sunday this season.
MILWAUKEE is 52-29 (+16.3 Units) against the money line against division opponents this season.
MILWAUKEE is 100-68 (+22.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
MILWAUKEE is 37-17 (+14.4 Units) against the money line in home games in night games this season.
MILWAUKEE is 38-15 (+17.9 Units) against the money line in home games after a win this season.
GREINKE is 16-0 (+16.0 Units) against the money line in home games this season. (Team's Record)
GREINKE is 22-7 (+13.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season. (Team's Record)
GREINKE is 12-0 (+12.0 Units) against the money line in home games in night games this season. (Team's Record)
GREINKE is 12-0 (+12.0 Units) against the money line in home games after a win this season. (Team's Record)
GREINKE is 11-1 (+10.2 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
GREINKE is 22-7 (+13.7 Units) against the money line in all games this season. (Team's Record)
ST LOUIS is 48-37 (+11.8 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
ST LOUIS is 47-35 (+12.6 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field this season.
ST LOUIS is 69-46 (+14.4 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
ST LOUIS is 74-54 (+6.8 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
ST LOUIS is 23-13 (+12.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
GARCIA is 17-5 (+11.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
GARCIA is 11-2 (+9.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
MILWAUKEE is 14-22 (-12.0 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 9-9 (+0.3 Units) against MILWAUKEE this season
10 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+3.2 Units)

JAIME GARCIA vs. MILWAUKEE since 1997
GARCIA is 3-2 when starting against MILWAUKEE with an ERA of 2.72 and a WHIP of 1.209.
His team's record is 4-3 (-0.6 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-5. (-3.3 units)

ZACK GREINKE vs. ST LOUIS since 1997
GREINKE is 4-3 when starting against ST LOUIS with an ERA of 3.80 and a WHIP of 1.178.
His team's record is 4-3 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-4. (-1.4 units)

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DETROIT (98 - 70) at TEXAS (100 - 67) - 4:05 PM
MAX SCHERZER (R) vs. DEREK HOLLAND (L)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 6-4 (+2.4 Units) against TEXAS this season
5 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.6 Units)

MAX SCHERZER vs. TEXAS since 1997
SCHERZER is 3-0 when starting against TEXAS with an ERA of 3.41 and a WHIP of 1.243.
His team's record is 5-1 (+4.5 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-2. (+0.7 units)

DEREK HOLLAND vs. DETROIT since 1997
HOLLAND is 0-0 when starting against DETROIT with an ERA of 2.25 and a WHIP of 1.500.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-0. (+1.0 units)

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MLB
Short Sheet

Sunday, October 9

NL Championship Series - Best of 7 - Game 1
ST LOUIS at MILWAUKEE, 4:05 PM ET
GARCIA: ST LOUIS 27-10 OVER in road games against division opponents
GREINKE: 9-0 TSR as a home favorite of -125 to -175

AL Championship Series - Best of 7 - Game 2
DETROIT at TEXAS, 4:05 PM ET
SCHERZER: 5-1 TSR against AL West opponents
HOLLAND: 1-5 TSR when working on 7 or more days rest

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 12:19 PM

NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, October 9

If anything is added for Montreal/Winnepeg, I'll update. This source dropped the ball on NHL yesterday so I wouldn't be surprised if this is it today.

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PITTSBURGH (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) at EDMONTON (25-45-0-12, 62 pts.) - 10/9/2011, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 20-10 ATS (+9.0 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 26-14 ATS (+10.4 Units) in road games first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 51-111 ATS (-129.0 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 2-0 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 2-0-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.1 Units, Under=-0.3 Units)

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NHL
Short Sheet

Sunday, October 9

MONTREAL at WINNIPEG, 5:00 PM ET NHL
MONTREAL: n/a
WINNIPEG: n/a

PITTSBURGH at EDMONTON , 9:00 PM ET
PITTSBURGH: 9-3 SU Away off BB Overs
EDMONTON: 51-111 SU off BB Overs

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 01:46 PM

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, October 9

Milwaukee is 16-0 at home this season when Greinke starts; now he was warming up in bullpen in last inning Friday night, which isn't normal, so thats worth watching. Greinke is 4-1, 3.14 in his last eight starts, 2-1, 3.15 against St Louis. Garcia is 1-1, 5.30 in his last three starts, 1-0, 4.50 vs St Louis, but one of starts was shutout May 6. Cardinals/Brewers split nine games this year, with Milwaukee 5-4 here, but St Louis swept three-game series in last visit here Aug 30-Sept 1st. Under is 11-5-2 in series games this season, 5-3-1 here.

Detroit is 6-4 against the Rangers in 2011, winning two of three in all three series (two at home). Scherzer pitched in relief Game 5 Thursday; he is 2-0, 3.24 in his last three starts, 1-0, 4.77 in three starts vs Texas, all of which were Tiger wins. Under is 5-3-2 in series games, 2-1-1 here. Holland is 6-0, 2.64 in his last seven starts; he didn't start against the Tigers this season. Detroit is 32-19 vs lefthanded starters this season.

**Udog** · 10-09-2011, 09:49 PM

College football odds: Week 7 opening line report

Somewhere tucked in a back room of the CBS Sports Network, his new employer, former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has to be shaking his head.

Because with the majority of Rodriguez’s recruits, new Wolverines coach Brady Hoke is orchestrating a Big Blue Revival. Michigan, en route to a 6-0 start overall, including a 2-0 mark in the Big Ten, has shown fight, has shown heart, and just refuses to quit. All characteristics that were mostly vacant in the previous regime.

On Saturday, the Wolverines overcame a halftime deficit and rallied past Northwestern with ease, 42-24.

"We said what it was. We were down 10 points. We had thrown three interceptions for one reason or another, we'd had three penalties on ourselves offensively, we were not getting off blocks on the back end defensively, and that's what it was,” Hoke said. “That's kind of what we talked about, nothing more, and we talked about how we want to be as a Michigan football team."

How they want to be, of course, is a Big Ten force again. Someone to be reckoned with, someone to be respected and someone to be feared. And while it’s not pretty at times, the Wolverines do appear on their way.

But this week won’t be easy. This will be Hoke’s first Michigan State Week, and he will need to tackle all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. And oh yeah, distractions aside, the Spartans (4-1, 1-0) are pretty good, too.

So, it certainly presented an interesting matchup to the Las Vegas oddsmakers on Sunday, when they carved out their lines for the week. Even though Michigan has looked good, they are aware of a potential fall.

*********** spoke with Pete Korner who’s the founder of the line consultant group Esportclub, LLC. Bettors should remember his lines are recommendations and not actually the opening numbers from sportsbooks. We'll use the Wynn Las Vegas opening odds and tell you the spreads Korner's group sent out to its clients.

“We had lines all over the place on this one,” said Korner said of the Spartan-Wolverine game. “Really, either team can take this one.”

Home field means a bunch in the Big Ten, of course. So, Korner established the host Spartans as 2-point favorites.

“Really was a tough call, and it could really be a pick here,” Korner said. “But I think Michigan State should be favored. These are not great teams, but they’re good, and it should be entertaining.”

And with that, let’s take a look at some of next week’s other marquee games:

USC (-3) at Cal

“We don’t like either team all that much," Korner, who sent out Trojans -1, said. “I don’t know what to make of this matchup. In the past, there’s been some great games in this rivalry. But about the only thing you can say this time, is that it’s on TV by itself and may draw some interest because of it. But, really, there’s no strong argument for either side.”

Baylor (+9.5) at Texas A&M

“We were all fairly close on this one,” Korner said. “Eventually, we went double digits (10) and it’s deserved for Texas A&M. They’ve been playing well, so we went with the aggressive number.”

Early bettors don't agree. The line was bet down to A&M -8 shortly after the spread opened at -9.5.

LSU (-15) at Tennessee

“We wanted to be careful on this one,” said Korner, who recommended LSU -14. “We’ll be checking all week on injured Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, see where his status goes. Normally, with everyone healthy, this would have been 12, but the injuries pushed us up. And with the way LSU is playing, we wanted to be aggressive.”

Shortly after talking to us, word came down that Bray would miss six weeks with a fractured thumb.

Oklahoma State (-5.5) at Texas

“Should be a fun game to watch. We gave it to the road favorite (sending out OSU -6.5), as Texas was a no-show last week,” Korner said. “We know that will weigh heavily on people’s outlooks this week. This could easily be 7, but we wanted it under a touchdown, and then we’ll see what the bettors do with it. Should be a high, high-scoring game.”

The early action bumped Texas up to a 7-point home underdog.

Alabama (-23) at Ole Miss

“Not a very exciting game,” Korner said. “Alabama’s playing so well these days, you kind of have to stick it at the high number and see what happens with it.”

The love for the Crimson Tide continues to pour in. Alabama got bet up to 25-point chalk almost immediately at offshore sportsbooks.

Virginia Tech (-7) at Wake Forest

“This is an interesting game because of what Wake just did, beating Florida State,” Korner said. “But it was only one game, and Virginia Tech -- on the road -- should be ready. They’re the better team and we expect them to get it done. If Wake gets it done again this week, then we’ll revisit their power ranking and give them a little more respect.”

Korner recommended Wake +8.5 but his line could be on the right side of the touchdown mark by the end of the week.

Florida (Pick) at Auburn

“These are always good SEC games, even if they’re coming off losses,” Korner said. But there are a lot of injuries on the Florida side. So, we put it at a pick, and we’ll shift that as we learn more about the injuries. Right now, there are too many question marks.”

Stanford (-20) at Washington State

Korner's group went really big on this game, sending out Stanford -24. The Wynn didn't go quick as high, opening at -20 but that number has been bet up to 20.5.

“I keep telling guys to roll with Stanford,” Korner. “They’re getting there every week. And when you have a team like that, you would hate to keep rooting for the underdog. Stanford is just playing so well, so we went higher, and we’ll see if they like it.”

Arizona State (+14.5) at Oregon

“That’s a better game than many might think,” Korner said, “and it’ll be Oregon’s first without (injured running back) LaMichael James. Arizona State is not that bad, and Oregon will be shorthanded. But, even shorthanded, Oregon is still pretty good with what they have. If he was there, it’d be much higher. But without him, it might be closer, and we have respect for Arizona State anyway.”

Announcement

Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 10/9 (MLB, WNBA, NHL, CFL, Misc.)

Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 10/9 (MLB, WNBA, NHL, CFL, Misc.)

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