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**StarDust Bum** · 09-02-2013, 12:30 PM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Six of the more interesting college football pointspreads this week:

-- Florida (-3) at Miami--- Kirk Herbstreit picked Toledo to upset Florida Saturday, which tells me something is amiss with the Gators.

-- West Virginia at Oklahoma (-19.5)-- WVU gained 778 yards vs Sooners LY but still lost, 50-49- they struggled with Wm & Mary Saturday.

-- South Carolina at Georgia (-3)-- Gamecocks beat Georgia last three years, scoring 45-35 points last two years. Dawgs lost to Clemson Saturday, 0-2 start wouldn't make the natives very happy between the hedges.

-- Texas (-6.5) @ BYU-- Line opened at -3.5, got bet up three points.

-- Arkansas State @ Auburn (-13.5)-- Guz Malzahn coaches against team he coached LY. Auburn's new QB passed terribly vs Wazzu.

-- Notre Dame @ Michigan (-3.5)-- Underdogs are 10-4 SU in this game, and covered 11 of 14. This is ND's last visit to Ann Arbor for a while.

*****

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but...........

13) The next big legislative beef in college football is going to be between teams who run the no-huddle offense and teams who hate it so much they're coaching players to fake injuries to slow the other offense down.

During Georgia-Clemson Saturday night, Kirk Herbstreit said on the air that defensive coaches are practicing having defensive players fake injuries. Cal coach Sonny Dykes was ticked off when Northwestern was obviously doing this in their game late Saturday night.

Here's how you know: When the only players on a team who leave with minor injuries/cramps are defensive players, its obvious. Did Northwestern hydrate its offensive players better? None of them seemed to get hurt.

12) Colorado 41, Colorado State 27-- Total yardage in this game was 509-295, as Buffs start the MacIntyre era with a win. When a coach turns around a perennial loser like San Jose State, you know he is an excellent coach, and . MacIntyre is just that.

11) Notre Dame ended its football series with Michigan because they're committed to playing a certain amount (five?) of ACC teams a year, after they suckered the ACC into taking in their basketball program, so this week is the last time for a long time the Irish will be visiting Ann Arbor- they also play for the last time in South Bend next season.

You can bet Boston College/Syracuse/Pitt will be three of those games each season, so the Tobacco Road part of the ACC ain't going to be benefitting a whole lot from having the money-hungry Irish around.

Curious to see if Notre Dame will play Miami or Florida State at all.

10) We talked last week about how Oklahoma State has recruited Texas so heavily (67 Texans on their roster), so smart of them to play last week in Houston, this week in San Antonio, in neutral field games.

9) Georgia opened as a 5-point favorite vs South Carolina, game got bet down quickly to 3.5. Gamecocks beat Georgia the last three years, after going 1-7 against the Dawgs in their previous eight meetings. Big early season tilt.

8) For some bizarre reason, ESPN put the Mets-Nationals game on Sunday night, then MLB scheduled the Mets to play Monday at 1:10 in Atlanta. What genius came up with this idea? Mets got to their Atlanta hotel at 3:50 am, according to a tweet from team PR guy Jay Horwitz.

7) Mets seem to be shutting down every young pitcher they've got, but since they have to finish the season, they signed washed-up meatballer Aaron Harang (5-11, 5.76 with Seattle) to a minor league deal and will probably bring the 35-year old up to play out the string of the last four weeks of yet another dismal season at Citi Field.

Dodgers got out from the McCourt ownership because of a nasty divorce; the new ownership has revitalized a once-great franchise. Not sure what it'll take to get the Mets away from the hideous Wilpons.

6) Senior PG Pe'Shon Howard transferred from Maryland to USC, where he'll play his last year of college ball for Andy Enfield. Its amazing how many of these kids who transfer have sick grandparents, its an epidemic. We hope Pe'Shon's grandmother has a very speedy recovery. And season tickets.

5) NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr drove the Sunday night race in Atlanta, all 500 miles of it, with a broken wrist. Race car drivers are, um, different, and that is meant as a compliment. Tough guys.

4) Sergio Garcia held a 2 or 3-shot lead after three rounds seven times in his career, and won three of those tournaments. He leads in Boston, in the only PGA Tour event that runs from Friday-Monday.

3) Somehow has to tell the kid in the AT&T commercial that he sucks at telling jokes. Just to get the commercial off the air.

2) I watched Good Will Hunting late Sunday night for about the 10th time; Robin Williams is a really, really good actor. Tremendous movie.

1) Sunday afternoon was my first fantasy football draft in over 20 years; highlight of the day was seeing the man-cave of the league's commissionerwho has a room with six flat-screen TVs, in two rows of three on the wall, all attached to DirecTV for NFL games. Its like living at NFL Films.

As for the draft, a 10-team, 15-round draft took a little over two hours, so we were an efficient group. Was expecting it to be a lot longer.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-02-2013, 01:35 PM

Florida State at Pittsburgh

September 1, 2013

Matchup: Florida State Seminoles at Pittsburgh Panthers
Venue: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (grass)
Date: Monday, Sept. 2 , 2013
Time/TV: 8:00 p.m. ET - ESPN
Line: Florida State -10.5, Over/Under 49

Florida State hasn’t had an elite quarterback since Chris Weinke won the Heisman Trophy and led the 2000 team to the BCS Championship Game. Chris Rix and E.J. Manuel may rank second and third, respectively, in career passing yards at FSU, but they failed to lead the Seminoles to any accomplishments of merit compared to teams of the 1980s and ‘90s.

That’s right, this space isn’t passing out any love notes to Manuel for leading FSU to an ACC title last season. And why would we? The ‘Noles may have won 12 games last year, but they only faced two ranked teams, beating one (Clemson at home) and losing to another (at home to arch-rival Florida by double digits), and barely knocked off a seven-loss Ga. Tech team (21-15) to win the conference.

But for the first time in more than a decade, FSU may have found its man in redshirt freshman QB ‘Famous’ Jameis Winston. He hasn’t even taken his first collegiate snap yet has already been compared to Charlie Ward.

There’s zero doubt that Winston has a strong arm, which was on full display while throwing heaters from the mound for the FSU baseball team this past spring. There’s no question about his speed, either, which dazzled MLB scouts while running the bases for the ‘Noles.

Can Winston live up to the hype? We’ll start to get an idea Monday night when Pittsburgh plays host to FSU at Heinz Field. ESPN will have the telecast at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

As of early Sunday night, most betting shops had FSU installed as a 10-point favorite with a total of 49. Gamblers can take Pitt to win outright for a +320 payout (risk $100 to win $320). For first-half wagers, the ‘Noles are favored by six with a total of 24.5.

Jimbo Fisher’s team finished 2012 with a 12-2 straight-up record, but it limped to a 5-8 against-the-spread mark. FSU returns seven starters on offense and four on defense.

FSU was expected to have one of the nation’s best and deepest group of wide receivers. However, that depth has taken a major hit over the last month. Greg Dent (27 catches, 355 yards & 2 TDs in 2012) has been suspended indefinitely, while Jarred Haggins and Willie Haulstead have been lost to season-ending injuries.

Junior Rashad Greene remains healthy, though, and appears poised for a monster campaign. As a sophomore, Greene hauled in a team-high 57 receptions for 741 yards and six touchdowns. He is probably the ACC’s third-best WR behind only Sammy Watkins and Maryland’s Stefon Diggs.

FSU had a salty defense last season that gave up only 14.7 points per game, but seven starters are gone and, perhaps most important, defensive coordinator Mark Stoops left to become the head coach at Kentucky. The new DC is former Alabama defensive backs coach Mark Pruitt, who is just the third man to hold this post at FSU in the last 28 years.

Pittsburgh will be making its ACC debut after going 6-7 SU and 8-5 ATS in its farewell season in the Big East. The Panthers bring back five starters on offense and eight on defense for Paul Chryst’s second year in the Steel City.

Pitt suffered a pair of costly losses with the departures of two of the school’s all-time best in QB Tino Sunseri and RB Ray Graham. Sunseri had a banner senior season, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,288 yards with an outstanding 21/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Sunseri finished his career ranked third in school history with 8,590 passing yards.

Graham had 11 rushing TDs in 2012 and completed his career behind only Tony Dorsett in career rushing yards with 3,271.

Tom Savage will take over under center for Sunseri after sitting out the last two seasons. Savage was considered one of the biggest recruits in Rutgers history when he signed with the school in 2009. As a true freshman, he had a 14/7 TD-INT ratio for the Scarlet Knights.

But Savage lost his starting job as a sophomore and decided to transfer to Arizona. Then he didn’t like it in Tucson and elected to come to Pitt where he has only one year of eligibility.

Savage’s favorite target will be WR Devin Street, who garnered second-team All Big East honors after making 73 catches for 975 yards and five TDs in 2012. RB Isaac Bennett will replace Graham and he has been upgraded to ‘probable’ after missing some practice time with a knee injury. Since 2008, Pitt owns a 6-2 spread record in eight games as a home underdog. During Fisher’s tenure in Tallahassee, FSU has compiled a 5-7 spread record as a road favorite. The ‘Noles went 0-5 ATS in road ‘chalk’ situations last season.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-02-2013, 01:36 PM

On a nice two day run here.....

7 - 1 on Friday.....

13 - 3 Saturday....

20 - 4 Total

Saturday POD'S # 1 - 4 went 12 - 0

POD's # 5.......... 1 - 1

POD's # 6,,,,,,,,,, 0 - 2

------------------------------------------------------------
Awesome 3 day RUNNNNNNNNNNN.....

Sunday's Totals:

MLB - 4 - 1

CFL - 2 - 0

WNBA-2 - 0

CFB - 4 - 0

------12 - 1 Sunday......

------20 - 4 Friday-Saturday Totals

-------------------

-------32 - 5 For the weekend

Breakdown on the POD'S the last 3 days for all sports

POD's 1 - 4...........24 - 0

POD 5................... 5 - 1

POD 6................... 2 - 4

POD 7....................1 - 0

-------------------32 - 5 For the weekend

I hope all made a ton to start the season.........Good Luck !!

**StarDust Bum** · 09-02-2013, 06:35 PM

Date WLT Pct Net Units Record

09/01/13 4-*0-*0 100.00% +*2000 Detail

Totals 4-*0-*0 100.00% +2000

Monday, September 2

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Florida State - 8:00 PM ET Florida State -10 500 POD # 1

Pittsburgh - Under 49.5 500 POD # 2

I got this line a few days ago....I see its now at 12.5 and 47.5....I still like both picks...as they stand now....

Good Luck !

**StarDust Bum** · 09-03-2013, 02:48 PM

4th Quarter Covers - Week 1

September 3, 2013

Glancing at the scoreboard won't tell you the whole story in most games. Here are the games that went down to the wire relative to the spread in the fourth quarter last week in the opening weekend of college football. Each week there are several teams that cover despite not necessarily deserving it, as well as other teams that played much better than the final score shows, get the details in this weekly column.

Utah (-1) 30, Utah State 26: Utah State took a 23-14 early in the third quarter as a slight underdog, but Utah had the lead by the end of the third quarter, taking advantage of a successful onside kick to score 10 points in less than two minutes. After trading field goals in the fourth quarter, Utah forced a punt and then took the clock down to 19 seconds before kicking a field goal to get past the spread as a Hail Mary from the Aggies fell short.

Mississippi (-3½) 39, Vanderbilt 35: The SEC opener delivered an amazing finish as both teams squandered leads early in the game. Early in the fourth quarter, Mississippi took a 32-28 lead and it appeared that might hold as Vanderbilt faced a 4th-and-18 in its own territory with just two minutes to go. The Commodores amazingly converted and then took advantage of a blown coverage on the next play for the go-ahead touchdown. On the second play for Mississippi after getting the ball back, Jeff Scott broke one the great runs of the weekend for a 75-yard score. Vanderbilt took the ensuing kickoff to midfield but an interception ended the game.

USC (-24½) 30, Hawaii 13: After an ugly start to the game, USC managed to go up 30-5 late in the fourth quarter after completing an 80-yard drive, seemingly earning a late cover. With less than a minute to go, Hawaii connected for a 60-yard touchdown play that took the underdog cover back for the Warriors.

Miami, FL (-31½) 34, Florida Atlantic 6: The Hurricanes led by 28 in the fourth quarter sitting at 1st and goal at the Florida Atlantic 2-yard line. The Owls would hold as Miami failed to punch the ball in with four straight rushing attempts from Gus Edwards, preserving a narrow underdog cover for the Owls. Florida Atlantic put together a 16-play drive on the subsequent possession, but also wound up without points in the scoreless fourth quarter.

Texas Tech (-4½) 41, SMU 23: The Mustangs were a popular underdog and with a late third quarter rushing touchdown, SMU was within four. Texas Tech dominated in the fourth quarter, posting three touchdowns on three consecutive drives and putting the game out of reach before SMU scored again.

Wisconsin (-43) 45, Massachusetts 0: Covering a massive spread seemed unlikely for the Badgers with just a 17-0 lead at halftime. Wisconsin hit three big touchdown plays in the third quarter and got an interception on the only productive drive for the Minutemen in the second half. Wisconsin would add an early fourth quarter touchdown and it would be just enough.

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Northern Illinois (+3) 30, Iowa 27: The Hawkeyes appeared poised to take a narrow win against the Huskies for the second year in a row, but this year, Northern Illinois delivered the comeback. Iowa led by four entering the fourth and by seven after a field goal with less than seven minutes to go. Northern Illinois had struggled to move the ball most of the second half, but took just six plays to deliver the tying score. After trading punts, Iowa gave Northern Illinois the ball in Iowa territory after an interception with just over a minute to go. The Huskies burned most of the clock and hit the go-ahead field goal for the upset win.

Virginia (+3) 19, BYU 16: The Cavaliers took a 12-7 lead into the fourth quarter in a defensive battle with BYU. The Cougars would get an elusive touchdown with just over six minutes to go to lead by one as they failed on the 2-point conversion. BYU was able to quickly add three more points after Virginia fumbled on the kickoff return, but settling for the field goal would prove costly. The BYU defense did its part as Virginia was held to a three-and-out and another punt. BYU had the ball with the lead, but on a key third down play with less than three minutes to go, an interception gave the Cavaliers great field position and it took just one play to punch in for a touchdown. The game continued with two more possessions for the Cougars, but Virginia held on.

Oklahoma State (-13) 21, Mississippi State 3: The Cowboys had an ugly start to the game on offense, scoreless until late in the second quarter. After punting on the first five possessions of the game, the offense was productive on five consecutive drives, resulting in three touchdowns, a missed field goal, and a turnover on downs in MSU territory. A touchdown early in the fourth quarter put Oklahoma State past the spread for the first time, but it appeared the Bulldogs would answer, getting inside the 15-yard line, but ultimately leaving empty handed after a missed field goal. Mississippi State went into Oklahoma State territory on its next possession as well, but an interception late in the game secured the cover for Oklahoma State despite just 21 points scored.

Texas (-44) 56, New Mexico State 7: With just over two minutes left in the first half, New Mexico State went up 7-0 on highly ranked Texas, making a cover for the favorite look impossible with the over six-touchdown spread. The Longhorns incredibly scored twice in 40 seconds of game clock to take the lead into the half. Texas took control from there with three touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters, getting the final touchdown with just over a minute to go to get past the spread.

Penn State (-9) 23, Syracuse 17: Penn State led just 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Lions managed to gain some distance, adding a long field goal and then connecting on a 54-yard touchdown pass to lead 23-10. Syracuse was given another chance as an interception was returned to the Penn State 1-yard line, setting up an easy score that flipped the cover with just seven minutes to go. Neither team seriously threatened to score the rest of the way.

LSU (-6) 37, TCU 27: In the big late game in Arlington, LSU led most of the way, taking a 30-17 lead into the fourth quarter. A fumble recovery deep in LSU territory gave TCU a second wind and the Frogs were within six a few plays later. TCU forced a punt and then put together a productive drive, but ultimately had to settle for a field goal to trail, 30-27 with less than eight minutes to go. A 75-yard kickoff return gave the momentum back to LSU and the Tigers converted with a touchdown on a big third down play. TCU had to punt on its next possession and never got the ball back.

UCLA (-21) 58, Nevada 20: While the Bruins had big numbers on offense, they created a bit of a deceptive final score with late touchdowns. UCLA led by just four at the half and by just 17 into the fourth quarter, but three Bruins touchdowns late in the game pushed the margin to 38 points and past the spread as Nevada had just 15 net yards on its final four possessions.

Northwestern (-6½) 44, California 30: Cal led 24-20 in this game before an interception return for a touchdown sparked the Wildcats to a 27-24 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Bears tied the game early in the fourth quarter, but another interception return touchdown allowed Northwestern to pull away for the win and cover in a game that was closer than it looked and featured a yardage edge for the Bears.

Colorado (+3) 41, Colorado State 27: The final score makes this look like a convincing win for the Buffaloes in the opening week rivalry game, but the Rams led 24-23 entering the fourth quarter. A long fumble return touchdown gave Colorado a bit of a margin and a 75-yard pass play to immediately answer a Colorado State field goal with less than four minutes to go put the game away. Colorado did dominate the statistics, but a punt return touchdown helped to keep the Rams in the game.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-03-2013, 02:53 PM

Week 1 Rewind

September 2, 2013

All college football fans, especially those fond of making wagers, are always fired up for the Thursday slate of Week 1 games. However, we’re rarely treated to the excitement we got with this year’s set of contests.

In the lid-lifter, South Carolina took control against North Carolina early in the first quarter by racing out to a 17-0 lead. The Tar Heels were fortunate to get a bogus facemask call when the Gamecocks had them stopped in their own territory on a long third-down play.

UNC capitalized on the opportunity and sliced the deficit to 17-7 by finishing the drive. The Tar Heels trailed 20-7 at intermission but got a field goal on their opening drive in the third quarter.

South Carolina answered when running back Mike Davis busted off right tackle for a 75-yard touchdown drive. The scoring stalled at that point and the ‘Cocks held a 27-10 advantage with 8:20 remaining when lightning in the area forced the game to be temporarily postponed.

For gamblers supporting South Carolina as an 11-point favorite and ‘under’ backers, this provided for more than an hour of anxiety. As I learned in 2002 when the lights went out in Vegas for a Wisconsin-UNLV game, a game is not official for betting purposes until it has been played for 55 minutes.

Therefore, the game was more than three minutes shy of being official. Like that night at Sam Boyd Stadium, if the game wasn’t resumed, all wagers would be ruled no-plays (the same as a push).

That didn’t happen, but the anxiety for South Carolina backers remained when UNC was threatening with a first-and-goal opportunity in the final two minutes. But the ‘Cocks were able to mount a goal-line stand and when Kelcy Quarles stopped UNC quarterback Bryn Renner at the one on fourth and goal, at last South Carolina supporters could relax.

Next, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss waged what was probably the most entertaining game of Week 1. Facing a second-and-10 play with 1:20 remaining while trailing 35-32, Rebels’ coach Hugh Freeze called a draw play for RB Jeff Scott, who somehow found the corner and raced for a 75-yard TD run.

Ole Miss took the cash as a three-point road favorite and the ‘over’ was an easy winner. But the Rebels weren’t all smiled following their comeback victory. They lost their best offensive lineman Aaron Morris to a season-ending injury, while leading returning tackler, LB Denzel Nkemdiche, suffered an injury that’ll keep him out for the next 4-6 weeks.

Thursday had one more thriller that went deep into Friday morning on the East coast. Fresno St. played from behind for most of the night yet captured a 52-51 overtime win over Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but a potential game-winning field goal sailed wide right. The Bulldogs scored on the first play of the extra session, but RU answered with a TD of its own. At that point, Kyle Flood elected to go for two and I was fine with that decision.

The conversion failed, however, and the Scarlet Knights had to check into the Heartbreak Hotel before heading back to New Jersey. They did easily cover the number as 10.5-point underdogs, but their money-line backers were unable to cash a ticket in the +330 to +380 range.

Fresno’s Derek Carr threw for 470 yards and five TDs. RU’s Gary Nova also had five TD passes.

Clemson has now won back-to-back games over two of the SEC’s premier programs in LSU and Georgia. Tajh Boyd threw three TD passes and ran for two more scores to lead the Tigers to a 38-35 win over UGA as two-point home underdogs Saturday night.

Boyd might be the early Heisman leader following that performance, but junior WR Sammy Watkins could be in that mix, too. Watkins had six receptions for 127 yards and turned a short pass into a 77-yard score.

When UGA’s Aaron Murray provided the final score of the game on a one-yard plunge with 1:19 left, ‘under’ backers (closed at 71 points) had to rip up their tickets as the 73 combined points slipped ‘over.’ The onsides kick failed and Clemson ran out the clock.

Georgia doesn’t have any time fret over the defeat because South Carolina will invade Athens on Saturday. The Bulldogs have dropped three in a row to the ‘Cocks, who will have two extra days to prepare compared to UGA.

Alabama’s Christion Jones stole the show at the Ga. Dome by scoring three TDs in a 35-10 win over Va. Tech as a 21-point favorite. Jones had a pair of special-teams scores and Vinnie Sunseri had a pick-six, but the Hokies actually produced more offense (212-206) compared to the two-time defending national champs.

Nick Saban had to be furious by the mediocre play of his offensive line. The Crimson Tide has two weeks to get the offense right before a monster game at Texas A&M.

The total had a wild result for ‘Bama-VT. The number was 45.5 for most of the week and a few spots spent some time at 46. Therefore, my pick on VI of the ‘over’ (at 45.5) was a loser. However, the total closed at 45 and some books were offering 44.5 early Saturday afternoon.

With ‘Bama leading 28-10 at intermission for 38 combined points, ‘over’ supporters were looking good. But A.J. McCarron’s TD pass to Jones midway through the third quarter was the last score of the game. Therefore, some gamblers pushed but most ‘over’ backers who got their bet in early suffered a bad beat.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

-- Week 1 Goat Teams: Oregon St. lost at home to Eastern Washington, UConn lost at home to Towson (by 15!), South Florida lost at home to McNeese St. (by a 53-21 count!!), Kansas St. lost at home to North Dakota St., Iowa St. lost at home to No. Iowa and San Diego St. went down to Eastern Illinois.

-- Week 1 Studs: Tajh Boyd (Clemson QB), Marcus Mariota (Oregon QB), Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville QB), Lache Seastrunk (Baylor RB), Brett Hundley (UCLA QB), Dominique Easley and Ronald Powell (Florida d-linemen), Derek Carr (Fresno St. QB), Khalil Mack (Buffalo LB), Jordan Taylor (Rice WR), Collin Ellis (Northwestern LB) and Jordan Matthews (Vandy WR).

-- Week 1 Duds: Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina DE), Colton Browning (ULM QB), A.J. McCarron (Alabama QB), Tyler Tettleton (Ohio QB) and Georgia long snapper (on crucial bad snap on short field goal in second half).

-- Georgia WR Malcolm Mitchell is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered during an end-zone celebration during the loss at Clemson. Mitchell was UGA’s leading returning receiver after snagging 40 catches for 572 yards and four TDs last season.

-- Northwestern starting CB Daniel Jones was lost to a season-ending injury in Saturday’s 44-30 win at California. The Wildcats host Syracuse this week and might do so without QB/WR Kain Colter, who is listed as ‘doubtful.’ Also, keep an eye on the status of RB and special-teams ace Venric Mark.

**Games to Watch**

-- Florida at Miami – The Hurricanes are 3-0 ATS as home underdogs during Al Golden’s tenure, while UF is 2-1 ATS as a road favorite on Will Muschamp’s watch. The Gators were missing three defensive starters when they blanked a quality Toledo offense in a 24-6 win. All three of those guys (LB Antonio Morrison, CB Loucheiz Purifoy and DT Darious Cummings) will return this week. Also, starting RB Matt Jones is expected to return (‘probable’). Miami will be without last year’s second-leading WR Rashawn Scott (shoulder). The key for Florida will be containing Miami star RB Duke Johnson. Heat will be a major factor for this noon Eastern kick on ESPN. Most spots have UF favored by three as of Monday afternoon.

-- Texas at BYU – These teams met in Austin two years ago with Texas winning a 17-16 decision, but BYU took the cash as a seven-point underdog. Most spots have the Longhorns favored by seven. BYU had more offensive yardage (362-223) and won the turnover battle (2-1), but it still dropped a 19-16 decision at Virginia as a 2.5-point ‘chalk.’ The Cougars were missing their best player, WR Cody Hoffman, who remains ‘questionable’ for Texas due to a strained hamstring. BYU has been a home underdog just five times during Bronco Mendenhall’s nine-year tenure, going 2-3 ATS. Since 2008, Texas has compiled an 11-6 spread record as a road favorite.

-- Oregon at Virginia – These schools are meeting for the first time. On Monday, most spots had Oregon installed as an expensive 21.5-point favorite. UVA now owns a 3-6 ATS record in nine previous home underdog situations under Mike London. The Cavs will be facing a much more dynamic offense that the one they held in check (BYU) last weekend. The Ducks have playmakers galore in QB Marcus Mariota and RB De’Anthony Thomas. They have covered the number in eight consecutive games as road favorites.

-- Notre Dame at Michigan – Most books have Michigan as the 3.5-point ‘chalk.’ The Wolverines blasted Central Michigan 59-9 in their opener. Meanwhile, Notre Dame failed to cover in a 28-6 home win over Temple. The Irish won 13-6 as a six-point home favorite when they squared off in South Bend last year. In the last encounter at The Big House in 2011, Denard Robinson rallied the Wolverines to a 35-31 win as a 3.5-point home underdog. As a home favorite on Brady Hoke’s watch, Michigan owns an 8-5 spread record. Notre Dame is 4-1 ATS as a road ‘dog during Brian Kelly’s tenure.

-- San Jose St. at Stanford – When these schools met in Palo Alto last season, San Jose St. nearly pulled an upset in a 20-17 loss as a 24.5-point underdog. The Spartans had more total offense (287-280) than the Cardinal. San Jose St. beat Sacramento St. by a 24-0 count in its opener. The Spartans, who finished 2012 with an 11-2 record both SU and ATS, have one of the nation’s best QBs in David Fales, who threw for 4,193 yards and 33 TDs last season. Stanford star LB Shayne Skov won’t play due to a one-game suspension. The Cardinal didn’t play in Week 1. Most books have David Shaw’s squad favored by 26.5.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-03-2013, 03:00 PM

Tech Trends - Week 2

September 3, 2013

Thursday, Sept. 5

Matchup Skinny Tech Trend

FLORIDA ATLANTIC at EAST CAROLINA...FAU now 7-1 as a road dog for Carl Pelini after opening-week cover vs. Canes, and 9-2 last 11 on board. Slight to FAU, based on Pelini road dog mark.

Friday, Sept. 6

Matchup Skinny Tech Trend

WAKE FOREST at BOSTON COLLEGE...If chalk, note Eagles just 5-8 overall in role the past three years. Wake has won and covered last two years vs. Eagles, and was 3-1 as single-digit dog LY. Grobe, however, 7-14 vs. line away since 2009, and his once-gaudy dog numbers have deteriorated in recent years. Slight to Wake, based on recent series trends.

UCF at FIU...Although FIU has covered past two years vs. UCF, O'Leary 25-14 as chalk since 2009. UCF also 10-5 vs. line lest 15 vs. non-league foes. Pre-Ron Turner FIU only 1-4 LY as home dog for Cristobal. UCF, based on team trends.

Saturday, Sept. 7

Matchup Skinny Tech Trend

FLORIDA at MIAMI-FLORIDA...First meeting since 2008. If getting points, note Al Golden 8-3-1 as dog the past two years with Miami, 17-7-2 in role the past five years with Temple & Canes. Miami also 3-0 as home dog LY. Muschamp 4-0 vs. line as visitor LY (0-2 at neutral sites) but overall Gator spread mark just 12-15. Miami, especially if dog, based on Al Golden numbers.

MIAMI-OHIO at KENTUCKY...Mark Stoops home debut for UK, and Cats were 10-18-1 vs. line previous 29 entering this season. UK was 7-3 as Lexington chalk for Joker in 2010-12, however. Treadwell only 4-9 vs. line LY for RedHawks and 1-6 as road dog. UK, based on team trends.

SOUTH FLORIDA at MICHIGAN STATE...Though USF faded to 4-16-1 mark last 21 on board for Sip Holtz, note that Willie Taggart was 11-1 as dog the past two seasons while at WKU. MSU now no covers last seven as home chalk since after opening non-cover vs. WMU. USF, based on team trends.

OKLAHOMA STATE at UTSA...Mike Gundy 26-12-1 vs. line since 2010. Although Cowboys were 0-3 as visiting chalk last season. Pokes also 10-4 vs. line non-Big 12 past three years. OSU, based on Gundy trends.

HOUSTON at TEMPLE...UH only 12-18-1 as visiting chalk since 2008. Owls were 17-8-1 as dog from 2007-11 but fell to 3-6 in role LY and only 1-3 as home dog LY. Slight to Temple, based on extended dog marks.

NORTH TEXAS at OHIO...Solich and McCarney used to square off in Big 12. Solich only 7-12 as chalk the past two seasons but is 7-4 vs. pts. against non-MAC that span. Slight to Ohio, based on team trends.

MTSU at NORTH CAROLINA...MTSU only 5-11 as dog since 2010 and 3-12 vs. spread last 15 vs. non-conf. foes Fedora 5-2 as Chapel Hill chalk in UNC debut LY and 18-11 in role dating to 2008 at USM. UNC, based on team trends.

CINCINNATI at ILLINOIS...Tuberville 5-0 as visiting chalk past two years while at Texas Tech. And Bearcats 5-2 the past three years in role for Butch Jones. Beckman 3-10 vs. line with Illini. Cincy, based on team and Tuberville trends.

WEST VIRGINIA at OKLAHOMA...WVU dropped last four spread decisions away from home LY, though Holgorsen is 5-2 as dog the past two seasons. Stoops only 16-17 laying DDs since 2009. Slight to WVU, based on team trends.

SOUTH CAROLINA at GEORGIA...Spurrier has covered last four vs. Richt. Spurrier 10-5 as reg.-season dog since 2008. Richt only 13-15 as home chalk since 2008. South Carolina, based on recent series trends.

SAN DIEGO STATE at OHIO STATE...Aztecs 9-4 as visiting dog since 2009 (4-2 last two years for Rocky). Aztecs 5-1 as DD dog since 2010. Though OSU closed with four covers LY, Urban only 4-5 as home chalk since LY and 1-4 vs. non-conf. foes, and 2-6 as DD chalk since 2012. SDSU, based on team trends.

UTAH STATE at AIR FORCE...Troy Calhoun 3-0 in rare home dog role since 2009, although Falcs subpar 3-11 vs. line since LY and 14-26 since 2010. Narrow loss for USU in opener but Utags still 11-3 vs. points since LY and 17-9 as visitor since 2009. USU, based on recent trends.

SOUTH ALABAMA at TULANE...Wave gets cover in opener vs. Jackson State but still only 6-11 last 17 in role. Wave now 6-2 last 8 on board since mid 2012. Note USA 0-5 as single-digit dog LY. Tulane, based on recent trends.

OREGON at VIRGINIA...Ducks have covered last 8 as visiting chalk and are 10-2 vs. spread away since 2011. Oregon, based on team trends.

DUKE at MEMPHIS...Tigers were hot late LY when winning last three SU and covering last four for Justin Fuente. Memphis 3-1 as home dog LY. Duke only favored once on road (at Army in 2009) since 2006, and was 1-5 vs. line away from Durham LY. But Cutcliffe was 4-0 vs. line as chalk LY. Slight to Memphis, based on recent trends.

SYRACUSE at NORTHWESTERN...Pat Fitzgerald 13-1 vs. line since LY and 7-0 vs. number at Evanston. Cats also 7-0 vs. number at home in 2012. Cuse was 5-2-1 as dog while Marrone was still coaching LY, but was 1-6 as dog in 2011. NU, based on recent trends.

NAVY at INDIANA...Niumatalolo 10-6 vs. line as visitor since 2010. Note Mids 6-2 as visiting dog since 2010. Kevin Wilson mostly 50-50 spread prop at IU. Slight to Navy based on team trends.

SOUTHERN MISS at NEBRASKA...USM was 1-5 vs. line away in the Ellis Johnson train wreck last season including 49-20 loss and non-cover at Lincoln in opener. Golden Eagles were 9-6 as dog previous four years. Pelini 4-3 as DD chalk LY but was 10-18 in role previous four seasons. Slight to Nebraska, based on recent USM woes.

TEXAS at BYU...Mack Brown 4-8 as single-digit chalk the past three seasons though Horns 7-2 vs. spread outside Big 12 and 4-2 as visiting favorite since 2011. But Bronco Mendenhall is 6-0 as dog the past two seasons and 18-9 overall vs. spread that span. BYU, based on team trends.

UAB at LSU...Les Miles just 8-11 as Baton Rouge chalk since 2010. Also just 9-14 vs. line non-SEC since 2008 and 3-7 vs. spread last 10 at home vs. non-SEC. UAB 11-7 as DD dog since 2010. UAB, based on LSU negatives.

TOLEDO at MISSOURI...Rockets 6-1 as dogs since LY and are 10-3 as visiting dog since 2010. Pinkel, however, 6-2 vs. line non-conf. past two years. Toledo, based on team trends.

COLORADO STATE at TULSA...CSU struggled 1-4 as road dog for McElwain in his debut LY, also 2-4 as DD dog. Tulsa off bad opening loss but was 5-2 as home chalk LY and 11-6 in role since 2010, also 7-4 as DD chalk since 2011. Slight to Tulsa, based on team trends.

ARKANSAS STATE at AUBURN...Gus Malzahn game! Ark State 20-6 vs. line last two years and that includes 7-3 non-Belt spread mark and 10-2 spread record as visitor. Auburn 4-8 vs. line since LY. Ark State, based on team trends.

ARMY at BALL STATE...Pete Lembo now 15-5 his last 20 vs. spread after Ill State win, and Cards have also covered last five as Muncie chalk. Also won and covered last two years vs. Army. Ellerson 4-9 vs. points since LY after non-cover vs. the Morgan State Bears, West Point also 0-3 as visiting dog LY. And Black Knights 0-8 vs. line against MAC the past two seasons! Ball, based on team trends.

EASTERN MICHIGAN at PENN STATE...Ron English 4-9 vs. line since LY after covering 5 of 6 as DD dog in 2011. Bill O'Brien 5-1 as Beaver Stadium chalk LY, covering last five in role. Penn State, based on team trends.

BUFFALO at BAYLOR...Buffalo 6-3 as dog after cover at OSU. Bulls 5-1 for Quinn their last six as DD dog. Buffalo, based on team trends.

BOWLING GREEN at KENT STATE...BGSU now 11-5 last 16 vs. line after opening win over Tulsa. Although Kent State has won and covered last three years in this series. BGSU, based on recent team trends.

WESTERN KENTUCKY at TENNESSEE...Petrino and Butch Jones both new on the jobs this season. Petrino was 24-13-1 against line his last three years at Arkansas and 25-12 his last three years at Lvl, and now 55-31-1 spread mark since 2004 as a college coach. UT was poor 8-16 the past two years vs. line for Derek Dooley and just 1-7 last 8 against points at Knoxville. Butch Jones Cincy teams, however, were 8-5 vs. line at home 2011-12. WKU, based on Petrino trends.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE at KANSAS STATE...Hudspeth 17-9-1 vs. line since 2011 and 10-2 as dog away from Lafayette. Also 7-2-1 vs. points against non-Belt sides. Louisiana, based on team trends.

NOTRE DAME at MICHIGAN...Brian Kelly 6-4 as dog the past three years with Irish, 4-1 as visiting dog that span. Michigan had won and covered three straight vs. Irish prior to loss LY at South Bend. Brady Hoke 2-3 vs. non-Big 10 LY. Slight to ND, based on team trends.

aHAWAII at OREGON STATE...Norm Chow working on a 4-game cover streak after SC opener. But Chow was only 2-4 as road dog (all by 20 or more) in 2012. Mike Riley only 1-4 last four laying 20 or more, though Beavs were 9-4 against spread in 2012. OSU, based on team trends.

MINNESOTA at NEW MEXICO STATE...NMSU did upset Gophers in Minneapolis in 2011, but 7-15 as Las Cruces dog since 2008, also 2-7-1 overall as dog in 2012. Jerry Kill now 5-1 last 6 as chalk after UNLV win and the Minny has covered 5 of last 6 outside of Big Ten, too. Minnesota, based on team trends.

IDAHO at WYOMING...Vandals 2-8 as dog since LY. Idaho just 6-12 as DD dog since 2010. Wyo won 40-37 shootout at Moscow LY, though Cowboys only 2-4 as DD chalk since 2010. Slight to Wyo, based on Idaho negatives.

NEW MEXICO at UTEP...Regional rivals haven't met since 2010, teams used to play all of the time in old WAC. Davie covered 3 of last 5 on road in 2012. UTEP 0-3 as Sun Bowl chalk LY and 9-19 as home chalk since 2005. New Mexico, based on UTEP negatives.

WASHINGTON STATE at SOUTHERN CAL...Lane Kiffin now 3-11 vs. line since 2012 and no covers last four. Although SC 7-3 as Coliseum chalk since 2011. Leach 6-3 as DD dog since 2012. WSU, based on recent Kiffin woes.

ARIZONA at UNLV...Bobby Hauck's best role for formful Rebels, 10-3-1 as home dog since 2010. Rebs 22-10-1 as Sam Boyd dog since 2005. Cats just 2-8-1 as road chalk since 2008 and 8-16-1 vs. line as visitor since 2008. UA 3-5 as chalk for Rich Rod 2012 and 9-15 in role since 2010. UNLV, based on team trends.

SAN JOSE STATE at STANFORD...SJSU got the cover LY and is now 15-2 last 17 on board after Caragher gets win and cover in debut vs. Sac State. David Shaw only 1-5 as Farm chalk LY. San Jose State, based on team trends.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-03-2013, 03:24 PM

College football line watch: Act now on UAB +35

Each week during the college football season, renowned Las Vegas wiseguy and Covers Expert Bruce Marshall looks at the NCAAF odds and tells you which spread to bet now, which one to bet later, and which total to watch as the week plays out.

Spread to bet now

UAB Blazers (+35) at LSU Tigers

Now that this number has tickled five full TDs, grab the price value with the Blazers while you can. SEC pedigree or not for LSU, that minimally-key number of 35 should nonetheless provide a nice point of resistance, as we doubt there is going to be overwhelming appetite in the marketplace to continue buying on Les Miles’ team that has flashed indifferent spread form not only as a high-priced home favorite, but also against non-conference opposition in Baton Rouge.

UAB is no powerhouse but is hardly helpless, with a competent offense and a new potential homerun wideout in Jamarcus Nelson. Closer inspection of the Tigers’ win over TCU also uncovered some surprising defensive deficiencies, which should scare away any serious LSU money as the week progresses. In turn, no surprise if market pressure eventually pushes the number downward. Blazer backers should rush to secure any available 35s ASAP.

Spread to wait on

New Mexico Lobos (+6.5) at UTEP Miners

Safe to say that there is not going to be any rush of New Mexico money to the windows of the Las Vegas sports books. Especially after the Lobos managed to blow a 13-0 lead at home to Texas...San Antonio in the opening week. Which has helped push the early price of this week’s game at UTEP to nearly a full TD. Now word is filtering from Albuquerque that HC Bob Davie has already seen enough of soph Cole Gautsche and will make the switch to juco Clayton Mitchem at QB on Saturday at the Sun Bowl, hardly the sort of news to trigger a wave of Lobo support.

The anti-New Mexico money alone could push the price above the key number of 7 sometime this week. So, if you like the Lobos to bounce back, or simply don’t trust the host Miners, you might as well wait until this price crashes past that key number.

Total to watch

San Jose State Spartans at Stanford Cardinal

With scoring totals rising as more “video football” takes hold across the country, we’ll be curious to see if any totals in fact drop during the week, especially in games highlighting featured teams. A good litmus test might come in the San Jose State-Stanford “Battle for Silicon Valley” on Saturday night in Palo Alto. Unlike several other games featuring ranked (and non-ranked) teams this week, there was not much immediate buy pressure on the over when this total was posted at 53.

Given the fact both sides play good defense (yes, even San Jose, which pitched a shutout vs. capable FCS Sac State in its opener), were involved in a taut 20-17 scoreline last season, and the Spartans’ new pro-style offense under first-year HC Ron Caragher that figures to slow the pace of their games significantly, we’d normally expect some downward “total” pressure. But if the total doesn’t drop before kickoff in this game, when can we expect any totals to drop?

**StarDust Bum** · 09-04-2013, 11:09 AM

Top 25 Betting Recap - Week 1

September 3, 2013

Week 1 of the 2013 NCAA football betting season is in the books, and today, we're going to be taking a look at each of the Top 25 teams in the land and see how they did from an ATS (Against-the-Spread) perspective in their first go at it of the year.

(Results in parentheses represent SU and ATS Results)

1) Alabama (W-W vs. Virginia Tech 35-10)
The Tide only rolled to a cover in this one because of two returns for touchdowns.

2) Ohio State (W-L vs. Buffalo 40-20)
Braxton Miller looks like the real deal, but after going up 23-0 after 1, the Bucks were outscored by the Bulls the rest of the way for an ATS defeat.

3) Oregon (W-W vs. Nicholls State 66-3)
Nicholls State never had a chance. Oregon had the ball for just 19 minutes and rolled up 772 yards of offense.

4) Stanford (Bye)

5) Georgia (L-L vs. Clemson 38-35)
The Dawgs have some regrouping to do after suffering their first loss of the season, especially with South Carolina on tap.

6) South Carolina (W-W vs. North Carolina 27-10)
Can SC be the #2 team in the land after this week? Beating Georgia for a second straight cover might do the trick.

7) Texas A&M (W-L vs. Rice 52-31)
Johnny Football nearly led A&M all the way back for a cover after the Aggies fell behind in the first half, but his antics on the field were more of a story than Rice's cover.

8) Clemson (W-W vs. Georgia 38-35)
No team had a bigger ATS win than Clemson last week, as the Tigers beat a Top 5 team and made a good case for the ACC to be a contender in 2013.

9) Louisville (W-W vs. Ohio 49-7)
The Cards blew out the Bobcats for a cover in this one, but there are bigger challenges on the horizon.

10) Florida (W-L vs. Toledo 24-6)
This is the same old Florida offense. The Gators needed to score more than 24 to cover a spread of 23.5.

11) Florida State (W-W vs. Pittsburgh 41-13)
Welcome to the big time, Jameis Winston! After a near perfect season debut, expect to hear the Winston for Heisman talk banter all week.

12) LSU (W-W vs. TCU 37-27)
The Bayou Bengals looked as good on offense in this game as they have since their National Championship season.

13) Oklahoma State (W-W vs. Mississippi State 21-3)
It was supposed to be a shootout, but we're more impressed with the Pokes' 'D', which ensured this cover.

14) Notre Dame (W-L vs. Temple 28-6)
Irish eyes were never meant to smile on Notre Dame bettors on Saturday, as the Golden Domers were never good enough to cover 30.

15) Texas (W-W vs. New Mexico State 56-7)
It was a shaky start, but UT finished with over 700 yards to cover the Aggies.

16) Oklahoma (W-W vs. Louisiana Monroe 34-0)
The defense looks great for the Sooners, but Trevor Knight is going to need to be much, much better if they are going to cover future games.

17) Michigan (W-W vs. Central Michigan 59-9)
Central Michigan was literally never a match for Devin Gardner and the gang.

18) Nebraska (W-L vs. Wyoming 37-34)
Nearly a huge upset. The Black Shirts 'D' has a lot of work to do to keep the Huskers in the Big Ten race this year.

19) Boise State (L-L vs. Washington 38-6)
The Broncos suffered their worst loss of the Chris Petersen era on Saturday in Seattle.

20) TCU (L-L vs. LSU 37-27)
This was a chance for the Horned Frogs to stick with the big boys, and they just weren't able to stack up.

21) UCLA (W-W vs. Nevada 58-20)
Really, most of the Pac-12 looked good this past week, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Brett Hundley and the gang roared to victory.

22) Northwestern (W-W vs. Cal 44-30)
Both Venric Mark and Kain Colter were hurt in the cover against the Golden Bears.

23) Wisconsin (W-W vs. Massachusetts 45-0)
Yawn. It was UMass. Show us you can beat some real foes, Wisky.

24) USC (W-L vs. Hawaii 30-13)
The Trojans have big problems at the quarterback position.

25) Oregon State (L-L vs. Eastern Washington 49-46)
OSU became the third ranked team in the country to ever lose to an FCS foe.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-05-2013, 12:55 PM

FAU at East Carolina

September 4, 2013

College football and ESPN concede that the NFL will dominate Thursday night with the big opening night game between the Ravens and the Broncos. There is a college game being played Thursday on the new FS1, though this Conference USA opener is sure to get little national attention. Here is a look at the Thursday game between Florida Atlantic and East Carolina.

Matchup: Florida Atlantic Owls at East Carolina Pirates
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina (grass)
Date: Thursday, September 5, 2013
Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET - FS1
Line: East Carolina -21, Over/Under 54
Last Meeting: None

East Carolina is one of the holdovers and one of the 2013 favorites in the new-look Conference USA. After winning last week against Old Dominion, conference play will start up Thursday night before two big non-conference challenges against prominent ACC teams to close out September. East Carolina finished 8-5 last season despite losing its bowl game and head coach Ruffin McNeill has a veteran team back in action for his fourth season leading the Pirates.

Last week, the Pirates won 52-38 at home against Old Dominion, a team transitioning to the FBS level. The Monarchs won 11 games last season, so it was certainly a decent opening test for East Carolina and the Pirates are a bigger favorite this week despite this being a conference game. East Carolina is a pass-first team led by junior QB Shane Carden and after throwing for over 3,100 yards last season, Carden tossed for 447 yards and five touchdowns in the opener. He completed over 85 percent of his passes, which is even more impressive considering there were 54 attempts last week.

East Carolina was really never able to pull away from Old Dominion until the fourth quarter, going up 49-31 after consecutive scores. The defense surrendered 460 yards mostly through the air and this was a team that allowed almost 32 points per game last season. Even with nine starters back on defense, the Pirates will still give up a lot of points given the fast pace of the offense and the number of plays both teams will run in most East Carolina games. Both teams had 26 first downs in the game and this will be an important game for an East Carolina team that failed to win the C-USA East last season despite going 7-1 in conference play as they lost the tiebreaker with UCF, a team that has since departed for the new AAC.

Florida Atlantic earned a narrow cover last Friday night in a 34-6 loss at Miami. The Owls were out-gained by an over 2:1 margin, allowing over 500 yards with Miami rushing for 303 yards on 8.0 yards per carry. Florida Atlantic does have an experienced defense and the Owls hung within two scores until late in the third quarter last week. FAU has an experienced secondary and actually held opponents to just 55 percent passing last season, so the style of play from the Pirates may be easier for the Owls to handle compared with the rushing attack that was displayed by the Hurricanes.

Florida Atlantic could again struggle on offense however, even going against a far less talented defense. In his first start, sophomore QB Jaquez Johnson was mostly ineffective, but the Owls did have some success moving the ball, completing 18 first downs in the game despite totaling only six points.

While the rushing numbers for the Owls were not impressive, Florida Atlantic stuck with the ground game for 43 attempts, eventually netting 133 total yards and that conservative approach is probably wise as the Pirates would have a big edge in a shootout. The Owls only committed three penalties and had just one turnover, despite the inexperience at QB and on the offensive line so there were some promising signs in a game that Florida Atlantic knew they had little chance in.

Florida Atlantic won just three games last season and after a run of success in 2007 and 2008 under Howard Schnellenberger, this program has been in a rebuilding mode as head coach Carl Pelini starts his second season. Moving to Conference USA will not make things easier and the first game in league play will come against one of the top teams in the division. This is the second of three straight road games to open the season for the Owls and this is a program that has lost 14 of the last 28 games by 20 or more points.

Line Movement: The line opened at -20.5 before dipping down to -20. The total has opened at 54.

Florida Atlantic Historical Trends: Florida Atlantic is 14-23-1 ATS as a double-digit underdog since 2004, but they have covered in six consecutive games in that role. The Owls are 24-32-1 ATS on the road since 2005, but there has likewise been a recent uptick with seven consecutive covers for the Owls in road games, including last week's narrow cover. Florida Atlantic was 6-1 ATS last season as a road underdog covering in all five instances when getting at least 14 points. FAU has just one S/U road win in the last two seasons however.

East Carolina Historical Trends: East Carolina has been a solid home performer, going 33-20 ATS at home since 2004, including going 16-11 ATS as a home favorite since 2006. The Pirates are 13-7 as a double-digit favorite since 2001, but they have just one ATS win as a favorite of 20 or more going back to the early '80s, though it is not a common role for the team. The Pirates were 5-1 S/U and 4-2 ATS at home last season and Coach McNeill is 12-6 S/U at home in his three plus seasons in Greenville. East Carolina has not been this steep of a favorite since 2002.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-05-2013, 12:58 PM

Wake Forest at Boston College

September 4, 2013

Match-up: Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Boston College Eagles
Venue: Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (FieldTurf)
Date: Thursday, September 5, 2013
Time/TV: 8:00 PM ET - ESPN2
Line: Boston College -3, Over/Under 48.5
Last Meeting: 2012, Wake Forest (-3.5) 28-14 vs. Boston College

There are not many wordsmiths around that can write a lede to get the casual football fan fired up for Friday's ACC showdown in Chestnut Hill between Boston College and Wake Forest. All I can say is there's a side and a total and, well, isn't that all we need?

As of Wednesday morning, most betting shops had Boston College (1-0 straight up, 0-1 against the spread) installed as a three-point home favorite with the total ranging from 48.5 to 50. Gamblers can back the Demon Deacons on the money line for a +135 return (risk $100 to win $135).

Wake Forest (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS) opened the season with a 31-7 win over Presbyterian but failed to cover the number as a 38-point home favorite. The 38 combined points fell 'under' the 51-point total.

Senior quarterback Tanner Price threw for 219 yards and one touchdown without an interception. He also had a three-yard TD run. Price didn't have his favorite target, WR Michael Campanaro, due to a hamstring injury.

Campanaro was a second-team All-ACC selection last season despite missing a pair of games and parts of another. He finished 2012 with 79 catches for 763 yards and six TDs. Campanaro has been upgraded to 'probable' Thursday and is expected to start.

Jim Grobe's team produced 408 yards of total offense and limited Presbyterian to just 151 yards. The Deacs coughed up a pair of fumbles, but the defense created six turnovers and had three interceptions, including a 29-yard pick-six for sophomore linebacker Brandon Chubb.

The Steve Addazio Era at BC got off to a rough start as the Eagles trailed Villanova 14-7 at halftime in their opener last Saturday. But senior QB Chase Rettig led his team on a pair of third-quarter TD drives and BC eventually captured a 24-14 win in a non-covering victory as a 15-point favorite. The 38 combined points remained 'under' the 47.5-point total.

Rettig connected on 23-of-30 throws for 285 yards and two TDs without an interception. Senior WR Alex Amidon, a first-team All-ACC selection in 2012, hauled in 13 receptions for 146 yards, including a 49-yard scoring strike from Rettig. Senior RB Andre Williams rushed for 114 yards and one TD on 23 carries.

BC had 413 yards of total offense compared to 355 for 'Nova. The Eagles won the turnover battle 4-1, intercepting the Wildcats three times.

Since 2010, BC has limped to a 3-7 spread record in 10 games as a home favorite. Since 2007, Wake Forest has been abysmal as a road underdog, going 7-15 ATS.

From 2007-2010, BC won four in a row over Wake both SU and ATS. But the Deacs have won the last two encounters, including last year's 28-14 win as 3 ½-point home 'chalk.' The 42 combined points stayed below the 52.5-point total to produce the third consecutive 'under' in the head-to-head series.

Price torched the Eagles last year by completing 39-of-57 passes for 293 yards and three TDs. Campanaro had 16 receptions for 123 yards and three TDs.

Rettig threw for 357 yards and one TD in the losing effort, but he was intercepted three times. Amidon made 10 catches for 130 yards and one TD.

ESPN2 will provide television coverage at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**

--BC finished 2012 with a 2-10 SU record and a 4-8 ATS mark. The Eagles brought back eight starters on offense and 10 on defense.

--Wake went 5-7 both SU and ATS last season. The Deacs returned seven starters on offense and eight on defense.

--BC has lost WR Bobby Swigert to a season-ending injury. Swigert had 23 receptions for 268 yards and one TD last year. He had four catches for 56 yards in last year's loss to Wake. Swigert also had a 12-yard TD pass on a trick play.

--Florida starting OG Jon Halapio has officially been declared 'out' at Miami. RB Matt Brown will start but his cardio is a major question mark after he missed nearly all of August with a viral infection. The heat is obviously going to be major issue with the noon Eastern kickoff. Therefore, expect to see Mack Brown get the bulk of the carries for UF. Will Muschamp has indicated that true freshman Kelvin Taylor will see increased playing time. 'Baby Fred,' the son of the Gator legend, had fumbling issues during training camp and that's why he didn't play until late in the fourth quarter vs. Toledo. Taylor rushed five times for 43 yards against the Rockets, demonstrating an explosive burst through the hole similar to how his Pops used to do it at The Swamp from 1994-97.

--Kent St. RB Dri Archer has been upgraded to 'probable' vs. Bowling Green. He left last week's game with an ankle injury after rushing just three times for 10 yards. Archer rushed for 1,429 yards and 16 TDs last season, averaging 9.0 yards per carry.

--Middle Tennessee QB Logan Kilgore has been upgraded to 'probable' at North Carolina.

--Coaches on the Hot Seat:
1-Lame Chafin' (Southern Cal)
2-Bobby Hauck (UNLV)
3-Paul Pasqualoni (UConn)
4-Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
5-Tim Beckman (Illinois)

**StarDust Bum** · 09-05-2013, 01:01 PM

ACC Report - Week 2

September 5, 2013

The Atlantic Coast Conference risked tremendous embarrassment in the first week, as a Clemson loss against Southeastern Conference rival Georgia would have been a real black eye for the league. However, Clemson outlasted UGA 38-35 in a track meet, making up for Virginia Tech's slaughter at the hands of Alabama in Atlanta.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse officially joined the ACC ranks, and both started their regular seasons with losses. The Orange were on the short end of a 23-17 score against Penn State, although they were able to cover. Pittsburgh looked overmatched against Florida State and QB Jameis Winston, getting pounded at home 41-13 in their initial league game.

Overall, the league went 10-4 straight-up and 8-6 ATS. Home teams went 9-3 SU and 7-5 ATS, while road teams went 1-1 straight-up and 1-1 ATS. The 'under' went 8-5-1 in Week 1, with the 'under' going 7-4-1 at home.

2013 ACC STANDINGS

Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under

Boston College 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

Clemson 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Duke 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-1

Florida State 1-0 1-0 1-0 1-0

Georgia Tech 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Maryland 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Miami (Fla.) 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

North Carolina 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1

North Carolina State 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-1

Pittsburgh 0-1 0-0 1-0 1-0

Syracuse 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1

Virginia 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

Virginia Tech 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0-1

Wake Forest 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

Wake Forest at Boston College (*Friday - ESPN2, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Both of these teams were very sluggish in their regular season openers. Wake Forest eventually pulled away from FCS opponent Presbyterian last week for a 31-7 win, but there is much work to be done if they're going to hit the road and beat a league opponent. Boston College snuck by their FCS opponent, Villanova, by a 24-14 score. They were even less impressive, but at least they're back in Chestnut Hill. The Demon Deacons are 8-17 ATS in their past 25 road games, and 2-12 ATS in their past 14 road games against a team wit ha winning home record. They're also 0-6 ATS in their past six games against a winning team overall. BC is just 3-8 ATS in their past 11 games, and 2-6 ATS in their past eight conference tilts. However, in this series, the favorite is 5-1 ATS in the past six meetings. The 'over' has also cashed in four of the past five meetings in Chestnut Hill.

Florida at Miami, Fl. (ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Neither team covered in their initial games of the 2013 season. Florida had an excuse, as they played without six key players due to suspension in their opener against Toledo. The defense was fairly stout against a solid Rockets offense. The Gators will certainly have their hands full with Hurricanes RB Duke Johnson. Miami held Conference USA opponent Florida Atlantic to just six points in their win last Friday. The Gators are 5-1 ATS in their past six road games, but just 1-5 ATS in their past six non-conference games. Miami is 5-1 ATS in their past six home games, and 6-1 ATS in their past seven overall. However, they are 1-4 ATS in their past five non-conference battles. The 'under' might actually be the play here. The 'under' is 7-2 in Florida's past nine non-conference battles, including last week, while the 'under' is 37-14 in Miami's past 51 non-conference affairs. The 'under' is also 43-19-1 in Miami's past 63 home games. A noon kick might also help keep the point totals down in the sweltering South Florida heat.

Oregon at Virginia (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Oregon has few problems last week in their tune-up against an overmatched FCS opponent from Nicholls State. The Ducks will travel cross-country to Charlottesville, getting a little bit more of a test. Virginia knocked off Brigham Young by a 19-16 score, covering at home for the first time in nine games (1-7-1 ATS) at Scott Stadium. Oregon is 6-0 ATS in their past six road games against a team with a winning home record, and 8-0 ATS in their past eight games on grass. The Ducks are also 8-1 ATS in their past nine games overall. The total trends are rather contrasted, as the 'over' is 5-2 in Oregon's past seven road games, but the 'under' is 11-3 in UVA's past 14 home contests.

Duke at Memphis (4:30 p.m. ET)
Duke opened with a convincing 45-0 win against North Carolina Central in the Bull City Classic, an annual battle between the Durham colleges. The Blue Devils saw solid play from QBs Brandon Connette and Anthony Boone, with each finding the end zone once apiece with their feet. The key in this one will be getting WR Jamison Crowder more involved in the offense. Memphis will be playing their regular season opener, but find themselves as a six-point dog at home. Duke hasn't had a ton of instances over the past couple of decades as a road favorite. And they are just 1-7 ATS in their past eight games on the road. Memphis, on the other hand, is 4-0 ATS in their past four home games, and 13-4 ATS in their past 17 home games against a team with a winning road record. It will be interesting to see if Duke can pick up a road win and show that they are for real.

Syracuse at Northwestern (BTN, 6:00 p.m.)
The Orange face a Big Ten opponent for the second straight week, and this time they get a Top 25 opponent. Syracuse fell 23-17 to Penn State in the Meadowlands, while Northwestern hit the road and scored an impressive 44-30 win at California. These two clubs met in a thriller last season, with the Wildcats prevailing 42-41 in the Carrier Dome Sept. 1, 2012. There are a few things to watch in this one. First off, QB Kain Colter (concussion) came out of last week's game after only two plays due to concussion and he never returned. If he cannot start, QB Trevor Seimian would get the nod. RB Venric Mark (lower body) suffered an undisclosed lower-body ailment at Cal. He was limited, but able to finish the game. If Mark cannot play, RB Treyvon Green would look to add to his totals after going for 129 rushing yards and two scores. CB Daniel Jones (knee) also was nicked and is done for the season.

Other Games
South Carolina State at Clemson (12:30 p.m. ET)
Middle Tennessee at North Carolina (12:30 p.m. ET)
Western Carolina at Virginia Tech (1:30 p.m. ET)
Old Dominion at Maryland (ESPNews, 4:00 p.m. ET)
Richmond at North Carolina State (6:00 p.m. ET)

Byes
Florida State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh

**StarDust Bum** · 09-05-2013, 01:03 PM

Big Ten Report - Week 2

September 5, 2013

In Week 1, the 12 schools in the Big Ten went 10-2 straight up in non-conference action. Unfortunately for their backers, the group was just 5-7 against the spread. The conference isn't normally known for shootouts, yet the 'over' produced an 8-4 mark (67%) in Week 1. Eight teams scored over 40 points and three eclipsed the 50-point barrier.

2013 BIG TEN STANDINGS

Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under

Illinois 1-0 0-0 0-1 1-0

Indiana 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Iowa 0-1 0-0 0-1 1-0

Michigan 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Michigan State 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

Minnesota 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Nebraska 1-0 0-0 0-1 1-0

Northwestern 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Ohio State 1-0 0-0 0-1 1-0

Penn State 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

Purdue 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1

Wisconsin 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-1

Illinois (+8, 54) vs. Cincinnati (ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET)
The good news is that Illinois QB Nathan Scheelhaase looked much more comfortable in Bill Cubit's offense. He threw for a career-high 416 yards (78%) and two touchdowns against FCS Southern Illinois and led the Illini to 42 total points (Illinois averaged just 16.7 PPG last season). The bad news is that the Illini almost blew a 22-point lead at home against a FCS opponent. They allowed the Salukis to gain 407 total yards and score 34 points. SIU QB Faulkner completed 25-of-40 passes for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. The Illini defense has to get better or Cincinnati will run up points in a hurry. Cincinnati looked strong on both sides of the ball in a 42-7 win over Purdue. The Bearcats passed for 204 yards and rushed for another 221. The defense held the Boilermakers to just 226 total yards and 12 first downs. The Illini have dropped 10 straight games against FBS opponents, and nine of those losses were by 14 points or more. Cincy has now won and covered four straight games dating back to last season.

Iowa (-24.5, 48) vs. FCS Missouri State (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Despite the loss, Iowa looked like an improved team from last year’s version that finished 4-8. The Hawkeyes outgained and had more first downs than Northern Illinois (who went to the Orange Bowl last year). New QB Jake Rudock had 256 passing yards with one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown, but had a costly interception late in the game that led to NIU’s game-winning field goal. The good news is that they get to regroup here against FCS Missouri State. Missouri State finished 3-8 a year ago with losses against Kansas State (42 points) and Louisville (28 points). The Hawkeyes are 47-5 all-time against FCS opponents and all of those losses came prior to 1939.

Michigan State (-23.5, 44) vs. South Florida (ESPNU, 12:00 p.m. ET)
As dominant as the Spartan defense was against Western Michigan, the concerns that doomed an anemic offense in 2012 were still apparent. QB’s Andrew Maxwell and Connor Cook combined to complete just 17-of-36 passes for 116 yards with no touchdowns (the offense scored just one touchwon the entire game). The receivers didn’t help the cause either with six dropped passes. Defensively the Spartans remained stout. This unit allowed just 204 total yards and 14 first downs. WMU had just 11 rushing yards on 27 carries and their quarterbacks completed just 38% of their passes with three interceptions. South Florida was surprised by FCS McNeese State last week in a 53-21 home loss. The Bulls had three costly turnovers (one which was turned 76 yards for a TD) and had a 33-7 deficit at halftime. They played better in the 2nd half after inserting QB Bobby Eveld (137 yards and two touchdowns) but the defense has a long way to go. MSU is 0-7 as a home chalk the last seven opportunities. The Spartans are also just 2-6 ATS their last eight at home against non-conference opponents.

Penn State (-24, 48.5) vs. Eastern Michigan (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Penn State fought through some adversity to notch a quality win over a major-conference team away from its home stadium. True freshman QB Christian Hackenberg had his ups and downs, but overall finished with a good day (278 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT). He did not to a good job on third down (1-of-15) and too often the Nittany Lions were forced to punt. PSU also only had 57 rushing yards on 38 carries – a stat that must improve as the season goes on. The Nittany Lions are a heavy 24 point favorite as they debut at home this week against Eastern Michigan. They recently played EMU in 2011 at home and won by 28 points. The Eagles beat FCS Howard last week by 10 points, but they are 0-31 against the Big Ten. They’ve lost to four Big Ten teams the last two years by an average of 28 points per game.

Purdue (-17, 58) vs. FCS Indiana State (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
HC Darrell Hazell should get an easy win here after an embarrassing debut as Purdue’s head coach. Purdue generated just 226 yards of offense, 12 first downs, and seven points against Cincinnati last week. QB Henry threw two interceptions and the offense lost two more fumbles. Defensively the Boilers allowed 425 yards and 42 points as Cincy was able to move the ball with ease. Purdue has an opportunity to get right against an FCS opponent before a home battle with Notre Dame next week. Indiana State allowed 632 yards and 73 points in a trip to Indiana last week. Purdue isn’t nearly as dynamic as Indiana, but it bodes well for the Boilermakers offense. Purdue has won nine straight home openers with the average score 46-17. The Boilers are 3-0 against Indiana State, winning last in 2006 by 35 points. They finished 7-4 last year with a seven-point loss to Indiana.

Wisconsin (-45, 59) vs. FCS Tennessee Tech (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
It was just UMass, but Wisconsin and new head coach Gary Anderson put on a good show in the opener. The Badgers racked up 598 yards of offense, including 393 rushing yards where three players finished over 100 yards. Anderson’s new 3-4 defense also looked strong, allowing just 212 yards and 13 first downs. Again, it was just UMass, and the competition doesn’t get any stronger this week as the Badgers take on FCS Tennessee Tech. TTU went 3-8 last year with a 49 point loss at Oregon. Wisconsin is 5-0 against FCS opponents over the last five years – winning by an average of 30.4 PPG.

Ohio State (-28, 54) vs. San Diego State (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. ET)
The competition level steps up a bit for the Buckeyes after their home opening win against Buffalo. They’ll host San Diego State this week before traveling to Cal next week. The Buckeyes had a flawless record in 2012, but they were a flawed team. They still have their issues as they weren’t able to pull away from Buffalo until the 4th quarter last week. QB Braxton Miller completed 15-of-22 passes for 178 yards and two scores, but had a costly interception that Buffalo returned for a touchdown. OSU’s running game racked up 261 yards (5.8 YPC). San Diego State’s upset loss against Eastern Illinois last week inflated this line a bit as this team is not as bad as that loss indicates. This will be the Aztec’s fourth trip to the Horseshoe since 2001. They are 0-3 so far but only losing by 13 PPG. San Diego State has traveled to Washington, Missouri, and Michigan over the last three years and only losing by 11 PPG and outgained by 13 YPG. OSU is 1-4 ATS its last five when laying double digits.

Indiana (-13, 67) vs. Navy (Big 10, 6:00 p.m. ET)
The Hoosiers offense set a Memorial Stadium record with 73 points against Indiana State while notching 632 total yards of offense. Indiana now has multiple weapons at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. Still, the defense must improve. The Hoosiers allowed 306 yards and 21 points to Indiana State (ISU scored two defensive touchdowns leading to 35 total points). They also notched 131 rushing yards against this Indiana defense. Navy represents a much more difficult test as the Midshipmen bring in a tricky triple-option offense. The Hoosiers will be hungry for revenge after blowing a double-digit lead last year and surrendering the game-winning touchdown with 2:00 to play. Indiana has been a double-digit favorite just nine times in non-conference play over the past 10 years and is 6-3 ATS in those games. Navy is 6-2 ATS in its last eight road games as an underdog.

Nebraska (-28.5, 59.5) vs. Southern Miss (Big Ten, 6:00 p.m. ET)
The concerns about Nebraska's young defense were confirmed in week one against Wyoming. Nebraska surrendered 35 first downs and 602 yards at home to the Cowboys. Dating back to last season, the Huskers have now allowed 610 YPG (307 rush YPG, 303 pass YPG) and 49.6 PPG to the last three opponents. They are heavy 28.5 point favorites against Southern Miss as oddsmakers are apparently assuming the defense will step up a bit more this week. Southern Miss lost at home to Texas State last week 15-22. That final is a bit misleading considering SM had +193 yards and more first downs. The Golden Eagles had SIX turnovers, dooming them in the end. The Huskers beat Southern Miss by 29 points in the season opener last season and have won 12 straight at home against non-conference opponents by an average of 32 points per game.

Northwestern (-12, 57) vs. Syracuse (Big Ten, 6:00 p.m. ET)
The Wildcats had one of the most impressive performances in the Big Ten in week one. They played a night game at Cal and had to play the majority of the game without their two top players, QB Kain Colter and RB Venric Mark; both of whom left the game in the first half with injuries. Northwestern was still able to rack up 508 yards and 22 first downs and two interception returns for touchdowns certainly helped the Wildcats’ cause. The defense struggled, however, allowing 548 total yards and 30 first downs to Cal’s high-octane offense. They won’t face another offensive scheme like that all year long, but Syracuse still represents a tough challenge. NU won at Syracuse last season, 42-41 with the game-winning touchdown scored with 44 seconds remaining. Syracuse lost a lot of firepower from last year’s squad, including head coach Doug Marrone. ‘Cuse lost at home to Penn State last week and had a shaky start for QB Allen, who completed just 16-of-37 passes with two interceptions. NU has covered 13 of its last 14 games and has won six straight home openers by 24 points per game.

Michigan (-3.5, 52) vs. Notre Dame (ESPN, 8:00 p.m.)
The Wolverines host the Fighting Irish in Ann Arbor as a 3.5 point favorite. The ESPN Gameday crew will be on location as this is the final meeting between these two rivals in Ann Arbor scheduled. Michigan had a thoroughly dominating performance against Central Michigan in week one. QB Gardner accounted for three touchdowns but did have two interceptions that should be worrisome. Michigan had +253 yards and +10 first downs, but that was rather easy after CMU lost its starting QB & RB. The defense kept the Chippewas out of the end zone and held them to nine total points. The competition steps up considerably this week as Michigan will take on one of the top defenses in the nation in 2012. Notre Dame also received strong play from QB Rees last week, who threw for 346 yards and three scores. The underdog has covered 14 of the last 17 meetings between these two. Notre Dame is also 6-1 ATS in its last seven as a road underdog.

Minnesota (-16.5, 51) @ New Mexico State (8:00 p.m. ET)
It was a big win, but the 51-23 score masked some of the issues Jerry Kill's team must address before the competition level improves. Three of Minnesota’s seven touchdowns against UNLV were non-offensive (Kickoff return, blocked field goal return, and interception return). The Gophers had -99 yards and -5 first downs. We might not get a good gauge on Minnesota this week as they take on another bottom feeder. New Mexico State surrendered 715 yards to Texas last week. The Aggies are just 4-12 ATS the last 16 games and have dropped four of the last five home openers by 17 points per game.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-05-2013, 01:05 PM

Pac-12 Report - Week 2

September 5, 2013

It was an interesting opening week in the Pac-12 last weekend. The big shocker came in Corvallis, as Oregon State was stunned by FCS opponent Eastern Washington in a shootout. It might have also been a mild surprise when Washington easily dispatched then-Top 20 opponent Boise State by a 38-6 score. The Huskies can savor that victory for at least one more week, as they and UCLA are two Pac-12 teams with a bye already.

We'll get our first looks of the season at Arizona State and Stanford. Neither figure to lose their games straight-up, but it might be a stretch to cover big numbers at home given that their opponents each already have one game under their belts.

Last weekend, the league went 7-3 straight up and 6-4 ATS. The home teams were 5-2 straight up and ATS, while road teams were 2-1 straight up and ATS. The 'over' went 6-4 in Week 1, with the 'over' going 5-2 for the home teams.

2013 PAC-12 STANDINGS

Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under

Arizona 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-1

Arizona State 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

California 0-1 0-0 0-1 1-0

Colorado 1-0 0-0 0-1 1-0

Oregon 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Oregon State 0-1 0-0 0-1 1-0

Southern California 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

Stanford 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

UCLA 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Utah 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0

Washington 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-1

Washington State 0-1 0-0 1-0 0-1

Oregon at Virginia (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Oregon has few problems last week in their tune-up against an overmatched FCS opponent from Nicholls State. The Ducks will travel cross-country to Charlottesville, getting a little bit more of a test. Virginia knocked off Brigham Young by a 19-16 score, covering at home for the first time in nine games (1-7-1 ATS) at Scott Stadium. Oregon is 6-0 ATS in their past six road games against a team with a winning home record, and 8-0 ATS in their past eight games on grass. The Ducks are also 8-1 ATS in their past nine games overall. The total trends are rather contrasted, as the 'over' is 5-2 in Oregon's past seven road games, but the 'under' is 11-3 in UVA's past 14 home contests.

Hawaii at Oregon State (Pac-12 Network, 8:00 p.m. ET)
The Warriors hit the mainland for a battle between two teams looking for their first wins of the season. Hawaii kept it surprisingly close in a 30-13 home setback against Southern California. Meanwhile, Oregon State was shocked by FCS opponent Eastern Washington in a 49-46 setback. The Beavers showed off an impressive offense, led by QB Sean Mannion and WR Brandin Cooks, but their defense couldn't stop anyone. The Beavers are a nearly four-touchdown favorite, so the Warriors are likely to be a popular pick. Hawaii is 5-1 ATS in their past six games against Pac-12 opponents, including Week 1. They're also 8-3 ATS i ntheir past 11 road games against a team with a losing home record. The Beavers are 22-10-1 ATS in their past 33 games against a team with a losing record, but just 8-18-1 ATS in their past 27 games in the month of September.

Washington State at Southern California (FOX Sports 1, 10:30 p.m. ET)
The Cougars hit the road for a second straight week. Last week, they had a cross-country trek to Auburn, falling 31-24, but covering in an entertaining game. USC is back on the mainland after sleepwalking through a 30-13 win at Hawaii in the opener. The offense struggled at times, and WR Marqise Lee seemed to have trouble concentrating at times. USC is a little more than a two-touchdown favorite in this one, looking to snap a four-game ATS losing streak. USC is 2-5 ATS in their past seven conference games. Washington State is 5-0 ATS in their past five games against teams with a winning record, but just 1-3-1 ATS in their past five games in September.

San Jose State at Stanford (Pac-12 Network, 11:00 p.m.)
San Jose State opened their season with a 24-0 win against Sacramento State, but now they'll get a true measuring stick game against a Top 5 opponent. The one thing the Spartans have as an advantage over the Cardinal is having one game in tow. Stanford will be playing their first game of the season, so it might take them a little while to get their sea legs, while the Spartans have already worked together for 60 minutes in game conditions. San Jose State might be a popular selection considering they are 13-3 ATS in their past 16 road games, and 22-6 ATS in their past 28 games overall. They're also 19-7 ATS in their past 26 non-conference battles. However, Stanford is 8-2 ATS in the past 10 meetings in this series, and San Jose State has covered just once in the past eight trips to Palo Alto. The favorite is 8-2 ATS in the past 10 meetings in this series, with the home team covering eight of the past nine. That bodes well for Stanford, even as a near four-touchdown favorite.

Other Games
Sacramento State at Arizona State (*Thu., 10:00 p.m. ET )
Weber State at Utah (Pac-12 Network, 2:00 p.m. ET )
Portland State at California (Pac-12 Network, 5:00 p.m. ET)
Central Arkansas at Colorado (8:00 p.m. ET)
Arizona at UNLV (CBS SN, 10:30 p.m. ET)

Byes
UCLA, Washington

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