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2-0 on Thursday & the FREE WEEK OF SERVICE CONTINUES
We hope you have enjoyed the FREE WINNING SELECTIONS we have released here the past few weeks, including last weekend’s FREE WINNERS with Miami, Fl on Saturday and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
This is the ONLY TIME THIS SEASON we will be releasing ALL NCAA & NFL SELECTIONS and the NFL POWERePORT absolutely FREE.
If you’d like to see professional handicapping at its absolute superior best, simply send us a request at:
[email protected]
We released both games as selections yesterday, and the results speak for themselves -
Akron +7½ over KENT STATE
Two MAC teams trying to open conference play on a winning note will meet in Kent, Ohio tonight, as the Akron Zips make the short trip to do battle with the Kent State Golden Flashes. It has not been an easy season thus far for star QB Charlie Frye and his Zips considering Akron has dropped its first three games for the first time since 2002 when the team started the year 0-6. The Zips opened the campaign with a rough 48-10 loss at Penn State, which was followed by a home upset 31-24 loss to Middle Tennessee State. The team's most recent loss came at the hands of #12 Virginia, which embarrassed the Zips 51-0 last Saturday. Last year the Zips went 5-3 in Mid-American Conference play and finished third in the East Division. As for the Golden Flashes, they have also struggled to start the '04 season, opening with a 39-7 loss at Iowa. The team rebounded with a 38-10 victory over I-AA Liberty, but last week the Golden Flashes lost a heartbreaker at Rutgers, 29-21.
The Akron offense was practically non-existent against Virginia last week, racking up just 84 total yards in the lopsided loss. Frye had the worst performance in his college career against the Cavaliers, completing just 10-of-23 passes for 72 yards with two interceptions. The Zips' ground game also struggled against Virginia, finishing the game with just five net yards on 31 rushing attempts. After playing a sound defensive game against Middle Tennessee State in which the team held the Blue Raiders to just 64 yards on the ground while recording four sacks and forcing three turnovers, the Zips came out completely flat against the Cavaliers. Thus far, the Zips have struggled mightily against the run, yielding 247 yards per game to rank 107th in the nation.
After sitting out the first game, Kent State star quarterback Joshua Cribbs has shown why he is one of the more dangerous weapons in college football, racking up 455 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while rushing for 139 yards and two more scores. In the loss to Rutgers last time out, Cribbs completed 29-of-47 pass attempts for 311 yards and a TD. After allowing 398 yards in the first two games of the season, the Golden Flashes concentrated on stopping the run and did just that against Rutgers, holding the Scarlet Knights to just 88 yards on 36 carries. Although the team did allow RU quarterback Ryan Hart to throw for 238 yards, on the season Kent State has played well against the pass, allowing a little over 201 yards per game.
This contest will be a battle of two star quarterbacks, and whoever has the better day between Akron's Frye and Kent State's Cribbs will most likely lead their team to victory. While Cribbs gets most of the accolades, Frye is one of the more under-rated QBs in the country, and we look for him to rebound strongly off his disappointing effort last week. Last year, Frye threw for 407 yards against Kent State, and in three games against the Flashes, he has five touchdown passes and one interception, completing 72% of his passes.
This contest marks the 47th meeting between these two teams in what has been dubbed the "Battle of the Wagon Wheel". Last season the Golden Flashes shocked Akron, 41-38, as a double-digit underdog in the season-opener; however, the Zips have won seven of the last nine meetings, and they will be out for revenge here. Last year, it was Travis Mayle booting a 40-yard field goal as time expired to cap a 17-point comeback and give Kent State the 3-point win at the Rubber Bowl. Trailing 38-24 with less than six minutes remaining, the Golden Flashes scored three times in the final three and one half minutes to pull out the victory. Don’t think for a minute that Akron has forgotten that collapse. Again, the Zips had won 6 straight in this series before getting upset last year. This will be the first time in 10 years that they find themselves an underdog in this game, and it’s by more than a TD. For a team like Kent to be a perennial underdog to a rival, and then find themselves a heavy favorite, is usually too much weight to bear. The new favorite is used to playing as the underdog, and accustomed to the reverse role. Suddenly, they are the hunted instead of the hunter. Meanwhile, the team that is accustomed to being the favorite takes the underdog role as an insult, and provides them with additional motivation.
The visitor has dominated this series of late, spread-wise, and we see another such outcome likely here. Kent State is 1-5 ATS when facing revenge-seeking opponents, 0-5 ATS as a favorite vs. opponents off a SU & ATS loss, and 0-3 ATS as a home favorite the past 2 seasons. In fact, the Flashes have been anything but golden as a home favorite. Since 1990, when pointspreads were first generally available for MAC contests, Kent is 0-5 SU & ATS as a home favorite of more than 1 point against all opponents not named Buffalo. In this rivalry series, with the usual favorite now a revenge-seeking TD dog, we see good line value with the visitors and give them a decent chance of winning this game outright in a game that could well be decided by a FG once again, making it an Akron cover either way.
FINAL SCORE: AKRON 24 KENT STATE 19
HOUSTON +31 over Miami, FL
The Miami Hurricanes hit the road for the first time this season, as they travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston, home of the NFL’s Texans to take on the C-USA’s Houston Cougars on Thursday. Larry Coker's squad opened the season and their ACC affiliation with a thrilling 16-10 overtime victory against archrival Florida State, a 6« SELECTION winner for PRO INFO SPORTS. Last week, we enjoyed an OPINION SELECTION winner, as the ‘Canes the team got back to its usually dominant ways in shutting out Louisiana Tech, 48-0. Meanwhile, the Cougars dropped the first two games of the 2004 season, falling 10-7 to an improved Rice team and then getting blasted 63-13 at #2 Oklahoma. Head coach Art Briles did get his first win of the year last week, as Houston pulled away from Army at home, 35-21.
While tailback Tyrone Moss had an impressive 69 yards on seven carries and two first quarter touchdowns last week against Louisiana Tech, it was return specialist Devin Hester who stole the show, as he returned two punts for TDs in the team's rout of the Bulldogs. In all, the Miami offense didn't have to do a lot, putting up just 351 total yards, but the way the team dominated on the ground and on special teams, made things look easy. The backfield combo of TBs Frank Gore and Moss will create headaches for opposing defenses all year long. QB Brock Berlin was at least efficient against LaTech, and is completing 60 percent of his tosses this season. While the Miami offense has not exactly lit up the world yet, the defense has been superb. The two opponents thus far have failed to generate any significant numbers against Miami's ravenous stop unit, as the team is allowing just 174 yards per game.
Behind the rushing efforts of junior tailback Anthony Evans, the Cougars finally found their way into the win column. Evans rushed for a career-high 282 yards and two touchdowns last week, as Houston amassed a season-high 647 yards of offense, including 369 yards on the ground. QB Kevin Kolb made his presence felt as well, throwing for 278 yards and one TD. Kolb has been steady under center in just his second season, connecting on 57 percent of his passes, for 703 yards and two TDs. After a slow start, Kolb is rounding into his freshman form. Houston has done a nice job against the pass this season, giving up just 146 yards per game; however, that number is low because opponents have found that running the ball has been quite easy against this defense.
While the ‘Canes are clearly the superior team here in every phase of the game, it will likely be difficult for them to cover this number. Again, Miami's offense still isn't a finely tuned machine, and if Houston can not give up TDs on special teams and turnovers, they stand a good chance of keeping this respectable. The Hurricanes have traditionally done well in their first road game of the season, as you may hear, see, and read some tout, but it’s been a long time since they didn’t have a road game in the first 2 weeks of the season. In looking at recent numbers we find that they are a very poor 8-15 ATS as a favorite over the past several seasons, while other figures are more stark. The Hurricanes are 1-8 ATS as a favorite of 30+ points off back-to-back SU & ATS wins, and have not covered 3 straight games since 2000, going 0-4 ATS trying. They are also 0-6 ATS the past several years as a favorite of more than 21 points when coming off a SU & ATS win as a favorite of more than 21 points.
Florida State may continue to have a lingering effect for Miami, believe it or not. In taking Miami, FL over the Seminoles a couple of weeks ago, we noted how the Hurricanes have dominated their in-state rivals the past several seasons and that we saw no reason for that to change. After that win, we noted how well Miami, still sky high, performs in certain situations after playing and beating FSU. That also turned out to be accurate with last week’s romp over the Bulldogs. Now we are 2 games removed from their meeting with the ‘Noles, time enough for the adrenalin to subside, and we note that the ‘Canes are 0-5 ATS in such a situation the past 5 years running.
We certainly have examined the potential of backing Miami, here; however, line movement has precluded us from now doing so. More times than not PRO INFO SPORTS will go against money moves which are not the same thing as pure line moves. Often a line moves because of injury information or especially with football totals, the weather can shift some lines as well. But when the public is solely responsible for moving a line 3+ points, it is usually time to fade it. We are willing to a wager on the oddsmakers going head to head with the public here, as the line started at -26 but has been bet up past -30.
Of course, Houston will put up a fight for this nationally televised game to avoid embarrassment if nothing else. With their offense getting back on track, we look for them to put a few points on the board and play some decent defense, as they lose by no more than 4 TDs.
FINAL SCORE: MIAMI, FL 38 HOUSTON 13
We hope you have enjoyed the FREE WINNING SELECTIONS we have released here the past few weeks, including last weekend’s FREE WINNERS with Miami, Fl on Saturday and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
This is the ONLY TIME THIS SEASON we will be releasing ALL NCAA & NFL SELECTIONS and the NFL POWERePORT absolutely FREE.
If you’d like to see professional handicapping at its absolute superior best, simply send us a request at:
[email protected]
We released both games as selections yesterday, and the results speak for themselves -
Akron +7½ over KENT STATE
Two MAC teams trying to open conference play on a winning note will meet in Kent, Ohio tonight, as the Akron Zips make the short trip to do battle with the Kent State Golden Flashes. It has not been an easy season thus far for star QB Charlie Frye and his Zips considering Akron has dropped its first three games for the first time since 2002 when the team started the year 0-6. The Zips opened the campaign with a rough 48-10 loss at Penn State, which was followed by a home upset 31-24 loss to Middle Tennessee State. The team's most recent loss came at the hands of #12 Virginia, which embarrassed the Zips 51-0 last Saturday. Last year the Zips went 5-3 in Mid-American Conference play and finished third in the East Division. As for the Golden Flashes, they have also struggled to start the '04 season, opening with a 39-7 loss at Iowa. The team rebounded with a 38-10 victory over I-AA Liberty, but last week the Golden Flashes lost a heartbreaker at Rutgers, 29-21.
The Akron offense was practically non-existent against Virginia last week, racking up just 84 total yards in the lopsided loss. Frye had the worst performance in his college career against the Cavaliers, completing just 10-of-23 passes for 72 yards with two interceptions. The Zips' ground game also struggled against Virginia, finishing the game with just five net yards on 31 rushing attempts. After playing a sound defensive game against Middle Tennessee State in which the team held the Blue Raiders to just 64 yards on the ground while recording four sacks and forcing three turnovers, the Zips came out completely flat against the Cavaliers. Thus far, the Zips have struggled mightily against the run, yielding 247 yards per game to rank 107th in the nation.
After sitting out the first game, Kent State star quarterback Joshua Cribbs has shown why he is one of the more dangerous weapons in college football, racking up 455 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while rushing for 139 yards and two more scores. In the loss to Rutgers last time out, Cribbs completed 29-of-47 pass attempts for 311 yards and a TD. After allowing 398 yards in the first two games of the season, the Golden Flashes concentrated on stopping the run and did just that against Rutgers, holding the Scarlet Knights to just 88 yards on 36 carries. Although the team did allow RU quarterback Ryan Hart to throw for 238 yards, on the season Kent State has played well against the pass, allowing a little over 201 yards per game.
This contest will be a battle of two star quarterbacks, and whoever has the better day between Akron's Frye and Kent State's Cribbs will most likely lead their team to victory. While Cribbs gets most of the accolades, Frye is one of the more under-rated QBs in the country, and we look for him to rebound strongly off his disappointing effort last week. Last year, Frye threw for 407 yards against Kent State, and in three games against the Flashes, he has five touchdown passes and one interception, completing 72% of his passes.
This contest marks the 47th meeting between these two teams in what has been dubbed the "Battle of the Wagon Wheel". Last season the Golden Flashes shocked Akron, 41-38, as a double-digit underdog in the season-opener; however, the Zips have won seven of the last nine meetings, and they will be out for revenge here. Last year, it was Travis Mayle booting a 40-yard field goal as time expired to cap a 17-point comeback and give Kent State the 3-point win at the Rubber Bowl. Trailing 38-24 with less than six minutes remaining, the Golden Flashes scored three times in the final three and one half minutes to pull out the victory. Don’t think for a minute that Akron has forgotten that collapse. Again, the Zips had won 6 straight in this series before getting upset last year. This will be the first time in 10 years that they find themselves an underdog in this game, and it’s by more than a TD. For a team like Kent to be a perennial underdog to a rival, and then find themselves a heavy favorite, is usually too much weight to bear. The new favorite is used to playing as the underdog, and accustomed to the reverse role. Suddenly, they are the hunted instead of the hunter. Meanwhile, the team that is accustomed to being the favorite takes the underdog role as an insult, and provides them with additional motivation.
The visitor has dominated this series of late, spread-wise, and we see another such outcome likely here. Kent State is 1-5 ATS when facing revenge-seeking opponents, 0-5 ATS as a favorite vs. opponents off a SU & ATS loss, and 0-3 ATS as a home favorite the past 2 seasons. In fact, the Flashes have been anything but golden as a home favorite. Since 1990, when pointspreads were first generally available for MAC contests, Kent is 0-5 SU & ATS as a home favorite of more than 1 point against all opponents not named Buffalo. In this rivalry series, with the usual favorite now a revenge-seeking TD dog, we see good line value with the visitors and give them a decent chance of winning this game outright in a game that could well be decided by a FG once again, making it an Akron cover either way.
FINAL SCORE: AKRON 24 KENT STATE 19
HOUSTON +31 over Miami, FL
The Miami Hurricanes hit the road for the first time this season, as they travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston, home of the NFL’s Texans to take on the C-USA’s Houston Cougars on Thursday. Larry Coker's squad opened the season and their ACC affiliation with a thrilling 16-10 overtime victory against archrival Florida State, a 6« SELECTION winner for PRO INFO SPORTS. Last week, we enjoyed an OPINION SELECTION winner, as the ‘Canes the team got back to its usually dominant ways in shutting out Louisiana Tech, 48-0. Meanwhile, the Cougars dropped the first two games of the 2004 season, falling 10-7 to an improved Rice team and then getting blasted 63-13 at #2 Oklahoma. Head coach Art Briles did get his first win of the year last week, as Houston pulled away from Army at home, 35-21.
While tailback Tyrone Moss had an impressive 69 yards on seven carries and two first quarter touchdowns last week against Louisiana Tech, it was return specialist Devin Hester who stole the show, as he returned two punts for TDs in the team's rout of the Bulldogs. In all, the Miami offense didn't have to do a lot, putting up just 351 total yards, but the way the team dominated on the ground and on special teams, made things look easy. The backfield combo of TBs Frank Gore and Moss will create headaches for opposing defenses all year long. QB Brock Berlin was at least efficient against LaTech, and is completing 60 percent of his tosses this season. While the Miami offense has not exactly lit up the world yet, the defense has been superb. The two opponents thus far have failed to generate any significant numbers against Miami's ravenous stop unit, as the team is allowing just 174 yards per game.
Behind the rushing efforts of junior tailback Anthony Evans, the Cougars finally found their way into the win column. Evans rushed for a career-high 282 yards and two touchdowns last week, as Houston amassed a season-high 647 yards of offense, including 369 yards on the ground. QB Kevin Kolb made his presence felt as well, throwing for 278 yards and one TD. Kolb has been steady under center in just his second season, connecting on 57 percent of his passes, for 703 yards and two TDs. After a slow start, Kolb is rounding into his freshman form. Houston has done a nice job against the pass this season, giving up just 146 yards per game; however, that number is low because opponents have found that running the ball has been quite easy against this defense.
While the ‘Canes are clearly the superior team here in every phase of the game, it will likely be difficult for them to cover this number. Again, Miami's offense still isn't a finely tuned machine, and if Houston can not give up TDs on special teams and turnovers, they stand a good chance of keeping this respectable. The Hurricanes have traditionally done well in their first road game of the season, as you may hear, see, and read some tout, but it’s been a long time since they didn’t have a road game in the first 2 weeks of the season. In looking at recent numbers we find that they are a very poor 8-15 ATS as a favorite over the past several seasons, while other figures are more stark. The Hurricanes are 1-8 ATS as a favorite of 30+ points off back-to-back SU & ATS wins, and have not covered 3 straight games since 2000, going 0-4 ATS trying. They are also 0-6 ATS the past several years as a favorite of more than 21 points when coming off a SU & ATS win as a favorite of more than 21 points.
Florida State may continue to have a lingering effect for Miami, believe it or not. In taking Miami, FL over the Seminoles a couple of weeks ago, we noted how the Hurricanes have dominated their in-state rivals the past several seasons and that we saw no reason for that to change. After that win, we noted how well Miami, still sky high, performs in certain situations after playing and beating FSU. That also turned out to be accurate with last week’s romp over the Bulldogs. Now we are 2 games removed from their meeting with the ‘Noles, time enough for the adrenalin to subside, and we note that the ‘Canes are 0-5 ATS in such a situation the past 5 years running.
We certainly have examined the potential of backing Miami, here; however, line movement has precluded us from now doing so. More times than not PRO INFO SPORTS will go against money moves which are not the same thing as pure line moves. Often a line moves because of injury information or especially with football totals, the weather can shift some lines as well. But when the public is solely responsible for moving a line 3+ points, it is usually time to fade it. We are willing to a wager on the oddsmakers going head to head with the public here, as the line started at -26 but has been bet up past -30.
Of course, Houston will put up a fight for this nationally televised game to avoid embarrassment if nothing else. With their offense getting back on track, we look for them to put a few points on the board and play some decent defense, as they lose by no more than 4 TDs.
FINAL SCORE: MIAMI, FL 38 HOUSTON 13