Scott Spreitzer's CFB Friday Night Bookie-Buster! 38-18, 68%!
I'm taking the points with Tulsa on Friday. It has taken the Golden Hurricane no time at all to grasp new HC Todd Graham's no-huddle-based system. QB Paul Smith has the spread-attack firing on all cylinders. The senior QB has thrown for 761 yards at over 11 yards per pass in Tulsa's first two games. But Tulsa is not just about the pass. Tarrion Adams is averaging 104 RYPG, keeping opposing defenses honest. Now, this will be the best opposing defense they've faced yet. But it will also be an Oklahoma offense with a RSFR making his first road start at QB. Bradford, Murray and company have been unbelievably good. But let's not forget they were up against North Texas & Utah State in two of those wins. We used OU when they rocked Miami, but we will take the points in this one with Tulsa, who are 3-1-1 ATS against the Sooners. The Golden Hurricane are my Friday night release.
Ben Burns' Friday Night Game of the Month WINNER!
I'm taking the points with TULSA. This line has moved several points giving us excellent value on the home underdog. Yes, Oklahoma is extremely powerful and has looked very impressive. However, we only have to look back to the last meeting between these teams (9/10/05) to see that funny things can happen in instate rivalries. That game was played at Norman and the Sooners were favored by 30.5 points. However, the Golden Hurricane had a 344-269 edge in total yards and a 21-14 edge in first downs. This year, the Golden Hurricane get to play at home and come off a momentum-building win over BYU which saw them score a whopping 55 points. That brought them to 2-0 SU/ATS for the season and 7-2 ATS the last nine times they were listed as underdogs. Note that Senior QB Paul Smith, the C-USA offensive player of the week, completed 21 of 35 passes for a career-best 454 yards and a career-high five touchdowns vs. BYU. This game means more to Tulsa than it does to Oklahoma and I look for the Smith and co. to score enough points to cover the inflated number. *Friday Night Game of the Month
Ben Burns' Friday "Best Bet" BLOWOUT WINNER!
I'm laying the price with ST LOUIS. It's been a bad year for the defending champions and they've been in a real funk to close out the season. However, they've still got plenty of pride and I fully expect them to bounce back from yesterday's 18-1 embarrassment. Pineiro, who has a 2.57 ERA in three starts vs. the Astros, gets the call and he's pitched very well at home. In fact, he is 3-0 (team is 4-0) with a 3.04 ERA in four starts at Busch Stadium. He'll face Houston's Brandon Backe. Backe, who recently returned from Tommy John surgery, has only made one road start this season. He got hit hard in that outing, giving up eight hits, three walks (0 K's) and four runs in 5 2/3 innings. Backe is also 1-1 with a 6.29 ERA in four starts and five relief appearances against the Cardinals. In his last two starts here he gave up 20 hits and 13 earned runs in just 9 1/3 innings. It's also worth noting that the Astros bullpen has a 5.35 ERA and 1.505 WHIP on the road. As a team, the Astros have performed poorly in the role of small road underdogs, going an ugly 21-41 (-18) since 2005 when listed as a road underdog in the +100 to +125 range. Behihd another quality effort from Pineiro, look for the Cards to "bounce back," improving to 13-8 the last 21 times they were a host in this series.
Ron Raymond’s Week 13 CFL Picks
FRIDAY :
Calgary -7.0 vs. Hamilton 52.5
Pick: UNDER 52.5
Ron’s Comment: The only positive about the Hamilton Tiger Cats this season is their defense, not Casey Printers. Casey will be more of an asset next season, once he’s learned the offense and works with Lumsden a bit more. Calgary’s been on target the last 3 games, but when you play vs. a lesser opponent, you seem to bring your game down to their level at times. Under is the call here.
ATSDatabase Tip: When ANY CFL Team played as a Home team -After a conference game -Before a conference game - Coming off back to back SU loss - Allowed score 34 points or more against; The UNDER is 9-4-2 for the Home Team.
Forecast: Calgary 24 Hamilton 17
SATURDAY
Spylock 5* is Indiana
TRIPLE CROWN SPORTS
15-8 on 5* this year.
5* GOM : St. Louis Cardinals