Mike Lundin
Washington at New York
Play: Washington +154
The Washington Nationals are coming off a three-game sweep at Philadelphia and they're a solid 40-29 on the road this season. They enter Friday's meeting with the New York Mets at Citi Field as a sizable underdog, and this looks like a great price on the Nats.
A.J. Cole (0-1, 4.97 ERA) takes the ball for the visitors. While inexperienced, I think the 24 year old will give the Nats a chance to win this game and he'll be backed up by the second best bullpen in baseball (3.33 ERA) which will come in well rested as the team got Thursday off. It will also help that the Mets are far from an offensive juggernaut with a miserable .243 batting average, the third worst mark in the major leagues.
The Mets turn to Noah Syndergaard (12-7, 2.55 ERA) who has won three straight decisions. He's just 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in three meetings with the Nats this season though, and he's struggled big time with Anthony Rendon who is 5-for-13 in previous meetings. We can also note that Nationals are 6-0 in their last six games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15 so they're prone to raise their game when facing an ace.
Nationals are 38-13 in the last 51 meetings in New York and they'll face a Mets team that lost 6-4 to the Marlins last night.
Heath Mac
Kansas State vs. Stanford
Play: Stanford -14½
We looked at this game long and hard, as the line has a bit of 'trap' smell about it. However the deeper we looked, the more we like Stanford in this game. The Cardinal will be ready to go in this game, with memories of last seasons opening game loss to Northwestern effectively keeping them out of the playoffs. The Wildcats are well coached as always with coach Snyder at the helm and while we often take the points on the back of the master coach's influence, the Cardinal are superior all over the ground here.
The Wildcats are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Friday games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 against PAC-12. The Cardinal are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Friday games, 19-8 ATS in their last 27 September games and 38-18 ATS in their last 56 home games.
Big Al
St. Louis vs. Cincinnati
Pick: Cincinnati
Signed as an Amateur Free Agent four years ago at the age of 18, RHP Alex Reyes has burst into the Majors this season with the Cardinals. Showcasing a 100+ MPH fastball, Reyes is a rare talent for sure and he will get his second MLB start tonight with Mike Leake still on the DL with a case of shingles. But a triple-digit fastball alone does not an ace make, and Reyes still must learn how to pitch - even if he certainly knows how to throw really, really hard. Command of that fastball will only come with experience and going into a place like Great America Park when the home team knows you're going to be serving up heat - and lots of it - is a dicey proposition indeed. The Reds will send their ace, RHP Anthony DeSclafani, to the mound following the best start of his career (and first shutout) in his last outing. DeSclafani may be poised to have his name mentioned among the NL elite pitchers next year if he continues what he's done of late for Cincy. He is 8-2 and that complete-game shutout last time lowered his ERA to 2.82 in 15 starts. Of course, it will help him a lot if the Reds can field a decent team next year.
Jim Feist
Kansas St at Stanford
Pick: Over
Bill Snyder's Kansas State team had a ton of injuries last year, but the offense is healthy now with Junior QB Jesse Ertz. The defense will be tested by a Stanford offense that is sensational. Junior RB Christian McCaffrey (2,019 yds, 6.0 ypc) set the NCAA single-season all-purpose record last season with 3,864 total yards. 28.9 yards on kickoff returns. Kansas State is on a 4-1 run over the total while Stanford is on a 4-1 over, and this shapes up as an offensive show.
Sean Murphy
Kansas State vs Stanford
Play on: Stanford -14½
I can't help but feel a bit of the shine has been lost from the Kansas State Wildcats, at least from a betting perspective. The Wildcats went an even 6-6 ATS in the regular season a year ago before getting throttled by Arkansas in a post-New Year's Bowl game. The Wildcats needed to win their final three regular season contests just to get into that Bowl matchup. Even in an underdog role, where the Wildcats have really stepped up over the years, they managed to go just an even 4-4 ATS a year ago. This is a tough opening week matchup against Stanford, a team that stumbled out of the gates last year, dropping an ugly decision against Northwestern in Week 1 (we cashed with the Wildcats in that game). Of course, the Cardinal followed up that setback by reeling off 12 wins in their last 13 games, culminating with an absolute blowout over Iowa in Bowl season. I don't expect Stanford to miss a beat this year - they're laying a considerable number of points for good reason in what some believe will be a tough opening week tilt.
Ben Burns
Chicago at Minnesota
Play: Under 9
Yesterday's series opener saw 13 runs produced. However, I expect to see far better pitching this evening. Rodon has been "lights out" of late. He allowed one run through six innings last time out, en route to a 4-1 win. In his previous start, he tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just three hits. He's got a 1.45 ERA his last three starts, to go along with a 0.964 WHIP. Rodon will face a Twins' lineup which averages 4.3 rpg vs. southpaws, less than they do vs. right-handers. Admittedly, Gibson's numbers aren't very good. Chicago's numbers vs. right-handers, 3.8 rpg and a .250 average, aren't exactly very good either though and Gibson has likely been looking fwd to today. Indeed, he's 5-1 with a dominant 1.80 ERA and 0.891 WHIP in eight starts against the Sox. The last time (6/28) that he faced them, he allowed five hits through seven shutout innings, striking out against just one walk. The Twins won 4-0. Don't be surprised if this one proves a little lower-scoring than many will be expecting.
ChaseDiamond
Army at Temple
Play: Army
Another big dog for us tonight off our easy cover on App State as they took the game to overtime that's pretty big for a 3 touchdown dog. Tonight we have another dog that could pull the upset as Army takes on Temple. Owls finished 10-4 last year and Army went 2-10. Chris Carter is back this year for Army and I think you will see a much better QB this season that is used to running a option Offense that will give Temple problems and run lots of clock also. Seven of Army's 9 losses were by 30 points combined this team is tough and knows how to keep games close and give themselves a shot to win at the end like they did with Navy last season. Army returns all 9 starters on defense. Army runs a 3-4 Defense and they do blitz a'lot I see this also giving Temple some issues.
David Banks
Kansas State @ Stanford
Pick: Stanford -15
Jesse Ertz, who was hurt on the very first play of the 2015 season, returns to Kansas State and will once again begin the season as the starting quarterback. The junior beat out Joe Hubener, who threw for 1,837 yards last year, to claim the job. He will be tested right away as the Wildcats travel to eighth-ranked Stanford on Friday night.
The Cardinal return one of the top players in the nation in RB Christian McCaffrey. The junior led Stanford in rushing (2,019 yds.) and receiving (645) and was one of the most dangerous return men in all of college football averaging 28.9 per kickoff return and 8.7 per punt return. McCaffrey and a Cardinal defense featuring five returning starters will have to carry the load until new starting quarterback Ryan Burns gets acclimated to being a full-time starter.
Burns, a 6-5 junior from Virginia, beat out sophomore Kellen Chryst to win the job. Burns appeared in six games over his first two seasons at Stanford and now takes over for Kevin Hogan. Head coach David Shaw has said the Chryst will play in the opener as well, but whoever is under center will likely not be asked to do too much. The Cardinal will rely on their power running game and defense.
The Wildcats, who went 6-7 last season, need to get better defensively and do so quickly. Kansas State gave up 452.2 yards and 31.5 points a game last year. They do have six starters returning but they must mature in a short period of time if the Wildcats are going to have any success in the pass-happy Big 12.
Wunderdog
Seattle @ Chicago
Pick: Seattle +6.5
Seattle's offense has been in a nice groove, winning three of five, while the defense has been good all season at fifth in the league in points allowed. Seattle is fourth in the Western Conference, and site two games behind the third-place Phoenix Mercury. The Storm beat Dallas 78-66 the last game as Jewell Lloyd scored 23 points and top pick Breanna Stewart had 17 points and 12 rebounds. With the win Seattle, moved into eighth place in the WNBA playoff standings. A .500 Chicago team doesn't play much defense, ranked #11 in points allowed. The Sky are on a 3-7 ATS run at home and Chicago has three game road trip on deck. These teams have met once this season in a 91-88 thriller, and this shapes up as another close one, so grab the dog and play Seattle.
The Prez
Army vs. Temple
Play: Army +15
The Army Black Knights dropped their final five games of the 2015 college football season but took some positives away from the defeats . The Knights showed poise and a competitive level of talent in most of their November and December losses In the school’s important games Army fell to a good Navy squad by just four points as a three-touchdown underdog and look to turn the positives of a year ago into 2016 wins.
Temple struts into Week #12 of the campus campaign off a sharp 10-4 record and continue to grow under the leadership of head coach Matt Rhule.
Friday Night Lights in the college ranks find the Army Black Knights and the Temple Owls entertaining the City of Brotherly Love with a tilt at Lincoln Financial Field with television coverage and live streaming provided by CBS Sports.
Army
The Knights will stay in this opening seasons event with their experience and talent on the defensive side of the football. Army’s defense leads the way. The Army offense will do enough with their triple-option scheme to keep their defense fresh against the Temple running game. The offense took a hit when tailback Aaron Kemper was dismissed from the team this past summer and replace quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw with talented Chris Carter, who is the only quarterback on the team with any game experience, and he is backed up by four freshmen. Bradshaw threw all of 48 passes a season ago and while Carter doesn’t have the game experience that the coaching staff would like he figures to be more of a passing threat than Bradshaw in the school’s run-first scheme.
"We want to run the football, and that's not a secret to anybody: Army coach Jeff Monken told the local media. "I'm sure they [Temple] are preparing to play the option run game, and we're planning to run the option against them."
The Black Knights allowed just 27.8 points and 375.6 yards per game last season and are led by a capable linebacking core of Andrew King (92 tackles) and Jeremy Timph (92 tackles).
The Black Knights appear on paper to be a group that scuffled last season. While they didn’t light up the standings among the Independent Standings seven of their ten 2015 defeats were by one score or less.
Temple
The Owls started last year by going a lucky 7-0 losing their eighth affair in a defeat at the hands of Notre Dame. Quarterback Phillip Walker threw for 2,973 yards and 19 touchdowns and was supported by running back Jahad Thomas’ 1,262 yards on the ground and 17 touchdowns.
The Owls have to grow with new starters on defense and begin with the challenge of limiting the Army triple-option. Not an easy Week #1 task. The Owls are no strangers to playing defense and preparing for anything and everything that is thrown their way by the opposition but they have to replace-American LB Tyler Matakevich and all-league DT Matt Ioannidis, DE Nate D. Smith and FS Alex Wells
Outlook
There were only a dozen teams in 2015 that average more yards on the ground than that of Army, who rushed for nearly250 yards per contest. That won’t change this year, even without last season’s starting rusher and quarterback. You will read, hear and inevitable doubt will enter your mindset when you hear that Army is one of the worst teams in FBS and have a quarterback dilemma without the likes of Bradshaw under center. While it is difficult to throw youth in the backfield of an offense that is game planned around an option theme -- it is just as difficult -- for defenses to prepare for the scheme.
The Army offense will dominate the time of possession with its running game and complete enough passes to keep the young Temple defense off balance thus keeping the game close throughout.
Buster Sports
Chicago at Minnesota
Play: Under 9
The White Sox and Twins play the second game of their 4 game series tonight at Target Field. The starting pitchers are for the White Sox LH Carlos Rodon ( 5-8, 3.91 ERA) and he faces the Twins RH Kyle Gibson (5-8, 5.17 ERA) Rodon was unbelievable in the month of August. In 5 starts he had a 3-0 record and a 1.47 ERA with a WHIP of 1. As for Gibson he has owned the White Sox in his career. He is 5-1 when starting against Chicago with an ERA of 1.80 and with a WHIP of 0.891. This could be a nice pitching battle tonight. The Twins are 82-45 O/U this year including last nights game that went Over. We are going to go against that strong Over bias as we believe the pitching matchup sets us up perfectly for the UNDER tonight, especially with the line at 9. Backing our selection is the fact that the UNDER is 7-2 in Rodon's last 9 starts with 4 days of rest.
Oskeim Sports
Kansas St at Stanford
Pick: Kansas St +15
Stanford enters the 2016 season without four-year starting quarterback Kevin Hogan, leaving head coach David Shaw and offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren with a group of quarterbacks (Ryan Burns & Keller Chryst) with a combined ten career pass attempts. Three starters on the offensive line are also gone, together with two of the Cardinal's top 3 wide receivers from 2015. The key returnee on Stanford's offense is Heisman Trophy hopeful Christian McCaffrey, who will make life a lot easier for either Burns or Chryst (both playing Friday, with Burns expected to get the majority of snaps).
Despite the attrition on offense, Stanford is led by one of the best head coaches in football and has the talent to be considered a legitimate national title contender. The main obstacle for the Cardinal is the schedule, which has them playing road games against Notre Dame, UCLA, Washington and Oregon! For the purposes of Saturday's game, it should be noted that Stanford is 0-3 ATS in its last three season-openers and face an underrated team in Kansas State.
The Wildcats are coming off a losing campaign for the first time since 2009 and welcome back fourteen starters, including leading rusher Charles Jones and leading wide receiver Deante Burton. Kansas State's defense will also be significantly improved with seven returning starters, including its top five tacklers from last year. I also like investing on legendary head coach Bill Snyder, who is 20-8 ATS as an underdog with ten outright upsets.
Snyder is also an incredible 22-2 SU in season-opening games, with only one loss by more than three points. The Wildcats have covered the spread in three straight season-openers and are 5-1 ATS in their last six games as double-digit underdogs. Snyder's squad has been first or second in the Big 12 Conference in limiting penalty yards in each of the past five seasons. The Wildcats also led the Big 12 by converting 52-of-55 red zone opportunities.
Kansas State would have been a Best Bet if it were not for the fact that David Shaw is coaching its opponent. Shaw, by the way, is 13-2 ATS as a favorite of 10.5 to 21 points during his tenure at Stanford.
Carmine Bianco
Jamaica at Panama
Play: Panama
A win today sends Panama through to the next round of WC Qualifying along with Costa Rica and having to avoid trying to get a decision on match day 6 in Costa Rica. These two sides met in Jamaica on Match Day 1 with Panama getting the 2-0 win. I'll lean to a stronger home side to get the full 3 here.
Greg Shaker
Kansas St. /Stanford Over 47.5
I think that this is most likely as low as this one is going to get so let's play it now. Stanford easily gets the bulk of the points here but K State is improved on offense this year and will do their part. With the next key number downward being 45 we are getting in a very good number.
Sleepyj
Brewers / Pirates Under 8
I really like the pitching matchups on the hill.....Both guys combined ERA is 6.31...Both can pitch very good and the clunker games come not so often....Guerra goes for the Brewers and he comes back from a DL stint...He should be plenty rested and he has faced the Pirates twice this year...He did very well against them allowing just 3ER in two games...He should step on the mound fresh and confident for this one....Plus he would like to open up coming back with a win..I look for him to have a strong game...Tailion for the Pirates has looked very good this season...he is coming off a loss and that should motivate him here at home...the last team to light him up was his last start and it was the Brewers...I think he bounces back here in a good spot...His last game was his worst of the season and a duplicate performance seems unlikely...Neither team is tearing the cover off the ball and needing 9 to beat us seems a bit much..I made my number 7.5