Joseph D'Amico
Clemson vs. Florida State
Play: Clemson -4
For the past 7 consecutive seasons, the winner of this matchup has gone on to win the ACC Atlantic Division. The 3rd ranked Tigers go into Doak Campbell Stadium to take on the 12 ranked Seminoles. Clemson QB, DeShaun Watson tallied 404 yards of total offense in LY's, 23-13 home victory. This is a Tigers team that is a perfect, 7-0 overall, including 4-0 in Conference play, with 6 of those 7 wins coming over ranked opponents. Florida State got shredded by Louisville, 60-23 (a team that Clemson took down, 42-36) and lost 37-35 to UNC as a 10 1/2 point fav. Just last game, the Seminoles had difficulty moving the ball against the Demon Deacons stop-unit and now must face the Top-10 "D" (8th TY's, 8th PY's, & 9th PA) of the Tigers. Watson and his talented receiving corps will exploit the banged-up, FSU secondary, while the Seminoles only offensive weapon, RB, Dalvin Cook will have problems moving the ball against a Tigers Front-7, allowing just 3.3 YPC. Clemson's defense is too fast and ferocious here. The Road Team is 4-0 ATS the L4 meetings in this series. The Tigers are 8-3 ATS the L11 meetings.
Brandon Powell
Georgia vs. Florida
Play: Florida -7
Florida has absolutely owned the Dawgs the past 2 seasons and I expect more of the same this Saturday. Florida has been flying under the radar this season and is looking to take the SEC East again. Georgia is just not the team everyone expected at the start of the season, especially defensively. Look for Florida to win the game easily.
Kyle Hunter
Nebraska vs. Wisconsin
Play: Under 42½
The Wisconsin Badgers and Nebraska Cornhuskers are two teams who like to slow the tempo of the game down. Both Wisconsin and Nebraska rank in the bottom 25 in the nation in terms of tempo.
It's also important to note that both of these teams run the ball constantly. Nebraska is running the ball on 62% of their plays so far this year. Wisconsin is running the ball on 60% of their plays on the season. That's great for an under since the clock keeps ticking between plays.
An added bonus in this game is rain is expected during the game, which I expect will make both coaches even more conservative with their offensive game plan.
Wisconsin's offensive line is still good, but they aren't as good as the group from a couple years ago. Nebraska's running attack should struggle against a really good Wisconsin front seven on defense.
The under is 6-0 in Nebraska's last 6 Big Ten games. The under is 8-3 in Wisconsin's last 11 home games. Take the under.
Mike Anthony
Georgia vs. Florida
Play: Georgia +7.5
Florida has been passing the ball at a very low ended level since 10.1.2016, including 3 picks and haven't cracked over 245 YDs in the air. Those are not impressive numbers to consider, Florida needs to get a quick jump with their passing game - but this isn't going to be the game to do that in. Florida struggles with quick starts - which Georgia can exploit. Good ball movement and time usage is key for Georgia - they can run the ball with efficiency - and their running game has shown that. And as long as Nick Chubb is running hard - there will be no concerns vs a run defense that had given up 265 last week. Bulldogs are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games following a straight up loss Georgia wins taking the 7.5 points
Brad Diamond
Clemson at Florida State
Play: Florida State
This battle is one of the most highly regarded matchups this season in College Football, and one of the most significant rivalries in the nation. The successful school has an inside shot at taking the conference and a good chance of playing in the four team set which eventually crowns the nation’s best team. Clemson comes in 7-0 SU and looks to continue their national surge. On the other hand, the 5-2 (UNC/Lousiville) Sems look to challenge with an injured defense. Remember, though, RB Gallman is still questionable for the Tigers. No matter, he will not be 100% for this situation. Actually, we expect FSU to change some of their offensive play calling to allow for a more structure attack, keeping QB Watson of Clemson off the field as much as possible. Despite the injuries, FSU has the ability to win this SU, even though the road unit has been cashing in the series of late. Technically, FSU shows 4-0 ATS after an ATS loss and 12-3-1 ATS scoring 20 or less in their most game.
TONY FINN
KANSAS STATE at IOWA STATE
PLAY: IOWA STATE +6.5
The Kansas State Wildcats are on the road this week and oppose conference foe Iowa State Cyclones, an event schedule to kickoff at 12:00 p.m. ET on Jack Trice Stadium turf in Ames, Iowa. History would appear to favor the squad coached by Bill Snyder in the Wildcats visit to Iowa State on Saturday. The football legend who spent a large portion of his coaching career at Iowa is 22-4 against Iowa State since 1990 including a dominating run of eight straight wins against the Cyclones.
Wildcats
Offensively challenged Kansas State has lost three straight road games and outside of Synder Family Stadium in the Little Apple the troupe has been pedestrian and porous when in possession of the ball. The club opened the season on the road with a loss against middling Pac 12 Stanford when they scored a mere 13 points. The ‘Cats scored just 16 in a loss versus the Mountaineers in West Virginia and were held to just 17 in an ugly 38-17 loss to the Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. The team’s three road affairs this season has also seen their third ranked FBS rush defense allow nearly 50 percent more rushing yards than at home and in the last two roles as visitor the KSU stop-unit has allowed an average of 330 yards through the air.
Reports out of Manhattan confirm that quarterback Jesse Ertz is playing with a sore shoulder and is hesitant to run the ball as much as he is to throw downfield -- beyond 20 yards. Ertz is also the team’s second leading rusher with 371 rushing yards and six touchdown
Cyclones
Iowa State comes into Saturday’s contest off a bye and two consecutive losses against offensive minded outfits -- losing to Oklahoma State (38-31) and Texas (27-6). The Cyclones are not short of weapons on offense. They have two quarterbacks, Joel Lanning and Jacob Park who have combined to throw for nearly 1700 yards, a stable of running backs to throw at the Wildcats front seven, led by Mike Warren.
Outlook
The extra week to prepare for the Wildcats offers favor for Iowa State this weekend. While college football experts are applauding the KSU victory over the Texas Longhorns, the win wasn't anything special. This because the Longhorns are anything but special. The KSU victory over Texas isn’t as impressive as the boxscore would suggest and first year Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell has become comfortable with his player personnel and adjusted his scheme to their talents resulting in ATS covers in 4 of their last 5 games. The Cyclone were in a position to secure outright wins as underdogs in games against the undefeated Baylor Bears and offensive juggernaut Oki State.
Getting points at home against a quarterback that is less than 100 percent and an offense that has averaged less than 20 points per game on the road is a coup.
EXECUTIVE SPORTS
PENN STATE VS PURDUE
PLAY: PENN STATE -13.5
The Nittany Lions are coming off a huge win last week over #2 ranked Ohio St. Playing at home at night as an 18 point underdog, the home crowd's white out helped inspire them to a big upset. They must now take that momentum out on the road where they've struggled going 0-8 ATS vs. Big 10 with Franklin as coach.
Penn St is 5-2 SU on the season and 3-0 the past 3.
Play On Road favorites (PENN ST) after having won 5 or 6 out of their last 7 games, a good team (60% to 80%) playing a team with a losing record. (59-25, 70% over the last 5 seasons.)
Play On A road team (PENN ST) after beating the spread by 21 or more points total in their last three games, with a winning record on the season playing a losing team. (84-43, 66% the last 5 seasons.)
PENN ST is 10-2 ATS versus terrible rushing defenses allowing >=5.25 rushing yards/carry since 1992.
PENN ST is 6-0 ATS after a win by 6 or less points over the last 3 seasons.
THE PREZ
NEBRASKA VS WISCONSIN
PLAY: NEBRASKA +9
The true test of whether the Nebraska Cornhuskers are worthy of a Top-10 national ranking will be decided this Saturday when the team travels to Madison to take the Camp Randall Stadium field and square off against the Wisconsin Badgers.
The Huskers took advantage of a soft non-conference schedule and wiggled their way into the College Football Playoff picture. The Huskers worthiness will become crystal clear and their ranking justified if they can find a way to score a victory in one of the toughest venues for visitors to win at, Camp Randall. Nebraska comes into this Week #9 event undefeated but has not been overly impressive against pedestrian opposition. This is easily the biggest game of the season for Nebraska in their quest to win the Big Ten West division.
The College Football Playoff picture receives it first rating next week, on November 1st, and the Huskers have a chance to be in the overall Topp-8 with a win in Wisconsin. Following Saturday’s contest against the Badgers the school will have to face off against No. #8 ranked Ohio State. Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. isn’t 100 percent according to reports but will dress and start. Jordan Westerkamp (back) will bolster the offense and bring a big play threat to Camp Randall. Westerkamp has missed the last two games and will join tailback Terrell Newby who has carried the bulk of the ground attack for the offense.
The Huskers will need to be more creative than they have been recently if they intend on keeping their perfect record intact as the Badgers defense is easily the toughest defense they have faced in the 2016 campaign.
The Badgers will need to defensive up against Nebraska on Saturday. The team will be missing two key defensive studs. Whiskey will be without linebackers Jack Cichy and Chris Orr as well as defensive lineman Olive Sagapolu. The secondary could be missing both corners as Derrick Tindal and Natrell Jamerson are both questionable for Saturday’s game. Offensively the unit will continue to ride bell-cow Corey Clement, the conferences second-leading rusher, with questions at quarterback as Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook as both are expected to share the role of field general in Saturday’s tilt.
The only true advantage that Wisconsin has in this event is home court advantage, that being the Camp Randall Stadium field. It is a lot to ask an injury riddled group like the Badgers currently are to take on their fifth Top-10 team in the first eight games of the season. When healthy, Wisconsin is the better team, a squad that is battle tested and playing at home, but the handicap in this Big 10 event is too much for the Badgers in what will likely be a closely contested conference contest.
CAL SPORTS
MARSHALL VS SO MISSISSIPPI
PLAY: SO MISSISSIPPI -16
What goes around comes around! Marshall posted 10 or more wins for 3 straight years and became the bullies of CUSA. Thundering Herd HC Doc Holliday prefers to “reload” and not “rebuild” usually going the JUCO route but this year several of those expected players did not come to fruition and that leaves you with a very young and inexperienced team. Marshall sits at 2-5 and their last 3 games were all as DD CUSA favorites and they were outgained in all 3 (N Texas, FAU & Charlotte were a combined 4-20 in conf action LY).
What will make this season even more difficult for Marshall is that their bye was week #1 and they play 12 straight games while 3 of their final opponents have a bye week prior to facing them. It’s Southern Miss’ turn for payback as the Golden Eagles were off B2B losses prior to their bye and the off week came at a perfect time to get healthy and get revenge for 5 straight losses in this series including defeats of 31-10 LY, 63-13 in 2013 and a 63-17 loss in 2014 the last time they hosted them.
Year-to-date Southern Miss has played the #95 toughest schedule and is -155 YPG while Marshall has played the #105 toughest schedule and is -83 YPG
Harry Bondi
TENNESSEE -13.5 over South Carolina
There may have never been a team more in need of a bye last week in the history of college football than Tennessee. After a three-game stretch of wild games against Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M, the drained and beat up Vols got waxed by Alabama two weeks ago. But with last week off, the team has been able to get healthy both physically and mentally and now has its sights set on winning the SEC East, which is still within its grasp. Tennessee has covered seven of the last 10 meetings in this series and is 5-1 ATS in their last six chances as a road favorite. Look for the Vols to take out their frustrations today on a putrid Gamecocks offense that has averaged just 12 points per game in SEC play this season and doesn’t have the speed on either side of the ball to stay with a tested and motivated Tennessee squad.
David Banks
Clemson Tigers @ Florida St
Play: Florida St +4.5
The third-ranked Tigers face their toughest road test of the season as they head to Tallahassee to take on 12th-ranked Florida State. The last time Clemson played at FSU, the Seminoles won 23-17 in overtime. Tigers QB Deshaun Watson would like nothing more than to beat Florida State on their home turf as he saw his first considerable playing time as a freshman in that loss. Clemson holds a two-game lead over the Seminoles in the Atlantic Division of the ACC, but needs to win to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Watson leads a Clemson offense that has had its share of difficulties, but issues aside the Tigers still average nearly 37 points and over 470 total yards per game. Running back Wayne Gallman leads the team in rushing with 489 yards and WR Mike Williams has 39 catches for 578 yards and four touchdowns. It’s Clemson’s defense that has really made the Tigers. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables has a unit that is ninth in the country in scoring defense giving up just 15.3 points a game. Clemson has given up over 20 points just twice all season and one was to high-scoring Louisville.
Florida State’s failures stem from injuries on defense. None was bigger than the injury to safety Derwin James, a hybrid type of player that many believed was the best defender in America. The loss of James and a few others has left the Seminoles defense suspect. They were blown out by Louisville and have given up over 30 points in four of seven games. Florida State is giving up an uncharacteristic 28.9 points per game this season.
Offensively, the Seminoles lean heavily on freshman QB Deondre Francois (1,876 yards passing, 10 TDs) and RB Dalvin Cook who has rushed for 900 yards and seven touchdowns. The pair of Seminoles is going to have to have success on Saturday night against a very stingy Clemson defense.
SPORTS WAGERS
Northwestern +27 over Ohio State
The word “fluke” and Ohio State has been thrown around more this week than fishermen out on the sea hungry for a Sunday dinner. Ohio State enters off a shocking loss at Penn State and despite the fact the Buckeyes blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter in route to their demise, much of the public has chalked up the loss as nothing more than a ‘hard luck’ Ohio State hiccup. Ohio State has won the last five contests against the Wildcats and we are not here to imply that lightning may strike twice, but we can’t help but focus our attention on the large line movement in this market that affords us nearly another touchdown as a result of the heavy action pouring in on the Buckeyes.
Northwestern has responded well after falling to 1-3. The Wildcats opened their season with a difficult home loss to currently undefeated Western Michigan and the ‘Cats would follow that up with an eye-sore loss to Illinois State. While we are not here to excuse Northwestern’s blunders, it is worth mentioning that the combined margin in these two affairs was just three points. Who knows how the Wildcats would have been portrayed here had they entered at 6-1 as opposed to their current record of 4-3. Regardless of the rough start, the Wildcats have since resurged. Northwestern would respond with a win against Duke, a hard-fought loss at Nebraska and then they would win the next three to where they stand now. It’s as if a different team has taken the field, as the Wildcats traveled in back-to-back weeks and absolutely dominated Iowa and Michigan State, the two teams that met in the Big Ten Championship in 2015.
Northwestern’s early season docket combined with the apparent ‘fluke’ Ohio State suffered has led many to believe that the Buckeyes will bounce back and slaughter the Wildcats. While Ohio State may indeed win this game, the opening price was set for a reason before the public got a hold of it. Indeed the Buckeyes are in a foul mood and will want to take out all their frustrations on this visitor but once the air is let out of the proverbial balloon, it is absolutely the wrong time to step in on a team spotting extra inflated points. Northwestern is a quality outfit that will not go down without a fight here.
WYOMING +14½ over Boise St
If you decide to make one college football wager today, this should be it. We like this one so much that I am personally going to include the Cowboys in some money line parlays at odds of close to 5½ -1 because an outright win is also a distinct possibility.
Let’s start with the fact that Boise State has never lost to Wyoming in their FBS history and odds makers absolutely had to compensate for that and public perception. The Cowboys have been the Broncos whipping boy for a long, long time. The closest game that was played between these two at the FBS level was a 17-10 BSU win in 2006. The Cowboys are not only sick of losing to this hated foe but they’re sick of hearing about it and now for the first time ever, they actually believe they can do something about it. We do too.
How many more lucky bounces can the Broncos get? Last week against BYU, Broncs QB Brett Rypien threw five touchdowns, however two were to the other team, and the Broncos offense committed five turnovers, yet still found a way to win. There were so many bizarre plays in that game that favored BSU, much like Arizona and Seattle’s tie in the NFL last week, where Seattle was extremely lucky not to lose. Well BSU was also extremely lucky not to lose to BYU and that is not the first time the Broncos have been on the right side of extreme fortune this year. Aside from a 1-point win over BYU, Boise State has a three-point win over Washington State and a five-point win over Colorado State. The Broncs are 7-0 but lucky they are not 4-3. Even their 21-10 win over Utah State was unimpressive. Boise State is still a Mountain West power, but this program doesn't have nearly the edge on its league mates that it did under Chris Petersen. Continued relevance has masked how much that gap has closed, but as Houston can attest to, relevance in the land of the have-nots can be difficult to maintain.
The one common opponent that these two have played is Colorado State. Boise State, at home no less, barely got by State (28-23) while Wyoming went into Colorado State and crushed them, 38-17. Appreciation for what Craig Bohl is building in Laramie cannot be overstated so pencil us in as buyers on this ascending program that could have a championship in its near future. The architect of the North Dakota State dynasty has fashioned a balanced and productive offense with a deep and diverse group of skill players. This team is vastly improved in the trenches from Bohl's first two editions and now appear ready to get this proverbial monkey off its back. Wyoming has reeled off three in a row and four of five. The wins for this outfit are becoming more frequent and more impressive too. Aside from that, Boise State may not be prepared for what the Cowboys have in store for them.
The Broncos are about to walk into the most active atmosphere Wyoming has generated in years. Neither the team nor the crowd will resemble the familiar editions that the Broncos have dominated for years. The question to answer this week is whether Boise State is preparing for this game like the championship affair it is, or dwelling on either last week's thrilling win over BYU or lesser Wyoming editions from the past. Either way, the Broncos are in for a fair fight. Upset alert is on.
INDIANA -3½ over Maryland
We’ve targeted the Terps as an overvalued squad all year but the key is to step in at the right time. Maryland was getting far too much credit when they went into Penn State a few weeks ago as a small pooch and they are once again getting too much credit here after defeating Michigan State last week, 28-17. The oddsmakers are so unimpressed with Sparty that they made them a 24½ point underdog today against Michigan. Maryland’s five victories have come against Howard, FIU, UCF, Purdue and Michigan State. Last week’s victory over MSU gives them credibility but each time that they have played a focused and superior team, the Terps have been crushed to the tune of 38-14 by Penn State and 31-10 by the Golden Gophers. The same fate likely awaits them here.
Indiana’s stock is low after three straight losses, which absolutely works to our benefit here. Before losing to Ohio State, Nebraska and Northwestern, three very good squads, Indiana was 3-1. They are now 3-4 but the strides that the Hoosiers have made this season are real. That's especially true on defense, where new coordinator Tom Allen has taken the more veteran pieces and instantly fashioned the best defense of head coach Kevin Wilson's six-year tenure. A second-half shutout in last week's loss to Northwestern gives this defense something to build on, while on the offense, injured All-American Dan Feeney has finally resumed his place on the line. Conceding a loss in Ann Arbor, this outfit needs to win three of four against Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State and Purdue to make consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 1990-91 so figure them to be hungry like wolves here after tasting defeat for three straight weeks.
There is a price to pay for playing weak opponents and the Terps are about to pay that price for the third time this year. There is also rewards to reap for playing tough competition and the Hoosiers likely reap those rewards in this one.
VIRGINIA +33 over Louisville
Once again we are going to target the Cardinals by virtue of the massive premium one must pay to back them here. Louisville comes in off a 54-13 thrashing of a respected N.C. State team last week after the Cardinals’ stock had fallen the week previously when they navigated by Duke 24-14 as a 35-point favorite.
Last week, the Cards were spotting 19 points to an N.C. State that took #3 Clemson (the lone team to beat Louisville this year) to overtime in the preceding affair the week before, thus all eyes were on the Wolfpack. The point we are trying to make here is that Louisville’s stock has dipped and risen more than once this year. The key is to jump on and off at the right time. Since Louisville responded with a demolition job of the Wolfpack, the stock on the Cards is once again soaring, as this market has been pounding the Cardinals all week. Why? It is because their opponent once again looks like a snack.
Virginia enters at a lowly mark of 2-5 and is currently riding a nasty two-game losing streak in hideous fashion. The last win for Virginia came against Duke three weeks ago in Cameron, North Carolina. However, Louisville and Virginia have shared some hard fought contests since the Cards joined the ACC a couple years ago. Virginia beat Louisville outright at Scott Stadium the last time the two teams met there in 2014 and they fell by just a touchdown in 2015 when they were a 13½-point dog against the Cardinals in 2015. Virginia will not be intimidated by the Cardinals, especially in its own barn. The Cavaliers own a win at home over Central Michigan as a six-point pooch earlier this year and they also boast the 35th ranked passing attack in the country. It is not unforeseeable that the Hoos strike back a few times and bring this one in well under the number.
Obviously we are going to play this at SportsInteraction but for record keeping purposes, we are going with +33 -103 at Pinnacle, as many folks have indicated that they can't play the best number on every game.
TEXAS +3½ over Baylor
Baylor easily covered as a 33-point favorite two weeks ago at home to Kansas to run its record to a perfect 6-0 on the season. The Bears are in the hunt for a Big 12 title but a closer look at their schedule shows us they’ve played mostly cupcakes. The Bears non-conference schedule is unimpressive at best with wins over Northwestern State, SMU and Rice. The only decent team they’ve played this season was Oklahoma State. Somehow Baylor won and covered even though they lost the time of possession battle by a 2-1 margin. The Cowboys had more first downs than the Bears and nearly matched them in total yards of offense, losing narrowly, 523-492. Three lost fumbles by OSU was the difference in that game and that’s all there is to that. Baylor lost in this spot to Texas last season and many are playing the “revenge” angle here, an overused and usually useless angle that we seldom endorse. What we have here is an undefeated Baylor squad that’s had little competition, spotting road points to a team that is battle tested and then some.
It might be easy to count out Texas with their 3-4 record but they have played a tough schedule this season. They shocked the world with a Week 1 win over Notre Dame and also played a crazy 93 point contest at Cal where they fell 50-43 as a -7½ road favorite. The Longhorns are by no means a powerhouse this season and their coach is on the hot seat but this is a great spot to step in after fading them last week at Kansas State, where they fell again as road chalk. Texas quarterback Shane Buechele has played well this season with a 3-1 touchdown to interception ratio (15 scores and five picks).
Teams coming off a bye often mess up its positive momentum and that’s what we have here with the Bears. Toss in the overblown “revenge” angle and the fact that Texas has played much tougher competition this season and we see no upside in Baylor. We also have a ranked team laying points to an unranked opponent, which is another low percentage play that we often exploit.
Brandon Lee
Cubs -127
So far whenever the Cubs have had their backs against the wall, they have delivered with a win. I expect no different tonight, as Chicago hosts the Indians for Game 4 of the World Series. The Cubs will give the rock to veteran John Lackey, who while hasn't pitched great in the playoffs, has done enough to help the Cubs to wins in both of his starts. Keep in mind both of those came on the road, where Lackey wasn't nearly as good as he was at home, where he's got a 2.62 ERA and 0.991 WHIP. I know the Indians will send out Kluber, who was lights out in Game 1, but he's pitching on short rest and we saw what the Cubs did to Kershaw at home after he dominated them on the road in the NLCS.
Frank Jordan
Michigan vs. Michigan St
Play: Michigan -24.5
Michigan and Michigan State played a crazy game last year with both teams ranked in the top 12 Michigan, at home, had a 23-21 lead with seconds left in the game and it was fourth down. Michigan went to punt, but the punter bobbled the snap and tried to pick it up and kick it, but instead got tackled and fumbled, which Michigan State picked up and ran back for the game winning score. This years match up is a little different as Michigan comes in at #2 in the country, 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Big 10 play. Michigan had a close game against Wisconsin which they won 14-7, other than that they have won every other game by at least 17 points. Michigan State is unranked, 2-5 on the year and winless in four games in Big 10 play. In the last six meetings between these two teams Michigan State has won five including the last three. Michigan State is 1-1 against ranked teams this year. Coming into this game the Spartans are on a five game losing streak, four of which have been by double figures. Look for Michigan to get their revenge from last years poor ending with a monster 30+ point victory over their instate rivals.
Bob Balfe
UCF/Houston Under 59
Houston has a problem. This has nothing to do with a space craft and everything to do with the offensive line being a mess right now with injuries. Greg Ward is a good QB, but he is not your prototypical QB. This is a guy that is great with his feet and needs a solid offensive line to do damage. This Cougar rushing attack is hobbled and UCF is playing decent defense this year. Houston had a bad defensive game last week and with all the rumors of the coach leaving for a bigger school you might see another egg dropped today by this team. I do think Houston will be able to play solid defense at home and this should turn into a low scoring game.
Indians +115
I want to bet on emotion because as a fan of sports we all want to see the Cubs win, but Kluber has been dominate this postseason. This guy is looking like Madison Bumgarner did a few years back for the Giants. Cleveland is playing flawless baseball right now and this pressure might just be too much for Chicago to handle.