BIG AL
3* Central Florida
To put it bluntly, this is not your father's BYU team. The Cougars were blasted last week at home 54-10 by their bitter rivals, Utah, and now sit with a 1-2 record. In last week's loss, BYU rushed for a meager 11 yards on 22 carries, and that followed a performance at Texas where the Mormons ran for just 43 yards on 23 carries. That just won't get the job done in college football. Compare those rushing numbers to UCF's: the Knights average 223 yards per game on 44 carries for an average of 5 yards a rush! BYU is averaging 1.9 yards a rush on the season. And that 54-10 defeat should have a hangover effect on BYU, as teams rarely bounce back from such losses. Consider that home favorites of -7 or less (or PK) are a dismal 103-168 ATS since 1980 off an upset loss, if they're matched up against a .500 or better opponent! And if they failed to cover the spread by more than 37 points in their previous game, they're an awful 1-9 ATS since 1980. Our top play two weeks ago was UCF over Boston College, and the Knights rewarded us with a blowout win over the Eagles. Then, last week, it was a huge letdown spot for UCF and we successfully played on Florida International. But now, we get back on the UCF horse, and we'll grab the points with the Knights.
4* Cardinals
3* Pirates
3* Angels
Fantasy Sports Gametime
Play Texas (-275) over Seattle (Top Play of the Day)
Seattle has lost 26 of the last 37 games vs. left-handed starting pitchers and they have also lost 47 of the last 61 games as a road underdog of +150 or higher. Seattle has lost 71 of the last 108 games vs. division opponents and they have also lost 8 of the last 9 road games when the total posted is between 10 and 10.5 runs.
Play Detroit (-175) over Baltimore (Bonus)
Play Cleveland (-190) over Minnesota (Bonus)
Scott Spreitzer
Central Florida
Dr Bob
Central Florida - 3-Stars at +1 or more, 2-Stars at pick or -1
EA Sports Consultants
25* Central Florida +2.5
Info Plays
7* NY Mets +127
Paul Leiner
100* UCF / BYU Over 44
50* Nationals -120
Lines2Win
BYU -2 (3 Units) - UCF is a small underdog tonight on the road against a BYU team that is struggling right now. BYU took a beating at the hands of Utah last week at home. They are quite angry and losing 2 in a row at home is not an option. UCF beat a very bad Boston College team who still can't find their way. The line suggests this game will be close, but after crunching some numbers we see BYU covering this one easily.
Jimmy Boyd
5* Dodgers
3* Central Florida +2
Power Play Wins
BYU -2.5
Mike Jacobs
5000 Dime +2.5
Bob Balfe
Houston Astros -130
Colorado is playing like a team that threw in the towel as they are losers of the last 8. Houston is not a good baseball team, but they are still playing hard, which means a lot at the end of the season with nothing to play for. Look for Houston to get a nice home win. Take the Astros.
Matt Fargo
9* Central Florida / BYU Over 42.5
BYU's offense has been abysmal to start the season which is a surprise after the finish it had last season and returning nine starters from the unit heading into this year. The Cougars averaged 42.4 ppg over their last five games after scoring no more than 25 points through their first eight games. That was a direct correlation to quarterback Jake Heaps who started to get comfortable at the position as a true freshman. BYU is ranked 104th in total offense after three games while scoring no more than 16 points in a game. That being said, facing off against the second ranked defense in the nation might not seem like the optimal time to bust out but the contrarian angle is giving us the situation. The Knights have allowed only 20 total points on the season and are allowing just 166 ypg through three games. They have had the luxury of facing FCS Charleston Southern as well as FIU and BC, ranked 101st and 102nd respectively in total offense. Even though the Cougars are currently ranked lower, that is where the value comes into play. Each of the posted totals in the games for BYU has come down each time, going from 54 to 49 to 46 to 43. This is the lowest posted total for a BYU game since they had an over/under of 43 against New Mexico back in November of 2004. Granted, times and schemes change but this is excellent value. Meanwhile Central Florida had an over/under of 51 last week against FIU so a drop of eight points from one game to the next is a huge adjustment and will prove to be too much of an adjustment. Heaps and offensive coordinator Brandon Doman had a conversation about the current state of the Cougars' offense. Both are bewildered by the anemic results to this point, but both are determined to get things fixed. "I think it's going to grow us closer," Heaps said of that conversation. "It's not just us, it's our whole offense and we have to figure it out and put it all together. I have great confidence we will." First off they need to run the ball better which will open up the passing game, currently 43rd in passing offense. Seniors J.J. Di Luigi and Bryan Kariya and sophomore Joshua Quezada have struggled to get a running game going but it should come around as all were here last year and the three averaged 152 rushing ypg last season. On the other side, Central Florida has regressed on offense but BYU has regressed on defense over each teams last three games. All of this being said, the numbers point to a low scoring game but this is where the bounce angle comes into play and we see a much higher scoring game than expected.
Brandon Lang
40 Dime Central Florida / BYU Under 44
15 Dime Central Florida +2
Al DeMarco
15 Dime BYU
Anthony Redd
40 Dime Central Florida
Bob Valentino
40 Dime Central Florida
Chuck O'Brien
25 Dime Rays -1.5
Derek Mancini
30 Dime Rockies
Dom Chambers
30 Dime Athletics / Angels Under
Jeff Benton
20 Dime Yankees
10 Dime BYU
Matt Rivers
150,000♦ BYU
50,000♦ Phillies
Trace Adams
1000♦ Braves
500♦ BYU