DOUBLE DRAGON
TOP
UTAH STATE +7.5
Fantasy Sports Gametime
Play Texas (-175) over Tampa Bay (Top Play of the Day)
Texas has won 10 of the last 11 games and they have also won 11 of the last 13 games when batting .35 or better over the last fifteen games. Texas has won 19 of the last 25 games when playing on a Friday and they have also won 45 of the last 63 games when playing as a favorite of -125 to -175.
Play Detroit (+120) over New York Yankees (Bonus)
Big Al
4* Elite Info - Rangers
3* 88% Total - Tigers / Yankees Over
4* Utah State Aggies
At 8 pm, our selection is on the Utah St. Aggies + the points over BYU, as Utah St. falls into a 69-20 ATS system of mine which plays on certain teams to rebound off upset losses. Last week, Utah St. fell 35-34, in overtime, as 13-point underdogs to Colorado St. But the Aggies dominated the Rams in the stats. Utah St. picked up 281 yards rushing and 86 yards passing, while CSU managed just 108 yards passing and 124 yards rushing for a 367-232 advantage. But the Aggies turned the ball over four times, and that was their death knell. Still, the Rams have impressed this year. They scored 54 points on Weber St. in their 2nd game of the season, and almost upset Auburn in Week 1, but lost 42-38 when the Tigers stormed back in the final seconds with two touchdowns. BYU, on the other hand, has been less-than-stellar in the first month. It was blasted 54-10 by instate rival Utah, but bounced back last Friday vs. Central Florida when the Knights were sloppy with the football and turned it over three times. However the Cougars were outgained 480-387 by the Knights, so that doesn't bode well for BYU as a large favorite here. The Aggies have covered three straight in this series (by an average pointspread cover of 11.3 points). Take Utah State.
Ron Cleary
5* Utah State +7.5
Paul Leiner
100* Yanks -125
50* Rays +155
Dr. Bob
Utah State (+7½) 3-Stars at +6 or more, 2-Stars down to +4.
Wunderdog
Tampa Bay at Texas
Pick: Texas -1.5
What a dramatic conclusion for the Tampa Bay Rays to be here. They trailed Boston by 10 games in the AL East to start September, and the Boston collapse combined with some clutch hitting and pitching brought the Rays here on the final swing of the bat. Meanwhile Boston closer Johnathon Papelbon was imploding vs. the lowly Orioles. Tampa Bay trailed 7-0 in the eighth inning vs. the Yankees, while Boston led into the bottom of the ninth. The result is that Tampa Bay is here, Boston is not. It will be quite difficult for the Rays to have any emotion left despite this being a playoffs game, after an intensely dramatic month of September. It has left them no choice but to open the series with a pitcher that has all of 11 innings of big league experience - and on the road on top of that. Texas starter C.J. Wilson has really come on down the stretch, where the Rangers are 8-2 in his last 10 starts, allowing 2 runs or less in nine of them. This is a tough spot for the Rays, opening the door for Texas to keep it close and cash-in on the runline.
Al DeMarco
Detroit Game 1
Detroit Series
Anthony Redd
Utah State
Derek Mancini
Yankees
Dom Chambers
Utah St / BYU Over
Jeff Benton
Utah State
Matt Rivers
Utah State
Trace Adams
Yankees
Utah State
Brandon Lang
15 Dime Utah State
Kelso
50 Units BYU -7½
5 Units Rays +170
5 Units Tigers +120
Marc Lawrence
Utah State at BYU
Pick: Utah St +8
A good rule of thumb when it comes to isolating live dogs in college football is this: when your team scores more PPG, gains more YPG, and allows fewer YPG than its favored opponent you’ve got a dog worth howling about. Meet the Aggies, a 1-2 team with a 3-0 ITS (In The Stats) log this season. They face BYU off last week’s cruel OT loss against Colorado State, a game in which USU outyarded the Rams by 145 yards. Enter the Cougars, a 2-2 squad with a 1-3 ITS log, off a 24-17 win over UCF in which they were outgained by 139 yards. That’s a massive ‘double inside-out’ stat result apparently unnoticed the oddsmaker, as he was insistent in bringing the Aggies in as a touchdown dog. We realize the Mormons have won 14 in row as a host in this series, having been favored the last four games here by an average 22 PPG. But we’re also careful to point out the fact that in only two of the last 14 visits to the ‘Y’ has Utah State owned a win percentage of .333 or better. BYU's 1-10 ATS mark as home favorites off back-to-back home games clinches it. We recommend a 3-unit play on Utah State.
OC DOOLEY
2 Units Rays +165
According to the oddsmakers visiting Tampa has little or no shot at pulling off a road upset even though this small-market franchise has now reached the postseason 3 times in the past four years while operating out of baseball’s toughest division (American League East). Of course the biggest story down the stretch of the regular campaign was the epic collapse of Boston who entered September with a nine-game Wildcard edge. But the fact of the matter is that Tampa edged their way back to the playoffs even though having to face baseball’s biggest spenders (Yankees and Red Sox) 11 times in the past 14 outings. The Rays just became the first team in baseball history to rally from a nine-game September deficit and still make the playoffs including what will go down as an all-time classic Wednesday night. Not only was Tampa down by a 7-0 count entering the eighth inning on Wednesday, they were down to the LAST STRIKE in the bottom of the ninth before getting a game-tying homer from a sub .200 hitter. The homerun in extra innings by Evan Longoria is being compared to one of the biggest jolts in baseball history. Of course it is easy to see why Tampa has been installed as a prohibitive underdog late this afternoon as they are starting a ROOKIE pitcher who has only 9.1 innings of experience at the major league level. While Matt Moore is not known nationally it should be noted that he major-league starting debut was on the road at Yankee Stadium where he pitched five SHUTOUT innings while racking up ELEVEN STRIKEOUT victims along the way. During the offseason to save money the Rays let go virtually their entire 2010 bullpen along with long-time outfield star Carl Crawford, but the club remained competitive due to deep starting pitching at all levels and Moore just happens to be one of those hurlers. Today marks round-two between the Rangers and Rays in the American League Divisional series as in 2010 it was Texas who celebrated on Tampa’s home field. In that series C.J. Wilson tossed 6.1 innings of shutout baseball in that state of Florida and with a stellar ERA (2.94) was the best starter on the Texas staff this campaign but the former reliever did end up throwing a career high 223.1 innings. Since both sides lack star power this contest is being played during the late afternoon hour which opens the door to an interesting statistic. For the entire season to date Tampa was a money-maker on the ROAD going “20-12’ during the DAY
Lines2Win
We are playing a Rays Series win +145 (1 Unit) over Texas, and for tonight Rays +160 (2 Units). We know MLB hasn't gone well this month. We like the Rays because they are on a roll heading into tonights game. They don't know they don't belong here and will still be fired up from putting it to the Yanks. Don't let Moore starting deter you, the kid is gonna be a star
Power Play Wins
Utah St / BYU Over 50
Bob Balfe
Rays / Rangers Over 8.5
The Rays are as high as any team could be right now, but their pitching matchup tonight will allow Texas to put up a good amount of runs. Tampa is red hot with their bats and should bring energy from their game the other night into this game. I expect both teams to put this game over the total rather quickly. Take the Over.
Detroit Tigers +118
This is playoff baseball. You could not ask for a better pitching matchup. This is not the same Yankees team that it once was with all of those memorial comebacks late in the game that we are so used to come playoff time. New York is going to have to win their games against starting pitching and I do not think they have the lineup to create the same magic that they did for the past decade. Justin Verlander is the the best pitcher in baseball. That’s the bottom line. This is what playoff baseball is all about. Take the Tigers.