Matt Rivers
College football free play winner for Saturday night is to lay the points with the #1 rated Alabama Crimson Tide as they visit their conference rival LSU for a Saturday night showdown in Baton Rouge.
Sure the Tigers would like to exact revenge from last January's domination at the hands of the Tide in the National Championship Game, but that scenario is just not likely to happen.
LSU has had their problems against lesser foes trying to go vertically in their offense, and I see no way the Bayou Bengals get any kind of passing game started against the staunch Tide defense. The Alabama defense has allowed just 65 total points in their eight wins this season, so the 21-0 final that was recorded in the championship game could very well be repeated for a second straight time.
The Tide is +17 in turnover margin this year, and they have 14 straight games by 19 points or more, including a 38-7 beatdown of a pretty decent Miss State team last Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
LSU is on a 1-4 spread run their last five, and they have failed two of their last three tries when installed as a home underdog since the 2007 season.
Sorry Tigers fans, but Bama is indeed that much better than you are.
Roll Tide!
4♦ ALABAMA
Tony Stoffo
Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets
Play: Brooklyn Nets
Free Play - Toronto at Brooklyn This game sets up exactly the same as last night's Miami/New York game where the home team was the much more inspired group after what has happened in the Tri-State area. So going with the Nets tonight for the same reason - plus add in the fact that this will be their home opener in front of their new fans. All the intangibles point towards a lopsided Nets win here this evening.
SPORTS WAGERS
Toronto +6 -110 over BROOKLYN
The ‘new’ Nets went over the cap, used every exception, re-signed a few of their own players to inflated deals and ended up with an $82 million payroll for this season. Their players aren't worth that much but the PR is good, enabling a quick fix and at the very least, the Nets will score points with all five starters capable. However, they can’t and likely won’t defend anyone and it’ll make these Nets much more valuable when taking points than spotting them.
Toronto is commonly undervalued because they play in a market that gets little coverage in the U.S. The Raps are much-improved in every key area, (rebounding, defense and scoring). They showed that in their season opener against the Pacers in which they came within a shot of winning. Now the Raps are taking back some points against a group of guys that are still unfamiliar to one another. The Nets, if they are to succeed at all, are going to need some time to gel. In the interim, we’ll take advantage.
OC Dooley
Mississippi +14
Many reading this analysis are aware that Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago finally snapped an 0-16 skid within the Southeast Conference and now have actually strung together consecutive OUTRIGHT victories. But since the Rebels have just beaten a pair of struggling sides (Auburn, Arkansas) they still have much to prove late this afternoon in what is a rare National-TV appearance for a school who used to be the collegiate home of quarterback Eli Manning. Even though Manning has been employed by the NFL for quite some time, the Rebels offensive attack has come alive the last couple of weeks putting a combined 71 points on the scoreboard. Ole Miss runs a balanced an up-tempo offense th at features Jeff Scott who is rushing for a healthy average of more than 84 yards per game. The starting quarterback for Ole Miss these days is Bo Wallace who has run the second-most offensive plays in the entire country. While Wallace is a pass-first quarterback who has thrown for more than 1,600 yards, he also has the knack for avoiding pressure by scrambling for first downs that sustain drives. Host Georgia is in a classic “emotional letdown” situation as one week ago on CBS they ended up defeating rival Florida outright for a second consecutive year, which is something the Bulldogs last accomplished way back in the 1989 campaign. Georgia came out of last week’s upset BANGED UP as center David Andrews (knee), guard Chris Burnette (broken thumb) and noese guard John Jenkins (ankle) are all nursing injuries. Georgia will also be without starting fullback Merritt Hall (ankle) who also fell victim to a physical tussle a week ago versus the Gators. Another outright upset for Ole Miss this afternoon would make them Bowl eligible for the first time since the 2009 campaign. Ole Miss is 7-1 ATS this season and also a dazzling 14-2 ATS/ROAD long term when up against an excellent passing offense that on averages gains at least 250 aerial yards per contest