Saturday Service Plays

Bettorsworld

1* Alabama +5.5 over Clemson - (Ratings on this one will increase if line moves)

This matchup could very well be the game of the week for week one of the 2008 College Football season. We have two proud programs both coming off good years and both looking for big things this year. This game will be played at a neutral site, the Georgia Dome, with an equal number of tickets going to each school.

Certainly, Clemson had the better year last season, going 9-4 while Bama lost it's last 3 regular season games and finished the year 7-6. But a close look at the Alabama season and we see more than a few games that could have gone their way and had them with a very different record. They lost in OT to Georgia and lost by a TD or less to LSU, Auburn, Florida State, Miss St and Louisiana Monroe. Clemson on the other hand, ended up on the right side of a couple of close ones.

Clemson was the better team a year ago. No argument here. These two had two common opponents a year ago, FSU and ULM and Clemson beat them both while Bama lost to both. But when you take a step back and look at both teams entire body of work, you'd have to come to the conclusion that not much separated them. We already went over Bamas close losses against some top teams. They also beat a good Arkansas team and blew Tennessee off the field.

Clemson lost to Va Tech by 18, lost to Georgia Tech, Boston College and beat South Carolina by 2. All in all were talking similar performances against similar teams. I bring up last season for a reason. In many instances, you simply can't look back to last season for an indication of the current season, in college football. Key players are lost, coaches change, and so on. However, both of these squads are largely intact from a year ago. Both return a healthy number of starters on offense and both return last years QB's. Clemson has a couple more defensive starters returning but both teams are in decent shape there.

For some added motivation, Clemson starts out the year ranked #10 in the AP poll while Bama weighs in at 24. So we have two well coached teams of similar talent, playing on a neutral field, with Bama having the added motivation of being the underdog and being ranked lower in the AP. Don't think these additional motivators are meaningless. It matters. Lastly, all the pressure here is on Clemson. They aren't just talking ACC title for the Tigers. They are talking National Title.

This is a winnable game for the Crimson Tide. This game opened up Clemson -6 at Bookmaker.com and the sharps quickly ate up those 6's. At +5 we have just marginal interest. At +6 you'd have our attention. At +7 we'd hardly be able to contain ourselves. With this write up being sent out well in advance, we'll leave off with the following guidelines for playing this one.

Alabama +5 or 5.5 = 1*

Alabama +6 or 6.5 = 2*

Alabama +7 = 3*

2* East Carolina +10 over Va Tech

Skip Holtz has done a great job with the East Carolina program. He has done, exactly what is expected when a program brings in a coach to turn a program around. He took over a team that was 2-9 in 2004. In 2005 he won 5 games. In 2006 he won 7 and last year he won 8. Hopes are sky high this year as the team is loaded with returning starters at every position including QB where they have to kids who can start. To add to the hype, their toughest two games of the season look to be games 1 and 2 against Va Tech and West Virginia. Every other game on the schedule is winnable. Look for the Pirates to go to a major bowl and also look for the major schools to come calling on Skip Holts.

But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Right now, we're concerned with Virginia Tech. These two met on opening day a year ago, an emotional day for Tech, a game in which Tech came away with a 17-7 win. Not much has changed talent wise for Holtz and East Carolina. But lots has changed for the Hokies. They lost their top 4 receivers, their leading rusher and 7 starters from a defense that ranked 4th in the nation. For many programs, that would be huge. But Tech always has talent. Put them right up there with the Michigan's of the world. As they saying goes, they don't rebuild, they reload. They win 10 or 11 games just about every year regardless of how many returning starters they have.

But if the door were ever open for a team like the Pirates to pull an upset, it would have to be now. They are a confident bunch that comes into this one knowing they played these guys even last year. They are largely intact from a year ago and have the benefit of having played together whereas Tech will more than likely start slowly with all the new faces. This game is being played in Charlotte, the Panthers home field, before a sellout crowd of over 73,000 which will only ad to the excitement.

We can't pass up getting 10 points in a game where an upset is not entirely out of the question. We're not kidding ourselves. We realize East Carolina is no Virginia Tech. You can't compare the two. Tech is always loaded, and plays a much tougher schedule than East Carolina will ever play. But this looks to be the start of a special season for Holtz and East Carolina, so we'll take the +10 and hope Tech starts slow as we anticipate and makes this game close heading into the 4th quarter. Another wager that may be worth a look is taking East Carolina in the first half.

Power Sweep Week 1

4* Wyoming over Ohio 38-13
3* USC over Virginia 35-7
3* W Michigan (+) over Nebraska 27-30
2* Louisiana Tech (+) over Miss State 20-23
2* Missouri over Illinois 34-21
2* Arkansas State (+) over Texas A&M 17-27

Power Plays

4* Utah
4* Miss
4* Wyoming
4* W.Mich
4* Oregon
4* N.Illinois
4* Missouri
4* Clemson
4* Kansast St

Lucky Lester

Bowling Green Falcons (+13) @ Pittsburgh Panthers

The Bowling Green Falcons bring 17 of 22 starters back to a team that is expected to compete for a WAC crown this season. The Falcons won 5 of their last 6 regular season games in 2007 before getting absolutely crushed in their bowl game against Tulsa. I like that last part. The Falcons have waited all summer, 17 returning starters and many other frustrated kids, to get back on the football field and prove that bowl game was a fluke. In comes the Panthers with one of the best running backs in the Nation and a former pro-football head coach. I like the Falcons’ chances - take them and all those points.

Akron Zips @ Wisconsin Badgers (-26)

As if going into Wisconsin to play the 12th ranked team in the Nation wasn’t a tough enough opener, the Zips have really struggled with injuries during football camp. With a couple junior college transfers and position battles being effected by these injuries, the Zips preparation time for a tough Wisconsin team will be shortened. The Badgers return big names, it seems, when looking at their 2008 starters. P.J. Hill, the ultra talented tailback, and Travis Beckum, one of the most highly touted TEs in college football. Defensively, the Badgers are senior laden with an elite linebacking crew. It may be his first season as a starter, but senior quarterback Allen Evridge has been around for a while. Look for the Badgers to lean heavily on the run and really pound it to the Zips.

Utah Utes (+3.5) @ Michigan Wolverines

The Utes are very good and should win their conference this season. Michigan lost too many good players and are in the midst of a complete turn-around with their new head coach, Rich Rodriguez. I don’t know what else to say besides this, Utah is the better team with a better mentality and they also have nothing to lose in this one. Sign me up for that every single week.

Oklahoma State Cowboys (-6) @ Washington State Cougars

The Cougars weren’t very good a year ago, usually open the season soft, don’t have much of a home-field advantage during the first few weeks of the college football season, lost their star quarterback to graduation, and don’t have much confidence either. Hmm… I don’t like Pac-10 teams that open their seasons against tougher conferences, and that’s what I think this is. The Cowboys might not finish above .500 and they’ll probably look really bad in some games - but not this one. This is a team that, last year showed they can play tight with Kansas and Texas, beat Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Indiana - so I surely like them against the Cougars.

Michigan State Spartans (+5) @ California Golden Bears

This isn’t me loving the Spartans as much as me down on the Bears. Cal has a super talented and amazingly fast sophomore running back in Jahvid Best, but besides that I’m not too impressed. They are supposed to have one of the top rated offenses in the Pac-10, but without a quarterback to deliver the bread, I’m not sure that will be the case. Michigan State’s defense isn’t dynamic, but I think they’ll stack the box and make Cal’s quarterbacks beat them. That’s what will be the undoing of the Bears in Week 1, I just don’t think they can beat the Spartans through the air.

Idaho Vandals @ Arizona Wildcats (-27)

It seems like a lot of points, and it is, but I just have a feeling the Wildcats are going to go off for about 45 points in this one. They always run the ball hard and Idaho consistently can’t stop anybody else’s ground game. The Wildcats finished the season well, beating Washington, UCLA, and Oregon before losing to ASU by 3 points. The Wildcats really played well all season last year, losing to Stanford by 1, USC by 7, Oregon State by 2 scores. I like the Wildcats to get a little luck to sway their way this season - but that shouldn’t matter against the Vandals. Idaho was 1-11 in the WAC last season, and I expect much of the same this time around. This game wouldn’t surprise me if it was a 45-7 WIldcat blowout.

Jimmy Boyd

Hawaii vs. Florida
Play: Florida -35.5

Without Colt Brennan, an experienced wide receiver corps, and the coaching wisdom of June Jones, I expect Florida to put a hurt on the Warriors like they’ve never imagined. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow leads an offense which averaged 42.5 ppg last season and racked up nearly 460 ypg. It’s not an offense you ever want to face, let alone on the road in your season opener. The Gators are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games. Head coach Urban Meyer is 52-29 ATS in all lined games in all games he has coached, 28-11 ATS in home lined games in all games he has coached, 24-4 ATS in all non-conference games he has coached, and 10-1 ATS in the first two weeks of the season in all games he has coached. Lay the points.

Tony Stoffo

Utah vs. Michigan
Play: Utah +3.5

Boy have things changed in Ann Arbor as the odds makers are giving little or no credit to this 08 version of Rich Rodriguez's new team making them just a 3 point favorite here. And the unknowing public has already started to bet the Wolverines with 72% of all bets placed. Yet the line has dropped on Michigan as the sharps know what his team is made up of. With new quarterbacks, a very inexperienced offensive line, and a group of Freshman running backs Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw, wide receivers Martavious Odoms and Darryl Stonum seeing their first action. I look for a very nervous Michigan team taking the field with the memories of what happened last season against Appalachian State, and Oregon to start the season. So I look for Utah with 16 starters returning, and their skill players once again healthy including QB Brian Johnson, RB Matt Asiata, and WR Brent Casteel to come away with the outright win here. This game sets up as a trap and we won't fall for it as we makes the Utes our solid value play for today. Utah is 22-9 against the spread as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points.

Scott Ferrall

Michigan -4 --I keep wanting to take the Wolverines, but the UTES are tough as hell and have everyone back from a team that could go to a BCS bowl this yr...tough call, but I figure to get laid more as a Michigan fan.

Northwestern -12 to Syracuse--the Orange are awful and will finish last in the Big East

Ol Miss -9 to Memphis

Wyoming -10 to Ohio--The Game is in the Mountains and good luck with the distance traveled and the calls you aren't going to get in this one

Nebraska -14 to Western Michigan--The Huskers aren't going to be great, but they are better than this easy one to start the season in Lincoln

Tulsa -14.5 to UAB--it doesn't matter that the game is in Birmingham

New Mexico +6.5 from TCU--what the hell, go for it ! They are at home at least !

Louisiana Tech +9 from Mississippi St--another upset in the making, so the points will help you

Kent +10 from BC--they won't upset the Eagles, but they'll be in it--The Eagles lost Matt Ryan to the NFL, so they aren't going to be the same without him at QB

Oklahoma St -6 to Washington St--The Cougars are going to finish last in the Pac 10

Minnesota -8.5 to Northern Illinois--The Gophers have to show up for their opener in Minney

East Carolina +10 from Virginia Tech--The Pirates are going to play hard, as usual, and the Hokies won't respect them

Illinois +8.5 from Missouri--The Illini will be in this game at Columbia, count on it--Don't believe the hype on the Tigers--they are good, but not great

Cal -5 to Michigan St--The Spartans will figure out how to screw up this road trip out West

Western Kentucky +21 from Indiana--The Hoosiers don't beat anyone by that much--EVER

Southern Miss -10 to La. Lafayette

Kansas St -24.5 to North Texas--The Wildcats get it done in Manhattan

Will Cover

KENT STATE plus vs Boston College

This game takes place at Cleveland Browns' Stadium and we think the Golden Flashes can stay within the number! KSU returns 16 starters while BC is in a rebuilding mode. The Eagles have been horrid as a road fav of late, going 0-8 ATS last eight in that role and they have a key ACC battle vs Georgia Tech on deck in their home opener at Chestnut Hill in a possible look-ahead situation. Kent campus just down the road from Cleveland so the crowd should be solidly behind the Flashes. Take the generous points with Kent State!

NORTHCOAST

UNDERDOG KENT STATE +10

4* POWER PLAY N. ILLINIOS +8

WINNING POINTS

BEST BET
MEMPHIS over MISSISSIPPI* by 6
ALABAMA over CLEMSON by 7 (Atlanta)

PREFERRED
Nebraska* over Western Michigan by 2
Pittsburgh* over Bowling Green by 25

Mike Anthony

Oklahoma State vs. Washington State
Play: Oklahoma State -7

I see one difference here and its the OKIE Cowboys offensive line and the Cougars defensive line . With four key starters back for Oklahoma State I expect this big experienced group will step over and dismantle their opposition play after play, making for big gaping holes up the middle , that running backs Kendall Hunter and JUCO transfer Beau Johnson will exploit .

I also expect lots of time for seasoned vet QB Zac Robinson to sit in the pocket and pick apart an extremely vulnerable Wash st secondary. There is not doubt in mind, that the Cowboys are going to score points in bunches today. Meanwhile, Washington State comes to their opening game with a new head coach which means trouble for PaulWulff.

WSU has lost 25 of their L/37 SU against Big 12 oppositions. OKla St by 14-21

Greg Shaker

Alabama Crimson Tide at Clemson Tigers
Play: Under 48.5

Alabama is still a year or two away from being one of the better teams in the SEC. The offense struggled last season and prompted Nick Saban to gather up another offensive coodinator. Jim McElwain from Fresno State will have his hands full. Can he light a fire under the Tide offense and start generating points? The jury's out, and there's no excuse for the O to not be appreciably better with the possible exception of Wide receiver. D.J. Hall who is now gone. But learning the new offense will come with growing pains and probably is not going to be clicking on all cylanders right away. That is especially going to be true this Saturday as the Tide faces what is going to be a pretty good Clemson D. The Tigers will come into the 2008 season with three quarters of their D line intact, and the entire defensive backfield. Alabama has serious problems passing the ball with any consistancy last year and going up against what was the 9th best D in the land last year is not what the doctor ordered. Alabama will play strong defense, that is what Saban coached teams do. They should have the advantage at the get go as Clemson replaces their four offensive linemen. This Clemson Team is going to be an offensive threat from all parts of the field as the season progresses but that will come when the O Line gets more comfortable. Last year we saw the Tigers score a lot of points, but verses the better D's they faced, they were held down. 24 verses Florida State, 3 verses Georgia Tech, 23 verses Virginia Tech, 17 verses BC, and 23 verses South Carolina. All of those games played UNDER this Posted Total except for one. Alabama will be in that category this year. UNDER is 13-6 in Alabama's last 19 non conference games. They do like to play conservative, and being the Dog in this contest, they will Saturday. UNDER is 12-5 in Clemson's last 17 non conference games as well. The Turf in the Dome scares me a bit as it will be a faster surface than these two teams usually play on, but not enough to play this game. I expect perhaps the 40 mark to be broken, but not much more than that, and we could easily see this total fall much lower than that.

Chris Copeland

Oklahoma State vs. Washington State
Play: Oklahoma State -7

Oklahoma St returns fifteen starters from last season including a solid QB in Zac Robinson. Robinson flourished in the spread offense and looked especially strong in spring camp.

Washington St is in rebuilding mode. After losing four-year starter QB Alex Brink and breaking in a new scheme with a new head coach, look for the Cougars to take a step back this season. Wazzu will implement a form of the no-huddle offense, but with no experienced QB, it will take some time to grasp Wulff's offense. The Cougs scoring defense ranked near the bottom of the barrel in D-I last season, so Robinson and the high-powered Cowboy offense should put up points at will.

Bottom line here is even though Oklahoma St has issues winning on the road; this might be their best team in some time. Look for both offenses to put up a lot of points, but the more experienced QB to make fewer mistakes which will lead to the Cowboys victory.
Oklahoma St- 42 Washington St- 31

Doc's Sports

Utah State vs. UNLV
Play: UNLV -12.5

The Rebels should be a much improved team in 2008 and will get off to a good start by knocking off the Aggies, a team that beat last year in Logan, 23-16. The Rebels return all of their offensive playmakers from 2007 and should be able to frustrate teams with the spread offense. They ran the ball really well last year against Utah State going for 173 yards on the ground and 4.6 yards per carry. The Aggies are predicted to finish last in a very competitive WAC Conference and must replace their quarterback and top receiver from 2007. Vegas jumps out early and will cruise to a much needed victory in the opener. This is a must win game for the Rebels if they want to go bowling and they will make a statement. Doc’s Sports has a full card going this week in college football, sign-up now!

Tony George

Western Michigan vs. Nebraska
Play: Nebraska -14.5

The Bo Pellini era kicks off in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska on Saturday to the delight of Husker Nation, who filled the same stadium this past spring game close to 75,000 people. Expectations are high in Huskerland, but also managed somewhat by a level headed new head coach with Husker ties. Actually Bo Pellini is 1-0 as Husker head coach, as he led the Huskers to victory in 2003 in the Alamo Bowl after the firing of Frank Solich, thus an era of disappointment and downslide under Bill Callahan began. The order in Lincoln Nebraska is about to be restored under AD Tom Osborne and his new hire.

Nebraska will be sky high and return in tact a great deal of the 9th ranked offense in the country last year with QB Joe Ganz at the helm, a very capable QB who threw for 16 TD's and 1400 yards in 4 starts at Nebraska last year. RB Marlon Lucky is a top 3 back in the Big 12, and the offensive line returns all 4. The problem is defense, and they were deplorable in 2007. With Bo Pellini running the show, and proving his prowess at calling defenses as head man at LSU, when his defense's dominated the SEC and won titles, expect a re-newed vigor for the once proud Blackshirts at Nebraska. Expect a monster effort this Saturday in all phases as winning needs to be established early and in convincing fashion.

Western Michigan is no patsy, but is in a real tough spot here. Tim Hiller at QB threw for 267 yards per game in 2007 and returns as well as their RB who pounded out 858 yards last year, as the Bronco's ended up 5-7 overall, and to note, 2-8-1 ATS in lined games last year, which is a concern. The defense of WM allowed over 400 yards per game last year and that is the KEY to this game. Nebraska's offense is a Top 5 offense in the Big 12 this year, mark my words. They will move the chains all day long. The defense will be improved vastly and the home opener will be one big coming out party, as Bo Pellini will drop the hammer and make the natives very happy in Husker Nation this Saturday.

Nebraska 41 Western Michigan 17