This Week's Best Spot Bet Opportunities
By Ben Burns
Covers.com
Lookahead spot
The Houston Cougars are one of the many teams ushering in a new era by swapping out head coaches, dropping Tony Levine back in December and hiring former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman. The Cougars are hoping to get back to their high-scoring ways, but with the season opener less than a week away they are still on the fence about who will be their starting quarterback.
Herman will use Week 1’s matchup with FCS Tennessee Tech as a tuneup game before clashing with AAC heavyweight Louisville in Week 2. Oddsmakers have Houston as a monstrous 37-point favorite against the Golden Eagles, and with the Cougars ironing out the wrinkles and planning ahead for the Cardinals, we see a potential letdown spot, especially when laying that many points.
Letdown spot
The Boston Red Sox have very little to play for in September. Boston is at the bottom of the American League East and has burned through almost 13 units on the year. The Red Sox, however, will take pleasure in the little things, like spoiling the New York Yankees' postseason push.
These classic rivals opened a three-game set Monday, with Boston taking a 4-3 win. They host the Pinstripes two more times – Tuesday and Wednesday – before making and huge switch in gears and intensity when the lowly Philadelphia Phillies come to Fenway for a weekend interleague set. Boston is ripe for a letdown following the Yankees with the basement-dwelling Phillies on deck Friday.
Schedule spot
When you only have a handful of teams in the league, you’re bound to come across some funny schedule quirks. That’s the case in the CFL this week, with the Labor Day long weekend featuring the all-Alberta showdown between the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium Monday afternoon.
These heated rivals do it all again five days later when the Stamps come to Commonwealth Stadium to play the Eskies Saturday. This back-to-back schedule set is the norm for Calgary and Edmonton, as has become the Stampeders’ dominance over the Eskimos during this two-game span. Calgary is 11-1 SU and 9-3 ATS in the Labor Day Classic and following meeting the next week since 2009.