This Week's Best Spot Bet Opportunities
By Ben Burns
Covers.com
Letdown spot
Lost in the big-name upsets in Week 1 of the college football schedule was Florida International’s 15-14 stunner over state rival Central Florida as a two-touchdown road underdog Thursday. The Golden Panthers got a blocked field goal from Treyvon Williams to hold off the Knights with 30 seconds remaining in the game, picking up a win in their season opener for the first time in four years.
That upset has FIU on letdown watch in Week 2, once again playing on the road but having to hit the highway for a long trek to Bloomington to face the Indiana Hoosiers. Oddsmakers opened the Golden Panthers as 7.5-point underdogs, playing a Hoosiers program that got a big scare from FCS Southern Illinois in Week 1. Indiana is already vowing to improve and FIU may be punching bag for their Big Ten opponents this Saturday.
Lookahead spot
The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees are giving baseball fans a race to remember in the American League East, with Toronto holding a half game lead over the Pinstripes as of Tuesday. The Blue Jays are in Fenway taking on the Red Sox, who have relished the role of spoiler since their season went down the tubes. Boston won the series opener 11-4 Monday.
The Blue Jays could get caught looking ahead to a crucial series in the Bronx starting Thursday when they wrap up a three-game set with the BoSox Wednesday night. Toronto goes with Drew Hutchison for Wednesday’s game, saving the top starters for the Yankees. Hutchinson has been horrific on the road with a 9.00 ERA in 11 starts away from the Rogers Centre this season.
Schedule spot
The CFL’s Labor Day Classic pitted rivals Hamilton and Toronto against each other Monday, with the T-Cats smashing the Argos 42-12. Toronto doesn’t have to wait long to get revenge for that one-sided beating, with only four days off before facing Hamilton at home Friday night. That’s not a lot of time to lick wounds and make adjustments for the shell-shocked Argonauts.
The Ti-Cats held a 27-1 halftime lead Monday and took over first place in the East Division with the victory. Hamilton is crushing teams with its last four victories coming by 30, 30, 29 and 30 points and improved to 8-2 ATS with the Labor Day Classic win. The Ti-Cats should have plenty of momentum with the CFL schedule not giving them any time to cool off.