15 DIME play on Mississippi State at home against BYU. The Bulldogs are -24 as of 8:35 pm pacific on Friday.
15 DIME bonus play on the Dodgers in the NLCS against Chicago. Los Angeles is -180.
Two motivating factors for Mississippi State today. First, the Bulldogs are seeking revenge for last season's 28-21 double-overtime loss in Provo. Second, fresh off a bye their looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
Last time in Starkville the Bulldogs were pummeling LSU, 37-7, as a 7 1/2-point underdog with quarterback Nick Fitzgerald completing 15-of-23 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in addition to carrying the ball 14 times for another 88 yards and two scores. Then reality struck as Miss State traveled to Georgia and Auburn and lost 31-3 and 49-10, respectively, with its defense getting shredded for a combined 915 yards and Fitzgerald struggling to complete just 27-of-62 passes for 240 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. No surprise consider Georgia and Auburn are a combined 11-1 on the season and sport two of the top defenses in the nation.
Today, however, it's all about righting the ship and avenging last season's loss to the Cougars, who have their own problems, mainly a non-existent offense that's ranked 127th in the nation in scoring (11.7 ppg) and yards per game (253.3). They've scored a total of 50 points while losing their last five games, the last of which came two Fridays ago at home, a 24-7 setback against Boise State.
BYU, whose only win came against and FBS school, Portland State, will go with
Tanner Mangum at quarterback. He returned to the starting lineup against Boise State after a two-game absence, but freely admits that his injured ankle is less than 100 percent. With back-up Beau Hoge out with a concussion and his own ankle injury, the Cougars were forced to burn freshman Joe Critchlow's redshirt late in the Boise loss with Mangum struggling.
Last year it was Miss State making the 1,700-mile journey only to get upset. This time it's a downtrodden BYU squad making the trek with a well-rested host awaiting a shot at redemption.
As for the Dodgers in the series, this play is all based on pitching. LA is rested and has the better starting rotation and bullpen depth. I know the Dodgers' big guns haven't delivered in past postseasons while the Cubs are the defending champs, but Chicago was damn lucky to escape against Washington and Joe Maddon exhausted his bullpen to do so. Meanwhile, Los Angeles regained its mojo in the final two weeks of the regular season and took care of business efficiently - and as expected - against Arizona.
I took Houston in the ALDS in a five-game series at a similar high price and had no qualms about it and feel the same backing LA in a seven-game series. Remember, the beauty of betting any series' favorite at a higher price is that it always affords you time to bailout later in Games 3 through the finale should you choose to do so.
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