12-26-13

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NCAA Football Game Picks



THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26
Time Posted: 8:00 p.m. EST (12/16)


Game 213-214: Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green (6:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh 84.332; Bowling Green 100.650
Dunkel Line: Bowling Green by 16 1/2; 46
Vegas Line: Bowling Green by 5; 50
Dunkel Pick: Bowling Green (-5); Under


Game 215-216: Utah State vs. Northern Illinois (9:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Utah State 91.807; Northern Illinois 91.074
Dunkel Line: Utah State by 4 1/2; 63
Vegas Line: Northern Illinois by 1 1/2; 58
Dunkel Pick: Utah State (+1 1/2); Over

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Little Caesars Pizza Bowl betting: What bettors need to know

Pittsburgh Panthers at Bowling Green Falcons (-4, 50)

Game will be played at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL STORYLINES:

1. Bowling Green returns to Ford Field for the second time in 20 days on Dec. 26 when it faces Pittsburgh in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Falcons claimed their first MAC Championship in 21 years with a 47-27 victory over previously undefeated Northern Illinois, but they will make this trip to Detroit without Dave Clawson, who filled the coaching vacancy at Wake Forest after turning Bowling Green around in five seasons. Special teams coordinator Adam Scheier will serve as the interim coach.

2. For the first time since 2009, the Panthers will spend the postseason somewhere else besides Birmingham, Ala. Pittsburgh concluded each of its last three years in the BBVA Compass Bowl, defeating Kentucky at the end of the its 2010 season before ending the last two campaigns with losses to Southern Methodist and Mississippi.

3. The Falcons rank fifth in the country in scoring defense (14.8 points) and eighth in total defense (308.7 yards), but the most dominant defensive player on the field figures to be Panthers defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner and ACC Defensive Player of the Year leads the nation in tackles for loss (26.5), is tied for eighth in forced fumbles (four) and tied for 13th in sacks (10).

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN.

LINE: The Falcons opened as 6-point faves, but have been bet down to -4. The total has stayed put at 50.

WEATHER: N/A.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (6-6, 5-7 ATS): Donald, who is also a finalist for the Lombardi, Bednarik and Outland Trophies, is the first Pitt defensive player to win a national award since Hugh Green claimed the Lombardi, Maxwell and Walter Camp awards in 1980. With 77 catches for 1,001 yards, Tyler Boyd broke Larry Fitzgerald’s school record of 69 receptions by a freshman and needs only five more yards to surpass him in that category. Devin Street is the school’s all-time leading receiver and the first Panther with more than 200 career catches.

ABOUT BOWLING GREEN (10-3, 10-3 ATS): While the defense receives more credit, the offense has done its fair share during the Falcons’ five-game winning streak in which they have outscored opponents 223-44. Matt Johnson, who threw for a career-high 393 yards and broke a MAC championship record with five touchdown passes, has thrown for at least three scores four times during the winning streak. Travis Greene has rushed for over 100 yards nine times and ran for 1,575 yards this season, both of which are school records.

TRENDS:

* Pittsburgh is 5-0 ATS in its last five games in December.
* Bowling Green is 5-0 ATS in its last five games following a SU win.
* Under is 6-1 in Pittsburgh's last seven bowl games.
* Under is 4-0 in Bowling Green's last four non-conference games.

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Poinsettia Bowl betting: What bettors need to know

Utah State Aggies vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (-1.5, 58)

The game will be played at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL STORYLINES:

1. Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch plays the final game of his stellar college career when No. 23 Northern Illinois faces Utah State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 26. Lynch has passed for 2,676 yards and 23 touchdowns, but it is his running abilities that allowed him to crash the Heisman festivities. Lynch rushed for 1,881 yards and 22 scores and twice ran for more than 300 yards in a game.

2. The Huskies were hoping to play in a BCS bowl for the second straight year but were relegated to the Poinsettia Bowl after losing to Bowling Green in the Mid-American Conference title game. A victory would give Northern Illinois the first 13-win season in school history while Utah State is playing in back-to-back-to-back bowls for the first time ever and is looking for the third bowl victory in school history.

3. The Aggies lost star quarterback Chuckie Keeton at midseason and it was thought their fortunes would spiral downward. But Utah State rebounded to win its final five regular-season games and is brimming with confidence after giving Fresno State a hard battle in the Mountain West title game before succumbing.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.

LINE: The line hasn't moved off -1.5 and the total has stayed put at 58.

WEATHER: It will be clear with temperatures in the mid 60s.

ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS (12-1, 8-5 ATS): The Huskies average 41.6 points and 535.5 total yards with nearly 60 percent of the production (312.5) coming on the ground. Lynch is complemented by running back Cameron Stingily (1,081, nine touchdowns) and his favorite targets are possession receiver Tommylee Lewis (80 catches, 660 yards) and big-play wideout Da’Ron Brown (42 for 689, nine TDs). Northern Illinois allows 25.4 points per game and the defense is led by safety Jimmie Ward (team leader with 89 tackles and six interceptions), outside linebacker Jamaal Bass (81 stops) and middle linebacker Boomer Mayes (77 tackles).

ABOUT UTAH STATE (8-5, 8-5 ATS): The Aggies are stout on defense, ranking seventh in scoring defense (17.3), 10th in rushing defense (107.3) and 12th in total defense (332.1) while featuring several standouts. Inside linebackers Jake Doughty (140 tackles, 10.5 for loss) and Zach Vigil (115 tackles, 12.5 for loss) are always around the ball while cornerback Nevin Lawson and safety Brian Suite each have four interceptions. Freshman Darell Garretson (1,325 yards, nine touchdowns) replaced Keeton at quarterback for an offense that also features running back Joey DeMartino (1,078 yards, 12 scores) and three wideouts who caught 50 or more passes in Bruce Natson (56), Travis Reynolds (51) and Travis Van Leeuwen (50).

TRENDS:

* Utah State is 12-3 ATS in its last 15 non-conference games.
* Norther Illinois is 1-6 ATS in its last seven games in December.
* Under is 4-0 in Utah State's last four games overall.
* Over is 4-0 in Northern Illinois last four non-conference games.

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Dave Cokin

213 Pittsburgh +5.5

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From the COLLEGE BOWL GUIDE
STATFOX FORECASTER

LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL:
PITTSBURGH (213) AT BOWLING GREEN (214)

Latest Line: Bowling Green -4.5; Total: 50.0
Bowling Green will play its second straight game at Ford Field when it seeks a sixth consecutive victory facing a Pittsburgh team that's 2-4 SU in its past six games. The MAC champion Falcons are allowing just 14.8 PPG this year (5th in nation), while their offense has 44.6 PPG on 506 total YPG during the win streak with QB Matt Johnson throwing for 274 YPG and 14 TD. The Panthers, who are ending a run of three straight BBVA Compass Bowl appearances, rank 86th in the nation in scoring offense (26.0 PPG), and have allowed 28.0 PPG on 390 total YPG in their past four contests.
FORECASTER: Bowling Green 32, Pittsburgh 18

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Phil Steel Inside the PressBox Thursday Bowl Predictions:

BEST BET: PITT 24 BOWLING GREEN 23


UTAH ST 30 N ILLINOIS 24

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Northcoast Marquee

bowl double play line #214 BOWLING GREEN UNDER 50

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Mark Franco

Bowling Green -5

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Scott Ferrall paid picks
Pittsburgh
BOWLING GREEN -5 ½


Utah State
NORTHERN ILLINOIS -1 ½



MARSHALL -2 ½
Maryland


Syracuse
MINNESOTA -4 ½


Washington
BYU +3

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Sports Insights Bowl Picks

215 Poinsettia Bowl: Utah St +1.5 over Northern Illinois – Northern Illinois just cannot be motivated and it’s a great matchup for the USU run defense that is among the best in the country. I suppose the Utah St offense could be a means for concern especially at QB, but they have enough to win this this game and should be favored.

216 Poinsettia Bowl: Utah St/Northern Illinois under 58 – Great matchup for both defenses as both are better at stopping run. Utah St offense probably not capable of fully exploiting a bad No Ill defense. My best totals model has this at 54 and another rating system I use makes it only 47.

213 Little Caesers Pizza Bowl: Pittsburgh +5 over Bowling Green – I really like the Pitt coaching staff and I feel that there’s an inflated perception of BG after killing Northern Illinois in the MAC Title game. Northern Illinois is so overrated and BG pass offense shredded them. Anyhow, Pitt should be able to run the ball down BG’s throat.

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H&H Sports

CFB Triple Dime Bowling Green

Double Dime Utah State

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Chicago Syndicate

CFB Bowling Green

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Sports Nostradamus

CFB Bowling Green

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LA Syndicate

CFB Utah State & Under

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Hawks at Cavaliers: What bettors need to know

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers (+1, 200)

The Atlanta Hawks may have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference but they have been woeful on the road entering Thursday’s visit to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers. Atlanta is just 4-9 away from home and has lost five straight since posting a road victory over the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 22. The Cavaliers have an 8-5 home mark but are coming off their worst in-town showing of the season, a 115-92 defeat against the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

Cleveland will be looking to shake off back-to-back losing efforts by an average of 19.5 points when they entertain the Hawks. Coach Mike Brown was highly dejected after the team’s second straight miserable outing. “The mental approach is probably tougher than the physical approach,” Brown said. “We haven’t arrived. We’re getting hit in the mouth right now and I’m interested to see if we can respond the right way.” Atlanta lost in overtime to the Miami Heat on Monday despite making 17 3-pointers – tying for second-most in franchise history – including a career-best seven from Paul Millsap.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)

COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Hawks (-8.8) - Cavaliers (-3.5) + Home court (-3.0) = Hawks -2.3

ABOUT THE HAWKS (15-13, 17-11 ATS): Center Al Horford is averaging a career-best 18.3 points and looks on his way to the third All-Star appearance of his career. Horford has played superbly over the last six games, posting four double-doubles and averaging 23.2 points and 9.5 rebounds. Millsap is averaging 16.7 points and opening eyes with his sudden ability to knock down 3-point shots. After making just 31 in seven seasons with the Utah Jazz, the 6-8 forward has made 30 this season while shooting an impressive 45.5 percent from behind the arc, eighth-best in the NBA.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (10-17, 10-17 ATS): Point guard Kyrie Irving figures to have plenty of motivation after going scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting against the Hawks earlier this month. Since that horrific performance, Irving has scored 20 or more points in six of eight games while averaging 25.8 points. He has three 30-point outings during the stretch that has raised his season mark to 21.5. Irving was among the dismayed players after the Detroit loss. “We’re just not being physical enough; that’s what it basically boils down to,” he said. “We’re just not starting off the games in the right way like we normally do.”

TRENDS:

* Hawks are 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Cleveland.
* Over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings.
* Hawks are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings.
* Road team is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Horford had 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Hawks post the 108-89 home win over Cleveland on Dec. 6.

2. Cavaliers G Dion Waiters (wrist) has missed three consecutive games.

3. Atlanta leads the NBA in assists per game (25.7) and has had least 20 in 26 of its 28 games.

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Exposing the Top 25: Where the polls went wrong
By JESSE SCHULE

Each week throughout the college basketball season, Covers Expert Jesse Schule will dissect the new Top 25 rankings, looking for betting value. He'll showcase the most overrated team, along with the most underrated ranked team, and an unranked squad that he feels should be in the Top 25.

Most underrated Top 25 team: Duke Blue Devils (9-2 SU, 6-5 ATS)

The Blue Devils are the only team in the Top 10 with more than one loss, but both of those defeats came against teams ranked in the Top 5. They lost to then-No.5 Kansas by a score of 94-83, and to Arizona by a score of 72-66 just a few weeks later. The Wildcats have since moved all the way to No. 1, still undefeated at 12-0.

The Blue Devils have won three straight since losing to Arizona, including a win over the 22nd-ranked Wolverines, and a decisive 17-point victory over UCLA. Jabari Parker has lived up to the hype, averaging 22.1 points per game and shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc.

Most overrated Top 25 team: Massachusetts Minutemen (10-1 SU, 9-2 ATS)

The Minutemen started off the season with 10 straight wins, including an 81-65 victory over then-No. 22 New Mexico. The Lobos have since slipped out of the rankings and the Minutemen lost their last game versus Florida State.

Massachusetts has a pretty light schedule but with five of the next 10 games on the road, things will get a little tougher for the Minutemen. They shot just 1 for 15 from beyond the arc in the loss to Florida State and the Seminoles blocked a season high 12 shots.

Unranked team that should be ranked: Creighton Bluejays (9-2 SU, 6-3 ATS)

The Bluejays senior forward Doug McDermott is the second-highest scorer in the nation, averaging 24.8 points per game. Creighton is still undefeated at home, with a record of 6-0. They lost a pair of neutral-site games to George Washington and San Diego State.

There’s no shortage of tough games on the schedule for the Bluejays as they begin conference play, but this team should be able to compete with the best in the Big East.

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English Premier League: Boxing Day cheat sheet

We all know Boxing Day was created to house a full-slate of Premier League football and this season is no different. All 20 of England's top-flight clubs take the field but one match played in Manchester stands head and shoulders above the rest as a proper gift to football fans.

Hull v Manchester United (+600, +320, -182)

Why bet Hull: The Tigers have won just once in their last seven matches, but have played well enough to get draws in three-straight - two of which were away fixtures. Hull is a tough squad and fairly tight defensively, but Robbie Brady appears set to miss the holiday schedule, which will hurt the Tigers' attack.

Key players out/doubtful: Robbie Brady, Sone Aluko, Stephen Quinn

Why bet Manchester United: The Red Devils have won back-to-back matches and looked excellent in defeating West Ham in their last effort. Robin van Persie's absence from the squad hasn't been felt as Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and teenage-sensation Adnan Januzaj have carried the scoring load.

Key players out/doubtful: Marouane Fellaini, Robin van Persie, Nani, Michael Carrick

2012-13 fixture result: N/A

Key betting note: United's last six Premier League matches all surpassed the 2.5 goal total.


Aston Villa v Crystal Palace (-110, +250, +350)

Why bet Villa: Once upon a time, Christian Benteke was the toast of Aston Villa. The Belgian has disappointed so far this season, but summer signing Libor Kozak has shouldered the brunt of the scoring responsibility. The big Czech has four goals on the campaign and pulled the side even with Stoke last weekend, before Villa lost. They are slumping of late, but a still a dangerous attacking side that will look ascend the table against the promoted Eagles.

Key players out/doubtful: Ashley Westwood, Jores Okore

Why bet Palace: Palace has three wins in their last six, but still sit in the relegation zone in the table. The side has played miles better under Tony Pulis, but are coming off a tough defeat at the hands of a game Newcastle side last time out. Still, nobody expected Palace to make any real noise in the league, so staying up is the main go0al and some good results over the packed holiday schedule will do wonders.

Key players out/doubtful: Marouane Chamakh, Jerome Thomas, Adlène Guédioura

2012-13 fixture result: N/A

Key betting note: Crystal Palace has just one win in eight away matches this season.


Cardiff v Southampton (+230, +230, +138)

Why bet Cardiff: Cardiff started the season quite well, but that's in the past as the side has hit a bit of a rough patch of late. They were dominated against Liverpool and Luis Suarez in their last match and need to get back on track before they joint fellow promoted club Crystal Palace in the relegation zone. Home to a slumping Southampton is a great start.

Key players out/doubtful: Craig Bellamy

Why bet Southampton: The wheels have most certainly fallen off the Southampton bandwagon of late as the club has plummeted to ninth and have not posted a win since Nov. 9. The rock-solid defense that carried in them in the early stages of the season has looked pedestrian at best of late. They should play a cagey, tight game away at Wales and try to nick a goal on the counter attack to get a positive result.

Key players out/doubtful: Victor Wanyama, Guly, Artur Boruc, Daniel Fox, Pablo Osvaldo

2012-13 fixture result: N/A

Key betting note: Seven of Southampton's eight away games have resulted in Under the 2.5 goal total.


Chelsea v Swansea (-300, +450, +900)

Why bet Chelsea: Not the greatest of results for the Blues in Monday's marquee matchup with Arsenal. A lifeless 0-0 draw was uninspiring, but the London club is different at home. Jose Mourinho will look extend his much-ballyhooed unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge. The Swans are a hobbled side and could be in tough on this trip to London.

Key players out/doubtful: Ryan Bertrand, Marco van Ginkel

Why bet Swansea: Swansea still hasn't hit its full potential this season and could have a hard time doing so with star-player Michu now sidelined for an extended period. The side played well versus Everton Sunday, but a Ross Barkley free kick dashed any hopes for points. Michael Laudrup always his club inspired, but will be attempting to punch above their weight for weeks to come.

Key players out/doubtful: Michu, Nathan Dyer, Álvaro, Michel Vorm

2012-13 fixture result: Chelsea 2, Swansea 0

Key betting note: Chelsea is unbeaten in 17-straight league matches at Stamford Bridge.


Everton v Sunderland (-275, +425, +850)

Why bet Everton: Because they are the best story of the season. Still on one loss, new manager Roberto Martinez has the club playing some fantastic football and Sunday's win at Swansea moved the Toffees up to fifth place, level on 34 points with Chelsea. RB Seamus Coleman has been a key component to the side and had the opening goal in Wales Sunday.

Key players out/doubtful: Gerard Deulofeu, Arouna Koney, Darron Gibson, Tony Hibbert

Why bet Sunderland: Poor Sunderland. The Black Cats are stuck on two wins and sit bottom of the table with 10 points. But all things considered, three draws in their last five matches isn't terrible considering the way the season started. They'll be in tough at Goodison, but Sunderland is a much better side than what we've seen.

Key players out/doubtful: Wes Brown, Keiren Westwood, Carlos Cuéllar

2012-13 fixture result: Everton 2, Sunderland 1

Key betting note: The Black Cats haven't scored in their last six away matches.


Newcastle v Stoke (-133, +280, +425)

Why bet Newcastle: Much like Everton, the Magpies are another good story this season. The side was dismal last season despite bringing in a number of talented players - particularly from France's Ligue 1. This season, all of Alan Pardew's pieces seem to have fallen in place and the team is playing some sparkling football. Yohan Cabaye returned to the XI last weekend and instantly made his presence felt with the game's opening goal.

Key players out/doubtful: Cheick Tioté, Ryan Taylor

Why bet Stoke: Per the norm, the Potters are always a tough side. They have two draws and two wins in their last four games and sit 10th in the table. Gangly striker Peter Crouch is playing well and leading the line with some confidence having picked up a goal last weekend and also has four assists in his last seven matches.

Key players out/doubtful: Matthew Etherington, Robert Huth

2012-13 fixture result: Newcastle 2, Stoke 1

Key betting note: Newcastle is unbeaten in their last five Premier League matches at St. Jame's Park.


Norwich v Fulham (+105, +250, +300)

Why bet Norwich: The Canaries have a tough hill to climb to get into the top 10, but their recent form has been promising and they'll wish for that to continue at the friendly confines of Carrow Road. They have one win and a pair of draws in their last three games and a slumping Fulham side will be the perfect opponent to keep the mood festive in East Anglia.

Key players out/doubtful: Elliott Bennett, Alexander Tettey, Anthony Pilkington

Why bet Fulham: Probably not the best time. The Cottagers have been routinely destroyed in the league and recent performances have been no different. They've lost their last two outings by a combined scored of 8-3 as they've given up four goals to each of Liverpool and Manchester City. This is a side that is destined for the cellar.

Key players out/doubtful: Brede Hangeland, Matthew Briggs

2012-13 fixture result: Norwich 0, Fulham 0

Key betting note: Fulham has allowed at least three goals in its last three matches away from home.


Tottenham Hotspur v West Brom (-188, +333, +600)

Why bet Tottenham: In two games (one EPL, one league cup) with Tim Sherwood at the helm, Spurs have looked more and more dangerous on attack - something that was sorely lacking with Andre Villas-Boas at the helm. A 3-2 victory away to Southampton on the weekend was massive for the side and, surely, their confidence. Still, Spurs need to figure out a way to win at White Hart Lane. They're still leaky on the back line at times, but attacking football could be back in at Tottenham.

Key players out/doubtful: Paulinho, Jan Vertonghen, Younes Kaboul, Andros Townsend

Why bet West Brom: The Baggies have been abysmal of late and, like Southampton, have two points from the previous six matches. A 1-1 draw versus Hull snapped a dreadful four-match losing skid and they'll look to prey on a dismal home team. Spurs rank 13th in home form and have just 11 points from eight matches at White Hart Lane this season.

Key players out/doubtful: N/A

2012-13 fixture result: Spurs 1, West Brom 1

Key betting note: West Brom hasn't won in seven-straight league matches.


West Ham v Arsenal (+550, +300, -163)

Why bet West Ham: The Hammers are home. That's about all there is to say about this side. They show no inspiration moving the ball forward and injuries remain a huge concern for the club. They were picked apart easily by Manchester United in their last effort and the second-place Gunners will look to do the same.

Key players out/doubtful: Mladen Petric, Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te, Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, James Tomkins

Why bet Arsenal: The Gunners face big games over the holidays and must get results to keep up the pace with Liverpool and Man City. Jack Wilshere will miss the second of a two-match ban, but Theo Walcott should get the nod in his spot. The North London club will look for full points coming off a 0-0 draw with Chelsea Monday.

Key players out/doubtful: Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Yaya Sanogo, Laurent Koscielny, Mikel Arteta

2012-13 fixture result: West Ham 1, Arsenal 3

Key betting note: The Hammers have lost eight of the previous 10 Premier League meetings with Arsenal.


Manchester City v Liverpool (-133, +320, +360)

Why bet Manchester City: Their cannot be a club as feared at home as much as Manchester City at the moment. In ALL of Europe. They have a full 24 points from eight matches at home and have scored 35 goals while conceding just five. They look vulnerable on the road, true, but the Etihad has become a fortress. The Aguero injury could be pause for concern, but when considering just how good Negredo has been, the Argentine's absence won't be overly noticeable.

Key players out/doubtful: Sergio Agüero, Stevan Jovetic, Matija Nastasic, Micah Richards

Why bet Liverpool: Their cannot be a player as feared in the entire universe as much as Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan's goalscoring record is well documented, but it seems to be infectious for the entire side. Jordan Henderson's performance in the thumping of Cardiff was a thing of beauty, while Coutinho and Sterling continue to impress as the supporting cast of Liverpool's talisman. Whatever happens, Sunday's marquee fixture should be electric.

Key players out/doubtful: José Enrique, Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard

2012-13 fixture result: Manchester City 2, Liverpool 2

Key betting note: Man City has scored at least three goals in its last six matches at the Etihad Stadium.

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Bowling Green seeks 6th straight win Thursday vs. Pittsburgh
by Freddy Wander

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Ford Field – Detroit, MI
Kickoff: Thursday, 6:00 p.m. ET
Line: Bowling Green -4, Total: 50

Bowling Green is on a high after winning the Mid-American Conference title and looks to continue its success Thursday against Pittsburgh in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field, the same venue in which the Falcons captured the MAC crown.

The Panthers barely secured a bowl bid, losing four of their final six games and finishing sixth in the seven-team ACC Coastal division. They had some big wins this year when they defeated Duke on the road and then Notre Dame in early November. Pittsburgh has been in a bowl game in each of the past three seasons and has lost the past two both SU and ATS. Last season, the Panthers faced Ole Miss in their third straight BBVA Compass Bowl appearance and lost 38-17 as 4-point underdogs. The Falcons put together a fantastic season and destroyed Northern Illinois’ chance at an undefeated season and a potential BCS bowl when they beat the Huskies by a score of 47-27 to win the MAC championship. That was Bowling Green's fifth straight win (SU and ATS) in which it outscored opponents by a hefty 223 to 44 margin. The Falcons participated in the Military Bowl last season, losing 29-20 against 7-point favorite San Jose State. These two programs have met just three times since 1999 with Pittsburgh going 2-1 (SU and ATS), but Bowling Green winning the most recent meeting in 2008 by a score of 27-17. The Falcons did great for bettors this season, going 10-3 ATS on the year and they are also 11-2 ATS after a win by 17 or more points over the past two seasons. The Panthers are a woeful 4-8 ATS this year, including 1-4 ATS on the road, but are 12-4 ATS after having lost to out of their past three games.

The Panthers were a one-dimensional offense with their passing attack averaging 237 YPG (61st in FBS) and their running game going for only 115YPG (112th in the nation) but surprisingly running for more than 200 yards in three different games, including 220 in the most recent contest, a 41-31 home loss to Miami. QB Tom Savage was solid all season, completing 61.1% of his passes for 2,834 yards passing (7.5 YPA), 21 TD and 9 INT. Over the past eight games, Savage has tossed only three interceptions, and he has thrown for more 200 yards (with 10 TD) in eight straight games. One reason that Savage had such a strong season was his stud freshman WR Tyler Boyd (1,001 rec. yards, 7 TD) and NFL hopeful senior WR Devin Street (854 rec. yards, 7 TD). Boyd has had 8+ receptions in four of his past five games, but broke 100 yards in only one of them, while Street missed two games on the year and surpassed six receptions only once. While the Panthers post underwhelming numbers in the running game (3.3 yards per carry), the duo of HBs Isaac Bennett (795 rush yards, 4.8 YPC, 7 TD) and James Conner (570 rush yards, 4.8 YPC, 7 TD) are both decent. DT Aaron Donald (10 sacks, 54 tackles) took home a lot of hardware this year (Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Award and Outland Trophy), but he could only do so much, as the Pittsburgh defense allowed 27.2 PPG to their opponents on the season (71st in FBS). The Panthers allowed 374 total YPG, including 161 rushing YPG on 5.3 YPC.

The Bowling Green offense has tallied 473 total YPG on the season including 574 yards in the MAC championship game against NIU. The Falcons were led by QB Matt Johnson who threw for 3,195 yards (9.5 YPA) with 23 TD and 7 INT. He put up his best game of the season against NIU in the championship game when he threw for 393 yards and five touchdowns while keeping the ball away from the opposing defense with zero interceptions. During the team's five-game win streak, Johnson has thrown for 274 YPG, 14 TD and just 4 INT. The Falcons’ leading receiver, senior WR Shaun Joplin (822 rec. yards, 3 TD), had only one catch for 15 yards in the last game, but all three of his 100-yard receiving efforts this year all came on the road. Freshman WR Ronnie Moore (535 rec. yards, 7 TD) had only 229 yards over the team's first 10 games, but in his past two contests, he has exploded for 306 receiving yards and four touchdowns. HB Travis Greene led the running attack with 1,555 yards on 6.0 YPC and 13 total touchdowns (11 rushing). He has a 10-game streak of rushing for at least 95 yards, and has scored a touchdown in each of the past four contests. The real strength of this team is the defense that is allowing only 14.8 PPG to their opponents (5th in the nation), while being led by senior DT Ted Ouellet who has 4.5 sacks over the past five games. The Falcons are on the field for just 25:44, which has helped them limit opposing passers to 166 YPG and 5.4 YPA on 54.7% completions.

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No. 23 NIU faces Utah State Thursday in San Diego
by Mark Kern

Poinsettia Bowl
Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, CA
Kickoff: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. ET
Line: Even, Total: 57.5

Jordan Lynch closes out his excellent career Thursday when he leads No. 24 Northern Illinois against a very stingy Utah State defense at the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

The Huskies (12-1 SU, 8-5 ATS) appeared to be on their way to another BCS bowl appearance before falling to underdog Bowling Green 47-27 in the MAC championship. Senior QB Jordan Lynch was a Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing the regular season with 2,676 passing yards, 23 TD and 7 INT, while also rushing for 1,881 yards (6.9 YPC) and 22 touchdowns. Northern Illinois is on quite an impressive run, going 33-3 SU in its past 36 games, and its offense has been terrific all season (41.6 PPG, 9th in FBS), but will face a very difficult defense in the Aggies. When star QB Chuckie Keeton went down with a knee injury, Utah State appeared to be in jeopardy of missing a bowl game. However, the defense continued to play terrific, as they rank seventh in the country in scoring defense with just 17.3 PPG allowed. Freshman QB Darell Garretson (1,325 pass yards, 7.4 YPA, 9 TD, 5 INT) has stepped into the quarterback position admirably, but he struggled in the team's 24-17 loss in the Mountain West championship, completing just 12-of-26 passes for 198 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT. The Aggies have been resilient though, going 7-0 ATS in road games after an SU loss in the past three seasons, but the Huskies are 8-1 ATS after allowing 325+ passing yards in their last game in this same timeframe.

Northern Illinois is playing in a bowl game for the sixth straight season and before losing big in last season's Orange Bowl (31-10 to Florida State), the Huskies won two straight bowls by a combined score of 78 to 37. They have been able to score at least 27 points in all 13 games this season, thanks to the nation's fourth-ranked rushing attack (312.5 YPG). While QB Jordan Lynch gets all of the hype for his 351 total YPG of offense (4th in nation), and 89 total touchdowns in the past two seasons, he is not the only Huskies player that is able to run the ball well. Junior RB Cameron Stingily (1,081 rush yards, 5.6 YPC, 9 TD) is able to take over the game on the ground as well, rushing for 266 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Kent State early in the season. With so many defenses focusing on Lynch, Stingily is a great complement with his power rushing ability. When Lynch looks to pass, junior WR Tommylee Lewis (80 catches, 660 yards, 3 TD) is his main target to move the chains, while junior WR Da'Ron Brown (689 rec. yards, 9 TD) is the big-play threat with 16.4 yards per reception. While the offense has been terrific, the defense has had its struggles, ranking 55th FBS in scoring defense (25.4 PPG) and giving up 424 total YPG. Northern Illinois allows 150 rushing YPG on 3.9 YPC, while giving up 274 passing YPG on 7.3 YPA. Senior S Jimmie Ward is the leader of the defense, tallying 89 tackles and six interceptions. This defensive unit may be a key, as the Huskies may struggle to score against the Aggies.

Utah State's defense has been great all season, especially on the ground where it allows a mere 107 rushing YPG on 2.8 YPC. In the past three games, opponents have scored just 10.3 PPG on 278 total YPG (3.8 yards per play), a stretch that includes high-powered Fresno State and a Colorado State team that just scored 48 points in the New Mexico Bowl. Sophomore LB Kyler Fackrell has been the leader, compiling 77 tackles, five sacks and a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. While the defense has been the calling card for Utah State, the offense does have some very talented players. The Aggies rank 45th in the nation in scoring (32.6 PPG) and 53rd in passing (242 YPG). Those are not the most impressive numbers, but they could have been much worse if freshman QB Darell Garretson hadn't filled in so nicely for star QB Chuckie Keeton who got hurt in the sixth game of the season. Utah State could be without top WR Travis Reynolds (team-high 832 receiving yards), who has missed the past two games with a knee injury and is questionable for Thursday. But the Aggies have great depth in the receiving corps as 11 of Reynolds' teammates have scored a receiving touchdown this season. Senior RB Joey DeMartino (1,078 rush yards, 5.4 YPC, 12 TD) leads the ground attack with six 100-yard rushing games, but he struggled against Fresno State with only 54 yards on 18 carries.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

DOC SPORTS

4 Unit Play. #213 Take Pittsburgh Panthers +5.5 over Bowling Green Falcons (Little Caesars Bowl, Thursday, 12/26 6 pm ESPN) MAG 7 GAME.
The MAC is not a very good conference and I just do not believe Bowling Green will be able to run over Pittsburgh like they did Northern Illinois. Compounding things even more is that Falcon Head Coach Dave Clawson has bolted for Wake Forest. Bowling Green is not a traditional powerhouse in the MAC and they are 0-3 straight-up and against the spread in their last three bowl games. Pittsburgh has played much better competition this season and they finally have some stability at head coach with Paul Chryst finishing up his second season. Pittsburgh is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games played in December. Take the points with the BCS Conference team playing a mid-major.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

JASON SHARPE

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

4 Unit Play Take #214 Bowling Green -5 over Pittsburgh (6:00pm est):
The only reason this line isn't closer to being minus ten is the lack of respect the MAC conference gets in the bowl season. Obviously the MAC is a lesser conference but don't let that fool you when it comes to this Bowling Green squad. We seen just how dominate this Falcons team was in the MAC title game where they manhandled a very solid Northern Illinois. Even more impressive than that game and arguably the best game Bowling Green has played all season is their loss at SEC bowl team Mississippi State by just a single point. In that contest the Falcons went toe to toe with what is a quality program and one that is much better than their opponent here in this game.

Pittsburgh slipped into a bowl game with a 6-6 record on the year. One of those wins was against Old Dominion and that one probably shouldn't have counted either, meaning the Panthers wouldn't have the six needed wins to qualify for post-season action. They also lucked into a win over Notre Dame in a game that they probably didn't deserve to win in my eyes. Add in two other one point victories and the bottom line here is the Panthers are one of the worst teams to make the post-season this year.

The one big fear I am hearing is how will the Falcons respond here without their head coach who has moved on to another head coaching job. Don't let that worry you as this is a veteran team with many playing their last games ever. In fact that might be the extra motivation needed here for them in this contest. You can also be assured that they won't be the least bit intimidated either considering just how well they played on the road in a SEC venue earlier this year. This team is loaded with talent and is playing excellent football right now. Grab Bowling Green here.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Prediction Machine

SIDES
215 UTAH ST. vs NIU 2 4.8 59.5% $75
213 PITT vs BGSU 6 -0.2 59.3% $73

Straight-Up Picks
215 UTAH ST. vs NIU 29.4 24.7 56.5%
214 BGSU vs PITT 25.1 25.0 51.0%

Over/Under Picks
216 UTAH ST. vs. NIU 57 54.1 - Under 54.1 $18
214 PITT vs. BGSU 48.5 50.1 - Over 52.4 $0

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Dave Cokin

POINSETTIA BOWL

215 Utah State -1.5

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Wunderdog Sports Free Pick

Game: Utah State vs. Northern Illinois (Thursday 12/26 9:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: Utah State +1 (-110) at Sportsbook.com

The Northern Illinois Huskies were on the verge of being a BCS buster for the second consecutive year, but this time they were beaten soundly by Bowling Green in the MAC Championship game. It would be logical for this team to be feeling the effects of a "disappointment Bowl." So they may have a hard time delivering their focus and "A" game vs. a non BCS conference opponent in Utah State. We saw the aggressive Bowling Green defense disrupt the flow of the Huskies' offense in the MAC Championship game, and now they face an even bigger challenge from Utah State. The Aggies held their last six opponents to 12.5 points per game, including Colorado State who did not score, and held Fresno State to just 24, a team tat scored 35 or more in every regular season game. Utah State played a very difficult schedule, and lost QB Chuckie Keaton. They went with Harrison at QB and lost two straight. They then turned to Garretson, who stabilized the offense and led them to five straight wins. Utah State should be the motivated team here, and their defense will be the cog that gets them the win. Take Utah State.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Joe Gavazzi

Poinsettia Bowl

4* Utah St.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

BOXER

Little Caesars Bowl @ Ford Field - Detroit, MI
Bowling green -4 ( 3* )

Poinsettia Bowl @ Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, CA
Northern Illinois -1 ( 3* )

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Jackpot Sports

Bowl Game
Pitt +4.5

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NBA

Hot teams
-- Hawks won three of last four games, covered seven of last ten.
-- Spurs won six of their last seven road games.
-- Clippers won five of their last six games. Portland won six of last seven games, failed to cover last four.

Cold Teams
-- Cleveland lost four of its last five games; underdogs are 10-3 against spread in their home games.
-- Rockets are 0-6 vs spread in game following last six wins. Memphis is 3-5 vs spread as a road underdog.
-- Dallas covered twice in its last seven games as a home favorite.

Series records
-- Hawks won ten of last twelve games with Cleveland.
-- Grizzlies lost eight of last nine visits to Houston.
-- Spurs won five in row, nine of last eleven against Dallas.
-- Clippers won five of last six games with Portland.

Totals
-- Six of last eight Atlanta-Cleveland games went over.
-- Under is 7-2 in Grizzlies' last nine visits to Houston.
-- Five of Spurs' last six games went over the total.
-- Last six Portland games went over the total.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Gamblers Data

Free Plays Thursday

Hawks -3

Clippers +4

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Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports

Our Free Plays are 1144-874 (57%) over the last 5 1/2 years College FB 65-38 this yr,NFL 46-38:

Free winner THURS Over the total 212 1/2 Clippers

[Can'tPickAWinner]

J. Clifton

Spurs - 3 buy hook
hawks - 3

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Today's NBA Picks

LA Clippers at Portland

The Clippers look to bounce back from Christmas night's 105-103 loss to Golden State as they stay on the road against a Portland team that is coming off a 110-107 win over New Orleans and is 0-4 ATS in its last 4 games after giving up more than 100 points in the previous game. LA is the pick (+4 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Blazers favored by just 1. Dunkel Pick: LA Clippers (+4 1/2). Here are all of today's picks.


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26
Time Posted: 8:00 a.m. EST


Game 501-502: Atlanta at Cleveland (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta 121.845; Cleveland 115.179
Dunkel Line & Total: Atlanta by 6 1/2; 196
Vegas Line & Total: Atlanta by 2; 203 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-2); Under


Game 503-504: Memphis at Houston (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Memphis 114.883; Houston 120.223
Dunkel Line & Total: Houston by 5 1/2; 205
Vegas Line & Total: Houston by 8; 197
Dunkel Pick: Memphis (+8); Over


Game 505-506: San Antonio at Dallas (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Antonio 124.314; Dallas 118.573
Dunkel Line & Total: San Antonio by 5 1/2; 202
Vegas Line & Total: San Antonio by 2 1/2; 208
Dunkel Pick: San Antonio (-2 1/2); Under


Game 507-508: LA Clippers at Portland (10:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Clippers 125.237; Portland 125.935
Dunkel Line & Total: Portland by 1; 218
Vegas Line & Total: Portland by 4 1/2; 212
Dunkel Pick: LA Clippers (+4 1/2); Over

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Cappers Access

(CFB) Pittsburgh +4.5
(CFB) N. Illinois Pk

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POINTWISE

NBA BASKETBALL

(7:05) CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 109 - Atlanta Hawks 101 _____ _____

(8:00) HOUSTON ROCKETS 98 - Memphis 95 (TNT) _____ _____

(8:35) DALLAS MAVS 106 - San Antonio Spurs 102 _____ _____

(10:35) PORTLAND BLAZERS 104 - LA Clippers 98 (TNT) _____ _____

BEST BETS
CLEVELAND
PORTLAND (3)

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WINNING POINTS

***BEST BET
*Cleveland over Atlanta by 10
The Cavaliers are a different animal at home where they have gone 7-4 while covering
five of their past six through this past Sunday. Jeff Teague has played well for
Atlanta, but he can't match Kyrie Irving. Irving should be especially pumped after the
Hawks held him scoreless for the first time in his career during a 108-89 Atlanta home
win three weeks ago.
CLEVELAND 106-96.

*Houston over Memphis by 6
Minus Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies are going to have problems trying to corral Dwight
Howard. The Rockets defeated Memphis on the road, 93-86, on Nov. 25 despite
missing James Harden. Now the Rockets are fighting through point guard injuries
with Patrick Beverley out with a broken hand and Jeremy Lin (check status) dealing
with a sore back.
HOUSTON 108-102.

*Dallas over San Antonio by 1
This is San Antonio's lone road matchup during an eight-game span. Aside from
defeating the Nuggets in early November, the Spurs have lost and failed to cover in all
of their road matchups against strong competition falling to the Trail Blazers, Thunder
and Clippers.
DALLAS 104-103.

*Portland over Los Angeles Clippers by 5
The Clippers have a winning spread record when playing in the second of back-ofback
games, but the well-rested Trail Blazers have been idle since Saturday. Portland
has scored at least 102 points in 15 straight games through this past Friday.
PORTLAND 110-105.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

THE GOLD SHEET

★★★ KEY RELEASES ★★★
PORTLAND by 14 over L.A. Clippers (Thursday, Dec. 26)

CLEVELAND 104 - Atlanta 98—Revenge spot for Cleveland after losing by
19 at Philips Arena back on Dec. 6. Hawks shot 52% from floor that night and
balanced the scoring with six players tallying double digits, but a repeat
performance might be tricky at The Q, especially since Cavs have caught a bit
of an updraft with five straight covers thru Dec. 19. 13-ATL -6' 108-89 (196); 12-
Cle +8' 113-111 (189), Atl -5 102-94 (189), CLE +4 99-83 (193), ATL -10' 102-94
(201)

HOUSTON 100 - Memphis 85—Houston has already won vs. Memphis in a
game at FedEx Forum by 93-86 count on November 25. Marc Gasol had gone
down with injury by that point, and Rockets controlled glass by 43-35 count and
kept Zach Randolph (only 13 points on 5 of 12 FG shooting) in relative check.
Now, Grizzlies’ season appears to be unraveling with five straight losses and
non-covers thru Dec. 19, and there is talk of Randolph being on the trading
block. It looks like GM John Hollinger’s “metrics”-based approach is starting to
backfire; is that Lionel Hollins we hear snickering in the background? 13-Hou
-1' 93-86 (195); 12-MEM -7 93-85 (195), HOU -1 121-96 (197), MEM -4' 103-94
(194), Mem +2' 82-78 (195)

DALLAS 104 - San Antonio 101—San Antonio won all four meetings last
season, although the scorelines got progressively closer after Dirk Nowitzki
returned to the Dallas lineup. Proceed with caution regarding Spurs in this one,
however, as in the night after Christmas showcase, Gregg Popovich could be
motivated to rest some of his vets, as he planned to do in the second of backto-
back situation last week at Golden State. Of course, Spurs have decent
depth, but this is a trickier call if Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker might be sitting
out. tonight12-SAN -11 129-91 (206), San -6 111-86 (207), San +1 113-107
(205), SAN -9' 92-91 (206)

★★★ PORTLAND 115 - LA Clippers 101—Here’s another chance for
Portland to make a statement to the West contenders that it wants to be counted
among them. And no reason why surging Blazers can’t do so, as we can’t
remember an unheralded offseason acquisition working as nicely as Robin
Lopez’ addition to the Blazer lineup. With another rugged presence on the
blocks, LaMarcus Aldridge has been able to concentrate a bit more on his
offense and is posting the best numbers (23.3 ppg/11.1 rpg) of his career.
Meanwhile, deep Portland backcourt, led by All Star-in-waiting Damian Lillard,
will relish the chance to go against Chris Paul and his Clipper mates. Despite
recent 3-game spread slide, Blazers still 16-9 vs. line thru Dec. 19. 12-La -1
103-90 (201), POR +1 101-100 (191), LA -8' 96-83 (192), LA -15' 93-77 (202)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

StatFox Super Situations™ - FoxSheets

NBA ATLANTA at CLEVELAND
Play Under - All teams where the total is greater than or equal to 200 after going over the total by 18 or more points total in their last three games, a marginal winning team (51% to 60%) playing a losing team
67-31 over the last 5 seasons. ( 68.4% 32.9 units )
2-3 this year. ( 40.0% -1.3 units )

NBA SAN ANTONIO at DALLAS
Play Against - Road teams vs. the money line (SAN ANTONIO) off a double digit loss as a favorite of 6 points or more, with a winning record on the season playing another winning team
66-26 since 1997. ( 71.7% 33.4 units )
1-0 this year. ( 100.0% 1.0 units )

NBA LA CLIPPERS at PORTLAND
Play Under - Road teams where the first half total is greater than 105 after 2 or more consecutive overs, poor defensive team (98-102 PPG) against a horrible defensive team (>=102 PPG)
54-23 since 1997. ( 70.1% 28.7 units )
2-1 this year. ( 66.7% 0.9 units )

[Can'tPickAWinner]

ALLEN EASTMAN

8-Unit Play. Take #214 Bowling Green (-4) over Pittsburgh (6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 26)
Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl
This one is my Bowl Game of the Year and I think it is a winner.
I am going with the hot team from the MAC. This Bowling Green team was good enough to upset Top 20 Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game a few weeks ago. The Falcons won the week before that in Buffalo and the Bulls were also a bowl team. They have won five straight games and are 5-0 ATS in those games, winning all of them in blowout fashion by an average of 35.8 points per game. Bowling Green was the best team in this strong non-BCS conference. I think that they will be very excited to get a win here against an ACC team to cap a great season. This team is very experienced and they have a lot of seniors that want to close their season with a win. This team lost its bowl game to San Jose State last year and I think that they want to make up for it this time around. I don't think that Pittsburgh is going to be up for this game. I don't think that they care about playing against Bowling Green. This team won't be focused and I don't expect a strong effort from them. Pitt is just 2-5 ATS in its last seven bowl games. Bowling Green is 20-8 ATS in its last 28 games overall and they will get the job done for me today. Lay the points.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Nemo

Utah St

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Intpicks

2* Pittsburgh +5

1* N Illinois / Utah St Under 58.5

1* Atlanta -2

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Football Crusher
nothing yet
(System Record: 48-4, won last 2 games)
Overall Record: 48-45-1

Hockey Crusher
no play
(System Record: 46-0, wlost last game)
Overall Record: 46-27-1

Basketball Crusher
Dallas Mavericks +3.5 over San Antonio Spurs
(System Record: 29-2, won last 7 games)
Overall Record: 29-29-1

Soccer Crusher
OH Leuven + Cercle Brugge OVER 2.5
This match is happening in England
(System Record: 499-18, lost last game)
Overall Record: 499-431-73

Here are the rest of his basketball plays for today...

Basketball
Houston -7.5 over Memphis
Atlanta -2 over Cavs
Portland -4 over LA Clippers

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Dave Cokin

also has Utah State today.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Paul Leiner

100* Grizzlies / Rockets Over 197

50* Pittsburgh +5.5

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Joe Gavazzi

2% Bowling Green
2% Utah st

[Can'tPickAWinner]

GamingToday's Consensus Picks December 26, 2013 6:34 AM by GT Staff


NBA Basketball


501 Atlanta Hawks -2: The Atlanta Hawks have been on fire in their last four games going 3-1 SU a narrow loss to the Heat in Miami on Monday but covering making them 4-0 ATS in their last four games.


504 Houston Rockets -8: Houston cruised to a 111-98 win on Christmas day in San Antonio and that win will carry them over tonight at home and Parry’s NBA Power Guide has them 16 points the best.


508 Portland Trailblazers -4: Portland has a lot going for them in this game tonight on TNT as they catch the Clippers off a battle last night at Golden State when the gloves came off in what was almost a riot, the Clipps are also a lowly 2-5 ATS here in Portland.


Results 2013-14 NBA (0-0-0) Overall Record: 28-28-1


NCAA Football


213 Pittsburgh / 214 Bowling Green UNDER 51: This game has all the earmarks of a defensive struggle at Ford Filed especially the way the Falcons defense has played in its last five games.


215 Utah State / 216 Northern Illinois OVER 58: The Huskies can score and score in bunches but they haven’t been able to stop anyone from scoring either so they will need to outscore the Aggies in bunches to have a shot, the team that gets the ball last will win in what will be a high scoring game.


Results 2013-14 NCAA FB (0-0-0) Overall Record: 85-52-4

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAA Football Play of the Day December 26, 2013 6:46 AM by GT Staff


Little Caesars Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green at 3:00 p.m. PST


We have the ACC Panthers vs. the MAC Falcons and talk about strength of schedule, the only two teams out of the MAC that Bowling Green played from a top conference were Indiana who the lost to 42-10 and Mississippi State who beat them 21-21 while the Pitt Panthers played Florida State, Duke, Virginia Tech, Navy, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse and Miami Florida and all of them are in Bowl games.


213 Pittsburgh +4½




Results 2013-14 NCAA FB (0-0-0) Overall Record: 18-20-1

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Marc Lawrence
Amazing Angle Little Caesar's Bowl Key Play
Pittsburgh Panthers

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Chris Jordan

200 Atlanta Hawks.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Ecks and Bacon

Ben lee had Np on CHRISTMAS.

For Thursday E&B went across the pond and had a play on Everton -$260/Sunderland and lost 0-1.

Ecks and Bacon is 1-3 -$115 for the week and 32-44-2 -$1396 for week Nine.

All E&B selections will be for $50 unless noted.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

irish mike moran

PITT+5(2x)
UTST-1(3x)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Hot Shot Sports:



Trailblazers -4.5 ****
Hawks/Cavaliers ↓204.5 ***

[golden contender]

Triple 5* Thursday has the 5* 100% NBA Game of the Week, the Perfect system Poinsettia Bowl Winner and Quad system Little Caesars Side. NBA Cashes 3 of 4 on Christmas Day and is top ranked at several leader boards. Top plays Bowl plays are 3-1. Free NBA Play below.

On Thursday the free NBA Power Angle Play is on the Atlanta Hawks. Game 501 at 7:05 eastern. Atlanta has covered 6 of the last 7 here in Cleveland and are 7-1 straight up and 8-0 ats off a road loss this season. In their last game they were caught late in overtime at Miami 121-119. The Hawks have won and covered all 3 vs Central division teams, and have covered 9 of 11 after scoring 105 or more points. When the total is 200 to 205 in their road games they are 7-1 to the spread. The Cavs were blown out here by Detroit in their last game and are 1-5 ats off a division game and 2-7 ats off a loss of 10 or more. Now to tie in a little system. Rested road favorites that scored 110 or more as a road dog of 110 or more have covered 6 of 8 vs an opponent that failed to cover the spread at home. Look for the Hawks to soar past the Cavs here tonight. On Thursday we have the 5* Perfect system Game of the Week and 2 BIG 5* Bowl plays. The Quad system Little Caesars Bowl has 4 Solid systems and a Perfect Power System in the Poinsettia Bowl. Top ranked Bowl plays have cashed 3 of 4 and the NBA Remains at the top of several leader boards after a solid 3-1 Showing on Christmas Day. More Damage today. Jump on and cash out. For the free play take Atlanta. GC

[Can'tPickAWinner]

R.A.W. FOOTBALL - THURSDAY

3* = "OVER" on NO. ILLINOIS/UTAH STATE

[Can'tPickAWinner]

norm hitzges

(NBA) Memphis +8 Houston

[Can'tPickAWinner]

The Winners Circle

Thursday Football Plays

10* Play Utah State -1 over Northern Illinois (TOP NCAA PLAY) 9:00 PM EST

Northern Illinois has lost 6 of the last 8 games against the spread when playing in the month of December and they have also lost 9 of the last 14 games against the spread when the total posted is between 56.5 and 63 points. Northern Illinois has lost 6 of the last 8 games against the spread when playing as a neutral field underdog and they have also lost 3 of the last 4 games against the spread after gaining 225 or more rushing yards over the last three games.


5* Play Pittsburgh +4.5 over Bowling Green (BONUS NCAA PLAY) 6:00 PM EST

[Can'tPickAWinner]

The Winners Circle

THURSDAY BASKETBALL PLAYS

10* Play San Antonio -2.5 over Dallas NBA TOP PLAY
10* Play Portland -4 over Los Angeles Clippers NBA TOP PLAY

[Can'tPickAWinner]

TheSportsCapper Football

Thursday

100* Play Utah State -1 over Northern Illinois (NCAA TOP PLAY)

Utah State has covered the spread in 12 of the last 16 non-conference games and they have also covered the spread in 6 of the last 7 games after having won three of the last four games. Utah State has covered the spread in 5 of the last 6 games coming off a road game and they are averaging 32 points a game on offense this season.

================================================== ==================================


50* Play Pittsburgh +4.5 over Bowling Green (BONUS NCAA PLAY)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

XpertPicks

Thursday Football Plays



Play Pittsburgh +4.5 over Bowling Green (TOP NCAA PLAY)---RISK 15% OF YOUR BANKROLL
6:00 PM EST



Bowling Green has lost 4 of the last 5 bowl games against the spread and they have also lost 3 consecutive games vs. ACC Conference Opponents. Bowling Green has lost 5 of the last 6 games coming off a game where 60 or more total points were scored and they have also lost 3 of the last 4 games coming off a win as an underdog.





Play Utah State -1 over Northern Illinois (TOP NCAA PLAY)---RISK 15% OF YOUR BANKROLL
9:00 PM EST



Utah State has covered the spread in 9 of the last 11 games coming off a loss in their last game and they have also covered the spread in 8 of the last 11 games after allowing 100 or less rushing yards in their last game. Utah State has covered the spread in 4 consecutive games coming off four or more UNDER the totals and they have covered the spread in 4 of the last 5 games when the total posted is between 56.5 and 63 points.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Power Play Wins

NBA Spurs -2.5

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Ats football lock club

3u Pittsburgh +6-

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Vegas Runner

2* CF UN 57 N. ILL

[Can'tPickAWinner]

bob balfe
AWAY:HOME:ODDS:TIME:
PittsburghBowling GreenBowling Green -5.5, 50.5
12/26/2013 6:00 PM
SELECTION:

PITTSBURGH +5.5



Bowling Green does have a good defense, but this team had such a weak schedule. They were ripped up and chewed out by Indiana early in the season and have played nothing but weak MAC teams this year. The key to Bowling Green’s season was their MAC Championship win over NIU. Pittsburgh is one of those teams that always does the opposite of what they are supposed to do. As a favorite they would find some how to lose this game, but let’s not forget the level of talent is tipped very one sided here. Pitt has some serious physical talent compared to MAC level schools. The Panthers have a handful of NFL prospects that in fairness did not play well as a unit this year. Savage is a good enough QB that if you put him in the MAC he might be a household name. The Bowling Green coach bolted out of town to a better job which makes it difficult for teams to play their best at this time of year. Take Pittsburgh.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Bob Balfe

Utah StateNorthern IllinoisNorthern Illinois -1, 58
12/26/2013 9:00 PM
SELECTION:

NORTHERN ILLINOIS -1



I am not going to out think myself here. Utah State is a good football team with a good defense, but without Keeton at QB I just don’t think they are going to be able to keep up with this Jordan Lynch offense. Lynch is always the best player on the field and today his skilled players around him are healed up for injuries at the end of the season which left them a little stale on offense. This could turn into a high scoring game which again I like Lynch a lot more over a backup for Utah State. NIU really didn’t play a tough schedule this year, but again this game comes down to Lynch. If he is on the field you have to take your chances with him. College Football will miss a player like this next year. Take NIU.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Al DeMarco
Highest-Rated NBA Play of my Career




15 Dimer Portland

[Can'tPickAWinner]

ADVANCEDSPORTSINVESTMENTS
BOWL #7
LITTLE CAESARS BOWL FORD FIELD - DETROIT, MI
Pittsburgh U vs Bowling Green
2* UNDER 50 (JEFF) -110
Pittsburgh U vs Bowling Green
1* Pittsburgh U +5 (JIMMY) -110

BOWL #8
POINSETTIA BOWL QUALCOMM STADIUM - SAN DIEGO, CA
Utah State vs Northern Illinois
1* Northern Illinois PK (JEFF) -110
Utah State vs Northern Illinois
1* UNDER 58 (MARC) -110

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J Clifton Sports

NBA
Hawks
Spurs

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Diamond Dog Sports

Over Trailblazers
Pittsburgh
Over No Illinois

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Tony George

N Illinois

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Oddsmaker Adam
UN 212.5 Port

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NCAAF

Little Caeser's Bowl, Detroit 12/26
Bowling Green already lost coach Clawson to Wake Forest after special 10-3 season; they won last five games by average score of 45-9, ending No Illinois' shot at unbeaten season. Pitt is in 6th straight bowl, losing last two, 28-6/38-17; Panthers played in last three Compass Bowls, so they'll be excited about being anywhere other than Birmingham. Edge to Pitt for having its coach/staff in place, while BG has interim coach after their coach bolted for $$$$ less than 72 hours after their MAC title win. Pitt scored jusr 13.8 ppg in last five bowls (2-3). Falcons lost last three bowls, losing 29-20 to San Jose State LY; their last bowl win was in '04- they allowed 34.3 ppg in last four bowls. Underdogs covered five of last six in this bowl game, with all six decided by 5 or less points. Game is in MAC country, but MAC teams are 2-7 in this bowl last nine years.

Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego 12/26
Northern Illinois was headed to BCS bowl before getting upset in MAC title game; we saw with Fresno State in Vegas Bowl how disappointed teams do in bowls. Huskies allowed 27+ points in five of 13 games TY; teams from MAC are 2-6 in last eight bowls. NIU was over its head in Orange Bowl LY, but won 38-20/40-17 in previous two bowls- favorites covered four of their last five bowls. Utah State lost star QB Keeton but still went 8-5, winning five of last six games, but they're 1-3 as underdog this year. Favorites are 7-1 SU in this bowl, but 2-4 vs spread in last six; Mountain West teams are 6-2 here, on San Diego State's home field, 2-2 in bowls this month, despite being underdog in all four. Huskies want to run ball, but Utah State held USC to 118 rushing yards and didn't allow more than 162 rushing yards to any team all season.

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Totals 4 You Selections for Thursday, December 26th2013 College Bowl Totals Parlay of the Year!!!!!
Pittsburgh/Bowling Green over 49 1/2
Utah State/Northern Illinois under 58

NBA Best Bets
Atlanta/Cleveland under 203
Memphis/Houston over 198 1/2
LA Clippers/Portland over 213
Best of Luck and Thank You!!!!!

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Harry Bondi

3* Bowling Green

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Dr Bob

Bowling Green

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LA Syndicate

NBA Over Spurs

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Chicago Syndicate

NBA Over Rockets

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Tony Del

N Illinois / Utah St Over 56.5

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H&H Sports

Double Dime Trailblazers

Single Dime Over Spurs

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Tony George

BOWL GAME OF THE YEAR
3 unit play is on BGREEN

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VEGAS SPORTS INFORMER
2-Unit Play Take #508 Portland -4 over LA Clippers (10:35 p.m., Thursday, December 26 TNT)

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WINNING POINTS
LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL
Bowling Green over Pittsburgh by 10
In each of the last three years, Pitt’s bowl destination was Birmingham. The Panthers
and their boosters hoped they wouldn’t be shunted back to ramshackle Legion Field
once again and they got their wish, another booby prize. Bowling Green, by contrast,
prizes the opportunity of a repeat engagement at the venue where they won the MAC
title on Dec. 6. The Falcons have won 17 of their last 22 starts while covering the
spread at a 75 percent clip and closed out the 2013 campaign winning their last three
by a combined 176-17 prior to vanquishing Northern Illinois 47-27. QB Matt
Johnson’s season has run on a parallel track. After opening the season on the bench,
he steadily crept up the charts and sits #10 in passing efficiency after daggering NIU
with five TD passes. Johnson, from Harrisburg, PA, reportedly had his sights set on
attending Pittsburgh but was denied a scholarship on the grounds that he was too
short. We anticipate that he will stick a fork in the school that spurned him, but the
departure of Dave Clawson is vexing and it’s disconcerting that MAC schools have
won only four of the last 12 Motor City bowl games.
BOWLING GREEN 24-14.

POINSETTIA BOWL
Utah State over Northern Illinois by 4
This assignment is something of a letdown for Northern Illinois which hoped to crash
the BCS party once again. Utah State brings less to the table than last year’s opponent,
Florida State. But USU is no pushover. The Aggies have allowed only eight rushing
TDs and rank in the top 12 in five defensive categories. Jordan Lynch has statistically
the best wheels of any quarterback in NCAA history, but we doubt that Lynch will
come close to his season average. The Aggies previously faced BYU’s Taysom Hill and
held him to 22 rushing yards excluding sacks. Utah State bowled in Boise last year,
defeating Toledo 41-15. That was Gary Andersen’s last game at Utah State and while
the Aggies lost a splendid coach when he left for Wisconsin, five assistants remained,
preventing a more serious rupture. NIU likewise promoted from within and hardly missed a beat, out-yarding 11 of their 13 opponents. The Huskies are 24-3 SU with
Lynch under center, but Utah State, with 13 players from California, has a regional
site advantage and is the more physical team.
UTAH STATE 30-26.

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Andre Ramirez

Bowling Green -5

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The Duke's Sports

3 Units Pittsburgh / Bowling Green Under 50

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Root

Pinnacle Utah st

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Sports Cash System

extra picks for today:

Northern Illinois (pk) over Utah State (Spread Bet) (NCAA College Football) - Game Starts at 9:30 PM EST

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Burns BGREEN

Sean Murphy 10* UTAH st

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CHARLOTTEsports of CappersAdvantage
Pitt +7

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Cleveland Insider

NBA
4.5* Hawks/Cavs under 205.5

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Sebastian sports

200*pitt

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windy city winners cfb 12/26

Bowling Green -6 1/2
Northern I'll +1

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Millionaires Club College Football

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL WINNER
214 Bowling Green -7 6:00 EST

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Rainman

Pittsburgh
Utah st
Pitt under.

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LT LOCK

Utah St.

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Bookiemonster pod

Atlanta/Cleveland UNDER 205 POD

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Norm Hitzges
SINGLE PLAYS---By date

Dec. 26



Utah St. +1 1/2 No. Illinois
Bowling Green -4 Pittsburgh

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Big East

Pittsburgh +7

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Scott Sprietzer Thursday night Knockout

Cleveland

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root

millionaires on pitt panthers and houston rockets

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Brian Leonard

BGSU over Pitt

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River City Sharps

OK, here's the deal. This line has moved from NIU -1 to USU -2, which means there's lots of money flowing on Utah State. With that said, we know very well that NIU's defense is absolutely terrible, so we expect Utah St to score points. We know the NIU wants to run lots of plays, which means we are getting some value here if bettors think that Utah State is going to win the game. With all of that under consideration, we are going to roll with the OVER here as both defenses are going to be exposed tonight. The Sharps say...

3 UNITS - NIU/UTAH ST OVER 56.5

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EXECUTIVE

250 utah st

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From This Week's PLATINUM SHEET
STATFOX FORECASTER

BALTIMORE (311) AT CINCINNATI (312)
Latest Line: Cincinnati -6.0; Total: 44.5

The Ravens try to keep their playoff hopes alive with a visit to a Bengals team with a shot at securing a first-round bye. Baltimore was blown out 41-7 at home to the underdog Patriots last week, but could still back into the playoffs even with a loss plus the Steelers, Chargers and Dolphins all losing. The Bengals need a win plus a New England loss to clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC. These teams met in Week 10 with the Ravens blowing a 17-0 halftime lead, but winning 20-17 with a field goal in overtime. This makes Baltimore 5-1 SU (3-2-1 ATS) in the past six meetings, and QB Joe Flacco 7-4 in his career versus Cincinnati.
Forecaster: Cincinnati 23, Baltimore 15

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Jimmy Bloyd
5* Utah St. college football

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Kronix
4* Pitt+7
1* Pitt +205 Money Line
3* 2 Team 7pt Teaser Pitt+14 & Utah St+5

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Kelso 50 B.G.

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Andre Gomes


Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501 Atlanta Hawks (-3) @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

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Betting As A Business
NBA
LA Clippers +4.5 / Portland 10:35 ET 1.25 Units
(Play ON LA CLIPPERS)

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Goodfella

NBA on TNT Team Total

LA CLIPPERS OVER 104 Points

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Mike Neri ​- Bowling Green

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Northcoast

4* pitt
top opinion: utah st

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Sports Unlimited is passing.

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Pick Addict
2.5* CF Utah St -2

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Andre Gomes
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 507 Los Angeles Clippers (+4,5)