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New York Islanders at Buffalo (7:35 PM Eastern)
Pick: Buffalo -180 (moneyline)
Two teams that have been getting opposite results will face-off in Buffalo tonight as the Sabres put their unbeaten mark to the test against the winless Islanders. Although the Sabres did suffer an OT loss in their opener, they have been playing superbly on the defensive end. They are also getting outstanding goal tending from Ryan Miller, who has yet to allow more than two to slip through the net in each of the four games. The season shows just five goals allowed or 1.125 per contest. That will be a tough chore for the Islanders’ offense that has generated just nine goals in four games, just over two per game, as on the other end they have seen 13 slip through the net. You can't feel too good either about the fact that the Islanders are 0-9 in their last nine as a dog of +151 to +200. The Sabres are sporting a 42-16-2 mark at home against clubs that are .400 or less. I'm going with the Sabres in this one.
PICK: Pittsburgh Your pick will be graded at: -5.5 SPORTSBETTING EXPERT: Nick Parsons TITLE: *9* FRIDAY NIGHT NCAAF "PUNI$HER"! REASON FOR PICK: For a number of different reasons I feel the value in this game is on the visiting side: “This will be our biggest challenge,” Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt said when referring to his teams road game vs. Rutgers this week. RB Dion Lewis, who is sixth in the nation in rushing with 738 rushing yards and averages 5.6 yards a carry, anchors a steadily improving offense; QB Bill Stull has 13 TD passes and only three picks; WR Jonathan Baldwin is just two yards shy of having four consecutive 100-yard receiving games. On what is expected to be a rainy/cold night, Lewis will be leaned upon even more than normal, and he'll also have to face the conference's top run defense to boot. Pitt's defense is one of the nations best though; the Panthers average more than four sacks per game and are ranked third in the country in that category. Despite having struggled vs. Rutgers in recent play, Pitt is 5-1 SU its last six overall, 9-4 ATS its last 13 on the road, 8-3 SU its last 11 on the road and 4-2 SU its last six on the road vs. the Scarlet Knights.
On the other side of the field: Rutgers' true freshman QB, Tom Savage, will be entering his second straight game after suffering a concussion against Florida International; the Rutgers offensive line has allowed 14 sacks through five games, the most in the Big East. The Scarlet Knights pass defense is its achilles heel and it will struggle again this week against Stull and his speedy receivers. Rutgers is just 1-3 ATS in its last four overall and a horrible 0-3 ATS this season in front of the hometown crowd.
Bottom line: Having lost the last four times they've played the Scarlet Knights, I expect the Panthers to play with "revenge" on their minds. Stull will be the difference in this one as he'll look to exploit the Scarlet Knights suspect secondary; look for PITTSBURGH to move to 3-1 ATS on the road this year and for Rutgers to fall to 0-3 ATS against conference opponents! *9*
Los Angeles has won 11 of the last 14 games as an underdog of +150 or more and they have also won 17 of the last 21 road games when the total posted is between 7 and 8.5 runs. John Lackey has won 5 of the last 6 road games when the total posted is between 7 and 8.5 runs and he has an ERA of 3.68 this season.
6* Widow Wiseguy Pitt/Rutgers E SP N Big East Brawl on Pittsburgh -3(-110 at Bodog)
Rutgers has yet to earn a win against a good opponent. They lost their opener, 47-15, to Cincinnati and have played cupcakes in the likes of Howard, Florida International, Maryland and Texas Southern ever since. Pitt has been battle-tested this season, with 5 straight games against quality opponents. They won 4 of those 5, and should have beaten NC State on the road after blowing a huge lead in the second half. The Panthers are the better team here Friday, and not even home-field advantage can save Rutgers. Pittsburgh is scoring 40.0 points/game on the road this season against the likes of Buffalo, NC State and Louisville and neither of those three teams would be considered pushovers. This is a balanced offense, rushing for 166 yards/game and throwing for 222 yards/game. Rutgers is very one-dimensional since Mike Teel is no longer under center. The Scarlet Knights rush 42 times/game and throw 23 times/game. So the key here is how Pittsburgh stops the run. Well, Pitt is allowing just 109 rushing yards/game and 2.9 yards/carry and they've played some very good running teams in NC State, Navy, Louisville and Connecticut. So it's not like they are playing the run well against teams that throw the ball a lot. All four of those teams rely mostly on the run. This is just a mismatch across the board, and the only way Pitt wouldn't win this game tonight is if they shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers. Pitt has only turned the ball over 5 times in 6 games en route to a 5-1 start, so we really like their chances. Rutgers is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) in home games after a game where they committed no turnovers since 1992. They are losing against the spread 91% of the time in this spot. The Panthers win the turnover battle, along with every other phase of this one because they are simply the more complete team. Take Pittsburgh and lay the points.
Michael Alexander...
Friday, October 16, 2009
Handicapper: Michael Alexander
Pittsburgh U vs. Rutgers (NCAAF) - 8:00 PM EDT Premium Play
Pick: Point Spread: 5.5/-105 Rutgers Play Title: Play on Rutgers
Rating: 2 Units
Playing on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points (RUTGERS) who is forcing 2.5 or more turnovers/game, after 2 consecutive games where they committed 1 or less turnovers is 48-17 ATS over the last 10 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 4-15 ATS (-12.5 Units) in road games after scoring 3 points or less in the first half last game since 1992.
RUTGERS is 33-17 ATS (+14.3 Units) vs. poor passing defenses - allowing a comp. pct. of 58% or worse since 1992.
Handicapper: Michael Alexander
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Florida Panthers (NHL) - 7:35 PM EDT Premium Play
Pick: Money Line: -142 Philadelphia Flyers Play Title: Play on Philadelphia
Rating: 2 Units
PHILADELPHIA is 8-2 ATS (+10.4 Units) in road games on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 8-18 ATS (-14.7 Units) in home games after allowing 3 goals or more 2 straight games over the last 3 seasons.
FLORIDA is 11-18 ATS (-15.8 Units) in home games against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game over the last 3 seasons.
Handicapper: Michael Alexander
LAA Angels vs. New York Yankees (MLB) - 7:55 PM EDT Premium Play
Pick: Money Line: 163 LAA Angels Play Title: Play on LAA Angels
Rating: 2 Units
LA ANGELS are 11-3 (+15.3 Units) against the money line as an underdog of +150 or more over the last 2 seasons.
LA ANGELS are 18-6 (+13.3 Units) against the money line with double revenge - 2 straight losses against opponent this season.
LA ANGELS are 38-17 (+17.2 Units) against the money line against left-handed starters this season.
College Football Premium Picks
3* Friday Night SMASH (ESPN) Pitt -5
Rutgers may be 4-1, but it has played a weak level of competition. The only quality opponent it has faced is Cincinnati and the Bearcats defeated the Scarlet Knights 47-15 on the road. They key is that Rutgers allowed 396 passing yards to Cincy and I am confident that the Panthers passing attack will be able to exploit the Rutgers secondary as well. Pitt QB Bill Stull is having a great season through the air. He came last week, throwing for 268 yards and two touchdowns and I can't see the Knights slowing down the hook up combo of Stull to Jonathan Baldwin. Pitt has already proven that it can go on the road and win in Big East play, defeating Louisville 35-10 as a 7-point favorite two weeks ago on a Friday night. The last, and most important factor, is the fact that Pitt has lost 4 straight to Rutgers. Pitt has the better team this year and they will have their revenge. Lay the points.
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