Dominic Fazzini Bonus Play
I delivered a winner with my complimentary selection Thursday, picking Cincinnati to cover as a road favorite against South Florida. That gives me six victories in my last nine Bonus Plays, and I'm going to stay on the gridiron tonight to continue my hot streak.
Rutgers has won four straight against Big East rival Pittsburgh, and now they're getting no respect from the oddsmakers and the betting public.
The line on this game opened at Pitt -3 and has been bet up to six points in some places. And that's definitely going to work in my favorite.
First, the Scarlet Knights are better at running the ball than the Panthers are. Rutgers averages 183 yards on the ground, while Pitt allows 109.5. And while the Panthers average a solid 166.5 yards per game, led by freshman Dion Jones, who is gaining 123 per game by himself, Rutgers is fifth in the nation in rushing defense, giving up just 65.2 yards per game.
This is going to be especially important tonight, as it is supposed to be cold, windy and rainy in Piscataway, N.J., tonight, making it hard to throw the ball downfield.
The Panthers are also coming off consecutive games against conference foes Louisville and Connecticut, while the Knights' only game this month was a 42-0 home victory over I-AA school Texas Southern, so Rutgers should be much fresher for tonight's game, especially being boosted by its home crowd on national television.
Pitt failed to cover last week in its 24-21 home victory over UConn, making it 6-13 ATS as a favorite. Rutgers is just 1-3-1 in its last five home games, but is 25-10-1 as an underdog. And the 'dog has cashed in this series five of the last seven games. The 'dog will hunt again in tonight's game. Take the Scarlet Knights to cover.
3? RUTGERS