Big Al
At 7 pm (time change), our selection is on Arkansas State minus the points over Southern Miss. Steve Roberts' squad has gotten off to a terrific start this season. In week 1, the Wolves went into College Station, and upset the Texas A&M Aggies as an 18-point underdog. Then, to show that game wasn't a fluke, they absolutely annihilated Texas Southern this past Saturday 83-10. That was the most points scored in a game since Fresno State piled up 94 points vs. New Mexico in 1991. In its win, Arkansas St. had 670 yards of offense, and that followed up its 415 yard output at Texas A&M. Now, Arkansas St. will attempt to make it three wins in a row, as it will take on Southern Miss at home in Jonesboro. Off their two wins, the Red Wolves fall into two super systems of mine that are 73-15 and 28-15 ATS since 1980. Let's take a look at our 28-15 angle. Here, what we want to do is play on any college football home favorite of less than 10 points, if it scored 60+ points in its previous game. And if our home team is matched up against a non-conference foe, then our 28-15 system improves to 10-2 ATS. Added Board Game of the Year on Arkansas St.
At 3 pm (time change), our selection is on Tulane plus the points over East Carolina. Clearly, the most surprising team in the country thus far has been Skip Holtz' East Carolina Pirates. They upset then-Top 20-ranked Virginia Tech in their first game, and followed that victory up with a blowout win over 8th-ranked West Virginia. In both games, East Carolina was an underdog of more than a touchdown, but now the Pirates have leaped into the Rankings (currently #14), and find themselves installed as big road favorites vs. Tulane on Saturday. The Green Wave are 0-1 on the year, but covered the spread at Alabama last week. (They lost 20-6 as a 29-point underdog.) This will be a very difficult game for East Carolina. Not only are they primed for a letdown after their two monster wins, but they have a revenge game on deck against in-state rival North Carolina St. Indeed, it's very difficult for NCAA teams to cover the spread away from home off back-to-back upset wins, and especially if they're matched up against losing conference foes, and the line is 17 points or less. In this situation, they're a horrid 5-33 ATS since 1982, including 1-20 ATS vs. a foe off an ATS win. Conference USA Game of the Year on Tulane.
At 8 pm, our selection is on Southern Cal minus the points over Ohio State. USC didn't start the year in the #1 spot, but leapfrogged Georgia after its impressive 52-7 win on the road in Charlottesville, Virginia to open the season. In that victory, USC amassed 558 yards of offense, and held Virginia to just 187 -- including a paltry 32 yards on the ground! In contrast, Ohio State struggled last Saturday against a poor Ohio U. team, and trailed for much of the game before eventually winning 26-14 as 34-point favorites. I look for USC to blow out Ohio State on this Saturday Night, as home teams off a 35-point (or greater) victory to open the season are a solid 14-0 ATS since 1980 in Game 2, provided they are priced from -13.5 to +3.5 points in that Game 2, and they covered the spread in their first game by more than 16 points. Take USC.