Tonight’s ESPN Thursday night college football pick takes us to Boone Pickens Stadium where the Texas A&M Aggies and Oklahoma State Cowboys open up Big 12 South competition.
CLICK HERE FOR MIKE ROSE’ EXPERT FOOTBALL PICKS

Texas A&M Aggies vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 30th, 7:30 ET
Game Location: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK
TV/Radio Broadcast: ESPN, XM, Sirius

NCAA Football Odds: Texas A&M Aggies (+3) -110 VS. Oklahoma State Cowboys (-3) -110: Over/Under 66

If you’re a fan of offensive fireworks on the college gridiron, then Thursday night’s battle between the Aggies and Cowboys is one you surely don’t want to miss! Both clubs enter this spot ranked amongst the top 10 in total yards gained with Texas A&M churning out 501.3 YPG (#9) and Oklahoma State leading the country amassing an insane 596 YPG.

Granted, the opposition has been far from top notch, but those are some pretty gaudy numbers to kick start the 2010-11 college football pick season. Both clubs were on byes a week ago, so the offensive machines should be firing on all cylinders for this divisional tussle.

A&M signal caller Jerrod Johnson has gotten off to a great start for head coach Mike Sherman’s offense. The senior has already thrown for 865 yards averaging 7.94 YPP with a TD/INT ratio of 7:4. His dual threat ability has also seen him gain 60 yards and hit pay dirt once.

He had a miserable performance his last time out at home against Florida International whom he completed just 35.4 percent of his 31 passes against while getting picked off four times. Look for the team captain and heart and soul of the program to rebound in a big way under the bright lights of Stillwater.

The Cowboys have struggled defending the pass entering this Week 5 college football pick match-up ranked 83 rd overall allowing 237 YPG. Most of the damage coming in the form of the Troy Trojans and Tulsa Golden Hurricane who both also rank in the Top 15 in total offense.

With the Texas A&M Aggies boasting a pair of backs in Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray averaging 5.8 YPC and 4.9 YPC respectively, A&M holds a distinct advantage when matched up against the Cowboys stop unit. It will be up to them to believe, perform and not turn the ball over to continue lighting the scoreboard up.

Though Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden and running back Kendall Hunter have also gotten off to fantastic starts, the duo is yet to go up against a defense with a pulse. Washington State, Troy, and Tulsa all rank amongst the worst scoring and overall defenses in the country. The Aggies currently rank 18 th in points allowed (14.3 PPG) and 10 th in total yards allowed (255.7 YPG); by far the stiffest opposition to date.

NCAA Football Insider Tip : Entering its bye, the kids form College Station got a major wake-up call from a little known FIU Golden Panthers squad. A&M found itself down 14 in the 4 th quarter but found a way to rattle off 21 straight points to pull out the must have 27-20 victory. The club has faced adversity and come back to win. While the Oklahoma State Cowboys did get a scare from Troy, Gundy’s kids had the game well in hand in the 4 th quarter. It hasn’t experienced the pressure packed situation of having to come up with the big play to win a game.

On top of that, A&M is playing with double revenge after falling to the Cowpokes each of the L/2 times including last year’s 36-31 defeat as 4.5-point home pups.

With both Texas and Oklahoma looking to be much lesser versions than in years past, this could just be the year the home of the 12 th Man comes out in full force and takes down the Big 12 South in surprising fashion. For that to happen, they’ll need to secure the college football pick win as underdogs – that’s exactly what I expect them to do tonight!

My NCAA Football Predictions: Texas A&M Aggies (+3) -110

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

Our Wednesday night MLB betting predictions take us to Petco Park where the San Diego Padres look to snag a “W” against the Chicago Cubs in their second to last home game of the regular season.
CLICK HERE FOR MIKE ROSE’ PREMIUM MLB PICKS

The Cubbies have gone into Petco and played the role of spoiler taking each of the first two games of this crucial Padres home stand. Interim manager Mike Quade has done a sensational job since taking over for Lou Piniella, as the Cubs enter the third game of this series a lucrative 21-11 their L/32 overall games.

If the Padres had caught fire like that in September, they would by no means be faced with the scary thought of missing out on the post-season after leading the NL West for the majority of the regular season. As it is, San Diego trails the San Francisco Giants by two-games in the NL West with the Atlanta Braves holding a 1.5-game lead on the NL Wild Card slot.

Chicago Cubs (72-85, -$1779) vs. San Diego Padres (87-70, $1804)
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, September 29th, 10:05 ET
Game Location: Petco Park, San Diego, CA
TV/Radio Broadcast: Comcast (Chicago), 4SD, XM

MLB Odds: Chicago Cubs +1.5 -190 +115 (Randy Wells – R) vs. San Diego Padres -1.5 +160 -135 (Chris Young – R): Total 6.5 O -115 6.5 U -105

Randy Wells enters his 32nd start of the 2010 MLB predictions season off back-to-back victories after tossing a gem at home against the Giants. He shut them out through 7.2 innings and allowed just six hits while K’ing six and walking one.

The win improved him to 8-13 on the year with a 4.28 ERA & 1.40 WHIP giving up 203 hits and 89 ER’s with a K/BB ratio of 142/59 through 187.1 total innings of work.

His ERA inflates to 4.54 on the road where the Cubs have won just five of his 13 overall starts. While Chicago stands just 1-4 his L/5 starts as road underdogs in the +110 to +150 range, he’s had much success throughout his career against the Padres allowing just eight hits and four ER’s through 14 IP in a pair of starts, but has an 0-2 lifetime record vs. them to show for it.

Making just his third start since coming back up to the big squad will be lanky righty Chris Young. So far so good in his return as the Padres have won each of his L/2 starts since being called up.

He held the pesky Reds in check his last time out limiting Dusty Baker’s NL Central Champs to just three hits and a lone ER through five innings pitched. His work has been limited due to a pitch count, but in that stretch, he’s allowed just six hits and two ER’s through nine innings. He’s 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA & 1.13 WHIP in six career MLB predictions starts vs. the Northsiders.

MLB Insider Tip: This is a huge overlay with San Diego tonight, but I still see it as being the correct call. Chicago has made life a living hell for the Friars thus far taking each of the first two games of this crucial series, but I expect San Diego to snag the ever important win tonight to keep pressure on both the Giants and Braves for the final two playoff spots.

Manager Bud Black’s squad has responded in the third game of a series if coming off a loss all season long by posting a solid 12-6 record. On the flipside, the Cubs are 9-16 in Game 3 when playing off a ‘W’. The Padres have also taken advantage of sub .500 opposition at home winning 12 of the L/15 times with two of those defeats coming in this series.

My MLB predictions for tonight’s NL battle have the Padres stepping up to the plate and knocking a big home win out of the park!

My MLB Prediction: San Diego Padres (Young)

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

BetUS Sportsbook is back with more football betting analysis for this Week 3 Monday Night Football duel between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
CLICK HERE FOR MIKE ROSE’ EXPERT NFL PICKS

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears
Game Date/Time: Monday, September 27th, 8:30 ET
Game Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
TV/Radio Broadcast: ESPN, Westwood One, Sirius

NFL Football Odds: Green Bay Packers (-3) +100 vs. Chicago Bears (+3) -120: Over/Under 46

Many are touting Aaron Rodgers as the favorite to win the MVP Award this year. We must admit that Rodgers has a great shot now that Ryan Grant is out for the season, because the onus is clearly going to be on his back to lead the Packers to football betting wins and the playoffs.

However, without a rushing game, Mike McCarthy knows that his team isn’t winning the Super Bowl. In last week’s romp of the Buffalo Bills, there wasn’t one man that rushed for even 40 yards on the day. That isn’t going to cut it against the best in the NFL. Watch for Jermichael Finley to have a big impact on this game, as the big tight end is coming off of a great game in which he caught four passes for 103 yards against Buffalo.

Whomever replaced last year’s bad version of Jay Cutler and replaced him with the version of Jay Cutler that was a first round draft choice and projected to be the star of a franchise deserves a purple heart in the Windy City. All of a sudden, it looks like Cutler “gets it,” as he has guided the Bears to two football betting victories due to the fact that he has only thrown one INT on the season against five TD passes.

Even Matt Forte, who had a miserable sophomore campaign a year ago, is getting back into the fold quite well. He might only be averaging 2.9 yards per carry on the ground, but he has 12 catches for 188 yards and three TDs through the air, making him the team’s leading receiver.

Still, that team average of 2.78 yards per carry won’t cut it if the Bears are beating the football betting lines on Monday Night Football.

NFL Insider Tip: The Packers are 10-3 ATS in their L/13 football betting affairs against the NFC North.

This opportunity is just too good for the Pack to pass up. Especially if by chance the Minnesota Vikings get beaten on Sunday by the Detroit Lions, they can go three up on their biggest rivals and a game and the tiebreaker up on the nearest competitors. If this is really one of the best teams in the league and Rodgers is legitimately an MVP favorite at this point in the year, this game will be one that they figure out how to win.

Look for Green Bay to trump Chicago in Monday Night Football betting festivities.

My Monday Night Football Pick: Green Bay Packers (-3) +100

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

NFL betting teasers are always a great way to get an edge on the oddsmakers if a line is tight. We haven’t done so well this season, but our NFL betting Super Teaser should be back with vengeance in Week 3!
CLICK HERE FOR MIKE ROSE’ EXPERT NFL PICKS

Oakland Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals
Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 26th, 4:15 ET
Game Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, AZ
TV/Radio Broadcast: CBS, Westwood One, Sirius

NFL Odds: Oakland Raiders (+4.5) -110 vs. Arizona Cardinals (-4.5) -110: Over/Under 39.5

This is a great spot to be snaring the Raiders this week. Tom Cable’s club fought valiantly to capture the outright win against the St. Louis Rams last week, and we can’t help but wonder if that was the first step towards putting these guys back on the map. The Cards were trounced last week against the Atlanta Falcons, and though they aren’t nearly that bad and are a significantly better club at home, they aren’t beating anyone by more than two TDs on a regular basis in NFL betting action this season.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 26th, 1:00 ET
Game Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL
TV/Radio Broadcast: CBS, Westwood One, Sirius

NFL Odds: Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5) -110 vs. Cleveland Browns (+1.5) -110: Over/Under 33.5

Either side of this game would probably work considering how low the ‘total’ is, but there is a significantly better chance of the Steelers blowing out the Bucs than vice versa. Pittsburgh has just played too well defensively. We aren’t so sure that Tampa Bay is going to be able to figure out how to score nine points let alone win by that many. This is a prototypical spot where we just bank on the black and gold ‘D’ to carry us to an NFL betting victory whether a ‘W’ is in the cards for the Steelers or not.

New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 26th, 8:20 ET
Game Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
TV/Radio Broadcast: NBC, Westwood One, Sirius

NFL Odds: New York Jets (+1.5) -110 vs. Miami Dolphins (-1.5) -110: Over/Under 35.5

Here we are again with another game where we pit a dominating defense against a questionable offense, and our NFL betting instincts tell us that the Jets should easily be able to, if nothing else, stick within double digits in this game. The play of Mark Sanchez has been acceptable this year, and that’s all that he has to be in this game for us to stick in front of this number: acceptable. If the “Sanchise” doesn’t throw multiple picks and the special teams doesn’t totally fail, we just don’t see a way that Miami is scoring enough with an offense that is strictly based on its ground game to be able to cover this type of a number.

My Week 3 NFL Teaser Pick: 10-point super teaser – Oakland Raiders +14.5/Pittsburgh Steelers +8.5/New York Jets +11.5

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

Our lines for college football are back at BetUS Sportsbook, and we continue our analysis of Week 4 coverage with the contest between the UAB Blazers and the Tennessee Volunteers.
CLICK HERE FOR MIKE ROSE’ EXPERT FOOTBALL PICKS

UAB Blazers vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Game Date/Time: Saturday, September 25th, 12:20 ET
Game Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
TV/Radio Broadcast: ESPN Game Plan, ESPN3.com, Sirius

NCAA Football Odds: UAB Blazers (+14) -110 vs. Tennessee Volunteers (-14) -110: Over/Under 50.5

The Blazers trusted Bryan Ellis to come into their game last week with the Troy Trojans, and my, did he answer the bell! The junior out of the Peach State fired off 23-of-37 completions for 360 yards with three scores against two picks on the day, and he nearly single handedly brought UAB to a 34-33 upset victory over the Troy Trojans.

Jackie Williams had the game of his life, catching six passes for 114 yards and two TDs, the second of which came as the clock expired from 44 yards away to give the Blazers the ‘W’. Both TDs came in a fourth quarter rally down 33-20 with less than nine minutes to play.

UAB trailed 23-0 near halftime before turning on the jets.

It was a fantastic game for the Volunteers last week as well, but they came up just short of the lines for college football in a 31-17 loss to the Florida Gators.

The defense did everything it could do to stop John Brantley and the potent UF offense. The blue and orange were held to just 317 total yards, 36 of which came on a fake punt. Jeffrey Demps was limited to just 73 yards on 26 carries, a testament to a solid day’s work.

It was also a great day for Matt Simms, the son of the great New York Giants legend Phil Simms. The second generation signal caller went 19-of-31 for 259 yards with two TDs and two picks on the day.

The bottom line for Tennessee though, is that it didn’t have the horses to beat the lines for college football against either the Gators or the Oregon Ducks the previous week, and this game is much more suited for the skill level of Derek Dooley’s squad.

NCAA Football Insider Tip : The Vols might be 3-0 SU all-time in this series, but the Blazers are 3-0 against the spread in the all-time series.

Yikes! UAB has never scored more than 13 points against Tennessee, and this might not be much of an exception. However, the Vols laid it all on the line last week against the Gators, and there might not be all that much left in the tank. Meanwhile, the Blazers are coming off of their best showing of the year and might be beaming with confidence.

Take UAB and the hefty lines for college football on Saturday as they look to extend the Vols mediocrity in non-conference battles to 2-9 ATS their L/11.

My NCAA Football Predictions: UAB Blazers (+14) -110

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com

Army Black Knights vs. Duke Blue Devils
Pick: Army +6.5 (September 25th 2010)
CLICK HERE FOR MIKE ROSE’ EXPERT COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS

With two wins already under their belt this season, head coach Rich Ellerson’s Black Knights look well on their way towards qualifying for a bowl game for the first time since 1996. That said; they were 2-1 at this point of the season a year ago, and only managed to win three more games to just fall short of the six-win plateau.

Army’s option attack was in solid form last week at home against an injury ravaged North Texas Mean Green outfit. Trent Steelman bounced back from a shaky outing against Hawaii the previous week to rush for 68 yards and a score on 11 carries and complete five of his 10 passes for 45 yards in the Black Knight’s 24-0 shutout win. The offense boasts five rushers with more than 120 overall yards rushing to date, and the option will need to once again be firing on all cylinders to come out on top in this spot. The Dookies sport a sieve of a defense that ranks in the bottom third of all major categories. Most importantly, they rank 111 out of 120 teams in defending the run allowing a whopping 223 YPG.

With Army still learning the ropes on how to run the option in last year’s meeting, the offense still managed to churn out a whopping 385 yards on the ground. Now a year older and wiser, it wouldn’t at all be shocking if that number was surpassed considering Duke just surrendered 315 yards to the Crimson Tide’s ground attack led by reigning Heisman winner Mark Ingram.

With a dry track expected with limited wind, this could really turn into one of the better track meets of the week. That said; I’m looking for Army to avenge last year’s crippling defeat at the hands of the Blue Devils that saw the game get away from them late due to a pair of pick-sixes that occurred just seconds apart. Duke has proved it by no means can stop any semblance of a ground attack, don’t expect Army to get itself into many situations that would force it to throw. Instead, look for it to pound the pigskin every chance it gets. The Dookies are a pitiful 3-9-1 ATS the L/13 times they were installed a home favorite, back the Black Knights in this rematch and don’t be shocked if they win outright!

Mike Rose is simply EN FUEGO on the College Gridiron going 10-5 ATS his L/15 Positions! That only adds to his current 60% Streak over the course of his L/115 CFB selections. He has a huge day in store Saturday with his 6* CFB TOTAL SLAM GOW, 5* “No Respect” Rodney D GOW, and 4* Rabid Dawg Slam. Rose suffered a humiliating outing last Saturday and is out to recoup the losses, Don’t Miss – SLAM YOUR MAN!