Maryland -13/56.5
If ever there was a game that you should not bet this is probably it. Maryland off of a 59-0 humiliation at home and Rutgers fires their coach and offensive coordinator and their QB quits. Now that screams lay off! I have no idea how Maryland is going to come out to start this game. They had a team meeting, blah, blah, blah and are saying all the right things, but it is impossible to know how they will play. I do know that if they come to play Rutgers is the perfect team for them because they are not very good and really bad on defense. No way a coaching change is going to make a difference on defense, maybe on offense, but not defensively. This is a team that gives up 200 yards rushing per game and has not won a conference game in a couple years. Last year Maryland ran for 290 yards and beat them by 27 points. One thing Maryland is good at is beating up on bad teams when they can run the ball. I see no reason they can not run for well over 200 yards in this game if they stick to running the ball. Jackson has looked terrible and I am sure Locksley wants to try to get him some confidence, so I expect them to throw more than they should. I also think we will see more of Pigrome in this game as he took more first team snaps in practice this week. Nothing Maryland has done to date gives me confidence that we will see a great effort from them, but I do think they will score some points given Rutgers defensive woes. Maybe Rutger's offense is energized with their new freshman QB and Maryland's defense is prone to the big play.
Maryland Ov 56.5
is the only play I see in this one. I expect Maryland to cover, but I do not trust them. If they can get off to a fast start I expect them to score at least 40 in this game.
Navy+3.5/46
This is the game I am most excited about as I love service academy football!! Two very evenly matched teams going 100% all out on every play. The winner has a chance for the commanders trophy, the loser is basically out as Army is strong this year also. Air Force is the more battle tested team having played Colorado and Boise State. Their defense played well in both games and appears to be strong this year. Navy's defense has been their achilles heal in the past, but they have done a great job on getting stronger upfront and playing better overall defense. They played a great FH at Memphis, but the speed of Memphis just killed them in the second half. This is Navy's issue every year with the better teams in their conference as they simply can not match top end speed. Air Force's athlete's are more similar to Navy's, though Remsberg is a concern for Navy as he has been very impressive so far. Both these teams excel at rushing and both are prepared to stop it, so the passing game may be the difference in the game. Navy has made a concerned effort to pass more this year and they have had some success. I think they will have to throw the ball to win this game as will Air Force. Navy is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games against Air Force The best money making trend in service academy games has been the under. The Under is 33-8-1 since 2005 and that is hard to ignore. The total opened briefly over 50 and got pounded down to 45 and now has inched up. The later movement up is interesting as it goes against the recent trends and it has caught my eye.
Navy Ov 46
is what I am playing in this game. I think both teams open up the playbook, which likely will create some turnovers and some points. Should be a perfect football weather in Annapolis and I think we see a higher scoring game than people expect. Looking forward to this one!
Auburn -2.5 -115 - placed this morning. I simply do not think Florida is good enough offensively to win this game.
Tease of the week (3 team 7 pointer):
UAB -2.5
Army +9.5
BC +12
If ever there was a game that you should not bet this is probably it. Maryland off of a 59-0 humiliation at home and Rutgers fires their coach and offensive coordinator and their QB quits. Now that screams lay off! I have no idea how Maryland is going to come out to start this game. They had a team meeting, blah, blah, blah and are saying all the right things, but it is impossible to know how they will play. I do know that if they come to play Rutgers is the perfect team for them because they are not very good and really bad on defense. No way a coaching change is going to make a difference on defense, maybe on offense, but not defensively. This is a team that gives up 200 yards rushing per game and has not won a conference game in a couple years. Last year Maryland ran for 290 yards and beat them by 27 points. One thing Maryland is good at is beating up on bad teams when they can run the ball. I see no reason they can not run for well over 200 yards in this game if they stick to running the ball. Jackson has looked terrible and I am sure Locksley wants to try to get him some confidence, so I expect them to throw more than they should. I also think we will see more of Pigrome in this game as he took more first team snaps in practice this week. Nothing Maryland has done to date gives me confidence that we will see a great effort from them, but I do think they will score some points given Rutgers defensive woes. Maybe Rutger's offense is energized with their new freshman QB and Maryland's defense is prone to the big play.
Maryland Ov 56.5
is the only play I see in this one. I expect Maryland to cover, but I do not trust them. If they can get off to a fast start I expect them to score at least 40 in this game.
Navy+3.5/46
This is the game I am most excited about as I love service academy football!! Two very evenly matched teams going 100% all out on every play. The winner has a chance for the commanders trophy, the loser is basically out as Army is strong this year also. Air Force is the more battle tested team having played Colorado and Boise State. Their defense played well in both games and appears to be strong this year. Navy's defense has been their achilles heal in the past, but they have done a great job on getting stronger upfront and playing better overall defense. They played a great FH at Memphis, but the speed of Memphis just killed them in the second half. This is Navy's issue every year with the better teams in their conference as they simply can not match top end speed. Air Force's athlete's are more similar to Navy's, though Remsberg is a concern for Navy as he has been very impressive so far. Both these teams excel at rushing and both are prepared to stop it, so the passing game may be the difference in the game. Navy has made a concerned effort to pass more this year and they have had some success. I think they will have to throw the ball to win this game as will Air Force. Navy is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games against Air Force The best money making trend in service academy games has been the under. The Under is 33-8-1 since 2005 and that is hard to ignore. The total opened briefly over 50 and got pounded down to 45 and now has inched up. The later movement up is interesting as it goes against the recent trends and it has caught my eye.
Navy Ov 46
is what I am playing in this game. I think both teams open up the playbook, which likely will create some turnovers and some points. Should be a perfect football weather in Annapolis and I think we see a higher scoring game than people expect. Looking forward to this one!
Auburn -2.5 -115 - placed this morning. I simply do not think Florida is good enough offensively to win this game.
Tease of the week (3 team 7 pointer):
UAB -2.5
Army +9.5
BC +12
