BIG AL
At 4 pm, on CBS TV, our Non-Conference Revenge Game of the Year is on the Ohio State Buckeyes over Florida. Last year, Thad Matta's men lost in the NCAA Championship game to these Gators, and there's nothing Ohio State would like more than to give Florida some payback this afternoon. Certainly, each of the two teams is a shell of its former self, with no less than eight players drafted into the NBA from that Title game. But Ohio State has two distinct advantages in this game. First, the Buckeyes have played the much more difficult schedule to date. OSU has already gone up against the likes of North Carolina, Butler, Syracuse and Texas A&M, while Florida's two toughest tests were against Rutgers and Florida State, and both games were at home. Indeed, Florida has played 10 home games, and two neutral site games this season, so this will be the Gators' first true road game, and that's OSU's second big advantage. Florida is 11-1 on the season, but .888 (or better) teams that pad their records with home/neutral site games are poor bets in their first true road game if it's Game 10 of the season or later, covering just 37% of the time. Take the Buckeyes. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my 22-0 ATS NBA Winner on Saturday.
Al
At 8:35 pm, our selection is on the San Antonio Spurs minus the points over the Clippers, as we will play on the World Champs off their loss at Memphis (as a 7-point favorite).
At 1 pm, on Saturday, our selection is on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles plus the points over Cincinnati, as Southern Miss falls into 17-3 and 26-6 ATS Bowl Systems of mine. This also will be an emotional game for the Golden Eagles, as it will be Jeff Bowers' final game as coach, after serving 17 years as the head man. Bowers was forced out even though he compiled a 119-82 record in Hattiesburg, and has taken his troops to bowl games in 10 of the last 11 seasons (winning their last three). But expectations were high entering the season (So Miss was picked to win Conference USA in preseason polls), and the Golden Eagles largely underachieved, finishing fourth in the conference's East division. Still, the players love their coach, and it's always profitable to take double-digit dogs in Bowls games. Take Southern Miss. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my winner in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday.
At 4:30 pm, on Saturday, our selection is on the New Mexico Lobos minus the points over Nevada, as UNM falls into a 20-3 ATS Bowl system of mine. Additionally, teams off 28-point (or greater) home wins to end the season are money-burners in the bowls (Nevada closed out the year with a 49-10 win over Louisiana Tech). New Mexico has the advantage of playing this game at home, and the Lobos were 5-1 SU this season at University Stadium, and outscored their foes by over 14 ppg. Nevada was 2-4 SU and ATS on the road this year, and surrendered over 41 ppg on defense. Its only road wins this season were against Utah State and New Mexico State, both awful clubs. The Wolf Pack Pistol offense will face a staunch test against a Lobos defense ranked 25th in scoring. Although UNM will be without Rodney Ferguson, its leading running back (academically ineligible), the Lobos should find holes in a Nevada secondary ranked 87th nationally in pass efficiency, and I expect New Mexico's receivers Marcus Smith and Travis Brown to have a big game. These two WRs combined for 1950 yards on 155 receptions this year. Take New Mexico. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my other NFL and College Football winners this weekend.
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