FiveStarPick.com will be giving our over 3000 members the against the spread winner of tonight’s showdown between the Trojans of USC and the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Trojans as 7-point road favorites with a total of 45.5.

Ohio State was a 22-point home favorite against the Midshipmen last week.  The Bucks took a 20-7 lead into halftime, but Navy came within a two-point conversion late in the game.   Luckily for OSU Brian Rolle intercepted Ricky Dobbs’s pass for a two-point conversion the other way to clinch a 31-27 victory.

Terrelle Pryor completed 14 of 21 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown and rushed six times for 30 yards and another score.  Daniel “Boom” Herron also ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Ohio State’s defense knew that it was going to have its hands full with the triple-option.  The Mid-Shipmen rushed 44 times for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Buckeyes are looking forward to playing USC because the Trojans run a pro style offensive attack that they are much more familiar defending.  What will be interesting is how the Trojans handle coming into the Horseshoe with a rookie under center. Matt Barkley is a true freshman quarterback running the show for Southern California this year and he’s looked good connecting on 15 of his 19 pass attempts for 233 yards and one touchdown.  Joe McKnight also shined as he compiled 145 yards and two scores on 14 carries.

Now let’s talk trends…Despite last year’s blowout, Ohio State is still 13-6 straight up and 10-8-1 against the spread in its last 19 games against Pac-10 schools.  Southern Cal has owned Big Ten programs as of late, posting a 17-8 SU and ATS mark against them recently.  The Buckeyes haven’t been listed as home ‘dogs often, just nine times since 1988. They are 3-5-1 SU and 5-4 ATS in those situations.

So who covers the spread tonight?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

The pros at FiveStarPick.com are beyond excited about this year’s NFL season.  For Thursday Night Football in the NFL we will be giving our members the against the spread winner of the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Steelers as 6.5-point home favorites with a total of 35.

When we last watched the Steelers, they were coming from behind to beat Arizona at Super Bowl XLIII thanks to a last-minute touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes.   The pass should have been picked off, but luckily for Big Ben, it turned into his second Super Bowl ring in four seasons. As he enters his sixth season, Roethlisberger is healthy and looks to get number 3.

Pittsburgh (15-4 straight up, 11-8 against the spread) returns all of its starters with the exception of two guys on defense, linebacker Larry Foote and cornerback Bryant McFadden.  William Gay, a three-year veteran, will replace McFadden opposite Ike Taylor.   Lawrence Timmons, former FSU stand-out, is poised to take over the spot vacated by Foote.  Timmons, a No. 1 pick in 2007, was outstanding as the team’s nickel linebacker in ’08 with 65 tackles, five sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.  He missed Tuesday’s practice and is listed as “questionable” with an ankle injury.

Roethlisberger was outstanding in the playoffs, but not-so-impressive in the regular season with a 17/15 touchdown-interception ratio.  In addition, the Steeler  power running game was 23rd in the NFL in rushing offense. Willie Parker was often banged up and Rashard Mendenhall went on IR early in the season after Ray Lewis broke his collarbone on a crushing hit. 

Tennessee (13-4 SU, 12-5 ATS) went 13-3 in the 2008 regular season to garner homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. However, the Titans went “one and done” in the postseason, losing to Baltimore 13-10 when veteran tightend Alge Crumpler coughed up a fumble deep in the red zone late in the fourth quarter.

Jeff Fisher’s team won its first 10 games last year and the Titans went an incredible 9-1 against the spread during that span.  Kerry Collins took over at quarterback for Vince Young and rookie running back Chris Johnson rocked it with a huge break-out season.  Johnson rushed for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns, while LenDale White’s hit it hard between the tackles. White rushed for 15 touchdowns in ’08 and hopes to be more productive this year after trimming down during the offseason.

The Titans lost WR Brandon Jones to free agency after he led the wideouts with 41 catches, but the WR corps still has Justin Gage, who played better down the stretch after shaking off early-season injuries. Tennessee added former Steeler Nate Washington and also drafted Kenny Britt from Rutgers in the first round. 

Tennessee’s defense will again be stout, but we can’t ignore the fact that Pro-Bowl DT Albert Haynesworth left for the Redskins during the offseason for the most lucrative D-line contract in NFL history.  Nevertheless, the defensive unit still has Pro-Bowlers like LB Keith Bulluck, CB Cortland Finnegan and safety Michael Griffin.

When these clubs met last year in Music City, the Titans captured a 31-14 victory as three-point home underdogs.

So who covers the spread tonight?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com gave its members another 3-1 against the spread day yesterday and look forward to another win today as we professionally handicap today’s matchup between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Memphis Tigers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Rebels as 18-point road favorites with a total of 57.

Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt is going to have to step up his game if he wants to upstage his season from a year ago.  Ole Miss went 9-4 straight up in 2008 under Nutt, including wins over the eventual National Champion Florida Gators in the regular season and the high-powered offens of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl.  In addition, the Rebs went 10-3 against the spread last year. 

A lot of the Rebels’ success is going to ride on how well quarterback Jevan Snead handles himself under center this season. The former Longhorn completed 56 percent of his passes for 2,762 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2008.  Matthew Stafford and Tim Tebow were among a select few who did better.

Ole Miss loves there “Wild Rebel” style of offense with Dexter McCluster at the point. He’s definitely an all-purpose kind of player, as evidenced by 655 rushing yards and 625 receiving yards with seven scores.

Memphis is just hoping to keep it close today. The Tigers opened the 2008 campaign with three straight losses, covering the spread just once. But they picked it up with six wins in their final nine regular season tilts to get back to a bowl game. Bettors for the Tigers lost the juice last year with 5-5 against the spread ledger.

The Tigers will start Arkelon Hall today, but back up Will Hudgens might also get a few snaps.  What will be a challenge for Memphis in this game is how well they can defend the run. Last year, they allowed 4.7 yards per carry. That is the exact same average YPC that the Rebs had for 2008.  The Tigers do have reason to be confident that they can hold Ole Miss back on the ground with juco transfer Justin Thompson anchoring the defensive line now.  Their secondary will get a much needed boost with DeRon Furr starting after sitting out ’08 because of transferring from Auburn.

Memphis has been profitable during their last 8 meetings with the Rebels going 5-3 against the spread.  And as double-digit home underdogs, they are a robust 5-2 against the spread.

So who covers the spread tonight in the Liberty Bowl?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members 3 plays in college football today, but our college football pick of the day will be tonight’s Alabama/Virginia Tech game.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Tide as 6-point favorites with a total of 37. 

Alabama should be displaying a dominant defense returning nine starters, including a pair of All-Americans in defensive tackle Terrance Cody and linebacker Rolando McClain.  DE Brandon Deadrick (36 tackles, four sacks in 2008) was shot in the arm in an attempted robbery earlier this week, and is listed as questionable.  Deadrick actually returned to practice on Thursday and has been cleared to play.

Greg McElroy took the reigns from starting QB John Parker Wilson.  McElroy completed 8-of-11 passes for 123 yards with one touchdown and one interception in limited play last year.  But McElroy will have the benefit of one of the nation’s premier wide receivers in Julio Jones, who had a team-high 58 receptions and 924 yards as a true freshman.  The tide will be returning Mark Ingram who rushed for 728 yards and a team-high 12 TDs. Terry Grant is also back in the mix after being the odd man out in 2008. Grant has more than 1,000 career yards and a 4.6 yards-per-carry average.

Va. Tech’s situation at RB isn’t quite as promising. The Hokies suffered a monster blow a few weeks ago when sophomore Darren Evans tore his ACL and was lost for the season. Evans rushed for 1,265 yards and 11 TDs last season.

Junior QB Tyrod Taylor now has the job of quarterback all to himself.  Taylor emulates his game after Michael Vick in terms of being able to scramble and elude pressure, but his throwing accuracy is a major question mark, as evidenced by his abysmal 2/7 touchdown-interception ratio in ’08.

Since 2000, the Hokies have thrived in underdog situations. They are 10-5 against the spread during that span. As for ‘Bama, it is 8-9 against the spread in favorite situations under Saban’s watch.

So who covers the spread tonight in Atlanta?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members the ‘Total’ in tonight’s ESPN showdown between the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the Tulane Green Wave.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list Tulsa as 14-point favorites with the total coming in at 65.

The Golden Hurricane returns eight starters on defense and five on offense, but the big loss is in quarterback David Johnson, who threw for 4,059 yards and 46 touchdowns in 2008. His replacement candidates are junior Jacob Bower, who connected on 11-of-15 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception in limited playing time last year, and University of Texas transfer G.J. Kinne.

Our sources say that Kinne will most likely be getting the start and his first snaps under center as a college football player.  Mac Brown redshirted him at Texas in 2007 and Kinne sat out last year after transferring to Tulsa from Austin.

The Tulsa offense lost a few other stars as well.  Running Back Tarrion Adams, who ran for more than 1,500 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 6.2 yards per carry is gone. Also gone, WR Brennan Marion who tallied 1,112 receving yards and eight TD catches.

So it seems that their only returning playmaker tonight is Damaris Johnson, who led C-USA in all-purpose yardage as a true freshman.  Johnson had a team-high 53 receptions and 10 TD grabs in 2008 and will add punt-returns to his list of duties this year.

Tulane finished 2008 with a 2-10 SU and a 5-7 Against The Spread ledger.  But the Tulane staff feels the eight-game losing streak to conclude the season was misleading.  For one, since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tulane’s athletics budget has been decimated. With that in mind, Tulane had the nation’s worst rash of injuries in ’08 losing almost 20 starters. 

The Wave returns seven starters on offense and six on defense, but they will be without a pair of starters along the defensive line Friday night so that means only 4 will start tonight from last year’s squad.  Tulane sophomore QB Joe Kemp will make his first career start after a broken collarbone limited his playing time in 2008.  As a freshman, Kemp completed 26-of-46 (57%) passes for 344 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Now let’s talk trends…Tulane is 4-5 Against The Spread as a double-digit underdog in Coach Toledo’s first two seasons. The Wave is 3-3 Against The Spread as a home ‘dog in the same era.  Meanwhile, Tulsa is a mediocre 4-7 Against The Spread as a road favorite during Coach Graham’s tenure. The Golden Hurricane is 2-4 ATS as a double-digit road favorite under Graham.

So who covers the spread tonight in the bayou?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com