Happy New Year to all our members and congratulations on another winning season.  It’s now 2010 as the Bowl Season continues and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s AllState Sugar Bowl between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Florida Gators.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Florida as 13-point favorites with a total of 62.

Earlier this month, Cincinnati and Florida both were unbeaten and jockying for the chance at a spot in the national championship game.  Now both clubs are in turmoil as two of the nation’s premier coaches in Brian Kelly and Urban Meyer have caused college football chatrooms and ESPN analysts to act like gossip hunters on TMZ.  First the news that Kelly was leaving Cincinnati to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame and then a breaking story that Meyer might not make it to his 46th birthday due to a heart condition.

So then the announcement that Steve Adazzio is now UF’s interim head coach, while Jeff Quinn takes over the reigns for the Bearcats tonight.  To add to the drama, Quinn was just named the new head coach at Buffalo, so he’s bailing n Cincy after the game.  Then you have the story line of new Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones who was hired just days after Kelly announced his departure for South Bend.  Jones has said he plans to retain only one assistant currently on the Bearcats’ staff.  Then you have a story about UF defensive coordinator Charlie Strong being named the new head coach at Louisville and Billy Gonzalez, UF’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, announce he is leaving UF to help out Les Miles at LSU.

Oh the drama which is college football…

Florida’s national championship hopes were crushed in the Georgia Dome earlier this month when Alabama took them to the woodshed with a 32-13 victory as a 5-point dog.  Florida had not given up more than 20 points (Arkansas) all year long and tonight will face a Bearcat offense with some firepower. In addition, the Gators will be without defensive starter in LB A.J. Jones (knee), however DE Carlos “DUI” Dunlap has been reistated for tonight’s game.  The big question on everyone’s mind here inVegas is whether or not Florida will suffer from a SEC Championship hangover. Only time will tell.

Cincinnati (12-0 SU, 6-6 Against The Spread) continued their unbeaten regular season by rallying in the final seconds to beat Pitt, 45-44.  Pitt took a 44-38 lead with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, but Tony Pike threw a touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone to Armon Binns on a double move with 33 seconds remaining.

Pike finished his injury plagued season with a 26/6 touchdown-to-interception ratio and has one of the country’s top wide receivers in Mardy Gilyard.  The NFL scouts will be watching Gilyard a lot tonight as he will be matched up against UF junior CB Joe Haden, another projected early first-round pick.  Gilyard has a team-high 80 receptions for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Now let’s talk trends…Obviously the Bearcats do not have the same strength of schedule the Gators have, but they beat Oregon St., 28-8, as one-point road favorites. Other notable wins included a 49-36 win over Illinois and 28-20 home win over Fresno St.

Florida was a double-digit favorite in every game they played except the Alabama game and ended the regular season with a 6-5 against the spread record.  The Bearcats were underdogs just once in 2009 beating Rutgers 47-15 as 4.5-point ‘dogs in their season opener.  Cincy was 6-6 in their over/under campaign, while the ‘under’ was 8-4 overall for the Gators.

If you are wondering who will cover the spread in the Sugar Bowl, try FiveStarPick.com tonight and eliminate the guesswork. For only $19.99 you can test us out 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.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

Well…after a 9-0 run against the spread in our last nine, the pros at FiveStarPick.com were handed our first loss in over a week as the Boise St/Cincinnati game failed to eclipse the 55.5 point closing ‘Total’. These teams had 7:47 remaining in the game to score a touchdown and hit the ‘Over’, but they could’nt do it…such BS, but we have to move on!  Today we are handicapping tonight’s Big East matchup between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the South Florida Bulls. Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Bearcats as 2.5 point-road favorites with a ‘Total’ of 49.

Five games ago I doubt any of us would have said that South Florida and Cincinnati would be 5-0, but they are and tonight will be a great matchup in what should be a rockin’ Raymond James Stadium.

The South Florida Bulls were especially a surprise at 5-0 seeing that they lost one of their best players when QB Matt Grothe suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the Bulls’ 59-0 blowout victory against Charleston Southern.

Coach Jim Leavitt called up redshirt freshman QB B.J. Daniels and the Bull’s offense hasn’t missed a beat.  The team is third in the league in total offense averaging 413.6 yards a game and second in the conference in rushing (190.8 YPG).  Daniels ranks eighth in the conference in rushing (58 YPG) and is seventh in passing (120 YPG), completing 57.1 percent of his attempts.

Bulls WR Carlton Mitchell leads the team with 21 catches for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns. His last big play was an 85-yard touchdown reception in the win over Syracuse. He is close to setting the USF record for receiving yards in just his junior year.

But what about the South Florida defense?  South Florida currently ranks fifth in the Big East in scoring defense, allowing less than 10 points per game and they are holding opponents to a conference-low 263 yards per game in total defense. USF has allowed opponents only four touchdowns in 13 trips inside the red-zone, but they will have to get some pressure on Cincy QB Tony Pike if they want to continue their success.  The Bearcats have only given up three sacks in five games.

Tony Pike, in our opinion, is the REAL DEAL and he will no doubt look early and often to WR Mardy Gilyard who has 38 receptions for 517 yards and seven touchdowns this season. The senior receiver is also a special teams stud, averaging 21.7 yards on kick returns.

Working a spread offense mainly out of the shotgun, Pike usually passes the ball, but make no mistake, the Bearcats can run the ball too with RB Jacob Ramsey in the backfield.  Ramsey lit up Miami (Ohio) for 103 yards and three touchdowns.  Cincinnati ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense.

Now let’s talk trends…Cincy leads the series 4-2 straight up, but the Bulls are 2-1 against the spread at home against the Bearcats. That said, the last time Cincy travelled to South Florida in 2007, the Bearcats managed to pull out a victory, 38-33. Cincinnati also won last year’s meeting, 24-10, at home.

So who covers the spread tonight?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for only ($19.99) 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 see.  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.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

Cincinnati knew that it would have a great offense this season with quality guys like QB Tony Pike and wide receiver Mardy Gilyard.  The concern for Cincinnati was a defense that had to replace 10 starters. It turns out that might be a strength after allowing only 18 points in their first two games of the season including six (6) INT’s.

The Beavers aren’t nearly as dominant on defense as they’ve been in the past few years. Yet this is still the best defense Cincy has seen this season.  Oregon State will give the Bearcats fits trying to defend RB’s Jacquizz and James Rodgers. The brothers have compiled 548 total yards of offense and six touchdowns in their first two games.

Cincinnati has been the West Coast play for bettors as they’re 3-1 SU and against the spread when traveling West.

So who covers the spread in this matchup?  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 is HOT…I mean RED HOT!  Winning 14 of their last 19 plays against the spread, the pros at FiveStar are giving their members the winner of tonight’s game between the South Florida Bulls and the Cincinnati Bearcats.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Bulls as 2.5-point favorites with the total set at 51. 

Bulls QB Matt Grothe leads the league in passing yardage, passing efficiency, total offense and passing touchdowns and South Florida has the #1 offense in the Big East. The Bulls can hurt teams in multiple ways, averaging 171 yards on the ground between Grothe and RB Mike Ford and through the air (avg. 254 yards) with WR Taurus Johnson and Jessie Hester.

On defense the Bulls have a very impressive team leader in All-American George Selvie.  Selvie  missed a couple of games this season with an ankle injury but is now 100% and crushing offenses.  South Florida has the #1 ranked defense in the Big East.

Now let’s talk about the Bearcats.  Coach Brian Kelly must get consistent play from his quarterback position if he wants a chance at beating the Bulls tonight.  The Bearcats got humiliated last weekend 40-16 at Connecticut. Tony Pike made his first start last weekend since breaking his left (non-throwing) arm against Akron.  Pike only played the first half after complaining about numbness in his left hand. Pike will be a gametime decision against South Florida.

So who covers the spread in today’s game?  Why not let FiveStarPick.com help you with the answer?  Aren’t you tired of getting cold called by services that tell you about their 750,000 star play that’s a guaranteed winner. Here is a bit of advice…NOTHING is guaranteed when you are betting on sports.  These so called “handicappers” call 500 people on a Saturday morning and give them all a free play; 250 people will get South Florida -2 and 250 will get Cincinnati +2.  After the game ends, they call back the 250 people who won and pitch them on charging thousands of dollars to their credit cards for more guaranteed winners.   We are not your typical sports handicapping service.  We care about our members and we live and die on every play. Why?  Because we are moving thousands of dollars of our own money on the same plays we give you. Gambling on sports is how we make our living.  Do we win every play?  Absolutely not and we will never pretend to.  Our plays are always posted for all to see, including our losing streaks. But by the end of the year we always seem to have a few hundred thousand dollars of the sportsbook’s money in our casino account.  Let us try and do the same for you.  Join our family of winners today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com