The pros at FivStarPick.com have been crunching stats, trends, key matchups and injury reports to give our members another winner tonight.  The Auburn Tigers are favored by 1.5 points over the Mississippi State Bulldogs with a total of 56.5.

The Mississippi State program fell on hard times when Sylvester Croom replaced Jackie Sherrill in 2004, but the optimism in Starkville was back when Dan Mullen entered the picture in 2009.

This optimism was never more evident than when the new squad brought out over 34,000 to their spring game, a state record.  In addition, the Bulldogs crushed Memphis in their season opener, 49-7.

MSU can run the ball.  They returned four starters to an offensive line that blocked the top rushing attack in the SEC last season. The question mark for Mississippi State, however, has always been at the QB position. That question might have been answered in new QB prospects Chris Relf and Tyler Russell.  Both looked sharp as they threw the ball with ease to Wide Receivers Brandon Heavens and Chad Bumphis, both recording 100 yard games. Russell was extremely impressive completing 13-for-16 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

Now enter the Auburn Tigers.  There are several story lines at play tonight.  The first is the revenge factor as the Bulldogs were bloodied 49-24 in their 2009 SEC opener at Auburn.  The other story is the drama behind new Auburn QB Cam Newton.

Cam Newton led the Blinn Buccaneers to the junior college national title in 2009 while throwing for 2,833 yards and 38 touchdowns.  Newton began his collegiate career at the University of Florida as backup to Tim Tebow, but he had a run-in with the law over a stolen laptop that caused his time at Florida to come to an end.

After his stellar JC campaign, Dan Mullen thought Newton was ready to resume his Division 1-A college career at Mississippi State, he was shocked to find out Newton chose Auburn.  So tonight Mr. Newton will face an enthusiastic Mississippi State crowd eager to show the youngster he chose the wrong school.

Newton got his Auburn career off to a fantastic start last weekend with five touchdowns and 357 yards total offense; all while setting the school record for rushing yards for a quarterback after he finished with 171 yards on 15 carries.

Having said all that, this will not be an easy game to handicap, but the pros at FiveStarPick.com have broken down every stat, trend, injury report and weather forcast on this game to provide our members with a winning play.  Try FiveStarPick.com today 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 that documents our last 30 plays, then 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

While you degenerate gamblers are sitting on the couch today waiting for kickoff, the pros at FivStarPick.com are crunching stats, trends, key matchups and injury reports to give our members another winner tonight.  The Virginia Tech Hokies are favored by 1.5 points over the Boise State Broncos at a nuetral field and we think this line is DEAD WRONG!

The 3rd ranked Broncos (highest ever ranking) might give them an easy path to the BCS Championship Game, but the hype surrounding this game really started at the beginning of August.  Boise State was initially posted as a 2.5-point favorite with a total of 51.  However, VATech has been getting pounded by the betting public moving the line to favor the Hokies by 1.5. 

Boise State has returned 21 of 22 starters from a year ago.  Last season the Broncos posted 14-0 mark with a team that had an offense ranked 10th in the nation in total offense (450.2 YPG) and the best scoring attack in the land (42.2 PPG) in 2009.  

Bronco QB Kellen Moore was second only to Tim Tebow last year in passing efficiency (161.7 rating) as he threw for 3,536 yards and 39 touchdowns. Moreover, Moore threw just three interceptions in 2009 behind an offensive line that surrendered just five sacks in all of ’09.

Virginia Tech comes into this game off a 10-3 campaign in 2009 that ended with a 37-14 crushing of Lane Kiffin and Tennessee in the Chik-fil-A Bowl.  That win over the Vols gave VATech its sixth-straight 10-win season, all of which have come in the ACC.

The Hokies return Tyrod Taylor under center. Taylor showed promise last year with 13 passing touchdowns, but threw two interceptions in his final two starts of 2009 and got sacked 11 times in his last five games.  Darren Evans will be returning after sitting out last season with an injury, so Ryan Williams will get some help in the backfield after a “2009 Rookie of the Year” campaign that saw him gain 1,655 yards on the ground with 21 scores.

On defense, the Hokies gave up just 295.5 YPG; good enough to secure a rank of 12th nationally. However, VATech is returning just 4 starters from their 2009 defensive unit.

This game is not an easy game to handicap, but the pros at FiveStarPick.com have broken down every stat, trend, injury report and weather forcast on this game to provide our members with a winning play.  Try FiveStarPick.com today 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 that documents our last 30 plays, then 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

The pros at FivStarPick.com are looking forward to the start of the NCAA football season and our focus tonight is on Lane Kiffin and the USC Trojans traveling across the pond to take on the Hawaii Warriors.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list USC as 21 point road favorites with a total of 54.

Dismissed just four games into his 2008 NFL campaign with the Raiders, Lane Kiffin had three months to jockey for a head-coaching job at the collegiate level. When Phil Fulmer’s got released from Tennessee, AD Mike Hamilton pulled the trigger and took a chance on Kiffin.

Kiffin brought youth, flash and excitement to the Volunteers and a package deal with recruiting guru Ed Orgeron and legendary NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Hamilton got the short end of that stick.  In the first few weeks, Hamilton’s brash new coach falsely accused Florida of recruiting violations, then racked up six NCAA violations himself before coaching his first game for the Volunteers.

During a 7-6 season, Kiffin tweeted positive spin about close losses to Alabama and Florida, but 14 months into his stay in Knoxville, Kiffin left for his ‘dream job’ at USC.  In his wake he left behind a slue of broken promises and an ongoing NCAA investigation.

Shortly after taking over the helm as USC’s head coach, the Tojans got hammered with the worst penalties the NCAA has dealt out since SMU in the early 80s. The Trojans can’t go to a bowl game in 2010 or 2011, and they’ve had 30 scholarships stripped away.

USC finished 2009 with a horrible 4-9 record Against The Spread, meanwhile, Hawaii went 6-6 Against The Spread.

The Trojans return five starters on each side of the ball, including sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley, who started 12 of 13 games as a true freshman. Barkley threw for 2,735 yards and 15 touchdowns, but he was intercepted 14 times.

USC’s leading rusher (RB Joe McKnight) and receiver (WR Damian Williams) are gone. Senior RB Allen Bradford will step up to take the bulk of the carries after rushing for eight TDs and averaging 5.8 yards per carry last season.

The Warriors are returing five starters on offense and seven on defense. However, a pair of starters on the offensive line will be missing Thursday night. Junior center Matagisila Lefiti is out for the first three games of the season, while junior OG Brett Leonard isn’t expected to return until early October.

Junior Bryant Moniz has been named the starting QB for the Warriors, who won four of their last five games with Moniz under center last year. The lone loss in that stretch came against a Wisconsin team that was playing extremely well down the stretch.

Moniz posted a 14/10 touchdown-to-interception ratio last year. He has his favorite target and one of the WAC’s premier wideouts back in the mix. That would be senior Greg Salas, who had 106 receptions for 1,590 yards and eight TDs in ’09. Also, senior WR Kealoha Pilares returns after hauling in 66 catches for 690 yards and four TDs last season.

Now lets talk trends…Hawaii owns a 4-4 Against The Spread record in eight home underdog situations since head coack McMackin took over for June Jones in ’08. However, the Warriors are 0-3 versus the number as double-digit home ‘dogs.  USC was 1-5 Against The Spread as a road favorite last year and has failed to cover the number in nine of its last 12 road ‘chalk’ spots.

These schools met in the 2005 season opener with the Trojans rolling to a 63-17 victory as 36-point home favorites. They have won all six meetings against the Warriors, scoring 60 points or more in their last three encounters.

This game is not an easy game to handicap, but the pros at FiveStarPick.com have broken down every stat, trend, injury report and weather forcast on this game to provide our members with a winning play.  Try FiveStarPick.com today 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 that documents our last 30 plays, then 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

The pros at FiveStarPick.com are looking forward to this year’s Army-Navy game and continuing our tradition of perfection. We have handicapped the last seven (7) Army-Navy games and are a perfect 7-0 against the spread.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Navy Mid-Shipmen (8-4 SU, 5-5-1 against the spread) as 16-point favorites with a total of 41.5.

We are abound with patriotism at FiveStarPick.com, so this game couldn’t be more fitting to end the college football regular season.  The question is, will Obama show up to kick off? After watching him throw out the first pitch during this year’s World Series, we would advise him to sit this one out.

Army (5-6 SU, 3-7 ATS) has not been the play in recent history as the Cadets are 20-85 over the last 8 years. But now Rich Ellerson is running the show. Ellerson was brought in from Cal Poly after going 56-34 in eight seasons as head coach.  He won 3 Great West championships and went twice to the FCS playoffs.  A win today would cap off a .500 season for the first time in many years.

The Black Knights have averaged 212.1 yards per game on the ground to rank 14th in the nation this year. In addition, Army has seen quality results out of their freshman quarterback, Trent Steelman. Steelman has completed 52 percent of his passes for 560 yards and three scores, and has run the ball for 690 yards and five scores.  Patrick Mealy, RB for the Knights, is back from an injury and has rushed for 625 yards and three scores on 97 carries. This duo accounted for 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Black Knights’ 17-13 win over North Texas as 1-point road dogs back in November.

The Black Knights will have their hands full today with Navy’s triple-option attack. Ricky Dobbs has 924 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on the year, all while playing with a cracked kneecap. Dobbs goto guy on the ground is RB Vince Murray who has 884 yards and six touchdowns on the year.

If there has been a chink in Navy’s armour this year it has been their defense. The Middies rank 44th in the nation, allowing 345.8 YPG, but they were torched for 428 yards in their 24-17 loss to Hawaii as 10-point road favorites on November 28th.

A win today for the Black Knights ensures an EagleBank Bowl bid against Temple on December 30th.  Navy, on the other hand, has already accepted an invitation to the Texas Bowl to face off with Missouri on December 30th.

Army has not beaten Navy since 2001 and has been outscored 72-3 in their last two meetings. Bettors seem to agree as 85% of them are taking Navy at -16.  Which way will you go?

This game is not an easy game to handicap, but the pros at FiveStarPick.com have broken down every stat, trend, injury report and weather forecast on this game to provide our members with a winning play.  Try FiveStarPick.com today 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 that documents our wins and losses, then 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

Its Championship Saturday and the pros at FiveStarPick.com are pumped about today’s SEC Championship game between the #1 Ranked Florida Gators and the #2 Ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Gators as 5.5-point favorites with at total of 43.

Alabama (12-0 SU, 7-5 ATS) is fresh off a 26-21 road win at Auburn as 10-point favorites. The Tide were looking like they were going to go down, but somehow rallied and took the lead in the final minute on QB Greg McElroy’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Roy Upchurch.  Heisman candidate Mark Ingram definately hurt his chances for the award with a 30 yard performance on 16 carries.  McElroy, on the other hand, showed some confidence completing 21-of-31 passes for 218 yards and 2 TDs.

McElroy had never started a game until this year and played great at the beginning of this season. Then against Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU, McElroy started looking like a rookie.  Having said that, Nick Saban’s Tide continue to find ways to get the ‘W’. Since then, McElroy has thrown five TD passes with no interceptions.

Florida (12-0 straight up, 6-5 against the spread) has a ”semi-good” quarterback with a Heisman Trophy and a pair of national titles.  Last week in The Swamp Tim Tebow connected on 17-of-21 passes for 214 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. By the way, he also rushed 15 times for 90 yards and 2 more TDs.

The Gators embarrased FSU, 37-10, as 25-point home favorites. Urban Meyer didn’t want to run up the score on legendary coach Bobby Bowden, so he pulled his starters late in the 3rd quarter and still took them to the wood shed.

On a side-bar…UF lost Junior All-American DE Carlos Dunlap after he was arrested Tuesday morning for DUI. Meyer says he is out for today’s game, but might re-instate him for the National Title Game should he prove his worth over the next few weeks. Dunlap was named the Defensive MVP of last year’s win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game and he lead the SEC in sacks in 2008.  Needless to say he will be sorely missed.

Who covers the spread today? This game is not an easy game to handicap, but the pros at FiveStarPick.com have broken down every stat, trend, injury report and weather forecast on this game to provide our members with a winning play.  Try FiveStarPick.com today 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 that documents our wins and losses, then 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