The pros at FiveStarPick.com are looking forward to an action packed game tonight as the Virginia Tech Hokies travel to Greenville, North Carolina to face the East Carolina Pirates. Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Hokies as 13.5 point road favorties with a total of 51.

Last week was a shocker for a lot of VaTech backers as the Hokies lost a home game to the UNC Tar Heels as 15.5 point favorites. Freshman running back Ryan Williams fumbled late in the 4th quarter to set up the winning field goal for North Carolina.  Williams has been a workhorse for the Hokies with five 100-yard games and is just 70 yards short of a 1,000-yard season.

After the loss to North Carolina, the Hokies probably won’t be making it back to the ACC championship, but after back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and UNC, Beamer’s team is probably hungry for a win and would like nothing more than to avenge last year’s season-opening loss to the Pirates.

In that game, ECU QB Patrick Pinkney completed 19-of-23 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown in the 27-22 upset (as I recall a huge Money Line winner for our members last year). Pinkney is back at ECU this season and he is feeling confident that he can expose a Virginia Tech defense that hasn’t been rock solid this year. Look for Pinkey to go to WR Dwayne Harris, who has a combined 1,054 all-purpose yards in his last six games while scoring eight touchdowns.

The key for East Carolina tonight will be to create turnovers and limit VaTech’s ability to pull off the big play. The Hokies QB Tyrod Taylor has 44 plays of 20 yards or more this year, while the Pirates rank 10th in the nation with 21 takeaways (11 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries).

East Carolina has won three of their last four games against nationally ranked opponents and three of their last four home games against the ACC.  Virginia Tech is 3-5 against the spread while East Carolina is 3-4 against the spread.

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 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

The pros at FiveStarPick.com cashed another Monday Night Football ticket last night as we gave our members the Philadelphia Eagles to cover the 7.5-point spread. It’s always amazing to see that as soon as we posted our play at -7.5 the line jumped to -9. Over 3000 members putting dime bets on Philly will do that. Sportsbooks are always looking for an edge, so make sure you get our Five Star plays in as soon as they are released. Tonight we are handicapping the ESPN2 college football game between the East Carolina Pirates and the Memphis Tigers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Pirates as 4-point road favorites with a total of 48.

East Carolina is coming off a 49-13 route of Rice last week, while Memphis suffered a 36-16 loss to Southern Miss. East Carolina has won three straight in this series, including a 30-10 home win as a 9-point favorite last year.

ECU is 11-6 all-time against Memphis and has won six of their last eight road games against Conference USA East opponents.  Last year, Memphis kept up with ECU in the 1st half, but the Pirates scored 23 unanswered points in the second half, and allowed only 49 yards. The Pirates defense is stout as they have held their last two opponents (SMU, Rice) to just 53 rushing yards per game. 

Memphis has a strong running back in Curtis Steele, who has rushed for 376 yards in the Tigers last two games. ECU will have to force Memphis to beat them through the air if they want to have any chance to win this game on the road.  They are ranked second in the conference with 10 interceptions and Tiger quarterbacks have thrown 11 picks on the season.

QB Patrick Pinkney and wide receiver Dwayne Harris are the big playmakers for ECU. Pinkney is coming off his 12th career 200-yard passing game and Harris was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 92 yards for 6. He finished with 264 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against Rice. The Pirates are 10-1 against the spread in their last 11 meetings with Memphis.

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 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

FiveStarPick.com is hot on another college football pick.  After a solid win with Wake Forest to open our 2008 College Football Betting Season, we are looking hard at two (2) five star matchups today.  The first is the game between Boston College and Kent State.  The second is the subject of today’s preview…Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina. 

Virginia Tech made it to the ACC Championship last year using a two quarterback system, but this year Frank Beamer has decided to stick exclusively with fifth-year senior Sean Glennon as the No. 17 Hokies face East Carolina at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Saturday.

Glennon was Virginia Tech’s starter at the beginning of last season as well, but he lost the job to Tyrod Taylor. After Taylor got hurt, Glennon stepped back in and reclaimed the starting spot.  In the 2007 season Glennon had a 61.7 percent completion percentage, 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in his final eight games. He threw 3 touchdowns in Virginia Tech’s 30-16 win over Boston College in the ACC Championship and was named MVP of the game.

Still, this year’s Hokies have some big shoes to fill.  Branden Ore is gone and junior Kenny Lewis and redshirt freshman Darren Evans are going to have to shoulder the load. In addition, the team’s top four receivers from last year graduated and they lost 8 defensive starters to the NFL.  Senior Orion Martin is the only Hokies defensive lineman who has started a college game.

East Carolina had a bunch of trouble in last year’s season opening loss to Virginia Tech.  East Carolina went 8-5 last year, but averaged more than 30 points per game in their 13 outings.  The Pirates have a quarterback controversy of their own, as Patrick Pinkney and Rob Kass return…each throwing for more than 1,000 yards last season.

East Carolina also lost some players to the NFL.  Starting running back Chris Johnson went in the first round of the NFL draft to Tennessee after scoring 17 touchdowns for the Pirates last year. In addition, the Pirates lost Dominique Lindsay for the year to a knee injury.

So who covers the spread in today’s game?  It is easy to find out.  Become a member of FiveStarPick.com and put the worry, stress and grind over the daily line behind you.  Our members who bet $100 a game are up nearly $10,000 in 2008.  We are documented as well.  All of our picks are posted on our homepage for all to see.  Do we win every game? NO!  That’s impossible.  But if you stick to our daily plays and follow our sports betting advice, you will start to notice a lot more green where it belongs.  Our membership fee will pay for itself on the first day.  Join today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com