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 on a real heater right now going 17-3 against the spread in our last 20 featured matchups.  Tonight we will be giving our members the against the spread winner of the Hawaii/Louisiana Tech game at 8pm on ESPN2.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Bulldogs as 4-point home favorites with a total of 55.5.  THIS LINE IS DEAD WRONG.  On Monday, the number was 2 ½ at most books, but it shot up to four by late Tuesday afternoon.

What prompted such a spike in the line? Probably all the tough travel schedule for Hawaii, which had to go all the way to Louisiana from Honolulu on Monday.

The Warriors opened their season with a 25-20 home win over Central Arkansas in a non-lined game.  Then the warriors ventured to Seattle where they crushed Washington State, 38-20, as a two-point road favorite. Hawaii stayed on the West coast and prepped for Week 3 at UNLV, but eventually lost a 34-33 decision at Sam Boyd Stadium.  The Warriors hooked up their backers as 7 ½-point road underdogs…which is all that really matters.  

Louisiana Tech began the year with back-to-back road losses to Auburn (37-13) and Navy (32-14), but Tech bounced back in its home opener by rolloing over Nicholls St., 48-13, in a non-lined affair.

Tech QB Ross Jenkins led the Bulldogs by completing 21-of-30 passes for 357 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Freshman RB Tyrone Duplessis ran for 71 yards on just eight carries and Daniel Porter and D.J. Morrow both had TD runs.

Porter and his Bulldogs will face a Hawaii run defense that’s giving up 126.7 rushing yards per game. This unit had only two returning starters and one of those, senior LB Brashton Satele, has been lost for the season with a torn labrum.

Hawaii senior QB Greg Alexander has had an outstanding in 2009 completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,234 yards with a 9-2 TD/INT ratio.  Wideout Greg Salas has also been on top of his game with 20 receptions for 479 yards and four touchdowns.

So who covers the spread in this matchup?  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.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com is looking forward to another bowl win tonight as we give our members the winner of the Notre Dame – Hawaii matchup in the Hawaii Bowl.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Irish as 1.5-point favorites with the total set at 48. 

These two programs have really struggled over the last few years since graduating their stud starting quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Colt Brennan.  Both schools offensive numbers have been on a steady decline, however, a victory in this bowl game may put a few of their issues to rest and help tremendously in recruiting efforts.  The Warriors (7-6 SU, 5-4 ATS) will basically have a home game as well as the chance to beat one of the highest profile programs in the country.  Warrior backup QB Greg Alexander has led them to a 4-2 record since being inserted into the leading role.

The Fighting Irish (6-6 SU, 6-6 ATS) have had little success as of late, after starting the season 4-1, the Irish finished the season 2-5 and questions are now being raised as to whether Charlie Weiss will be around for much longer. The Irish have had a number of key injuries this year but will have their star freshman WR Michael Floyd back in action for this game. The Irish look to end a nation high 9 game bowl losing streak.  The Fighting Irish have not shown any consistency as of late and this game might not be much different.  The Warriors, on the other hand, have been playing good football and had the Big East champion on the ropes in the season finale only to let the game slip away.  Unfortunately turnovers will decide this game.

It is time to step up your game and become a member of our family?  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors are up nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

Well…we got hosed again by Florida State…another 1 point to cover loss.  But ya know, even though we lost 5 dimes on that game last night, the sun was shining this morning and we moved on.  Las Vegas sportsbooks opened Boise State (5-0 straight up, 3-1 against the spread) as a 26-point favorite. As of today, most books had the Broncos at -25.5 with the total set at 52.

The Broncos are coming off a 24-7 win over Southern Miss as 10-point road favorites.  Bronco QB Kellen Moore, a red-shirt freshman, went 21-30 for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns.  This season he has a completion pecentage of 71.5 with 1,335 passing yards and a 10/3 touchdown-interception ratio.

Hawaii (3-3 SU, 2-3 ATS) has won its last two games both SU and ATS, including a 24-14 win over La. Tech as 9-point favorites last Saturday. Hawaii QB Inoki Funaki threw for 2 TDs and ran for another to get the win.

Let’s talk trends.  Since 2000, Boise St. is 33-13 against the spread as a home favorite. The Broncos are 3-0 SU and 1-1 ATS at home this year. They are 2-1 ATS as double-digit favorites.  Since 2003, Hawaii is 9-17 against the spread on the road. This year, the Warriors are 1-2 ATS beaten by Florida (56-10) and Oregon St. (45-7) before winning at Fresno State.

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 Boise St. -25.5 and 250 will get Hawaii +25.5.  After the game ends, they call back the 250 people who won and pitch them on charging thousands of dollars on 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