The pros at FivStarPick.com have been crunching stats, trends, key matchups and injury reports to give our members another winner tonight.  The Miami Hurricanes are favored by 3 points over the Pittsburgh Panthers with a total of 50 points.

Pittsburgh was the favorite to win the Big East in the preseason, but the Panthers opened on the road at Utah and it wasn’t good.  Maybe it was the altitude, maybe not.  The result was Pitt losing its national ranking (#15) and tailback Dion Lewis dropping out of the Heisman conversation to start the year.

It all started with the overtime loss at Utah to open the season; then a very uninspiring win over New Hampshire in which Lewis gained just 27 yards on 10 carries; then 2009 Big East co-defensive player of the year, Greg Romeus, will likely miss the rest of the season after having back surgery; and now running back Jason Douglas and offensive lineman Keith Coleman were suspended indefinitely after being arrested for a DUI and aggravated assault respectively.  Not a good start to the year.

Coach Randy Shannon is hoping his team to get his team headed back in the right direction after a big loss at Ohio State.  Miami squandered some big opportunities in their 36-24 defeat at OSU in which QB Jacory Harris was intercepted four times, a career-high for the junior.

The Panthers will look to Lewis, and his backup Ray Graham, to drive the offense but they will need help from QB Tino Sunseri who is starting just his third collegiate game .

If Jacory Harris can eliminate mistakes, and get the ball to WR’s Leonard Hankerson and LaRon Byrd, then Miami can pile up points at a fast clip. Already this season the Hurricanes have four touchdown drives that have lasted less than two minutes, including one against Ohio State.

Pittsburgh and Miami haven’t played since 2003, but the Hurricanes are on a six-game winning streak in this series. The Panthers are 1-10 against ranked, non-conference opponents since 1996.

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 2009 Bowl Season continues tonight, and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s Champs Sports Bowl between the Miami Hurricanes and the Wisconsin Badgers.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Miami as 3-point favorites with a total of 58.

Wisconsin (9-3 SU, 5-6 Against The Spread) finished up the regular season winning four of its last five games.  Last year after a 7-6 record, the Badgers came to the Champs Sports Bowl to take on Florida State. They got crushed 42-13.

This year the Badgers have improved, but they still are somewhat one dimensional, relying heavily on the running game. Wisconsin is ranked 14th in the country with 31 rushing touchdowns and 206.7 rushing YPG.  In addition, they have the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in John Clay. As the starting RB, Clay has amassed 1,396 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2009.

Miami (9-3 SU, 6-5 Against The Spread) will try to counter the Badger running game with a rush defense that is giving up just 118.3 YPG on the ground, good enough for a 28th rank nationally. And these numbers are against teams with solid running games like Georgia Tech and Oklahoma.

Wisconsin was a lot better this year against the pass, giving up just 219.9 passing YPG, but Miami and Jacory Harris are 27th in the nation throwing the ball with 268.1 YPG. Harris has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 3,164 yards and 23 touchdowns. Miami also has a solid ground game behind a pair of running backs in Craig Cooper and Javarris James.  The duo has combined for 1,157 yards and nine touchdowns.

Now let’s talk trends…In their last ten bowl appearances, Wisconsin is 4-6 Against The Spread, while Miami, is 7-3 Against The Spread in as many. The Badgers are 1-3 Against The Spread versus the ACC. Miami is 2-2 Against The Spread against the Big Ten since 1999.

If you are wondering who will cover the spread in the Champs Sports 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

The pros at FiveStarPick.com love making money, and remember, money won is much sweeter than money earned.  Last night we celebrated with some “money won” as the Pitt Panthers covered the spread as 6.5-point road favorites.  But we can’t keep dwelling on past success, so today we will focus on the Oklahoma/Miami game.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Sooners as 7-point road favorites with a total of 51.

A loss to BYU in the season opener sent the Sooners bid for a National Championship into quick uncertainty.  In addition, Sam Bradford injured his right shoulder and it was unknown at that time whether or not he would return this season.

Oklahoma (2-1 straight up, 1-1 against the spread) has made due without Mr. Heisman, because Landry Jones has proven that he is the name of the future.  Jones has connected on 60.5 percent of his passes for 673 yards and nine touchdowns in Bradford’s absence.  It’s clear that the future is bright in Norman.  Jones guided the Sooners to a 45-0 victory over Tulsa as 18-point home favorites mostly by converting 11 of their 17 third downs.  Oklahoma’s defense also shined bright as Tulsa had five “three-and-outs” last Saturday and only two trips to the red zone.

Miami (2-1 SU, 2-1 against the spread) survived a late drive in Tallahassee and looked impressive against the Yellow Jackets at home.  Quarterback Jacory Harris had completed 65 percent of his passes for 656 yards and five scores pushing the Hurricanes into the Top 10 coming into Blacksburg. 

Last Saturday Miami lost 31-7 in a monsoon against Virginia Tech as 2 ½-point road favorites.  FiveStarPick.com members got the home dog, VA Tech…a nice cash for the good guys.  Jacory Harris was not so good connecting on only 9 of 25 attempts for 150 yards and an INT.  The Cane’s running game gained just 59 yards on the ground and converted just 1 of 11 third downs on the Hokie defense.

The Hurricanes have never been home dogs since Randy Shannon took over as head coach in 2007 and Miami has done well against Big XII squads recently with a 3-1 SU and against the spread record in its last four games. The Hurricanes’ lone defeat came in Norman as 11-point road underdogs in 2007, 51-13.

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