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

FiveStarPick.com will be giving our over 3000 members the against the spread winner of tonight’s showdown between the Trojans of USC and the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Trojans as 7-point road favorites with a total of 45.5.

Ohio State was a 22-point home favorite against the Midshipmen last week.  The Bucks took a 20-7 lead into halftime, but Navy came within a two-point conversion late in the game.   Luckily for OSU Brian Rolle intercepted Ricky Dobbs’s pass for a two-point conversion the other way to clinch a 31-27 victory.

Terrelle Pryor completed 14 of 21 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown and rushed six times for 30 yards and another score.  Daniel “Boom” Herron also ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Ohio State’s defense knew that it was going to have its hands full with the triple-option.  The Mid-Shipmen rushed 44 times for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Buckeyes are looking forward to playing USC because the Trojans run a pro style offensive attack that they are much more familiar defending.  What will be interesting is how the Trojans handle coming into the Horseshoe with a rookie under center. Matt Barkley is a true freshman quarterback running the show for Southern California this year and he’s looked good connecting on 15 of his 19 pass attempts for 233 yards and one touchdown.  Joe McKnight also shined as he compiled 145 yards and two scores on 14 carries.

Now let’s talk trends…Despite last year’s blowout, Ohio State is still 13-6 straight up and 10-8-1 against the spread in its last 19 games against Pac-10 schools.  Southern Cal has owned Big Ten programs as of late, posting a 17-8 SU and ATS mark against them recently.  The Buckeyes haven’t been listed as home ‘dogs often, just nine times since 1988. They are 3-5-1 SU and 5-4 ATS in those situations.

So who covers the spread tonight?  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

The pros at FiveStarPick.com got blown up yesterday.  Our bankroll took a serious hit and we know yours did too, but what’s done is done and we have to focus on today’s comeback.  Spoken like a true gambler…Today we focus on the Rose Bowl which features two powerhouses in Penn State (11-1 Straight Up, 8-3 Against the Spread) and USC (11-1 SU, 6-5 ATS.)  Las Vegas sports books list the Trojans as 8.5-point favorites with the total listed at 44.5. 

Penn State’s bid for a national championship ended on Nov. 8 when they lost to Iowa on the road 24-23 on a last-second field goal. The Big Ten conference has been down all year and the Lions’ non-conference schedule wasn’t good enough to boost their BCS rankings.

The Trojans’ fall came a couple months earlier (Sept. 25) and also on the road. After crushing Virginia (52-7) and Ohio State (35-3) at the beginning of the season, USC traveled to Oregon State and got rocked.  The Trojans were down 21-0 at the break and ended up losing 27-21.

USC head coach Pete Carroll is 5-2 in his bowl history and 3-1 in the Rose Bowl.  USC lost in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl to Utah 10-6 in Carroll’s first season at USC. In 2005, his 12-0 team fell to Texas 41-38 in the Rose Bowl, which cost USC its third straight national title. 

Penn State is 23-10-1 in bowl games under Paterno and has recently won three straight. The Lions have played twice in the Rose Bowl with Joepa, their last visit coming in 1995 when the school downed Oregon 38-20.

USC owns the nation’s best scoring defense with 7.8 points per game and the Lions are boasting 12.4 PPG. The Trojans also lead the nation in yards allowed per game (206.1).  Penn State’s 263 YPG surrendered is 5th best nationally.

Offensively, Penn State is averaging 40.2 PPG but was held to 13 points when it faced Ohio State, which most would agree was the best unit the team faced all season.  QB Daryll Clark (2,319 yards, 17 TDs) and RB Evan Royster (1,202 yards, 12 TDs) will be tested against USC linebackers Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Kaluka Maiava.

USC QB Mark Sanchez (2,794 yards, 30 TDs) is looking to light it up tonight with RB Joe McKnight (646 yards) in the backfield both running and catching the football. The USC receiving corps is average, but Patrick Turner (667 yards, 10 TDs) is Sanchez’s top target. 

Now let’s talk trends…USC is 8-0 both SU and ATS in its last eight meetings against Big Ten opponents and all eight wins have come by double digits. The Big Ten is 0-2 this bowl season, while the Pac 10 has gone 2-0. 

It’s 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.

Anytime USC plays in front of a nationally televised audience it’s big news.  It’s big news for fans, big news for the media and big news for gamblers.  Tonight the USC Trojans will try to remain unbeaten as they go on the road to play Oregon State.  Most sportbooks opened the line at 21 with the total set at 50, but the betting public has moved the line up to 27 and some feel it might hit 27.5 to 28 by game-time.

In 2006, Oregon State played spoiler to a #3 USC team beating them 33-31 and thus ruining their hopes for another national title.  The Beavers dominated on special teams forcing 4 turnovers and converting those turnovers into points.  Turnovers, in our opinion, will be Oregon State’s only chance tonight.

USC is lead by the surprising good play of QB Mark Sanchez.  It’s not whether or not Sanchez is a good QB, it’s that the critics weren’t sure that Sanchez could live up to the accomplishments of his two predecessors (Palmer-Leinart) who were both Heisman winners.  Sanchez was named Pac-10 offensive player of the week in both of his outings this season posting a 166.6 passer rating, completing 43-63, 510 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INTs.  The running back position for USC is also stacked with Joe McKnight (18 rushes/165 yards), C.J. Gable (13 rushes/91 yards), Allen Bradford (14 rushes/57 yards) and Stafon Johnson (13 rushes/51 yards) accounting for a total of 364 yards of offense in their two games.

What’s staggering is that this team is equally as good on defense.  LB’s Maualuga and Cushing sit behind a defensive line that includes DE’s Kyle Moore and Everson Griffen and tackles Averell Spicer and Fili Moala…all potential All-Americans.

The Beavers are definately going to have their hands full tonight, but to have a chance, starting QB Lyle Moevao is going to have to pull out all the stops and play like he has nothing to lose.  WR’s Shane Morales and Sammie Stroughter will be Moevao’s primary weapons, but Moevao might not have enough time in the pocket to get his receivers open.  Regardless…it should be fun to watch. 

So who covers the spread in tonight’s game?  Look no further for the answer.  FiveStarPick.com loves to handicap college football.  It is our specialty and we have been steadily getting more proficient every year since we got into the business in 1990.  Was that really 18 years ago?  Time flies when you’re making money.  Our membership has jumped from 600 off-season members to over 1900 this football season and it’s for one reason and one reason only…we win!  We are the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net and we will never give you a play that we are not heavily on ourselves.  As a matter of fact, our NFL Picks are so strong that they can move the line up to a full point within seconds of being published to our members.  It’s time to come down off the fence and join for 1 year.  A one year membership is only $99.00 and it will pay for itself in the 1st week.  We are nearly 65% against the spread in 2008 and our forte, College and NFL Football Picks, are just beginning.  You owe it to yourself to discover the benefits of membership.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com