ESPN college football has Pitt vs. Miami, plus there is pennant race MLB. Super book Bodog takes a peek at tonight’s card.
An old Big East rivalry is rekindled Thursday night for the first time since the Miami Hurricanes left that conference for the ACC as UM visits Pittsburgh in a game that both teams need to prove they were as good as they were expected to be heading into the season. Miami is a 4-point favorite on Bodog’s NCAA Football Odds with live betting available.
Pitt opened the season at No. 15 in the rankings but was knocked out of the polls following a 27-24 overtime loss at Utah. The Panthers then beat New Hampshire on Sept. 11 but that didn’t prove much. A rebuilt offensive line has had trouble opening holes for star sophomore running back Dion Lewis. Last year, Lewis was probably the best freshman in the country when he rushed for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns. But Lewis had only 27 yards against New Hampshire, an FCS team, and was held to 75 yards on 25 carries against Utah. Pitt is breaking in both guards and a center this year, not to mention a new quarterback in Tino Sunseri, who has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 459 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. So defenses are gearing up to stop the run.
Miami, meanwhile, opened at No. 13 in the polls and had no trouble in an opening 45-0 win over FCS team Florida A&M. But the Canes blew a chance on the national stage on Sept. 11 by losing 36-24 at Ohio State in which Jacory Harris threw four interceptions – picks were a big problem for Harris last season. Plus the Miami defense allowed 414 total yards to the Buckeyes. UM does lead the nation in tackles for loss and in punt return average – the Canes ran both a kickoff and punt back for a TD against Ohio State.
However, history shows that UM should win tonight, considering Miami has won six in a row in this series since 1998. The Hurricanes also have won 32 consecutive games against unranked non-conference opponents, while the Panthers are 1-10 in their past 11 against ranked non-conference teams. These two have met four times on ESPN’s Thursday night football and Miami is 3-1.
Top expert pick on this game: Hottest Handicapper feature is 5-1; Biggest Play 31-14 (records in all sports for both) on the Power of 620 sports services behind every selection, the MasterLockLine.
The “Biggest Play” is it’s the first time this season in college or pro football that a nationally ranked sports service has released a regular season Game of the Year (though it’s from a service that hit their NFLX GOY). Mon Valley Sports is ranked No. 19 all-time in football (college/pro combined). NCF Game of the Year Miami U vs. Pittsburgh U. Click now to purchase or for more information and a free pick
There is also MLB picks tonight. Now one of the few sportsbooks to get the most prestigious honor of the all, “Sportsbook of the Year” by OffshoreInsiders.com takes a look at today’s top betting action.
Yes, both the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are going to the playoffs, but tonight’s finale of a four-game set in the Bronx has huge seeding implications for the AL playoffs. New York is a -140 favorite on Bodog’s MLB Odds and there will be live betting available.
The Rays won a rain-delayed game 7-2 on Wednesday night to cut the Yankees’ lead in the AL East to 1.5 games. After tonight’s game, Tampa Bay has 10 games left and New York nine. A Tampa Bay win would be especially big because it would not only cut the division lead to a half-game but give the Rays the season series at 10-8. Remember, there will be no 163rd game this year in baseball – now if two teams in a division are tied after 162 games, the division goes to the club that won the season series. Obviously if New York wins tonight it ties the season series – in that case, the tiebreaker would be record within the AL East. The Rays are 40-28 and the Yankees are 35-27 in the division. And you also have to throw possible home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs into the mix. Entering tonight the Yanks and Twins are tied with the Rays obviously 1.5 games back. Should the AL East winner end up tied with Minnesota record-wise, the Twins lose out because they lost both season series to Tampa Bay and New York.
It should be noted the Rays have a much easier schedule the rest of the way, so it’s probably fair to say tonight’s winner is your AL East champ and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
The pitching matchup couldn’t be better as it matches the two best lefties and the top two Cy Young candidates in the AL: Tampa Bay’s David Price (17-6, 2.79) and New York’s CC Sabathia (20-6, 3.05). Those two met last Monday in St. Petersburg and both matched zeros through eight innings in the Rays’ 1-0, 11-inning victory. Price is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in four career appearances including three starts at Yankee Stadium. Sabathia has a 1.84 ERA this season against Tampa Bay.