ESPN Gameday kicks off the NCAA point spread schedule. Today’s top service picks include from Right Angle Sports RAS totals pick, Phil Steele, Nationwide Gold Sheet, that famed attorney turned football handicapper, Lake Tahoe service and more.
Among the bigger name services that frankly don’t rise to the level of the biggest plays of the biggest sports services in their highest rated sports are Mark Lawrence, Brandon Lang, Pointwise, Sports Reporter, and more.
Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Twins play host to the Rangers, the Braves take on the Marlins, and the top-ranked Tide start their season against San Jose State.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
The college football season gets underway in earnest on Saturday, with a slate that includes a pair of ranked matchups: No. 21 LSU vs. No. 18 North Carolina (at the Georgia Dome), and No. 24 Oregon State vs. No. 6 TCU (at Cowboys Stadium). Oddsmakers like the Tigers that first matchup; they’re a 6.5-point favorite, with the total at 42 points. Meanwhile, TCU is a 13.5-point favorite in their game, with the total at 50.5.
Other games involving ranked teams on Saturday: Samford at No. 20 Florida State, Youngstown State at No. 19 Penn State, Miami (Ohio) at No. 4 Florida (-36.5), Eastern Illinois at No. 9 Iowa, LA-Lafayette at No. 23 Georgia (-28.5), South Carolina State at No. 16 Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina at No. 25 West Virginia, No. 5 Texas (-30.5) at Rice, New Mexico at No. 11 Oregon (-34), Utah State at No. 7 Oklahoma, Western Kentucky at No. 8 Nebraska (-37.5), Arkansas State at No. 22 Auburn (-31), Tennessee Tech at No. 17 Arkansas, No. 12 Wisconsin (-20.5) at UNLV, and finally San Jose State at No. 1 Alabama (-37). The Crimson Tide will be playing without star running back Mark Ingram on Saturday.
Top expert picks on today’s card…
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Meeting up on the diamond . . .
The American League schedule for Saturday has Toronto at the Yankees, the Angels at Oakland, Tampa Bay at Baltimore, Detroit at Kansas City, the White Sox at Boston, Cleveland at Seattle, and Texas at Minnesota. The Rangers are expected to send Colby Lewis (9-11, 3.56 ERA) to the mound in that last contest, while the Twins counter with Carl Pavano (15-10, 3.52 ERA). Righthander Lewis picked up a no-decision against the Twins back on August 24, giving up three runs over 6 1-3 innings; Texas is just 1-7 in Lewis’ last eight starts. Righthander Pavano was tagged with the loss in that August 24 meeting, surrendering four runs on eight hits over his eight innings of work in that game.
Over in the National League on Saturday it’s then the Mets at the Cubs, Colorado at San Diego, Cincinnati at St. Louis, Washington at Pittsburgh, Milwaukee at Philadelphia, Houston at Arizona, San Francisco at the Dodgers, and Atlanta at Florida. Jair Jurrjens (6-4, 4.38 ERA) is set to take on Josh Johnson (11-5, 2.28 ERA) in that Braves/Marlins matchup. Righthander Jurrjens is coming off a win over the Mets, giving up three runs on six hits over 5 2-3 innings in that contest while fanning eight. Righthander Johnson was denied a win against the Braves in his most recent trip to the mound despite giving up just one unearned run on three hits in his six innings of work.