College football meets NASCAR this Saturday afternoon with the Battle at Bristol showdown between the ACC's Virginia Tech Hokies and the SEC's No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers in a border war at Bristol Motor Speedway. This unique sporting event is expected to draw 150,000 fans making it the largest college football crowd ever. Michigan held the previous record at 115,109 for an early September game against Notre Dame in 2013.
Both of these teams opened the new season with a straight-up win as heavy favorite, but they did not come close to covering the spread. Virginia Tech took care of Division IAA Liberty 36-13 in a relatively easy fashion, but the closing betting line at BetAnySports was a hefty 32 points. Tennessee began the season as the ninth-ranked team in the nation in the AP's initial Top 25, but it needed overtime to squeeze past Appalachian State 20-13 as a 21.5-point home favorite at BetAnySports.
The current betting line for this game has the Volunteers listed as 11.5-point favorites with the total set at 54.5. As part of my season-long series covering the ACC for SportsBettingStats.com, I have dug deep into the stats, facts and betting trends for this matchup to come up with my "best bet" pick. Check out the link below for my full preview of this history-making game.
LINK: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES AT TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS BETTING LINES - POINT SPREAD PICK
Friday, September 9, 2016
Thursday, September 8, 2016
NFL Free Thursday Night Football Picks- Carolina at Denver
A new season of football in the NFL gets underway this Thursday night with a rematch of last year's Super Bowl showdown between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. The Panthers closed as 4.5-point favorites with BetAnySports in Super Bowl 50 and their plans to bring home their first world title in franchise history came unglued in a 24-10 defeat. This time around, Carolina has been listed as a three-point road favorite with the total line set at 42.
Cam Newton earned league MVP honors last season when he helped lead the Panthers to an almost perfect 15-1 record in the regular season. After hammering Arizona in the conference title game, it appeared that it he would be in line to earned MVP honors in the Super Bowl as well while also hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Newton faltered with sloppy play and costly turnovers and it was Peyton Manning taking center stage at Levi's Stadium for the trophy presentation before riding off into the sunset with his second world title in tow in what is sure to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
That was then and this is now. Football starts in a big way at Mile High this Thursday night with Newton looking for redemption against the top defense in the league last year. Once again, I will be covering Thursday Night Football all season long for SportsBettingStats.com so please check out the link below for my complete preview and "best bet" pick for this week's game.
LINK: CAROLINA PANTHERS AT DENVER BRONCOS BETTING ODDS - FREE NFL PICK
Cam Newton earned league MVP honors last season when he helped lead the Panthers to an almost perfect 15-1 record in the regular season. After hammering Arizona in the conference title game, it appeared that it he would be in line to earned MVP honors in the Super Bowl as well while also hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Newton faltered with sloppy play and costly turnovers and it was Peyton Manning taking center stage at Levi's Stadium for the trophy presentation before riding off into the sunset with his second world title in tow in what is sure to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
That was then and this is now. Football starts in a big way at Mile High this Thursday night with Newton looking for redemption against the top defense in the league last year. Once again, I will be covering Thursday Night Football all season long for SportsBettingStats.com so please check out the link below for my complete preview and "best bet" pick for this week's game.
LINK: CAROLINA PANTHERS AT DENVER BRONCOS BETTING ODDS - FREE NFL PICK
Saturday, September 3, 2016
The Tar Heels Look to Tame the Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome
It is Week 1 of the 2016 college football season and one of the bigger showdowns on Saturday's slate pits No. 22 North Carolina against the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs in an ACC/SEC battle at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. North Carolina is one of four ACC teams ranked in the AP's preseason Top 25 poll and the program is coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory with a straight-up record of 11-3 that includes a perfect 8-0 run in conference play. The Tar Heels lost to Clemson 45-37 in the ACC title game and they went on to drop a 49-38 decision against Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Georgia went 10-3 SU last season with a 5-3 record in SEC play. It closed out its 2015 campaign with a 24-17 victory against Penn State in the Taxslayer Bowl. The Bulldogs come into this matchup as 2.5-point favorites with BetAnySports and the betting line for the total has been set at 56. As part of my weekly coverage of ACC football for SportBettingStats.com, the link below takes you to my complete preview off this game as well as my "best bet" pick for betting on it at BetAnySports.
LINK: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS AT GEORGIA BULLDOGS BETTING ODDS - FREE PICK
Georgia went 10-3 SU last season with a 5-3 record in SEC play. It closed out its 2015 campaign with a 24-17 victory against Penn State in the Taxslayer Bowl. The Bulldogs come into this matchup as 2.5-point favorites with BetAnySports and the betting line for the total has been set at 56. As part of my weekly coverage of ACC football for SportBettingStats.com, the link below takes you to my complete preview off this game as well as my "best bet" pick for betting on it at BetAnySports.
LINK: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS AT GEORGIA BULLDOGS BETTING ODDS - FREE PICK
Thursday, September 1, 2016
No. 19 Louisville Looking for a Fast Start as Heavy Favorites
I am thrilled to announce that I am going to be covering ACC football this season for SportsBettingStats with a featured game each week on Thursday and Saturday. As an East Coast guy now living on Virginia's Eastern Shore, I have always had a natural inclination towards ACC football and this is shaping up to be one of the best seasons in recent memory with four schools earning a ranking in both major preseason polls led by Clemson at No. 2 and Florida State at No. 4.
This Thursday night I have turned my attention to No. 19 Louisville (AP Top 25) in the Cardinals' season opener against Conference USA's Charlotte 49ers. BetAnySports has listed the Cardinals as prohibitive 39.5-point home favorites in a game that could be completely out of reach by halftime, but I have focused my energy on the 59-point total line for my "best bet" pick in this game.
You can find my complete preview and pick for tonight's Louisville game at the link below.
LINK: CHARLOTTE 49ERS AT LOUISVILLE CARDINALS BETTING ODDS - FREE PICK
This Thursday night I have turned my attention to No. 19 Louisville (AP Top 25) in the Cardinals' season opener against Conference USA's Charlotte 49ers. BetAnySports has listed the Cardinals as prohibitive 39.5-point home favorites in a game that could be completely out of reach by halftime, but I have focused my energy on the 59-point total line for my "best bet" pick in this game.
You can find my complete preview and pick for tonight's Louisville game at the link below.
LINK: CHARLOTTE 49ERS AT LOUISVILLE CARDINALS BETTING ODDS - FREE PICK
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Picks
NASCAR's Sprint Cup series is rapidly closing in on the start of this season's 10-race playoff to win the 2016 title. There are just three races left until the Chase to the Sprint Cup gets underway starting with this Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have won the last two Sprint Cup titles and they come into this race as two of the top favorites to win at Michigan.
While there is some value in their betting odds at BetAnySports, I have my eye on Jimmie Johnson in this race as my top=valued pick to win at +1200 betting odds. Johnson is a six-time Sprint Cup Champion, but his No. 48 Chevrolet racing team has been pretty quiet in recent weeks with just one Top 5 finish in the last 10 point races on the schedule. He is just too good of a driver to stay on that kind of pace, especially heading into this year's Chase. Check out the link below for my complete preview of Sunday's race as part of my weekly NASCAR picks for SportsBettingStats.com.
LINK: PURE MICHIGAN 400 BETTING ODDS - FREE PICK
While there is some value in their betting odds at BetAnySports, I have my eye on Jimmie Johnson in this race as my top=valued pick to win at +1200 betting odds. Johnson is a six-time Sprint Cup Champion, but his No. 48 Chevrolet racing team has been pretty quiet in recent weeks with just one Top 5 finish in the last 10 point races on the schedule. He is just too good of a driver to stay on that kind of pace, especially heading into this year's Chase. Check out the link below for my complete preview of Sunday's race as part of my weekly NASCAR picks for SportsBettingStats.com.
LINK: PURE MICHIGAN 400 BETTING ODDS - FREE PICK
Friday, August 26, 2016
2016 NFL Betting Odds to Win the NFC North
The Green Bay Packers will start the 2016 NFL season as prohibitive -153 favorites with BetAnySports to win their division. This has actually been the case the past several seasons but last year following a 6-0 start, they stumbled to a record of 10-6 and a second-place finish in the NFC North behind Minnesota. The Packers are not only heavy favorites to win the NFC North this year, they are +455 second-favorites behind Seattle (+445) to win the conference and they have the third-best odds on the NFL futures board at BetAnySports to win Super Bowl LI.
One of the other big story lines in the NFC North this season will be the Vikings. Their odds to repeat as division champs are set at +210 and their projected win total for the 2016 NFL regular season is set at 10 with the current betting moneyline favoring the UNDER at -132. Minnesota's previous winning season before last year's 11-5 campaign was in 2012 when it went 10-6. The following season in 2013 the wheels came off with just five wins on the year. The Vikings also won a NFC North title in 2009 at 12-4 and the following season they finished last at 6-10. As a betting man, I would probably jump on this up and down trend with a play on the UNDER for this year's projected wins.
Detroit and Chicago are basically afterthoughts in this division race and I would have to agree. The Lions dropped to 7-9 last season after a 12-4 record in 2014 led to a wild card spot in the playoffs. Their projected win total this season has been set at 7.5 with the moneyline favoring the UNDER at -153 and I would take that bet. The Bears are in a rebuilding process under second-year coach John Fox and, after going 6-10 in his first season at the helm, the outlook for any dramatic improvement this year does not look all that good with a win total of 7.5 that is also trending towards the UNDER with the betting public at -140 with BetAnySports.
The link below is my complete preview and prediction for the NFC North as part of a series of NFL division outlooks I recently did for SportsBettingStats.com and as a spoiler alert I am going heavy chalk in this title race.
LINK: NFC North Odds
One of the other big story lines in the NFC North this season will be the Vikings. Their odds to repeat as division champs are set at +210 and their projected win total for the 2016 NFL regular season is set at 10 with the current betting moneyline favoring the UNDER at -132. Minnesota's previous winning season before last year's 11-5 campaign was in 2012 when it went 10-6. The following season in 2013 the wheels came off with just five wins on the year. The Vikings also won a NFC North title in 2009 at 12-4 and the following season they finished last at 6-10. As a betting man, I would probably jump on this up and down trend with a play on the UNDER for this year's projected wins.
Detroit and Chicago are basically afterthoughts in this division race and I would have to agree. The Lions dropped to 7-9 last season after a 12-4 record in 2014 led to a wild card spot in the playoffs. Their projected win total this season has been set at 7.5 with the moneyline favoring the UNDER at -153 and I would take that bet. The Bears are in a rebuilding process under second-year coach John Fox and, after going 6-10 in his first season at the helm, the outlook for any dramatic improvement this year does not look all that good with a win total of 7.5 that is also trending towards the UNDER with the betting public at -140 with BetAnySports.
The link below is my complete preview and prediction for the NFC North as part of a series of NFL division outlooks I recently did for SportsBettingStats.com and as a spoiler alert I am going heavy chalk in this title race.
LINK: NFC North Odds
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Baker Mayfield's Betting Odds to Win the 2016 Heisman Trophy
In my final player profile for the top candidates to win this year's Heisman Trophy, I will take a closer look at Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield's betting odds to win this award as the top college football player in the nation. He is the second quarterback on the betting futures list to win at BetAnySports behind Clemson's Deshaun Watson and the fact that this position has dominated this award in the past adds some value to his current odds.
Another thing in Baker's favor is the high expectations for his team this year after Oklahoma made a run all the way to last season's College Football Playoff where ironically enough the Sooners lost to Watson's Tigers in a semifinal matchup. Being firmly in the national spotlight can be a two-way sword for any Heisman hopeful. If you can find a way to excel in those two or three spotlight games on the schedule, your chances to win will dramatically increase. However, all it takes to end those chances is one poor performance that factors into your team losing a game.
Check out the link below for my complete look at Baker Mayfield's Heisman chances in the final installment of this five-part series for Doc's Sports.
LINK:Baker Mayfield Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks
Another thing in Baker's favor is the high expectations for his team this year after Oklahoma made a run all the way to last season's College Football Playoff where ironically enough the Sooners lost to Watson's Tigers in a semifinal matchup. Being firmly in the national spotlight can be a two-way sword for any Heisman hopeful. If you can find a way to excel in those two or three spotlight games on the schedule, your chances to win will dramatically increase. However, all it takes to end those chances is one poor performance that factors into your team losing a game.
Check out the link below for my complete look at Baker Mayfield's Heisman chances in the final installment of this five-part series for Doc's Sports.
LINK:Baker Mayfield Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks
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