This is a play on the WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS for our CFL Saturday Enforcer. This is the second game of a home-and-home between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg in the Banjo Bowl with the Blue Bombers coming away with the two-point victory last week. The game seemed to be getting out of reach but Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros was knocked out of the game after a shot to the head but he is now fine and will start with the Blue Bombers coming in with a little extra juice because of that. The Blue Bombers opened the season 2-6 but they are playing like the team we expected as they have won four straight games. While Collaros has been inconsistent, he is still one of the top quarterbacks in the CFL and other factors are making up for it. The running game has been solid, averaging 109.5 ypg, which is second in the CFL and running back Brady Oliveira will again be a big part of the game plan. Second, the defense has been able to make up for the surprisingly average quarterback play as the Blue Bombers have the number one unit in the league, allowing just 326.9 ypg. Saskatchewan continues to struggle as the Roughriders have not won a game since July 19, dropping five of their last six games with the other game resulting in a tie. They are a respectable 2-3-1 on the road but those two wins were at the start of the season against Edmonton and Hamilton, the two worst teams in the league. Taking away eight home losses from Edmonton and Hamilton, home teams are 33-10-1 in the league this season. The Roughriders have relied on taking the ball away as their defense is not in a good spot again as they do have a solid rushing defense but they are allowing 302.2 ypg through the air. Saskatchewan was able to move the ball on offense last week but it will be different on the road and making it worse is that it is missing four starters along the offensive line. 10* (776) Winnipeg Blue Bombers

This is play on the ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS as part of our MLB Saturday Double Play. Arizona is coming off a rare shutout last night as they were blanked 8-0 while managing only two hits in the process. This is only the fourth time the Diamondbacks have been shut out this season and they have gone 2-1 in the previous three follow up games and they have faced elite pitching in those games. Despite the offensive troubles last night, Arizona still leads the National League in OPS and since the All Star Break, it leads all of baseball with a .836 OPS, .208 ISO and .359 wOBA. Houston snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory which came after a five-game winning streak as they were able to build a comfortable lead in the American League West which now sits at 4.5 games with 21 games to play. The pitching has buoyed the team of late at home as they completely shut the Royals down by allowing nine runs over a four-game set but this is not the spot to keep it going and especially at this overpriced number with a starter due for negative regression. Yusei Kikuchi has been a solid addition to the Houston rotation since he was acquired from Toronto as he has posted a 2.57 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in six starts. He is coming off his first quality outing however as he not been able to get through six innings which is not necessarily a problem as he does have a solid bullpen behind him but the price in starting to get overinflated in his starts with the Astros going 6-0. This is the biggest number he has been with and it comes against one of the top offenses in baseball coming off their worst game. Eduardo Rodriguez has not been the pitcher the Diamondbacks were banking on after retuning from a lat injury that delayed his debut with the team until the beginning of August. It has not been horrible but it just has not been his old stuff as he has a 5.33 ERA and 1.38 WHIP which are his worst numbers since his final season in Boston. In his last start against the Dodgers, it was his first time failing to complete five innings yet he has been serviceable since coming off the IL with three runs or fewer given up in four of his five starts. 10* (973) Arizona Diamondbacks

This is play on the CINCINNATI REDS as part of our MLB Saturday Double Play. The Mets have won eight straight games following a 6-4 victory last night in 10 innings and this is the first time we are stepping in front of them since the first game of this winning streak when they won the game in the ninth inning. They are clearly a public betting team and now even more so during this run and this is the spot to fade as the pitching has led the way, allowing only 2.0 rpg over this stretch. They have been able to gain ground on the Braves in the National League Wild Card as they are now tied. Cincinnati had its four-game winning streak snapped with the loss last night which included a home sweep of the Astros. The season has not gone well for the Reds which came in with some high expectations but it was a young roster and while it remained in the playoff mix for a while, it was never able to get anything going with the recent winning streak tied for the biggest since way back in June. The offense has been average but they have a great matchup tonight in a solid fade spot. Going against Jose Quintana has been very profitable of late and now he is laying a number that is skewed because of his two most recent starts. He shut out San Diego for 6.1 innings which is even more shocking considering he did not strike out a single hitter and his last outing was against the hapless White Sox. His ERA is now at 4.27 but he has a 5.01 FIP and 4.72 xFIP which are No. 58 and No. 56 respectively among 59 qualified starters. He has been fortunate with a great Strand Rate as hid BB% is fourth worst, his K% is fifth worst and his K-BB% of 8.8% is ahead of only Marcus Stroman. Jakob Junis gets another start as he is coming off a great first start since coming over from Milwaukee as he shut out Oakland over four innings and then followed that up with a 3.2-inning relief appearance against Milwaukee, allowing just one run on two hits. Overall, he has a 3.13 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 46 innings and in 10 games with the Reds, he has a 15:1 K:BB ratio. He was slated to go bulk relief last night but instead was pushed to this spot and is certainly a live dog. 10* (951) Cincinnati Reds

This is a play on the MICHIGAN WOLVERINES for our Saturday Free Play. There are always overreactions from week to week in football and that takes place between Week One and Week Two especially in college football. We are seeing it with this game based on results from the opening week as Texas opened as the favorite when the line was posted early this summer as part of the game of the year card and it stayed at -3.5 through last Saturday but the line has now more than doubled after just one game from each side. Texas steamrolled Colorado St. while Michigan beat Fresno St. by only 20 points but this is exactly what the Wolverines did last season, letting their three inferior nonconference opponents still around with their own offense scoring no more than 35 points, similar to the 30 they scored against Fresno St. and this all done for a reason as to not show too much and they basically gave Texas nothing. Michigan wants to play slow which it did all of last season, using its running game to burn clock and keep the defense fresh. The Longhorns were able to go through the motions as well but Michigan already has tape and has a good idea what to expect. Texas lost running back CJ Baxter before the season, so Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson have to try and make up for that lost production but neither are close to Baxter and will be facing a great run defense. The Wolverines held Fresno St. to just nine rushing yards and while the Longhorns present a bigger challenge, they are going to make quarterback Quinn Ewers beat them and we are not really sure that he can. He had solid top line numbers last season and he has a very high floor but according to PFF, his grades did not even rank him in their PFF College 101 that included 12 quarterbacks, seven of which are back playing in 2024. With Baxter, he can implement a lot of play action, which is where he thrives, but he does not have that luxury. Texas proved it is a great team with a 52-0 win but the early overreaction is against them here. Play (320) Michigan Wolverines

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This is a play on the TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS for our CFB Primetime Dominator. As expected, Tennessee had no issues with Chattanooga last week as it racked up 718 yards of offense in the 69-3 win. It was a meaningless FCS victory but showed that they are on the rise with the program in its best place in a long time. In 13 years from 2008-2020, Tennessee won nine games only twice as it went through five head coaches, albeit one of those was the final season for the legendary Phillip Fulmer, but the Volunteers seemed to have found their guy. Josh Heupel has put together a winning record in each of his first three seasons and the 27 total wins are the best in a three-game stretch since 2002-2004 so Rocky Top is buzzing with some long awaited excitement. The Volunteers took a big step back on offense and have to replace five starters but they are high on quarterback Nico Iamaleava who is an athletic duel threat that played great in the Citrus bowl last season and was unstoppable last week and while he will see a better defense, it is not a great one. NC State has been consistent on defense the last three seasons but have to replace the Bednarik and Butkus Award winning linebacker Payton Wilson. NC State needed 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from Western Carolina so it was not the opener the Wolfpack were really hoping for. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong did not live up to expectations last season and the offense suffered, finishing No. 96 overall and No. 71 in scoring and the Wolfpack brought in Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina, who was outstanding in his first three years but was hurt most of last season. He was very good in the opener but will have a tougher test this week and it will be up to the Tennessee secondary to slow down ACC Freshman of the Year receiver KC Concepcion. The Volunteers can do that with a disruptive pass rush where they will have a huge edge as the difference will be the Tennessee defensive line, ranked No. 3 in the SEC, going up against the NC State offensive line, ranked No. 11 in the ACC. 10* (399) Tennessee Volunteers

This is a play on the EAST CAROLINA PIRATES for our CFB Signature Enforcer. East Carolina is a sexy pick to win the AAC despite coming off a 2-10 season last year. The Pirates got no resistance from Norfolk St. in their 42-3 win in their season opener and while it was just a FCS win, it was a big confidence builder after losing their last seven season openers. The Pirates have had only two winning seasons since 2014 but those were in 2022 and 2023 so last season could be considered an anomaly should they bounce back which is expected as there was very little experience on the roster last year especially on the offense. East Carolina hit the transfer portal hard to improve that offense that finished No. 130 overall and No. 127 in scoring, bringing in Miami quarterback Jake Garcia who helped lead the offense to over 500 total yards. The offensive line lacked experience last season and it will be far better off in 2024. The other side is where the turnaround starts with as the Pirates were No. 38 overall and No. 40 in points allowed with only SMU and UTSA scoring 30 or more points in conference games and while they did lose a few key pieces, portal arrivals should keep the unit strong with the second best defensive line and fifth best secondary in the conference heading into the season. Old Dominion left its heart on the field last week in Columbia as it just fell short in pulling off the upset against South Carolina. That is a tough game to recover from for a team that was in need of something really good to happen. Old Dominion has had only one winning season since coming up to the FBS level in 2014 as it went 10-3 in 2016 but it has had some success of late. The Monarchs had one of the worst two-year stretches you will ever see as they went 1-11 in 2019 and then completely shut football down during the 2020 COVID year but have gone bowling the last two years. However, the Monarchs bring back only 10 starters including four on defense which has been the issue as they have not allowed fewer than 27 ppg since 2010 and that likely will not change this year despite the decent effort last week. 10* (353) East Carolina Pirates

This is a play on the VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES for our CFB Supreme Annihilator. Virginia Tech was a bad call last week as it fell behind early against Vanderbilt and while the Hokies rallied, they could not contain quarterback Diego Pavia who had a combined 301 yards passing and rushing showing his season at New Mexico St. last year was no fluke. It was the third straight time that Virginia Tech opened the season with a road loss as a favorite but it bounced back at home both previous times and we expect a blowout here. This is the second most experienced team in the country as they have 11 starters back on offense led by quarterback Kyron Drones who is returning for his second season as the starter and he has four of his top five receivers back that combined for 1,549 yards last season and he had a solid first game but they need to get the running game going as Bhayshul Tuten was held to just 34 yards on nine carries. The Hokies scored 30 or more points in five of their last eight games last season and will not find much resistance here. The Marshall defense allowed 12.7 more ppg than it did in 2022 and has only five starters back. Marshall rolled over Stony Brook of the FCS in its opener as they used three different quarterbacks to get as much experience as possible. The Thundering Herd are coming off their first losing season since 2016 as they went 6-7 with a 35-17 loss to UTSA in the Frisco Bowl solidifying the under .500 mark. It could be another challenging season as Marshall brings back only 10 starters, its fewest since 2016 and it affects both sides of the ball. The offense has dipped each of the last three seasons with the quarterback play beyond horrible last season and the Herd were hoping Wake Forest transfer Mitch Griffis would provide a spark but he left the program in June and Stone Earle, who left North Texas in June, got the start so this situation could turn into a mess when now facing a legitimate defense. The Hokies defense improved by 55 ypg from 2022 and finished No. 20 in the country and brings back four of the top five tacklers and bounces back here. 10* (350) Virginia Tech Hokies

This is a play on the TEXAS ST. BOBCATS for our CFB Rivalry Rout. Texas St. is on a lot of brackets to be the team to represent the Group of 5 in the CFP and rightfully so even though it looked not so great in its opener but that helps us here. The Bobcats only won by seven points against Lamar but they were up 17 with four minutes left so there were garbage points involved. Texas St. was one of the bigger surprises in the conference last season as it had put together eight straight losing seasons but ended up 8-5 including a win in its first ever bowl game, a 45-21 win over Rice in the First Responder Bowl. The Bobcats opened the season with an 11-point victory at Baylor as 27.5-point underdogs and things could have been better as three of the five losses were by one possession. Nine starters return on offense and while they had to replace Auburn transfer T.J. Finley, they brought in James Madison transfer Jordan McCloud who had a great season and threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns in the opener behind the best offensive line in the SBC. Nine starters are back on a defense that regressed by close to a touchdown per game but will show improvements. UTSA had a bigger than anticipated test against Kennesaw St., which is in its first season at the FBS level, as the Roadrunners needed a late score to pull away. While expected to contend in the AAC, they lost a lot from their 9-4 team from last season, notably replacing the best quarterback in program history. Frank Harris set school records for passing yards (11,862), passing touchdowns (92), rushing yards (2,145), and rushing touchdowns (28) as a five-year player and four-year starter. Owen McCown, who led UTSA to their bowl victory, won the starting job and was solid in the opener as he threw for 340 yards but will have a bigger test here and this will be his first ever road start. The Roadrunners were above average on defense, led by Trey Moore who won AAC Defensive Player of the Year and set a school record with 14 sacks, but he transferred to Texas so that is a big hole to fill while the secondary has to rebuild with three starters lost. 10* (346) Texas St. Bobcats

This is a play on the MARYLAND TERRAPINS for our Big 10 Game of the Year. The once proud Spartans program has taken a step back the last two seasons with a 9-15 record. In comes Jonathan Smith who turned around a fledging Oregon St. program with three straight winning seasons in his five years there but he walks into a tough situation that cannot be fixed overnight. His first job will be to try and turn around an offense that went from 31.8 ppg in 2021 to 24.4 ppg in 2022 to 15.9 ppg last season and looked awful in their season opener against a below average Florida Atlantic team. Quarterback Aidan Chiles followed Smith to East Lansing and he lacks experience and it showed as he was just 10-24 for 114 yards and two interceptions while leading the offense to just 14 points on 293 total yards with 63 of those yards coming on one touchdown run from the backup no less. Run blocking was already a concern for the Spartans, which underwent an overhaul at offensive line with four starters needing to be replaced and take away that one big run, they averaged 3.2 ypc. The Spartans have been a mess on defense for the last five seasons so holding Florida Atlantic to 248 yards may seem solid but the Owls were awful on offense last season and brought only four starters back as the Spartans This are a group that ranked No. 98 in pass defense last year but merely was not tested by the Florida Atlantic low-talent pass attack. That changes here. Maryland had to replace a ton on offense including the All Time Big 10 passing leader Taulia Tagovailoa but Billy Edwards was efficient going 20-27 for 311 yards and two touchdowns and while it was against Connecticut, there is not a huge upgrade here as the Spartans will have no answers. The receiving corps is loaded with six of the top eight pass catchers back as well as the top two running backs. Maryland has improved on defense yardage wise each of the last five years and the Terrapins bring back a strong front seven but do need some help in the secondary but they will not be have to worry about that here. 10* (344) Maryland Terrapins

This is a play on the NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES for our CFB Ultimate Underdog. All of the talk on Sunday was how good Notre Dame looked and how much of a player they are going to be in the upcoming CFP. While the Irish did look good against Texas A&M, that national television result is the perfect setup to play against them as this line is inflated based on the road win that was still a tied game with under two minutes left. The defense was solid but the offense left a lot to be desired and while they take a step down in class, they also have the letdown effect going against them. They came into this season as preseason No. 7 and if they can avoid bad losses, the Fighting Irish will be in the CFP once again with the expansion definitely helping along with a cakewalk schedule. Because they are not affiliated with a Power 4 conference, they cannot get a bye so just going on cruise control will get them the No. 5 seed. They have 15 starters back but are just No. 101 in experience and it could take this offense some time to get together. Northern Illinois rolled over Western Illinois by 39 points while covering the 35.5-point number so the Huskies played like they should have and still held back despite the gaudy numbers. This is the fourth straight season Northern Illinois will have at least 15 starters back and it is capable of its best one over this stretch with one big question being quarterback and they found their guy in Ethan Hampton who won the job in camp. He was 18-20 for 320 yards and five touchdowns against the Leathernecks and while the competition aided in that, it was great for confidence. The Huskies are going to rely on running Antario Brown who rushed for 1,339 yards last season and coming off an 8.6 ypc game and is running behind the No. 1 ranked offensive line in the MAC. Northern Illinois improved its defense by 11.8 ppg and 76 ypg from 2023 and it finished No. 23 overall and has a chance to be better with eight starters back along with solid depth. They can definitely keep Notre Dame in check to stay within this number, only the second time since 2005 they have gotten more than 25 points. 10* (335) Northern Illinois Huskies

This is a play on the KENTUCKY WILDCATS for our SEC Game of the Month. There are games where teams do not show a lot to not provide upcoming opponents too much and then there are others where teams just do not have it and South Carolina is the latter. The Gamecocks snuck past a bad Old Dominion team at home as they were actually losing late into the fourth quarter as South Carolina recovered two fumbles inside the 10 leading to its only two touchdowns with those two drives totaling nine yards. Last season, South Carolina opened the season 2-2 with wins over Furman of the FCS and a bad Mississippi St. team then came four straight losses but the Gamecocks battled back with three wins and could have become bowl eligible with a win over Clemson but lost 16-7 in the season finale. It needs to avoid injuries that crushed both lines last season and it needs to find consistency on offense as South Carolina scored 20 or fewer points seven times and it could do nothing against the Monarchs. Redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers won the quarterback job and he was not good. Kentucky is coming off a 31-0 win over Southern Mississippi that was delayed and eventually stopped with 9:56 left in the third quarter so it could have gotten really ugly but the Wildcats got what they needed while not showing much of the playbook. A 5-0 start last season went south quickly as the Wildcats lost five of their next six games as the schedule ramped up but they made it to their eighth straight bowl game. Kentucky is the third most experienced team in the SEC as there are eight starters back on offense and while they are replacing the quarterback, there is high anticipation for Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff who was very solid in the opener. 10 starters are back on defense after bringing five back each of the past three seasons and they will be much better than last season and while they shut out a bad Southern Mississippi offense, South Carolina is not going to provide much more of a challenge. The Wildcats host Georgia next week so they want a complete game. 10* (332) Kentucky Wildcats

This is a play on the CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS for our CFB Contrarian Closer. California was in a fight in its season opener with UC Davis but that could have been more so keeping things close to the vest and not showing much as it clung to a one point lead at halftime and pulled away late for the 31-13 win. It was the game we wanted to set a play up here as a closer than expected call gives them value here. Last season, California made it to its first bowl game since 2019 as it won its final three regular season games to become bowl eligible and while it lost to Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl, it was a season to build upon. The offense was nothing spectacular as it was No. 60 overall and No. 48 in scoring with 30.2 ppg, its highest average since 2016 and it was spurned when freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza took over as the full time starter six games into the season. He finished the opener 15-22 for 158 yards and one touchdown which was nothing spectacular but it was efficient and now face a defense that has not been very good for years. Auburn went the FCS route in its season opener so a 73-3 victory will look good in the stats but means little in what was a glorified scrimmage. The Tigers are coming off their third consecutive losing season, the first time it has had three straight losing seasons since 1975-1977. Granted, two of those losing seasons were due to bowl losses but they all count and the pressure will be on head coach Hugh Freeze to turn things around. They come into this season with the sixth most experienced team in the SEC but they came into last season as the fifth most experienced and were mediocre at best. The Tigers bring back nine starters on offense led by quarterback Payton Thorne who was inconsistent with a 60.9% completion rate while throwing only 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He had a great opener against Alabama A&M and like last season when he had a good opener, he struggled in Game Two which happened to come against California in a narrow 14-10 win. This is the best Bears team in six years and are undervalued. 10* (323) California Golden Bears

This is a play on the RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS as part of our CFB Afternoon Triple Play. Rutgers toyed with Howard in a 44-7 win as the defense dominated while the offense ran a vanilla style game that did not show much to future opponents as they ran the ball 46 times while throwing in only 24 times. After a 6-2 start last season, it was the quickest Rutgers had become bowl eligible since 2012 when it started 7-0 and last season was the first one with a winning record since 2014. It did not end well with four straight losses to end the regular season but those were all against teams that finished with eight or more wins and they closed with a Pinstripe Bowl win over Miami to bring some confidence into this season. The Scarlet Knights bring back a very experienced team, the second most experienced team in the Big 10 in fact, so they could present some problems and it helps having the second easiest schedule in the conference. The passing game was non-existent last season as Rutgers finished No. 127 in passing offense and they completed only 48 percent of their passes. They brought in Minnesota transfer quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and while he did not have a great 2023 season, he will be a big upgrade. He was 15-24 with three touchdowns and while the threw for only 147 yards, he did not have to unleash downfield. The defense kept them in games last season, finishing No. 16 overall and eight starters are back with experience across all three levels and we will see another solid effort against Akron. The Zips hung around for much of the first half against Ohio St. as it did its best in playing keep away but that only worked for so long and the Zips managed only 177 total yards despite possessing the ball for 34 minutes as the running game was non-existent. This is one of the worst teams in the country that will again be battling it out for last place in the MAC. They return the 12th least experienced team in the nation and has only nine starters back including just three on an offense that averaged just 16.3 ppg on 279 ypg as it losses both top quarterbacks, top two rushers and top three receivers. The Betting Power Rankings have Rutgers at -28 on a neutral field so there is a lot of value which is rare for these big numbers but the Scarlet Knights can name the score here with a bye week on deck. 10* (316) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

This is a play on the CINCINNATI BEARCATS as part of our CFB Afternoon Triple Play. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati both won their season openers albeit in different fashion but that puts Cincinnati in a great spot at a short number. The Bearcats found life rough in the Big 12 as they went just 1-8 in their first season, only defeating 2-7 Houston, while going 3-9 overall with the other wins coming against Eastern Kentucky of the FCS and Pittsburgh on the road so there is no opponent angle to avenge that loss. Things are expected to be a lot better this season. They had only eight starters coming back along with a new head coach and the uptick in strength of schedule led to their fewest wins overall since 1999. Now in the second year in the system of head coach Scott Satterfield while bringing back close to double the number of returning starters, we should see some positive progression. Cincinnati was very good offensively, averaging 426.1 ypg which was No. 34 but it could not get into the endzone as it was just No. 84 in scoring. Indiana transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby comes into a good situation with the top rusher and receiver back along with all five starters on the offensive line returning. Sorsby was excellent against Towson as he was 22-31 for 383 yards and two touchdowns. Averaging 24.1 ppg will not get it done as turnovers killed some good ball movement last season so mistakes have to come down yet they were guilty of three lost fumbles against the Tigers. The other side of the ball is what really hurt them as the defense allowed its most yards and most points since 2017 which happened to be its last losing season and Cincinnati hit the transfer portal hard along all three levels to improve their unit as a whole. Pittsburgh rolled over Kent St., which is one of the worst teams in the country as it is ranked dead last in the Week Two Betting Power Rankings so while Pittsburgh was favored by 24 points over the Golden Flashes, Cincinnati would be favored by 27 points on a neutral field so that is where some of the value comes into play. The Panthers racked up 55 points with a balanced attack and help from the special teams but again, we have to take that with a grain of salt based on the opponent. Quarterback Eli Holstein won the starting job and looked great but will have a challenge here in his first road game against a real defense. 10* (314) Cincinnati Bearcats

This is a play on the SYRACUSE ORANGE as part of our CFB Afternoon Triple Play. We won with Georgia Tech in its opener against Florida St. in a substantial upset and the Yellow Jackets avoided the letdown when it faced in-state rival Georgia St., one of the bottom teams in the Sun Belt Conference, in a 35-12 win on Saturday. Now comes the possible letdown as the Yellow Jackets are off that big upset abroad and off their home opener so if anything, this is the spot where that happens. That is only a small piece in this play as Georgia Tech is now an overvalued team with another significant travel spot. We are definitely high on this team as head coach Brent Key has changed the culture of this program, something it has not had since the early days of Paul Johnson. They are more physical up front and quarterback Haynes King has shown he can make the plays but while this is not the greatest home advantage in college football, this is the first true road game of the season. Syracuse opened its season with a win over Ohio by 16 points which was a solid victory to get the new regime going. Syracuse hired Fran Brown who was the Georgia defensive backs coach for two seasons and considered one of the best recruiters in the country to right the ship of a program that has won more than six games only five times since 2002 with only one double-digit win season. The big name from the transfer portal is quarterback Kyle McCord coming in from Ohio St. off a very good season. He has the playmakers to work with so the offense should improve from its No. 88 ranking. He got off to a great start going 27-39 for 354 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. The defense finished No. 65 overall and the Orange bring back their two leading tacklers in linebacker Marlowe Wax and defensive back Justin Barron so this unit can and should improve. This is a revenge game for Syracuse which lost in Atlanta last season 31-22 that cost head coach Dino Babers his job but the Orange rallied under their interim head coach to become bowl eligible. If this was the first game of the season, we would see a line of Syracuse -3 so there is a flip of the number with the public perception forcing the linesmakers to adjust. This opened at DraftKings last Wednesday at -1 and was bet up from there. 10* (306) Syracuse Orange