Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 9/27/2016

by Doc's Sports - 9/27/2016

While Ohio State and Michigan are getting most of the attention in the Big Ten this season as two of the top teams in the nation, Wisconsin finds itself in excellent position to join these lofty ranks after hammering Michigan State 30-6 last week as a 3.5-point road underdog. This Saturday the Badgers are listed as 10.5-point underdogs on the road against the Wolverines, and we will get Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza's thoughts on Wisconsin's chances to pull off another huge upset.

Raphael rose through the ranks to become one of the top sports handicappers in the nation during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. At one point in his career when he was known as the Vegas Sports Informer, he held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. These days Raphael continues to split his time between Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Underdogs in the NFL continue to win games against the spread at a pace close to 60 percent, which has resulted in a big start to the season for the Las Vegas sportsbooks against the betting public. It always seems that each week one or two games tipped the scales heavily in the books' favor, so looking back at last week's NFL results where did the biggest gains come from?

RE: You can chalk up most of the books' gains last week to the failure of two AFC North teams to cover. Denver's win on the road as 3.5-point underdogs against Cincinnati coupled with Philadelphia's unexpected romp over Pittsburgh as a 3.5-point home underdog were easily the two biggest wins of the week for Las Vegas.

Doc's Sports: One of the bigger storylines in the NFL this season has been New England's quest to start the season 4-0 with Tom Brady out of the lineup due to a league suspension. Previous betting odds were not in their favor to pull off this feat, but after watching the Patriots crush Houston last week 27-0 with a third-string quarterback at the helm is there any way they lose to Buffalo this week as 4.5-point home favorites?

RE: I am actually stunned that New England is 3-0, and there is probably no way I would bet against a 4-0 start both straight up and against the spread even though the Bills can still present a tough matchup in this divisional tilt. The bigger question in my mind is what a start like this does to Brady's ego when he does come back since it is pretty obvious that his team can win big without him.

Doc's Sports : We talked about Wisconsin's chances to beat Michigan State last week, and you told us that it hinged on the Badgers' defense shutting down the Spartans. That was clearly the case in that lopsided win. So, can this unit do it again on the road against Michigan this Saturday?

RE: Just as important as Wisconsin's defense was to last week's upset was its ability to control the clock and the line of scrimmage with its run game. Unless everything goes their way this Saturday on both sides of the ball, I still do not see the Badgers coming away with the outright win given the overall talent on this Michigan team. That being said, I do like their chances to cover with the 10-plus points on the spread.

Doc's Sports : This Friday night in the Pac-12, the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal will look to stay perfect on the year as slight 2.5-point road underdogs against the No. 10 Washington Huskies. Which team do you like in this big conference showdown?

RE: Stanford's recent victory against UCLA was a costly one as far as injuries to its receiving corps and defense. That could provide just enough of an edge for Washington as a soft favorite at home. Right now, I would have to lean towards the Huskies in this one.

Doc's Sports: One of golf's most popular events is the Ryder Cup, which pits the best American golfers against the best golfers from Europe. The 2016 Ryder Cup gets underway this Friday with the US team listed as a heavy -185 favorite to win. The Europeans have won the last three competitions, so would you go with the underdogs again this time around?

RE : The US team definitely has the young star power in its favor with Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth leading the way, but its betting number is just too high for me given how the Europeans have dominated this competition over the past several Ryder Cups. One bet that could be an interesting way to go would be a tie at 10/1 odds.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

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