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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza


by Doc's Sports - 8/29/2017

Josh Rosen UCLA Bruins

A new season of college football officially gets underway this week following a few teaser games on last Saturday's betting slate. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , we will get his take on a few specific matchups as well as some general betting tips that just might help you cash in a few winning tickets in Week 1.

Once known in national handicapping circles as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry, Raphael rose through the ranks to hold the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria, while also becoming one of the top sports handicappers in the nation. He retired from the sportsbook industry over four years ago, but he remains as busy as ever running a successful and diverse sports investment service from his home base in Las Vegas as well as from the Big Easy in New Orleans. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: We know that you made money on last Saturday's fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor by nailing the actual outcome right on the head with a Mayweather TKO prediction past Round 9. When it came to the results of this fight as a whole, which group came out ahead in town, the bettors or the Las Vegas books?

RE: While the total handle did not approach Super Bowl numbers as some experts suggested it might, this fight was still the biggest betting event for boxing ever in the state of Nevada. The books in town cleaned up across the board on the "under" bets from 9.5 rounds on down, and there was also quite a bit of money bet on a McGregor early-round TKO.

Doc's Sports: One of the biggest games on this Saturday's college football slate is a Big Ten/SEC showdown between No. 11 Michigan and No. 17 Florida . The Wolverines are now favored by four-points on the road in light of multiple player suspensions imposed by Gators' head coach Jim McElwain on his team in advance of Saturday's 3:30 p.m. (ET) start on ABC. Is this a good opportunity to go with Michigan in a tough place to win a ball game under any circumstances?

RE: I would probably have a slight lean towards Michigan in this matchup in light of some of the turmoil going on with the Gators. That being said, I probably will not have a play on this game since there are too many question marks surrounding both of these teams, especially at the quarterback position.

Doc's Sports: Can you give us another Week 1 matchup in the college ranks that has caught your eye as a good opportunity to cash in an early winning ticket?

RE: It would have to be my "Hot Seat" game between Texas A&M and UCLA this Sunday night on FOX. Each of these teams' embattled head coach needs a big win right out of the gate to keep the wolves at bay. The Bruins are currently listed as 3.5-point home favorites, and I do like the value in that number with Josh Rosen at quarterback. Southern Cal and even Stanford are grabbing all the limelight in the Pac-12, but UCLA can make some noise if Rosen can live up to all the lofty expectations.

Doc's Sports : The start of any new season of college football probably has far more questions than answers right now, so do you have any personal handicapping tips to keep in mind when it comes to betting on this week's games?

RE: Keep in mind that it is Week 1 of a very long season. You are far better off watching the games this weekend than betting on them for the exact reason you mentioned. Every college football team has question marks that should be answered in the first two or three weeks of the season. That being said, I will continue to look for value in some of the total numbers posted for this weekend's with quite a few junk points getting scored in the second half of blowout games.

Doc's Sports: College football is front and center this Labor Day holiday weekend when it comes to betting on sports, but is there anything else going on that has made its way onto your betting radar?

RE : UFC Fight Night 115 is on my radar with a couple of decent bouts on the card this Saturday, and I will be dialed into the Los Angeles Dodgers over the next few days against Arizona and heading into the weekend against San Diego coming off their first series loss since early June.

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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