Miscellaneous Articles

College Football Picks: Washington at Oregon Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 10/4/2012

This is my third straight week previewing an Oregon game because the No. 2 Ducks have been involved in the final kickoff of the night in each of those weeks and are again Saturday night – you have my guarantee that this is the final time I touch UO for at least a while. I did hit on Oregon covering two games ago vs. Arizona (its only cover of 2012) and just missed last week vs. Washington State thanks to a late meaningless Cougars’ score. (Next week the last kickoff is midnight ET between New Mexico and Hawaii so that will be the preview.)

NFL Totals Betting: Week 5 Over and Under Predictions
by David Schwab - 10/3/2012

The oddsmakers were on the money in Week 4 of the 2012 NFL regular season when it comes to the total line, with seven games going “over” the total and eight staying “under”. It took awhile, but I finally got back to my winning ways with a 2-1 record on my top three total line plays. This raised my record on the year to 5-7.

Thursday College Football Picks: USC at Utah Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 10/2/2012

NFL bettors no doubt remember well the recent “Monday Night Football” game in Seattle between the Seahawks and Packers in which a horrid call by the replacement officials gave Seattle the win on a last-second Hail Mary that was clearly intercepted and not a TD. (So far I love the term “Fail Mary” for that play) That call did two things: It was the impetus for the NFL and the officials’ union to agree to a new contract and get the normal refs back for Week 4. And it also turned a Green Bay cover into a loss for Packers backers.

College Football Predictions: West Virginia at Texas Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/2/2012

Back in August when tentatively mapping out NCAA games I would preview each week here at Doc’s, I glanced at this week’s West Virginia-Texas matchup and thought it would be an interesting game in WVU’s first visit to Austin as a Big 12 member, but probably not a marquee matchup with LSU-Florida and Georgia-South Carolina also on the Week 6 college football schedule. Well, Tigers-Gators and Dawgs-Gamecocks should be great, but Mountaineers-Horns is now must-see TV.

College Football Picks: Mid-Major Game Day Predictions Week 6
by David Schwab - 10/2/2012

The classic rivalries in the major conferences of college football are starting to unfold each week. And while the betting public in general gets extremely enamored of these high-profile matchups, I prefer to turn my attention elsewhere. I am looking for the “under-the-radar” opportunities that sometimes exist with teams that reside in the mid-majors. These “diamonds in the rough” can oftentimes provide an excellent return if you know where and how to look.

Sharpe Pointers for College Football Betting Week 5 (Plus Free Picks)
by Jason Sharpe - 9/28/2012

Betting on and winning at college football can be a very tough task for those who don’t work full time at it. I spend the entire week researching teams and game matchups, trying to uncover any edge. I will be here each week to share some of my “tricks of the trade” and also offer other insight when it comes to beating the CFB bookies.

NFL Week 4 Player Props Specials With Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/28/2012

Not a great Week 3 in terms of my running back choices on the NFL special props. I put the kibosh on Buffalo’s C.J. Spiller as he left the Bills’ win over Cleveland early with sprained left shoulder. Unfortunately, he exited after carrying four times for 16 yards, thus missing the total of “over/under” 5.0 yards per carry that Bovada had set. I recommended over and still have no doubt Spiller would have done so if he stayed in the game. That result should help to keep Spiller under 5.2 ypc for the season, which I recommended. The former Clemson star was originally thought to miss a few weeks but could play Sunday.

NFL Week 4 Team Props Specials with Betting Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/28/2012

That the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons are two of the three remaining NFL teams at 3-0 entering Week 4 isn’t a big surprise (it’s the fewest unbeaten clubs through three weeks since 2002 realignment). That the Arizona Cardinals are the third is a shocker. The old adage is that a 0-3 club will not make the playoffs, and, in fact, that has happened just three times since 1990 and not since the 1998 Bills.

College Football Picks: Oregon at Washington State Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/27/2012

The No. 2 Oregon Ducks are again featured in the final kickoff of the night this Saturday in college football. It appeared last week’s game vs. Arizona would be an offense shootout between spread-option teams, but Oregon dominated the Wildcats. This week’s matchup vs. Washington State also could be very high-scoring, but the Cougars run the “Air Raid” that new coach Mike Leach made famous at Texas Tech.

College Football Power Rankings: Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 9/27/2012

College football teams are starting to separate themselves, both on the turf and at the window. And while the beginning of the season (“Hey, college football is back! Hooray!”) and the end of the year bowl season (“Meineke Car Care Bowl, here we come!”) get most of the attention from college football fans, it is really the next six weeks that will determine the course of most schools’ seasons.

College Football Picks: Stanford at Washington Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/26/2012

The second football game at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field in 72 hours will have to be quite entertaining to live up to the wild ending there of Monday night’s Packers-Seahawks NFL game. But Thursday’s Pac-12 game between No. 8 Stanford and Washington is vital for either team’s hopes of representing the North Division in the conference championship game. (UW is playing this season at CenturyLink while Husky Stadium is being renovated.)

College Football Predictions: Ohio State at Michigan State Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/26/2012

I have to admit I am a tad leery on previewing a Michigan State game again as the Spartans are responsible for two of my ATS losses this season. But No. 20 Sparty’s matchup with No. 14 Ohio State is pretty clearly the game of the day Saturday; the only other all Top-25 matchup (ESPN/USA Today poll) is Baylor-West Virginia in the Mountaineers’ Big 12 debut, and there will be plenty of big games involving WVU to choose from later this season. ESPN GameDay will be in East Lansing, so that’s the clincher.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 4 Over and Under Predictions
by David Schwab - 9/26/2012

The 2012 NFL regular season has three weeks of games in the books, and the total line has evened itself out with 23 games going “over,” 24 games staying “under” and one game ending in a “push”. So give credit to the oddsmakers for bringing a sharp edge to this line. For the third straight week, I posted a 1-2 record on my top picks for a less than stellar start to the season after going 27-19-2 last year.

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 4 vs. Giants
by David Schwab - 9/26/2012

The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles are back in prime time this Sunday night at Lincoln Financial field for a huge early-season showdown in the NFC East between two 2-1 teams. The game is slated to get underway at 8:20 p.m. (EST) and it will be broadcast nationally on NBC.

College Football Picks: Mid-Major Game Day Predictions Week 5
by David Schwab - 9/26/2012

As the college football season progresses, most of the people who enjoy wagering on the games tend to focus their energy on the Top 25 matchups on each week’s schedule. I have found that oftentimes there is some serious value in the games that fly well under the radar of the betting public. These “diamonds in the rough” feature matchups between teams in the mid-major conferences, and they can provide an excellent return if you know where and how to look.

2012 NFL Power Rankings – Week 4
by Robert Ferringo - 9/25/2012

Being a professional handicapper and gambler is all about risk management. It is all about being able to manipulate the chaos of very volatile, independent markets (the sports) and to assess the potential hazards and opportunities of every wager that is placed.

NFL Week 3 Offensive Special Props and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/21/2012

Not a ton of special quarterback props at Bovada this week, but I would be remiss if I didn’t hit on at least a few QB props every week of the NFL season. The Giants’ Eli Manning threw for 510 yards in a Week 2 win over Tampa Bay, and we already know that Eli won’t become the first player in NFL history to throw for 500 yards in back-to-back games as New York played Thursday night and Manning threw for 288 in a big win over Carolina.

NFL Week 3 Running Back Special Props Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/21/2012

Yes, running backs appear to have become nearly a dime a dozen in the pass-heavy NFL, but there are a handful of props on tailbacks with which I would like to start my NFL Week 3 specials recommendations. Let’s start with Buffalo’s C.J. Spiller, who is finally living up to his first-round hype out of Clemson in 2010.

College Football Picks: Arizona at Oregon Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/20/2012

There are some great matchups on Saturday in college football in Week 4. But if you like shootouts, and most do, then for my money potentially the most exciting game on Saturday, if not the 2012 regular season, is when No. 22 Arizona visits No. 3 Oregon in one of the final kicks of the night (10:30 p.m. ET).

College Football Predictions: Clemson at Florida State Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/20/2012

When the Atlantic Coast Conference raided the Big East for Miami and Virginia Tech, and to a much lesser extent Boston College, back in the mid-2000s it was thought the ACC would be a football powerhouse on the lines of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, etc.