mackintosh

Jack Tuttle will probably get the start at quarterback for Indiana in place of an injured and ineffective-this-season Michael Penix Jr. But unless Tuttle can also tackle Kenneth Walker III, it's not likely to matter.

I'm still skeptical of MSU's long-term staying power in the Top 10 because of its shortcomings on defense, but the nation's leading rusher should be enough for the Spartans to get the W against a Hoosiers team that was shut out by Penn State and held without a touchdown by Iowa.

Walker & Payton Thorne will be too much offense this weekend for State.

Prediction: Michigan State 35, Indiana 16

Really surprised this line isn't closer to double digits, but I guess Texas does have 2 losses and Ok State (for the second consecutive year) is one of the most surprising undefeated teams mid-way thru the season. But I think for the second straight year, Texas will hand the Cowboys their first loss.

Mike Gundy's defense has been great, holding opponents to 18.6 points per game. But Oklahoma State has yet to face an offense like this one, and the Pokes—who haven't scored more than 31 points in a game this season—probably don't have the offensive prowess to keep up with what Bijan Robinson and Casey Thompson are getting ready to do.

In the four games since Thompson became the starting quarterback, the Longhorns have averaged 52.0 points and nearly 550 yards of total offense, and he had a masterful performance in the loss to Oklahoma. You can bet Sark has spent all week on defense, so as long as Texas doesn't have a dam burst like last weekend they should win and cover this game.

Prediction: Texas 35, Oklahoma State 28

In each of the past seven years, the regular-season meeting between Oklahoma and Texas was decided by a single possession. Last year's game necessitated four overtimes before Oklahoma won 53-45.

And goodness knows Oklahoma has had a propensity for nail-biters this season. The Sooners have played four games against FBS opponents, winning each of them by seven points or fewer.

Can Texas do its ground thing against this Sooners front seven, though?

Led by Bijan Robinson, Texas is averaging nearly 270 rushing yards and 3.4 rushing touchdowns per game. But Oklahoma has held each of its five opponents to 100 rushing yards or fewer. And though the preseason Heisman favorite hasn't been anywhere near as proficient as expected, we've got to go with Spencer Rattler over Casey Thompson if this boils down to which quarterback has the most fourth-quarter heroics up his sleeve. This is a coin toss of a game and I want the 3.5 points in my pocket....and the hook here with Texas seals the deal for me.

Prediction: Oklahoma 31, Texas 30

Maryland's 4-0 start to the season blew up in spectacular fashion at home against Iowa in a game in which the Terrapins committed seven turnovers.

Up next for the Terps? Merely a road game against the team leading the nation in total offense.

Not only has Ohio State's offense been relentless, but the Buckeyes have also turned a corner on defense as of late, albeit against Akron and Rutgers. They have seven interceptions in their last three games, and Taulia Tagovailoa has now thrown at least three picks in three of his nine games with Maryland.

Just like we saw in the Rutgers game last week, I think the cream rises to the top again this weekend.

Prediction: Ohio State 49, Maryland 21

I am going to take a shot with the dog and the Pirates here. The Pirates' JT Brubaker has been a money-maker for bettors this year.

The Cubs' Zach Davies has struggled ever since his first start of the season and although the Nationals' Patrick Corbin has also underperformed, I think Corbin has the better stuff.

Virginia has allowed just 60.7 points per game, a figure which ranks second in the ACC and 23rd in NCAA-I. Opponents are shooting just 40.5% from the floor. Wake Forest is right behind UVA in the defensive rankings. The Demon Deacons are 25th in the nation, allowing 60.8 PPG. The total here reflects Virginia’s syrupy pace of play. The Cavaliers routinely play games down into the low-60s and even high-50s as far as possessions go. This matchup should produce a low scoring game.

The North Texas offense is unstoppable. The defense might give up yards and points faster than the O can work, but the air show has been a blast over 300 yards in each of the first five games and 14 touchdown passes.

The Owls haven’t been able to get anything going this year with just two games so far, but the passing game hasn’t been all that bad. Mike Collins threw four touchdown passes in each of the two games and hit plenty of downfield plays in the win over Southern Miss.

But in the end I just don't think Rice can keep up with North Texas in what sets up to me an offensive shootout. North Texas 42- Rice 35

Tampa Bay Lightning are expected to win this series and overall the better team here. They’re moderate favorites and not too chalky so worth the price.

I will go with the Over in this one. Masahiro Tanaka has good numbers at home and good numbers against the Twins in his career, but Minnesota has been the best offensive team in the road this year, scoring over 6.14 rpg away from home. The Yankees have the best overall offense in the league and while it is stronger on the road than at home, they should still put up some nice numbers in this game.

Two bottom dwellers but Seattle is still the better team here. Detroit just got swept at home by the Phillies and they have now lost 35 of their last 43 games. The Mariners have won just five of their last 21 games, but they are off a home series against the Rangers, in which they won two of the three games played. It doesn't matter who Seattle starts here as they have the better pen and Drew VerHagen has been a mess as a starter. Give me Seattle -1.5 RL and the OVER 9.5 in what should be an offensive game.

The New York Mets have seen Fedde twice this month, so nothing will surprise them with what he brings to the table. The Nationals just tagged Wheeler for 11 hits and six runs in six innings, so they're certainly going to be excited about this matchup. Usually when lineups face the same pitcher within a short span, you tend to get high scoring games, as guys are fresh to their pitches, speed, delivery, etc.

I think this game will be close all the way until the end. I like the Rockets getting 6 points here.

Both of these starters are coming off of their best performances of the season so far, and Chicago looked solid in stifling Arizona in game one on Friday. I think the value is with Arizona here as Greinke is still an ace quality pitcher and has been better than Darvish lately. Darvish has the better team behind him you could argue, but I need to see more than Darvish dominating a poor Miami team before investing any faith in him.

i like my odds with Atlanta again but i will back -0.5 or -1 F5 like yesterday for Braves. As you all saw, they end up choking after 5th inning. BOL everyone

Celtics are healthy and after the slow start to Game 1, I think they take care of business here at home. I'm going to leave the Over/Under alone even though going Over seems enticing. We all saw what happened in game 1 when defense played a big role in the outcome.

Rams are obviously the better team here. If they keep on this track they will be headed to the Super Bowl. The 49ers on the other hand have had an awful year. I think this line started at 10.5 and has moved to 8.5. Not sure who's betting on the 49ers to make this line move in their direction but I'm sticking with the Rams to cover.

It’s a shame Tampa's division was so tough this year; otherwise they’d likely be a playoff team. The Rays have been playing pretty well all year, and their “opener” pitching strategy has worked out much better than I thought it would. I'm a Tampa Bay fan but it's rare you ever get plus money with the Yankees...especially with Severino on the mound. And Tampa is starting Faria who has a 5.17 ERA. I'll gladly take the Yankees +125 here tonight.

PREDICTION: ATLANTA -127 and UNDER 7.5 - The Giants are rolling out their ace Holland and Atlanta is rolling out Sanchez. Both are solid starters and pretty even pitching matchup, but my instincts tell me to lay the juice with Atlanta because San Francisco is circling the drain.

---PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES -151----Something has to give here, as you have Lester who has completely owned the Cubs in his career, going against Nola who hasn’t taken a loss at home this season. For me, the difference is that Lester hasn’t faced the Phillies this season, and we all know this is the best Philadelphia has looked since winning the World Series a few years ago. Philly didn’t get the win in Nola’s last home start, but the Phils’ ace is still 9-0 with an ERA under two at home this season and has allowed two runs or less in each of his last six starts, totalling six runs, five earned, over 42 innings of work for a 1.29 ERA. So what's it all mean? Lester has an ERA just under six in his last five starts and he is a fade city, so the smart bet is to lay the juice with Nola and the Phillies.

Time to bet x2 for yesterday bluejays lost..

There's just no reason to back the O's in their current form, especially with the pitching staff getting rocked nightly. Severino has been a little shaky as of late, but he's still a pitcher with insane stuff and is more than capable of taking care of a limited Baltimore offense. Yankees and the RL seems to be the only option here.

The Rams had a horrible showing in their first pre-season game and while they should play better in this one, I just don't think they have the depth to hang with the Raiders who have a much deeper team in all positions. The Raiders have a solid ground game and the Rams couldn’t slow down the Raven run game. I'll take a flyer with Oakland here and lay the 2.5 pts.

Prediction, Arizona Diamondbacks win 6-3.

We're getting an awful price with the A's here, as it seems like the oddsmakers are catching on to this team. Still, I'm not betting against the hottest team in baseball and the best team over the last two months. The Oakland Athletics have been a money making machine and don't show any signs of slowing down. Not in love with this game but will put a small bet on Oakland here with Cahill on the mound.

I’m going to go with Holland keeping it steady here so I’ll take the Giants and the big plus money.

I've picked the Seattle Mariners every game this series and they've lost badly. All those close games the Mariners won in the first half of the season, they're losing now. The offense isn't showing up and the pitching staff has been getting rocked all second half of the season. I'm still not high on the Toronto Blue Jays, and it's tough to complete a four game sweep of anybody, but at some point you have to wash your hands with a team after they burn you so many times. Give me the plus money.

Bundy had a string of three bad starts in July, allowing a combined 15 earned across 12.1 innings for an 0-2 result. Minor has had a few hiccups as well, but has allowed just four earned over his last two outings. I’m not going to overthink this matchup; I LOVE the Rangers here and will put 1/2 my bet on the Run Line and 1/2 on the ML to average down my odds.

Lopez is just as good as Pivetta IMO, I like the Marlins to steal the series opener as a nicely priced underdog