Fresno State +17 over CINCINNATI PINNACLE
Cincinnati is on a roll to start the season opening 3-0 and is getting respect from the Associated Press and Coaches in the polls. I’m not going to diminish what they’ve done in beating two BCS teams on the road but this is still not a team that can be counted on to cover two touchdown spreads on a consistent basis. The two legitimate Cincinnati wins came against teams with serious questions at Quarterback and in College Football it’s almost impossible to win games with poor play at that position. Why does this matter? - Because Cincinnati lost an eye-opening 10 defensive starters from their 2008 team and was fortunate to face schools who couldn’t get anything from their offense. Enter Fresno State, who has a history of playing any team at any location and isn’t intimated by any team in College Football. Fresno State is led by leading FBS rusher Ryan Mathews, who has rushed for 449 yards through three games and has helped the Fresno State offense average 38 points a game thus far. The Fresno State offense can score points against legitimate teams and should be able to score touchdowns against an unproven and untested Cincinnati defense. The odds-makers agree, as they have set the total at 61.5, the fourth highest posted total of this weekend’s games. The key to keeping the game within reach for Fresno State will be to contain the Cincinnati duo of Quarterback Tony Pike and Wide Receiver Marshawn Gilyard. Pike and Gilyard are both having phenomenal seasons and will need to get the full attention of Fresno State’s defense. Fresno State will have to keep them off the field with long and extended drives that eat up the clock and keep the game close enough to provide them with a chance to win. With an established running game going up against an unknown Cincinnati defense, the game-plan is there for Hill and Fresno State to shock the Bearcats. It wouldn’t be the first time a top 25-team lost to the team nobody ever wants to play. Play: #327 Fresno State +17 (Risking 2.20 units to win 2).

OHIO STATE -14 over Illinois PINNACLE
While Ohio State’s National Title aspirations vanished with a close loss against Southern California, this is still one of the premier programs in all of College Football. Talent is never an issue at a school like Ohio State and I believe they are taking unfair criticism for barely beating Navy and the aforementioned loss to USC. This is still a team that features the likes of High School Player of the Year Terrelle Pryor, NFL caliber defensive safety’s Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell and Running Back Dan Herron. Ohio State has had the most players drafted out of any school since 2000, meaning Coach Jim Tressel reloads every year and will always have the players to compete for a BCS game. Now Illinois must come into the Horseshoe to open Big 10 play and the reality is we still know very, very little about this team. Illinois looked terrible in losing to Missouri, a team who they should have handled and then played FCS “rival” Illinois State in a game that means absolutely nothing. Here is what we know about Illinois: They have a hit-or-miss Quarterback in Juice Williams, who can either single handedly win you a game or kill all momentum with killer interceptions, and are coached by the much maligned Ron Zook, who has a 10-22 conference record and is 6-13 on the road during his time at Illinois. It’s also worth noting that Williams did not play two weeks ago and is battling a Quadriceps injury but is going to play this week. Ohio State will look to establish the run against an Illinois defense that returned 5 starters from last year’s team, a team which Ohio State had 305 yards rushing against in last season’s game. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor will contribute to the running game, as he already rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns on the season and Dan Herron will also look to rebound from a disappointing start to the year. The unfortunate truth for Illinois is they lack the talent to keep up with a faster and more motivated Ohio State team. The fact that we know almost nothing about them makes backing them very difficult to understand, as the College game is all about what have you done and where have you done it. In Illinois case, that’s absolutely nothing. Play: #308 Ohio State – 14 (Risking 2.04 units to win 2).