[aznknightt]

Randall the Handle please....

[tinfw17]

Randall the Handle

Arkansas -1.5 over TEXAS A&M PINNACLE

Schools that enter the fifth week of play in College Football without having played a legitimate team always get my attention, and in the case of Texas A&M their 3-0 record is so misleading that this is an automatic play. Texas A&M has beat up on the worst team in the FBS (New Mexico), perennial WAC bottom feeder Utah State, and unimpressive Alabama-Birmingham. Even worse, Texas A&M has yet to leave their school for any road games or been in any games that were remotely close. They are the most untested BCS team and really don’t have the personnel to turn on the switch for a big game. Enter Arkansas, whose lone win this year came against FCS Missouri State but played fourteenth ranked Georgia extremely close and absolutely needs this game if it has any chance at being bowl eligible. Arkansas is led by quarterback Ryan Mallet, a 6’7 transfer from Michigan who is having a great season running the Bobby Petrino offense. Mallet has passed for seven touchdowns and one interception, keeping turnovers down and giving Arkansas a legitimate pocket passer other teams would kill for. Texas A&M’s offensive stats are inflated and mean very little when facing an SEC defense, especially one that returned 10 starters from last year, including NFL prospect Malcolm Sheppard and leading tackler Wendel Davis. The Aggies quarterback Jerrod Johnson will finally face his first real test of the season and that’s another red flag. Johnson only won two Big-12 games last year and has a real problem taking sacks, going down 30 times last year and throwing 10 interceptions. He is a scrambling quarterback that much like Juice Williams can lose you games with terrible turnovers and inaccuracy. The Razorbacks aren’t going to look ahead as they need all the non conference wins they can get and facing an Aggies squad that hasn’t played anything close to an SEC team is a great place to start. Take the Razorbacks in a blowout. Play: #183 Arkansas -1.5 (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).

TEXAS EL PASO +14 over Houston PINNACLE

Nationally ranked Houston is riding high right now after beating the likes of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State and now opens Conference-USA play as the heavy favorite to win the league title. Houston is a great story but once again this is a team that is in no position to be consistently laying double-digit points on the road to conference rivals like UTEP. Lost in the shuffle of all the Houston success is that their defense is still nowhere near capable of playing at high level for an extended amount of time. Last season, Houston’s defense gave up 30 points a game and allowed 413 yards of total offense and they returned only 4 starters this year. The wins against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech had little to do with the defenses performance but rather critical turnovers and missed field goals on the opponent’s part. UTEP meanwhile is 1-3 and got drilled 62-7 last week against Texas but that actually works to our advantage here. UTEP has played a tough non-conference schedule and is ready to square off against a team with similar talent level as them and won’t be surprised by the speed of the game. Playing in front of 40,000 fans won’t hurt either, as former Washington State coach Mike Price is 19-11 at home and knows Houston has serious weaknesses. UTEP is led by third year quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, who has struggled against Texas but threw for 3200 yards and 33 touchdowns last season. Vittatoe is familiar with the offense and should be expected to lead UTEP to touchdowns against Houston. It’s been almost 20 or so years since Houston was ranked but the reality is that number won’t be there when the season is over. They are living a fantasy and I don’t think the players realize this is the conference game they need to win. With SEC opponent Mississippi State looming next week, Houston could be caught looking ahead and that also works in UTEP’s favor. Don’t be shocked if Houston loses this game outright to an underrated UTEP team. Play: #194 Texas El Paso +14 +1.00 (Risking 2 units).

Saturday October 3, 2009 10:00am EST

English Premier League

BURNLEY +1.30 OVER Birmingham City PINNACLE

Both of these teams have been dismal of late, however, we cannot ignore that Burnley have been very good when playing at home at Turf Moore. Burnley has beaten the likes of Manchester United and Everton at home and has overall just looked impressive defending their home field. Birmingham City comes into this match decimated with injuries, as many key players will miss out on this fixture. Birmingham has also had serious trouble finding the back of the net in the EPL and I don’t see them troubling Burnley in this one either. Although both teams have struggled of late, look for Burnley to provide plenty of energy right from the start and win once again at home improving their perfect home record to four wins and 0 loses. Play: BURLEY