UConn +7 over West Virginia (Wednesday)

The Huskies enter the game with a 4-1 record, their only loss coming at BC in which they appeared a bit nervous and did not play to their full potential.  They notched their first official Big East win in last game beating Pitt comfortably 29-17.  The stakes are a little bit higher this week as they welcome the first ever ranked team to visit Rentschler Field.  Needless to say the game is a sellout and fans will be ready to make an impact.  West Virginia just has not been able to recapture the magic that saw them win seven straight games to end the regular season last year.  Since that streak they have gone 0-3 ATS vs quality opponents.  They struggled to get by Maryland three weeks ago despite triple revenge, playing at home, and four Terrapin turnovers.  WVU needed several breaks and OT to finally secure the win.  Last time out they suffered their first loss of the season at Virginia Tech 19-13.  The game was not as close as the final score indicates due to a Mountaineer interception runback that occurred when trailing 16-0.  WVU only gained 247 total yards vs Virginia Tech.  Against Maryland and Virginia Tech, the WVU offense only managed to score 20 points combined in 120 minutes of regulation play.  I expect this to be a close game and I will gladly take the home team with the points. 

 

Duke +21 over Georgia Tech

The Blue Devils have shown much more life since Ted Roof took over in midseason of last year.  They are 6-3 ATS under Roof heading in to this game.  Blue Devil faithful continue to sing his praises and believe the program may finally be heading in the right direction.  Duke is playing a lot of young players but has shown signs of improvement on both sides of the ball this year.  They have battled through some offensive injuries and have seen a merry go round at the QB position, but appear to have finally settled on sophomore Mike Schneider.  Duke got its first win of the season two weeks ago vs The Citadel and for the first time all season the same QB (Schneider) took every snap in a game.  Duke almost pulled off a big upset at UConn in week two of the season losing by 2 and having a game winning field goal blocked to end the game.  Georgia Tech is Roof's former employer and Duke blew out the Jackets 41-13 in last years meeting.  GT is coming off a huge win at Maryland and has a big Thursday night game coming up with Virginia Tech after this.  Even though it is a revenge situation it is also a sandwich situation and it is unlikely they will be very fired up for this game.  Georgia Tech has not been very impressive this year, especially on offense.  They were extremely lucky to get a come from behind win at Clemson early in the season but then put up just 16 points combined in two straight losses at North Carolina and vs Miami.  If not for the win over Maryland last week, they could easily be winless vs Division I-A opponents right now.  Tech is just 4-8 ATS in the role of favorite under Chan Gailey.  Duke is 10-4 ATS as an away dog since 2002.  This line is just too high.

 

Maryland -3 over NC State

The Terrapins had a 13 game home winning streak snapped in ugly loss to Georgia Tech last week.  Head coach Friedgen said afterwards that it was the worst offensive performance he had ever been associated with.  I am looking for the Terps to bounce back well this week.  Under Friedgen, Maryland is still 16-6 ATS all time at home despite an 0-3 mark this year.  More importantly, they are 6-1 ATS following a straight up loss.  The Terps have averaged over 30ppg every season since Friedgen's arrival and I am confident he will have the offense back in gear.  NC State continues to have an up and down season.  After losing to Ohio State, NC State won at Virginia Tech thanks to two missed field goals and rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat Wake Forest in overtime.  Last week they suffered a heartbreaking loss to instate rival North Carolina in which they racked up 253 more total yards but still lost.  Their nationally ranked defense gave up 30 points and was only able to force two punts.  The inconsistent NC State offense looked much better last week but most offenses do against the 107th ranked Tar Heel defense.  The Pack will be playing back to back road games for the first time this season and senior starting center Jed Paulson (ankle) left last game and is listed as questionable for this.  The Terrapins will find a way to win this one.

 

Stanford +2 at Washington State

Stanford came very close but did not pass their first road test of the season.  They has to settle for two very short field goals (20, 27) on their first two drives but still led at Notre Dame for the majority of the game until a muffed punt set up Notre Dame's go ahead score in the 4th quarter.  This is a very young team, especially on offense where they start 8 underclassmen, but they have enormous potential.  All in all the trip to Notre Dame was a good showing by the Cardinal and I believe they will improve on it as they return to Pac-10 play.  Sophomore QB Trent Edwards has a rocket arm and 6-7 receiver Evan Moore has already made some of the best catches I have seen this year.  The running game is more than adequate as part of a balanced offense.  The Cardinal defense has 9 returning starters and is solid.  Washington State has been far less impressive.  They needed a blocked punt to get by New Mexico in season opener, only scored 12 points vs an average Colorado team in a 20-12 loss, then needed a late fumble and scoring drive to get by Arizona by a point.  Early in the season it had been their offense that was not getting the job done, but now to due to several injuries on an already thin and inexperienced defense has WSU weak on both sides.  In last game they allowed 41 points and 563 yards to Oregon.  WSU was outgained by 189 total yards and had 19 less first downs despite just a 3 point loss.  There are many more positives on Stanford's side heading into this game.