East Carolina lost their home opener as a favorite last week against Appalachian State. Now for the second straight week the Pirates will face a Sun Belt team as they travel on the road to face Old Dominion. That’s where the value lies on the number as East Carolina lost to a bottom level Appalachian State team, and now see the Monarchs who are second on the odds list to win the Sun Belt. Smaller number, but look for Old Dominion to show a bit of rust off their loss to Virginia Tech. Take East Carolina.

A weak non-conference schedule without leaving home can leave a team vulnerable for their first main game. South Carolina fits that as their first two opponents were at home against Kent State and Towson, winning by a combined 102-9. Mississippi State on the other hand is already road tested after trouncing Minnesota last week 38-13. After going a combined 2 and 22 in SEC play over the last three years, Mississippi State puts themselves back on the map. Grab the key number in case of a close loss.

The talented Ohio Bobcats team we have seen over the last several seasons, is in a new phase leadership wise as Nick Poulos works his way in as the new starting quarterback. He went just 14 of 31 against Nebraska, but Jacksonville State is a team that has struggled in the early portions of a season. They went 0-3 two years ago, before turning it around and winning Conference USA. They also went 1-2 to begin last season before getting into gear and playing in another title game. Look for the early season struggles to continue a third year in a row, where the better talent does not equate on the field. Take Ohio.

Louisville has so many changes with their roster, which can be unpredictable in a key game one. Yet, Ole Miss I believe does have some carry over love ATS from last year’s college football playoff run. We’ve also seen a pattern of the Sunday ranked game be favorable to the underdog. A season ago it was Notre Dame as an underdog to Miami, and the year prior it was USC against LSU. In hot conditions in Nashville take the points here on the Cardinal side.

Ohio State’s dominance this year is in question due to their Big Ten schedule overall. We saw the defense have their issues early on last week against Michigan, where the Wolverines red zone non execution resulted in two field goals. Indiana has been waiting for this moment and I expect a tight finish, where the victory is decided by three points or less. Grab Indiana.

The Fresno State Bulldogs lost their momentum in last week’s home loss against Utah State. It was a game they led by double digits at halftime, but could not generate anything offensively under quarterback EJ Warner. Warner looked a bit uncomfortable and that is an angle to keep San Jose State in the game with a true freshmen quarterback. Low scoring close game, get the current key number.

Missouri State is a team that far exceeded expectations in their first year of division one football in Conference USA. A common trait of this team has been close games virtually every week. Late into the third and early into the fourth quarter it has truly been anyone’s game to win. Expect that to impact the Bears after coming back to tie against Kennesaw State, and losing in the final minutes against the top team in the conference. Grab Louisiana Tech here.

Utah State is 0-5 on the road this season but finds themselves as a short underdog against Fresno State. The Bulldogs have overachieved in my opinion on both sides of the football over the last two weeks. Defensively they shut down Boise State to seven points, and Wyoming last week to three points. Look for Utah State off a tough double overtime loss last week against UNLV to get off to a fast start against Fresno. Take the points here with Utah State.

As bad as Pittsburgh’s loss was last week to Notre Dame, this week they are back in conference play against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets looked vulnerable in back to back weeks losing to NC State, and nearly losing to a Boston College team that is winless against division one teams. Look for a response from Pittsburgh as they look to jump into a first place tie with Virginia and SMU in the ACC.

On the season Georgia Southern has been excellent at home, where they are 3-1 overall. The one loss was against Southern Miss that is 5-0 in conference, and that was by just three points. Still, I don’t believe the market has caught up on a Coastal Carolina team that has ascended with fourth string quarterback Semari Collier as starter. They are 4-0 ATS and SU in his starts. A loss may happen but they hold within the spread.

There’s no doubt the loss of Dylan Raiola is going to impact Nebraska the rest of Big Ten play. Yet, this week is a matchup they can win with proper execution and running the football with Emmett Johnson. Johnson already has 1,000 yards on the season, and the Bruins defense is coming off giving up a season high fifty six points to Indiana. Take Nebraska to get by in their first game without Raiola.

An unheralded matchup presents value in the American Conference. Tulsa is winless at 0-5 in league play, and has just one division one victory on the season. Still, the offense has shown improvement in the last two weeks scoring 27 and 37 points. Both were season highs against division one schools. Look for that improvement to continue to show on the road against Florida Atlantic. Could be another loss overall, but they get the cover ATS.

Freshmen quarterbacks even the good ones show tendencies. Hawaii’s Micah Alejado has been excellent over his last three starts leading the Rainbow Warriors to over thirty points in all. Disruption of being on the field has been an issue for Alejado. He missed some time and had a poor start against Fresno State, and tonight look for Hawaii’s bye week to disrupt his prior rhythm. San Jose State may be 2-5 but have been in position in several games, and have prolific senior quarterback Walker Eget at quarterback. Take San Jose State.

It’s obvious that John Matter returned from injury at not one hundred percent. Over the Sooners last three games they have lost to Texas and Ole Miss, but it’s also allowed Matter to play and work through the injury. Expect a sharper performance from him tonight and for Tennessee to need to adjust from their typical octane offense that averages forty six points per game. Close game with the Sooners sneaking within the number.

The Florida Gators began the season as a ranked team, that quickly faded and led to the firing of Billy Napier. Billy Gonzales will now step in and look to get the Gators bowl eligible with five gams left. Even though Georgia is 6-1, they have shown vulnerability with several close wins. Take the Gators be the latest to hang around against the Bulldogs, and stay within the touchdown spread.