Host Jonathan Coachman is joined by sports betting experts Larry Hartstein, Allie O'Neill and Allan Bell on The Early Edge podcast. They give you their best bets for NFL Thursday Night Football, MLB and golf's Presidents Cup for Thursday, Sept. 22, as well as a confident college football play for Saturday.
The crew hits the storylines, including some nuggets on the NFL's Thursday Night Football matchup. It's Browns vs. Steelers (8:15 p.m. ET), and Allan points out that coach Kevin Stefanski is 1-11 against the spread against AFC North teams since joining Cleveland, including 0-6 as a favorite. But Bell also notes that Pittsburgh has never won a game without T.J. Watt (0-5), and the star defender is out tonight.
Allie opens up the picks with an MLB prediction, taking Cleveland -140 in Guardians vs. White Sox (8:10 p.m. ET). Cleveland is starting Shane Bieber, who is 11-8 with a 2.83 ERA and is 7-3 on the road. He hasn't allowed more than one earned run in his past three starts.
AB has another buffet of picks, including several from Browns vs. Steelers. He is taking Cleveland Over 21.5 Team Total (-110). It's going to be a windy night in Cleveland, but "the Browns are going to get it done on the ground," Allan says.
The Browns should get up early, forcing Pittsburgh to throw a lot, so Bell is also taking Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky Over 0.5 Interceptions (-130). Allan also likes Cleveland star defender Myles Garrett Over 0.25 Sacks (-145). He is coming off an injury, so this is a low number, and he always gets fired up to face the Steelers.
Bell's last play is a college football pick, and he is taking Over 33.5 on the First Half Total (-115) in Alabama vs. Vanderbilt (7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday). The expert knows Nick Saban has been quiet this week, meaning he isn't sending any messages to his team through the media. That is a sign that the Crimson Tide have things figured out, so Vandy should be in trouble. "Take the first-half total Over 33.5," AB says, "because I'll tell you this, Alabama will cover that number by themselves."
The Maestro wraps things up, and that means NFL picks. He has two props, and the first is Pittsburgh's Najee Harris Under 54.5 Rushing Yards (-115). "The guy's not right," Larry says, and he isn't breaking tackles like he should. Cleveland has a good run defense, and Harris failed to crack this number last week, when he had 49 yards on 15 carries against New England.
Larry has another running back prop, and he is backing Cleveland's Kareem Hunt Over 9.5 Rush Attempts (-138). Hunt is averaging 12 carries in the first two games, and the windy conditions should mean the teams will keep it on the ground. Hartstein expects the carries to be balanced between Hunt and Nick Chubb on the short week, so he loves this play.
The Jeweler is on site at the Presidents Cup, and he comes in with some golf picks. He likes Patrick Cantlay or Xander Schauffele as the Top Overall Scorer this week at Quail Hollow. They are paired together Thursday, so they should get off to a good start. Both should be priced at more than +700 at most books, so the Jeweler says you should shop around.
Coach also has a bonus play from the Presidents Cup, backing Team USA -5.5 Points (-157) against the Internationals. The American team is loaded with top golfers, and the juice (-700) is way too high for the money line, so a big victory is the wager to make.
Early Edge is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enable push notifications so you always know when the latest episode is available! Every episode is also available on YouTube. Follow @SportsLine on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow our crew on Twitter: @TheCoachrules, @LarryHartstein, @allie_sports and @allanbell247. You can listen to The Early Edge on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Early Edge podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of The Early Edge podcast." For more betting picks and analysis, visit SportsLine.com. To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit CBSSports.com/podcasts.
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