Moving on, because we have to. I'd love to give a free CBB play, but there isn't one I like well enough, yet. We do have a Triple Dime NFL play, but after we lost on the Falcons total last night - I'd have a hard time convincing people we won't lose two in row.
Michigan State/Ohio State: Obviously the inclination is to bet on the Spartans, especially getting points. They did have one decent road win, at Minnesota in OT - in a game they trailed big at one time. Ohio State doesn't have the signature win yet and in fact doesn't really have a good win, period. Losers of four straight, three on the road, and blown out by the Badgers the other night. Yet, favored. The "revenge" angle is clearly with the Buckeyes, having lost three times to MSU last season. I'd simply have to take the Buckeyes here, as hard as that is. They've got a sizable length advantage, defend the perimeter well, shoot better from the line, and have been better at protecting the ball. Add in some experience. There's a lot of pressure on OSU to win this, thus avoiding an 0-5 conference start, especially given that they've got another road game at Nebraska on Wednesday. However, I wouldn't bet more than I could afford to lose on them. I think the 1H stays under since both teams might be a little hesitant, which could set up a good 2H bet - which is probably the smartest thing (a 2H bet) IMO. Not overly confident either way. But, it's televised and there's no football to interrupt, so people WILL bet on it.
SoCal/Colorado: Those that know me know that I've got a tough time fading Colorado at home, especially against an up tempo team. They were able to score against UCLA and got to the line a TON, but they just couldn't stop the Bruins from scoring. Colorado is in a similar position as Ohio State in that they're trying not to start Conference play 0-5, right down to the "road game Wednesday" part. SoCal doesn't have a great road win, although the beat Texas A & M on the road, albeit almost two months ago. They are also looking to avoid a horrid conference start - the Buffs have the experience, the Bruins have the length and athleticism, and will want to run. Neither team turns it over a ton (usually) and both teams spend time at the stripe, so I think the best bet here is "over" - especially given that it may be a close game, i.e. fouls late if need be.
Iowa/Northwestern: The Wildcats come in hot - winners of three of four Conference games on the road. Not easy, even against mediocre teams. Iowa has lost both Big 10 road games, and doesn't have a decent win on the road this season, so based on that one would have to like the home team here. Iowa is going to want to run, NW is going to want to slow it down. Northwestern plays far better defense and shoot 77% from the line, which is always hard to bet against. Inasmuch as I don't like giving a decent team two possessions, -6/-6.5 is about my upper limit because it's two possessions - and that's a bit less than I thought it'd open at. The "over" looks entirely too easy, and my inclination is that if it's a high scoring game, it'd favor Iowa. NW won't want that, so I may way for the total to go up (it should) and take a look at the under.