Please see my earlier picks for my best two plays. The lines have both moved but I would still play them.
Friday Night Lights
Campbell +26.5 @ Coastal Carolina – The postgame reviews I’ve heard is that Kansas was terrible more than Coastal Carolina looked great. Campbell took Georgia Southern, a team that is probably better than Kansas, to the wire last week. The Camels are good and hungry. Campbell head coach Mike Minter, former Carolina Panther and Nebraska hall of famer, will have the Camels focused for another shot to knock off an FBS program.
The Rest of Saturday's plays
Louisiana @ +17 Georgia State – I believe that this is Tom Fornelli's, of CBS Sports, system to always go against a newly ranked team if they are a program that hasn’t been ranked in a while. Georgia State has gone from 2 wins in the HC’s first season to 7 in his second. Don’t forget that this is the same team that beat Tennessee last season.
South Florida @ -25 Notre Dame – The Irish were not impressive against Duke but I look for a big performance against Clemson Lite. South Florida will be good but it will take time to rebuild. The Bulls were picked near the bottom of the AAC and aren’t ready for this test yet.
Liberty +14 @ Western Kentucky – Western was gifted the ball twice inside the Louisville 5-yard line last week or that game would have been much farther out of hand for the Toppers. Hugh Freeze has improved his teams in the second year at every stop.
Charlotte +17.5 First half @ North Carolina – The 49ers came out of the gates on fire last week at App State. The Tar Heels continued their slow starts against Syracuse last week. Ten points should be enough for Charlotte to cover this first half bet.
Syracuse @ Pitt UNDER 50 – Pitt has one of the best defenses in the country. Syracuse is starting a converted TE at offensive guard and is down to its third string RB. The last two touchdowns Pitt scored last week were off of poor or blocked punts that set Pitt up inside Austin Peay’s 5-yard line each time. This could also be a bit of a look ahead spot for the Panthers with #18 Louisville up next week.
Austin Peay +34 @ Cincinnati – It will be the Bearcats first game of the season and Austin Peay’s third. This is Governors final game of the season and I’m sure that a team that went 11-4 last year will not lay down for another beating by an FBS school. Cincinnati only really blew out Marshall during last year’s season and that was to get the team back on track after a beatdown at Ohio State and a slow start against in-state rival Miami (OH). This line looks too easy when you consider Cincinnati is ranked #13 and Pitt, now #25, beat the Governors by 55. You always go the other way when it looks too easy.
Under consideration
Wake Forest +2.5 @ NC State – NC State definitely is a tough place to play but they won’t be allowing fans at this game. NC State has lost the last three in this series and are fired up to break that streak. The problem is Wake Forest is gaining talent while NC State seems to be slipping in the past years. They already had Clemson poaching the best talent in NC away from them and now Mack Brown is recruiting like he did at Texas. I expect an outright win by the Deacs.
Florida Atlantic @ -1.5 Georgia Southern – The line has totally flipped and now the better team is favored. Georgia Southern probably didn’t expect Campbell to put up and fight and expected an easy win. They should be focused for an FAU team without the Lane Train and now under Willie Taggert.
Houston +4.5 @ Baylor – Dave Aranda is great but I believe that this is his first HC job at any level. I always fade a new coach in his debut game.
Navy +7 @ Tulane – From what I saw, Tulane was outplayed by South Alabama. I expect Navy to bounce back from that BYU debacle and be the Navy team we all expected on Labor Day.