Football Picks Against the Spread

Question: Week 7 RB advice?

Who should I start, Matt Forte or Jonathan Stewart? Stewart is playing Buffalo and Forte is playing the Bengals.

Best answer:

I would go with Stewart. He’s got a favorable matchup and should look good against the Bills defense this week.

Give your answer to this question below!…

I’ve posted my picks for the Friday Rutgers/Pitt game and the big Red River Rivalry, but like I said in those picks, those games are not worth betting on.  They’re more of just “publicity” posts in order to get more readership to the site since a lot of football fans are searching for information on those games.

In this post, I’ll highlight what I think are the strongest plays to make this Saturday.  As always, home teams in caps (you should know this by now).  Remember to check THE PASS RUSH prior to kick off prior to Saturday and Sunday if there’s any late-breaking information on games or spreads.

VEGAS MARTIN’S TOP 5 PICKS RANKED BY STRENGTH:

1.) Kansas -9.5 over COLORADO: (L) Colorado is really bad at 1-5 and they’re up against the 15th ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas is scoring 40.5 PPG and Colorado is giving up 30 PPG.  Kansas’s Todd Reesing is completing 70% of his passes and has a 13/3 TD/INT ration.  This looks like an easy domination by Kansas.

2.) Ohio State -13 over PURDUE: (L) Ohio State is incredible and Purdue is 1-5.  Purdue lost by 15 to Minnesota last week and lost by 6 to a mediocre Northwestern team the week before.  I don’t think Ohio State has any problems blowing this team out.  This is one of the stronger plays of the week.  There are no major injuries to be worried about except that RB Herron is doubtful, but they can dominate the game even if he can’t play.  Take Ohio State.  Prediction: Ohio State 31 – Purdue 10.

3.) Wake Forest +7.5 over CLEMSON: (L) I don’t understand why Clemson is such a heavy favorite.  Wake Forest has a much better QB …

Tomorrow is the Red River Rivalry, which means that Texas and Oklahoma gear up for their battle at high noon.  This is one of my favorite football games of the year.  There’s just something about this rivalry that gets me all geeked up.  At THE PASS RUSH, I like to explore these big college matchups to give new visitors a sneak peak at the free football betting services that we provide.  Let’s turn to the action.

NO. 3 TEXAS LONGHORNS (5-0, 2-0) -3 VS. NO. 20 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (3-2, 1-0)

Date: Saturday, October 17 — Noon (ABC)

First, the Red River Rivalry takes place on a neutral field.  It takes place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, so you don’t have to worry about how home-field will effect this game, although it’s more of a home game for Texas.

You also have to look into the Sooners record. You see 3-2 and may assume they’re a weaker team this year, but you have to look into that since Oklahoma could easily be 5-0 if Bradford didn’t get injured.  OU has faced two tough losses.  The first loss was in week one to a quality BYU team who beat them by a mere point, 14-13.  Their second loss of the season came from a stellar Miami team in another one-point loss, 21-20.

Sam Bradford was injured in the first week of the season and didn’t make a comeback until last week when he played outstanding, defeating Baylor 33-7.  How about these stats.  27/49, 389 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs.  Although he completed only 55% of his passes, those are quality numbers.  The Sooners running game is also legit, but Texas isn’t far behind.  Oklahoma ran for 203 yards on Baylor.

Texas …

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (5-1) -6 @ RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (4-1)

Tonight’s college football action features a pretty decent game for a Friday night.  Pittsburgh will be traveling to take on the Rutgers.  After Rutgers was embarrassed in week one by Cincinnati, a lot of people wrote off Rutgers as a terrible team, but we didn’t realize just how good of a team Cincinnati truly is.  Despite rattling off four straight wins, Rutgers hasn’t beaten anyone impressive.  They destroyed Texas Southern last week 42-0 and beat Maryland 34-13 the week before.

Pittsburgh is coming off a last-minute win against UCONN at home last week.  Pittsburgh has an edge at the QB position.  Bill Stull is completing 67% of his passes, has passed for 13 TDs with just 3 INTs, and has 1256 yards.  That’s almost double Rutgers’ QB Tom Savage’s output, who is only completing 55% of his passes.

What’s impressed me with Rutgers lately is their defense and play against the run.  In Rutger’s last 3 games, they’ve completely shut down the run, allowing just 0.6 yards per attempt.  On the year, they’re allowing just 2.3 yards per attempt.  In all other stats, these teams match up pretty well.  Both score an average of 31-34 points while the defenses allow 16-18 points.

With Pittsburgh’s QB, that gives Pittsburgh a tremendous edge, but I’m really impressed with how Rutgers has been able to completely shut down the run the last few games.

10/16 experts like Pittsburgh to cover the spread and Pittsburgh has 67% of the consensus vote.  I’m going against the grain here.  I think Pittsburgh may have done a little too much partying last week after the UCONN win and comes out with a lack of focus.

I’ll take the …

What’s up my peeps.  Vegas Martin is back and ready to give his NFL Week 6 picks against the spread.  It’s no secret that THE PASS RUSH has absolutely given the books the spanking this past week in both the NFL and College Football.  I don’t want to get too cocky here since there is no such thing as a lock and I will also advise you to do your own due diligence on each game you pick, but let’s take a look at the spreads and see if we can spot any easy money this week.  Again, I ranked my top 5 spreads of the week at the bottom of this article.  Enjoy!  Thanks for all the comments lately — keep it up and thanks for contributing to THE PASS RUSH.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS @ WASHINGTON REDSKINS -6

I’ve been saying for the last few weeks that the Redskins are a horrible team to bet on.  They have a very poor offense, but their defense gives them the chance to win every week.  I also love picking against “NFL retards,” one of which includes the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Chiefs were able to hang with the Cowboys, but they’re a completely different team when they’re on the road compared to being at home.  For the sake of picking this game, I’ll say the Redskins cover and win by a TD, but would I be surprised with a mere 3-point win by the Redskins?  No.  Avoid this game.

Prediction: Redskins 20 – Chiefs 13

Free Pick: Redskins -6 (Confidence: 2/5) (L)

HOUSTON TEXANS @ CINCINNATI BENGALS -4.5

The Bengals are 4-1, can you believe it?  I can’t!  With a poor Texans defense and potent offense, I think the over 46 …

START ‘EM IN WEEK 6:

1.) Rashard Mendenhall — Time to keep on riding Mendenhall.  After great games against the Steelers in Chargers, he now has the Browns.  He has 3 TDs in the last two games and an average of 137 combined yards in those contests.  What a great late-round pickup since you could count on Willie Parker getting injured at some point in the season.

2.) Brian Westbrook/LeSean McCoy — Westbrook got you a TD last week against the Bucs, but neither back put up big yards since the Eagles aired it out against the Bucs.  Andy Reid was a little upset with the lack of the ability to run.  He should be able to get the running game going against the Raiders 31st ranked run D.  You obviously want to start Westbrook, but I also think there’s enough room to get McCoy some quality fantasy points if you have a flex spot on your team.

3.) Cadillac Williams — Williams is either hit or miss.  He can either give you 100 yards or 10 yards.  He’s not a “must start” but he is if you don’t have a good RB option this week.  The Panthers give up over 150 rushing yards per game.  The Bucs should turn to the running game this week against the Panthers since Josh Johnson is still developing as a QB.

4.) DeAngelo Williams — He should rebound after a poor outing against the Redskins when he was held to just 41 yards on 20 carries.  The Bucs run D has been spotty this year.

5.) Thomas Jones/Leon Washington — Both players get the nod against the Bills, who give up over 150 yards per game on the ground.

6.) Cedric Benson — …

I hate to admit it or even watch it, but the NFL Week 6 play of the week has to go to Miles Austin, hands down. Not only did he give the Cowboys the lead when the game was tied at 13, but he also gave the Cowboys the win in overtime with another TD. Miles Austin ended the day with 10 receptions, 250 yards, and 2 TDs.

First TD:

Second TD:

…