| Aug 30 | The Gold Sheet | 3% | [CFB] Coastal Carolina Under 5.5 Regular Season Wins Time: 5:45 PM EDT | Coastal Carolina Under 5.5 Regular Season Wins |
| Analysis: Coastal Carolina deserves a lot of credit for elevating the quality of play in the Sun Belt over the last decade. Jamey Chadwell's teams laid the blueprint for teams like James Madison to make the FCS to FBS transition. But in a very short amount of time, the rest of the conference has essentially passed Coastal and the Chants are in danger of missing their first bowl game since 2019. Aside from hosting FCS-level Charleston Southern in Week 2, we can't find another game on Coastal's schedule where they will be favored by more than four points. They better stack some wins early because the last three weeks are going to be brutal. Our early power ratings project Coastal to be an underdog of at least seven points in five games, including each of the last three against Georgia Southern, South Carolina and James Madison. In Chadwell's final season in 2022, the Chanticleers had the No. 69 recruiting class in the country (ahead of USC, Tulane, Pitt, SMU, etc.). Coastal's talent level has dropped off considerably since then, particularly on defense. The Chants' defense allowed 413.8 yards per game last season (No. 107), 31.6 points per game (No. 108) and 66 explosive plays of 20+ yards (No. 112). Similar to the Dallas Cowboys in recent years, Coastal's defense tried to hit home runs and they were largely successful. The Chants finished last season with a +5 turnover differential and they returned five of those turnovers for touchdowns. That's not something you can easily replicate from season to season. As we type this preview on August 20, Coastal still hasn't named a starting quarterback. In some programs, you can view that as healthy competition. With the Chanticleers in 2025, that is concerning. At the time of posting, Coastal Carolina under 5.5 regular season wins is available at: DraftKings (-120) BetOnline (-120) FanDuel (-122) | ||||
| Betting Line Provider: Consensus Line |
| Date | Expert | Rating | Game | Play |
| Aug 30 | The Gold Sheet | 2% | [MLB] (905) St. Louis Cardinals at (906) Cincinnati Reds Time: 6:40 PM EDT | Cincinnati Reds -135 A Abbott (LHP) Must Start |
| Analysis: ROTATION Tracker results from 10-25 thru 10-31 (2%) ML REDS LISTING ABBOTT No analysis on 1 and 2% Plays TAKE 2% CINCINNATI as our 2% MLB PLAY | ||||
| Betting Line Provider: Consensus Line |
| Date | Expert | Rating | Game | Play |
| Aug 30 | The Gold Sheet | 1% | [CFB] UTEP Over 5.5 Wins Time: 7:15 PM EDT | UTEP Over 5.5 Wins |
| Analysis: UTEP played at Nebraska, at Colorado State and at Tennessee during its non-conference slate last year. The Miners' non-conference schedule is nowhere near that difficult this year and they should be in better shape for their conference schedule. By all indications, they've had a healthy QB battle in the preseason between former 5-star recruit Malachi Nelson and returning starter Skyler Locklear. No matter who wins the job, the Miners will likely have one of the best quarterback rooms in the conference this season. There has been a notable increase in recruiting and quality transfers under second-year head coach Scotty Walden, compared to the previous regime in El Paso. 247Sports maintains a composite talent rating, which capture the rankings of both incoming freshman and incoming transfers. Two years ago, UTEP was No. 123 in those talent ratings and seventh in Conference-USA. Entering this season, the Miners are No. 86 nationally and third in the conference. Coach Walden can't really ask for a better slate of conference road games: - At Sam Houston (neutral site, not on Sam Houston's campus) - At Kennesaw State (Won two games last season and projected to be the worst team in the league this year) - At Delaware (first FBS season) - At Missouri State (first FBS season) The Miners will start the year with a coin-flip game against Utah State. If they can win that one over the Aggies, UTEP should clear this mark in conference play with room left to spare. At the time of posting, UTEP over 5.5 wins is widely available between +110 and +120 at most major sports books. | ||||
| Betting Line Provider: Consensus Line |
| Date | Expert | Rating | Game | Play |
| Aug 30 | The Gold Sheet | 5% | [CFB] (201) Utah at (202) UCLA Time: 11:00 PM EDT | Total Under 52.5 (-115) |
| Analysis: ROTATION #201/#202 CFB (5%) TOTAL: UNDER We believe that Utah and UCLA are destined to finish below the total due to their strong defensive tendencies and game control strategies. Admittedly, Utah will be fairly potent on offense this season. However, the Utes also annually boast one of the nation's top defenses, a trend that continued last season with a shutout in their opener and eight of their first nine games finishing with 50 or fewer points; the prior season, their first six games all had 48 or fewer points. UCLA, despite significant offensive losses, has bolstered its offensive line, which should enhance its running game and allow the Bruins to chew some clock, helping to keep Utah's dangerous offense sidelined. Certainly, that should be the Bruins' goal. Last season, UCLA's first game totalled just 29 points, and 10 of their 12 games ended with 51 or fewer points. The Bruins offense averaged only 14.5 ppg the first 6 games and failed to go over 17 in any of those games. This year's offense should improve but that won't be evident in a Week 1 game against the dominant Utah defense. Importantly, this total has climbed from its opening number, helping to provide us with additional line value. With Utah's elite defense and UCLA's ability to slow the game, the total combined points should stay well the generously high number. Play on the under. |
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Cam Rogers historically is a big time losing handicapper. He used to do a podcast with Brandon Lang but that didn't last very long. They both sucked balls. He used to claim he was a great golf handicapper but haven't seen his picks lately because he lost so many picks and tournaments in a row.
