Allen East man
3-Unit Play. Take #325 Arizona (+3.5) over Houston (Noon, Saturday, Sept. 8)
I will go with the underdog in this one. Arizona was upset in the first game against BYU. That spread was inflated. I used BYU as my free pick on the site last week and that was an easy win. But now I think that the books have overreacted the other way. Houston was not impressive against Rice. They pulled away and won 45-27. But they were losing 24-17 at halftime and losing 27-17 in the third quarter. Houston will get a tougher test from Arizona. The Wildcats will want revenge for a loss to the Cougars last September, 19-16. And new head coach Kevin Sumlin is going to want to get his first win at his new school. I think that Arizona will play better this week and they will get the outright win here. Take the points.
3-Unit Play. Take #347 Georgia (-10) over South Carolina (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8)
I like Georgia in this SEC matchup. The Bulldogs are massive favorites to win the SEC East. They are one of the best teams in college football and one of the favorites to get back to the national championship game. This team could be defending national champions if not for an OT loss to Alabama last year. Georgia had no problem in the opener with Austin Peay, winning 45-0 and covering the spread. They have one of the best offensive lines and one of the best running games in college football. Last week the Bulldogs ran for 284 yards on 8.6 yards per carry. South Carolina is a big underdog for a reason. Georgia is 17-5 ATS on the road and 9-3 ATS in conference games. The Bulldogs are on a 5-1 ATS run overall and they won easily over South Carolina last year, 24-10. The Bulldogs have won three straight in this series and four of the last five. All of their wins have been blowouts. The favorite is 6-2 ATS in this series and I like Georgia to win big.
7-Unit Play. Take #368 Missouri (-18.5) over Wyoming (7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8)
This game should be a blowout! Missouri has one of the best quarterbacks and one of the best offenses in the SEC. I think that they won't have a problem against an overmatched Wyoming team that is already playing its third game and its second road game. Wyoming was blown out 41-19 at home last week against Washington State, a weaker team from the Pac-12. Now they have to go on the road and take on this much better Missouri team and I can see another blowout similar to last week's three-touchdown loss. The Cowboys offense is really struggling with its rookie quarterback after losing Josh Allen to the NFL. This looks like an improved Missouri defense and they should be able to shut the freshman quarterback down. Missouri is 4-1 ATS in its last five home games and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall. Wyoming is 2-5 ATS after a double-digit loss at home and they have had a problem bouncing back after blowout losses in the past. Wyoming is just 2-7 ATS in its last nine September games. The SEC dominated the rest of college football last week. I think that will continue this week in the nonconference games and I am looking for a blowout here from the Tigers and Drew Lock. This spread has already moved up from 16.5 to 18.0 and that tells me where the sharp money is on this game. Lay the points and go with Mizzou.
4-Unit Play. Take #379 Cincinnati (+1.5) over Miami, OH (8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8)
The Bearcats scored a big upset last week at UCLA. They were 15-point underdogs in that game and won outright over the Bruins. They are on the road again this week but much closer to home. This is a rivalry game with nearby Miami for the Victory Bell. The wrong team is favored in this one. Miami is coming off a tough loss at home to Marshall last week. That game was not as close as the 35-21 score looked. Marshall was up 28-7 in the second half of this game and 35-21 before Miami scored a garbage time touchdown. This Cincinnati team is even better than Marshall and the Bearcats have beaten Miami 12 straight times. Cincinnati went on the road and beat Miami 21-17 last year as a 3.5-point underdog and they haven't had much of a problem with the Redhawks over the past several years. I like Cincinnati to get the job done here.
4-Unit Play. Take #382 Texas (-23) over Tulsa (8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8)
Texas is coming off another disappointing loss to Maryland last week on the road. That was a strange game. That game included a long weather delay in the second half that took away Texas' momentum. But now the Longhorns are back home and they need a big win here. Tulsa struggled against Central Arkansas last week. They gave up 27 points and did not cover the spread in a 38-27 win. They are really going to struggle with an improved Texas team in this one. The Longhorns are 5-1 ATS in their last six games after a loss. Tulsa is just 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games and they are just 7-20 ATS in their last 27 games against teams from the Big 12. Last year Texas lost its opener to Maryland and then turned around and beat San Jose State 56-0. I do not think that Texas will win that big this week against Tulsa. But I do think that they will get a blowout win. I had this spread at 29 so I think that there is some value here with this team. Look for the Longhorns to bounce back. Lay the points.