SHAKER’S SHORTS
Friday Nite Football
Memphis/South Florida: Being from Memphis I have followed this team pretty closely. How can I not? They are undefeated at 4-0 for the 1st time since 1961. They will be going for their 12th win in a row tonight. Good news/Bad news for Tiger Fans is that they have a great coach but this 39 year old guy will be getting offers soon. I think there is at least a decent chance that they blow this one wide open but 2 things stop me from making this bet. The D is not nearly as they anticipated it would be, and they have Ole Miss on Deck next week. My Power Ratings taking into account this game being on the Road has Memphis by 10.2 which means I had a slight lean at open of 12.5 to UCF and now a slight lean to Memphis at -8 to -9. The Bulls have a 7-1 ATS Mark as a Double Digit Dog, which they are not now, and this team which is 6-34 last 40 straight-up against real teams is still an amazing 15-4 ATS as a Conference Dog under their current coach. If Memphis gets out in front by 2 scores or more I might consider a 1/2 Play on the Tigers as UCF has no business trying to comeback from that kind of Deficit.
Temple/Charlotte: I was all set to Grab the OVER in this contest but the weather has put a ? on that. I still might towards gametime and the total is getting riper, now down to 43.5 mark and passing some key numbers along the way. Wind should be a factor but the fact is Temple should be able to dominate the line of scrimmage and not have to throw the ball often. Depending on wind direction though Wind does affect the running game as well. Charlotte simply does not Stack up with FBS Teams and were drubbed by MTS allowing 73 points earlier this year. Now here’s the most interesting thing about this game. The Owls are 1-29 Straight-up on the road following a BYE Week or rest more than 7 days. That’s just crazy and I think they break that trend tonight. Stay tuned for the weather report and possible play here..
UConn/BYU: I don’t really have a lot of thoughts about this one with my numbers both side and totals being very similar. My Gut says too many points in a game with such a low total but My Gut doesn’t put food on the table and the Mercedes in the Garage. UConn has been a Good Dog Play often, especially out of conference, but I am not sure of the last time they played in an Altitude this high. BYU was Favored by 15 or more 4 times last year and came out of those 0-4 ATS. Despite the low number I have a fairly strong lean UNDER and if I were given a few more points I would bet it. Books don’t usually do that though so I will watch and maybe enter at Halftime..