Saturday, October 12, 2024 Penn State vs. USC (NCAAF) - 3:30 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -175 Penn State Rating: 7* Mike's New Big 10 Rivalry Rekindled (WIN) +700 You say rivalry? Yes, that's what I'm saying! These 2 will continue to be but on a more frequent basis. The last 2 times they met were in the Rose Bowl. In 08', USC as 9-point favorites were upset 38-24 @ the hands of these same Nittany Lions. Then in 16', the Trojans a 7-point chalk went to the wire before a squeaking one out 52-49. In offensive & defensive efficiency, 3-2 SU Southern Cal remains off the Top 20 charts. But 5-0 SU PSU comes in ranked 13th on offense with 7.3 YPP (Yards Per Play) while their defense is Top 5 yielding a mere 4.0 YPP & are 4th in the nation in total "D". There's many things you have to like on the Penn State side here. HC James Franklin has gone 9-0 ATS as a road favorite since 22'. They take on a team a mediocre 2-2 versus major foes thus far & turn the ball over 3 times against a similar physical defense like Minnesota's last week in a 24-17 loss. USC was BADLY outrushed by Michigan by 200 yards earlier in a 27-24 defeat. QB Drew Allar is currently a stout 7th in the country in yards per pass. My bottom line says USC QB Miller Moss will have a tough time escaping the pressures by intense DE Abdul Carter who has 22 tackles, 3 sacks thus far & a forced fumble as well as leading tackler Safety Jaylen Reed (33) who has 1 1/2 sacks with several pressures. Ex-Indiana HC & now Penn State DC Tom Allen is instrumental in their large success on that side of the ball. I feel there won't be distraction here with PSU off next week. Let's go the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to play the PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS on the ML @ -175 for 7 Stars as my New Big 10 Rivalry Rekindled Play! Cincinnati U vs. Central Florida (NCAAF) - 3:30 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 7/-110 Cincinnati U Rating: 7* Mike's Big 12 Bru-Ha-Ha Game of the Week (WIN) +700 HC Scott Satterfield experienced growing pains his 1st season @ Cincinnati finishing a meek 3-9 SU. This season has been a little different with the Bearcats jetting out 3-2 to this point. They also are a slim 4 points away from being undefeated with a 28-27 home loss to Pitt in Week 2 while also getting nipped 44-41 by Texas Tech 2 weeks ago. Guess what? They had the bye last week & had 2 longs weeks to think about how that one slipped away after out-stating the Red Raiders. They key here is we'll have an accurate Cincy QB Brendan Sorsby with 12/1 TD/INT ratio & 66% completion percentage taking on a Central Florida defense that ranks a very low 95th in passing defense (allows 70% completions). My bottom line has to stress that Hurricane Milton has been a big distraction for UCF. Besides leaving much on the field in last weeks' 24-13 loss to the Florida Gators, they now take on a Bearcats squad with double-revenge (lost 28-26 & 25-21 the last 2 seasons) & 2 weeks prep time. The Knights' HC Gus Malzahn is a weak 1-5 as chalk coming off consecutive losses. Team that up with being 7-2-2 ATS as traveling pups off a roadie with HC Satterfield being a solid 5-1 versus the number as a dog & we really have something brewing. Let's jet down to Orlando's FBC Mortgage Stadium to gladly play the CINCINNATI BEARCATS (buying to + 10 1/2) @ -200 for 7 Stars! California vs. Pittsburgh (NCAAF) - 3:30 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -165 Pittsburgh Rating: 7* Mike's ACC Game of the Week (WIN) +700 What frame of mind do the Cal bears have after blowing a 25-point lead to Miami (Fla.) last week? After getting outscored 21-3 in the 4th quarter, it's a mighty tough hill to climb to immediately fly east coast the following week & take a red-hot dual-threat QB in the 6'4" Red Shirt Freshman Eli Holstein(a transfer portal star from Alabama) whose won his first 5 career starts & has 1,564 passing yards with a nifty 15/3 TD/INT ratio (the last time that happened was with Dan Marino in 1979). Pitt isn't short of talent on offense this season (9 starters back & ranked 4th in the country in total "O") with WR Konata Mumpfield (426 receiving yards & 3 TD's, 18.5 YPR) as well as dual-threat RB Desmond Reid (374 yards rushing, 6.0 YPC, 322 receiving yards, 5 total TD's). In addition, they should also have Rodney Hammond back in a more frequent role who just came back off the in-eligible list. Cal has talent too with QB Fernando Mendoza (285 yards last week), RB Jaivian Thomas & WR Jack Endries. However, their numbers fail in comparison coming in ranking 83rd in total offense. My bottom line looks @ a Golden Bears squad who lives off turnovers (+8 on the season). Look for Pittsburgh to play ball control & use their +165.4 Net Yards Per Game to their advantage ( Cal is @ +28.2). Pitt is the #8 team in the land in offensive efficiency with an output of 7.6 YPP. Crunching the numbers show Pitt's 5-0 @ home ATS, 5-1 versus the number in game 6 while the Golden Bears are 3-7 in Game 6. These 2 last met back in 66' with Cal winning 30-15 when Pitt had Ed James lining up behind center for then-HC Dave Hart. Look for the Panthers to flip the switch here in an ideal spot with 12 days of rest afterward before a Thursday night home game with Syracuse. Let's stomp onto the Kentucky Blue Grass turf @ Acrisure Stadium to play these PITT PANTHERS for 7 Stars on the Moneyline -165. LATE STEAM PLAY: BYU COUGARS buying to - 2 1/2 @ -120 for 7 Stars (WIN) +700 Mike Handzelek's 2024-25 CFB Overall Record: 16-5 for 76% + 6,065 Net Units Mike's Hi-Roller Parlay Overall Record: 1-2 for +500 Net Units