Ross Benjamin

Nationals (Scherzer) @ Cardinals (Wainwright) 4:08 PM ET

Game# 905-906

Play On: Cardinals +130 (5*)

Can the Cardinals fall behind 2-0 in this NLCS and still have a chance to win? It’s possible but not probable. Having said that, St. Louis will be playing with a fair amount of desperation and urgency today. The Cardinals have had success against Max Scherzer this season albeit in a very small sample size. Scherzer is 0-2 in 2 starts against St. Louis in 2019 while posting a lofty 5.27 ERA.

The Cardinals have thrived in the role of a money line underdog down the stretch. Specifically, since 8/16, St. Louis has gone a perfect 8-0 when they’ve been a money line underdog of +106 or greater, and they won by a substantial average of 3.9 runs per game. St. Louis will go with veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright today. Wainwright has registered a sparkling 2.37 ERA during 17 starts this year at Busch Stadium. Additionally, Wainwright has posted a terrific 1.73 ERA in 10 starts during day games in 2019 and is 2-0 versus Washington in 2019 with a dominating 1.35 ERA. He started Game 3 of the NLDS at Busch Stadium against Atlanta and pitched 7 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball and allowed only 4 hits while striking out 8 in addition to issuing just 2 walks. Bet on the Cardinals for a 5* money line wager.

Washington @ Arizona 11:00 PM ET

Game# 151-152

Play On: Arizona +6.5 (5*)

Washington is coming off a listless effort last Saturday night during a 23-13 loss at Stanford as a substantial 12.5-point favorite. It marked the 2nd time this season that the Huskies were upset as a double-digit favorite with the other coming against California.

After losing 45-38 in their season opener at Hawaii, Arizona has reeled off 4 straight wins, and includes last week’s 35-30 win at Colorado as a 2.5-point underdog. The Wildcats are an explosive offense team that averages 37.2 points and 539.2 yards per game. Additionally, since 10/7/2017, Arizona is 6-1 SU&ATS as a home underdog of 1.5 to 10.0.  Bet on Arizona plus the points for a 5* wager.

Penn State @ Iowa 7:30 PM ET

Game# 203-204

Play On: Penn State -3.0 (5*)

Iowa is coming off a 10-3 loss at Michigan last week which ended a 4-game win streak to start the season. College football home underdogs of 6.0 or less playing after game 5 of their season, and are coming off an away underdog ATS loss when they were undefeated, resulted in those home underdogs going 1-9 ATS since 1980, and 0-6 ATS if they scored 13 or fewer in their previous contest.

Penn State seems to be getting better every week. They’re 5-0 and have allowed 13 points or fewer in each of those wins. The Nittany Lions are also averaging 47.0 points and 499.6 yards per games offensively. Bet on Penn State minus the points for a 5* wager.

Florida @ LSU 8:00 PM ET

Game# 179-180

Play On: LSU -13.0 (5*)

Florida is coming off last week’s 24-13 upset win at home over Auburn. However, they were facing a freshmen quarterback Bo Nix who was making his first ever start in an SEC road game. This week it will be LSU senior quarterback Joe Burrow who’s enjoying a terrific start to the season. Florida’s defense has been terrific thus far and a major reason why they’re sitting at 6-0. Nevertheless, the LSU offense is averaging 54.0 points scored and 571.0 yards per game on their way to their 5-0 start. LSU is also allowing only 81.0 yards rushing per game and a mere 2.6 yards per attempt. The Tigers will also be out to revenge last season’s 27-19 loss at Florida. LSU has historically very good during big games on their famed Saturday night contests in Baton Rouge. They can chalk this one up as another of those successful situations. Bet on LSU minus the points for a 5* wager.

Alabama @ Texas A&M 3:30 ET

Game# 183-184

Play On: Texas A&M +17.5 (5*)

Texas A&M is 3-2 but their only losses came at #2 Clemson 24-10 and versus #12 Auburn 28-20. Alabama deserves all the accolades they’ve received this season after winning each of their first 5 games by a combined score of 259-74. However, Saturday will be the first time this season they’ll be facing a ranked team.

Texas A&M has failed to cover in each of their previous 2 games with both being as a favorite. Those pair of non-covers came against Arkansas and Auburn. They had last week off and narrowly escaped with a 31-27 win over Arkansas as a 22.0-point favorite in their previous game.  The week before, they lost at home to Auburn 28-20 as a 4.0-point favorite

Any home underdog of 11.0 to 19.0 (A&M) with a win percentage of .250 or better, coming off ATS losses as a favorite in each of their last 2 games, and they scored 26 points or more in their previous contest, versus an opponent with a win percentage of .727 or better, resulted in those home underdogs going 18-0 ATS since 1981. Bet on Texas A&M plus the points for a 5* wager.

Mississippi State @ Tennessee 12:00 PM ET

Game# 157-158

Play On: Mississippi State -6.5 (5*)

Tennessee is 0-3 SU&ATS at home this year versus FBS opponents. One of those setbacks came in their home opener against Georgia State in a contest they were a sizable 24.0-point favorite. Since 2016, Tennessee is 0-6 ATS as a home underdog of 5.5 or greater and lost by an enormous 33.2 points per game.

Mississippi State had last week off to recover from a 56-23 shellacking they suffered at Auburn in their previous outing. The Bulldogs defense isn’t anywhere near the caliber they were a season ago but is still adept at creating turnovers. They’ve forced 15 turnovers throughout their 3-2 start in 2019. Conversely, Tennessee has a poor turnover differential of -6 in their 4 games against FBS teams this season. Look for that to factor into deciding the outcome of this contest.

Any conference road favorite of 3.0 or more (Mississippi State) that’s coming off a road loss by 21 points or greater, resulted in those road favorites going 13-0 ATS since 2016. The average margin of victory was 20.8 points per game. Bet on Mississippi State minus the points for a 5* wager.