Thursday Night Trio

Three bets worth making when the Packers host the Titans

Jeff Bezos is getting his money’s worth tonight. The Packers hosting the Titans in mid-November is a marquee matchup on “Thursday Night Football.” Green Bay kept its season alive with an overtime win over the Cowboys on Sunday, but the Packers are still in must-win mode at 4-6. Meanwhile, Tennessee is once again in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Both teams have plenty to play for tonight.

Packers -3.0 – In their second-half comeback against Dallas, the Packers found their mojo. More specifically, Aaron Rodgers found his, as the back-to-back MVP turned in a dazzling performance. Playing at home on a short week, expect that to carry over to tonight. The Titans aren’t a high-powered offense, so they’ll have a tough time keeping pace with a Rodgers-led attack that is clicking.

Under 41.0 – The Packers average 18.5 points per game, while the Titans are at 18.4. Look for Green Bay to exceed that number tonight, but not by much; after all, Tennessee has a stout defense. But they’ll be the only team eclipsing the 20-point mark, as the Titans haven’t hit that number in four weeks, despite winning three of those games. Look for 23-14 tonight at Lambeau.

Over 243.5 passing yards for Aaron Rodgers – Sure, the future Hall of Fame quarterback is having a down year, averaging just 231.5 passing yards per game. But this number seems extremely low, especially against a Titans defense that is giving up 294.9 yards per game through the air. Rodgers wants to put on a show in front of a national television audience, so expect him to flirt with 300 yards tonight.

Betting with the Barbers

Rondé and Tiki break down this week’s games

Under 41 points you say? That’s exactly the play tonight according to Tiki Barber.

“I hate this game,” Tiki said on the latest episode of Betting With The Barbers powered by SuperBook Sports. “There are almost 20 players on the injured list including both running backs and quarterbacks. It just feels like it’s going to be a disaster. So take the under.”

Catch Betting With The Barbers with Tiki and Rondé Barber each week wherever you get your podcasts from and on the SuperBook social media channels.

The Big Three

Bud Parmalee previews the biggest games on this week’s college slate

The Falcons are a three-touchdown favorite against their in-state rivals in this Mountain West showdown. That seems like a hefty number, even though Air Force enters the game at 7-3, while Colorado State is just 2-8.

The Rams have lost four of their last six games, so clearly the Falcons are a worthy favorite. But CSU has only lost by three-plus touchdowns once during that span, a 49-10 bludgeoning against Boise State. Their average margin of defeat in the other three losses was 5.7 points. 

The last time Air Force covered a spread of this size against CSU was 2011. Historically speaking, service academies are not known to run up the score. While CSU has struggled this season, you are simply asking the Rams to play somewhat competitive football in order to cover.

Air Force will run the ball per usual and milk clock along the way. CSU has put up well over 300-plus all-purpose yards in its last two games as the offense has improved throughout the season.

The underdog is 5-2 against (ATS) in the last seven head-to-head matchups. The road team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings. Service academies are 20-30-2 ATS when giving over three TDs.

Too many points here. Take the Rams.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: Colorado State +22.0 (-110)

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It’s been a long time since these crosstown rivals have played in a bigger game. Southern California still has national title hopes, as USC is 7-1 and has a legit shot of cracking the top four. Meanwhile, UCLA is looking to win the conference title.

USC has been an interesting team to keep tabs on all season, rolling to a great start under Lincoln Riley. The Trojans have played in two close games against their two toughest opponents to date, however. The Trojans had a high-scoring loss against Utah and a field goal win against Oregon State. That begs the question: Just how good is USC? 

Meanwhile, despite losing to Arizona last week, UCLA managed to beat Utah and has looked solid for a majority of the season under Chip Kelly. Last week felt like the Bruins were looking ahead to this game when they stubbed their toe against the Wildcats. 

Kelly is 9-0-1 ATS as a dog of a field goal or less. That’s a big sample size.

This should be a high-scoring battle between two schools that struggle on defense. Lean towards taking the points.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: UCLA +2.5 (-110)

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After struggling early in the season, the Irish have won four-straight games, including victories over No. 16 Syracuse and No. 4 Clemson. They’ve bolstered their record to 7-3 and climbed back into the top 25.

That said, it’s still difficult to trust this young Notre Dame team. As a favorite, they’ve really been unreliable. The Irish are 1-5 ATS this season in that role. 

Boston College isn’t exactly the cream of the crop, either. The Eagles did manage to beat North Carolina State last week, however, and their offense has been better after a quarterback change. 

Notre Dame has played down to the level of its competition time and time again this year. They’ve been in tight games against the likes of Stanford, BYU, Cal and Marshall. So expect this one to be closer than the number.

Take Boston College catching three touchdowns. Fade the Irish.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: Boston College +21.0 (-110)