Thursday Night Trio

Three bets worth making when the Browns host the Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns

FirstEnergy Stadium – Cleveland, OH

8:15 PM ET

SuperBook Line: Cleveland -4.5

A sneaky big game in the AFC North this early in the season, as both the Browns and Steelers are currently tied atop the division. The winner moves to 2-1, while the loser falls to 1-2. Those records feel drastically different; one is a potential springboard, while the other is a hole to dig out of as the season rolls on.

Steelers +4.5 – This might be an ugly game between two sluggish offenses, but we have the opportunity to back Mike Tomlin as an underdog. The Steelers head coach is covering spreads as an underdog at a near 60 percent clip and he is 20-6-2 ATS as a divisional dog. Meanwhile, the Browns are 16-34-2 ATS in the last 52 meetings versus the AFC North. 

Under 38.0 – The number is low, but it’s hard to imagine both of these teams getting to 20 points. Pittsburgh will set the tone for the game; the Steelers like to play low-scoring, slug-it-out type of contests. They’re averaging 18.5 points per game, while giving up the exact same number. Expect this to eek under, in something like a 20-17 final score.

Najee Harris over 54.5 rushing yards – If the Steelers are going to hang in this one, they need to play keep away. The best way to accomplish that is by getting their ground game going. Harris is off to a slow start this season, with just 72 rushing yards on 25 carries. Look for him to get this rolling tonight; Pittsburgh needs it.

Betting With The Barbers

Rondé and Tiki break down Thursday Night’s game

In the latest edition of “Betting with the Barbers,” twin brothers Tiki and Ronde Barber gave their thoughts on tonight’s matchup.

“I’m going to go with Cleveland,” said Tiki Barber. “I like Cleveland laying the five and GO UNDER.”

Ronde Barber, however, was all over Pittsburgh.

“I’m going to disagree with Tiki here and go with the Steelers,” said Ronde Barber. “The Steelers are only doing one thing well on defense. They are taking the ball away. The Browns only have one guy who can catch the ball and that’s Amari Cooper and Jacoby Brissett can’t get him the ball.”

Catch the battling Barber brothers as they break down all the weekly action wherever you listen to podcasts and catch clips of the show on the SuperBook social media feeds.

The Big Three

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

Sharp money has been coming in on North Carolina all week, as the Fighting Irish have not looked all that good this season. Even in their win last week against Cal, Notre Dame failed to cover the 11.0-point spread.

While Notre Dame has owned this matchup historically, North Carolina is off to a 3-0 start this season and looking like a better team than in years past. Of course, those wins have come against Florida A&M, Appalachian State and Georgia State.

During those wins, however, the Tar Heels offense has been electric. They’re averaging just under 52.0 points per game, which is the highest average in the entire ACC.

Meanwhile, the Notre Dame offense has struggled to score a ton of points this season. While UNC has struggled on defense, it’s difficult to see the Fighting Irish offense being able to keep pace.

There is a higher ceiling with this UNC team and the Notre Dame team has not looked good against high-octane offenses this season. Take Carolina to win outright.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: North Carolina M/L (-125)

Chip Kelly is 6-1 against the spread (ATS) in his last seven games on the road. Meanwhile, Karl Dorrell is 3-14 straight up in his last 17 games; his team has covered the spread in just six of those matchups.

In other words, things look good for UCLA and not so good for Colorado. That’s a microcosm of their seasons, as the Bruins enter the game at 3-0, while the Buffaloes are 0-3.

This is the worst CU team in quite some time. Dorrell announced this week that three quarterbacks are splitting first-team reps. That’s not a good sign, another example of the Buffs being a complete disaster. 

Meanwhile, UCLA has a high-octane offense that has sparked the Bruins to an undefeated start. The Buffs are averaging 10 points per game this season, while the Bruins are averaging 40. Yikes!

UCLA is 8-0 ATS in its last eight games versus a team with a losing record. Colorado is 1-8 ATS in its last nine games versus a team with a winning road record. Expect it all to continue.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: UCLA -21.5 (-110)

The Sun Devils are in turmoil. Arizona State fired head coach Herm Edwards this week, in part because of a 1-2 start, but also because the program is dealing with some potential recruiting violations.

After winning its opening game, ASU has dropped two-straight games, including two bad losses to Oklahoma State and Eastern Michigan. The Sun Devils’ 40-3 victory over Northern Arizona feels like it was months ago.

Since losing at Florida in Week 1, Utah has bounced back in a big way, winning its next two games 73-7 and 35-7, respectively. As a result, the Utes have shot back up the rankings, with a move into the top 10 possible after this weekend.

Utah is 6-2 ATS in its last eight meetings with Arizona State. The over is 7-0 in Utah’s last seven road games and 9-2 in their last 11 games following an ATS win. That’s important, as it’ll take a lot of points to cover this spread. 

Perhaps ASU will get a burst of energy under interim coach Shaun Aguano. However, this Utah squad has been a wrecking machine in the last two weeks. Look towards them to cover the spread.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: Utah -15.5 (-110)