Thursday Night Trio

Three bets to make when the Cardinals host the Saints

Another Thursday night, another lackluster matchup on Prime Video. Both teams enter the game at 2-4, trending in the wrong direction. The Saints have lost four out of five, while the Cardinals have dropped three of their last four. Help is on the way in Arizona, however, as DeAndre Hopkins returns from his six-game suspension and Robbie Anderson was acquired this week in a trade from the Panthers.

Cardinals -2.5 – Arizona had legitimate playoff aspirations this season. As a result, Kliff Kingsbury is on the hot seat after six games. Tonight, the head coach will start to run out of excuses. Now that Hopkins is back, Arizona’s offense better look better. Otherwise, the Cardinals will start thinking about finding someone else to maximize their investment in Kyler Murray. With all that on the line, Arizona will answer the bell and win tonight. 

Over 43.5 – Neither team can stop anyone. The Saints are giving up 26.3 points per game, while the Cardinals are surrendering 23.7. New Orleans is good on offense, putting up 23.5 points per game, but Arizona has struggled, averaging just 19.0. Look for that last number to change, as it’ll start to click tonight with all hands on deck for the Cards. Geno Smith threw all over the Saints defense. Kyler Murray will do the same.

Over 61.5 receiving yards for DeAndre Hopkins – After sitting out the first six games due to a PED suspension, the wide receiver will be back on the field tonight for the Cardinals. Look for Arizona to go to him early and often. Hopkins is an elite receiver, arguably the best in the league, so he’s exactly what’s needed to jumpstart a dormant offense. It’ll be shocking if he doesn’t get 10-plus targets, which should put him well above the 61.5-yard mark.

Betting with the Barbers

Ronde and Tiki break down this week’s games

“Unlike the mediocre NFL, this podcast will score some points! Scoring is down in the league and everything is under, I don’t think I would take an over bet in the NFL right now. Quarterback play is terrible and if you’re a mediocre team…you have a chance to be good this year.” – Rondé Barber

“I’ve waited almost a month and a half to go down this route, the New York Giants are 5-1…put respect on our name! They came into the season with no expectations, they were rebuilding…Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale are the best staff and coaching team in the NFL right now.  PERIOD. They are inferior on paper every single week, hell, they are an underdog even though they are 5-1 going to Jacksonville.  Put respect on the Giants!” -Tiki Barber

Check out all they had to say this week on Betting with the Barbers.

The Big Three

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

In five out of six games this season, UCF has been a buzzsaw. The Knights have simply bulldozed their opponents.

They opened with a 56-10 win over South Carolina State, beat Florida Atlantic 40-14 and topped Georgia Tech 27-10. They followed those wins with a 41-19 triumph over SMU and a 70-13 shellacking of Temple.

That’s an average margin of victory of 33.6 points. Only a 20-14 loss in Week 2 to Louisville provides a blemish to their resume. Given that their a favorite this week, look for them to win. And in victory, it’s usually in convincing fashion for the Knights.

East Carolina is a good team to continue the trend against. ECU has historically struggled and is 20-42-1 vs. a team with a winning record. The Pirates are also 1-5 ATS in their last six conference games.

UCF has won the last six head-to-head matchups between these two schools. That’ll continue this week, as the Knights will roll.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: UCF -5.0 (-110)

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This is a monster game in the Pac-12, something that hasn’t been uttered enough in recent years. UCLA enters as the only undefeated team in the conference, with dreams of making a playoff run still alive. Traveling to Oregon to take on a Ducks team that has won five-straight games will be a huge test, however.

Oregon has cruised since losing to Georgia in Week 1, although this is their best challenge since that matchup with the Bulldogs. Other than a win over BYU, the Ducks have had plenty of cupcakes to help recover from their 49-3 beatdown in the season opener.

UCLA has won outright as a dog twice this season, so don’t be scared off by the number. Plus, there’s added motivation, as Bruins head coach Chip Kelly takes on his former program, a team he’s never beaten. 

This game is looking like a shootout with a total of 72. Catching a touchdown with a hot UCLA team is the way to look despite Oregon’s recent run of dominance in the matchup.

The Bruins have already knocked off Washington and Utah. If they get by the Ducks, their lone remaining hurdle on the schedule is USC. That makes this the biggest game in recent UCLA history. They’ll answer the bell.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: UCLA +6.0 (-110)

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Something is fishy about this line. It just doesn’t make any sense.

Oklahoma State is 5-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming last week in double-overtime to TCU. They’re the No. 11 team in the country, playing at home. How are they nearly a touchdown underdog?

Texas is a trendy team. They’ve won four out of five, with their lone loss being an overtime setback to Texas Tech. In addition, their 49-0 beatdown of Oklahoma is still fresh in people’s minds. Quinn Ewers is back, which also adds to the story.

Oklahoma State can light up the scoreboard, however. The Cowboys average 45.3 points per game this season. That’ll test a Longhorns defense that is only surrendering 18.3.

The underdog is 5-0 ATS in the last five head-to-head meetings between these two programs. It’s hard not to see that continuing.

This line doesn’t make sense. Jump all over the home dog.

Bud Parmalee’s pick: Oklahoma State +6.5 (-110)