Cappers Sports Picks

This is a play on the PITTSBURGH PIRATES for our MLB Saturday Sweet Spot. As the season winds down, lines are adjusted based on teams that are still vying for playoff spots and we are seeing that here with the Brewers. We won with Milwaukee last night as road favorite but the pitching matchup was in it favor even though the game eventually came down to the bullpen because of a lengthy rain delay. Tonight, the Brewers have no such advantage yet they come in as a favorite as they trail the Cubs by a game and a half in the National League Central and while this is not a must win game, it is being treated like that. The Pirates had their five-game winning streak snapped last night as the bullpen allowed six runs in the sixth inning and seven runs total on four home runs. They hope to get a longer outing from the starter tonight and Trevor Williams will be up to the task. After a rough first half of the season, he has been outstanding of late, posting a 1.10 ERA in his last 11 starts since early July. He has one below average outing in St. Louis and he has allowed no earned runs in seven of the other 10 starts. Zach Davies counter for the Brewers and he is making just his fourth start since May. He has been okay as he has not allowed more than two runs in the three starts but he has lasted only five innings each time. That is not ideal after the bullpen had to go five innings last night. The Pirates are 5-1 in their last six home games against right-handed starters. 10* (904) Pittsburgh Pirates

Sun Belt Conference action opens for Coastal Carolina and Lafayette an we give the edge to the Chanticleers who should dominate the line of scrimmage. They opened the season with an expected blowout loss against South Carolina but they bounced back with an upset win at home over UAB and then trounced Campbell last week in a game that was moved up to Wednesday because of the hurricane. That is a significant edge as Coastal Carolina has the benefit of three extra days of rest and preparation. The Chanticleers are averaging 253.3 ypg on 5.1 ypc and will face a Cajuns defense that is allowing 239.0 ypg on 5.8 ypc so they will be able to run at will. Louisiana is coming off a blowout loss at Mississippi St. which came after a bye week following a win over Grambling. The defense has struggled as a whole as they have only three starters back from the team that allowed 493.0 ypg and 40.0 ppg last season. A whole new coaching staff is in place so the early struggles are not surprising and as good as this team has been over the years, Louisiana is just 10-8 at home over he last three-plus seasons with four of those wins coming against FCS opponents. The Cajuns are 0-4 ATS in their last four games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game and fall into a negative situation where we play on road teams after gaining 225 or more rushing yards in two straight games going up against an opponent after being outrushed by 125 or more yards last game. This situation is 49-17 ATS (74.2 percent) over the last five seasons. Play (375) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

College Football Week Four is going to be LARGE for Matt and his clients so do not sit on the sidelines this Saturday! He is a TREMENDOUS +$13,136 in CFB since 2013 and Matt extends that surge here! He has SEVEN Winners today and this is going to be his Biggest Saturday to date!

This is a play on the HAMILTON TIGER-CATS for our CFL Game of the Month. Hamilton hung with Calgary for over half of the game last week but after taking a 25-20 lead on a fumble return for a touchdown, the Tiger-Cats were outscored 23-3 to close the game. That snapped a three-game winning streak as well as a six-game streak where they outgained their opponent. They are now a game behind Ottawa in the East Division but with the playoff crossover, they are in fifth place overall and just a half-game up on Winnipeg for sixth place. B.C. has won two straight games for the first time this season but this is not a good spot to keep it going. Lions quarterback Travis Lulay got hurt two weeks against Ottawa and he tried to go last week but left the game after just two pass attempts. Jonathon Jennings will get the start and he has been as average as average can be. He opened the season as the starter when Lulay was on the shelf and he did not produce a single 200-yard passing game in three starts as he averaged 162.3 ypg with the Lions going 1-2. Making matters more difficult, he will face a Hamilton defense that leads the CFL in passing defense, allowing just 219.3 ypg. On the other side, Jeramiah Masoli is 214 yards away from his first 4,000 yard passing season in the CFL and three touchdowns short of tying his career-best of 21 in 2016. Additionally, with one more 300-plus yard game, Masoli can set a Tiger-Cats record of 10 such games. The B.C. defense has shored things up over its last three games but that is skewed based on last week when it held the hapless Alouettes to just 95 yards passing. B.C. is 0-7 ATS in its last seven games after outgaining opponent by 70 or more total yards in their previous game while the Tiger-Cats are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a losing record. 10* (657) Hamilton Tiger-Cats

This is a play on the TOLEDO ROCKETS as part of our CFB Saturday Trifecta. Toledo hosted Miami last week as it hung around for a while, trailing by just seven points with a minute left to go in the third quarter but the Hurricanes closed on a 21-3 to end the game. It was a game the Rockets were not supposed to win but it more of a test for a team that lost 10 starters including quarterback Logan Whiteside and leading rusher Terry Swanson. Despite the 25-point loss, you can call it a passing grade. Quarterback Mitch Guadagni, who made his first career start against VMI and was outstanding, looked sharp against the Hurricanes and while the running game got stuffed, the defense this week will be a lot less resistant. Toledo has bounced back well in the past and we can expect it again here as it is 15-5 ATS in its last 15 home games after a loss by 17 or more points. Nevada rolled over Portland St. in its season opener but the Vikings were overmatched over an FBS opponent so while the Wolf Pack felt good about that victory, reality set in quickly. They travelled to Vanderbilt and got crushed by 31 points while getting outgained by 218 total yards. Nevada bounced back with a win over Oregon St. last week but it was a game it had no business winning as they were outgained by 183 total yards while allowing the Beavers to rack up 459 passing yards and they won thanks to a last second missed 33-yard field goal. The whole winning thing, especially a rare win over a Power 5 team, is the good part but it comes with a potential problem of a huge letdown plus they have only one road win in their last 15 tries. 9* (346) Toledo Rockets

This is a play on the VIRGINIA CAVALIERS as part of our CFB Saturday Trifecta. Louisville is coming of a nail-biter last week as it defeated Western Kentucky by just three points and escaped overtime when the Hilltoppers missed a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. It was a very fortunate victory as the Cardinals were outgained by 136 total yards as this offense clearly misses Lamar Jackson. This is a team on the rebuild as the Cardinals have the least experienced team in the ACC and while the offense misses Jackson, the defense has just four starters back from last season. This is the first true road game of the season for Louisville. Virginia rolled over Ohio last week in Nashville as quarterback Bryce Perkins threw for a career-high 379 yards on 25-30 passing last week and that is the key to beating Louisville. Additionally, senior running back Jordan Ellis and senior receiver Olamide Zaccheaus both posted career-highs in yards. On the other side, the defensive line has improved throughout each game and they should get a boost as Ohio St. graduate transfer Dylan Thompson is expected to make his debut. If Virginia's defense comes out strong and puts good pressure on the Cardinals, the Cavaliers should be able to force Louisville to continue to struggle offensively, thus keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard. Freshman Malik Cunningham will get the start at quarterback after taking over last week and while he can run, he struggled with just 88 yards passing and the Cavaliers will be ready. Virginia is 7-0 ATS in its last seven games after playing two straight non-conference games while Louisville is 0-6 ATS in its last six road games against teams outscoring opponents by 10 or more ppg on the season. 9* (348) Virginia Cavaliers

This is a play on the IOWA ST. CYCLONES as part of our CFB Saturday Trifecta. Some beat writer in Ames said he could not believe that 0-2 Iowa St. is close to a three-touchdown favorite over Akron and called in incomprehensible. That is what most of the public is probably thinking after the Zips upset Northwestern last weekend as 21.5-point underdogs. But scores sometimes do not tell the true story and that is the case there as Akron trailed 21-3 at halftime but were able to generate three defensive touchdowns in the second half so it was a very misleading final. It was the first win over a current Big Ten opponent for Akron since 1894. Not a typo. Iowa St. played well last week against Oklahoma with backup quarterback Zeb Noland surprisingly shredding the Sooners defense with 360 yards passing and two touchdowns. The Cyclones managed only three points in its opener against Iowa but that is when starting quarterback Kyle Kempt got hurt and Noland was forced into the game with no preparation. In last year's game against Akron, when Iowa St. ran out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and outgained Akron, 170-34 in total yards, the lessons that followed are things that are still engrained in the Cyclones memory this year. This is going to be a very emotional game for the Cyclones and they will be honoring and playing for slain golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena and you can bet they will be giving 110 percent. Akron is 0-8 ATS in its last eight games following a win as a double-digit underdog while Iowa St. is 6-0 ATS in its last six games following a loss. 9* (312) Iowa St. Cyclones

This is a play on the LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS for our CFB Saturday Ultimate Underdog. LSU is coming off a monumental win last week at Auburn as it came back from a 21-10 deficit and defeated the Tigers on a last second field goal as 10-point underdogs. Obviously they have to avoid the letdown and that will be tough to do. It can be argued they avoided a letdown after the win over Miami as they defeated Southeastern Louisiana 31-0 but it was misleading as they outgained the Lions by just 81 yards. The offense sputtered its way to the victory with 335 yards of total offense and lost the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes. Big time programs get up playing other big time programs and a lot of times tend to play down to the opposition but the Tiger better not sleep on the Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech is 2-0 and expected to win the C-USA East division. Everyone talks about the Louisiana Tech high-octane passing game, but no one should overlook the running game. The Bulldogs average 208.5 ypg on the ground and have run the ball 81 times out of their 152 total plays. That being said, the passing game cannot be overlooked as quarterback J'Mar Smith has completed 65 percent of his passes and averaged 294 ypg through the air with four touchdowns. The Bulldogs are very balanced and that is key against a strong defense that it can keep off-balanced. Louisiana Tech has played two poor teams but it is virtually the same offense from last year with eight starters back. Here, we play on road underdogs in a game involving two teams outrushing opponents by 50 or more ypg, after allowing 75 or less rushing yards last game. This situation is 37-12 ATS (75.5 percent) over the last five seasons. 9* (383) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

This is a play on the FLORIDA ST. SEMINOLES for our CFB Saturday Supreme Annihilator. All week, and for most of the season since day one really, Florida St. has heard how bad it is. So the Seminoles went back to basics this week in practice and worked on fundamentals following a players only meeting over the weekend. While a positive attitude might not guarantee positive results, Florida St. head coach Willie Taggart said he is pleased with the way his players have approached practice this week and that can go a long way in ending the early season frustrations. He said that he half-expected the Seminoles to return to Tallahassee with their heads held low after losing last week at Syracuse, but he is happy to have been wrong. If there is one area where the Florida St. offense could fare favorably, it could be taking shots against the Northern Illinois secondary. As a team, the Huskies have been good defensively this season, but they have given up some big plays through the air. On the other side, the Seminoles have to play defense with a chip on their should as athletically, they should shut down the Huskies. Northern Illinois has been outgained in all three games while putting up just 241.0 ypg and 12.3 ppg. The Huskies will need to be better throwing the ball than they have been through the early going of the season, as they average under 110 ypg passing but truth be told, the rushing offense has stunk as well. Huskies defensive end Sutton Smith is the real deal and while he was through to have an edge over the depleted Iowa offensive line, the Hawkeyes took care of him and Florida St. will do the same. 9* (332) Florida St. Seminoles

This is a play on the LIBERTY FLAMES for our CFB Saturday Enforcer. North Texas is another team coming off a huge win over a Power 5 team as it rolled over Arkansas by 27 points on the road. Saying the Mean Green dominated the Razorbacks would be an overstatement however as they did outgain them, but only by 40 yards, as they benefitted from six interceptions. One that was returned for a touchdown as well as returning a punt for a touchdown. This is a big letdown spot, especially with a lookahead game against Louisiana Tech who is the leading contender in C-USA West. Liberty opened its first season at the FBS level with a blowout win over Old Dominion as an underdog. The Flames followed that up with a loss at Army that was not as bad as the final score indicated as they lost the turnover battle 3-0. They were supposed to play last week but the game was postponed due to Hurricane Florence and it actually helped as they were able to rest some nagging injuries and were able to start prepping for North Texas three days sooner. they have a high-powered offense led by quarterback Stephen Calvert who has thrown for 652 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception this season. The Flames are 7-6 in games in which head coach Turn Gill and his staff have extra time to prepare. Liberty will be out to prove itself here after applying to get into C-USA and getting denied and settling for Independent status. North Texas is 4-15 ATS in its last 19 road games off an upset win as an underdog while Liberty is 12-1 ATS in its lined games. 10* (402) Liberty Flames

This is a play on the UL-MONROE WARHAWKS for our CFB Game of the Week. We were on the Warhawks last week as a four-touchdown underdog and it was a competitive game as they were down by just 14 points with six minutes left in the third quarter but the Aggies went on to score 24 points over the final 18 minutes of the game. UL-Monroe returns home for its conference opener after playing the last two games on the road which included an upset of Southern Mississippi. The Warhawks are capable of a big bounceback and the Trojans have a history of letdowns after big wins. Case in point last season when they defeated LSU on the road only to get bounce the following week at home against South Alabama as 19-point favorites. Troy is coming off a huge win last week at Nebraska but it was a game it never should have won, or one that Nebraska never should have lost. The difference was a fake fair catch on a punt that led to a touchdown as the Trojans were outgained by 111 total yards and lost the first down battle 22-12. Troy is expected to contend in the SBC East just like the Warhawks are expected to contend in the SBC West so the home team should have a significant edge, especially in a night game. UL-Monroe falls into a great situation where we play on teams in the first month of the season, after closing out last season with two or more straight losses, returning eight or more offensive starters including quarterback going up against an opponent returning five or fewer defensive starters. This situation is 62-29 ATS (68.1 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (398) UL-Monroe Warhawks