After a low-wattage Week 4, college football is back with a high-voltage menu.
Two Top 25 teams are even in action tonight.
Adam Burke previews No. 8 Florida State (-7) at Virginia (7 ET, ESPN); No. 24 TCU (+3) at Arizona State (9 ET, Fox), and Houston (-13.5) at Oregon State (10:30, ESPN).
On the ACC matchup, Adam writes:
This game may be a terrific live betting event, given that we haven’t seen Florida State against a team with talent in 27 days. But, I do think Florida State is the starting position to take here at -7.
You might want to check out Steve Makinen’s piece on his effective play-by-play ratings for games that stand out as potential plays (including FSU-UVA).
Let’s get a head start on Saturday’s big games with these betting previews from Zach Cohen:
>LSU (+1.5) vs. Ole Miss (3:30 ET, ABC)
>Oregon (+3.5) vs. Penn State (7:30 ET, NBC)
>Alabama (+3) vs. Georgia (7:30 ET, ABC)
And here are Best Bets columns from Steve Makinen and Adam Burke.
>CFB Week 5 Hub with stories and resources.
A new VSiN College Football Betting Podcast episode: Tim Murray and Matt Youmans run through the card and share their top plays. >Listen.
MLB playoff race
VSiN.com managing editor Adam Burke sets up the final regular-season weekend:
While the standings say that the AL East and AL Central are tied, the Blue Jays and Guardians hold the head-to-head season-series tiebreaker over the Yankees and Tigers, respectively, so those two teams still control their own destiny this weekend. Toronto hosts Tampa Bay and New York hosts Baltimore. Cleveland hosts Texas and Detroit is on the road in Boston, where the Red Sox are vying to clinch their own playoff spot. The Astros head to Anaheim a game back of the Tigers for the final Wild Card spot.
The Dodgers were simply overjoyed to win their fourth straight NL West title. The Diamondbacks suffered a big setback with that 8-0 defeat, as they are now two games behind the Mets and a game behind the Reds for the last remaining Wild Card spot. The Cubs are two up on the Padres for home-field advantage in their impending 4 vs. 5 series. The D-Backs and Padres play each other this weekend, while the Reds visit the Brewers, who still need to secure the No. 1 seed with a two-game lead over the Phillies. The Mets visit the Marlins in Miami and it will be very interesting to see how engaged the Fish are.
>>More from Adam later this morning.
Greg Peterson has five plays for today’s menu — and is counting on the Marlins to be engaged. Steve Makinen will post his Analytics Report this morning.
Seahawks prevail to open NFL Week 4
After blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks (-1.5) needed a walk-off 52-yard field goal to beat the Cardinals 23-20 on Thursday night. The Total went Under 43.5.
Following up on yesterday’s email on our Opta AI prop projections: Sam Darnold had 242 yards passing (Over 224.5 at DK) and Jaxson Smith-Njigba had 79 receiving yards (Under 84.5). So 1-1 for Opta.
>Check out the projections for the rest of Week 4.
Everything we do on Week 4 will be posted here.
Three NFL podcasts for your listening pleasure:
>Sharp Money with Patrick Meagher and Mike Somich.
>And for something completely different: The Fade Us Sports podcast with poker’s Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Brandon Cantu and David Woodley.
Ryder foursome picks
The Ryder Cup will get started early today with a 7:10 a.m. ET tee time for the first of four foursome matches in the morning session.
Wes Reynolds posted two plays on the VSiN Pro golf picks page:
Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley (USA) -170 vs. Ludvig Aberg/Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe)
Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) -175 vs. Collin Morikawa/Harris English (USA)
I’m sure Wes will add picks throughout the weekend, so keep an eye on the picks page.
ICYMI: Wes’ Best Bets column and Long Shots, VSiN’s golf betting podcast. >Watch. >Listen.
Quick Hits
Contest corner: The Circa Friday Football Invitational will resume tonight when Matt Youmans releases 175 selections from 25 contestants on his show (7-10 p.m. ET). Chris Fallica, Brett McMurphy, Kenny White and Cris Zeniuk will join Matt to explain their picks. >>Standings. The picks are posted on VSiN.com after the show.
NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis has posted 32 team previews on our NHL page.
Horse Racing: Mike Somich and Aaron Halterman celebrate the opening of Santa Anita on the VSiN At The Track podcast. >Watch. >Listen.
Horse racing coverage is sponsored by 1/ST BET. Get your $250 sign-up bonus.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley has his top plays for this weekend’s EPL menu.
UFC: Lou Finocchiaro has picks for Saturday’s card in Australia.
