🏈 Does Firing the Coach Pay Off For Bettors?
VSiN PrimeTime host Tim Murray pointed out an interesting trend heading into the college football weekend.
Last season, teams playing after firing their head coach went 8-4 ATS.
In Week 9, three teams get their first opportunity to test that theory:
Baylor +1 at UCF — Dave Aranda
Maryland +2.5 vs. Illinois — Mike Locksley
NC State -7 vs. Cal — Dave Doeren
>> See the 12 games from last season in Tim’s post
And we won’t have to wait until Saturday. Baylor visits UCF tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the best of Friday’s three college football games. The Knights are coming off an upset of BYU.
Adam Burke breaks down all three Friday games, including a best bet on Baylor-UCF.
>> Read Adam’s Baylor-UCF analysis and best bet
Steve Makinen also has a play on tonight’s Tulane-Charlotte matchup among his Week 9 Best Bets.
>> See Steve’s Week 9 Best Bets
Get Ahead on Saturday’s Games
Our handicappers already have 11 college football selections for Saturday:
Dave Tuley: 5 plays
Adam Burke: 3 plays
Zach Cohen: 3 plays
And about Thursday’s North Texas-FAU game: The total closed at 77.5. It still wasn’t high enough. North Texas 48, FAU 41. That’s 89 points.
>> College Football Week 9 Betting Hub
🏈 The Bears Make a Big Move — and the Betting Market Reacts
The Packers (-3.5) defeated the Panthers 27-19 Thursday night. The 46 combined points stayed Under the closing total of 47.5.
But the biggest NFL news of the day came from Chicago.
The Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from Tennessee for two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder.
Jamey Pileggi, Circa Sports risk manager specializing in the NFL, said he adjusted Chicago’s Super Bowl futures price slightly, to +1200. The bigger movement came in Sunday’s Titans-Bengals game.
Tennessee was already a 10.5-point underdog at Cincinnati. After the trade, Circa moved the Bengals to -12.5.
“The perception is they’re packing it in.”
The Bears remain a 3-point underdog against Seattle on Monday Night Football.
Steve Makinen has filed his top NFL plays for Week 8.
>> Steve Makinen’s NFL Week 8 Best Bets
🏆 25 Handicappers. Only One Losing Record.
Through seven weeks of the Circa Friday Football Invitational, the 25 contestants have combined for a 662-545-18 record — a 54.8% winning percentage. Even more impressive: 24 of the 25 handicappers are at .500 or better.
Chris Macero leads with 33 points, followed closely by Jack Lenenberg and Alex White at 32.5.
Alex’s comeback is remarkable. He was 5-9 and in last place after two weeks. Since then, he’s gone 26-9 (74.3%) to climb into third place.
Matt Youmans unveils another 175 selections tonight (7–10 p.m. ET) on VSiN.
Tonight’s guests: Doug Kezirian joins the first hour with Derek out. Also appearing: Kenny White, Alex White, Jeff Whitelaw, Mike Montesano and Bobby Brubeck.
>> Follow the Invitational standings
VSiN Pro subscribers get an email immediately after the show with all 175 contest selections.
🐎 Dave Tuley Goes Hunting for Value at Breeders’ Cup
If you’ve been with VSiN for a while, you know about Dave Tuley’s dog-or-pass approach to betting on sports.
In horse racing, his philosophy is slightly different.
“My top choice is what I consider my ‘value pick,’ as the horse with the best chance to outperform its odds, and thus the biggest chance to profit in the long run.”
With that distinction, I present Dave’s picks for today’s five Future Stars races at Keeneland, the opening day of the Breeders’ Cup.
>> Dave Tuley’s Friday Breeders’ Cup picks
“Mr. Ed” Sehon also has his picks for today’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
>> Mr. Ed’s Juvenile preview and predictions
More from Ed and the Daily Racing Form handicappers on our horse racing page.
