Don’t forget: Our live programming starts one hour earlier today, at 9 a.m. ET. Tim Murray will kick off the festivities with the College Football Tailgate Show.
Manning our post for Week 1
VSiN’s Matt Youmans sets up the big game of the day:
A Hollywood screenwriter could not set up a scene any better than what will go down Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Arch Manning, arguably the most hyped quarterback prospect in college football history, will lead No. 1 Texas against No. 3 Ohio State, the reigning national champion, in what is essentially a pick’em game.
Matt is on the Longhorns (noon ET, Fox), but . . .
The betting public’s lopsided support of the Longhorns is not ideal. After Ohio State opened as a 3-point favorite this summer, the consensus line is Buckeyes -1. Circa Sports took a $550,000 bet Thursday on Texas +1 and moved the line to Longhorns -1 before settling at pick’em. The bookmakers will need the Buckeyes, so I’m not thrilled about being on the other side. It’s also worth noting the total has dipped from 50.5 to 47, and the move to the Under makes sense.
>>More from Matt on this game and other Best Bets.
Zach Cohen also weighs in on Texas-Ohio State:
The most important thing with Texas is that the team brings back seven players with starting experience from a defense that allowed only 15.3 points per game (third in NCAA) last year.
Dave Tuley has a Take on the game, too, plus his other top plays.
We have Best Bets columns from our other college football experts:
Josh Appelbaum will post his CFB Sharp Report later this morning.
>>Everything we have on Week 1 action is collected here, including more game previews and Makinen’s Week 1 betting systems.
Other CFB resources:
>CFB Matchups page (if you are new to VSiN, definitely poke around this page)
>CFB Power Ratings for today’s games from Makinen.
>CFB Betting Splits for DraftKings and Circa. (If you aren’t sure how to use the splits, read this.)
>CFB Picks page (collected from our hosts and their guests)
Today at the races
The Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs, just steps from VSiN’s new studio, and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar are the big races of the day.
Adam Burke previews both races: Nashville Derby here and Pacific Classic here.
You know Dave “Dog or Pass” Tuley isn’t betting the chalk and he likes four races today.
“Mr. Ed” Sehon has picks for today’s Saratoga card and for Kentucky Downs.
On the VSiN At The Track podcast, Mike Somich and Aaron Halterman offer their Best Bets. >Watch. >Listen.
Mike will post his plays later this morning.
Horse racing coverage is sponsored by 1/ST BET. Get your $250 sign-up bonus in time for the Pacific.
Quick Hits
MLB: Greg Peterson has Best Bets for today’s MLB menu. Steve Makinen post his daily contribution later this morning.
NFL: The updated VSiN NFL Betting Guide is out and ready for download here for VSiN Pro subscribers. The 42-page PDF includes new Best Bets now that training camps have concluded. Not a VSiN Pro subscriber? Find a package that works for you.
U.S. Open: VSiN tennis analyst Zach Cohen will post his Best Bets in the evening before the next day’s matches. You can find them on our tennis page. Zach will post additional picks on our tennis picks page if he spots a play or two during the day. Gill Alexander will send me any picks he has for the page late at night. He has three for today.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley has four plays for the weekend EPL menu, including Sunday’s Liverpool-Arsenal showdown.
Need a proxy for the Las Vegas football contests? Winners Circle Proxy is the official proxy for VSiN.
