Guess Your Number!

Baseball is grabbing a little of the spotlight, but it’s still football that still takes center stage in October.

NCAA Previews:

A marquee matchup in college football is set for Saturday evening when the No. 1 Florida Gators head to Baton Rouge to play the No. 4 LSU Tigers. Online sportsbook have the nation’s consensus top team favored by 7.5-points with a Total of 46.

But the question going into that key SEC matchup is will Florida be able to cover and win without the services of potential 2009 Heisman candidate Tim Tebow?

The Gators last saw action two weeks ago when they hammered the Kentucky Wildcats 41-7, unfortunately QB Tebow was hammered as well and suffered a concussion.

Florida had last week off, allowing Tebow extra time to rest and the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner was able to practice this week but hasn’t been given medical clearance to play and will be a game-time decision.

“After [Tuesday’s] practice, I was told to game plan with the intent that there’s a chance that Tim could play. That’s all I know,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer told ESPN.

“All the other stuff . . . we’ll make a decision as we get closer.”

NCAA Trends:

The Gators are 3-0 against the spread vs. the LSU Tigers during Tebow’s time in Gainesville and are 11-3 ATS against LSU in their last 14.

Florida is also 6-1 ATS in its last seven games in Louisiana.

NCAA Betting:

The sports betting public is still unsure of which way to go on this one, as the Tebow injury causes uncertainty. Online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING is reporting even betting action, with 54% leaning towards the Gators.

NFL Betting:

Of the five remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, it’s not surprising to see the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants, somewhat surprising to see the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings and absolutely stunning to see the Denver Broncos.

Denver’s first-year head coach Josh McDaniels was criticized for his treatment of former QB Jay Cutler but four games into the regular season, he has the Broncos at 4-0 SU and ATS.

Denver will be in tough to grab win five this week as they prepare to host McDaniels’ mentor Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

The Pats are a 3.5-point road faves with a Total of 41.5.

Denver has been quite successful against New England at Mile High going 11-2 straight up and 10-3 ATS and in its last seven home games against the Pats. Over/Under bettors take note, as these “Over” has hit six times in those games.

- Indianapolis will aim to remain undefeated in a Sunday night tilt against the AFC South division rival Tennessee Titans.

The Colts are listed as 4-point road faves with an Over/Under of 45.5.

In the last eight games between the two, the Under has cashed seven times and the Over has paid out only once.

In Indy’s last 10 games in the month of October, they are 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS while Tennessee has struggled in its last eight games overall, going 1-7 SU and 2-6 ATS.

Enjoy the weekend football action.

NFL Football Betting Power Rankings Week 13:

Any doubts that the Saints were the best team in the league certainly went out the window after their Monday night shellacking of the Patriots. MVP candidate Drew Brees played arguably the best game of his career in the Saints’ biggest game of the season. They remain at the peak of the WEEI NFL Power Rankings.

The Bengals jump two spots and leap into the top five after completing a sweep of the AFC North with a win over Cleveland on Sunday. The Bengals now have the luxury of having one of the best 1-2 running back combinations in the league when Cedric Benson returns on Sunday.

The Patriots are looking up at three AFC teams that now have better records than them. The embarrassing loss to the Saints has many questioning if the Patriots can actually compete with the top teams in the NFL.

Arguably the best story of the year is the Titans’ resurgence. Five straight wins for the Vince Young-led Titans and they continue to move up the ladder. Despite having a worse record than some teams behind them, the Titans stand tall at No. 12. The rankings aren’t based on records, they are based on how teams currently are performing, and Tennessee can compete with anyone right now.

1. (Last week, 1) 11-0 A dominating performance for the best team in the NFL. Monday night’s blowout of the Patriots was a statement to the rest of the league. Drew Brees and the offense moved the ball with ease, while the defense pressured Brady and held Randy Moss and Wes Welker to a combined nine catches.

2. (2) 11-0 The Colts have come back in the fourth quarter in five straight games. They don’t get frazzled in crunch time, they get better. A true sign of a championship team. Congrats to the 2009 AFC South champs.

3. (3) 10-1 Brett Favre has thrown just three interceptions all year and leads the league in passer rating. The Vikings remain unbeaten at home after demolishing the Bears. Favre is a true MVP candidate.

4. (6) 8-3 The Larry Johnson signing really paid off for the Bengals on Sunday. Props go to Marvin Lewis for preparing this team and putting Cincinnati in a position to win each week. This team is soaring with confidence.

5. (5) 8-3 The Chargers started the season 2-3 and now are contending for a first-round playoff bye in the AFC. It has been a great turnaround for the San Diego defense, which forced four turnovers in the win over the Chiefs Sunday.

6. (4) 7-4 The Patriots looked silly against the Saints. They need to improve on both sides of the ball if this team expects to contend for a Super Bowl. The red zone offense has been mediocre at best and the defense has looked awful against strong offenses.

7. (7) 7-4 The Cardinals ran into one of the hottest teams in the league without their starting quarterback. Arizona’s run game is improving week after week, and that has been the one thing the Cardinals have been without for most of the season. With a solid run game, Kurt Warner and the Cards could be a tough team to beat down the stretch.

8. (8) 8-3 Tony Romo is known for struggling in December, and the Cowboys’ schedule gets tougher going forward. The next three games (at Giants, vs. Chargers, at Saints) will show how good this Cowboys team really is.

9. (9) 7-4 The Eagles have a big game in Atlanta on Sunday and will have the luxury of facing a quarterback who hasn’t started a game since 2007.

10. (11) 7-4 The Packers defense leads the league in fewest yards allowed per game. The month of December won’t be an easy one for the cheeseheads; Green Bay will play three of its final four games on the road.

11. (15) 7-4 The tough part of the schedule is over for the Broncos. Three of their remaining five games are against the Chiefs (twice) and the Raiders.

12. (14) 5-6 The first team in the NFL to win five straight games after losing the first six. Vince Young finally is developing into a solid quarterback. Young showed how talented he can be when he led the Titans on an incredible final drive to win the game.

13. (10) 6-5 The Steelers can’t afford to lose more than one game in their remaining five. Ben Roethlisberger will be back next week against Oakland and should be ready to lead the Steelers into the playoffs.

14. (17) 6-5 If the Ravens have trouble winning a game against a third-string quarterback, how are they going to do against players such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger on the road in the playoffs?

15. (19) 6-5 Matt Ryan already has been ruled out for Sunday’s big game against the Eagles. The Falcons are about to enter must-win territory and are being forced to do it without their starting quarterback and running back.

16. (12) 6-5 Pathetic performance for the Jaguars against a mediocre 49ers team. The Jags had a great opportunity to greatly improve their chances of making the playoffs, and they came out flat.

17. (13) 6-5 Eli Manning’s foot injury should be a major cause for concern among Giants fans. His foot has bothered him most of the season and it has showed.

18. (16) 5-6 The Texans can compete with the best teams in the league, but they can’t find a way to win.

19. (20) 5-6 Alex Smith was mistake-free on Sunday against the Jaguars and turned in one of his best performances all year.

20. (18) 5-6 Any hopes of making the playoffs went out the door Sunday when the Dolphins lost to the Bills.

21. (23) 5-6 The Jets have some good young talent. Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in the league.

22. (21) 4-7 Many picked the Bears to win the NFC North before the season started. Twenty Jay Cutler interceptions later, the Bears find themselves out of the playoffs before December rolls around.

23. (28) 4-7 Despite all the adversity, the Bills still managed to upset the Dolphins on Sunday. Buffalo scored an impressive 24 points in the fourth quarter.

24. (24) 3-8 The Redskins have played well their last three games and took the Cowboys and the Eagles to the brink. Washington will face the ultimate test Sunday against the Saints.

25. (22) 4-7 I’m not buying the Jake Delhomme broken finger story. The Panthers are protecting their QB after another embarrassing performance. This is the second time this season Delhomme has thrown four interceptions in one game. I would be shocked to see him touch the field again in 2009.

26. (27) 4-7 It’s about time the Seahawks running game stepped up. The Seahawks can be a solid offensive unit if the run game can contribute and complement the passing game.

27. (25) 3-8 Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in many offensive and defensive categories. Could Charlie Weiss be a solution at offensive coordinator for the Chiefs next year?

28. (26) 3-8 The Raiders are dead last in the NFL with just 10.5 points per game.

29. (29) 1-10 The Rams should be looking for a quarterback come draft day in 2010. Marc Bulger is not the answer, and St.Louis will have a top-three pick to select a franchise QB.

30. (31) 1-10 Josh Freeman has played well since he took over at quarterback. He completed 20-of-29 passes and threw for 250 yards against the Falcons.

31. (30) 2-9 The Lions have given the ball away a total of 26 times this year.

32. (32) 1-10 The misery continues in Cleveland. The Browns lost their best player on defense, lineman Shaun Rogers, on Sunday. This might be a blessing in disguise. The loss of Rodgers could help determine whether the Browns pick first or second in the draft.

- Watching the live NFL action in Week 1 has given sports bettor a lot to go on when they start to do their sports handicapping for Week 2 games. Weâ??ve circled a few games with good odds to track while planning your bets.

One full week of NFL football is in the books and people in the online betting world seem to agree on one thing: 60 minutes of regular season football teaches you more about each team than 240 minutes of preseason ever could.

What did we learn from the first week of NFL betting that can be of use for picking winners in Week 2?

One thing we know about the Chicago Bears is that even with Jay Cutler at QB, defense is still king in the Windy City. Since Coach Lovie Smith took over in 2004 the Bearsâ?? defense has accounted for 21-percent of the teamâ??s scoring (compared to league average of nine-percent). When Danieal Manning forced a safety, sacking Aaron Rodgers in the end zone in the second quarter, it looked like that unit might take over the game.

Pittsburgh is in Chicago for the Bears home opener this week and so far bettors are leaning towards the “Under” 37.5 but online sportsbook is reporting some early money showing up on the home team Bears. Bettors appear willing to give Cutler another chance at showing what he can do, this time at home.

- Atlanta couldnâ??t get the run game untracked vs. a stingy Dolphins D but HC Mike Smith is no fool. When Smith unleashed the passing game it was tough to defend and playing at home for the second straight week, Matt Ryan and the Falcons are now being asked to lay a TD vs. their divisional rivals, Carolina.

Things didnâ??t go well for QBs in Carolina, with Donovan McNabb and Josh McCown getting hurt and Jake Delhomme just plain stinking. The Eagles have signed Jeff Garcia as insurance for their home opener this week against the high-flying New Orleans Saints and online sportsbooks have been reluctant to post lines due to the injury situation. It is expected that without McNabb in the line-up the Saints will be a small road favorite.

- Sounds strange for September but in this case itâ??s not cold, wind and snow to be concerned with, more the humidity factor in cities like Jacksonville. The Jags were very good at home in September, going 16-5-1 ATS before 2007 but in the past two seasons they are 0-4 against the number. Jacksonville is a -3 point favorite at online Sportsbooks right now and with one loss already in the books we could see an extra effort out of the home side here against a visiting Cardinals team used to a much dryer climate in the desert.

Join now and check out all the NFL lines at online sportsbook and their special 25% sign up bonus.

Sportsbook – NFL Week 16 Waiver-Wire Pickups: It’s all about the running game this week on our fantasy football waiver-wire pickups. A few notable runners popped out last weekend, but that is about it for waivers as we head into the Super Bowl for many fantasy football leagues.

Below we have the top players you might want to pay attention to on the wire.

Running Backs

Jerome Harrison (Browns)

You wouldn’t think a running back that just had the third-highest single-game rushing total ever (with three touchdowns to boot) would be on fantasy football waiver wires, but Jerome Harrison may be available in your league.

A few weeks ago Harrision’s name started popping up again as a fantasy relevant name because Jamal Lewis was officially announced as being done for the season. Since the Browns still had the Chiefs and Raiders on their schedule, it only made sense to grab Harrison off the wire.

Then, on Thursday night football in Week 14, Harrison saw rookie Chris Jennings take the majority of touches.

Many fantasy owners gave up on Harrison once more and probably cut him going into this week. If Harrison is available his is a no-brainer to pick up with a great matchup this week against the Raiders.

Michael Bush (Raiders)

It looks like the Raiders are finally solid on letting Michael Bush be the main ball carrier on this team once again. Bush had a big game against the Broncos and should have another solid fantasy football performance against the Browns next week.

With the Raiders actually playing well, the running game is back, and Bush should have plenty of opportunities to produce this weekend at Sportsbook Online.

Justin Forsett (Seahawks)

It looks like Julius Jones suffered another rib injury this week against the Buccaneers, and that means Justin Forsett may be the feature back next week. Unfortunately, Forsett doesn’t have a great matchup against the Packers, but he has shown he can get the job done.

Forsett will make for a decent flex option this week if he has the job to himself.

Defense/ ST

49ers Defense

If you’re looking for a solid defense to help you win a fantasy football championship, look no further than the 49ers defense. This week the Niners play the Lions, and next week they play the Rams.

This is the best two-game matchup any fantasy defense will have, hands down. Look for the 49ers to win both games and for their defense to play a big part in the reason for their success.