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Horse Racing Week 2 NCAA Football Best Bets: Saturday, September 10
Our resident US sports expert Ej Garr has a pair of tips to offer our readers this weekend, as the college football campaign enters week 2. With an underdog and a total to offer from two games being played on Saturday, it’s time to build on his 3 – 0 resume this year.
In this article:
- Pittsburgh Panthers vs Tennessee Volunteers Preview
- Pittsburgh Panthers vs Tennessee Volunteers Best Bet
- East Carolina Pirates vs Old Dominion Monarchs Preview
- East Carolina Pirates vs Old Dominion Monarchs Best Bet
Pittsburgh Panthers vs Tennessee Volunteers Preview
September 10, 20:30 (UK time)
The Panthers and Vols are kicking off their game at 4:30 in Knoxville, and after watching Pitt and West Virginia go bonkers last weekend I thought I might pick on them again this Saturday.
This game will be nationally televised on ABC, and we will once again get to see a Pittsburgh program that seemingly moved on from the loss of Kenny Pickett to the NFL Pickett sat out of the bowl game last year, and head coach Pat Narduzzi was stuck with two QBs that were not going to help him get anything done this season.
Some folks thought that Nick Patti, who started that bowl game and left it with a broken collarbone, could be in line to possibly be the guy in 2022. Yeah no! Patti is going to be watching Kedon Slovis run this offense, as the USC transfer has 27 starts under his belt after 3 years at USC.
Slovis left the Trojans and I saw Phil Steele mention in his magazine that the QB unit is still strong but it won’t match the stats of the #1 quarterback taken in last year’s draft. Yeah, you’re a genius, guy!
Slovis looked like someone who threw for over 300 yards and constantly had to respond in a close game with West Virginia last weekend. Pickett wasn’t exactly a dual-threat QB either, but Slovis has most of the pieces of last year’s puzzle back with the team. The Panthers returned 8 starters on offense, and the entire offensive line made a unit decision to come back together for one more campaign.
Wait, I haven’t gotten started on the Vols yet?
My goodness, did you see the Tennessee effort against Ball State on September 1? Ball State wasn’t expected to give the Vols much of a contest listed as 37-point underdogs, and Tennessee made mincemeat of them in a 59 – 10 drubbing.
I spoke of the O-line for Pitt and I have to speak of this Vols offensive line that brought back 7 starting players from last year. That is a good bit of experience to rely on and Hendon Hooker used it to his advantage against the Cardinals in the opening game.
Hooker didn’t have to do too much with his arm because the Vols had their run game in sync and the offensive line paved the way for 218 yards on the ground. Hooker and Joe Milton III converted passes with 10 different receivers, as Milton came on and went 8 for 9 with 113 passing yards while finding Jimmy Holliday in the end zone.
Pittsburgh Panthers vs Tennessee Volunteers Best Bet
My final thought is points! Give me points, or give me death, baby! When a total sounds too high, it is usually a good indicator that we might see some fireworks, and we will!
- Selection: Game Total Over 66 Points
- Best odds: 1.92 (1XBet)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as of 9:00 am September 8, 2022. Odds may now differ.
More Pittsburgh Panthers vs Tennessee Volunteers Tips
East Carolina Pirates vs Old Dominion Monarchs Preview
September 10, 23:00 (UK time)
My goal in life is to find underdogs! Hi, my name is Ej and I look for underdogs that I think can not just cover a game but have the potential to provide an upset too.
So, does it mean I think ODU can squeak out a road win in Greenville on Saturday? You are damn right they can, and they were getting 6 points last weekend against Virginia Tech.
Notice the Old Dominion record of 1 – 0 coming into this weekend, because they took the Hokies down, and now they are getting what? Nearly two touchdowns this weekend against ECU?
Stop it! I have no idea what line setter showed up to work all drunk and stupid, but ODU can certainly win this game, and covering the spread seems like child’s play to me.
Mike Houston has been coaching at East Carolina for 4 years now, and this dude has done nothing to make me think there is some kind of big campaign coming in 2022. The tight game with N.C State last weekend could have gone either way in a 21 – 20 loss, and a lot of folks think that the Wolfpack are going to be a strong ACC contender this year.
The Pirates were the double-digit underdog last weekend, and now they find themselves on the other side of an inflated line against a game ODU outfit. Holton Ahlers led the late charge to get East Carolina within a point of sending the game to overtime, but the extra point kick was blocked leaving ECU fans disappointed at home to open the season.
UCU will have the luxury of hosting their first four games at home, as Campbell and Navy will show up in Greenville over the next two weekends.
Even though there isn’t much left here from the 2019 meeting between these two teams, that game also came down to a last-second kick that ECU won, 24 – 21. The Pirates are 6 – 3 – 1 against ODU all-time and have won the last 4 meetings with the Monarchs.
The issue I am having here is the Pirates’ defensive ability to slow anyone down. as they were constantly giving up so many yards to their opponents in 2021. I also question the ability of this team to go out and whip anyone into shape and cover a big line, despite how they go down against an N.C State program and fought back to lose in such a disheartening fashion.
East Carolina Pirates vs Old Dominion Monarchs Best Bet
If you give me Old Dominion and double-digits all season I might say yes, even at Appalachian State as they might be late in the year. They could be a big dog against Virginia next weekend, but how impressive is this non-conference schedule? Virginia Tech, East Carolina, and Virginia to open the campaign? ODU IS NOT SCARED OF ANYONE!!
Selection: Old Dominion +13.5 Points
Best odds: 1.87 (Pinnacle)
Stakes 4/10
Odds as of 9:00 am September 8, 2022. Odds may now differ.
More East Carolina Pirates vs Old Dominion Monarchs Tips
