Though it is not a feature game in terms of television this should be one of the better contests of the opening week. Cincinnati enters the season on the hunt for a third straight visit to the postseason while Chicago is looking to quickly erase last year’s second half collapse.
The Georgia Bulldogs face a very early must-win game after dropping their opener to Clemson, and they can’t be happy seeing the South Carolina Gamecocks coming to town.
It doesn’t seem to matter all that much who is running Mike Gundy’s system, but after a big time performance in Week 1, J.W. Walsh has grabbed the reins of the offense and it doesn’t appear he’ll be letting go any time soon.
Big things were expected from the Texas Longhorns this season, and they took care of business in a big way after an early scare against New Mexico State, beating up on the Aggies, 56-7.
Its week 1 and these familiar opponents are ready to do battle even if there are a lot of unfamiliar faces on both sides of the ball for both teams.
The 2013 NFL regular season gets underway this week which presents the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a few bad lines with a two-team parlay that can add an instant boost to the bankroll.
Here are my top two plays for Week 1 in the NFL based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′] .
Pointspread: Chicago -3
Total Line: 41.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
For the past two seasons Cincinnati continued to live in the shadows of Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the AFC North, but still managed to work its way into the playoffs as a wildcard team.
The tide is about to change in this division as the Bengals are more than ready to ascend to the top of the heap against a couple of former heavyweights that are starting to show their age.
Chicago went 10-6 last season but still decided to make a change at the top by naming offensive guru Marc Trestman as its new head coach. It is a bold gamble considering that most of his success as a coach came north of the border in the CFL.
The thought here is that Trestman will be able to get the most out of quarterback Jay Cutler through an offensive scheme that finally fits his skill set.
The big question for the Bears is how their defense will react to the loss of long-time leader Brian Urlacher.
The Bengals are built to win right out of the gate with the likes of Andy Dalton throwing the ball to AJ Green complementing a defense that was ranked sixth In the NFL last year.
It could take the Bears a couple of weeks to come together on both sides of the ball making this a perfect opportunity jump all over a road underdog that wins the game straight-up. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Pointspread: Washington -3
Total Line: 51.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
There has been a changing of the guard in Philadelphia as well with Chip Kelly taking over for Andy Reid as head coach. Much has been made about Kelly bringing his fast-paced, up tempo style of play from the collegiate level to the pros.
The one thing in his favor in this season opener is the element of surprise as nobody knows what to expect on Monday night.
Robert Griffin III burst onto the scene as a rookie last season to lead Washington to its first playoff appearance since 2007 with his electrifying play both throwing and running the ball.
This past offseason all the talk has centered on his ability to come back from major knee surgery and from all indications he is ready to pick up where he left off under the prime time lights of Monday Night Football.
The one thing to expect from this classic NFC East showdown is the ability for both teams to put points on the board.
The Eagles are still loaded with playmakers on offense with a healthy LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson leading the way and RG III will come up with his fair share of big plays against a very porous Philadelphia defense.
All this adds up to a gift on the OVER play in this game to round-out the back-end of this parlay.
The St. Louis Rams will look to turn things around after going 7-8-1 in their first campaign under head coach Jeff Fisher last year, with a win over NFC West Division visiting rival, the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.
The San Francisco 49ers will have one goal this season — to get back to the Super bowl. And the journey begins this Sunday with a matchup against a Green Bay Packers team whose playoff run ended earlier than expected last season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans are set to kick off on Sunday in the Steel City as they open their 2013 NFL football seasons.
The Michigan Wolverines and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off on Saturday at the Big House. Michigan rolled over the Central Michigan Chippewas 59-9 in their season opener, while the Irish made quick work of Temple, dispatching the Owls 28-6.
This story of David and Goliath could end the same as its biblical counterpart, as Texas A&M faces off against FCS powerhouse Sam Houston State this Saturday.
I have to start by saying that it is fantastic that Florida, Miami and Florida State essentially have a round robin to determine the best team in the state this year. The Gators and Hurricanes are both coming into this one off victories that didn’t force them to sweat too much.
I suppose it shows how far the Arkansas State program has come that they are now the one’s scheduling in state cream puffs to start the season, before they used to be the cream puff. Last week they beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-11, with their third head coach in as many seasons.
The USC Trojans are set to host the Washington State Cougars in Week 2 of the college football season, and while the home team will certainly be the favorites, WSU has a dangerous passing attack that will test the defense right out of the gate.
The Stanford Cardinal had a buy in Week 1, which means their Sept. 7 matchup against the San Jose State Spartans will be the first time fans have seen them since their 20-14 Rose Bowl victory over the Wisconsin Badgers.
The Arizona Wildcats and the UNLV Rebels are coming off of vastly different Week 1 experiences. Arizona took down the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 35-0, while UNLV fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 51-23.
