The Northern Illinois Huskies take on the Buffalo Bulls on Friday in Detroit in the MAC Championship Game. The Bulls were the MAC East division champs this season on the strength of a 10-win season and a 7-1 mark in-conference. The Huskies were only 7-5 this season, but their 6-2 MAC record allowed them to prevail in the West division. Check out Loot’s take on the game and get his predicted point spread winner.
The one thing the Cardinals have going for them is a nice defense against the pass. After Rivers threw for over 400 yards last week, they will be pushed to their limits. Unfortunately for them, their run-defense is maybe the worst in the conference. Even Oakland was able to feast on this “D,” which is a damning indictment if there ever was one. With the Chargers able to run the ball well, especially with star back Melvin Gordon, it looms as a major matchup problem. But is it a 12 point problem? LL looks at the match up and the 11.5 point spread.
This Chicago defense is for real. Their front-seven is immense, with one of the best run-stopping groups up-front. And with Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, and Leonard Floyd at linebacker, they make a lot of plays. Mack has shown what he can do when the field is balanced with other star players around him. This might be the best Chicago “D” since they won the Super Bowl over 30 years ago. Will the Bears shut down the Lions or will the Lions manage to score like they did a few weeks ago? LL has your Thanksgiving pick!
The Utah State Aggies take on the Boise State Broncos at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday in a big Mountain West Conference matchup with a lot at stake. The winner of this game will win the MWC Mountain division and face Fresno State in the title game, with some big things perhaps in store for the winner. Read on and get Loot’s pick on this game.
There is a paradox in the Tampa aerial-offense, as they constantly shift between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston. Last week in the loss to the Giants, Fitzpatrick was behind center, but after three picks, Winston was put in and threw 2 touchdowns, but also a pick. It might surprise some that Tampa puts up more yards aerially than any other team in the league. They put up a lot of points. But the mistakes are plenty, with Winston and Fitzpatrick having combined for 23 picks through just ten games—an alarming figure. Can TB throw the ball to players on their own team on Sunday? LL has your NFL prediction.
NIU dropped their first in conference play with a narrow loss against a better than their record Miami (OH), but wrapped up the division title with Ball State’s win over this week’s opponent. Will the Huskies have any motivation this week in what sets up as a meaningless game. Handicapper Loot has a strong opinion on this match. Get his free pick and back up reasoning for the selection.
To simply say the Raiders are bad doesn’t do much justice. It’s been hard to watch. It is one thing to unload all your big talent in an attempt to build for the future, but the product they’re putting out there is majorly substandard. It’s bad enough to lose a bunch of games, but Oakland is now forcing betting sites to push the boundaries of good-taste when setting these numbers. Here they are only 4 point dogs but maybe that isn’t enough. Loot breaks down the match up!
The Chargers have been very tough at home since losing to the high-powered Chiefs in week one. Even so, after two straight on the road, the Chargers could be a bit weary. There have been some close calls recently. And even against the woeful Raiders last week, they didn’t get their act together until later in the game and had their season-low in total yardage. Can the Bolts get it together at home or will Loot Levinson convince you to pick Broncos plus the points?
The idea of forfeiting 14.5 million dollars might seem kooky to us and maybe it is, but that’s just what Le’Veon Bell has done by not reporting to the Pittsburgh Steelers by Tuesday. He will sit out the rest of the 2018 NFL season and presumably part ways with the team where he made his bones. Bell will be 27 in February and when he’s in in the game, he’s perhaps the biggest offensive difference-maker in the league. He’s always at the top of the league in rushing, with ball-catching stats that would be the envy of a lot of receivers. So he won’t come cheap. Books are starting to put up prop bets for which team Bell will sign with for the 2019 NFL football season. Let’s take a look at each team on the board, the odds, and how likely it is for each team to land the dominant back!
While it took some time to come to fruition with a slow start to the season, the Minnesota offense is starting to look good and it could get even better. Kirk Cousins looks like he’s going to pay off this season, as he is getting a lot of his key guys involved. But the Chicago defense is getting better every game and Bears backers only need a FG to beat the bookmaker. Levinson has your NFL selection.