Front Page NCAAF Picks (Week 8, Oct 16-18)

[Willie Bee]

The defense rests: BYU Cougars, TCU Horned Frogs Under 47

Game Time: 10/16/2008 08:00 PM -
By: Marc Lawrence | playbook.com

Defense will rule Thursday night in Ft. Worth at Amon Carter Stadium when TCU hosts BYU in a matchup of ranked schools. Play the Horned Frogs and Cougars Under 47.

A clash of the titans takes place in Forth Worth Thursday evening when eighth-ranked BYU takes on 24th-ranked TCU in a key Mountain West Conference showdown.

While both teams are often lauded for their offense the fact of the matter it's their defense that has put them in the Top 25 this season. That's confirmed by TCU allowing 11 PPG and 208 YPG (No.1 overall) while BYU surrenders 10 PPG with a 302 YPG defense.

With this being the biggest game on each team's schedule this season to date, we'll look more of the same here tonight. Go under the 47 points.

Free Pick: BYU-TCU Under 47 (-110)

[Willie Bee]

Stanford Cardinal -1 over UCLA Bruins on the road

Game Time: 10/18/2008 04:00 PM -
By: LT Profits Sports Group | who2beton.com

Stanford has a powerful running game that averages over 184 rushing yards per game, and they should control the line of scrimmage here. Fly with the Cardinal this week.

Do not look now, but the Stanford Cardinal just may be the second best team in the Pac-10 right now, and they get the nod to knock off UCLA on the road here.

The Cardinal went to 3-1 in the conference by surprising Arizona last week, as running backs Toby Gerhart and Anthony Kimble both topped the 100-yard rushing mark. The bad news was the injury to quarterback Tavita Pritchard, but he is expected to start this week.

Then again, that may not matter, as the key matchup here is the powerful Stanford running game vs. the soft UCLA run defense. The Cardinal are averaging 184.1 rushing yards per game on an impressive 4.9 yards per carry, and they will be running against a Bruins defense that is surrendering a whopping 170.8 rushing yards per game on 4.6 yards per rush.

Meanwhile, UCLA has lost four of their last five games since upsetting Tennessee on opening week, with the second win coming against conference doormat Washington State. Their offense has been as bad as the defense, as the Bruins are averaging a woeful 3.0 yards per rushing attempt and 5.8 yards per pass attempt.

Not many people had the foresight to predict this before the season, but even with this game being played in Los Angeles, we are looking for a handy Stanford win.

Free Pick: Stanford -1 (-110)