Jimmy Boyd

4* VEGAS INSIDER on Sky/Dream: under 177

This total needs both teams to show up, and Chicago can't hold up its end.

The Sky are averaging just 81 points over their last 10 games with a 97.4 offensive rating.

They're shooting 42% from the floor and 29% from three.

That's a broken offense at full strength, and they're nowhere near full strength.

Rickea Jackson (18 PPG) is done for the season.

Skylar Diggins (14.2 PPG) is shut down.

Azura Stevens (10.6 PPG) is out with a knee injury, and DiJonai Carrington joins her.

Natasha Cloud (11.1 PPG) is day-to-day after leaving Thursday's game early.

That's over 50 points per game of production either gone or in doubt.

The replacements are Aicha Coulibaly, Gabriela Jaquez, and deep-bench minutes.

Nobody in that group replaces the shot creation walking out the door.

The opposition case is real: Atlanta is rolling with a 118.3 offensive rating and 97.5 PPG over its last 10, and both teams play fast.

But do the math.

Even if the Dream hang 100, Chicago needs 78 to cash the over.

This Sky roster averaging 81 with its best players available is now asking backups to do it against a defense allowing a 100.7 rating over the same stretch.

Atlanta doesn't need to run either.

Up big early against a 3-7 team playing out the string, the starters sit and the pace drains out of the fourth quarter.

One team scoring can't carry a total this high.

The number is priced for a shootout and only one side brought guns.

I like the Under

4* VEGAS INSIDER on Orioles +111

Milwaukee at 96-58 is the best record in baseball.

Baltimore sits at 75-79 with seven position players on the IL.

That gap is real, and it's exactly why the Orioles are +111 at home.

But moneyline bets are about tonight's game, not the standings.

And tonight's mound matchup points the other way.

Orioles starter Trevor Rogers carries a 3.66 xERA and a .296 xwOBA against.

Brewers starter Robert Gasser sits at 4.19 xERA and .315 xwOBA.

That's a clean edge in underlying quality, and the market isn't charging for it.

Rogers is also giving length.

He's gone at least 6 innings in 4 of his last 5 starts, including 7.1 innings of 1-run ball against Cleveland and an 11-strikeout outing at Colorado.

Gasser's recent run suppression is legit, three straight starts of 2 earned or fewer, but he hasn't completed 5 innings in either of his last 2 starts.

Short starts mean early bullpen exposure.

That matters because of how Baltimore's lineup sets up against the lefty.

Rece Hinds, Pete Alonso, Coby Mayo, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are all right-handed bats stacked in the top four slots.

That's the platoon look you want against Gasser, and it carries into the middle relief innings too.

The injuries are baked into this price.

What isn't baked in is Rogers outclassing Gasser on the expected numbers and working deeper into games.

When the better starter is the plus-money side at home, that's a price worth taking.

I like the Orioles

3* HEAVY HITTER on Rays -135

This is a price play on Rays starter Freddy Peralta, whose surface numbers are hiding how well he's actually throwing.

The opposition case is real: a 4.67 ERA and a 9-11 record don't scream moneyline favorite.

But that's exactly why -135 is available on a 93-60 team at home.

Peralta's expected numbers tell a different story.

His 3.85 xERA sits nearly a full run under his actual ERA.

Hitters are producing a .249 average against a .235 xBA and a .422 slugging against a .376 xSLG.

He's been getting unlucky on contact, not getting hit hard.

The recent tape backs it up.

Peralta has allowed 1 or 0 earned runs in 4 of his last 5 starts, including 5 hitless innings against Houston on September 13 and 6 innings of 1-run ball against both Atlanta and the Mets.

The zero wins in that stretch is a run support problem, not a pitching problem.

On the other side, Red Sox starter Brayan Bello brings a 6-7 record and a 4.74 ERA with no expected-stats story softening it.

Against Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and Junior Caminero at the top of the Tampa Bay order, that's a matchup I'll fade.

Boston is also carrying 14 players on the IL, and the lineup behind Roman Anthony and Adley Rutschman thins out fast with names like Nick Sogard and Caleb Durbin filling spots.

A 93-win team at home, the better starter by expected metrics, and a beat-up opponent at -135.

That's a fair price for this setup.

I like the Rays

5* NO BRAINER on Rockies +155

The price is the play here. +155 on a home team at Coors Field against a starter who can't find the plate is a number I'll take.

Mariners starter Bryce Miller hasn't pitched past 5 innings in any of his last 5 starts.

Over that stretch he's issued 18 walks in 22.1 innings, including 7 free passes against the Cubs on Aug 23 and 5 more against the Athletics his last time out.

He sits at 4-9 with a 4.19 ERA on the season.

The opposition case says Miller's underlying numbers are better than that.

Fair.

His 3.69 xERA and .297 xwOBA say the stuff plays.

But xERA doesn't matter if you're walking the yard and handing the ball to the bullpen in the 5th, and that's exactly what he's been doing.

Walks at altitude turn into crooked numbers fast.

The obvious knock on Colorado is Rockies starter Nick Frasso and his 7.56 ERA.

I'm not betting on Frasso to dominate.

At +155, he just has to keep it competitive early against a Seattle lineup that's missing pieces.

Brendan Donovan is on the 7-day IL, and Luke Raley and Colt Emerson are both done on the 60-day.

The bottom third of this Mariners order is thin.

Seattle is 72-82.

This isn't a contender laying a short number, it's a sub-.500 club priced like a clear favorite because Colorado is 56-98.

Records this late in September lie.

Prices don't.

I like the Rockies

4* VEGAS INSIDER on UAB/UL-Lafayette: over 55½

Even money on an over is the books telling me they see this as a coin flip.

UAB's own games say otherwise, and that's the buy.

Start with the UAB defense.

SP+ has the Blazers 133rd in the country on that side of the ball.

This early, that rating is mostly a projection built on last year's tape, but the 2026 results back it up.

Illinois hung 42 on UAB in the opener.

Last season told the same story.

In the seven 2025 UAB games I graded, the Blazers allowed 36.7 a game and scored 27.7 themselves.

That's better than 64 combined points a game, more than a touchdown clear of this number.

The offense does its part.

UAB beat UL Monroe 26-20 two Saturdays ago and put up 23 in that loss at Champaign.

This is a team that trades scores, not one that grinds clock.

Both sides are two games into 2026, so the market is pricing this off thin results.

UAB's two games this season landed at 46 and 65 total points.

Average those out and you get exactly 55.5.

The number is sitting right on UAB's own pace before you give UL-Lafayette any credit for moving the ball at home against a bottom-tier defense.

I need 50 percent to break even at this price.

A total parked dead on the game average of a team that can't get stops is better than a coin flip to go over.

I like the Over

4* VEGAS INSIDER on Purdue/UCLA: under 52½

The books are pricing this total off two weeks of inflated scoreboards, and UCLA's defense is why 52.5 is too high.

Both teams are 2 games into the 2026 season, so the gaudy numbers need context.

Purdue is averaging 40 a game, but 44 of those points came against Indiana State, an FCS opponent.

The Boilermakers' other game was a 38-36 home loss to Wake Forest.

That was a shootout Purdue needed and still lost.

UCLA is a different story.

The Bruins are 2-0 and allowing just 17 a game, including holding San Diego State to 10 last week.

The SP+ projections back it up.

UCLA sits 38th overall with the 47th ranked defense, while Purdue is 77th with the 75th ranked offense.

Those ratings lean on prior-season inputs this early, but they match what we've seen on the field.

Purdue's offense also has recent history working against it.

Last November the Boilermakers lost 56-3 at home to Indiana and managed just 10 points against Ohio State.

UCLA's offense wasn't any better in 2025, scoring 10 at USC and 14 against Washington to close last season.

Hanging 45 on Cal in week 1 doesn't erase all of that overnight.

UCLA doesn't need a shootout here.

The Bruins are the better team, and their cleanest path is leaning on a defense that's been the best unit on the field through 2 weeks.

Two offenses that struggled all last year, one legitimate defense, and a number built on soft September schedules.

That's an under.

I like the Under

3* HEAVY HITTER on Mississippi State/South Carolina: under 59

This number is built on scoreboard noise.

Both teams are 2-0 this season, and neither has played anyone yet.

South Carolina beat Kent State 57-0 and Towson 45-9.

Those are buy games against overmatched rosters.

Mississippi State hung 62 on UL Monroe, then won at Minnesota 38-13.

Impressive, but that Minnesota game is the only real opponent between them, and it landed on 51 points.

Now both step into SEC play, and the scoring environment changes fast.

The bookmakers know casual money sees 50-plus a game from each side and rushes the over.

That's exactly the trap.

South Carolina's defense is the real story here.

SP+ projects the Gamecocks 13th in the country on that side of the ball, and they've allowed 9 total points through two games.

Even discounting the competition, that unit is legit.

Mississippi State's offense projects 19th in SP+, so they can move the ball, but their defense sits 60th.

South Carolina's offense projects 28th.

Two solid offenses against one very good defense and one average one does not add up to 60 points in a conference game.

There's also last year's tape on South Carolina's offense.

Last November Clemson held them to 14, and last October Oklahoma held them to 7.

This attack disappears against quality defenses, and Mississippi State's front is a step up from Towson.

SEC openers tighten up.

Coaches get conservative, possessions shrink, and field position matters again.

Both of South Carolina's games this year already stayed under this number.

I like the Under

3* HEAVY HITTER on SMU +105

This is a price play.

SP+ projects SMU 19th in the country at 15.3, ahead of Louisville at 23rd and 14.1.

Those are projections this early, not results, but when the better-rated team is the dog, I'm interested.

Both sides have played 2 games this season.

SMU is 2-0, and the win that matters was going into Tallahassee and beating Florida State 27-24.

That's a real road win against a real opponent.

Louisville is 1-1.

The Cardinals lost 41-38 at Ole Miss, then beat Villanova 59-13.

An FCS blowout tells me nothing.

The Ole Miss game tells me this defense gave up 41 to the first legitimate offense it saw.

SMU's offense projects 16th in SP+, and Louisville's defense checks in 26th.

That's the matchup I want to attack at plus money.

The injury situation tips this further.

The ACC availability report lists four Louisville offensive linemen and the punter out, and Jeff Brohm is hedging hard on RB Keyjuan Brown: "We're hopeful he'll be back for this Saturday's game is where we're at right now.

I'm hopeful that that will happen and hopefully anticipate that happening." That's not a coach who knows his back is playing.

SMU has also won both meetings between these programs, including a 38-6 rout in Dallas last November.

Different rosters, same coaching staffs.

Better team by the numbers, healthier roster, and I'm getting +105 instead of laying juice.

That's the definition of buying right.

I like SMU

1* Free Pick on North Carolina +3½

Clemson starter Christopher Vizzina hurt his elbow against Georgia Southern and is expected to miss this one.

That puts true freshman Tait Reynolds under center for his first career start.

Freshman QB debuts against organized, disciplined defenses are where I want to be on the other side.

And this North Carolina defense has been exactly that through 2 games.

The Tar Heels held TCU to 10 points on the road in the opener, then held East Tennessee State to 3.

That's 6.5 points allowed per game.

Clemson's offense was already struggling with the starter healthy.

They scored 10 at LSU and 22 against Georgia Southern, averaging 16 a game.

Now subtract the QB.

The case against this pick is SP+, which has Clemson 40th at 8.1 and North Carolina 51st at 6.4.

Fair.

But 2 weeks into a season those ratings are still projections leaning on last year's tape, and they don't know Reynolds is starting.

The defensive gap is basically nothing anyway: Clemson 25th at 19.2, UNC 27th at 19.5.

Early returns favor the road team too.

UNC is 2-0 with a +18.5 average scoring margin.

Clemson is 1-1 at -13.

Death Valley is worth about 3 points on its own.

So a 3.5-point line says the market thinks these teams are nearly even on a neutral field, then hands Clemson the full home bump with a freshman making his debut.

I'll take the points and the better defense in that spot.

I like North Carolina

5* NO BRAINER on LSU -3

This line is priced on the offenses.

The real gap in this game is on defense, and it's not close.

LSU ranks 8th in SP+ at 24.1.

Ole Miss sits 20th at 15.2.

That's a near 9-point gap, and standard home field only buys back about a field goal of it.

At -3 we're getting LSU cheaper than the ratings say we should.

Both teams are 2-0 through two games this season, but LSU has been the more complete team.

The Tigers hammered Clemson 51-10 on September 6, then handled Louisiana Tech 45-14.

That's 48 a game scored and 12 allowed.

The defense is the story.

LSU ranks 2nd in SP+ defense at 10.9.

Ole Miss is 38th at 20.8 and giving up 23.5 a game.

Louisville hung 38 on the Rebels in their own building in the opener.

The best case for Ole Miss is the offense, and it's legitimate: 11th in SP+ at 35.4, a tick ahead of LSU's 13th-ranked unit, and 41 a game so far.

But SP+ this early still leans on projection, and neither Charlotte nor Louisville looks anything like this LSU front.

Points come harder Saturday night than they have all month.

Fair to note this is LSU's first road trip of the year, and Oxford at night is a real environment.

That's worth something.

It's also exactly what the 3 points are paying for.

Ole Miss has the better offense ranking and loses everywhere else on the card.

I like the LSU