2. Clemson Tigers – HC Dabo Sweeney loses the explosive CJ Spiller, but Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper should provide some relief in the rushing attack. QB situation leaves a little to be desired. But the defense is a solid bunch with a playmaker in safety DeAndrea McDaniel who picked off 8 passes last year. Can’t Miss Trend…. Clemson is 2-8 ATS last 10 vs Maryland

3. Boston College – This team finished 8-5 last year and could be better. HC Frank Spaziani has a talented bunch on both sides of the ball. This team is defined by its defense. Look for them to jump out fast with games vs Weber State and Kent State before taking on Va Tech September 25th. Can’t Miss Trend.. Boston College is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 road games

4. Maryland Terps – The Terps off a terrible 2-10 season. HC Ralph Friedgen is on a bit of a hot seat. The offensive line gets 3 starters back and 9 of its top 10 receivers. They are healthy in the backfield. Terps also have a favorable schedule. They only get Miami out of the Coastal Division and miss Va Tech, North Carolina and Georgia Tech. With a year under DC Don Brown’s plays under their belt, the defensive should also improve. Can’t Miss Trend … 8 of last 9 vs Clemson have gone UNDER the total

5. NC State – Last year was not the way HC Tom O’Brien wanted things to go. But with a talented bunch of WRs around QB Russell Wilson, things should improve. The defense can’t be any worse then last years bunch that allowed 31ppg. Can’t Miss Trend… NC State has gone OVER in 5 straight at home

6. Wake Forest- With the loss of 4 year starting QB Riley Skinner, Wake is clearly rebuilding this season. HC Jim Grobe will rely more on the run in his Spread attack breaking in a new QB. The defense which gave up 164ypg on the ground will be as bad as the DL is young. Can’t Miss Trend… Wake is 1-5 ATS last 6 home games vs Duke

Kyle Hunter – 2-1 on Monday with yet another winning day. Let’s keep this thing rolling. College hoops are absolutely crushing the bookies night in and night out! How about a 37-15 record in the last 52 plays?! Why not join in this winning today with one of the affordable and guaranteed premium packages? I’m now the #1 handicapper in college hoops as well as overall for 2010 thus far! Tuesday’s card is a strong one, so get a premium package for today, or better yet get the all access subscription rest of the college basketball season for a new reduced price.

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Steve Janus – Tuesday I welcome the NBA back with a 5* Blue Chip Total and a 3* side. I’ve also released my 3* college basketball play of the day. Currently enjoying a 32-20 (62%) College Basketball Picks Run!

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Play on VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES -5.5

Game Analysis: This is a great spot to play home teams in college basketball. A very favorable situation over the years is to back unranked home favorites when playing against ranked road underdogs. The logic is simple and it is usually an anti-public play as well because the mass majority will be backing the ranked team and in this case it is Wake Forest. Even better in this situation is the fact we are seeing reverse line movement which is always something to consider when looking at where the money is going. As of late Tuesday morning, nearly two-thirds of the action is on the Demon Deacons according to market reports yet this line is going the other way from an opening of -5 to its current number of -5.5 across the board. This is a rather big number to some so why wouldn’t they jump on the ranked team? There are a lot of reasons not to. Virginia Tech is no slouch as a win here over Wake Forest puts the Hokies into second place in the ACC and they have done so with little fanfare which I consider pretty unfair. We all know the ACC revolves around Duke and North Carolina but it is Virginia Tech that is the team that people should be talking about but aren’t. The Hokies are 7-3 in the conference and 20-4 overall and come into this game with an RPI of 49. It is that low because of a relatively soft non-conference schedule but that is far from their fault as the Hokies have played Iowa, Georgia, Penn St. and Seton Hall and all of those teams have fallen well below expectations coming into the season. Currently the Hokies are riding a four-game winning streak and they are a perfect 13-0 at home this season including a 5-0 record in the ACC with the average scoring differential in those five conference games being 7.4 ppg so they have been winning rather comfortably. This is the earliest that the Hokies have reached 20 wins in a season in school history so that should tell you something about the year they are having but no one is talking about. Wake Forest is obviously having a very good season as well but it is not at its best in road games where it is 2-3 in ACC action. One of those wins came in overtime while another came against disappointing North Carolina. Speaking of overtime, the Demon Deacons have won nine games since New Year’s Eve and of those four were in overtime including three at home so they have been good and maybe even fortunate, in winning some of those close games. Virginia Tech does have a lot of statistical edges in this matchup but a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that the schedule has been weaker than that of the Demon Deacons. One statistic that the schedule does not come into play with is free throw shooting, one of the biggest categories in college hoops. Over the last seven games, the Hokies are shooting 80.7 percent from the free throw line with is a great run. They entered this stretch shooting 68.1 percent from the foul line and they are currently shooting 71.8 percent from the charity stripe. Also over this seven-game stretch, they have shot at least 80 percent from the line in five of those games. Wake Forest is just 5-18 ATS in its last 23 games in the second half of the season against teams with a winning percentage of .800 or better while the Hokies are 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games coming off a home conference win. 3* (540) Virginia Tech Hokies

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Play on Baylor Bears +2.5 at SportsBook.com

Game Analysis: These two teams met for the opener last season at Baylor with Wake Forest getting the win 41 to 13. The Deacons had the better club last year but the final score was helped by the Bears turning the ball over five times which led to 21 points for Wake. This game should be much more competitive even with Baylor having to travel. In that loss to Wake in their opener last season the Bears looking for a spark at the half put freshman QB Robert Griffin into the game and he didn’t make much difference in the Wake contest but he certainly helped them the rest of the season. He threw for 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions last season plus added another 1,118 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. Needless to say he is a threat on the offensive side of the ball and the Bears return 8 starters on offense. Baylor has the edge when their offense faces the Wake defense, the Demons lost seven starting defensive players from a year ago which included a quad of NFL draftees. Wake returns a decent offensive line, core group of running backs and their senior QB Riley Skinner but we still give the edge to Baylor here. Baylor is also active in one of our CFB Systems that says to Play ON a non-conference underdog in this price range before at least ten days of rest and a home game on deck. These underdogs are a perfect 8-0 ATS and average covering the number by 15.7 points per game. Take the points here as the Baylor Bears pull off the mild upset on the road over the Demon Deacons on Saturday.

Graded Selection: 2* Baylor Bears 28 Wake Forest Deacons 20

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Florida State Seminoles 9-4 SU, 6-4-1 ATS, 7-4 O/U

Summary: Florida St.’s return to glory seems to be getting closer. The Seminoles finished with nine wins last season for the first time since 2004 and that included a very solid bowl win over Wisconsin by 29 points. They home to carry that over into this season and it had better work as they will be playing a brutal schedule this season. The offense brings back eight starters including junior quarterback Christian Ponder who was very average last season. The offensive line is back as well as a stout running game so that should help him settle in. The defense regained its toughness last season but only five starters are back this season. In his last season before retirement, defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will get the most out of his unit.

Schedule: The schedule will determine how far along Florida St. really is in its comeback attempt. Every opponent it faces in the ACC went to a bowl game last season and three of its four non-conference opponents also made it to the postseason. The Seminoles have to play three Atlantic road games and none are easy. They also have to travel to BYU and Florida so the entire slate is extremely tough.

Bottom Line: It looks as though every other team in the Atlantic Division is taking a small step back so the Seminoles get the top spot by default. I think they deserve it anyway as talent-wise, no one is in the same class. It all depends on how focused they are because that has been an issue in the past, as have the off-the-field incidents that have taken place. With this schedule, matching the nine wins from 2008 will be tough.

Betting Forecast: Florida St. was above .500 against the number for the first time since 2003. The Seminoles are a very public team so that winning likely won’t continue.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons 8-5 SU, 6-6 ATS, 5-7 O/U

Summary: Head coach Jim Grobe has done an amazing job in turning around the Wake Forest football program. He inherited a 2-9 team in 2001 and put together a winning season in his first year at the helm and over the last three years, the Deacons have won a combined 28 games. This season will be a challenging one as the defense does not look as strong as it has been in the past as only four starters are back on the unit. Offensively, Wake Forest finished 101st in the nation last season but nine starters are back including four-year starting quarterback Riley Skinner so it should improve immensely. The Deacons are getting no respect once again as they received no votes in the AP Preseason poll which is amazing to me. They have a shot at another Atlantic Division title.

Schedule: The schedule sets up very well for Wake Forest. Five of the first six games are at home including two of the first three ACC contests all three of which are winnable. The first one is at Boston College who looks to be rebuilding. The Deacons have to play at Clemson and at Georgia Tech but they catch both Miami and Florida St. at home. They close the season at Duke.

Bottom Line: The defense, which finished 16th in the nation overall and in scoring last season, is the only thing holding Wake Forest back the top raking in the division. The Deacons are young and not deep but the team speed could be the best ever. It should not be a problem for Wake Forest to make it to a fourth straight bowl game but it has higher aspirations and that is making it to the ACC Championship.

Betting Forecast: Wake Forest is a disappointing 8-19-1 ATS as a home favorite under Grobe. I expect that to reverse this season as the Deacons fly under the radar again.

Clemson Tigers 7-6 SU, 4-7 ATS, 3-8 O/U

Summary: Despite playing in four straight bowl games, Clemson has to be one of the biggest disappointments of the decade. There has been so much talent here but the Tigers have underachieved numerous times. Head coach Tommy Bowden was fired midway through last season after the administration had finally seen enough. Dabo Sweeney took over and led Clemson to three straight wins to end the season and earn a bowl bid where it lost to Nebraska. The offense is led by running back C.J. Spiller, one of the top backs in the ACC but there is a big issue at quarterback where Kyle Parker and Willy Korn are battling it out for the starting job. The defense will be stout again and will be asked to carry the team from the start.

Schedule: Clemson has a favorable schedule but that has been the case for years and it has somehow managed to mess it up. The Tigers have seven home games including a tough non-conference game against TCU. Why they would schedule Coastal Carolina for homecoming is beyond me. The ACC schedule is manageable as it gets Boston College, Wake Forest and Florida St. all at home.

Bottom Line: The defense, which finished 18th overall and 13th in scoring in the country last season, is in fact good enough to carry Clemson to a winning record and a bowl game. If the Tigers want to have any realistic shot at the division title and an upper-tier bowl game, the offense needs to pick it up. Finding a quarterback is the first challenge and if they can do that, the Tigers could be the team to beat.

Betting Forecast: Despite going 44-16 at home since 2000, Clemson is just 17-24 ATS as a home chalk. Tread lightly when laying points with this overvalued team.

NC State Wolfpack 6-7 SU, 9-2-1 ATS, 6-6 O/U

Summary: It looked like it was going to be three straight losing seasons for NC State but it responded after a 2-6 start by winning its final four games and making its first bowl appearance since 2005. The Wolfpack did lose to Rutgers in the bowl game to finish 6-7 overall but it was still a successful season and something to build on. Head coach Tom O’Brien is in his third season so now is the time to find out what he is accomplishing. NC State finished 88th in total offense and 83rd in total defense last year so making it to a bowl game was a big accomplishment with those rankings. They get 14 starters back including quarterback Russell Wilson who finished with 17 touchdowns and just one interception and he is one of the best young quarterbacks in the country. But can he repeat that performance?

Schedule: The Wolfpack have the advantage of eight home games this season but includes difficult games against South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Clemson and North Carolina. The game against the Gamecocks opens the season on Thursday and that is the first of four straight at Carter-Finley Stadium. The four road games are at Wake Forest, Boston College, Florida St. and Virginia Tech, all of which can be lost.

Bottom Line: Wilson will do his best to lead the offense but the sophomore jinx could come into play as there is no way he can match his 2008 season. The running game will be adequate after losing Andre Brown and the offensive line returns three massive bodies. The defense came on strong at the end of last season, allowing 20.2 ppg over the final five but a major push forward will need to happen for the Wolfpack to contend.

Betting Forecast: The Wolfpack went 8-0 ATS in the ACC last season after a combined 10-20 ATS in the previous four years. Look for a regression this year.

Boston College Eagles 9-5 SU, 6-6 ATS, 7-5 O/U

Summary: The head coach for Boston College has been a revolving door the past three years at Tom O’Brien left for NC State and Jeff Jagodzinski was fired after two years after interviewing for an NFL position. Frank Spaziani, who is in his 13th season with the program, takes over so the transition should be smooth. Now, the Eagles just need to find a starting quarterback to run the offense, an offense that will be switching schemes once again. Boston College had a stellar defense last season, finishing 5th in the country including 7th against the run. The problem this year is that the interior line needs to be replaced. In total seven starters are back including three from the secondary which was last year’s weak spot. It should be the strength this year.

Schedule: Boston College starts the season with two relatively easy home games against Northeastern and Kent St. Then the real fun begins as the Eagles play four straight ACC games, none of which are easy. They are at Clemson then at home against Wake Forest and Florida St. and then on the road at Virginia Tech. The final two non-conference games are at Notre Dame and at home against Central Michigan.

Bottom Line: The bowl run of 10 straight trips could continue this year if the Eagles can survive that difficult early ACC stretch. If they put up a goose egg in those four games, it will be tough to come back. This is far from the most talented team at the Heights so a bowl game could be a big accomplishment and the reason it will happen is because of Spaziani. The Eagles are lucky he stayed at O’Brien left.

Betting Forecast: After going on a 3-14 ATS run as a home chalk, the Wildcats rebounded with a 4-1 ATS mark last season. Look for that to continue again in 2009.

Maryland Terrapins 8-5 SU, 6-6 ATS, 5-7 O/U

Summary: When Ralph Friedgen burst upon the College Park campus, he led the Terrapins to a 31-8 record in his first three seasons. He has just 33 victories in the five years since then including just two winning seasons. This year will be tough to achieve back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002-2003 because this team is extremely young. The Fridge did a great job last season in getting his team to overachieve so that should keep his job safe if this year results in another losing campaign. Maryland returns just nine starters overall and there are only 11 seniors that dot the 44-man two-deep chart. That is great news for the future but for 2009, it could mean a pretty long season.

Schedule: The season starts at California where the Bears will be out for revenge following last seasons loss at Maryland. The Terrapins then return home for four straight games with Rutgers and Clemson being the toughest of the bunch. The rest of the ACC schedule is not overly tough with the exception of games at Wake Forest and at Florida St. The Terrapins miss both Miami and Georgia Tech.

Bottom Line: Five road games definitely help the cause for Maryland but it still may not be enough. The last time the Terrapins returned so few starters came in 2004 and 2005 when they returned nine and ten respectively and finished both seasons 5-6. A rebuilding season is almost inevitable but an experienced offensive backfield could make for a couple upset bids.

Betting Forecast: Maryland is 0-4 ATS as a road favorite the last three seasons and while it will be rare, avoid that bet at all costs and take a long look at the home dog.