Sports Handicapper Big Al McMordie's Picks & Predictions

At 6 pm, our selection is on the New Mexico Lobos minus the points over Northern Arizona.  New Mexico kicked off its 2026-27 season with a 100-60 triumph over Utah Tech, as a 23-point home favorite, while Northern Arizona played well at UNLV, losing 89-77, but covering the 20.5-point spread.  The Lumberjacks last visited The Pit back on December 16, 2009, and it was not a good trip, as New Mexico blew them out, 96-57.  The Pit has always been tough on visitors, and New Mexico is 501-114 SU and 276-214 ATS here, at home, since 1990, including 9-0-1 ATS off a point spread win, when laying more than 21 points.  We'll lay the points with the Lobos.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 4 pm, our selection is on the Cal-Santa Barbara Gauchos minus the points over Oakland.  The Golden Grizzlies come into this game off a loss at Stanford, and they've gone 2-9 SU and 4-7 ATS when traveling to the western United States.  UCSB has always had a boisterous home court, to the point where it garnered the nickname, The Thunderdome, in the 1980s.  And the Gauchos have gone 45-32 ATS as a favorite in non-conference games, including 28-17 ATS when laying more than 7 points.  UCSB falls into an 86-36 ATS system of mine.  Take the Gauchos.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 10:30 pm, our selection is on the UNLV Rebels minus the points over Wyoming.  The Cowboys pulled off an upset last week, when they stunned Air Force, 28-14, as a 6.5-point home underdog.  We'll fade Wyoming off that upset win, as Wyoming is 1-8 ATS off an upset win as a 6-point (or greater) underdog, if it was matched-up against a foe off a SU win.  And UNLV is 9-2-1 ATS off a SU win, when playing a foe off an upset win.  The Cowboys also fall into negative 102-180 and 43-94 ATS systems of mine, based on their upset win.  Lay the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9:30 pm, our selection is on the Texas Tech Red Raiders minus the points over West Virginia.  The Red Raiders have been dominant in Lubbock, going 13-0 SU since November 30, 2024, including 9-1-1 ATS in their 11 FBS games.  And, since 1980, Texas Tech is 119-90 ATS at home when not laying more than 21 points.  Texas Tech blew out WVU, 49-0, in Morgantown last season, and is 6-1 SU/ATS in the last seven meetings.  Lay the points.

At 9:30 pm, our selection is on the Texas-El Paso Miners + the points over Hawaii.  The Rainbows have struggled on the road, posting an 87-111 ATS mark, and are 2-6 ATS their last eight in El Paso.  We'll take the Miners, as home dogs of +5 (or more) points are a solid 221-179 ATS in conference games on a 2-game (or worse) ATS losing streak, if their opponent is on a 2-game (or better) ATS win streak.  Take UTEP.

At 7:45 pm, our selection is on the Oklahoma Sooners + the points over Florida.  The Sooners made a coaching change this week when Jason Witten was promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Ben Arbuckle.  I view this as a positive development, given the state of the Sooners' offense, which only topped 25 points once in the last seven games.  Oklahoma was upset, 42-25, by South Carolina last week.  And we'll take it to bounce back off that upset loss, as .500 (or better) SEC Conference road dogs have gone 57-37 ATS off an upset loss.  Grab the points.

At 7:30 pm, our selection is on the Northwestern Wildcats minus the points over Iowa.  The Hawkeyes blew out Wisconsin, 30-0, in their last game.  But that big win has put the Hawkeyes in a negative 43-92 ATS system of mine.  We played against Northwestern last week, and got the $$$ when Oregon came back to win, 34-26.  Still, Northwestern is playing great this season, with a 6-2 SU record, and a 4-3 ATS mark in its seven FBS games.  The reason is offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly.  He's done wonders with Northwestern's offense, and its scoring is at 33.6 ppg (compared to 23.38 ppg last season), which ranks 2nd in the Big 10 behind Ohio St.  Lay the points with Northwestern.

At 4 pm, our selection is on the UNDER in the Rice/North Texas game.  The Mean Green have been lighting up the scoreboard, with 50, 49, and 48 points in their last three games, all of which went Over the total.  We'll look for a lower-scoring game on Saturday afternoon, as the UNDER has gone 116-78 in games with O/U lines greater than 59 points, if a team scored 130+ points in its last three games, with all three going Over the total.  These two teams have played Unders in 6 of the last 7 meetings.  And the UNDER also falls into a 101-68 Totals system of mine.  Take the Mean Green and Owls UNDER the total.  Good luck, as always..Al McMordie.

At 3:30 pm, our selection is on the LSU Tigers minus the points over Alabama.  LSU has been installed as a home favorite vs. Alabama.  And LSU has won 28 straight home games when installed as a favorite, and is 28-15 ATS when favored at home vs. an FBS foe, including 9-1 ATS when priced from -5 to -17 points.  The Tigers also fall into a 159-83 ATS system of mine.  Lay the points.

At 3 pm, our selection is on the Kennesaw St. Owls + the points over Delaware.  After dropping six straight games, the Owls returned to the win column last week with a 44-28 blowout of Middle Tennessee St.  The Owls have been solid ATS, as they're 17-9 ATS their last 26 FBS games, including 9-2 ATS at home.  Meanwhile, the Blue Hens are 3-7 ATS on the road, including 0-3 ATS as a road favorite.  Kennesaw falls into a 181-69 ATS 'momentum' system of mine, which plays on certain teams off big wins.  Take the Owls.

At 12 Noon, our selection is on the Baylor Bears minus the points over Iowa State.  Last week, we played on the Cyclones, and got the $$$ when they upset Oklahoma St, 51-49, as a double-digit dog.  We'll fade ISU off its upset win, as road teams have cashed just 40% vs. conference foes after pulling an upset as a double-digit conference home dog.  Take Baylor.

At 1:00 pm, our selection is on the Oklahoma St. Cowboys minus the points over Kansas St.  The Cowboys are 9-2 ATS their last 11, including 5-2 ATS this season.  They were upset in their last game, 51-49, by Iowa St., as a 10-point favorite, and play this game with revenge from a 14-6 home loss to the Wildcats last season.  But Okie State is 28-15 ATS off an upset loss, and 95-75 ATS when playing with revenge.  Lay the points.

At 6:15 pm, our selection is on the Tennessee Volunteers minus the points over Kentucky.  The Volunteers had last week off following its loss at South Carolina, two weeks ago.  And they're favored this evening against the red-hot Wildcats, who come into Knoxville on a 6-game SU/ATS win streak.  Unfortunately, road underdogs of +3 (or more) points, off 4 SU/ATS wins, are a dreadful 36-60 ATS in conference games, including 2-8 ATS vs. rested foes.  Take Tennessee to blow out Kentucky.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 12 Noon, our selection is on the Minnesota Golden Gophers + the points over UCLA.  Bob Chesney's Bruins are 8-0, and are one of three undefeated teams, along with Miami-Fla and Utah.  This Saturday, they will travel to Minneapolis to face the Gophers.  UCLA has not been on the road since its 5th game of the season, a 17-15 win at Oregon.  And the Bruins are not the best traveler off back-to-back wins, as they're 17-41-1 ATS in that role since 1988.  Even worse:  road teams off 3 home ATS wins are a poor 44-78 ATS.  Grab the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 1 pm, our selection is on the UNDER in the Oklahoma St/Kansas St game.  The Cowboys were upset last week, 51-49, by Iowa State, as a 10-point favorite.  We'll look for a much better defensive effort on Saturday and for a lower-scoring game, as teams that gave up 49+ points in an upset loss have gone 69-33 Under the total.  Additionally, Big 12 Conference teams have gone 92-69 UNDER after playing a conference game where 80+ points were scored.  Take the UNDER.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 4 pm, on Saturday, our selection is on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs minus the points over Troy.  The Trojans upset James Madison last week, 24-21, as a 17.5-point road underdog.  But that was the 2nd straight game that the Dukes lost outright as a double-digit favorite.  We'll fade Troy, as home dogs have cashed just 36.8% since 1980 following an outright win as a road dog of more than 17 points.  And Louisiana Tech is a solid 13-4 ATS when favored against a foe off an upset win.  Lay the points.

At 7:30 pm, our selection is on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish minus the points over Miami-Fla.  The #1-ranked Hurricanes escaped Chapel Hill last week with a 38-35 win vs. Bill Belichick's Tar Heels.  But the Hurricanes will face a much more difficult opponent on Saturday in the Fighting Irish.  South Bend, Indiana is always tough on visitors, but it especially has been a House of Horrors for undefeated teams.  Since 1985, NCAA visitors with a 4-0 (or better) record have gone 3-14 SU and 1-15-1 ATS at Notre Dame, with the only ATS win (Purdue, 2006) by a single point.  And Miami-Fla is 0-5 SU/ATS as an undefeated road underdog since 2010.  Finally, at Game 8 forward, NCAA underdogs of more than 5 points, with a win percentage greater than .750 have covered just 35.8% when playing the 2nd of back-to-back road games.  Lay the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.