(Sports Network) - One area where bettors can gain the
upper hand on their bookmakers is through familiarity, especially when it comes
to coaching changes. When an offensive or defensive coordinator becomes a head
coach, he sometimes catches a break when his new team is able to face his
previous club.

Such was the case on the first night of the '09 season when Gary Anderson led
his Utah State Aggies into Salt Lake City against Utah. Anderson had been the
Utes defensive coordinator under Kyle Whittingham so he was well equipped to
handle whatever Utah had up its sleeve.

The Aggies did not pull off the upset, but easily covered the three-
touchdown spread. Utah State also rushed for 221 yards, the most yards the Utes
had allowed on the ground to a non-option offense since the opening week of the
2007 season.

Last week, Texas went to Wyoming to face the Cowboys and their new head coach,
Dave Christensen. The former offensive coordinator at Missouri was well aware
of how the Longhorns operate since he faced them a season ago. Texas struggled
early and failed to cover the huge spread.

In another example, Tim Beckman came to Toledo this season from Oklahoma State,
where he was Mike Gundy's defensive coordinator. The Cowboys had played
Colorado late last year so it came as no surprise when the Rockets blew out the
Buffaloes, 54-38, as home underdogs.

THE TROJAN CONNECTION

USC hosts Washington on Saturday and the Huskies will bring on a
double dose of familiarity as head coach Steve Sarkisian was Southern Cal's
offensive coordinator the last two years, and Nick Holt, Washington's defensive
coordinator, held that position with the Trojans the last three years.

The Huskies finally found themselves in the win column after 15 consecutive
defeats going back to November 24, 2007 with their 19-point victory over Idaho.
It wasn't pretty but Washington got the "W" despite getting outgained, 412-374.
In addition, the Vandals reached the red zone on five separate occasions.

Still, it was an impressive performance for the Huskies, considering they might
have been looking ahead to this week's encounter with USC. Moreover, they only
failed to cover the spread by the barest of margins as Idaho scored its final
touchdown with less than 30 seconds left on the game clock.

Washington was even more impressive the week before when LSU came to Seattle as
an 18-point favorite. The Huskies outgained the Tigers by an incredible margin
of 478-321, but inopportune penalties and costly turnovers were the difference
in the eight-point loss. The noise level at Husky Stadium was electric
considering the team hadn't won a game in 2008. Expect more of the same this
Saturday against Southern Cal.

The Trojans barely pulled out the victory last Saturday night against Ohio
State when quarterback Matt Barkley engineered a 14 play, 86-yard drive to seal
the victory in the waning moments. And in case anyone forgot,
USC is 0-4 ATS the last four games following a win over a top 25 team.

Expect to see a new quarterback under center this week for the Trojans, as
Barkley has an injured shoulder. Sophomore Aaron Corp will get the call and
that should benefit Washington even more as Sarkisian and Holt are much more
familiar with Corp than the true freshman.

The Huskies have covered three of the last four meetings vs. USC, including two
straight at home. This year's matchup will be one for the ages, as Washington,
with the help of its head coach and defensive coordinator, gives USC all it can
handle and then some.

Take Washington plus the points.

AFTER TWO WEEKS

I went 11-8 last week for a two-week total of 21-17, good for a 55% winning
percentage. However, all is not rosy as my five and three-star selections
combined for a 4-5 record last Saturday (0-1 Five-Star and 4-4 Three-Star) and
are just 6-10 on the season. Nevertheless, my two and one-star plays went 7-3
(4-1 Two-Star and 3-2 One-Star) for a two-week total of 15-7.

The Five-Star plays are when my Power Plays and Key Plays coincide. The Three-
Star selections comprise the rest of my Power Plays: games where there is at
least a five-point differential between my line and the actual line. The Two-
Star picks are the remaining Key Plays and the One-Star plays are the secondary
selections.

There are zero Five-Star selections for week three. On the other hand, eight
games constitute the Three-Star plays beginning with Boise State minus the
points at Fresno State on Friday night.

The other choices are: Eastern Michigan (at Michigan), Clemson (vs. Boston
College), Colorado (vs. Wyoming), Indiana (at Akron), San Diego State (at
Idaho), Utah State (at Texas A&M) and Oregon State (vs. Cincinnati).

TWO-STAR PLAYS

Washington plus the points against USC highlights my six Two-Star selections.
The other five are as follows:

Is Tulsa the best team in the state of Oklahoma? The Golden Hurricane takes its
2-0 record to Norman this Saturday where he Sooners will be waiting with open
arms.

There are a lot of similarities between this game and the previous two
meetings. Tulsa dropped the last contest two years ago, 62-21, just six days
after beating BYU, the team that upset Oklahoma two weeks ago.

Back in '05, the Sooners failed to cover the spread against the Golden
Hurricane after losing their opener to TCU as 25-point favorites. That contest
vs. Tulsa was much closer than the final score indicated (Oklahoma 31-15) as
the Sooners led by only two points late in the fourth quarter. Moreover, it was
Rhett Bomar's first ever start at quarterback and this game will be the first
career FBS start for Landry Jones.

The redshirt freshman threw for three touchdowns last week against Idaho State
but he also completed only 18 of 32 passes against a team that had won just one
of its previous 17 games. It's hard not to forget how pitiful Oklahoma looked
against BYU, even with Sam Bradford at quarterback and Tulsa is only a notch or
two below the Cougars.

A lot of folks have taken the Golden Hurricane for granted this year since the
schedule is a thousand times more difficult than last season's undemanding
ride. Not only will Tulsa have to tackle Oklahoma, the club will host Boise
State on October 14.

It's true the Golden Hurricane has had it easy so far with games against Tulane
and New Mexico, but both games were played on the road. Todd Graham's squad
returns to the state of Oklahoma and the Sooners will barely walk off with the
victory.

Take Tulsa plus the points.

North Carolina was extremely lucky to come away with a two-point win at
Connecticut last Saturday. The offensive line is battered with injuries and a
few players are still feeling the effects of the H1N1 virus. To make matters
worse, Zack Pianalto, the team's receiving leader with 112 yards, will also not
be in the lineup this Saturday against East Carolina due to a dislocated right
foot.

East Carolina comes to Chapel Hill off a 15-point road loss to West Virginia.
The Mountaineers led by just one point at the half since the Pirates were only
able to score three points on two second quarter drives inside West Virginia's
10-yard line.

The Pirates are an amazing 13-3 as road underdogs under Skip Holtz and that
doesn't even include wins over Virginia Tech last year and Boise State two
seasons ago. They are also 5-1 ATS in their last six games against top 25
competition

Take East Carolina plus the points.

Connecticut held North Carolina in check last week, but as mentioned earlier,
the main reason the Huskies were able to contain the Tar Heels was due to UNC's
offensive line injuries, along with the club's lack of depth at wide receiver.

Baylor will not have any problems running up and down the field against
Connecticut. The Bears put up 28 points in Storrs last season in Robert
Griffin's second career FBS start. When you consider his first start came
against Washington State, his four-touchdown performance (three passing, one
rushing) was a tremendous accomplishment.

Now the sophomore gets the Huskies at home where the Baylor averaged 33 ppg
last year.

The Bears are coming off a bye week after defeating Wake Forest on the road,
while Connecticut had one of its most gut-wrenching losses in quite some time
last Saturday. In addition, the Huskies will be without starting quarterback
Zach Fraser, and his replacement Cody Endres has missed some practice time this
week due to flu-like symptoms.

Take Baylor minus the points.

Another Big East team could have its problems this weekend as Pittsburgh hosts
Navy. The Panthers defeated Buffalo by 27 points but only led by two touchdowns
at the half. They caught a lucky break in the third quarter when the Bulls
fumbled inside Pittsburgh territory and the Panthers ran it back 50 yards for
the only score in the period.

Buffalo totaled up 500 yards of offense with Zach Maynard throwing for 400 on
24-35 and four touchdowns. Pittsburgh, though, won the turnover battle with a
+4 ratio. This week, the Panthers will have their hands full when the
Midshipmen stroll into town. Navy already gave Ohio State fits on the road two
weeks ago and then came home to rip apart Louisiana Tech, 32-14, scoring 32
unanswered points.

Ricky Dobbs has been spectacular this season with a 192 QB rating while
completing 14 of 21 tosses. The passing game is usually not associated with the
Midshipmen, but then again, they haven't had a quarterback like Dobbs in quite
some time. Pittsburgh will have tons of trouble keeping Navy in check in what
should be a highly entertaining affair.

Take Navy plus the points.

Michigan State travels to South Bend as the Spartans look for their seventh
straight win at Notre Dame Stadium. In fact, the Irish were favored in six of
those meetings and they're the heavy favorite once again at -10. Michigan State
has lost only two regular season games by double digits the last two plus years
and has outscored Notre Dame 54-21 under Mark Dantonio.

Take the Spartans plus the points.

ONE-STAR PLAYS

Three plays comprise the one-star selections: Toledo (vs. Ohio State), Kansas
State (at UCLA) and Iowa State (at Kent State).






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