(Sports Network) - Last week was a huge one for favorite
players as the betting choice came through with a 32-20-2 mark and a 61%
winning percentage.

However, if a bettor had played the favorite in all games involving top-10
teams, he would have won just two of nine wagers (LSU was on a bye). The only
clubs to cover were Miami-Florida and Cincinnati, while Texas pushed its game
with Oklahoma.

A lot of focus early this week was placed on the top-ranked clubs and how most
of them failed to strut their stuff, but the spotlight should have been on the
rest of the favorites as they totaled an unbelievable 30-14-1 mark, good for a
68% winning percentage!

The dominating week began on Tuesday night when UL-Monroe covered as a slight
choice over Arkansas State, a game the Warhawks lost their starting
quarterback early in the second quarter.

The final contest of the week was also won by the favorite.

Arizona State, favored by 6.5-points over Washington pulled out a seven-point
victory in a match up that should have gone into overtime.

Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian admittedly made a mistake calling for a
pass play on third-and-one from the Huskies' own 19-yard line with less than
30 seconds remaining. The incomplete pass forced Washington to punt and gave
the Sun Devils a chance to win in regulation. And that's exactly what they did
when Danny Sullivan hit Chris McGaha on a 50-yard touchdown strike with five
seconds left, covering the spread by one-half point!

BCS STANDINGS NOT A FACTOR

It was somewhat surprising to see almost all the top teams fail last week
considering they were playing for more than just on-the-field victories. The
first BCS rankings were released last Sunday so one would have expected the
big-time clubs to put forth their best efforts.

That was not the case, especially with Ohio State and Virginia Tech, who lost
outright to Purdue and Georgia Tech, respectively.

Perhaps even more stunning was how the top two teams - Florida and Alabama -
responded to the pressure.

Both clubs were favored by large amounts (Florida -24 and Alabama -18) and
neither squad ever held an ATS lead in the two games combined. The Gators
barely squeaked past Arkansas by three, while the Crimson Tide held its
largest lead (14 points) for less than six of the 60 minutes.

Will the downward spiral continue? The top six teams in this week's AP Poll
all are favored by double-digits. A couple of them could cover, namely Boise
State and Texas, but the majority will once again falter against the spread
given the pressure to succeed.

AFTER SEVEN WEEKS

I went 5-6-1 last week for a seven-week total of 60-53-1, good for 53%. There
were zero Five-Star plays once again, so the season total still stands at 2-4.
The Three-Star selections are now 21-20-1 after a 1-1-1 week.

Meanwhile, two of the three Two-Star plays proved victorious, including the
Mountain West Conference underdog play of the week, so that record improves to
22-12, while the One-Star picks went 2-4 for a 15-17 overall mark.

As a reminder, 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's 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.

THREE-STAR SELECTIONS

There are four games to choose from this week, highlighted by Colorado (at
Kansas State) and Western Michigan (vs. Buffalo). The other two are Illinois
(at Purdue) and Florida Atlantic (at UL Louisiana). There are no Five-Star
plays.

TWO-STAR PLAYS

Mississippi State welcomes Florida to Starkville, Mississippi for just the
fourth time since 1990. The Bulldogs own a 3-0 mark both SU and ATS over the
reigning national champions, including a 38-31 victory in the last meeting
back in '04 as 23-point underdogs.

Florida comes into this contest off a pair of hard-fought games - the 10-point
victory over LSU and then the three-point home win vs. Arkansas. Mississippi
State may not be in the same class as the Tigers and Razorbacks but Dan
Mullen's team almost defeated LSU at home a few weeks back.

Speaking of Mullen, the Bulldogs' head coach was Urban Meyer's offensive
coordinator the last four years in Gainesville so it goes without saying that
he has imparted all his knowledge of how Florida's offense operates to his
players. In addition, the Gators have their annual matchup with Georgia next
week so this one has all the makings of a very close contest.

Take Mississippi State plus the points.

Maryland comes to Durham, North Carolina to face a much-improved Duke team.
The Blue Devils should win this game by over two touchdowns and they're only
favored by four points!

Prior to their huge road win over North Carolina State, they held their own
with Virginia Tech picking up 397 total yards while holding Ryan Williams to
only 83 rushing yards on 3.5 yards per carry - 2.5 yards less than his season
average.

Maryland's ground attack is in disarray with injuries to Da'Rel Scott and Gary
Douglas and the passing game has been weak with Chris Turner throwing only
nine touchdown passes in seven games while being sacked 22 times. The
Terrapins have played only two road games this season and they're still 1-5
against FBS teams!

The Blue Devils are off a bye week, which might actually help them maintain
their composure. The club could have come into this game extremely
overconfident if this matchup were played immediately following the monster
performance at NC State.

Take Duke minus the points.

Arkansas takes on Ole Miss in Oxford. The Razorbacks, 1-3 in SEC play,
destroyed Auburn the week before their close call with Florida so don't think
for a moment there'll have a letdown, especially against former coach, Houston
Nutt.

The Rebels have looked horrible the entire season, but surprisingly, the line
for this game has drifted more and more in their favor the last few days. Are
they really worthy of being almost a touchdown favorite against one of the
hottest teams in the country?

Ole Miss has yet to put back-to-back FBS wins on the board this season and it
won't happen here.

Take Arkansas plus the points.

Three other Two-Star selections are Washington (vs. Oregon), Kansas (vs.
Oklahoma) and Oregon State (at Southern Cal)

ONE-STAR PLAYS

Go with Tennessee (at Alabama), Texas A&M (at Texas Tech), Boston College (at
Notre Dame), Clemson (at Miami-Florida), Iowa State (at Nebraska) and Bowling
Green (vs. Central Michigan).






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