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Vancouver Canucks Season Preview

Vancouver Canucks' fans annually get excited around this time of the year. In late September, their team always provides reason for hope. Yet, year after year, that hope and excitement fades away. Will this season be any different? Vancouver got off to an 0-7 start to its 2022/23 season. Things were bad from the get-go. The Canucks didn't get their first win until 10/27. They ended up missing the playoffs. Again. The last time they made the postseason was 2020. They've been there 28 times in 52 years. The current preseason got off to an ominous start when Vancouver lost 10-0 to Calgary. Coach Rich Tocchet commented: “I know people don’t want to hear it, but it’s a learning experience.”There is reason for hope though. The Canucks have a legitimate star in Elias Pettersson. Vancouver's best player gets it done at both ends of the ice. He finished with 102 points last year. Captain Quinn Hughes anchors a blue line which is stronger and deeper than it's been in recent seasons. The Canucks are counting on a bounce-back season from goalie Thatcher Demko. He was great when the Canucks last made the playoffs but struggled last year. The improvement behind the blue line should help Demko's cause. The Canucks are currently about +1400 to win their division and +2300 to win the West. They're going to be better but they won't be good enough to win the division or conference. They do seem like a solid bet to go over their projected number of 88.5 regular season points though. If they do that, a return to the playoffs is likely in the cards ... Will Rogers

Big Al's Daily Angle: NFL, NCAAF and MLB Previews and Odds - 09/28/2023

The Thursday sports card features NFL, NCAAF, and MLB action.Week 4 of the NFL regular season kicks off with the Detroit Lions traveling to Green Bay to play the Packers on Amazon Prime at 8:15 PM ET. The Lions raised their record to 2-1 with a 20-6 victory at home against Atlanta as a 3-point favorite last Sunday. The Packers improved to 2-1 with their 18-17 upset victory at home against New Orleans as a 1-point underdog on Sunday. Detroit is a 1.5-point road favorite, with the total set at 46 (all odds from DraftKings).The fifth week in NCAAF college football begins with one game on national television between FBS opponents. Two NCAAF games kick off at 7:30 PM ET. Tulsa hosts Temple on ESPN. The Golden Hurricane have a 2-2 record after their 22-14 upset victory at Northern Illinois as a 4-point underdog last Saturday. The Owls fell to 2-2 with a 41-7 loss to Miami (Florida) as a 22.5-point underdog on Saturday. Tulsa is a 3.5-point favorite with an over/under of 55.5. Western Kentucky plays at home against Middle Tennessee on the CBS Sports Network. The Hilltoppers are on a two-game losing streak after their 27-24 loss at Troy as a 3.5-point underdog last Saturday. The Blue Raiders fell to 1-3 this season with their 31-23 upset loss to Colorado State as a 4-point favorite on Saturday. Western Kentucky is a 6.5-point favorite with a total of 60.5.Jacksonville State is at Sam Houston State on ESPNU at 8 PM ET. The Gamecocks raised their record to 3-1 with their 21-0 victory against Eastern Michigan as a 6.5-point favorite last Saturday. The Bearkats are winless in their first three games after their 38-7 loss at Houston as an 11.5-point underdog on Saturday. Jacksonville State is a 6.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 36.5. Major League Baseball has 11 games on its schedule. The Minnesota Twins are at home against the Oakland A’s at 1:10 PM ET as a -265 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Arizona Diamondbacks visit Chicago to play the White Sox at 2:10 PM ET. Two more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 4:10 PM ET. The Milwaukee Brewers host the St. Louis Cardinals as a -180 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Kansas City Royals play in Detroit against the Tigers as a -115 money-line road favorite with a total of 7. The Pittsburgh Pirates are in Philadelphia to play the Phillies at 6:05 PM ET. The Boston Red Sox play in Baltimore against the Orioles at 6:35 PM ET. The Toronto Blue Jays play at home against the New York Yankees at 7:07 PM ET as a -180 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Miami Marlins travel to New York toplay the Mets at 7:10 PM ET as a -135 money-line road favorite with a total of 8. The Chicago Cubs play in Atlanta against the Braves at 7:20 PM ET. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in Colorado to play the Rockies at 8:40 PM ET. The Seattle Mariners are at home against the Texas Rangers at 9:40 PM ET as a -125 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5.

NCAA FB: 4 Winless ATS Teams Who Might Be Underrated Now

I always like to look at perception of teams and gauge when might be the time to sell high or buy low. Today, we’ll take a look at four teams who are winless against the spread so far this year. These are teams that I believe could have value moving forward.  Georgia Bulldogs (0-3-1 ATS) Who would have expected that the number one team in the country would be winless against the spread at this point in the season? Georgia has played a very weak schedule. UT Martin, Ball State, and UAB are all terrible teams. South Carolina is the only pretty good team they have played so far. Georgia screwed around in that game and they were down 14-3 going into the locker room. They flipped the switch in the second half and won. The Bulldogs are just 51st in yards per carry against this weak schedule. They only have five sacks on the season defensively. The Bulldogs stat profile isn’t great. Having said all of this, Georgia is the most talented team in the country. The Bulldogs are going to turn it on at some point.  Michigan Wolverines (0-4 ATS) Here is #2 in the nation! Michigan has typically been a team that crushes weaker opponents. The Wolverines were amazing in the large favorite role in the last six or eight years under Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh missed the first three games due to his suspension. Maybe that bothered the team and threw off the rhythm a bit. Michigan is still a great team, and the Wolverines are now not thought of as highly in the marketplace. The Wolverines are really strong in the trenches, and that should help them win and cover a lot of games in the poor weather games in the Big Ten. I’m not going to adjust Michigan much at all in my power ratings. Harbaugh’s team will get it going against the spread too.  UTSA Roadrunners (0-4 ATS) UTSA is a team I expected to be very good this year. So far this season I’ve been wrong on this bunch. They are winless ATS on the season, but they have a bye week this weekend and the hope is Frank Harris will be back soon. Harris is a star, but he has been hobbled this year, and the backups had to play against Tennessee. UTSA’s schedule gets much softer later this year. The Roadrunners still play UAB, E Carolina, Rice, and USF at home. UTSA still has a much higher talent level than many of the teams they will play against in this conference. I think we’ll have a chance to buy low on UTSA soon.  Troy Trojans (0-4 ATS) Troy was a covering machine last year. Now, they are 0-4 ATS so far this season. Troy doesn’t have an elite defense like they had last year, but they are still very solid on the defensive end. The Trojans offensive line has been abused by strong defensive lines in the non-conference slate. While it will still be a question mark, there are quite a few weaker defensive lines in the Sun Belt on their schedule the rest of the way. 

Alabama Crimson Tide vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/30/2023

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Duke Blue Devils Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/30/2023

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/30/2023

Michigan Wolverines vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/30/2023

Kansas Jayhawks vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/30/2023

Iowa State Cyclones vs Oklahoma Sooners Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/30/2023