Baseball may be the ultimate numbers game in pro sports, but now that football has arrived, it’s time for Stat Check to expand to the gridiron. Our weekly dose of 10 sports gambling stats and factoids will take a tour of the hottest matchups in both the NFL and college football, as well as the drive to the MLB playoffs. All times are Eastern; you’ll find the latest lines right here at Bodog Sports.
NFL
1. Cincinnati at New England (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., CBS)
The Bengals are 11-5 against the NFL odds in their last 16 September games. Injuries have taken their toll on Cincinnati in recent years; they’ve already lost starting FB Fui Vakapuna (shoulder) to injured reserve, but are otherwise in good shape for the moment.
2. Green Bay at Philadelphia (Sunday, 4:15 p.m., FOX)
Right guard Josh Sitton was the only Packers offensive lineman to start all 16 games at the same position last year. Green Bay allowed 51 sacks, the most in the NFL, but the O-line was also ranked eighth overall in run blocking efficiency.
3. Dallas at Washington (Sunday, 8:20 p.m., NBC)
At the 2010 NFL Combine, Cowboys WR Dez Bryant posted a 38-inch vertical leap and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds. Bryant is 6-foot-2 and 224 pounds. He’ll look very fashionable wearing No. 88 (Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin) for Dallas.
NCAAF
4. Miami (Florida) at Ohio State (Saturday, 3:40 p.m., ESPN)
After a small sample size of one game, the Buckeyes rank seventh in the FBS in Game Efficiency. The Hurricanes aren’t on the list yet, since their season opener was against the Florida A&M Rattlers of the FCS. The ‘Canes won 45-0.
5. Penn State at Alabama (Saturday, 7:00 p.m., ESPN)
At age 83, Joe Paterno is entering his 45th season as Penn State’s head coach and 61st season on the staff. That’s 682 games in total.
6. Stanford at UCLA (Saturday, 10:30 p.m., ESPN)
The UNDER is 7-1 in the last eight annual meetings between these California rivals. They’ve split the cash at 4-4 ATS apiece. The UNDER is also 20-7 in UCLA’s last 27 home games overall.
MLB
7. Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets (Saturday, 4:10 p.m., FOX)
Phillies northpaw Kyle Kendrick (4.89 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) managed just four quality starts in his last 10 outings. He completed seven innings only once during that span. The Phillies went 5-5 and dropped 0.45 units.
8. Arizona at Colorado (Saturday, 8:10 p.m., MLBN)
Coors Field is back in its traditional spot at the top of the MLB Park Factors chart, providing 1.403 times as many runs as the average ballpark. The OVER is 36-31 in Denver at press time.
9. N.Y. Yankees at Texas (Sunday, 3:05 p.m., TBS)
Reliever Dustin Moseley (4.83 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) is getting the spot start for the Yankees, who are skipping over Phil Hughes to keep his innings count low. The Yankees have won five of Moseley’s seven starts for 1.67 units in earnings.
10. St. Louis at Atlanta (Sunday, 8:05 p.m., ESPN)
The OVER is 8-3 for the Cardinals in their last 11 road games against a right-handed starter. Atlanta is projected to send righty Tim Hudson (2.41 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) to the mound for Sunday Night Baseball.
