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The smell of revenge will be thick in the Reno air Friday night as the Missouri Tigers come to town to take on Nevada. The Wolf Pack will be hoping to avenge a humiliating 69-17 loss in Columbia last year.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Missouri (3-0 straight up, 1-1 against the spread) as a 7 ½-point favorite. As of Wednesday afternoon, most books had the Tigers favored by either seven or 7 ½. A few books had the total at 59, while bettors can expect to see Nevada (0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS) at plus-240 on the money line (risk $100 to win $240).

“We opened at 7 ½ and went up to eight because 99 percent of our action has been on Missouri,” betED.com Sportsbook Manager Randy Scott told VegasInsider.com. “But after a market move, we also lowered the number to minus seven. We actually like Nevada’s chances at home in this one, so we’ll let the action continue at Missouri minus seven.”

Chris Ault’s team came into the year with expectations galore thanks to the return of junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Year when he rushed for 17 touchdowns and threw for 22 more last season. However, Ault’s “Pistol Offense” and Kaepernick’s effectiveness has been slowed considerably in a pair of season-opening losses.

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For gamblers that attended the VI Handicapping Seminar and paid close attention to what our WAC guru James Manos had to say, this should come as no surprise. Manos went to great lengths to explain why he thought the Pistol attack might come crashing down in 2009.

“I don’t know if Nevada head coach Chris Ault has been very smart this off-season,” Manos said. “He’s been making the rounds at coaching clinics explaining his offense to other coaches. Defensive coordinators also have more film to study and they are starting to figure out how to attack the Pistol offense.”

Notre Dame certainly had the Wolf Pack’s style figured out when it dealt out cream-cheese treatment in Week 1. The Irish gave Nevada a bagel in a 35-0 win as a 14-point home ‘chalk.’

After an open date, Nevada went to Ft. Collins and lost 35-20 to Colorado St. as a 3 ½-point road favorite. The Wolf Pack, which was still scoreless when it trailed the Rams 14-0 at intermission, couldn’t overcome five costly turnovers.

Nevada finally scored its first points of the year when Vai Taua, the WAC’s leading rusher in 2008, found paydirt on a 31-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Trailing 35-6, Taua scored again in the final stanza on a two-yard TD run.

Taua’s running production hasn't been the issue, as he’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry (32 carries, 209 rushing yards). The problem has been Kaepernick, who had an outstanding 22/7 touchdown-interception ratio in ’08. This year he has been intercepted four times already and has just one TD pass at garbage time in the loss at CSU.

“Handicappers have to make adjustments in September because some teams don’t live up their preseason billing, while others are pleasant surprises,” VI handicapper Christian Alexander explained. “Missouri and Nevada are perfect examples as I had this game circled a few months ago, thinking the Wolf Pack’s high-powered offense could outpace a Tigers team reeling from personnel losses to the NFL. Now? Nevada is only averaging 10 points per game and Mizzou is off to a flying 3-0 start. Go figure…and watch out Wolf Pack.”

Gary Pinkel’s team was certainly dismissed by nearly every preseason publication following the departures of standout players like Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman and William Moore. But the Tigers look like legit Big 12 contenders through three games.

Missouri continued its dominance against Illinois in its season opener, spanking the Illini by a 37-9 count as a seven-point underdog. The Tigers hooked up money-line backers with a tasty plus-240 payout in that spot.

Next, Pinkel’s bunch had somewhat of a letdown, needing to rally past Bowling Green for a 27-20 home win. The Tigers failed to cover the number as 18-point home favorites against the Falcons. Last week they disposed of Furman early and often in a 52-12 victory in a non-lined matchup.

Daniel’s replacement Blaine Gabbert has been nothing short of sensational. The true sophomore has completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 748 yards with an eye-opening 8/0 touchdown-interception ratio. A pair of senior wide receivers, Jared Perry and Danario Alexander, have stepped in nicely for Maclin and Tommy Saunders, who had 72 receptions in ’08.

Perry has 17 catches for 309 yards and four TDs. That’s good for an average of 18.2 yards per reception. Alexander has 20 grabs for 234 yards and a pair of TDs.

With both teams playing on a short week of preparation, the visiting team is usually at a disadvantage since it has to travel. However, Pinkel has refuted any such notion this week.

He told Power Mizzou.com, “I don't think it's a headache. It's kind of like Monday Night Football. It's the only game in town. Only game in the country."

ESPN will provide television coverage at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Friday night.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--Missouri owns a 7-0-1 SU record against WAC foes.

--Missouri is tied with Auburn at No. 30 in this week’s LVSC rankings.

--Missouri has won 25 of its 31 games outright since the start of the 2007 campaign.

--As a road favorite under Pinkel, the Tigers are 7-10-1 ATS. However, they are 5-1 ATS in their last six such situations.

--Colorado St. is 3-0 for the first time in 15 years.

--Penn St. stud linebacker Sean Lee is “out” Saturday vs. Iowa with a sprained knee.

--Just like USC fell into a classic letdown spot when it played at Washington a week removed from winning in comeback fashion at Ohio St., the Huskies find themselves in the same scenario Saturday at Stanford. Steve Sarkisian’s team was a healthy eight-point underdog as of Friday.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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