By Brian Edwards
Posted 10/16/2008 at 03:01 PM

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Week 8 kicks off tonight with N.C. St. playing host to FSU in Raleigh. The Wolfpack have dominated this ACC rivalry recently, posting a 6-1 ATS record in the last seven head-to-head meetings. The 'Noles went into N.C. St. in 2006 with a very similar scenario. They were 9 1/2-point favorites that night (-11 tonight) when N.C. St. won 24-20. If FSU wants to be factor in the wide-open ACC race this year, it can't afford a loss in this spot.

Enough about the semmies, let's get to some SEC Nuggets...

--LSU has a 15-2-1 record in the all-time series against South Carolina.

--Steve Spurrier’s career record in SEC games is 100-29.

--South Carolina is just 4-6 ATS as a home underdog during Spurrier’s four-year tenure.

--Alabama is 1-4 ATS as a double-digit favorite under Nick Saban.

--Teams coached by Houston Nutt are 10-2 ATS the last 12 times they’ve played the role of double-digit underdogs.

--Vandy owns a 15-4 spread record as a road underdog since 2004.

--Auburn linebacker Tray Blackmon is out for the season with a cracked bone in his wrist.

I'll continue to add nuggets to this blog entry as I uncover them while handicapping over the next few hours, so check back later if you wish. And by all means, tune into tonight's edition of the Power Hours. Guests will include Mark Franco, Christian Alexander and another guest still to be determined.

Last but not least, let me update you on some picks and streaks I have going handicapping-wise. I'm numero uno on Vegas Insider in college football guaranteed picks with a play pending for N.C. St.-FSU.

Also, I'm on a 4-1 (+372) run in baseball this week, cashing a big underdog ticket on Tampa Bay in Game 4. I've got tonight's side and total in my MLB pick pack. Finally, I went 3-1 in the NFL in Week 6 to improve to 18-12 (60%, +490). Don't miss out on my NFL pick pack for Week 7.