EASTERN MICHIGAN @ RUTGERS: Your pick, right here at the CURRENT LINE on 5DIMES of -5.5

So why am I waiting so late to cap this game?

"All the VALUE in the line is GONE! That's awful capping!"

Not for me. I needed to win the Purdue cap and win it convincingly, to convince myself I was on the right track. 41-40 is trash but when you have your specialty teams that you have watched forever, those caps should hit more often. And with Purdue, it did just that. That made this game a green light.

So I am going to cap Rutgers right now. And the line is -5.5. And I'm going to use that line because people who don't have a bet in right now will have access to no other line! And that will be my line too. Because I bet it just now. And I am COMFORTABLE with that! Because I needed to wait and now I must deal with the period I waited, like you.

And I am going Rutgers.

Are you afraid of the 5.5? You shouldn't be. It is JUST like the -5 to -3 the Purdue line danced around. They came out and dominated a competent Ohio team and a similar thing should happen here to an extent. 5.5 is a dead number anyhow so it really is the same as -4 for all intents and purposes, which should make you slightly more comfortable.

Why is Rutgers going to cover?

This is a very big game for Ash and Rutgers. 

They currently are on a 10 game losing streak. That's terrible.

They haven't started 0-2 in 13 years. Who cares about 0-2? Rutgers does. Because after moving to the Big 10 they are getting slaughtered in conference. They had an impossible game to win vs. Washington out of conference again this year, making these next 2 non-conference games MUSTS to have any respectability and make any headway toward an outside shot at a bowl (generating hope against their Big 10 rivals, which psychologically is meaningful in mid-November when teams go to die). And believe me, you'll LOVE 5.5 when you see next weeks line against Morgan State which will make your eyes pop out of your head.

Eastern Michigan is 0-38 all time vs. Big Ten Teams. A loss here will be another black stain on the Ash tenure that he can't let happen (especially in front of alumni).

From a macro-perspective, it's simply a game they can't afford to lose and really one they must walk away with with a convincing win to build any momentum toward the Big 10 schedule.

That's the trap here...that Rutgers rests on its laurels after last weeks gutty performance, even in a loss, and underestimates EMU. Well they won't. Because Rutgers has accomplished nothing under Ash, a mere 2 wins on his resume thus far.

That assures us they won't pull a stunt like they did against Howard last year, going down 14-0 early or going down 21-0 to New Mexico. 

Ash will use those very games as benchmarks to point out exactly what Rutgers should not do this year against an out of conference team.

They won and covered yes. But who is Charlotte? They are a 35 pt dog this week to Kansas State. Really a nothing team. And EMU sputtered on offense at times, getting outrushed and amassing 10 penalties for 70 yards. Many drives stalled and resulted in punts against a far inferior defense This tells me they are still undisciplined, have many kinks to work out and are ripe for the taking here.

If not for Charlotte's three turnovers, this could have been a very different game, a game in which EMU could only put them away late in the third. 

Oh, and EMU run defense is terrible.

An impressive performance IMO by Rutgers, particularly after last year. It was exactly what I wanted. Lose the game, improve in many areas, get Bolin and Grant some very much needed reps and show me offensive and defensive competency. 

I got all that. And that is what sets up this game perfectly.

Rutgers out-rushed Washington (by 47 yards), held a high-powered offense to 250 yards, and had more first downs (2).

So why the larger score differential? Mistakes. 

A punt return by the Huskies for a TD which gave Washington a 10-7 in the second and an INT deep in RU territory which lead to a TD.

This is not uncommon when a bottom feeder plays a national championship contender. RU fought and fought and Washington, like Mayweather, eventually will get the best of you.

But it is very good to make mistakes one week to have them as evidence to correct them the following week.

Overall in terms of respective performances, Rutgers gets a solid B- in a loss while EMU's grade could range anywhere from a B to a C against competition light years beneath the Huskies. 

I can't stress this enough: Rutgers was injured in so many areas last year I can't even list them all here. That lead to the 78-0 thrashings by Michigan and the subsequent mailings by OSU and Penn State.

That is NOT the case this year. That makes this a far different team, especially with Bolin behind center and a star, Grant back in the fold.

Your line, the line you open up the book at and see, is the only one that matters. 

All the fluctuations before that? Meaningless IF you cap the game at YOUR LINE. That is what this OP represents for you. So like it or not at 5.5 and worry about nothing more spread wise. 

And ignore TD's INSANE grab at Rutgers +2.5 on Bookmaker (a line that is so off I imagine the linemakers like Tony Montoya sniffing a mountain of coke off their desk while setting it), because that is HIS line.

Your line is now. And this is my line too. And that is how I evaluated this game. And I expect Rutgers to come out with a similar authority like Purdue did and put this one away in the third. Letting us sit back and not worry about +2.5 on Bookmaker, or -2.5 as the opening line at other sites or the -5.5 now.

The pick:

I'm in for this and Syracuse.....Gonna put more on this one though.

Gotta tell ya, I loved Syracuse too but laid off just because it looked too good. Right? We saw MTSU last week. AWFUL and worse AT HOME. And the line was -9 all week. Seemed very juicy for Cuse backers.

We saw Babers at Bowling Green. If this guy can run up the score he will do so each and every time.

Hard to constantly move your team down the field like that....A chance for the Orange D to keep building off last week , where they looked much improved ....Cupcake opponent last week but you gotta start somewhere.

I don't disagree. And remember Stockstill has only had two games since getting injured early last November so we don't even know if he is the same player.

Keep an eye on the Montana@UW number tomorrow when the big boys release it. 5dimes had UW by 39 earlier in the week. I bet I will get around 28 tomorrow.

UM is dreadful. 7 3andouts against Valparaiso last week. This thing is a sinking ship. Defense leaked like a siv last week as well...

Don't forget that Coach Petersen played at UC Davis when the Griz used to pay them to come up every year and take an asss whipping. That man does not like Montana.

If I get UW at 28 or under, it will be a 4 figure wager. 

And did you watch the first of those two games? The bowl game against Hawaii? Atleast he had an excuse last bowl season. No excuse. Give me the Orangemen from New York in honor of our Potus. They're gonna control the game "on both sides" of the ball.

Scal, also - I wrote back last night about UAB, but moved that conversation from the week 1 thread to my week 2 thread.

Let's cash this 

I'm not a fan of EMU's QB, but you gotta respect the fact he's a 5th year Senior. He has experience.

EMU's defense was good. Lot of returning starters there.

Nice info Scal, best of Luck  

Best of luck today Motowner.....great day to bet!

Scal -Appreciate the write-ups.

Its looking more and more to me that ILLINI might be a fade the whole year.