Fargo’s **10** CFB THURSDAY **GAME OF THE MONTH**
I have waited to watch the line moves on this game and we have some interesting movement. The game opened as Auburn being a 2.5 to 3-point favorite which was far from surprising. The Tigers are the higher profile team and the team that will be most bet on which is certainly the case in this matchup as 78 percent of the 12,000+ wagers have been placed on Auburn. Yet, the line has come down to -1.5 and this reverse line move shows the home team is worth a huge look. Both teams are coming off relatively easy wins last week as Auburn took care of Arkansas St. while Mississippi St. slammed Memphis. Auburn’s offense continued to shine under second-year offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, rolling up 608 yards of offense against Arkansas St. It marked the fifth time in 14 games under Malzahn that Auburn totaled at least 500 yards of offense. The Tigers will now face a defense that was average last season but is hugely improved and much more aggressive this year. Stopping the run will be important for the Bulldogs which was something they could not do in 2009 allowing 146 ypg on 4.0 ypc. The defensive line is vastly improved despite being young because there is experience and as far as unit rankings go, Mississippi St.’s defensive line is in the top 20 in the country and top three in the SEC. The Bulldogs allowed just 41 yards on 2.0 ypc last week against Memphis and stopping the run will put a lot of pressure on quarterback Cam Newton in his first ever road start. Speaking of Newton, there is an edge for the Bulldogs that has gone unnoticed. We cannot forget that Mississippi St. head coach Dan Mullen was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Florida for four years and he was there when Newton was in Florida for a season before transferring to a junior college. Mullen recruited Newton twice, once at Florida, and then again out of junior college when he took the Mississippi St. job. It is safe to say he will know how to prepare his team for Newton. Some will note that Auburn is 16-1 in its last 17 conference openers but that means little when you consider the Tigers had their 14-game winning streak in SEC openers snapped in 2007 by Mississippi St. There is also some revenge in place for the Bulldogs which were hammered pretty good last year by 25 points in the SEC opener as well. The Bulldogs are well aware that they have scored a total of two points the last two meetings in Starkville and this much improved offense will be out for redemption. Auburn is 1-6 ATS in their last seven road games against home teams with a winning record and 3-15 ATS in their last 18 games coming off a game where they tallied more than 450 total yards of offense while Mississippi St. is 4-1 ATS in the same scenario. The Bulldogs also fall into a solid underdog situation. Play on home underdogs coming off a win by 40 or more points going up against a team coming off a win by scoring 36 or more points. This situation is 26-7 ATS (78.8 percent). 10* Mississippi St. Bulldogs

Fargo’s **10** NFL THURSDAY MINN/NO *ANNIHILATOR*
We really could not ask for much better of a matchup than we have for the opening game Thursday night. The Vikings head back to New Orleans for a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship game looking for some revenge after losing to the Saints in overtime. It was a game the Vikings should have won as they outgained New Orleans by 218 total yards but turnovers ended up being the difference. Minnesota lost the turnover battle 5-1 and no team can win with that negative disparity. A lot of the concern here is how Brett Favre is going to perform. He missed a lot of training camp as well as not playing much in the preseason games so he could come out rusty. When he did play however he was pretty solid and a veteran such as him, who has been in this system for a year, will not have problems. Favre had a decent game against the Saints last season but he was pressured constantly and ended up throwing two picks. Minnesota will have adjustments made this time around. The Saints offense is one of the best around and it showed that many times last season but the Vikings defense is no slouch. They held the Saints to only 257 total yards in the NFC Championship which was the second lowest output for New Orleans all season with the lowest being the final regular season game against Carolina where none of the starters saw action. Minnesota allowed more than 300 total yards only seven times all of last season including just three times in the final 10 games. The hype for this game is huge in New Orleans with all of the festivities surrounding last year’s Super Bowl title. The Saints will be receiving their rings on Thursday and that is one angle that I love to play. In the NBA, playing against the World Champions in their first couple week has been a huge moneymaker. In the NFL, it has not been the same but we saw it last year with the Steelers who won their opener but failed to cover the number against the Titans. The Saints closed last season by going 5-9 ATS after a 6-0 ATS start to the linesmakers eventually caught up while the public lost a bundle. There will be no soft numbers on New Orleans this season as we will see some inflated points spreads throughout the season. We are seeing the value in this line as Minnesota is getting an additional point more than it was in the NFC Championship and even though it is just a single point difference, it is still considered value. This line can only go up more from here. 10* Minnesota Vikings

Fargo’s **10** MLB DIVISIONAL **GAME OF THE YEAR**
This is the start of an enormous series between the Giants and Padres. With San Diego winning last night and San Francisco going down, the Padres increased their lead to two games in the National League West. While important for both sides, it is bigger for San Diego as the majority of its remaining games after this are on the road and all 13 of those away games against teams with winning records and still in the playoff hunt. This includes three games against the Giants to end the season. San Francisco has made this a divisional race again as it was able to make up ground during San Diego’s 10-game losing streak. The Giants are 4-2 during this roadtrip to move to a game over .500 on the road for the season and this is not the best place to keep that urn going. San Diego is 4-1 at home in the season series and overall, the Padres are 9-2 in the 11 meetings this year. The offense is hurting right now as San Francisco is hitting a mere .209 over its last 10 games while scoring three runs or less six times. The pitching matchup looks even on paper but the edge goes to the home team. Jon Garland gets the opening night call for San Diego. He started the season on fire but slipped in June and July before coming back strong over his last eight starts where he has posted a 2.57 ERA with six of those starts being quality outings. In those eight games, he has not allowed more than three runs in any of them. He has a 2.68 ERA compared to 4.04 on the road and against the Giants in his career he is 3-0 with a 2.15 ERA covering four starts. San Francisco counters with Matt Cain and he has been a tough luck pitcher on the road for years. That is the case again this season. He has pitched well away from home as he has a 3.69 ERA in 14 road starts but he is 3-7 with the Giants going 5-9 in those games. In contrast, he is 7-3 and San Francisco is 10-4 in 14 home outings. Run support is the main issue as the Giants are averaging a mere 2.9 rpg in his road starts. They are 0-3 in three games against the Padres with Cain on the hill this season. San Francisco is 5-23 in Cain’s last 28 road starts against teams with a winning record. Play on home teams with the moneyline between +125 and -125 with a starting pitcher whose ERA is less than 3.00 over his last 10 games and with a bullpen whose ERA is less than 3.00 over the last 15 games. This situation is 37-15 (71.2 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* San Diego Padres