2012 Fiesta Bowl Predictions: Stanford vs. Oklahoma State Odds and Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 12/26/2011

The Cowboys, the champions of the Big 12, were left out of the BCS National Championship Game as voters elected to go with a rematch between LSU-Alabama in the title clash. Oklahoma State was passed over despite the fact that Alabama didn’t win its own division in the SEC, much less a conference title, and the fact that Oklahoma State has performed better against a more difficult schedule this season.

2011 Champs Sports Bowl Predictions: Notre Dame vs. Florida State Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 12/16/2011

The Champs Sports Bowl is overrated. No. 25 Florida State will take on Notre Dame in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29 in the Florida Citrus Bowl and features perhaps the two most overrated programs in college football over the last 10 years.

2011 Poinsettia Bowl Predictions: TCU vs. Louisiana Tech Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 12/16/2011

The Horned Frogs played their final season in the Mountain West this year, winning the conference championship and positioning themselves to once again crash the BCS party and to play in a post-New Year’s bowl game. Instead, they get to take on fledgling Louisiana Tech in a pre-Christmas, mid-week matchup that is about as anticipated as holiday fruitcake.

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 15
by Robert Ferringo - 12/14/2011

With college basketball, college football bowl games, NBA preseason prep work, NHL betting, and an assortment of other holiday season rites of passage, right now is the one of the most frantic, stressful, emotionally draining, and important time on the sports betting calendar.

Weekend College Basketball Betting Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 12/9/2011

Last weekend we were treated to a potential Final Four matchup when North Carolina trekked to Lexington to take on No. 1 Kentucky. The game didn’t disappoint, as the precocious Wildcats held on for a 73-72 win to solidify their position on the top of the college basketball mountain.

2011 NFL Power Rankings - Week 14
by Robert Ferringo - 12/6/2011

Over the final few weeks of the NFL you are going to hear people talk about “must-win games”. Just remember: must-win games are games for teams that weren’t good enough to take care of their business when they should have and are now looking to pull some 11th hour rabbit out of their hat and find their way into the NFL playoffs.

NCAA Tournament Field Predictions and Projections, December 1
by Robert Ferringo - 12/1/2011

If you want a tip on how to handicapping college basketball there are dozens of insights I can give you: always bet against the public in smaller conferences, don’t be afraid of some road favorites, stay away from teams with bad point guards or shaky bench coaches, etc. But one tip that I would give out to a college basketball handicapper is to always keep the big picture in mind.

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 13
by Robert Ferringo - 11/29/2011

I actually liked last week’s straightforward, abbreviated version of our NFL Power Rankings. At this point we have 12 weeks in the books and it should be pretty apparent who’s who and what’s what in the NFL. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it is any easier to beat the NFL odds over the last month of the season.

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 12
by Robert Ferringo - 11/23/2011

Family and feelings are the enemy of good gambling and good writing about gambling. So I apologize for the soggy lead in this week, but I am trapped in Northern New York with my kin and only have a quick moment here in between dodging passive-aggressive barbs from my in-laws and skirting out to refill my cocktail from my depleting liquor supply to pass on this week’s NFL Power Rankings.

College Football Power Rankings: the Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 11/23/2011

The Ferringo 15 college football power rankings is my own twist on the obsessive ranking systems that pervade this sport. The Ferringo 15 is my profit-power rankings; a rating of the 15 teams that hold the most value in college football betting at the moment. It is a reflection of past, present, and projected future achievement against the spread in college football betting.

College Football Power Rankings: the Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 11/16/2011

1. Stanford (9-1) –“He’s cut! The Russian’s cut!” The invincible Stanford money machine suffered its first setback in more than a year’s worth of games (14-1-1 ATS rush), and the question now is how do they bounce back? They are in a letdown spot this week against one of their fiercest rivals, Cal. But I can’t say that the current line (around 18.0) would scare me off the Cardinal.

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 11
by Robert Ferringo - 11/15/2011

The weather is getting colder, the hits are getting harder, and the games are getting more critical as teams ride the elevator of expectations and expanded standings. In my opinion, November is the most crucial of months on the NFL schedule because it really sets the tone for the stretch run: some teams gain momentum and find the will for a strong finish, while other have dirt thrown on their graves and decide to mail it in.

College Football Power Rankings: the Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 11/10/2011

The Ferringo 15 has been exceptional over the past four years at pinpointing undervalued teams according to their college football odds. If you were to have bet every team in the Ferringo 15 the week that they appear in my college football power rankings then you would have hit over 58 percent of your wagers for a four-year period.

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 10
by Robert Ferringo - 11/8/2011

The weather is getting colder, the hits are getting harder, and the games are getting more critical as teams ride the elevator of expectations and expanded standings. In my opinion, November is the most crucial of months on the NFL schedule because it really sets the tone for the stretch run: some teams gain momentum and find the will for a strong finish, while others have dirt thrown on their graves and decide to mail it in.

2011 Pac-12 Basketball Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 11/8/2011

The Pac-12 added two new programs, Colorado and Utah, and no league in the nation will see as many new starters as the boys out West. A scant 26 of 60 returning starters are back this season, which is the smallest percent of returning starters in any BCS conference over the last four years.

2011 College Basketball: Syracuse Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 11/8/2011

North Carolina and Kentucky are enjoying the entire preseason national championship buzz. But, in my opinion, the Orange are barely a notch below the 1a and 1b top teams in the land. Syracuse is a true title contender, and I have a feeling that at some point this year they will find themselves atop the polls.

College Football Power Rankings: the Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 11/2/2011

If you had USC last week I have two things to say to you. First, that was an all-time bad beat. It is never fun to lose a game in college OT, but that one had to be heartbreaking. Second, why the hell are you betting against Stanford?!?!?! That is now a tasty 20-6-1 ATS mark in their last 27 games and a 13-0-1 ATS rush dating back to last year. They will need to avoid the letdown (from USC) and look ahead (to Oregon) spots this weekend. But as good of a spot as this is for Oregon State, how do you bet against the Cardinal this week? Or as long as Andrew Luck is under center?

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 9
by Robert Ferringo - 11/1/2011

The season is halfway in the bag and things are starting to get intense. However, one of the best suggestions that I can give to anyone looking to make money betting on the NFL in the second half is that you need to ignore a team’s record when breaking down games in November and December.

College Football Power Rankings: the Ferringo 15
by Robert Ferringo - 10/26/2011

1. Stanford (7-0) – I suppose I’m the idiot for not having Stanford as the Top Dog in the F-15 all season long. I mean, all they have done is go 19-6-1 ATS in their last 26 games and put together a sensational 12-0-1 ATS rush dating back to last year. Stanford has won and covered in three of four against the Trojans, including last year’s 37-35 home win in which the Trojans took the cash as 10-point dogs. I know this: beating Notre Dame is a lot easier than beating Stanford, so I don’t know if I’m buying into USC against this buzz saw simply based on last week’s performance.

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 8
by Robert Ferringo - 10/25/2011

We are reaching “The Turn” in the season, and at this point it should be pretty clear what role each team in the NFL is playing. However, that doesn’t mean that someone off to a hot start (Detroit, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Buffalo) isn’t headed for a precipitous fall, and it doesn’t mean that someone left for dead (Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Kansas City) isn’t capable of putting together a savage second-half rush.