Free Play from Doc’s Sports. #104 Take East Carolina over Tulsa (Sunday 2 pm ESPN 2) A new era for the Pirates starts on Sunday, as Ruffin McNeil takes over as the new head coach of East Carolina. Former Coach Skip Holtz left and took with him much of the talent from last year’s 9-5 team. That being said, I just do not believe that the Golden Hurricanes are good enough to be able to cover this number on the road. East Carolina won at Tulsa this year by a score of 44-17, as a four point underdog. WR Dwayne Harris is still on the team and I expect him to go over 1000 yards receiving on the year. The Golden Hurricanes return only five starters on defense and I expect this to be a high scoring game with the underdog covering easily. East Carolina is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Conference USA games. Don’t miss Doc’s Sports weekend card, featuring a top play from the Big Ten, a conference Doc has owned for 39 years.

10 Unit Play. #100 Take Fresno State Bulldogs over Cincinnati Bearcats (Saturday 10 pm ESPN 2) After a very successful season in Cincinnati, Coach Brian Kelly packed his bags and moved west to lead the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. His well-liked, no nonsense approach will be missed; however, this team lost much more than just their head coach. Also gone are QB Tony Pike, WR Mardy Gilyard, and six starters on defense. It will take some time for the defenses to improve and going to Fresno under this scenario is not an idle situation. Fresno State returns 15 starters and is always a solid play under Coach Pat Hill as a dog or a small favorite. The Bulldogs have won 10 of their last 11 home openers. These two teams met last year in Cincinnati and it was a close game with the Bearcats winning, 28-20. That was a tough spot for Fresno State since they were coming off a home loss to Boise State the week prior. Look for both teams to have outstanding seasons but feel the Bearcats defense will not be ready for the powerful Fresno offense. Coach Pat Hill had to take a pay cut this season and that will motivate him and his team to make a major statement in the home opener. The last five games of the 2009 season the Bearcats defense gave up 45, 21, 36, 44, and 51 points. Expect another high scoring game with the homer getting the call. FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS 38, CINCINATTI BEARCATS 28.

4 Unit Play. #87 Take Memphis over Mississippi State (Saturday 7 pm ESPN U) This will mark the debut of Coach Larry Porter, the former LSU assistant head coach. He does not inherit a lot of talent with the Tigers, but he is a Memphis graduate and expect him to build up this program. The Tigers will be playing a Bulldog team that will open SEC play next Thursday, September 9th and thus will only have four days of rest. No question that the Bulldogs have a big talent edge; however, the Tigers have a strong offensive line and expect the clock to be running most of the time. Preventing injuries will likely be a concern for Coach Dan Mullen with a big conference game against Auburn on deck. These type of situations often produce upsets and it is possibly that could be the case here, but it is unlikely. We do look for Memphis to hang around for sixty minutes and stay well below the number.

10 Unit Play. #93 Take Northwestern Wildcats over Vanderbilt Commodores (Saturday 7:30 ESPN 3) Coach Bobby Johnson jumped ship in early July and this leads me to believe that the handwriting is on the wall. This is certainly not the case at Northwestern where Coach Pat Fitzgerald returns for his fifth year. He has his players and coaches believing that winning is going to be a reality for 2010. The Wildcats return 13 starters and this unit won road games in 2009 at Purdue, Illinois, and Iowa. They did lose QB Mike Kafka to graduation but that will not be a significant of a loss as most people think. QB Dan Persa challenged Kafka for the starting job in 2009 and this kid can play. I expect the Commodores to really struggle running the football with an inexperienced offensive line. Northwestern has a chance to be 6-0 this season before they host Michigan State on Oct. 23rd. I will not be selling them short as this is the most talent Coach Fitzgerald has had since he took over as head coach. I am not a fan of laying points on the road, but I have to make an exception here. Northwestern is 5-0 ATS in their last five road games. Vanderbilt is 0-5 ATS in their last five home games. The trend continues here. NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS 31, VANDERBILT COMMODORES 14

4 Unit Play. #2 Take Northern Illinois over Iowa State (Thursday 8 pm FSN) This game features the MAC's best defense versus the Big 12's worst offense according to '09 stats. Most of the starters from their respective units return for 2010. Look for the Cyclones to save their best game for next week’s Iowa game. The Huskies return 15 starters from last season and that includes 8 on defense. This team allowed just 330 total yards per game and expect them to be able to control the Cyclones offense. The Huskies are 5-1 ATS in their last six September games. Take the points in this opener for both teams. NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES 27, IOWA STATE CYCLONES 20