Yes, NFL training camps just opened and the colleges aren’t far behind. And neither are we, with two win-total future bets that scream early value. And after we nailed Brian Harman at +11000 winning the Open Championship (virtually patting ourselves on the back), we’re back on the course with one of his closest pursuers.
5 Bets to Make this Week
- Sepp Straka +2800 to win 3M Open
- England-Denmark Women’s World Cup Under 2.5 goals
- Martin Truex +450 to win Cook Out 400
- LA Rams +105 Over 6.5 wins
- Auburn +135 Over 7 wins
We’re also riding shotgun with one of the hottest NASCAR drivers. And we’re parking the bus with two Women’s World Cup contenders in this week’s Five Bets.
Go Double S in 3M
His name sounds like he should be commanding a Panzer division blitzkrieging into France. Instead, Sepp Straka has commanded attention the last two weeks, blitzkrieging the John Deere (with a final-round 62), then going T2 at the Open Championship.
Outside of the uncatchable Harman, few finished stronger than Straka, whose 2-under 69 in the downpour at Royal Liverpool was among Sunday’s best rounds. This is a trend for the Austrian, who is 11th in final round scoring, along with 15th in strokes gained: approach.
While he isn’t one of the prototypical bashers that wins this event (see Finau, Tony; Champ, Cameron and Wolff, Matthew), Straka’s hot putter, flashy iron play and sizzling form (more than $2.4 million banked the last two weeks) commands our attention.
Prediction: Sepp Straka to win 3M Open (+2800 on BetMGM)
Watch: Thursday-Sunday, various times Golf Channel, CBS, fubo TV
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England, Denmark Park the Buses
Through the first 15 games of this year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, matters are Down Under in more ways than one. The Unders are 12-2-1 as bus-parking and trench war soccer has become the great equalizer for the tournament minnows trying to keep themselves in games.
You need no more proof than the openers of this group. China fell 1-0 to Denmark and Haiti lost 1-0 to England. So, what do you expect the two sharks of this group to do with each other? More—or less—of the same. England’s last three matches all finished Under-2.5. And seven of the Danes’ last eight matches finished Under-2.5. Oh, and while Denmark won three of its last four games by that 1-0 score, England hasn’t scored from open play in more than four hours. Scoring is deader than Macbeth and Hamlet. Godspeed on staying awake for this one, regardless of what time zone you’re in.
Prediction: Under 2.5 goals (-152 at BetRivers)
Watch: Friday, 4:30 a.m. ET, Fox Sports 1 or fubo TV
Truex Cooking With Gas
It’s Martin Truex Jr. at Richmond Raceway in the Cook Out 400. We could stop right there, because this is one of those horses-for-courses situations in NASCAR that hits you with the thud of odds falling—Wile E. Coyote style—off a cliff.
Which happened from the spring race at Richmond, when Truex was +1100. Thanks to the fact Truex has three wins at Richmond since 2019, eight top-5s in his last 10 races there, and finished first or second four times in his last eight, you won’t see odds half that for Sunday’s race.
Now, let’s add that Truex has Top-5 finishes in six of his last eight races, meaning you get sizzling form along with Truex’s fantastic function at Richmond.
Prediction: Martin Truex Jr. (+450 at Unibet)
Watch: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, USA Network, fubo TV
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Rams Horn Their Way Back to Respectability
OK, we’re not planning another Super Bowl parade in Los Angeles. And speaking of Wile E. Coyote, these guys fell off a cliff last year, due to injuries up and down their roster. You don’t go from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy to winning five games unless you’re: 1. Neolithically incompetent; 2. Stupendously unlucky, or 3. Seriously ravaged.
The Los Angeles Rams found themselves in Camp 3. They lost quarterback Matthew Stafford, ace receiver Cooper Kupp, EIGHT members of their offensive line, along with seven defensive backs and three linebackers. This year, they get a third-place schedule and much of that carnage relegated to 2022. We see Sean McVay wear his Boy Genius shirts again.
Prediction: Over 6.5 wins (+105 at Caesars)
Freeze Brings Warming Trend to Auburn
Say what you will about Hugh Freeze’s character, but when he arrives, teams catch fire. He’s turned around Arkansas State Red Wolves, Ole Miss Rebels, and Liberty Flames, which made it easy for the Auburn Tigers to jettison Bryan Harsin and his back-to-back losing seasons, swallow whatever moral qualms it had and bring Freeze back to the SEC. To this arms race, Freeze brings new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery and Michigan State Spartans transfer Payton Thorne to run Montgomery’s offense. Auburn leads all SEC teams in Transfer Portal Assets and Returning Production. But it’s a schedule featuring New Mexico State Aggies, Vanderbilt Commodores, Samford Bulldogs, Cal Bears, and UMass Minutemen that makes this a virtual gimme. Steal two wins against Arkansas Razorbacks, Mississippi, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies and you’re headed to the window.
Prediction: Auburn Over 7 wins (+135 at BetRivers)
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