ASA – American Sports Analysts Handicapper

ASA PLAY ON 10* Over 39.5 Points - LA Rams @ San Francisco, Thursday at 8:25 PM ET

The Rams offense is obviously much improved over last season when they averaged only 14 PPG.  This year they have scored 46 & 20 in their two match ups vs Indy & Washington.  They are averaging over 6 yards per play on the season.  They should be able to put up solid numbers tonight vs a SF defense that finished dead last in the NFL in scoring defense last year allowing 30 PPG.  This year the Niners have allowed 35 points in their first two games which is respectable, but let’s not forget who they’ve played.  Carolina scored 23 points on this defense in the opener and to be honest, the Panther offense looks pretty pedestrian this year.  The came back on put up only 9 points last week vs Buffalo.  SF also looked solid against a Seattle offense that is in disarray having scored only 21 total points this season.  The Rams should fare better than both of those teams vs this defense.  We get the Niner offense has looked bad against Carolina and Seattle.  Again, let’s take the competition into account here.  Seattle will absolutely have one of the top defenses in the NFL this year and Carolina has allowed 6 total points in 2 games.  We’ll get a better gauge on SF’s offense tonight and we think they’ll look much better.  The Rams defense shutdown a terrible Indy offense in week one with Scott Tolzien at QB.  Last week the Skins lit them up pretty good with 27 points which is probably a better indicator of where the Ram defense is (probably middle of the pack type defense).  This number is set too low as we look for both offenses to hit at least 20 tonight.  Take the OVER.

ASA PLAY ON 9* Under the Total - Temple Owls @ South Florida Bulls, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET

We expect a defensive battle in this one. South Florida's weakness last season was defense but new head coach Charlie Strong has brought in a new attitude with this defense and they forced 3 turnovers last week. The Bulls returned 9 starters on defense and though they've had to go through an early season adjustment phase with Strong at the helm, they seem to be turning the corner now entering Game #4. In their first three games, USF has allowed 23 or less points in all 3 games. The Owls have allowed 21 points or less in each of their last two games after getting a "wake up call" right away in Game #1 of this season. Temple's problem is their offense returned just 5 starters and that has played a significant role in them averaging only 20 points per game in their first 3 games this season. The key to the Owls, under new coach Geoff Collins (former DC at Florida), is that the defense is held to a very high standard. Though they got thrashed by Notre Dame in the opener, they've responded by allowing an average of just 17 points per game in their next two. For the players that were with this defense last year, that makes it now 7 of 8 regular season games (dating back to last season of course) where the Owls D has allowed 21 points or less. The average points Temple has allowed in those 7 games is just 9.6 points per game as the Owls allowed a total of only 67 points in those 7 games! Of course the Bulls will be a tough test but the Owls D is up for it and catching South Florida on a short week. The under has cashed in 60% of the time in USF's last 95 conference games. 8 of the Owls last 11 games (73%) against teams with a winning record have resulted in an under. UNDER is the play on Thursday night.

ASA PLAY ON 9* Chicago White Sox Run Line (+1.5 runs) over Houston Astros, Thursday at 8:10 PM ET

This is a nice "plus plus" situation as the White Sox are available at nice payback (+135) on the run line at +1.5 runs. The reason the Astros are such a big favorite, besides being a top team and on a 6-game winning streak, is the fact that Dallas Keuchel is on the mound. However, the Houston southpaw is only 4-4 with a 4.66 ERA in the 10 starts he has made since returning from the disabled list. Also, the left-hander got rocked by the White Sox batters in his only start versus the Pale Hose this season. Chicago will have Carson Fulmer toeing the rubber in this one and he could surprise some folks here. Since struggling in his first ever MLB appearance (in August), Fulmer has had a fantastic September (1.62 ERA) in his 4 appearances including back to back quality starts. This will be Houston's first ever look at Fulmer so that is also an edge for the rookie right-hander. Opponents are hitting just .155 against him this month. The White Sox are 3-2 against the Astros this season and the two losses came by a combined total of only 3 runs. Therein lies the value with the big dog on the run line in this one as we expect them to make it 5-1 (at +1.5 runs) against Houston on the season. Bet the White Sox on the run line in evening action Thursday.