Jim Feist Premium Picks

There are many reasons why I think the Tampa Bay Rays will win game 1 against the New York Yankees on Saturday.

First off is Drew Rasmussen pitching for the Rays vs Gerrit Cole. Rasmussen went 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA this past season and has done very well against the New York Yankees with a 1.81 ERA in 11 games against them. Cole is still a formidable pitcher but went 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA since coming back from Tommy John surgery.

The Rays have the home field advantage as well. Tampa Bay was 55-26 at home this season and the New York Yankees only went 2-5 at Tampa Bay. They have also taken 7 out of 13 games against each other this season. This series will most likely be low scoring and know your park could play a factor.

Tampa Bay can play to their strengths as well against New York. With players like Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero and Chandler Simpson they can hit for contact, run the bases and have power. The Rays have been able to wear down teams by not hitting as many home runs. This could be an advantage against Cole if Tampa Bay can get him to throw more pitches.

They also have a great bullpen to finish off games if they can get ahead. Bryan Baker had 41 saves this season and the Rays went 25-14 in one run games. With Rasmussen's success against the Yankees, the Rays being at home and having the advantage in one run games they should be able to take game 1 at home.

Jim's Play: 920. Rays

My one total on Saturday in college football is in this game, as I like to go over Purdue and Illinois on Saturday. I feel that both teams will be able to put up enough points to go over in this big ten matchup.

Illinois has scored 34 points a game this season and Purdue has been putting up 32 a game. They both allow as well Purdue is allowing 39.5 points a game and Illinois is allowing 26.5 points a game. Every game that Illinois and Purdue have played this year has gone over.

Purdue will be able to throw the football this weekend. They average around 320 yards per game passing and Illinois allows 255 yards a game passing. Last week Illinois allowed 518 total yards and 42 points to Ohio State so Purdue will have a chance to gain yards against them.

Illinois will have a chance to score in the 30's as well. Purdue allowed 49 points to Notre Dame last week and Illinois was able to rack up 462 yards of offense against Ohio state. So the Illinois offense has been gaining yards even if the score doesn't show it.

With Purdue being able to throw the ball and Illinois having a weak defense, both teams should be in the 30's or higher.

Jim’s Play: 167. Purdue/Illinois OVER

My play will be on Michigan State +10 vs Wisconsin this early Saturday. Mainly due to turnovers at QB from Wisconsin. Colton Joseph has thrown 5 INT's this season and had 3 of them last week against Penn State. All Michigan State needs is for their D to make a few plays and get the ball in good field position against Wisconsin's lackluster offense.

Michigan State also has history against Wisconsin. Michigan State leads the all time series 31-24, are even 14-14 in Madison and took their last meeting 34-28 in OT. Fitz also knows how to beat Wisconsin from his days at Northwestern and went 5-0 against them while they were ranked.

The only downfall for Michigan State is losing their lead rusher Cam Edwards for the year. But I'm sure Fitz will lean more on Jaziun Patterson and Marvis Parrish. As long as Michigan State can limit turnovers like they did against Nebraska they can hang around till the 4th quarter.

With Wisconsin continuing to throw interceptions Michigan State can stay in this game and maybe come away with a WIN.

Jim’s Play: 165. Michigan State

My pick is SMU minus the three td’s vs Boston College on Saturday. The SMU offense should have plenty of room to operate at home.

The SMU offense has put up an average of 37 points a game and at least 479 yards of total offense each game this season. QB Kevin Jennings has accumulated 1,453 passing yards and 12 TDs so far this year and threw for 464 yards and 3 TD's last week. Boston College has averaged 19.8 points per game so they will struggle to keep up if SMU puts up points in the 30's early on.

The defense can also help out by limiting BC to under 20% on third downs which would be the 2nd best in the country. Boston college hasn't shown to be able to consistently throw the ball. SMU can limit McKenzie from running and keep pressure on BC to throw the ball.

SMU beat Boston College last year by the score of 45-13 and by a score of 38-28 the year prior. They've scored an average of 45.3 points at home the past 23 games played at Ford Stadium.

I think SMU will take control of this game with their pass attack and playing at home against an offense that doesn't put up many points.

Jim’s Play: 172. SMU

Marshall plus the big points is my pick against James Madison on Saturday. I know the Duques are the better team, but almost 3 touchdowns is a lot against a Marshall squad who is 3-1 coming into the game and winning 3 in a row.

One factor that will allow them to hang around is their offense that's coming along nicely. They had 569 combined yards vs Gardner Web in their 36-35 victory last week. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson passed for a career best 386 yards and 3 tds. That should be enough for the Herd to keep up with JMU.

Also the series trend states that the away team has won 4 out of 4 when playing each other since becoming Sun Belt rivals. So Marshall went and won 35-33 at Harrisonburg last year as well as having a 4-2 lead in series history.

Since the Dukes are 4-0 coming out of their win vs Old Dominion with a score of 46-20. Marshall will need to put up some points. With the Thundering Herd being able to put up big play drives and them being a big dog at most betting sites they have a chance to beat the spread.

Jim’s Play: 147. Marshall

I will be backing Colorado plus the big points versus Texas Tech this Saturday. Two touchdowns feels like a lot of room on the road against a Big 12 team.

Texas Tech is coming in 4-0 and currently ranked No. 12. They had some issues on the ball last week versus Sam Houston. Will Hammond had 3 INTs in the first half and they needed two pick sixes from their defense to take care of that game. You can expect those mistakes to cost you more points on the road against a conference team.

Colorado will also play at home for Homecoming this weekend which could give them a little edge as well. Texas Tech has only won one time at Colorado all time. They are 1-4 in Boulder and only won in 2010. They were also out scored 41-27 when these teams met last in 2024.

We got some good signs from Colorado's offense when Isaac Wilson took over last week vs Baylor. He was able to calm the game down and drove his team on a 12 play 95 yard TD drive. He left the game with 156 passing yards and a touchdown. As long as he can keep the ball out of enemy territory I think they have a great chance to stay under this number.

Against a conference team who hasn't been too successful in Boulder that is a nice number to work with.

Jim’s Play: 174. Colorado

I'm feeling good about Kentucky +2.5 vs South Carolina this Saturday. Could see Kentucky winning this game outright as well.

Kentucky is coming in at 3-1 and ranked #24. South Carolina is 2-2 after losing 2 straight to SEC competition. Kentucky has been able to beat teams on the road as well as we saw when they took down #9 Texas A&M this past season.

Running the football could be Kentucky's biggest strength over South Carolina. Last week they had 3 running backs go for 100+ rushing yards. This will allow them to chew up the clock and not let the South Carolina D rest on their sideline.

South Carolina is also without DE Dylan Stewart this weekend due to suspension. He has accumulated 23.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks during his time here at South Carolina. So he will definitely be missed on their front line.

With this game currently being South Carolina by 2.5 I think we can expect Kentucky to cover. They have also gone 3-1 against the spread. South Carolina is only 1-3 ATS so far this year.

As long as Kentucky can run the ball and limit turnovers I think we can expect them to cash this bet and maybe even come away with the win.

Jim’s Play: 127. Kentucky

I'm going to take Louisiana Tech +2.5 over Army on Saturday. After coming in with a bye week Louisiana tech has now gone on to win their last three home games this will be a big help when trying to play against army and their weird option style of football. You need to know what you're doing and tackle properly.

Louisiana Tech has been able to generate pressure on the opposing team as well; they currently lead the nation with 11 tfl per game and are averaging 3.33 sacks. Louisiana Tech has also forced a turnover in their last 6 games as well which can be huge against Army if they can continue to gain negative yards on them.

Army came up with the win over Temple by a score of 21-17 but were outgained by 459-315. They also gave up 217 rushing yards which can show you how beatable this army can be on the ground as well as in the air if you're away from home.

Another reason why im taking Louisiana Tech on Saturday is their receiver Jalen Mickens he has been averaging 99 receiving yards per game which if you can get army to throw the ball a little more and make some big plays as well should keep this close throughout the game.

I like the home dog here on Saturday.

Jim’s Play: 192. LA Tech

I feel good about Eastern Michigan plus the points vs UMass on Saturday. I think the Eagles can hang with them for the entire game.

After their 29-3 win over Lindenwood Eastern comes in hot. They out gained Lindenwood 396-191 with 4 sacks and no TD allowed. They are also one of the teams that don't get penalized as much which can come into play if you're getting more than a FG in what I think will be a close game.

With QB Noah Kim Eastern should be able to compete offensively as well. He’s passed for 968 yards with 6 td's and only 3 INTs. He is leading the MAC in completions per game. As long as he can take care of the football Eastern should be able to move the ball and keep this game close.

Another angle to like this game is the series history. Eastern Michigan has beaten UMass the last 4 times they've met. Last year they beat them 28-14 at Amhurst. They are 2-1 all time at UMass so they shouldn't be scared of going there.

I'm sure you can make a case for UMass being 4-0 but I feel like Eastern is a solid dog play here on Saturday.

Jim's Play: 129. Eastern Mich (MAC Game of the Month)

I think Arizona can cover -6.5 vs Cincinnati on Saturday night. Cincinnati has been running the ball very well this year; they average about 270 yards per game on the ground. Arizona has been able to stop the run averaging only 80 yards allowed per game and 3.1 yards per carry allowed. As you can see Arizona has had success vs the run which Cincinnati depends on. They have also had 15 sacks so far this season if they can continue to pressure Cincinnati qb jc french iv we will see more passing situations for them which will be to their advantage.

Noah Fifita and the Arizona passing attack can also beat them. Noah went off against Washington state with 297 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. Arizona has been averaging over 300 yards passing per game. Cincinnati has allowed about 254 passing yards per game so far this season. Arizona is also averaging 56% on third down conversions which would rank them 6th best in the nation. If Arizona can drive and score on Cincinnati this game will be theirs.

Cincinnati is coming into this game 4-0 however this is their first road game and will be playing an unusual 11 pm Eastern start in Tucson Arizona. Arizona has beaten Cincinnati on the road last season with a score of 30-24. Arizona should be able to handle this game at home.

As long as Arizona doesn't come out slow and turn the ball over like they have the past few games they should be able to make Cincinnati throw the ball. Noah will have plenty of openings against Cincinnati to find separation.

Jim’s Play: 180. Arizona

I think UNLV will be able to beat California this Saturday. They have the better offense as well as matching up better on the ground. Ja’Den Thomas is gaining 5.9 ypc and QB Jackson Arnold can run as well. He had his best game throwing the ball last week throwing for 3 touchdowns.

California will be coming in from a bad game against Clemson. They were only able to gain 231 yards and did not score a touchdown on offense. May also be without their best running back due to injuries.

I think with UNLV at home and beating Akron last week by 38-10. They will be able to run the ball and and find a way to take the game.