Since its Thanksgiving weekend here in the US there will be plenty of sports action for everyone not stupid enough fortunate enough not to be out shopping.  Personally, I’ve never understood the ‘Black Friday’ concept which is why I’ve spent most of my Thanksgivings at a casino, sportsbook, the track or a strip club.  Are there actually people in America so devoid of worthwhile things to do in their lives that they’re willing to *stand in line* waiting for a Wal Mart to open at midnight just so they can save $100 on a TV?  Apparently so, which is a sad statement on our society.  Now, I’m not one of these ‘anti-consumerist’ types and I realize that many people are just sick of their families and bored and want to get out and do *something* but why not do something worthwhile?  Even if Wal Mart sells out of their promo TVs there will be plenty of deals to be found later if that’s what you’re into.  An important component of happiness in life is to avoid meaningless activities that cause stress.  Avoiding a 1979 Cincinnati Who concert scenario at Wal Mart sure ranks on my list of stress inducing activities that can easily be avoided.

A better use of your time is to pour yourself a glass of single malt scotch, light up a cigar and enjoy a day of sports wagering.  I’ll be back on Friday morning with some more plays but for now lets look at college football:

NEVADA AT BOISE STATE

America’s favorite blue turf team welcomes the Nevada Wolfback to the ‘Smurf Turf’ for a Friday night game.  If you haven’t noticed, Boise State’s Chris Petersen is a hell of a good coach and not only has his team winning games week after week but covering pointspreads.  Consider his ATS records in light of the fact that the Broncos are almost always sizable favorites no matter where and whom they play, particularly in the WAC:  Boise State is 8-2 ATS this year, which is downright ungodly since they’ve been the recipient of BCS hype ever since their opening win over Oregon.  On Boise’s ‘Smurf Turf’ they’re even better with a a 4-0 ATS record this year and a 10-4 mark the last three years.  They also do well as pointspread favorites as they’ve been favored in every game this season and have a 20-9 ATS mark laying points over the past three years.  They’re 5-1 ATS in the WAC this year, and 15-5 L3 years.

Nevada’s not a bad team, but they’re running into a much better Broncos’ squad that is still in the running for a BCS bowl.  They likely won’t get it, since they’ll get screwed like small market teams in the Mountain Time Zone always do but you can be sure it won’t be from lack of effort.  They’ve dominated the head to head series with Nevada, winning 9 of the L10 meetings and covering 8.  On their blue home turf, they’ve won five straight with a 4-1 ATS mark.  Nevada’s best spot is against teams like Fresno State and New Mexico State where they can use their powerful running game to wear down overmatched opponents.  They’re not very good on the road either, with only a 7-11 ATS mark the last three years.  They’re running into a much more talented and multidimensional team here, and don’t have the personnel to trade points with the Broncos.  This one should be a fairly one sided affair with Boise winning and easily covering the spread.  Shop this around as there are books offering -13′ and -14 and the -13′ is much more desirable due to -14′s significance as a ‘key number’.

PLAY BOISE STATE -13′ OVER NEVADA