My best bet for WEdnesday is on the LA Dodgers on the road in San Diego against the Padres. The Dodgers are sending righty Chad Billingsley (11-8, 3.54 ERA) to the mound at Petco Park in San Diego and they’ll get the final game of this series and bang out some runs against rookie lefty Cory Luebke (0-1, 7.20 ERA) in just his second career big-league start. Billingsley looked great on Friday against the Giants, allowing two unearned runs over eight innings of a 4-2 victory. He’s looked very good in his last nine starts against the Padres, allowing three runs or less in all nine and leading the Dodgers to wins in seven of the nine. Last time Billingsley pitched in San Diego was July 27 when he shut them out over six innings of a 2-0 win. In fact, he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 13.1 innings in San Diego.

Luebke made his debut on Friday against the Rockies and allowed four runs on two two-run homers over five innings of a 4-3 loss. He was tearing it up for Portland in Triple-A, blanking his final two opponents before getting the call up to San Diego. The Dodgers are on streaks of 23-11 when Billingsley starts the third game of a series, 8-3 when he faces division foes and 7-3 when he gets four days off. We all know the Padres were struggling to get anything right during their 10-game losing streak and they are just 2-7 against N.L. West teams. Billingsley is 4-1 in his last five trips to San Diego and I’m banking on him improving on that record tonight. 5*

Arizona has been playing solid ball over its last 14 games. After getting shutout in extra innings on Monday, look for the Diamondback bats to get back on track tonight.

Arizona is throwing Enright on the mound tonight who is 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA in nine starts since a loss to Florida on July 11. Enright's last three starts have seen him outpitch Lincecum, Jimenez and San Diego's Mat Latos, one of the top young arms in baseball.

Tonight he's also facing a San Francisco club that has won five of six despite a .181 batting average during that span. SF plays just .500 baseball on the road and struggles against the NL West division. I think we'll steal a win tonight with Arizona at home as a small underdog.

Tough scheduling spot for Boise St as they must travel across the country to play Virginia Tech in Landover, MD. The Hokies are a top-10 team and will have a major edge playing this game so close to home and on grass. VTech as a great backfield and huge talented offensive line.

Virginia Tech returns all of their playmakers on offense and has won 11 of their last 14 season openers. Virginia Tech is always good on defense led by Bud Foster, who has been an assistant coach with the team since 1987. The last five games Virginia Tech played in 2009, they allowed just 11.8 points per game with their swarming speed and size. Boise will pull out a few trick plays, but it wont be enough on the road as Virginia Tech gets a 10 point win here on Monday night= 31-21.

Texas' 10-game road trip has turned sour after a positive start, and a visit to Toronto could make it hard for the Rangers to get back on track. The AL West-leading Rangers look to avoid a fourth consecutive loss overall and sixth straight to the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon.

Texas just got swept in a three-game set against AL Central-leading Minnesota over the weekend and now face Toronto without Josh Hamilton is their lineup. Texas is already down batting just .214 and been outscored 41-22 while going 1-5 against the Blue Jays this season. Swept at Toronto in May, Texas has lost five in a row and 10 of 13 at Rogers Centre.

Ricky Romero (11-8, 3.60 ERA) has allowed two runs and struck out 22 over 22 1-3 innings while going 1-1 in three starts versus Texas. He improved to 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA in two starts this season after matching a career high with 12 strikeouts during a five-hit, 6-0 home win over Texas on May 15. Romero is very good in day starts and I love Toronto at home in this spot Monday afternoon.

It’s not that the Boston Red Sox are throwing in the towel or anything, but they aren’t kidding themselves about their situation either. They sit 7 ½ games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card. The team they are putting on the field looks like a Triple-A aquad and John Beckett is not himself this year. Boston lost their double header yesterday by identical 3-1 scores.

Boston is 3-4 in its last seven games. They face Chicago’s Mark Buehrle, who has allowed more than four runs only once in his last six starts. Lets play the WhiteSox as our best bet of the day.

The departure of Brian Kelly to ND lef the Cincy Bearcats angry. Look for Fresno in their home opener to come out of the chute early. I am expecting big things from the Bulldogs this year as they feature 8 returning offesenive starters feature an experienced QB and offensive line. Cicny lost 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. 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 Fresno getting the job done on Saturday night!

Michigan and Rich Rodriguez is a veteran coach who was 2-0 against UConn when with W. Virginia. Michigan has major edges on offense and special teams and at quarterback. This is an outstanding spot for the Wolverines to rebound from a disappointing year last season. The UConn Huskies have suffered some key defensive injury losses in training camp. The Michigan Stadium has been extended to 110,000 capacity. I Love 3rd year coaches who have had time to implement their players, schemes and systems. Look for Michigan to make a statement in their opener.

This is a must win for Northwestern as they want to get off to a good start and shoot for a 3rd consecutive bowl game. Vandy HC Johnson retired in midsummer replaced by former OL Coach Caldwell but this team is in disarray. The NWestern Wildcats offense is far more advanced at this stage behind QB Persa operating behind an OL that returns intact. 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 look for a 10-18 point win for Northwestern on Saturday night.