The Gold Sheet Picks, Betting Predictions, and Capper Bio

It’s not quite the sort of “Land of Dis-Enchantment” clashes as many of these all-New Mexico battles have been in recent years. Not with the Lobos now the best thing in Albuquerque aside from the green chile cheeseburgers at the Owl Café, or since portly head coach Jason Eck arrived from Idaho and began to entertain the masses with not only his quotes but an upgraded brand of UNM football that continues to overachieve and put a legit scare into Oklahoma last week at Norman. All of that this month minus dual-threat QB Jack Layne, whose preseason arm injury has merely given Eck the chance to rotate a better runner (sophomore Toa Fa'avae) and better passer (Oregon transfer Luke Moga) to effectively keep opposing defenses off balance. Lest we think it’s all on offense where the Lobos are making their mark, the defense is performing like it has been lifted from the well-guarded perimeter of the White Sands Missile Range while allowing only 9 points per game after stonewalling the Sooners’ ground game last weekend (only 69 rushing yards and 1.8 yards per carry allowed...imagine Barry Switzer's reaction?). Sooners’ QB John Mateer was goaded into throwing a couple of picks. Granted, the Aggies aren’t about the roll over at home for their uppity (so they think at NMSU) in-state rival, especially now that Tony Sanchez looks to have the best QB in Las Cruces since Diego Pavia as Furman transfer Trey Hedden hasn’t been afraid to push the ball downfield. Though his bravado did result in a couple of key interceptions in the recent loss at Hawaii, and the Aggies couldn’t keep pace in this rivalry matchup last September when Eck’s pressure defense harassed then-NMSU QB Logan Fife into nine sacks as the Lobos won in a 38-20 breeze at home. Have Sanchez and his team really closed the gap since? Since New Mexico head coach Jason Eck arrived from Idaho last season, the Lobos have recorded a sparkling 11-4 mark vs. the spread.
Play New Mexico

The losing streak continues. Charlotte put up a good fight last week in rain-soaked Boone against App State, but the 49ers have now lost 12-straight games including one as a three-touchdown favorite against The Citadel in this year's opener. Charlotte has covered the number in back-to-back games as a big 'dog, but in our opinion, the situation played a heavy factor in each of those results. The first cover was against Ole Miss as a 44.5-point 'dog when the Rebels were clearly disinterested and ready to turn the page toward LSU. The second cover was last week's 26-21 loss to the Mountaineers in a game that was delayed by 3.5 hours and ended at 12:32am ET. Needless to say, we're not rushing to upgrade the 49ers' power rating any time soon. Louisiana has covered the number in each of its first three games this season. Last week's 21-14 final score against UAB was probably a little flattering for the Blazers after the Ragin' Cajuns out-gained UAB by 117 yards with a 21-11 edge in first downs. UAB's only touchdown through the first 51 minutes came off a fumble return in the end zone. We have this game lined closer to -14 with minimal home field advantage for the Niners. And like we mentioned, Charlotte essentially lost a full day of prep and recovery after playing a road game late into the night last week. Play Louisiana

At Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Baltimore has won-and-covered each of the last two meetings, with the last one being a 28-25 road win in Dallas in September 2024. The Cowboys' last eight games have all gone over the closing total. Since the beginning of the 2024-25 season, the over is 14-5 in Baltimore's road games. On paper, this figures to be one of the best games of the Week 3 slate, but who knows what kind of conditions you're going to get in Brazil. Don't forget, Virginia and NC State were supposed to open the college football season in Rio but elected to move the game to Charlottesville after logistical issues in Brazil. This will be the NFL's first game at Maracana Stadium in Rio after a pair of games at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo each of the last two seasons. Packers-Eagles in 2024 and Chargers-Chiefs in 2025 were both Week 1 contests, so this is the first time the NFL has gone to South American in the middle of the season. Ravens' head coach Jesse Minter was the Chargers' defensive coordinator last year, so he has some experience with making this trek. Ravens' first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was the talk of the town after Week 1, but he finds himself on the opposite end of that role after last week's loss to New Orleans. In a game where the Ravens were either tied or leading for 58:32 out of a possible 60 minutes, Derrick Henry only received 16 carries including just five after halftime. On a day when Baltimore was missing wide receivers Zay Flowers and Ja'Kobi Lane, Henry probably should have had a bigger role in the Ravens' offense. Given the trends between these two teams, we can only look toward the over. Temperatures aren't expected to get above 80-degrees on Sunday in Rio, but humidity will likely be an issue and we've already seen both defenses wear down in the second halves of games this season. In that Chiefs-Chargers game in São Paulo last season, we saw 23 points scored over the final 16 minutes. In that Eagles-Packers game from two years ago, we saw 57 points scored over the final three quarters. Neither defense may be able to withstand the tough conditions that this environment will bring. Play the Over