The perils of soccer betting: one mistake can mean that it’s all over. That’s what happened yesterday, as both the United States and Canada ruined those bets within five minutes by giving up the early goal. Of course, both won their games anyway, but when you make a win to nil bet, that doesn’t help. Things went a little better on the ice, as the Maple Leafs won and the Rangers scored the one goal needed for a push, giving us a 1-2-1 mark on the day.
I almost nailed a parlay a day early yesterday, but the Jets still can’t play defense and blew my Canada parlay. So we’ll try again with three more parlay plays for Thursday; here are my best bets for October 14.
FOOTBALL PARLAY: GEORGIA SOUTHERN +3, NAVY +11, BUCCANEERS -7, +615
The triple option and Leonard Fournette should carry this one to a win. Georgia Southern is 6-1 ATS all-time against South Alabama, and the Jaguars still haven’t figured out how to handle the Eagles’ triple option. Navy runs the same offense and should be able to keep the game close against an overrated Memphis squad, and the Bucs go up to Philadelphia to face the Eagles’ soft run defense. Tampa should be able to run all night long against the midnight green, and this should be a nice cash around midnight as well.
HOCKEY PARLAY: LIGHTNING -1.5, BLUE JACKETS ML, PREDATORS ML, +500
When a talented team looks bad opening night, they’re likely to bounce back in a big way. The Red Wings remain a dumpster fire, so I like the Lightning to pour it on tonight. Columbus is facing a stripped-bare Arizona and will likely be motivated to play for the memory of goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks after his tragic accident during the offseason. Seattle looked good against Vegas, but the Kraken are crossing two time zones less than 48 hours after the high of their first game in franchise history. That usually spells trouble for an expansion team.
PACIFIC COAST PARLAY: GOLDEN KNIGHTS ML, DODGERS-GIANTS U7.5, CHILE ML, +285
Vegas has won six of its past eight matchups with the Kings and should have enough to get the win here in their second outing of the season. I’ll take the extra half-run to play with in Game 5 with this being a parlay, and in the case of Chile, La Roja have won three of four against Venezuela and need this one to get themselves up toward the critical playoff position. This should be worth staying up for.
