MENUPossible Upsets to Target in the Week of August 20th - 4 Upset Picks for Bettors
By Noah Davis
Published on August 21, 2022
Published on August 21, 2022
"The Authority in Online Gambling"
Chasing upsets in the world of sports can be quite a bit of fun. You just have to convert those bets for it to remain fun.
I’ve had a little difficulty doing that on a consistent basis this year.
That’s not that shocking, either, considering not only that regularly nailing upset picks isn’t easy, but also that this really isn’t the ideal part of the sports year to be laying serious cash on underdogs.
That being said, I took a 27-45-1 upset picks record into last week with an eye on improvement and some big wins. I came away with both after handing out four underdog picks.
The big upset to start off last week went down in Houston. I respect Justin Verlander, but I simply felt that due to the price and Houston’s recent struggles (they’d been pretty banged up), the Rockies were worth a shot.
Colorado responded with a 5-1 win in the first game of that series, scoring a sweet +199 moneyline in your favor if you attacked that bet.
That kicked off a great week. Here’s how all of my upset picks played out.
The Rockies were always a risky bet on the road. They were in a pitcher-friendly park against one of the biggest arms in the game. They had a lot to play for, though, and the price was just too tempting.
I aimed even higher when it came to my CFL pick last week, as I backed the Redblacks to take down the Blue Bombers. That game wasn’t even close, as the Redblacks housed the Blue Bombers, 44-21.
Turning my sights to preseason play, I saw some value associated with the Steelers thanks to a nice +165 price. Pittsburgh not playing their usual starters hurt me to get things going, while Green Bay ultimately poured it on thick with an insane 51 points.
For a preseason game, that’s both absurd and frankly, kind of amazing.
While I got burned there, the Jaguars responded with a big upset win, converting a sweet +180 line with a 14-10 victory in Minnesota. Both teams played some of their starters, so I understandably favored Jacksonville’s elite defense.
Overall, last week worked out in my favor, and hopefully it also helped you cash big. If you went with all of these bets, you obviously would have seen remarkable profit.
Either way, I at least got back on the winning path, going 3-1 and lifting my season underdog picks record to 30-46-1.
I’m still behind the count quite a bit, but that’s progress, and I get to eye even more value this week. Let’s go over some of my favorite underdogs to consider targeting.
My first go-around with the WNBA went horribly, but I’m game for giving it a whirl again this week.
One big reason why is that you’re getting insane value with Minnesota (+245), even though they are right there with Los Angeles in the Western Conference standings.
The Lynx are the natural underdog on the road this week, but they haven’t been so bad (9-8) away from home so far in 2023. The Sparks are also trending in the wrong direction (lost two straight).
That could all go out the window with this signaling the start of the 2023 WNBA playoffs, but I love the value with backing the Lynx in such an intense setting.
The odds are against Minnesota in this one due to some health issues and this game being on the road, but you can’t bypass this kind of value with two fairly evenly-matched squads.
To baseball we go, as 15 games get rolled out onto the diamonds on Tuesday night.
The red-hot Cardinals could take center stage, as they take a scorching 8-2 record over their last 10 games into Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers haven’t been so lucky, as LA has dropped 7 of 10 and are now in third place in the competitive NL West. Ditto for the Cards, who, despite their best efforts of late, slid back past the Brewers for third in the NL Central as well.
As you can imagine, neither of these teams will want to lose. I do note LA’s tendency to lock down at home in the past, but they’re just 32-31 in front of their home crowd in 2023 and are clearly slipping.
The Cardinals are surprisingly good (35-29) on the road, too, while their recent form is very tough to ignore. The pitching edge goes to the Dodgers, but with a lefty like Hyun-Jin Ryu toeing the rubber, I actually like St. Louis a lot in this one.
A +154 price is too sweet to ignore when you consider everything going into this one.
The CFL hasn’t been consistently kind to me this year, but I did score a huge upset win last week.
That gives me confidence to take another crack at an underdog, albeit this week I think I’m simply getting a huge steal.
Edmonton comes in as the mild dog when they prepare to face Hamilton. I’m not sure why, beyond the fact that the Tiger-Cats are at home. Hamilton did get a win in this series earlier in the year, but they are just 1-2 on their own field and 3-5 on the year.
The Tiger-Cats are dangerous and get the home field edge, but I think Edmonton is up for some revenge in this one. Normally I’d side with the home team in a tight matchup, but the Eskimos have been on a roll and are more than equipped offensively to steal a shootout.
Not enamored with the line when it comes out? Feel free to back the Eskimos as a dog against the spread.
After scoring a nice NFL preseason upset pick last week, you can understand why I’m game for going back for more. There’s a lot of action in week three, and several teams should showcase their star players for about a half of play.
That means you actually should have some solid information as to who you can trust and which matchups offer some value. You could still get burned by random scratches or the fact that this is preseason football, and it’s about as volatile as sports betting can get.
Still, I am digging the Saints here, especially if the likes of Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara end up hitting the field. SportsBetting.ag and other NFL betting sites haven’t yet pushed out actual preseason moneylines, but given the +2.5 point spread, New Orleans figures to be the underdog on the road.
I don’t trust NFL teams at home during the preseason, so consider the Saints here and also feel free to eye a few more NFL preseason upset picks on the road this week.
I’ll stop at four upset picks for this week. Two reasons for that are a lack of amazing underdogs and also some restriction in the sports world.
For one, there are only two WNBA games to look at right now, while MLB lines don’t come out for the rest of the week. I also don’t want to go too hard at NFL preseason picks, just because it can be all over the place.
If you pick the right spots, though, I do think all of these leagues - WNBA, CFL, etc. - have a place in your daily and weekly sports betting ledger. It will be way more exciting when the NFL regular season returns, however, along with the MLB playoffs, the NBA, and NHL.
September and October are two of the most fun months for sports bettors, and I’ll be along for the ride to help you knock out some big wins. Until next week, happy betting, and enjoy the games!
