Well we have waited 8 months for tonight, the return of college football! On Friday I will come out with my best bets and dog of the week picks for the weekend, but to wet the apatite here are a couple of recommendations for Thursday nights games:

The Minnesota @ Middle Tennessee State game has shifted 7 points since the suspension of Middle Tennessee's QB Dwight Dasher who was the 7th in the nation in total offense last season. You might remember him last running rough shot over the Southern Miss D in the New Orleans Bowl.
We think the odds makers had this wrong to begin with when they installed Middle Tennessee as a favorite. Minnesota is on a 10 -2 ATS run in their last 12 openers while Middle Tennessee is a dreadful 3-11 ATS in their openers since 1996.
Take the Golden Gophers -3

Northern Illinois travels to Ames to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. Iowa State has a veteran offense led by running back Alex Robinson (1194 YR in 2009) and Quarterback Austen Arnaud. Northern Illinois will contend for MAC title this year but the last time we saw them in the now defunct International Bowl they were dominated by South Flordia 27 - 3.
We have a fairly small number here and suspect that Iowa State will take care business at home.
Take the Cyclones -5

Check back Friday night for our Best Bets and Dog of the week. You can also follow us on twitter @jdawgsbestbets.