The only thing less surprising than T.I. arrested on drug charges is going to be when the nation’s elite sports handicappers win yet again as college football opens tonight.

Before the college football scores get underway check out the video college football tipsheet with injuries, news, and notes.

Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The NFL’s preseason schedule comes to a close, while the Tigers meet the rival Twins, and the college football campaign gets underway.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

There is a full slate of 16 NFL preseason games on tap for Thursday, including two involving unbeaten teams: Baltimore at St. Louis, and San Diego at San Francisco. The 3-0 Ravens have dispatched the Panthers, Redskins, and Giants in consecutive outings, but they’re 3-point underdogs for Thursday’s contest against the 2-1 Rams (with the total at 38). The 3-0 Niners have beaten the Colts, Vikings, and Raiders so far in the preseason, and they’re 3.5-point favorites against the 1-2 Chargers on Thursday night (with the total at 36). The Ravens game starts at 8pm ET; the Niners start at 10pm.

Elsewhere around the NFL on Thursday it’s Buffalo at Detroit (-4.5), New England at the Giants (-3), the Jets at Philadelphia (-1.5), Atlanta at Jacksonville (-3), Carolina at Pittsburgh (-5.5), Denver at Minnesota (-4.5), Chicago (-3) at Cleveland, Tampa Bay at Houston (-2.5), Miami at Dallas (-3.5), New Orleans at Tennessee (-7.5), Green Bay at Kansas City (-5.5), Seattle at Oakland (-3.5), Washington at Arizona (-5.5), and Cincinnati (-6.5) at Indianapolis. The Colts sit with the Chiefs and Bears as the only winless team so far in the preseason; Indy has fallen to the Niners, Bills, and Packers.

There are also 18 college football games on the schedule for Thursday, including seven with lines from the oddsmakers: Southern Miss vs. South Carolina (-13.5), Marshall vs. Ohio State (-28.5), Northern Illinois vs. Iowa State (-4.5), Pittsburgh vs. Utah (-3), Minnesota (-3) vs. Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic vs. UAB (-15), and Southern Cal (-21.5) vs. Hawaii. The Trojans come into the year at No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll, but they are ineligible for the postseason because of sanctions handed down by the NCAA.

Top expert picks on today’s card…

The “Biggest Play” feature is 19-4 on the MasterLockLine. Sports service out of Midwest is the No. 1 all-time CFB service in units won. Their highest rated plays are Executive Plays. They have just one tonight on Utah/Pittsburgh side.

The Duke, Jonathan Mardukas built up a large scorephone following over the last dozen or so years.  With a database that goes back to 1980 the MasterLockLine say he is the top ranked college and pro football handicapper EVER. Southern Miss/South Carolina side is 500 Million stars, easily the strongest release he’s ever had in the first three weeks of the college football season ever. The highest rated plays from the highest rated handicappers are up on the MasterLockLine.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

There are four games on the American League schedule for Thursday, with Oakland at the Yankees, Boston at Baltimore, Cleveland at Seattle, and Detroit at Minnesota. Justin Verlander (14-8, 3.58 ERA) is expected to get the ball for the Tigers in that last matchup, while Scott Baker (12-9, 4.55 ERA) counters for the Twins. Righthander Verlander got stuck with a no-decision against the Blue Jays in his last trip to the mound despite giving up just two runs on five hits over his eight innings of work. Righthander Baker is coming off a win over Seattle in which he gave up two runs in his 6 2-3 innings.

As well, the National League has just two games on tap for Thursday, with Philadelphia at Colorado and the Mets at Atlanta. Johan Santana (10-9, 3.02 ERA) is slated to take on Tim Hudson (15-5, 2.24 ERA) in that Mets/Braves matchup. Lefthander Santana has lost three straight starts, and he also fell to the Braves back on August 2 (four runs over seven innings of work). Righthander Hudson dazzled the Marlins last time out, holding them to just one run over seven innings while fanning 13 batters. The Braves are 8-2 in Hudson’s last 10 outings, and he was the winning pitcher on August 2 against the Mets.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, the WNBA’s Western Conference Finals tip off on Thursday night with Phoenix at Seattle. The Mercury and Storm both swept their first-round playoff series last week; Phoenix knocked off San Antonio 92-73 in Game 2 of their set, while Seattle is coming off an 81-66 Game 2 win over Los Angeles. The oddsmakers have the Storm pegged as the 6-point home favorites for Thursday’s matchup, with the total for the contest at 178.5.