The No. 5 Florida Gators may have lost some of their defensive bite.

According to reports out of Gainesville, defensive tackle Marcus Thomas has been suspended for the next five games after failing a drug test. Coach Urban Meyer would not confirm the report during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, but if the reports are true, Florida will be without one of its better defenders during the toughest part of the Gators schedule.

There is a chance the suspension will be reduced on appeal. Thomas had already been benched for the season opener against Southern Miss (a 34-7 Florida victory as a 19.5-point home favorite) after a test reportedly came up positive for marijuana. The Orlando Sentinel says the Thomas family believes the second positive result is for the same incident - which apparently took place at a party during the summer.

The line for Saturday’s matchup in Gainesville between Florida and the Kentucky Wildcats was unchanged after reports of the suspension first hit the newswire. The Gators held firm as 24-point faves with a total of 48.5. However, Thomas was the leading sack-getter on the Gators with three, and the senior nose tackle is one of the most dominant pass rushers in the conference.

Fortunately for Gators supporters, whatever deficiencies their defensive line will have minus Thomas will be masked by their tremendous depth, plus the star power of linebacker Brandon Siler. Already heralded as one of the best pass defenders in the SEC, Siler collected seven tackles (two of them for a loss) last week against Tennessee in a 21-20 victory. The Vols managed just minus-11 rushing yards in defeat, although they cashed in as 4.5-point home dogs.

What Florida cannot afford is another player missing on offense. Running back DeShawn Wynn and wide receiver Percy Harvin were both wearing protective boots after suffering sprained ankles against Tennessee. Meyer is confident Wynn will start this Saturday against Kentucky; Harvin, though, remains questionable. The Gators will miss his versatility if he is unable to suit up. Harvin ran for 81 yards against the Vols and added another 145 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Kick-off from Florida Field is 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time, with ESPN on hand for national television coverage.

Click here to bet on all games and view all lines and odds .

The ACC season begins for both clubs tonight as the (1-2) Virginia Cavaliers invade “Hotlanta” to take on the (2-1) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This looks to be a very low total for this game, but it’s well warranted. GTECH boasts a very balanced attack that will be able to move the ball on this unit, but I’m expecting them to call off the dawgs late and cruise to the home win. They’ll do enough to preserve the win against a very down Cavalier squad, but keep a bulk of their players fresh for next weeks huge clash with VTECH as well. Virginia is a very flawed football team on the offensive side of the ball. They’re starting a redshirt frosh at QB, and they haven’t been able to find any semblance of a ground attack this year (50 YPG). Not a good combo when going up against this wrambling wreck defense that thrives on blitzing you to death and forcing turnovers. I’m expecting the Cavs to use a very slow paced and methodical attack that won’t expose their young field general and crush his self confidence. It will be vanilla to say the least. The Wahoo’s defense has been the lone bright spot this season as they’ve only given up a combined 294 YPG, and have simply shut down opponents passing attacks. Call it 31-6 or 28-10, either way this tickets cashing!!!

Click here to bet on all games and view all lines and odds .

The Astros picked up a solid series win over the Reds yesterday afternoon and inched a game closer to the wild card leading Dodgers in the process. It was an emotional day for the home crowd since it might have been the last time Roger Clemens will have pitched in the juicebox. That being said, The Astros are known for making unbelievable runs at the post-season the last couple of years, and they’ve got an excellent shot of doing it. It all starts tonight with a four game home set with the Cardinals who have really been laboring of late. Pettitte comes in fully rested for this one with his last start coming on the 12th of this month. Carpenter’s been roughed up on the road this season, and I’m expecting the Astros to feed off yesterdays momentum and steal game 1.

Click here to bet on all games and view all lines and odds .

Oakland’s struggled against southpaws this season, and Sabathia is one of the best the league has to offer. Look for them to earn the split allowing LA to inch a half game closer during their day off. I’m extremely shocked that Harden comes into this one the favorite in his first big leagues start since June. Granted the A’s have been simply electric and destined to win the AL West, but C.C. has been solid of late and certainly deserves more credit here. The hefty lefties only given up 4 earned runs twice in his L/10 starts, and sports an overall ERA of 3.26 on the season. He’s 1-2 his L/3 starts, but he’s only given up 20 hits in 23 innings of work and struck out 18 while issuing 4 free passes. He’s been lethal on the road compiling a 6-4 mark with a stellar 2.69 ERA, and has a K/BB ratio of 90/18.

Click here to bet on all games and view all lines and odds .

Sometimes, you can’t win for losing.

Kevin Harvick just can’t seem to get any respect - not even after his victory at last week’s Sylvania 300 in Loudon. That’s two wins in a row for Harvick and three out of six; he now sits atop the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings. But Harvick is not the top man on the odds list for this week’s event, the MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway. That would be Matt Kenseth at +600. Harvick is pegged at +800 alongside non-Chaser Tony Stewart.

The 2006 Cup season has been a struggle at times for Harvick. He failed to pilot his No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevy into the Top 10 in each of his first four points events, taking the lead for a grand total of one lap during that span. But business picked up substantially for Harvick after finishing second at the Food City 500. Now the pride of Bakersfield is the hottest driver on the circuit; nobody has collected more points over the past 10 Cup races. Harvick is also in excellent position to win the Busch Series and become the first driver in nearly 60 years to win NASCAR’s top two divisions.

Yet it’s Kenseth who will carry the shortest odds into Dover. He would be in first place right now if pre-Chase rules were still in effect, and it was Kenseth who won the first race of the season at Dover, the Neighborhood Excellence 400 (also sponsored by MBNA). Harvick placed third at that event behind Kenseth’s Roush Racing teammate, Jamie McMurray (+2100 this week).

That was the best finish at Dover for all three drivers in their respective Cup careers. It could also be a harbinger of this Sunday’s results. The Dover track has produced seven season sweeps since 1988, including Stewart in 2000, Jimmie Johnson in 2002 and Ryan Newman in 2003. A car that performs well at Dover in June is likely to repeat that success in September; based on that logic, McMurray could be a tasty long shot. In an otherwise forgettable first year with Roush Racing, McMurray led June’s race for 95 laps, more than any other driver. But if he found himself out front this week, would he ease off the pedal and allow Kenseth to strengthen his Chase position?

The action gets underway at 1:10 p.m. Eastern Time.

Click here to bet on all games and view all lines and odds.