There are certain instances in life when it is imperative not to let your foolish personal biases affect ordinarily sound decision making. Sports gambling is one of these instances. Selecting Christmas gifts for your in-laws is another.
You see, just because I find the Ohio State football program more annoying than, let’s say, experiencing the call of nature while out on the golf course or getting squirted in the eye with a lemon wedge that for whatever reason people feel the need to squeeze into their cocktails or people that invite you over for a cookout and serve veggie burgers, it doesn’t mean that I should continually pick against the Buckeyes.
I’ve finally learned my lesson, all right? I get it.
Apparently this whole Ted Ginn for Heisman and Jim Tressel for male Cutter & Buck model thing they’ve got going up in Columbus is for real.
I stand corrected.
On to this week’s picks (picks in bold against the spread)
Last Week 3-4
Season to Date 6-9
No. 3 West Virginia at No. 5 Louisville (-1.5)
There are several reasons why this number seems screwy. Louisville’s Michael Bush is out for the season. The Mountaineers are the number two scoring offense in the country and the number one ranked rushing team. They are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine games on the road. They have won convincingly in every game this season. And, nearly every expert in the country likes them tonight against the Cardinals.
Erroneous.
See, there is a reason the oddsmakers set the number as they did and that’s because they realize that every Louisville student is set to skip their Political Science lecture or Advanced Botany lab Thursday afternoon and every alum from the last 30 years is going to blow off an afternoon full of boring business meetings in favor of chugging beer bongs before the biggest game in the history of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
I love college.
Penn State at No. 17 Wisconsin (-7)
Let’s say there are 100,000 extreme diehard Badger fans in this state. Of those 100,000, you could fit those that aren’t extremely nervous about the impending Penn State / Iowa combination in back-to-back weeks inside Barry Alvarez’s personal john in Camp Randall Stadium.
However, this week the Badgers should be fine. Look for John Stocco to rely heavily on leading receiver Travis Beckum against a Nittany Lions defense that has trouble stopping the tight end.
North Carolina at No. 10 Notre Dame (-27.5)
Everyone that watched "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening learned a little something about Charlie Weis during a segment CBS aired on the Notre Dame head coach. On the sidelines, the guy likes to swear. A lot. I mean his language gets really wild. Borderline inappropriate. Little children would need to earmuff if up. He’s like a combination of Jay-Z and a sailor.
Something else you may not know about Weis: he is not a big believer in running up the score, or "Steve Spurriering" his opponent. However, this tactic is the only hope the Irish have left to impress the voters and the computers.
ND may score 100 in this game.
No. 1 Ohio State (-27.5) at Illinois
Illinois.
Yeah, so I was kidding about that whole “I now respect the Buckeyes thing.”
UCLA at No. 11 California (-17)
Keep this in mind.
Two weeks ago UCLA outplayed the Fighting Irish in South Bend before bending over in the game’s final minute. That same Saturday a pesky Washington team took Cal into OT before losing. Then last weekend UCLA is crushed at home by Washington State, Washington loses at home to a brutal Arizona State team, and the Trojan Empire was toppled by Oregon State.
The point?
Betting on the Pac-10 is a lot like having Drew Bledsoe under center. Erratic and not worth the pain.
Oklahoma State at No. 4 Texas (-17)
What in Texas’ last two breath-holding victories has convinced the oddsmakers (not to mention the voters) that they are this good? I don’t understand it.
Yes, Texas showed some moxie escaping Lincoln and Lubbock with a pair of victories. And, yes, this game in Austin. Still, Oklahoma State is a tough football team that can score with anybody. This spread is ridiculous. Maybe Vince Young, Roy Williams, Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson are coming back to play. I don’t know.
One more thing, the Cowboys led the Longhorns 35-14 at halftime in 2004 and 28-12 last season and lost both games. If this happens again, after the energy and the emotion of the last two weeks, Texas won’t be able to come back a third time.
No. 24 Virginia Tech (-2) at Miami
The last time Miami was a home dog was a few years back when the Hurricanes had seven of their defensive starters suspended for robbing a Taco Bell drive thru window of 75 Nacho Bell Grandes at gunpoint in South Beach. Anyway, the Hurricanes once again find themselves missing a slew of players stemming from their latest discipline-lacking scrape a few weeks back.
Still, Larry Coker is fighting for his job and the ‘Canes are at home. I’ll take ‘em.
(Author’s Note: Yes, I made that Taco Bell thing up. However, with the caliber of players at Miami, it probably read like fact. Actually, you didn’t even notice, did you?
No. 18 Oklahoma (-2.5) at No. 21 Texas A&M
Oklahoma was quite impressive last week against Missouri. However, the loss of Adrian Peterson is bound to catch up with them. And playing in front of the "12th Man" at Kyle Field is extremely tough. What is capacity there, anyway? 300,000?
No. 13 LSU (-3) at No. 8 Tennessee
The No. 13 ranked team in the country on the road against the No. 8 ranked team in the country and LSU is favored by a field goal. Yet another, "the bookies are much smarter than us and you should obviously follow their lead" game.
Still, can’t do it.
The Vols are insanely good this year. If it wasn’t for a 1-point loss against Florida, right now it would be them and the (somebody help me) Buckeyes heading for the title game.
You see, just because I find the Ohio State football program more annoying than, let’s say, experiencing the call of nature while out on the golf course or getting squirted in the eye with a lemon wedge that for whatever reason people feel the need to squeeze into their cocktails or people that invite you over for a cookout and serve veggie burgers, it doesn’t mean that I should continually pick against the Buckeyes.
I’ve finally learned my lesson, all right? I get it.
Apparently this whole Ted Ginn for Heisman and Jim Tressel for male Cutter & Buck model thing they’ve got going up in Columbus is for real.
I stand corrected.
On to this week’s picks (picks in bold against the spread)
Last Week 3-4
Season to Date 6-9
No. 3 West Virginia at No. 5 Louisville (-1.5)
There are several reasons why this number seems screwy. Louisville’s Michael Bush is out for the season. The Mountaineers are the number two scoring offense in the country and the number one ranked rushing team. They are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine games on the road. They have won convincingly in every game this season. And, nearly every expert in the country likes them tonight against the Cardinals.
Erroneous.
See, there is a reason the oddsmakers set the number as they did and that’s because they realize that every Louisville student is set to skip their Political Science lecture or Advanced Botany lab Thursday afternoon and every alum from the last 30 years is going to blow off an afternoon full of boring business meetings in favor of chugging beer bongs before the biggest game in the history of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
I love college.
Penn State at No. 17 Wisconsin (-7)
Let’s say there are 100,000 extreme diehard Badger fans in this state. Of those 100,000, you could fit those that aren’t extremely nervous about the impending Penn State / Iowa combination in back-to-back weeks inside Barry Alvarez’s personal john in Camp Randall Stadium.
However, this week the Badgers should be fine. Look for John Stocco to rely heavily on leading receiver Travis Beckum against a Nittany Lions defense that has trouble stopping the tight end.
North Carolina at No. 10 Notre Dame (-27.5)
Everyone that watched "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening learned a little something about Charlie Weis during a segment CBS aired on the Notre Dame head coach. On the sidelines, the guy likes to swear. A lot. I mean his language gets really wild. Borderline inappropriate. Little children would need to earmuff if up. He’s like a combination of Jay-Z and a sailor.
Something else you may not know about Weis: he is not a big believer in running up the score, or "Steve Spurriering" his opponent. However, this tactic is the only hope the Irish have left to impress the voters and the computers.
ND may score 100 in this game.
No. 1 Ohio State (-27.5) at Illinois
Illinois.
Yeah, so I was kidding about that whole “I now respect the Buckeyes thing.”
UCLA at No. 11 California (-17)
Keep this in mind.
Two weeks ago UCLA outplayed the Fighting Irish in South Bend before bending over in the game’s final minute. That same Saturday a pesky Washington team took Cal into OT before losing. Then last weekend UCLA is crushed at home by Washington State, Washington loses at home to a brutal Arizona State team, and the Trojan Empire was toppled by Oregon State.
The point?
Betting on the Pac-10 is a lot like having Drew Bledsoe under center. Erratic and not worth the pain.
Oklahoma State at No. 4 Texas (-17)
What in Texas’ last two breath-holding victories has convinced the oddsmakers (not to mention the voters) that they are this good? I don’t understand it.
Yes, Texas showed some moxie escaping Lincoln and Lubbock with a pair of victories. And, yes, this game in Austin. Still, Oklahoma State is a tough football team that can score with anybody. This spread is ridiculous. Maybe Vince Young, Roy Williams, Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson are coming back to play. I don’t know.
One more thing, the Cowboys led the Longhorns 35-14 at halftime in 2004 and 28-12 last season and lost both games. If this happens again, after the energy and the emotion of the last two weeks, Texas won’t be able to come back a third time.
No. 24 Virginia Tech (-2) at Miami
The last time Miami was a home dog was a few years back when the Hurricanes had seven of their defensive starters suspended for robbing a Taco Bell drive thru window of 75 Nacho Bell Grandes at gunpoint in South Beach. Anyway, the Hurricanes once again find themselves missing a slew of players stemming from their latest discipline-lacking scrape a few weeks back.
Still, Larry Coker is fighting for his job and the ‘Canes are at home. I’ll take ‘em.
(Author’s Note: Yes, I made that Taco Bell thing up. However, with the caliber of players at Miami, it probably read like fact. Actually, you didn’t even notice, did you?
No. 18 Oklahoma (-2.5) at No. 21 Texas A&M
Oklahoma was quite impressive last week against Missouri. However, the loss of Adrian Peterson is bound to catch up with them. And playing in front of the "12th Man" at Kyle Field is extremely tough. What is capacity there, anyway? 300,000?
No. 13 LSU (-3) at No. 8 Tennessee
The No. 13 ranked team in the country on the road against the No. 8 ranked team in the country and LSU is favored by a field goal. Yet another, "the bookies are much smarter than us and you should obviously follow their lead" game.
Still, can’t do it.
The Vols are insanely good this year. If it wasn’t for a 1-point loss against Florida, right now it would be them and the (somebody help me) Buckeyes heading for the title game.
