Archive for September, 2008
Week 3 picks
Man, I’m getting so good at this theoretical picking maybe I should move to Vegas and actually place bets! I’m up 2.6 units this week, for a grand total of 7.3 units. So if I were actually betting, and each unit represented 1 percent of my bankroll, I’d be up 7.3 percent! Better than the stock market, at least.
| Kansas +3.5, 2u |
Kansas @ South Florida. I just don’t buy the South Florida hype; I mean the Ducks destroyed them in last year’s bowl game, they played their first game against a creampuff and they went down to the wire with Central Florida last week. Sure, that was a rivalry game, but I just don’t think they’re going to beat Kansas. |
| Oregon -8, 2u |
Oregon @ Purdue. Classic case of an overmatched Big 10 team vs. a good Pac 10 team. Duck’s defense is better than people give it credit for and Purdue has never seen a spread offense like this one. |
| Georgia -7, 2u |
Georgia @ South Carolina. Georgia is good, Spurrier’s team has been mediocre for the past few years. I pick Georgia here every time. |
| Oregon State -12.5 |
Hawaii @ OSU. Hawaii is terrible on the road and eventually OSU will win a game. Really. |
| Penn State -27.5 |
Penn State @ Syracuse. Syracuse is the worst team in the Big East and might be in contention for worst team in a BCS conference. Penn State, in my opinion, is better than OSU, Michigan and Wisconsin. Penn State wins big here. |
| Michigan -2 |
Michigan @ Notre Dame. I bet against Notre Dame because they suck, just like they did last year. The end. |
| USC -11, 2u |
Ohio State @ USC. Another case of Pac 10 dominance vs. Big 10. This game will not be close. |
| FAU +17 |
Florida Atlantic @ Michigan State. FAU isn’t really that bad; the way Texas crushed them was due in a large part to their coach’s stupid comments inciting Texas before the game. Michigan State isn’t that good. Did I mention they’re Big 10? |
| Western Kentucky +28 | Western Kentucky @ Alabama. I don’t see any reason why Alabama should be motivated by this game. Of course they’ll win, but Western Kentucky is not as bad as this spread indicates. |
| East Carolina -13 |
East Carolina @ Tulane. East Carolina has every motivation to crush the remaining teams on its schedule; its into its Conference USA schedule now with the exception of a game against Virginia in a few weeks. They’ve got 2 quality wins but they’ll have to keep on racking up the scores to stay in the BCS hunt. |
Week 2 picks
Well, week 1 wasn’t bad, I’m up 4.7 units in these hypothetical matchups. Bravely onward to week 2! First, I’d like to note I can’t pick my favorite team against the spread, Troy, because their game with LSU has been called off until November 15, due to hurricanes or some other feeble excuse like that. Hurricanes! Far as I’m concerned, first thing the National Guard should do when they come into a flooded city is put sandbags around the college football stadium, to make sure the turf is ready for Saturday’s game. Then they should sandbag the area around the parking lot, and the road leading to the stadium, so everyone can get to the game on Saturday. Anyway, on to this week’s picks.
| Oregon -35.5, 2u |
Utah State @ Oregon. I’m going to this game and plan to watch the Ducks feast on the bones of their fallen enemy. Seriously, Utah State is rated worst out of all 120 teams, we just thrashed the Huskies by 34 points, I’m pretty sure we can do the same thing plus get a safety to beat the spread here. |
| Marshall +21, 1u |
Marshall @ Wisconsin. We are: Marshall! We are: Marshall! Marshall’s not a great team but the Big 10 sucks and Wisconsin is not as good as people say they are. Keep repeating this until you believe it. |
| Florida -23, 2u |
Miami @ Florida. The two schools play this big intrastate rivalry game that apparently hasn’t happened in something like 20 years. Predicted result: Miami loses by lots of points. Their school is still rebuilding, Florida just beat Hawaii by 50 points and the team will be motivated to rack up points because 1) it helps them with in-state recruiting and 2) it gives them a chance to pad T-bag’s stats for a chance at a second Heisman. |
| Georgia -24, 2u |
Central Michigan @ Georgia. SEC dominance versus the MAC. I’d take this spread at 31, too. |
| BYU -9.5, 2u |
BYU @ Washington. This seems like a safe pick. Hard to tell how good BYU is yet but we know Washington is terrible. Sure, the Ducks played well last week but we would have played well against a high-school team, too. BYU will give a repeat performance on Saturday. |
| Oklahoma State -15.5 |
Houston @ Oklahoma State. As bottom-feeding teams go, Houston’s not awful. They even go to bowl games occasionally. But OSU is really on a roll. I’d be surprised if it was anything less than a 3-touchdown game. |
| Oklahoma -22, 1u |
Cincinatti @ Oklahoma. I’d put this pick down for 2 units or more, but I really don’t know how good Cincinatti is this year. They played well last year but they’ve lost a quarterback. When in doubt, I pick Oklahoma. |
| South Florida -13.5, 2u |
USF @ UCF. It’s civil war when directional Florida goes head to head! Again, I’d like this game for 3 touchdowns, much less two. |
| Oregon State +15, 1u |
Oregon State @ Penn. State. OK so yes, I’m aware that the Beavers lost to Stanford. Stanford. But Stanford has been steadily improving. And the Beavers really beat themselves that game. They came in expecting the Cardinal to roll. They’ll have no such illusions about Penn. State. This is honestly an iffy pick, but I feel obligated to pick the Beavers every now and then after the endless crap I gave their fans this week. |
| Texas Tech -10, 1u |
Texas Tech @ Nevada. I don’t understand why the spread is so close here. Tech is shaping up to another stellar year and Nevada’s a middle-of-the-road non BCS school. Seems easy on paper … this seems like such an easy pick that perhaps I’m missing something here. |
Fun observations for the week: Wow, East Carolina’s only a seven point dog to West Virginia? In other silly matchups, notice that Bowling Green is favored by 5 over Minnesota (bet that decision to fire your coach after the 2006 season is looking pretty stupid now, isn’t it Gopher fans?) and Texas A&M is only a 2.5 point favorite over New Mexico.
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