When I told my wife to pick up some Mission tortillas for this weekend, she said, “You know we only eat HEB.” I said, “These aren’t for eating. They’re for throwing because we are going to Texas Tech.” The only negative to seeing the Red Raiders host the Longhorns is the eight hour drive to get there. Surprisingly, it was my wife’s call to not fly and drive instead. But this is stadium number 100, so the miles are worth it.
I had a great week on my picks, going 4 – 0. Vanderbilt took care of NIU. My hunch that there wasn’t going to be a “win one for Frosty” movement at Nebraska panned out. Oklahoma had no problem covering against the Huskers. Likewise, WSU was well in control from the start against Colorado State. That game was effectively over by the end of the first quarter. I only had to wait on Liberty to see if they could keep it close against Wake Forest. It turned out to be not much of a sweat, with the Flames nearly burning the Demon Deacons, losing by one.
Other random thoughts from last weekend:
- Troy versus App State – Like I said, Sun Belt = Fun Belt
- I was wrong on PSU though. The Nittany Lions crushed Auburn
- We now know that BYU was kinda, only sorta, real
- Looks like I was right about the Huskies too. West coast travel can be rough
On to this week’s picks. ESPN’s GameDay is in Knoxville for Tennessee’s game against Florida. There isn’t a particularly strong slate of games so the choice is a reasonable one. It could be argued that they could have just stayed in Boone for the JMU – App State game instead. It is one of the better games of the weekend. The Gators are getting 10.5 points against the Volunteers and for some reason that half point makes me want to take Florida. Clemson is only a seven point favorite against Wake Forest. Taking the Tigers is a no-brainer. I had told myself that I was going to ride with the Liberty Flames until I got burned, but they are 26.5 point favorites against Akron. I think the Zips have enough to cover. Instead I am going with the 22.5 point underdog Wyoming against BYU. I think the Cowboy are better than that. Texas Tech is getting 6.5 against Texas. I am taking the Longhorns as an emotional hedge because after eight hours of driving to get to Lubbock, and then sitting in the sun and the watching the Red Raiders lose would be an awful weekend. In that case, at least a winning wager would salvage some of the weekend.
Some other gems for this weekend:
- Duke vs Kansas may be the game of the week. Both are a surprising 3 – 0.
- I wanted to pick Minnesota over Michigan State but the Gophers really haven’t played anyone yet.
- It looks like Colorado State is going to get off the snide this week as they host FCS Sacramento State. Of course, the Hornets are 2-0 so keep fingers crossed Ram fans.
- Speaking of bad teams. The worst match up of the week features 0-3 UMass vs 0-3 Temple. That is some bad football. I will give kudos to UMass for one thing. They have declared their upcoming game against Liberty as their Pride game. Hey Flames, make sure you bring your unicorns and rainbows.
That’s all I got. Enjoy the games this weekend.