Last weekend was supposed to be for rest and recovery. However, when you get the call to see an undefeated Ole Miss take on rival LSU in Death Valley, you don’t say no. We were rewarded with a good game and an even better time down in the Bayou. I also bounced back on my wagering. I was on my way to a perfect weekend when I suffered an epic bad beat. Cincinnati was up 29 – 14 over SMU with about six minutes left in the game and they were kicking a field goal. They miss the kick and proceed to give up 14 points to the Mustangs. So, the Bearcats don’t cover and I get the loss. Ugly! However, my other picks were very strong. Houston was my first game of the day and the Coogs jumped out to an early lead and never looked back against Navy. In the game I was most worried about, the FIU Panthers rolled over Charlotte. In the Dry County Bowl, Liberty beat BYU. The Flames have been solid picks for me all year. It was good scoreboard watching for me at LSU as I was in the lead early on most of my picks. It was a pleasant change from earlier weeks.
Other thoughts from last week:
- Syracuse got jobbed on that critical roughing the passer call on the sideline. Then when the Orange QB gets hit out of bounds later, there was no penalty. Felt like there was some home cooking down in Clemson.
- After seeing the Buckeyes put up 54 against Iowa, my gut says that Ohio State is going to torch Penn State. On the other hand, Franklin seems to do his best coaching when the Lions are huge underdogs.
- Ugh, those were some ugly uniforms the Oregon Ducks were wearing
- Why would Tennessee run a trick play when they are up 40 points on Tennessee Martin? Better be careful Josh Heupel, karma is a bitch.
Despite a good week last week, my confidence is low. Nothing jumped out at me as a “lock” this week. TCU has been very shaky, but it doesn’t feel like WVU is a trap game. I am taking the Horned Frogs despite them giving 7.5 points. I am going to ride a warm (hard to call them hot yet) Stanford who are getting 16.5 points against UCLA. Taking Pitt against UNC is a bit of an emotional hedge for me. Both those teams are streaky, so I don’t love the pick. I know traveling to Hawaii for a game isn’t great, but Wyoming should handle the Rainbow Warriors.
Other thoughts for the weekend:
- Hard to believe Florida is so bad that they are getting 22.5 points against their rivals Georgia. It’s only going to be a party for half the folks in Jacksonville.
- I wanted to pick Oklahoma State over K-State, but if QB Martinez is healthy, the Wildcats can be dangerous.
- Illinois was the game I was considering instead of the TCU – WVU game. Nebraska seems to be playing better so that scared me away.
- In the game only a mother could love 1 – 6 UMass hosts 2 -5 New Mexico State. Plenty of seats still available.
That’s all I got, enjoy the games.