Tag Archives: Alabama Football

Mess in the West

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Bad week for the Big 10, especially the West. Ohio St needed every defensive play they could get to slip past TCU on a “neutral” field and 7 teams lost to unranked non-conference opponents. To be the best conference depth is required.

What I learned from Week 3 is that little guys can still play, Kansas has its first win streak in a long time, and Ole Miss wishes they could’ve stopped after the first play. Streaks were snapped in Wisconsin and Lee County as The Badgers dropped to a BYU team that lost to Cal and LSU made another stellar comeback against Auburn in what has to be one of the better rival games recently. Oklahoma St won an important game for them over Boise St. Pump the breaks if your team dropped their first game this week, though. There’s a lot of football yet to play and we rarely have seen undefeated teams in the playoffs.

Week 4 finds aTm ranked and travelling to Tuscaloosa. I’ll be there in Section N-1 Row 38 Seat 2. We’ll learn much in that game. Friday night has an entertaining slate of games. FAU @ UCF, Penn St @ Illinois, and Washington St @ USC. I’m pulling for the road teams. The game I have the most interest in is UGA @ Mizzou. I think the Tigers can surprise and shake up the East. And Purdue might be the best 0-3 team in history. One wonders if they can upset Boston College. TCU @ Texas and Texas Tech @ Oklahoma St rate as exciting matchups that will go a long way to determine the Big 12. Stanford goes to Oregon with the winner providing Washington the best challenger in the Pac 12 North.

I found out why Texas was favored over USC. Steve Williams, as you may remember from the Pac 12 podcast, said USC would be bad. He might be correct. My Vegas 5 went 2-3 last week. I can’t seem to get over the hump yet and the season total sits at 5-9-1. Against the Spread in Top 25 and SEC, Florence played havoc with games and forced cancellations. I went 14-10 taking me to a season total of 51-28.

This week for the Vegas 5 I’ll start with the Over (51) for Louisville and Virginia. I’m going to give a ton of point and take Syracuse (-27.5) over UConn. I want the Over (48) for Michigan St v Indiana. Iowa (+3) over Wisconsin. Lastly, I’ll keep taking USF (-22) until they cover as they take on East Carolina.

Who ya got?

Week 13 – Bragging Rights

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We’ve reached the end. This is the last week of the regular season and when the bulk of the instate rivalries are played. The helmets lined up across from one another this week exemplify everything there is about family gatherings and fellowship. Or maybe not.

The bitterness of the Egg Bowl kicks off the excitement. While Miss St should win, Ole Miss has been getting solid play at the QB position. Only the die hard fans will watch FSU play Florida. The Noles should have the edge, but who knows this year? A sneaky good match up will be Virginia and Virginia Tech. Louisville and Kentucky go at it again and I wonder if the Cats can slow down Lamar Jackson. The reigning Heisman winner is having an amazing season that very few seem to be paying attention to since the rest of the team is down. Indiana at Purdue could provide some sneaky fireworks as well with the game picked with just a FG difference. Battles in Tennessee, North Carolina and Nevada will be for pure bragging rights while Fresno St and Boise St will meet in back to back weeks. It’s next week that counts.

Now onto those crazy instate games that mean everything (and one border war). The Apple Cup decides the PAC12 North. Washington can play the spoiler and send Stanford to the game against USC. I’m putting Clemson on upset alert at South Carolina. Ohio State travels north to take on Michigan. While the B1G title game is set, this is a must win for the Buckeyes if they want to sneak into the playoffs in case of chaos. Same for Georgia going to Tech. They don’t need chaos, but they have to win. USF and UCF battle for the middle of Florida and the winner takes on Memphis for the chance to go to a New Years Six bowl. UCF just looks too strong. Alabama travels to the Plains to meet Auburn to decide the SEC West. It will be a classic.

I took a bath last week and went 1-4 in the Vegas 5. Thank you LSU for saving me. I go into the last week of the regular season at 34-24-2. Against The Spread in Top 25/SEC I sit at 157-112.

The Vegas 5 this week is very tricky. Rivalries and finales are tough to predict as this is the week that some guys play for the last time ever. I’ll take Pitt (+13.5) as they host Miami. The Canes play dangerously at times. South Carolina (+14) will keep close when Clemson visits. I want the Over (47.5) in the Apple Cup when Washington and Washington St tangle. I’m going Under (74.5) when Arizona meets Arizona St. That’s a lot of points in a rivalry game. And Oregon (-25) covers when they host Oregon St in the Civil War.

Who are you taking?

NCAA Week 0

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Week 0 is in the books and college football is here. Nothing surprising happened. Stanford rolled, Hawaii struggled on the east coast, and Colorado St showed why the solid teams in the Group of 5 are better than the bottom teams of the Power 5.

So, it’s game week! I’ll have a rooting interest in the Bama v FSU, of course, but from a betting perspective I’d stay away. But that doesn’t mean I don’t see some games of interest that our friends in the desert might offer something worth playing.

Let me preface this by saying Auburn is a team that can make a legitimate run at titles, but favored over Georgia Southern by 34? I don’t see them covering against a solid Sun Belt team that gives most everyone fits.

Michigan is replacing an awful lot from last year. Despite the immense potential of those players and the fact that numerous Gators are suspended, I’m taking Florida straight up. Those not as bold as me are welcome to look at the spread which favors Michigan by 3 ½.

 

Quick hits: I like Maryland (+18) and the points against Texas, South Alabama (+24) against Mississippi, and Texas A&M (+3 ½) against UCLA.

 

Who are your picks this week?

Bold College Football Predictions

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Paul Cochran stopped by to muse upon the upcoming season and talk about the Power 5 conferences. This year looks as wide open in some areas as any, but early season favorites narrow the projected field to around eight or nine squads. Click on The Football link to hazard a listen to what two college football fans feel is how the season could shakeout and who will sit on top at the end.