YTD: 7-5 +1.85 units
Cincy +3.5...hope I wasn't premature in booking this one as the line keeps moving up, but I didn't want to run the risk of not getting the hook for free here. Almost to a fault, Cincy seems to play all of their games close. Just looking at last years schedule says a lot about this team, as they beat WV by 2, let Temple hang around and need 3 OTs to beat them, and let a hapless Army squad hang around before beating them by a field goal. They were the same way in losses, as 5 of their losses were by a TD or less (their two home losses were by 2 to So Miss and 3 to Louisville). Good corp of seniors on this team, and they have demonstrated that they can hang around in games, vs both good and bad competition.
I came away less than impressed with the decision making of Josh Betts for Miami and the team conditioning of the Red Hawks vs Michigan. Betts was making bad reads, throwing into double coverage, and worst of all throwing the ball up for grabs when he was getting hit. To me it doesn't really matter who they are playing; throwing the ball up for grabs will get you into trouble most of the time. As for the conditioning aspect I do attribute some of that to the weight/speed they gave away to Michigan, especially in the trenches, but it does not account for the large dropoff I saw between the first and second halfs. I just got the impression that the WRs were worn out, and the line was gased. Only being up for 45 minutes of a 60 minute contest is not acceptable when you're playing a team that can match you talent wise like I believe Cincy does.
Cincy hung tough at OSU last weekend, and turnovers killed them late. As long as they play a smart game they should be in position to win it late this weekend
Penn St -2....hope I'm not blinded by faith in Joe Pa, but I think he's going to have a solid year and right this ship before he goes. Penn St's offensive came out to a fast start vs Akron and BC struggled to mount anything early vs Ball St. Revenge game, and I think the Penn St defense shuts down a meager BC offense. Points might be at a premium but I like PSU to win.
West Virginia -20.....this comes down to two things for me, WVU's far superior athletes and the fact that UCF played a tough Wisconsin team last week and is coming in beat up. I like the run D that West Virginia showed against ECU, holding them to about 2 yards per carry. UCF could rush at all vs Wisconsin (53 yards on 35 attempts) and I expect the same thing here. UCF also gave up 4 sacks last time out so I think the Mountaineers will be in the backfield a lot on Saturday. Augur brought up a good point, that West Virginia coming out of the Big East doesn't have a ton of respect yet, so they they know that they need to blow out a lot of teams to get attention.
Florida Atlantic +7....I was so impressed with FAU last week, as Hawaii isn't the easiest trip to make and they passed this test with flying colors. To just get to OT was a major accomplishment but to have the composure to pull out the win is what blew me away. They could have been happy with themselves but they wanted more, and that's a sign of great coaching.
North Texas lost to Texas 65-0, and in my opinion couldn't have taken much away from that game. Honestly think they would have been better off just holding practice. They just go manhandeled on every angle of the game, which isn't a good way to start the season nor is it something to "build on."
I'll take the points with a team that has shown me that they are not going to quit, are well coached and are a pesky bunch. Look for North Texas to make some typical "first game mistakes" since they couldn't really work out kinks last week vs Texas
Cincy +3.5...hope I wasn't premature in booking this one as the line keeps moving up, but I didn't want to run the risk of not getting the hook for free here. Almost to a fault, Cincy seems to play all of their games close. Just looking at last years schedule says a lot about this team, as they beat WV by 2, let Temple hang around and need 3 OTs to beat them, and let a hapless Army squad hang around before beating them by a field goal. They were the same way in losses, as 5 of their losses were by a TD or less (their two home losses were by 2 to So Miss and 3 to Louisville). Good corp of seniors on this team, and they have demonstrated that they can hang around in games, vs both good and bad competition.
I came away less than impressed with the decision making of Josh Betts for Miami and the team conditioning of the Red Hawks vs Michigan. Betts was making bad reads, throwing into double coverage, and worst of all throwing the ball up for grabs when he was getting hit. To me it doesn't really matter who they are playing; throwing the ball up for grabs will get you into trouble most of the time. As for the conditioning aspect I do attribute some of that to the weight/speed they gave away to Michigan, especially in the trenches, but it does not account for the large dropoff I saw between the first and second halfs. I just got the impression that the WRs were worn out, and the line was gased. Only being up for 45 minutes of a 60 minute contest is not acceptable when you're playing a team that can match you talent wise like I believe Cincy does.
Cincy hung tough at OSU last weekend, and turnovers killed them late. As long as they play a smart game they should be in position to win it late this weekend
Penn St -2....hope I'm not blinded by faith in Joe Pa, but I think he's going to have a solid year and right this ship before he goes. Penn St's offensive came out to a fast start vs Akron and BC struggled to mount anything early vs Ball St. Revenge game, and I think the Penn St defense shuts down a meager BC offense. Points might be at a premium but I like PSU to win.
West Virginia -20.....this comes down to two things for me, WVU's far superior athletes and the fact that UCF played a tough Wisconsin team last week and is coming in beat up. I like the run D that West Virginia showed against ECU, holding them to about 2 yards per carry. UCF could rush at all vs Wisconsin (53 yards on 35 attempts) and I expect the same thing here. UCF also gave up 4 sacks last time out so I think the Mountaineers will be in the backfield a lot on Saturday. Augur brought up a good point, that West Virginia coming out of the Big East doesn't have a ton of respect yet, so they they know that they need to blow out a lot of teams to get attention.
Florida Atlantic +7....I was so impressed with FAU last week, as Hawaii isn't the easiest trip to make and they passed this test with flying colors. To just get to OT was a major accomplishment but to have the composure to pull out the win is what blew me away. They could have been happy with themselves but they wanted more, and that's a sign of great coaching.
North Texas lost to Texas 65-0, and in my opinion couldn't have taken much away from that game. Honestly think they would have been better off just holding practice. They just go manhandeled on every angle of the game, which isn't a good way to start the season nor is it something to "build on."
I'll take the points with a team that has shown me that they are not going to quit, are well coached and are a pesky bunch. Look for North Texas to make some typical "first game mistakes" since they couldn't really work out kinks last week vs Texas
