NCAAYTD: 4-4 (-0.36*)
NFL YTD: 1-2 (-1.1*)
In recent years I've met my target of having immersed myself in football by the week of the PGA golf championship in order to get up to speed to start the season, but this year I confess to missing that target and investing almost no time in preparation before the lines came out on Monday during the first week of the NCAA season . . . For three straight years I have noted in my first football post of the season that money management is a way of life in my wagering, which this September translated into the need to ease myself into the season, and although it wasn't easy to be disciplined, I got it done.
On to this week's confusion . . .
Boise Stae(-8 & -7) over Wyoming (1.5*)
- - Twice before I've successfully spotted a Boise State swagger and climbed on the bandwagon at the right time, and I'm trusting my similar judgment again. In their prime, that team flips on a light switch other Rocky Mountain teams don't possess, and while they showcase it on the Blue Carpet, when at their best they feed off the swagger when they hit the road and know they are the better team. With extra days for Boise to prepare, and the benefit (to me) of a matchup against a Cowboys team I really followed initially in 2004, followed closely in 2005, and kept decent tabs on heading into 2006, I see this spot as an untasty sandwich filling between pulling out all the stops during an overtime loss on the East Coast (a deflating missed PAT loss at that) and Air Force on deck.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190536283
Baylor(+13') over Washington State (1*)
The Long Version:
- - The most entertaining game I saw last year that didn't involve national powers was Texas A&M hosting Baylor. Baylor took it to the revenge minded Aggies from start to finish, but red zone futility of the very highest order marked an ascending team going through growing pains, and the bad guys prevailed in overtime in that one. Going forward under HC Guy Morriss, only a mismatch against Texas last year (and maybe the Missouri game, which I don't remember) failed to showcase a team that hated taking no for an answer. It was amazing how constant was the theme of a reasonably sharp offense between the 20s ending with red zone futility that would drain bad teams, but lo and behold their defense would rise up and put the ball right back in their hands in great shape, and the whole painful process repeated itself until about crunch time . . .Starting this season, I was so tempted to take Baylor against TCU, but I was afraid that foe would prevail if the game had the rhythms of the 2005 season, and that is EXACTLY what transpired - almost scarily so. On to this week and what surely appears as a huge opportunity in a season of committment and promise. Although West Coast trips are always frought with danger, the host and their somewhat beleaguered coach are not likely to be real focused on Baylor in a scheduling sandwhich between a rout of former HC Dennis Erickson's Idaho Vandals and their Pac 10 opener, and potentially a further benefit lies in the game being played in awesome Seahawk Stadium, to inspire the visitor and diminish the home field advantages. I believe Baylor is 5-1 in the role of a pesky dog off a SU win, but putting points on the board looks like the fighting issue with this wager.
The Short Version:
- - I know what I know, and that team has a Big Heart.
Oregon(-4) over Oklahoma (1*)
- - A Holiday Bowl rematch is not so much a good homestand spot for the Ducks in the middle of a Fresno and ASU sandwich as it is a good spot for Oklahoma to be exposed . . . "It definitely feels good to get out there show everybody that we're all right, we're fine," (Okl QB Paul) Thompson said. "I think that the people scared were people on the outside of this team. Everyone within this organization felt real comfortable about where we were at . . . I just wanted to continue to prove, not just to myself, but to the team that we?re fine. Jump on my back and I?m going to carry you.?
More plays already in the hopper, but I'm slow with the write-ups.
GL
NFL YTD: 1-2 (-1.1*)
In recent years I've met my target of having immersed myself in football by the week of the PGA golf championship in order to get up to speed to start the season, but this year I confess to missing that target and investing almost no time in preparation before the lines came out on Monday during the first week of the NCAA season . . . For three straight years I have noted in my first football post of the season that money management is a way of life in my wagering, which this September translated into the need to ease myself into the season, and although it wasn't easy to be disciplined, I got it done.
On to this week's confusion . . .
Boise Stae(-8 & -7) over Wyoming (1.5*)
- - Twice before I've successfully spotted a Boise State swagger and climbed on the bandwagon at the right time, and I'm trusting my similar judgment again. In their prime, that team flips on a light switch other Rocky Mountain teams don't possess, and while they showcase it on the Blue Carpet, when at their best they feed off the swagger when they hit the road and know they are the better team. With extra days for Boise to prepare, and the benefit (to me) of a matchup against a Cowboys team I really followed initially in 2004, followed closely in 2005, and kept decent tabs on heading into 2006, I see this spot as an untasty sandwich filling between pulling out all the stops during an overtime loss on the East Coast (a deflating missed PAT loss at that) and Air Force on deck.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190536283
Baylor(+13') over Washington State (1*)
The Long Version:
- - The most entertaining game I saw last year that didn't involve national powers was Texas A&M hosting Baylor. Baylor took it to the revenge minded Aggies from start to finish, but red zone futility of the very highest order marked an ascending team going through growing pains, and the bad guys prevailed in overtime in that one. Going forward under HC Guy Morriss, only a mismatch against Texas last year (and maybe the Missouri game, which I don't remember) failed to showcase a team that hated taking no for an answer. It was amazing how constant was the theme of a reasonably sharp offense between the 20s ending with red zone futility that would drain bad teams, but lo and behold their defense would rise up and put the ball right back in their hands in great shape, and the whole painful process repeated itself until about crunch time . . .Starting this season, I was so tempted to take Baylor against TCU, but I was afraid that foe would prevail if the game had the rhythms of the 2005 season, and that is EXACTLY what transpired - almost scarily so. On to this week and what surely appears as a huge opportunity in a season of committment and promise. Although West Coast trips are always frought with danger, the host and their somewhat beleaguered coach are not likely to be real focused on Baylor in a scheduling sandwhich between a rout of former HC Dennis Erickson's Idaho Vandals and their Pac 10 opener, and potentially a further benefit lies in the game being played in awesome Seahawk Stadium, to inspire the visitor and diminish the home field advantages. I believe Baylor is 5-1 in the role of a pesky dog off a SU win, but putting points on the board looks like the fighting issue with this wager.
The Short Version:
- - I know what I know, and that team has a Big Heart.
Oregon(-4) over Oklahoma (1*)
- - A Holiday Bowl rematch is not so much a good homestand spot for the Ducks in the middle of a Fresno and ASU sandwich as it is a good spot for Oklahoma to be exposed . . . "It definitely feels good to get out there show everybody that we're all right, we're fine," (Okl QB Paul) Thompson said. "I think that the people scared were people on the outside of this team. Everyone within this organization felt real comfortable about where we were at . . . I just wanted to continue to prove, not just to myself, but to the team that we?re fine. Jump on my back and I?m going to carry you.?
More plays already in the hopper, but I'm slow with the write-ups.
GL
