These picks were already posted yesterday in my thread entitled Thursday and Friday college football. I thought I would just copy and paste them so I had all picks together in one thread for the weekend.
Best bets (4-0)(+12.00 units)
Strong plays (0-3)(-6.60 units)
Regular plays (2-4)(-2.40 units)
Overall (6-7)(+3.00 units)
OPINIONS 5-3 (no units, just for fun)
Got the first week under my belt. Take away my best bets and I suck. Take away my strong and regular plays and I am great. Which is it? I wish I knew the answer to that one. Hopefully after this weekend I will get an answer and I hope it is the great part rather than the I suck part.
Thursday, September 7th
Oregon State +8 vs Boise State (best bet)??????.I have read everything from Oregon State being a lock to ?You have to be crazy to go against Boise State at home, they don?t lose at home?. No doubt that Boise State is a great home team, of course who do they really play at home? Exactly. Pac 10 is the better conference and I am not so sure the middle of the road pac 10 teams are not nearly as good as the upper teams in Boise?s conference. Oregon State seems to play well vs Boise too. I think they are probably the better team at Boise, but not by more than a touchdown. I would not be shocked at all to see an outright upset here, but I won?t call for that. I see Boise winning this game by seven points, but it will be much closer than that. I see a see-saw game the whole way with Boise pulling it out in the end. Reports out of the pac 10 have OSU looking pretty good this year. I really think too much is being made out of Boise blue turf here. I know I am due to lose a best bet, but I don?t see it happening on Thursday. I feel pretty solid with this one.
Friday, September 8th
Cincinnati +8 vs Pittsburgh (strong play)????..Trust me on this one, Pitt is not as good as they looked last week and there is not way they should be more than a touchdown favorite at Cincinnati. I still think coach Dave is an idiot for the panthers and he will prove it in this game. Games like this used to be automatic for the panthers, but not anymore. They really seem to play to the level of their competition recently. While they have the talent and can be good enough to play and beat anybody, they have to ability to suck and lose to just about anybody as well. I just don?t trust them on the road and even more so as a road favorite. Virginia is going to have a bad team this year, so don?t let last weeks results fool you. I have always been a big Pitt fan and I am just hoping they can pull this one out and get a win. With that being said an outright loss is certainly possible.
I will be back sometime on Thursday with the rest of my picks for Saturday in college football. I just wanted to get these two in before the lines move against me and I feel that they will. I can see both games going down to seven and I really like the comfort of getting more than a td in both games.
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It?s Thursday and I am back. Here are the rest of my college football plays for the entire weekend.
Saturday, September 9th
Idaho +17 vs Washington State (best bet)??????..This one seems like a gift to me. Wash St was blown out by Auburn, while Idaho played at Michigan and gave them a battle late into the game. Idaho is now coached by Dennis Erickson, I know you all know that name from his championships at Miami-Florida. There two a familiar with each other as well, they seem to play each other a good bit for not being in the same conference. Last year Wash St only beat them by 12 at home and while both teams might be better than last years version, I think Idaho is the more improved of the two. Idaho had more offensive plays and controlled the clock vs Michigan State last week. I really like that combination and then you are going to give me 17 points on top of that?.I will take it. Do you really think Wash State is that much better than Michigan State? Probably not. This one almost feels too easy to me. I suppose there is a chance that Wash State could blow their doors in. God knows I will lose my share of games this year, and I could be way off on this one, but I don?t think so. I am not that big of a fool to call for a 17 point dog to win outright, but they get the cash here. Lets call it Washington State 27 Idaho 17
San Jose State +9.5 vs Stanford (best bet)????I guess my theme this week for my best bets is going against pac-10 teams. Last week San Jose St only lost by six at Washington and I know that is a tough place to play, while Stanford was being blown out by Oregon. In that game last week Oregon had crossed midfield in every possession. Wow! What does that tell you about Stanford?s defense? Like the above game, these two are familiar with each other. San Jose St is one of those headache teams for the pac-10. It is a game that you should win, and sometimes don?t. San Jose is not afraid of that conference and they have to know to give some pac-10 teams fits. When this line come out, I first thought it was at Stanford, but I was wrong. This is a very live dog here and they could easily win this game outright. I believe the money line is something like +310. Greed kills though, I am not touching it even though I think it could happen. Getting more than a touchdown is a gift at home in my eyes. San Jose should have a ton on confidence going into this game and they believe they can win it. Confidence and emotion play a huge part in college football and I think they are both on my side this Saturday. This game should be decided by 4 points or less by either team. Lets call for the upset?..San Jose State 31-27
Wyoming +9 vs Virginia (strong play)????..I have read somewhere that Virginia might be in for a long season. Heck, they got blown out by a pitt team coached by one of the worst coaches in organized football, coach Dave. I guess you can tell that I am not a Wannstadt fan. He ruined my Miami Dolphins and is in the process of ruining my pitt panthers. Enough about that, getting off the subject, I could talk about Dave all season, and I probably will. I need to let it go. Anyhow, what does that tell you about Virginia? It tells me they are going to struggle. I am sure playing at home will make a difference this week. That is the only reason I can think they are this big of a favorite. I really think these two teams are equal to each other and I know home field in not worth almost 10 points to Virginia. Wyoming beat Utah St last week 38-7. I know that is no big deal, but they out yarded Utah St. 460-129 and it held the Aggies to just five first downs. That is impressive no matter who the competition is. On the other hand, Virginia crossed midfield only four times on the night and its first two scores were on drives of 18 and 13 yards vs the panthers. All of this does not bode well for a team laying nine points. All these dogs are looking pretty easy to me this week. Wyoming has to be feeling good about themselves, while Virginia must have some doubts right now. I would be surprised if Virginia does a number on them this weekend.
Penn State +8 vs Notre Dame (strong play)????.God I hate these two teams, but I think it is an excellent opportunity to make some money. Penn State is one of those teams who when they are a dog, you don?t question it, you take. In a nutshell, it is as simple as that as to why I took Penn State. You don?t always need a bunch of reasons. Penn State has a great secondary, at least they are supposed to this year. I think Brady Quinn is a very good QB, but not heisman material like everybody makes him out to be. He can be rattled and I am sure Joe will come up with something to rattle him. Even though I am a pitt fan, I live in Penn State territory. Everybody has been talking about this kid at QB, Anthony Morelli, for Penn State. I guess he is supposed to be pretty good. He fared well last week vs Akron, but this is a different ballgame at the irish. I think this might be a close, conservative game played close to the vest. Neither team wants to lose and I feel they will play the game not to lose rather than to win. A game like that will likely be decided in the fourth quarter and if that is the case and I am right about it, eight points will be huge.
Those are my top plays for Saturday. I guess looking back it makes me nervous that I have all dogs, but I have to go with what I believe. If my thinking is way off, this could be a nightmare. Every once in while you get a week where you feel so good and at the end of the weekend you just shake your head and wonder what happened. I hope that does not happen this week. It is too early in the year to have my confidence shaken so badly.
Minnesota +8 vs California (regular play)?????..Everybody is talking about how good Cal is going to be this year and last weeks game was a fluke. Now the are going to take it out on a road poor Minnesota team. I don?t buy that. Maybe Cal is not as good as people think. Minnesota has a history of starting the season off fast then choking in the final few games. I liked Kent last week vs Minny and boy was I ever wrong as Minny blew them out 44-0 and if I am not mistaken, that game was at Kent and those mac teams have a history of giving big 10 teams fits. I think Cal might be a little shaken right while Minnesota believes it can win on the road. I expect Cal will get the win here, but not by more than a touchdown. There I go again, taking another dog and playing against the pac-10.
Air Force +19.5 vs Tennessee (regular play)?????.Wow! Tennessee looked good last week, but I do not believe that they are back from what they used to be either. I think they were really up for that game. All they heard was how good California was and they had no chance of winning. They were sky high and came through. I don?t see how they can play with the same emotion this week with Florida on deck next. This is a classic sandwich game if there ever was one. They are nearly three touchdown favorites here. I am sure they are going into this game knowing they cannot lose, it would be nearly impossible. Air Force has not played yet this year, so we don?t know what to expect. Air Force is another one of those headache teams that you don?t want to play because of their style. If they can eat up some of the clock they will stay within the number here. I am looking for a semi-close game at least headed into the fourth quarter. It is a question then in the Vols wake up from their sleep walk I believe they will be in through the first half. I think this is one of those games that you say afterwards ?How did they look so good last week and so bad this week? Let?s see if I am right about this one.
BYU - 5 vs Tulsa (regular play)????Hold on, I took a favorite this week, watch it be my only winner, that would suck. This is more of a gut feeling for me. No real stats or anything to back it up. I just have a feeling BYU is going to have a decent year this year. I look for their offense to get back on track, especially at home. BYU?s QB is supposed to be real good, a byu tradition that we have not seen in while. I think they are hungry after a hard fought loss at Arizona last week. Coming home should be enough to push them over the edge and win by at least a touchdown, but I have a feeling this could be a blowout. Tulsa blew out Stephen F. Austin last week, but we won?t count that. That sounds like they played a person instead of a team. Sorry, don?t mean to make fun of that school, but I do find it humorous. Just a strong gut feeling that this is an easy winner.
OPINIONS ( no units, just for fun)
Illinois +10.5 vs Rutgers?..Illinois has a lot of starters back from last year. They sucked last year and Rutgers was good and they beat them. Just sounds funny seeing Rutgers this big a favorite.
N Carolina +12.5 vs Virginia Tech???.Tech plays to level of competition, Carolina a live home dog here. Should be a tight one.
Vanderbilt +16 vs Alabama???..Vandy a history of battling Bama. Bama did not look real strong vs a very poor Hawaii team last week. Too many points here.
Colorado St -2 vs Colorado???.Long year for the Buffs.
Ohio State +2.5 vs Texas??..How could I not make a play on the game of the week. Vince Young not there anymore. Longhorns back to their ways on not being able to win the big game.
All these dogs make me nervous, but what can I do, I like who I like. I think the time to win in college football is early when like us, the lines makers need to find out who is good and who is not. I say there are some bad lines this week and they are being too generous with the points. People love to bet favorites in football and I think the dogs have value in the first few weeks. The odds makers will catch up quickly, so take advantage now of any mistakes. Then again, these could me my mistakes too. We will find out Sunday morning when I add this mess up.
Good Luck Everybody!!
Best bets (4-0)(+12.00 units)
Strong plays (0-3)(-6.60 units)
Regular plays (2-4)(-2.40 units)
Overall (6-7)(+3.00 units)
OPINIONS 5-3 (no units, just for fun)
Got the first week under my belt. Take away my best bets and I suck. Take away my strong and regular plays and I am great. Which is it? I wish I knew the answer to that one. Hopefully after this weekend I will get an answer and I hope it is the great part rather than the I suck part.
Thursday, September 7th
Oregon State +8 vs Boise State (best bet)??????.I have read everything from Oregon State being a lock to ?You have to be crazy to go against Boise State at home, they don?t lose at home?. No doubt that Boise State is a great home team, of course who do they really play at home? Exactly. Pac 10 is the better conference and I am not so sure the middle of the road pac 10 teams are not nearly as good as the upper teams in Boise?s conference. Oregon State seems to play well vs Boise too. I think they are probably the better team at Boise, but not by more than a touchdown. I would not be shocked at all to see an outright upset here, but I won?t call for that. I see Boise winning this game by seven points, but it will be much closer than that. I see a see-saw game the whole way with Boise pulling it out in the end. Reports out of the pac 10 have OSU looking pretty good this year. I really think too much is being made out of Boise blue turf here. I know I am due to lose a best bet, but I don?t see it happening on Thursday. I feel pretty solid with this one.
Friday, September 8th
Cincinnati +8 vs Pittsburgh (strong play)????..Trust me on this one, Pitt is not as good as they looked last week and there is not way they should be more than a touchdown favorite at Cincinnati. I still think coach Dave is an idiot for the panthers and he will prove it in this game. Games like this used to be automatic for the panthers, but not anymore. They really seem to play to the level of their competition recently. While they have the talent and can be good enough to play and beat anybody, they have to ability to suck and lose to just about anybody as well. I just don?t trust them on the road and even more so as a road favorite. Virginia is going to have a bad team this year, so don?t let last weeks results fool you. I have always been a big Pitt fan and I am just hoping they can pull this one out and get a win. With that being said an outright loss is certainly possible.
I will be back sometime on Thursday with the rest of my picks for Saturday in college football. I just wanted to get these two in before the lines move against me and I feel that they will. I can see both games going down to seven and I really like the comfort of getting more than a td in both games.
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It?s Thursday and I am back. Here are the rest of my college football plays for the entire weekend.
Saturday, September 9th
Idaho +17 vs Washington State (best bet)??????..This one seems like a gift to me. Wash St was blown out by Auburn, while Idaho played at Michigan and gave them a battle late into the game. Idaho is now coached by Dennis Erickson, I know you all know that name from his championships at Miami-Florida. There two a familiar with each other as well, they seem to play each other a good bit for not being in the same conference. Last year Wash St only beat them by 12 at home and while both teams might be better than last years version, I think Idaho is the more improved of the two. Idaho had more offensive plays and controlled the clock vs Michigan State last week. I really like that combination and then you are going to give me 17 points on top of that?.I will take it. Do you really think Wash State is that much better than Michigan State? Probably not. This one almost feels too easy to me. I suppose there is a chance that Wash State could blow their doors in. God knows I will lose my share of games this year, and I could be way off on this one, but I don?t think so. I am not that big of a fool to call for a 17 point dog to win outright, but they get the cash here. Lets call it Washington State 27 Idaho 17
San Jose State +9.5 vs Stanford (best bet)????I guess my theme this week for my best bets is going against pac-10 teams. Last week San Jose St only lost by six at Washington and I know that is a tough place to play, while Stanford was being blown out by Oregon. In that game last week Oregon had crossed midfield in every possession. Wow! What does that tell you about Stanford?s defense? Like the above game, these two are familiar with each other. San Jose St is one of those headache teams for the pac-10. It is a game that you should win, and sometimes don?t. San Jose is not afraid of that conference and they have to know to give some pac-10 teams fits. When this line come out, I first thought it was at Stanford, but I was wrong. This is a very live dog here and they could easily win this game outright. I believe the money line is something like +310. Greed kills though, I am not touching it even though I think it could happen. Getting more than a touchdown is a gift at home in my eyes. San Jose should have a ton on confidence going into this game and they believe they can win it. Confidence and emotion play a huge part in college football and I think they are both on my side this Saturday. This game should be decided by 4 points or less by either team. Lets call for the upset?..San Jose State 31-27
Wyoming +9 vs Virginia (strong play)????..I have read somewhere that Virginia might be in for a long season. Heck, they got blown out by a pitt team coached by one of the worst coaches in organized football, coach Dave. I guess you can tell that I am not a Wannstadt fan. He ruined my Miami Dolphins and is in the process of ruining my pitt panthers. Enough about that, getting off the subject, I could talk about Dave all season, and I probably will. I need to let it go. Anyhow, what does that tell you about Virginia? It tells me they are going to struggle. I am sure playing at home will make a difference this week. That is the only reason I can think they are this big of a favorite. I really think these two teams are equal to each other and I know home field in not worth almost 10 points to Virginia. Wyoming beat Utah St last week 38-7. I know that is no big deal, but they out yarded Utah St. 460-129 and it held the Aggies to just five first downs. That is impressive no matter who the competition is. On the other hand, Virginia crossed midfield only four times on the night and its first two scores were on drives of 18 and 13 yards vs the panthers. All of this does not bode well for a team laying nine points. All these dogs are looking pretty easy to me this week. Wyoming has to be feeling good about themselves, while Virginia must have some doubts right now. I would be surprised if Virginia does a number on them this weekend.
Penn State +8 vs Notre Dame (strong play)????.God I hate these two teams, but I think it is an excellent opportunity to make some money. Penn State is one of those teams who when they are a dog, you don?t question it, you take. In a nutshell, it is as simple as that as to why I took Penn State. You don?t always need a bunch of reasons. Penn State has a great secondary, at least they are supposed to this year. I think Brady Quinn is a very good QB, but not heisman material like everybody makes him out to be. He can be rattled and I am sure Joe will come up with something to rattle him. Even though I am a pitt fan, I live in Penn State territory. Everybody has been talking about this kid at QB, Anthony Morelli, for Penn State. I guess he is supposed to be pretty good. He fared well last week vs Akron, but this is a different ballgame at the irish. I think this might be a close, conservative game played close to the vest. Neither team wants to lose and I feel they will play the game not to lose rather than to win. A game like that will likely be decided in the fourth quarter and if that is the case and I am right about it, eight points will be huge.
Those are my top plays for Saturday. I guess looking back it makes me nervous that I have all dogs, but I have to go with what I believe. If my thinking is way off, this could be a nightmare. Every once in while you get a week where you feel so good and at the end of the weekend you just shake your head and wonder what happened. I hope that does not happen this week. It is too early in the year to have my confidence shaken so badly.
Minnesota +8 vs California (regular play)?????..Everybody is talking about how good Cal is going to be this year and last weeks game was a fluke. Now the are going to take it out on a road poor Minnesota team. I don?t buy that. Maybe Cal is not as good as people think. Minnesota has a history of starting the season off fast then choking in the final few games. I liked Kent last week vs Minny and boy was I ever wrong as Minny blew them out 44-0 and if I am not mistaken, that game was at Kent and those mac teams have a history of giving big 10 teams fits. I think Cal might be a little shaken right while Minnesota believes it can win on the road. I expect Cal will get the win here, but not by more than a touchdown. There I go again, taking another dog and playing against the pac-10.
Air Force +19.5 vs Tennessee (regular play)?????.Wow! Tennessee looked good last week, but I do not believe that they are back from what they used to be either. I think they were really up for that game. All they heard was how good California was and they had no chance of winning. They were sky high and came through. I don?t see how they can play with the same emotion this week with Florida on deck next. This is a classic sandwich game if there ever was one. They are nearly three touchdown favorites here. I am sure they are going into this game knowing they cannot lose, it would be nearly impossible. Air Force has not played yet this year, so we don?t know what to expect. Air Force is another one of those headache teams that you don?t want to play because of their style. If they can eat up some of the clock they will stay within the number here. I am looking for a semi-close game at least headed into the fourth quarter. It is a question then in the Vols wake up from their sleep walk I believe they will be in through the first half. I think this is one of those games that you say afterwards ?How did they look so good last week and so bad this week? Let?s see if I am right about this one.
BYU - 5 vs Tulsa (regular play)????Hold on, I took a favorite this week, watch it be my only winner, that would suck. This is more of a gut feeling for me. No real stats or anything to back it up. I just have a feeling BYU is going to have a decent year this year. I look for their offense to get back on track, especially at home. BYU?s QB is supposed to be real good, a byu tradition that we have not seen in while. I think they are hungry after a hard fought loss at Arizona last week. Coming home should be enough to push them over the edge and win by at least a touchdown, but I have a feeling this could be a blowout. Tulsa blew out Stephen F. Austin last week, but we won?t count that. That sounds like they played a person instead of a team. Sorry, don?t mean to make fun of that school, but I do find it humorous. Just a strong gut feeling that this is an easy winner.
OPINIONS ( no units, just for fun)
Illinois +10.5 vs Rutgers?..Illinois has a lot of starters back from last year. They sucked last year and Rutgers was good and they beat them. Just sounds funny seeing Rutgers this big a favorite.
N Carolina +12.5 vs Virginia Tech???.Tech plays to level of competition, Carolina a live home dog here. Should be a tight one.
Vanderbilt +16 vs Alabama???..Vandy a history of battling Bama. Bama did not look real strong vs a very poor Hawaii team last week. Too many points here.
Colorado St -2 vs Colorado???.Long year for the Buffs.
Ohio State +2.5 vs Texas??..How could I not make a play on the game of the week. Vince Young not there anymore. Longhorns back to their ways on not being able to win the big game.
All these dogs make me nervous, but what can I do, I like who I like. I think the time to win in college football is early when like us, the lines makers need to find out who is good and who is not. I say there are some bad lines this week and they are being too generous with the points. People love to bet favorites in football and I think the dogs have value in the first few weeks. The odds makers will catch up quickly, so take advantage now of any mistakes. Then again, these could me my mistakes too. We will find out Sunday morning when I add this mess up.
Good Luck Everybody!!
