NCAA Week Four

[BobbyBlueChip]

Season Record 14-25 -18.05 units
Favorites 6-9 -6.10 units
Dogs 5-5 -0.50 units
Halftimes 3-5 -1.45 units
Totals 0-7 -9.80 units
Other -0.20 units

Big win for the Irish in South Bend last week. And while most of the reports that I?ve read have all talked about the gift-wrapped victory for the Irish and how they were outgained in yards, they miss the fact that it?s tough to outgain an opponent when a team gets the ball on their opponents 20-yard line and there?s not much incentive to move the ball in a rain storm when a team has an 11- or 18-point lead.

The fact was that they scored TDs on their first 3 possessions and didn?t settle for field goals. Their offensive line was able to get a push against the Michigan Dline which is the best they will see until $C . . .

. . .and they?ve developed a passing game where their QB not only stays upright, but he has receivers that run routes that aren?t just flys and hooks like he had last year.

This bodes well for them this week because the Spartan defensive backfield looks to be their weakness (they?re still in the process of shuffling their starters) and the Irish should have some success and will be serviceable on run offense. ND?s defense will be severely tested by Ringer ? who?s not only the leading scorer in the NCAA, he?s also the smallest protector of the 50-yard line against a flag plant of a program that has much too much class to ever plant their flag in a stadium as ugly as Spartan Stadium

ND?s got an awful YPC average, but it?s mostly because SDSt used the run as a gadget play and they were in 5 DB sets most of the second half against Michigan. If they?re not able to slow down Ringer from MAKING PLAYS!!!* with the blitzing scheme then the Irish will most likely get blown out on Saturday. But I don?t think he will be able to carry the team and Hoyer will have to MAKE PLAYS* and he hasn?t proven that to me that he?s capable of MAKING PLAYS!!!*

So, the two matchups that will dictate this game will be the ND pass offense and the MSU running offense. MSU wins both of these and it?s a blowout. If the Irish can win one, then they can win the game with Sparty?s fragile psyche (Pucker, Pucker, Pucker*).

Like Samson before him, Clausen?s strength lies in his golden locks. Top Jimmy ? He?s the King!

*If you have a chance ? listen to this next day radio show after the 2006 game. It starts slow, but it?s worth it

http://houserockbuilt.blogspot.com/2006/09/msu-radio-host-melts-****ing-down-on.html

Notre Dame +9 1 unit
Notre Dame +300 1/2 unit

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

The whole time I was watching the UCLA-Tennessee game and pissing and moaning at Fulmer, I realized that it's not Fulmer's fault. It's my fault for betting on a coach that has never covered in a game he's supposed to win. No numbers to back it up, but he also covers a lot in games that he has no chance.

At the beginning of the season, I thought the Gators may be the best team in the country and maybe they still are, but they're a bit soft on D. If we learned one thing in the game against the Bruins, it's that they can run the ball. Hopefully, Fulmer lets them.

Tennessee +7.5

Tough trip back across the country for a team that lost "the most important game for their program"

Toledo +7

No logical solution to ever back Wake, but they just keep winning

Wake Forest +4

They haven't forgot everything. Will be able to establish a run game against an undersized Navy team and have had 10 days to prep for the option

Rutgers -6

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

Jack and Agent on this one. No way it can lose


Colorado +120

 

[Agent 0659]

Jack and Agent on this one. No way it can lose


Colorado +120

Good point!kurby

 

[bej0101]

Jack and Agent on this one. No way it can lose


Colorado +120

:mj07: :mj07: :mj07:

 

[Whitt's End]

good luck this weekend Bobby.

butting heads on Sparty/ND, but i like your other picks. especially Wake.

 

[THE KOD]

Florida linebacker calls out Tennessee
Brandon Spikes says Volunteers ?quit playing? during last season?s game
By TONY BARNHART

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, September 18, 2008


Given the long and bitter history of the rivalry, Tennessee does not need any extra motivation to get ready to play Florida.

But Brandon Spikes, a senior linebacker for the Gators, decided to be generous this week and give the Volunteers some bulletin board material.

Spikes basically used Monday?s post-practice session with the media to call out Tennessee, whom he said ?quit playing? in last year?s 59-20 win by Florida in Gainesville.

?They kind of gave up,? Spikes said of the Volunteers, who play Florida on Saturday at Neyland Stadium (3:30 p.m., CBS). ?They quit playing.?

Tennessee doesn?t quite see it that way. The Volunteers remember a game where they trailed 28-6 and rallied to within eight, 28-20, when Fairburn?s Eric Berry returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown.

Tennessee had the ball and a chance to tie when running back Arian Foster fumbled and Florida?s Dustin Doe returned it 18 yards for a touchdown. The dam broke and Florida scored 31 unanswered points to create the blowout.

After the game Florida special teams player Derek Baldry said that after one of the late Gator touchdowns, a Tennessee player told him that he wasn?t even going to try to block an extra point attempt.

?That kind of surprised me, for him saying I don?t want to rush,? Spikes told reporters. ?But I know they are not really as tough as us.?

Needless to say that in the world of instant communications, that word got to Knoxville in time for Tuesday?s weekly press conference.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, who has been in a pretty foul mood since the Vols lost to UCLA (27-24, OT on Sept. 1), insists that his players did not quit during last year?s game.

?It probably came from the (Florida) coaches because the players tend to repeat things that are said,? Fulmer told reporters during his Tuesday press conference. ?But I try to look at things realistically. The fact is that we were just on the field way too long in the third quarter and we got gassed. (But) if they don?t respect us then why are they practicing??

Tennessee?s players, as you might imagine, disagree with the assessment of Spikes.

?It?s complete disrespect,? Foster told reporters. ?It?s probably made to provoke and get a rise out of us.?

?He?s entitled to his own opinion,? linebacker Rico McCoy said. ?It?s a new year and a new ball game. We?ll see on Saturday.?

Spikes may have used bad judgment in calling Tennessee out, but the jury is still out on whether or not Tennessee has the wherewithal to do anything about it.

This is a big game for Tennessee and not just because the Volunteers want to shut up Brandon Spikes. Tennessee football needs a big win after losing to a UCLA team that clearly did not have as much talent as the Volunteers. And it didn?t help the psyche of the Big Orange Nation when that same UCLA team was destroyed 59-0 last Saturday by BYU.

And Fulmer, the dean of SEC coaches, needs a big win in the worst possible way.

Despite going 10-4 last season and reaching the SEC championship game Fulmer, in his 17th season as head coach, still has his critics. The Volunteers have not won an SEC championship since 1998, when Tennessee also won the national title. In the 10 years since Tennessee?s last SEC championship, Georgia (Mark Richt), Florida (Urban Meyer), and Alabama (Nick Saban) have hired new coaches and energized their programs. Fulmer?s critics point out that he is 3-4 against Richt, 1-4 against Saban (at Alabama and LSU), and 0-3 against Meyer.

Despite the fact that Tennessee has averaged about 9 wins per year and gone to six New Year?s Day bowls since 1998, there are Tennessee fans who feel the Volunteer program has grown stale and is falling behind the other rising stars in the SEC.

?Fulmer?s biggest problem is that he hasn?t won an SEC championship in 10 years,? said Jimmy Hyams, who has been covering Tennessee football for newspapers and radio in Knoxville since 1985. ?No single coach in Tennessee history has gone that long without winning an SEC championship. That?s the main thing.

?But there are also people who say they are just tired of Phillip and want a change. I try to tell those people that in this kind of situation change is not always good.?

Since 1968 Fulmer has spent all but five years as a player, assistant coach, or head coach on the Tennessee campus. His roots in Knoxville are deep. He got a new contract over the summer that gives him an automatic extension for eight wins or more. The critics have said that rewards mediocrity. Fulmer appreciates their passion.

?I understand that our people have high expectations. That?s a good thing. That?s what we want at Tennessee. I have high expectations too and nobody wants to win more than I do,? said Fulmer, who needs just 26 wins to become Tennessee?s all-time winner, surpassing the legendary General Bob Neyland. ?I know how hard our players and our coaches work.?
..................................................................

Not good to say this stuff when you got to play
at Rocky Top this weekend.

 

[MadJack]

Notre Dame +9 1 unit
Notre Dame +300 1/2 unit

:nooo:

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

Thanks for the info, Scott

Thanks for nothing, Jack

 

[THE KOD]

:nooo:

............................................................

I like his Tenn play even before the Gator guy had to open his yapper.

I like the fact that it gives motivation to a Tenn team that always , and I mean always plays good at home. Even if tennesee loses they play good.

At least that is what I have seen.

Combine the home dogs with the home crowd emotion. These Tenn players dont mind getting in the dirt with ya, and grunting like a wild boar, let out of a pen for the first time.

I mean these country boys hate to lose. And thats a good thing. It bodes well having the points under these circumstances.

The downside of the wager is this.

If the Florida Gators are trully a national championship team, (and I think they are cabable) they should still win this game handily.

The Florida Gators have not been tested like this game in Tennesee Rocky Top will test them.

The strong survive and it should be the Florida Gators to dominate on both sides of the line. Tebow just too much to handle.

I cannot force a wager on the

Tenn Vols / Florida Gator game.

But good luck Chipper , I'm not on the other side.
So one of us will be happy.

 

[THE KOD]

well volfan says he is worried about Tenn

but good luck chipper , you never know when lightning may strike you

 

[THE KOD]

It could happen

anything is possible if you just dream

 

[MadJack]

i'm on ten too. gl

i can't post my own thread (jinx) so will post my picks in your lucky thread.

ten
ark
ari st

(didn't bet those yet, hoping i get more points)

already took

msu -8.5 (blew it. down to 8)
aub under 38 -120
baylor +13

 

[IntenseOperator]

i'm on ten too. gl

i can't post my own thread (jinx) so will post my picks in your lucky thread.

ten
ark
ari st

(didn't bet those yet, hoping i get more points)

already took

msu -8.5 (blew it. down to 8)
aub under 38 -120
baylor +13

good way to get back at BBC :thumb:

 

[THE KOD]

i'm on ten too. gl

i can't post my own thread (jinx) so will post my picks in your lucky thread.

ten
ark
ari st

.............................................................

what a kick to the nads

 

[MadJack]

because i went against his ND play?

this is another one that colin cowherd convinced me of. msu all the way :0corn

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

colin cowherd :mj07:

Any word on who Hammerin' Hank likes? :mj07:

Welcome to the lucky thread, Jack - Glad to have your picks here

.2 units to win a lot
parlay
ND +260
Wake +175
Tenn +250
Toledo +245

 

[MadJack]

colin cowherd :mj07:

Any word on who Hammerin' Hank likes? :mj07:

Welcome to the lucky thread, Jack - Glad to have your picks here

.2 units to win a lot
parlay
ND +260
Wake +175
Tenn +250
Toledo +245

i like colin :shrug:

he made sense :shrug:

good luck, slick!

 

[THE KOD]

colin cowherd :mj07:

Any word on who Hammerin' Hank likes? :mj07:

Welcome to the lucky thread, Jack - Glad to have your picks here

.2 units to win a lot
parlay
ND +260
Wake +175
Tenn +250
Toledo +245

....................................................

I see a problem in the four .

but gl with that

just sayin

hope that helps

 

[MadJack]

i'm a puss and bailin out. took uconn -7 +105 2H.