
It’s the final day of 2018, another momentous year. May 2019 be as interesting.
Pete was at the GLI last night where he ran into Denny A. There’s a blast from the past. He was the official referee of several mattress jousting and tape rolling contests. I still remember the calls of “Assholage !!” should someone walk into the middle of a contest. Munchkin seemed particularly susceptible to the call.
BK was giving me some grief over my Purdue Auburn pick saying I’m a disgrace to betting. That may be true but I reminded him that I put zero quatloos on the pick. I did however put a Mega Bet on the next game Syracuse over WVU. That paid off. It’s not how you pick them – it’s how you bet them.
So far the picks have been,well, not good and the betting has been great. The picks are 9-13 but the Mega Bets are 4-1. It’s been a very profitable Bowl Season so far. Let’s see if the good times keep rolling with:
Cincinnati -6.5 vs Virginia Tech – Military Bowl - This is a rematch of the 2014 Military Bowl won by Virginia Tech. But that win may as well been as far back as the 90’s. These teams are markedly different since that game.
The Hokies started the season on fire, winning 24-3 against Florida State. They would take a commanding 3-0 lead in the ACC Coastal. But QB Josh Jackson was injured in the stunning loss to Old Dominion and the Hokies would wind up losing four consecutive ACC games by double-digits slipping to 4-6.
It took wild overtime win over rival Virginia and then on championship weekend, while you were watching more important games. the Hokies beat Marshall in a added game to keep its streak of 25 straight postseason appearances alive.
I like HC Justin Fuente but after a great first season in Blacksburg, this marks a second straight season of decline for the Hokies.
Pete was at the GLI last night where he ran into Denny A. There’s a blast from the past. He was the official referee of several mattress jousting and tape rolling contests. I still remember the calls of “Assholage !!” should someone walk into the middle of a contest. Munchkin seemed particularly susceptible to the call.
BK was giving me some grief over my Purdue Auburn pick saying I’m a disgrace to betting. That may be true but I reminded him that I put zero quatloos on the pick. I did however put a Mega Bet on the next game Syracuse over WVU. That paid off. It’s not how you pick them – it’s how you bet them.
So far the picks have been,well, not good and the betting has been great. The picks are 9-13 but the Mega Bets are 4-1. It’s been a very profitable Bowl Season so far. Let’s see if the good times keep rolling with:
Cincinnati -6.5 vs Virginia Tech – Military Bowl - This is a rematch of the 2014 Military Bowl won by Virginia Tech. But that win may as well been as far back as the 90’s. These teams are markedly different since that game.
The Hokies started the season on fire, winning 24-3 against Florida State. They would take a commanding 3-0 lead in the ACC Coastal. But QB Josh Jackson was injured in the stunning loss to Old Dominion and the Hokies would wind up losing four consecutive ACC games by double-digits slipping to 4-6.
It took wild overtime win over rival Virginia and then on championship weekend, while you were watching more important games. the Hokies beat Marshall in a added game to keep its streak of 25 straight postseason appearances alive.
I like HC Justin Fuente but after a great first season in Blacksburg, this marks a second straight season of decline for the Hokies.

A DC from Ohio State leaves to go to Cincinnati where he puts together some great seasons. Sound familiar? It should Spartan fans. HC Luke Fickell has something going on in the Queen City. Bigger programs will soon be calling.
The Bearcats passed over long-time quarterback Hayden Moore for freshman Desmond Ridder to upset UCLA on opening weekend. The Bearcats never looked back. Both of its losses came on the road vs. arguably the top two AAC teams, Temple and Central Florida. Statistically there is massive gap between these squads with Cincinnati out-scoring foes 419-193 on the season while Virginia Tech was out-scored 357-368.
Cincinnati has out-rushed each of its last eight opponents by more than 100 yards while a Hokies program known for its defensive reputation featured one of the nation’s worst rush defenses, surrendering 207 yards per game on 5.3 yards per carry, 120th overall.
Cincinnati’s schedule certainly can be called into question however as the only wins over bowl teams this season came vs. Ohio, Tulane, and South Florida - all of those games were at home. The AAC struggled in this bowl season, with only Tulane getting a narrow win over Louisiana-Lafayette while Temple, South Florida, Houston, and Memphis have all lost bowl games with the first three getting blown out.
The game will likely come down to whether Cincinnati can get the run game going. Va Tech is 0-5 when allowing three touchdown runs or more, and they’re 1-6 when allowing two or more. Cincinnati ran for three touchdowns or more seven times, going 6-0, It ran for two touchdowns or more ten times, going 9-1 in those games.
Neither team is looked on favorably by bettors. Va Tech is 3-6 as a dog while Cincinnati is 2-4 ATS after starting 5-1 and is 0-3 ATS in it bowls. It's a tall spread but I’ll take Cincinnati to cover for a quatloo.
The Bearcats passed over long-time quarterback Hayden Moore for freshman Desmond Ridder to upset UCLA on opening weekend. The Bearcats never looked back. Both of its losses came on the road vs. arguably the top two AAC teams, Temple and Central Florida. Statistically there is massive gap between these squads with Cincinnati out-scoring foes 419-193 on the season while Virginia Tech was out-scored 357-368.
Cincinnati has out-rushed each of its last eight opponents by more than 100 yards while a Hokies program known for its defensive reputation featured one of the nation’s worst rush defenses, surrendering 207 yards per game on 5.3 yards per carry, 120th overall.
Cincinnati’s schedule certainly can be called into question however as the only wins over bowl teams this season came vs. Ohio, Tulane, and South Florida - all of those games were at home. The AAC struggled in this bowl season, with only Tulane getting a narrow win over Louisiana-Lafayette while Temple, South Florida, Houston, and Memphis have all lost bowl games with the first three getting blown out.
The game will likely come down to whether Cincinnati can get the run game going. Va Tech is 0-5 when allowing three touchdown runs or more, and they’re 1-6 when allowing two or more. Cincinnati ran for three touchdowns or more seven times, going 6-0, It ran for two touchdowns or more ten times, going 9-1 in those games.
Neither team is looked on favorably by bettors. Va Tech is 3-6 as a dog while Cincinnati is 2-4 ATS after starting 5-1 and is 0-3 ATS in it bowls. It's a tall spread but I’ll take Cincinnati to cover for a quatloo.

Pitt +4.0 vs Stanford – Sun Bowl - The Panthers were one of the top rushing teams in the nation, set to eclipse 3,000 rushing yards for the season in this game, all while posting 5.6 yards per carry. Both RBs Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall had over 1,000 yards.
The passing game was limited behind sophomore Kenny Pickett, but Pittsburgh had a daunting schedule as four of the team’s six losses came against Penn State, and three teams that are a combined 37-0 - UCF, Notre Dame, and Clemson. Pittsburgh also gacked against North Carolina and Miami. The formula for beating the Panthers is clear, stop the running game.
What is going on with David Shaw and Stanford? For the second straight season the defensive numbers were marginal for a program that has a reputation for quality defense. And Stanford’s offense surprisingly did not produce good rushing numbers even with Bryce Love entering the season as a Heisman candidate. Love may have missed a few games this season but his rushing total drop from 2,118 yards last season to only 739 yards this season while his yards per carry average nearly halved. Not sure if it will make a difference but he will not be playing in this bowl game.
The passing game was limited behind sophomore Kenny Pickett, but Pittsburgh had a daunting schedule as four of the team’s six losses came against Penn State, and three teams that are a combined 37-0 - UCF, Notre Dame, and Clemson. Pittsburgh also gacked against North Carolina and Miami. The formula for beating the Panthers is clear, stop the running game.
What is going on with David Shaw and Stanford? For the second straight season the defensive numbers were marginal for a program that has a reputation for quality defense. And Stanford’s offense surprisingly did not produce good rushing numbers even with Bryce Love entering the season as a Heisman candidate. Love may have missed a few games this season but his rushing total drop from 2,118 yards last season to only 739 yards this season while his yards per carry average nearly halved. Not sure if it will make a difference but he will not be playing in this bowl game.

That said, Stanford did wind up 8-4 with wins over USC and Oregon. The Cardinal had five wins vs. bowl teams and stayed in the Pac-12 race most of the way, losing in close games with Washington and Washington State.
In what should be a close game, Pitt’s KR Maurice Ffench (that’s not a typo by the way – there are two f’s)could decide the game. He averaged over 27 yards per pop with two touchdowns in an all-star season, and now he gets to roll against the nation’s statistically-worst kick coverage team. Ffench is a weapon.
Both teams are winners at the window. Pitt likes being the underdog, they are 11-6 ATS in that role. The Tree is 6-1-1 ATS away from the Farm.
I’ll take Pitt for a quatloo.
In what should be a close game, Pitt’s KR Maurice Ffench (that’s not a typo by the way – there are two f’s)could decide the game. He averaged over 27 yards per pop with two touchdowns in an all-star season, and now he gets to roll against the nation’s statistically-worst kick coverage team. Ffench is a weapon.
Both teams are winners at the window. Pitt likes being the underdog, they are 11-6 ATS in that role. The Tree is 6-1-1 ATS away from the Farm.
I’ll take Pitt for a quatloo.