Spirits were high despite the rain The 2014 season got off to a great start. The first meeting of the Whiskey Swilling Cigar Chomping Football Watching Society was a rousing success.
Chris was in the process of setting up the Outdoor Ampitheatre when I arrived. He was busy scurrying around trying to get things set up. But he was getting a bit frustrated when he couldn't get a picture on the TV that I had brought. He went into the basement and traced the cable all the way from the router, up and around the basement. Everything looked fine. What the hell was the problem?
He retraced his steps. He went upstairs, downstairs. Nope – everything is the way it should be. He couldn't figure it out. The other TVs were working just fine. Finally, he found the problem. The cable had unhooked from the back of my TV. Ooops. But that is why we have the early season games – to work the party kinks out.
After much fiddling and futzing Chris was finally able to get three TV’s going with speakers for each. Very nice.
Ellis showed up, promptly sat in his chair, got out an Ipad and with a bit of help got the North Carolina game on espn3. Even better – now there were four games on.
Bruce soon arrived bringing a sullen look as Northwestern looked like dog crap in losing to Cal. A few cocktails later and his spirits were back to their usual chipper self.
Dwink soon followed. His spirits were much better from the get go and he brought wings.
Dan came shortly thereafter. He also brought some wings - barbecue this time. Ever the meteorologist, he checked his app and said that it will start down pouring in five minutes. Dwink and Chris hurried up to the deck (the outdoor ampitheatre is actually a cement pad underneath Chris’ deck) and laid out a tarp. Sure enough, five minutes later it started pissing rain. Only to be followed up with a gully washer. It was coming down in buckets. Since the tarp only covered about a third of the deck – umbrellas were handed out. A few cracks of lightning added to the ambiance.
But we were not to be intimidated. We were watching football!
Tom showed up a little later and a bit soggy bringing what else – wings. It was some kind of homemade recipe. Not sure what was in it but I think he said ginseng. No matter – they were good. I was crapping wings for the rest of the Labor Day holiday but it was well worth it.
Chris was in the process of setting up the Outdoor Ampitheatre when I arrived. He was busy scurrying around trying to get things set up. But he was getting a bit frustrated when he couldn't get a picture on the TV that I had brought. He went into the basement and traced the cable all the way from the router, up and around the basement. Everything looked fine. What the hell was the problem?
He retraced his steps. He went upstairs, downstairs. Nope – everything is the way it should be. He couldn't figure it out. The other TVs were working just fine. Finally, he found the problem. The cable had unhooked from the back of my TV. Ooops. But that is why we have the early season games – to work the party kinks out.
After much fiddling and futzing Chris was finally able to get three TV’s going with speakers for each. Very nice.
Ellis showed up, promptly sat in his chair, got out an Ipad and with a bit of help got the North Carolina game on espn3. Even better – now there were four games on.
Bruce soon arrived bringing a sullen look as Northwestern looked like dog crap in losing to Cal. A few cocktails later and his spirits were back to their usual chipper self.
Dwink soon followed. His spirits were much better from the get go and he brought wings.
Dan came shortly thereafter. He also brought some wings - barbecue this time. Ever the meteorologist, he checked his app and said that it will start down pouring in five minutes. Dwink and Chris hurried up to the deck (the outdoor ampitheatre is actually a cement pad underneath Chris’ deck) and laid out a tarp. Sure enough, five minutes later it started pissing rain. Only to be followed up with a gully washer. It was coming down in buckets. Since the tarp only covered about a third of the deck – umbrellas were handed out. A few cracks of lightning added to the ambiance.
But we were not to be intimidated. We were watching football!
Tom showed up a little later and a bit soggy bringing what else – wings. It was some kind of homemade recipe. Not sure what was in it but I think he said ginseng. No matter – they were good. I was crapping wings for the rest of the Labor Day holiday but it was well worth it.
Penn State got things going early And there were plenty of great games over the weekend. Penn State kicked off at 8:30 from Ireland. Things were tight throughout the game when Penn State increased their lead to 23-17 aided by this incredible catch by Geno Lewis. But on the ensuing possession, UCF scored a TD and it looked like a late come from behind victory was in the making. That is until PSU, with 1:13 left, drove to the UCF 9 and kicked a walk off winning FG.
And speaking of kicking off the season - this is not how to go onto the field courtesy of the perennial doormats Eastern Michigan
And speaking of kicking off the season - this is not how to go onto the field courtesy of the perennial doormats Eastern Michigan
Kenny "Trill" sliced through the Cocks for 511 yards Your supposed to use Styrofoam bricks! EMU did go on to beat Morgan State, however, 31-28.
Time to tap the brakes on UCLA rolling though the Pac 12. UCLA looks less like a juggernaut and more like the Spartans early 2013 version. QB Brett Hundley struggled leaving it up to the defense to Score 3 TDs in the 2nd quarter to beat Virginia 28 - 20.
But take it off cruise and drop the tranny into sports mode for Texas A&M and Georgia. I underestimated A&M HC Kevin Sumlin and his ability to move past the Johnny Football era. The Aggies stormed into Brice-Williams stadium and gigged the Gamecocks 52-28. First year starting QB Kenny "Trill" Hill was fantastic in throwing for 511 yards. This game showed that under Sumlin A&M is more about the coaching and recruiting than supposed once in a life time talent.
And Georgia RB Todd Gurley vaulted to the early Heisman lead behind a 198 yards, three touchdown day at Clemson including this kick off return to the house.
Time to tap the brakes on UCLA rolling though the Pac 12. UCLA looks less like a juggernaut and more like the Spartans early 2013 version. QB Brett Hundley struggled leaving it up to the defense to Score 3 TDs in the 2nd quarter to beat Virginia 28 - 20.
But take it off cruise and drop the tranny into sports mode for Texas A&M and Georgia. I underestimated A&M HC Kevin Sumlin and his ability to move past the Johnny Football era. The Aggies stormed into Brice-Williams stadium and gigged the Gamecocks 52-28. First year starting QB Kenny "Trill" Hill was fantastic in throwing for 511 yards. This game showed that under Sumlin A&M is more about the coaching and recruiting than supposed once in a life time talent.
And Georgia RB Todd Gurley vaulted to the early Heisman lead behind a 198 yards, three touchdown day at Clemson including this kick off return to the house.
That TD was the beginning of the end for Clemson. Georgia went on to win 45-21 as the shut out Clemson in the second half.
But don't worry Mrs. Bruce, the Dawgs will gag some game this year. They always do, crippling their chances to get into the playoffs.
And Alabama isn't going to steamroll their way through the season either. The vaunted defense might just be a bit of a mirage. For the second game in a row the pass defense let up over 300 yards. They still manged to beat an underwhelming West Virginia squad 33-23. But where is that magical magical SEC speed? check out this this kick off return by the Mountaineers.
And speaking of SEC speed check out the ball boy for Auburn on this War Eagle TD. At first I thought it was the Big Guy until I remembered he had inherited Doofus speed.
I wisely kept my Mega Bets to a minimum last week. Overall, I went 19-19-0 but due to going 1-0 on the Mega bets I had a profitable week.
Week 1 Mega Bet Results
Nebraska -22.5 vs Florida Atlantic - This game was just a flat out romp for the Huskers. They rushed for 498 yards and had 784 yards of total offense. RB Ameer Abdullah the best game of his career as he went off for 232 yards before leaving midway through the 3rd quarter. Jordan Westerkamp had 125 yards receiving including this nice little behind the back grab.
Week 1 Mega Bet Results
Nebraska -22.5 vs Florida Atlantic - This game was just a flat out romp for the Huskers. They rushed for 498 yards and had 784 yards of total offense. RB Ameer Abdullah the best game of his career as he went off for 232 yards before leaving midway through the 3rd quarter. Jordan Westerkamp had 125 yards receiving including this nice little behind the back grab.
In the end, Nebraska was just toying with Florida Atlantic as they went on to crush the Owls 55-7 WIN
Week 2 Mega Bets
I'm still going to ramp up the betting slowly. It's too easy to over react to one game. Texas A&M is not going to crush everyone in their sight nor is UCLA's offense going to struggle all year. South Carolina will rebound, Clemson will get better and Georgia will stumble somewhere.
With that in mind I'll raise the stakes to two Mega Bets this week - 1 on college and 1 on the NFL
Missouri -3.5 @ Toledo - It's the Pinkel bowl 2014 version. Missouri HC Gary Pinkel coached at Toledo from 1991-2000 and plays his old team again. Last year, the Tigers won 38-23.
Not sure why the spread is so low in this game. The teams have not changed that much from last year. And this year both teams struggled initially against their 1AA opponents but ending up winning large (Missouri beat South Dakota St 38-18 and Toledo trounced New Hampshire 54-20). Maybe its the margin of victory in the opening games.
Or maybe it's the fact that Toledo and Missouri had nearly the same amount of yardage last year and it took three Rocket turnovers for the Tigers to prevail. Then again, Missouri is good at forcing turnovers. After last weeks game they have forced at least one in 45 straight games - the nation's longest.
Missouri is focused when they travel going 3-0 as a visiting favorite last year and 7-2 since 2009. They will take care of business in the Glass Bowl
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Philadelphia - If the Missouri spread was too little this one is too big. Jacksonville is no longer warm hot sewage they used to be when Blaine Gabbert was chucking the ball. In fact after the bye week last year they went 4-4.
Philadelphia is still an offensive dynamo but they do have some kinks particularly along the offensive line. The Jags had a pretty good pass rush and upgraded it further with the addition of former Seahawks Chris Clemons.
Philadelphia also has problems with their secondary which is going to be exploited by top draft choice Marquis Lee. I would like this spread better if Blake Bortles were starting at QB rather than Chad Henne but it's still very tempting.
The Eagles are still the superior team but there is just enough holes to keep the game close. And Philly may be in a look ahead mode with a game next week on Monday night against the Colts. I'll take the Jags plus 10 and the hook.
For the Point Whore Parlay I'll take
Old Dominion +16.5 @ NC State
Ball State +17.0 @ Iowa
Middle Tenn State +16.0 @ Minnesota
The Sheriff of Malibu is gloating over Cal’s demolition of Northwestern. Sibling rivalry is a beautiful thing.
This week he is offering up his own Mega Bets
Michigan State (+ 12) over Oregon. Sparty is exactly the kind of team the Ducks have had trouble with for the last few years: their defense is disciplined and they play tough, smash-mouth football. This is why Stanford has beat them two years in a row and won the PAC-12. Eugene is a tough place to win, but Michigan State won’t be intimidated after playing in the Rose Bowl and Big 10 Championship game last year – they are used to the big stage now. If I was in Vegas this weekend, I would be taking the money line. The 12 points is gravy.
Nice pick but the Doofus is worried about jinxing the Spartans so I’m not making this a Mega bet.
Stanford (-2 .5) over USC. See above. Smash-mouth team beats finesse, no-huddle team once again. This will be particularly sweet because after beating up a mediocre Fresno State team last week, the Condoms think they are God’s Gift to football once again. But Sark is no Pete Carroll and Stanford will be out for revenge after losing in the Coliseum last year (the highlight of Ed Orgeron’s coaching career).
Hawaii (+10.5) over Oregon State. After watching Sparty and Stanford take care of business, this game will be a nice nightcap to a wonderful day of college football. From the beautiful island of Oahu, a much-improved Hawaii Warriors will cover the number (if not upset) Oregon State. The Beavers always lose at least one non-conference game they should win, and Hawaii looked impressive last week in almost upsetting Washington (17-16).
For all the picks his week, plus game times spreads, records against the spread and much much more here is the Week 2 Bettors Guide
Week 2 Mega Bets
I'm still going to ramp up the betting slowly. It's too easy to over react to one game. Texas A&M is not going to crush everyone in their sight nor is UCLA's offense going to struggle all year. South Carolina will rebound, Clemson will get better and Georgia will stumble somewhere.
With that in mind I'll raise the stakes to two Mega Bets this week - 1 on college and 1 on the NFL
Missouri -3.5 @ Toledo - It's the Pinkel bowl 2014 version. Missouri HC Gary Pinkel coached at Toledo from 1991-2000 and plays his old team again. Last year, the Tigers won 38-23.
Not sure why the spread is so low in this game. The teams have not changed that much from last year. And this year both teams struggled initially against their 1AA opponents but ending up winning large (Missouri beat South Dakota St 38-18 and Toledo trounced New Hampshire 54-20). Maybe its the margin of victory in the opening games.
Or maybe it's the fact that Toledo and Missouri had nearly the same amount of yardage last year and it took three Rocket turnovers for the Tigers to prevail. Then again, Missouri is good at forcing turnovers. After last weeks game they have forced at least one in 45 straight games - the nation's longest.
Missouri is focused when they travel going 3-0 as a visiting favorite last year and 7-2 since 2009. They will take care of business in the Glass Bowl
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Philadelphia - If the Missouri spread was too little this one is too big. Jacksonville is no longer warm hot sewage they used to be when Blaine Gabbert was chucking the ball. In fact after the bye week last year they went 4-4.
Philadelphia is still an offensive dynamo but they do have some kinks particularly along the offensive line. The Jags had a pretty good pass rush and upgraded it further with the addition of former Seahawks Chris Clemons.
Philadelphia also has problems with their secondary which is going to be exploited by top draft choice Marquis Lee. I would like this spread better if Blake Bortles were starting at QB rather than Chad Henne but it's still very tempting.
The Eagles are still the superior team but there is just enough holes to keep the game close. And Philly may be in a look ahead mode with a game next week on Monday night against the Colts. I'll take the Jags plus 10 and the hook.
For the Point Whore Parlay I'll take
Old Dominion +16.5 @ NC State
Ball State +17.0 @ Iowa
Middle Tenn State +16.0 @ Minnesota
The Sheriff of Malibu is gloating over Cal’s demolition of Northwestern. Sibling rivalry is a beautiful thing.
This week he is offering up his own Mega Bets
Michigan State (+ 12) over Oregon. Sparty is exactly the kind of team the Ducks have had trouble with for the last few years: their defense is disciplined and they play tough, smash-mouth football. This is why Stanford has beat them two years in a row and won the PAC-12. Eugene is a tough place to win, but Michigan State won’t be intimidated after playing in the Rose Bowl and Big 10 Championship game last year – they are used to the big stage now. If I was in Vegas this weekend, I would be taking the money line. The 12 points is gravy.
Nice pick but the Doofus is worried about jinxing the Spartans so I’m not making this a Mega bet.
Stanford (-2 .5) over USC. See above. Smash-mouth team beats finesse, no-huddle team once again. This will be particularly sweet because after beating up a mediocre Fresno State team last week, the Condoms think they are God’s Gift to football once again. But Sark is no Pete Carroll and Stanford will be out for revenge after losing in the Coliseum last year (the highlight of Ed Orgeron’s coaching career).
Hawaii (+10.5) over Oregon State. After watching Sparty and Stanford take care of business, this game will be a nice nightcap to a wonderful day of college football. From the beautiful island of Oahu, a much-improved Hawaii Warriors will cover the number (if not upset) Oregon State. The Beavers always lose at least one non-conference game they should win, and Hawaii looked impressive last week in almost upsetting Washington (17-16).
For all the picks his week, plus game times spreads, records against the spread and much much more here is the Week 2 Bettors Guide
| Week 2 Bettors Guide |
Remember the 2014 Go Jumbo trip is Nov 15th at the Westgate (the Old LVH) resort
