The Ducks sprinted past the Spartans Ever have one of those dreams where you are at work, or at school or in front of an audience and you look down and you’re buck naked? Well, that’s how the Big Ten felt last Saturday. Except, it wasn’t a dream. The Big Ten was pantsed across the nation with all the marquee teams either losing big or nearly losing to second tier competition.
Of course, the most gut wrenching was MSU’s loss to Oregon. I had the gang over to the Doofus Deck Lite. Due to capacity constraints it was a select crowd. More self-selected actually. Only the most rabid football fans (and Dobby) ventured out to the new abode. But what we lacked in numbers we were going to make it up in consumption and enthusiasm.
Oregon jumped to an early 11-0 lead before we could even finish our first round of drinks. Just then Joe texted – “Not like we haven’t been down like this before to a PAC 12 school in a big stage”. Great call! As if on cue State rallied - scoring 20 straight points in taking a 27-18 lead. The defense was terrific holding to Quack Attack to 13 yards rushing. Everything was clicking towards getting their tickets punched for the first playoff games. Bruce was so excited that he nearly mixed in some Bushmills rather than tonic with his gin. Since he was the Designated Driver we coaxed him out of that choice.
And then Mariota happened. He made clutch play after clutch play to keep drives alive as four of the last five Duck drives ended in the end zone. And his heroics rallied the Oregon defense as they confused and stymied Conner
Cook. The five drives for the Spartans went punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs, and then this killer pick
Of course, the most gut wrenching was MSU’s loss to Oregon. I had the gang over to the Doofus Deck Lite. Due to capacity constraints it was a select crowd. More self-selected actually. Only the most rabid football fans (and Dobby) ventured out to the new abode. But what we lacked in numbers we were going to make it up in consumption and enthusiasm.
Oregon jumped to an early 11-0 lead before we could even finish our first round of drinks. Just then Joe texted – “Not like we haven’t been down like this before to a PAC 12 school in a big stage”. Great call! As if on cue State rallied - scoring 20 straight points in taking a 27-18 lead. The defense was terrific holding to Quack Attack to 13 yards rushing. Everything was clicking towards getting their tickets punched for the first playoff games. Bruce was so excited that he nearly mixed in some Bushmills rather than tonic with his gin. Since he was the Designated Driver we coaxed him out of that choice.
And then Mariota happened. He made clutch play after clutch play to keep drives alive as four of the last five Duck drives ended in the end zone. And his heroics rallied the Oregon defense as they confused and stymied Conner
Cook. The five drives for the Spartans went punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs, and then this killer pick
At least the Big Ten beat Howard Final score Ducks 46 Spartans 27.
A one loss Big Ten team with its only loss being to the number 3 team in their crib (or is it their nest) would normally be a strong candidate for the Final Four. But that was before the Big Ten crapped the bed Saturday.
Most weekends, Michigan losing would cause great joy but getting humiliated by the Domers doesn’t help Gang Green’s chances. There is a reason that Saban lets his offensive coordinators go – they aren’t that good. Michigan found out as their offense blew big ones. The Wolvies managed to cross the 50-yard line only four times. In fact, they never even got into the red zone. The deepest Michigan would was to the Notre Dame 22-yard line. Four of Michigan’s final five possessions ended in turnovers.
It got so bad that we switched the second TV over to let Ellis watch North Carolina rally to beat the Spaztecs. (that was a much more exciting game – as Ellis pointed out UNC has now scored a defensive or special team TD in three straight games). Michigan’s ended up getting shut out 31-0. Their first shutout since 1984. Pleasing but tinged with a bit of angst.
Chris was texting early too, crowing about the Buckeyes. That is until they fell flat on their faces in losing to Va Tech 35-21. The Bucknuts never led in a game for the first time in the regular season since 2012. Against? Why, MSU of course. And they did it in front of a record crowd in Columbus. After winning 24 straight, OSU has now lost three of their last four.
Dobby was smirking since Rutgers had done their part in beating Howard 38-25. But it was double disaster for Bruce as Northwestern got beat by a MAC school Northern Illinois 23-15. How can you let that happen Bruce??
Fletcher Cox dicked me with a fumble return to get the cover So now what? Well, the best thing for MSU to do is win out. Losing a second game and State is definitely out of the mix. As far as two teams from the SEC, PAC 12, Big 12, hell even a BYU or Notre Dame – can’t worry about that. First, there is nothing you can do. And second, there is still plenty of football to be played and plenty of upsets to happen. ESPN will be pushing hard for 2 SEC teams to get in but, trust me, there will be enough stumbles within the conference that only one team will likely get in. Each stumble will get State one step back closer into the mix.
So after I started to recover from the debacle both emotionally and physically (drowning your sorrows is a misnomer – they survive and exact a wicked revenge) I reviewed my picks for the week. Not bad. Overall, the picks went a flippyesque 34-35-0 but it’s not how you pick ‘em It’s how you bet ‘em.
The Mega Bets went 1-1 as
Missouri -3.5 @ Toledo – A ranked SEC team against a MAC team and only having to give 3.5? C’mon! Maybe Vegas thought HC Gary Pinkel would go easy on his old team. Nope. Toledo was feisty at the start tying it at 7-7 late in the first and then the Tigers kicked it up a notch. They reeled off 28 unanswered to jump to a 35-7 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. Missouri coasted to an easy 49-24 win. WIN
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Philadelphia – What the hell was that? At the half, despite what Kenny Rogers was singing during the commercials, I was counting my money as the Jags were up 17-0. Up 17 and getting 10.5? In the bag baby.
Then for only the second time since 1940 a team up by 17 loses by 17 or more. The killer was a strip sack fumble return for a TD with 1:23 left in the game to get the Eagles the cover. Final score Eagles 34 Jags 17 LOSS
But some wise betting including a Point Whore Parlay win led to another profitable weekend
Point Whore Parlay Results
Old Dominion +16.5 @ NC State – Final - NC State 46 ODU 34 WIN
Ball State +17.0 @ Iowa – Final - Iowa 17 BSU 13 WIN
Middle Tenn State +16.0 @ Minnesota - Final Minn 35 MDSU 24 WIN
Guess I had an inkling that the Big Ten would suck as I bet two of the three PWP bets against the Big Ten.
The Sheriff got off to a lousy start as he went 1-2 (he blames it on too many White Russians)
Michigan State + 12.0 @ Oregon – LOSS - Told you not to jinx Sparty!
Stanford -2 .5 @ USC - Final - USC 13 Stanford 10 LOSS - with a little help from Pat Haden
Hawaii +10.5 vs Oregon State - Final - Oregon State 38 Hawaii 28 WIN by the hook – whew!
This week the Sheriff is going with:
Oklahoma (-20.5) over Tennessee. If I had the chance to redo my Final 4, I would pick Oklahoma. They appear to be the class of the Big-12 and could run the table. This is a BIG number to cover but I think the Sooners will roll.
Doofus: stepping outside the PAC 12? I like the pick but not for a Mega Bet
UCLA (-7.5) over Texas. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping the Bruins will get their act together and start playing like the Top 10 team they were supposed to be. But even if they don’t, they should have enough to cover this number against a pathetic looking Texas team.
Nevada (+15.5) over Arizona. This is my pick of the week. Cody Fajardo has been running that Pistol offense in Nevada since Christ was a kid, and Arizona has looked less than impressive so far in its first two games. I like the boys from Reno to cover.
As for the Doofus - still only taking 2 Mega Bets this week
Week 3 Mega Bets
Nebraska -10.5 @ Fresno State – Fresno State sorely misses former star QB Derek Carr. The Bulldogs are getting blasted on a weekly basis losing to USC 52-13 in week 1 and 59-27 to Utah last week. Granted, Nebraska struggled last week against McNeese State needing a score in the final 20 seconds to avoid OT.
But, maybe a road trip is just what the doctor ordered. The Huskers are 11-5 ATS as 10+ road favorites. Expect Nebraska to get off to a fast start as FSU has been outscored 41-0 in the first quarter this year.
Green Bay -8.5 vs NY Jets – Going purely with the bounce back scenario here. 8.5 is a ton of points but Aaron Rodgers is phenomenal when coming off a loss - going 14-4 against the spread. Add to that it’s in Green Bay where he is 22-11 and the trend says go Packers. Besides, the Jets suck. They barely beat the worst team in the league Oakland, at home no less, last week 19-14.
But I will step it up a bit this week with a couple of Mini Megas going with:
Wyoming +43.0 @ Oregon - hey I'm not bitter. Just think Wyoming will stick around and the Ducks are in a let down situation
Arizona -2.5 @ NY Giants - If Eli Manning struggled against the Lions joke of a secondary how is he going to get anything going against the Cardinals
For the Point Whore Parlay I'll go with:
Minnesota +15.0 @ TCU
Arkansas State +16.5 @ Miami (FL)
UL Monroe +31.0 @ LSU
For all of this weeks picks plus spreads, records ATS and much much more check out
So after I started to recover from the debacle both emotionally and physically (drowning your sorrows is a misnomer – they survive and exact a wicked revenge) I reviewed my picks for the week. Not bad. Overall, the picks went a flippyesque 34-35-0 but it’s not how you pick ‘em It’s how you bet ‘em.
The Mega Bets went 1-1 as
Missouri -3.5 @ Toledo – A ranked SEC team against a MAC team and only having to give 3.5? C’mon! Maybe Vegas thought HC Gary Pinkel would go easy on his old team. Nope. Toledo was feisty at the start tying it at 7-7 late in the first and then the Tigers kicked it up a notch. They reeled off 28 unanswered to jump to a 35-7 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. Missouri coasted to an easy 49-24 win. WIN
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Philadelphia – What the hell was that? At the half, despite what Kenny Rogers was singing during the commercials, I was counting my money as the Jags were up 17-0. Up 17 and getting 10.5? In the bag baby.
Then for only the second time since 1940 a team up by 17 loses by 17 or more. The killer was a strip sack fumble return for a TD with 1:23 left in the game to get the Eagles the cover. Final score Eagles 34 Jags 17 LOSS
But some wise betting including a Point Whore Parlay win led to another profitable weekend
Point Whore Parlay Results
Old Dominion +16.5 @ NC State – Final - NC State 46 ODU 34 WIN
Ball State +17.0 @ Iowa – Final - Iowa 17 BSU 13 WIN
Middle Tenn State +16.0 @ Minnesota - Final Minn 35 MDSU 24 WIN
Guess I had an inkling that the Big Ten would suck as I bet two of the three PWP bets against the Big Ten.
The Sheriff got off to a lousy start as he went 1-2 (he blames it on too many White Russians)
Michigan State + 12.0 @ Oregon – LOSS - Told you not to jinx Sparty!
Stanford -2 .5 @ USC - Final - USC 13 Stanford 10 LOSS - with a little help from Pat Haden
Hawaii +10.5 vs Oregon State - Final - Oregon State 38 Hawaii 28 WIN by the hook – whew!
This week the Sheriff is going with:
Oklahoma (-20.5) over Tennessee. If I had the chance to redo my Final 4, I would pick Oklahoma. They appear to be the class of the Big-12 and could run the table. This is a BIG number to cover but I think the Sooners will roll.
Doofus: stepping outside the PAC 12? I like the pick but not for a Mega Bet
UCLA (-7.5) over Texas. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping the Bruins will get their act together and start playing like the Top 10 team they were supposed to be. But even if they don’t, they should have enough to cover this number against a pathetic looking Texas team.
Nevada (+15.5) over Arizona. This is my pick of the week. Cody Fajardo has been running that Pistol offense in Nevada since Christ was a kid, and Arizona has looked less than impressive so far in its first two games. I like the boys from Reno to cover.
As for the Doofus - still only taking 2 Mega Bets this week
Week 3 Mega Bets
Nebraska -10.5 @ Fresno State – Fresno State sorely misses former star QB Derek Carr. The Bulldogs are getting blasted on a weekly basis losing to USC 52-13 in week 1 and 59-27 to Utah last week. Granted, Nebraska struggled last week against McNeese State needing a score in the final 20 seconds to avoid OT.
But, maybe a road trip is just what the doctor ordered. The Huskers are 11-5 ATS as 10+ road favorites. Expect Nebraska to get off to a fast start as FSU has been outscored 41-0 in the first quarter this year.
Green Bay -8.5 vs NY Jets – Going purely with the bounce back scenario here. 8.5 is a ton of points but Aaron Rodgers is phenomenal when coming off a loss - going 14-4 against the spread. Add to that it’s in Green Bay where he is 22-11 and the trend says go Packers. Besides, the Jets suck. They barely beat the worst team in the league Oakland, at home no less, last week 19-14.
But I will step it up a bit this week with a couple of Mini Megas going with:
Wyoming +43.0 @ Oregon - hey I'm not bitter. Just think Wyoming will stick around and the Ducks are in a let down situation
Arizona -2.5 @ NY Giants - If Eli Manning struggled against the Lions joke of a secondary how is he going to get anything going against the Cardinals
For the Point Whore Parlay I'll go with:
Minnesota +15.0 @ TCU
Arkansas State +16.5 @ Miami (FL)
UL Monroe +31.0 @ LSU
For all of this weeks picks plus spreads, records ATS and much much more check out
| Week 3 Bettors Guide |
Remember the 2014 GO JUMBO trip is Nov 15th at the Westgate Resort (formerly the LVH)
