
The Spartans were having great success with the Waterboy Blitz package
What a great weekend for Football!
Michigan State was fantastic in shutting out OSU for 59:50. The nations's number 1 defense held the BuckNuts to 35 rushing yards and 178 yards in total. And consider this: Ohio State gained more than half of those yards on its last two drives, the first one ending in a fumble after 33 yards, and the second, a 62-yard touchdown drive with 10 seconds left against MSU's soft prevent defense.
On the day, the Buckeyes had five three-and-outs, four negative yardage drives and four more drives that went for under 10 yards. Bubba's spirit was roaming the sidelines Saturday.
MSU's offense, however, left too many points on the field as Kirk Cousin fumbled at the OSU 37, threw a pick in the OSU end zone and another pick at the OSU 20. The Spartans also missed a FG. That will need some fixing before they face Wisconsin and Michigan.
And what a come back by the Lions!! Down 27-3 early in the 3rd quarter, Tony Romo throws not one but two straight pick sixes. The Unknown Picker was right in calling out Romo. With the score now 27-17 Stafford and CJ got to work. Cowboy DC Rob Ryan had channeled his brother Rex Ryan by going all motor mouth on CJ - saying he would be no better than the Cowboys' third wide receiver. CJ made him pay by nabbing five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out the win 34-30. Nice.
Still - that is the second straight 20+ comeback in as many weeks. You can only go to that well so many times. The Lions are still struggling at the line of scrimmage. Next up is Chicago and a good DL. It will be Monday Night Football in Motown!! The fans will be rocking. Should be a great game!
Michigan State was fantastic in shutting out OSU for 59:50. The nations's number 1 defense held the BuckNuts to 35 rushing yards and 178 yards in total. And consider this: Ohio State gained more than half of those yards on its last two drives, the first one ending in a fumble after 33 yards, and the second, a 62-yard touchdown drive with 10 seconds left against MSU's soft prevent defense.
On the day, the Buckeyes had five three-and-outs, four negative yardage drives and four more drives that went for under 10 yards. Bubba's spirit was roaming the sidelines Saturday.
MSU's offense, however, left too many points on the field as Kirk Cousin fumbled at the OSU 37, threw a pick in the OSU end zone and another pick at the OSU 20. The Spartans also missed a FG. That will need some fixing before they face Wisconsin and Michigan.
And what a come back by the Lions!! Down 27-3 early in the 3rd quarter, Tony Romo throws not one but two straight pick sixes. The Unknown Picker was right in calling out Romo. With the score now 27-17 Stafford and CJ got to work. Cowboy DC Rob Ryan had channeled his brother Rex Ryan by going all motor mouth on CJ - saying he would be no better than the Cowboys' third wide receiver. CJ made him pay by nabbing five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out the win 34-30. Nice.
Still - that is the second straight 20+ comeback in as many weeks. You can only go to that well so many times. The Lions are still struggling at the line of scrimmage. Next up is Chicago and a good DL. It will be Monday Night Football in Motown!! The fans will be rocking. Should be a great game!
Some more on the conference realignments - Ellis came across this hilarious letter from a Pitt fan to the ACC schools - Open Letter from Pitt to the ACC
Week 5 for the Big Book of Guesses was a little better than Flippy-esque going slightly above .500 at 36-32-1. The Mega Bets were right down the middle going 1-1-1 as:
Week 5 Recap
Georgia Tech -10 @ NC State - Talk about back door covers - The Bees were up 45-21 with 35 seconds left when NC State threw for a TD making the score 45-28. GT was still in the money though. The Pack kicks off and GT gets it at the 30. Rather than kneel down - GT hands it off - and (shades of Joe Pisarcik) fumbles it away. It gets scooped up by NC State for a TD. Miracle in the Meadowlands NC State gets the push 45-35. GT ran for 296 yds but the passing was a little off going 4-12 and 117 yards. That will need to be tightened up as they head deeper into ACC play. TIE
Troy -16.5 vs UAB - If you are giving 16.5 you can't give up a 91 punt return, a pick six, two fumbles inside your opponents 30 and 10 penalties. Troy melted down under the pressure of being a Mega Bet and UAB spoiled a second straight Mega Bet - Fear the Blazers. Well - not really - they will return to form as soon as I stop Mega Betting against them. Troy won the game 24-23 behind 540 yards of offense but needed a late 4th quarter TD to pull it out. LOSS
Washington +1 @ St Louis - Methodically, Washington built a 17-0 lead through three quarters of play. Then, Rex Grossman returned to his usual self - throwing two fourth quarter picks. St Louis cut the lead to 17-10 and had the ball with 3:20 left at their 28 yd line. But league's worst offense could only get 11 yds and were stopped on downs. Washington held on to win 17-10 WIN
The Big Flippy was perfectly random aslo going 1-1-1 with
North Carolina State +10 vs GT - Tie
Troy -16.5 vs UAB - Loss
Washington +1 @ St Louis - Win
The Sax Man had a nice week going 2-0-1 with
Georgia Tech -10 @ NC State - Tie
Michigan State +3 @ Ohio State - Win.
Detroit +1 @ Dallas - Win
But the best picking by far was the Unknown Picker notching a perfect 4-0
Auburn +9.5 @ South Carolina - With the Unknown Picker in attendance - the Tigers scored a TD with 1:39 left to take a 16-13 lead. South Carolina marched down to the Auburn 29 yd line but time expired before they could attempt a tying FG. Cock's HC Steve Spurrier argued there should have been 1 second left but that is why you need Spartan Bob running the clock! WIN
Wisconsin -9.0 vs Nebraska - Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska. Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez threw three interceptions while Wisconsin rolled for 486 yds of offense in blowing out the Huskers 48-17. WIN
Air Force +3.0 @ Navy - Woodward Academy's Tim Jefferson was 9 for 10 and 136 passing and another 60 yds rushing as the Falcons held on to win in OT over Navy. Air Force blew an 18 point fourth quarter lead as Navy rallied to tie the game. But Navy was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty on the overtime TD. The extra point was blocked and AF would win 35-34 WIN
Detroit +1.0 over Dallas - WIN
WEEK 6 MEGA BETS
Western Michigan -10.5 vs Bowling Green - Last week, I went with a Mini Mega on Western that paid off as they beat UConn 38-31. Time to promote the Broncos to a full Mega Bet. They are playing well against BCS schools and demolishing non BCS teams. This week the host an OK but not great Bowling Green squad. This will be BGSU's third straight road game. Teams playing on the road three straight times usually fare pretty poorly. Last week I noticed that Tulane was on the road for the third straight week against Army. Army crushed Tulane 45-6. I meant to take a Mini Mega on Army but didn't. I won't make that mistake again.
Texas A&M -8.5 @ Texas Tech - Playing the bounce back angle here. A&M lost two straight tough losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas. Ahead 20-3 at the half, the Aggies crumbled and lost to OSU 30-27. More of the same last week as the Aggies led the Hogs 35-17 only to lose 42-38 as Ark scored the winning TD with 1:41 left. Texas Tech, meanwhile, has struggled to hold off a couple of lousy teams in Kansas (W 45-34) and Nevada (W 35-34). This game figures to be a shootout but the Aggies will hold on in the second half this time to rout the Red Raiders.
Arizona -2.0 @ Oregon State - Two of the weaklings in the Pac 12 square off in Corvallis. Arizona is bad going 1-4 so far. OSU is worse at 0-4. ASU has lost to some pretty good teams including Oklahoma State, Oregon and Stanford. OSU lost to a bad UCLA and Sacramento State. Sacramento State?? The Beavers offense is putrid, can't run, can't throw. Meanwhile, ASU QB Nick Foles had a nice game against USC last week throwing for 425 yds and 4 TDs. This week he will get a chance to ravage the 114th ranked Beaver pass defense. It won't be pretty but the Wildcats will come home with a win.
Tennessee +3.5 @ Pittsburgh - The Tennessee defense has been Titanic allowing a maximum 16 points to Jax in week one (their only loss). Since then they have beaten the Ravens, Broncos and Browns. Meanwhile Pittsburgh QB Big Ben Roethlisberger is nursing a sprained foot, and while expected to play, will not be 100%. Same with Rashard Mendenhall who is nursing a hammy. The Steeler offensive line has been battling injuries too - with the patchwork unit allowing 14 sacks - third highest in the NFL.Seattle QB Matt Hasselback has been the answer for the Titans in replacing Vince Young. Hasselback has the second highest QB rating just behind Tom Brady. Pittsburgh is not your Daddy's Steelers - Titans will win at the Ketchup Field. Just
Missing the cut but worth a look:
Washington State +3.5 @ UCLA - Just above the bottom dwellers are UCLA and Washington State. WSU passing game has been on fire ranking 4th overall in Div 1A. It takes a good DL to put pressure on the Cougars and beat them, UCLA doesn't have one. The Bruins have 3 sacks on the year - ranking them ahead of only UAB, Indiana and Minnesota. Overall, the Bruins defense is ranked 93rd overall and 73rd in pass defense. It will be bombs away as the Cougars roll. Consider splitting your bet and take some money line action at +145 (i.e. forego the points to bet 100 and win 145). Be careful though, I'm making an important exception here - this is WSU's third straight road game.
Temple -8.5 @ Ball State - Playing another bounce back angle. Temple pulled out a clunker in losing to a top echelon MAC team Toledo last week 36-13. the Owls have been solid so far this year in a close loss to Penn State 14-10 and crushing Maryland 38-7. Ball State is coming off an absolute beat down by Oklahoma 62-6. Ball State's offense is not moving the chains - ranked 87th overall and 85th passing. Temple can shut down one dimensional teams with its 12th ranked defense (27th against the pass). Expect Temple to right the ship and hang a double digit win on the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh -7.0 @ Rutgers - It was a coming out party for Pitt RB Ray Graham. He ran through, around and all over a not bad South Florida defense last Thursday. Graham ended up with 236 yards and 2 TDs as the Panthers blew out USF 44-14. Pitt has been up and down this year but seems to be on an up cycle having held Notre Dame to 15 points in a 15-12 loss the week before. Rutgers has quietly gone 3-1 so far including wins over a pretty good Ohio squad 38-26, a loss in a squeaker to a better UNC team 24-22 and an OT win over a disappointing Syracuse squad 19-16. The Scarlet Knights are struggling on offense and especially in running the ball. If the Panther offense stay s on track this should be a blow out. One drawback to the pick - Dobby will be keeping his good wine in the cellar the next time I head over.
For the Point Whore Parlay I'll take:
Kansas +31.5 @ Oklahoma State
San Jose State +13.5 @ BYU
UNLV +20.5 vs Nevada
For the Over/Under Parlay I'll take:
Ohio @ Buffalo Under 53.0
Ohio State @ Nebraska Under 44.0
Miami (FL) @ Va Tech Under 44.5
The Sax Man and Unknown Picker have weighed in with their week 6 picks
The Sax Man likes:
Air Force (+14) over Notre Dame: I like Air Force. They might not win, but ND's defense will give up some yards. Falcons cover 14.
Tennessee (+1.5) over U(sic)GA: In true Bulldog fashion, Cornelius Washington went out and celebrated his team's big win against Mississippi State by drinking with underage women and trying to see how fast he could drive with a .12 BAC. I think Neyland Stadium comes up big for the Vols and Rocky Top takes a big jump in the SEC East standings.
Tampa Bay (+1.5) over San Francisco: The only thing the Niners have going for them in this one is the time change. I saw this line and had to check and make sure I was reading it right. Tampa wins it outright.
The Unknown Picker has adopted the alias of "The Big Guy" and has chosen:
Penn State -3.5 vs Ohio State
TCU -3.5 @ San Diego State
Georgia -1.5 @ Tennessee
Let's hope the Sax Man and The Big Guy don't come to blows over the UGA Tenn game
Finally the Big Flippy has gone with all away teams with:
BGSU +10.5 @ Western Michigan
Texas A&M -8.5 @ Teas Tech
Arizona -2.0 @ Oregon State
Pittsburgh -7.0 @ Rutgers
Randomness rules!!
And as always - For all the picks by the Big Book of Guesses - here is the Handy Dandy Week 6 Bettors Guide!
Week 5 for the Big Book of Guesses was a little better than Flippy-esque going slightly above .500 at 36-32-1. The Mega Bets were right down the middle going 1-1-1 as:
Week 5 Recap
Georgia Tech -10 @ NC State - Talk about back door covers - The Bees were up 45-21 with 35 seconds left when NC State threw for a TD making the score 45-28. GT was still in the money though. The Pack kicks off and GT gets it at the 30. Rather than kneel down - GT hands it off - and (shades of Joe Pisarcik) fumbles it away. It gets scooped up by NC State for a TD. Miracle in the Meadowlands NC State gets the push 45-35. GT ran for 296 yds but the passing was a little off going 4-12 and 117 yards. That will need to be tightened up as they head deeper into ACC play. TIE
Troy -16.5 vs UAB - If you are giving 16.5 you can't give up a 91 punt return, a pick six, two fumbles inside your opponents 30 and 10 penalties. Troy melted down under the pressure of being a Mega Bet and UAB spoiled a second straight Mega Bet - Fear the Blazers. Well - not really - they will return to form as soon as I stop Mega Betting against them. Troy won the game 24-23 behind 540 yards of offense but needed a late 4th quarter TD to pull it out. LOSS
Washington +1 @ St Louis - Methodically, Washington built a 17-0 lead through three quarters of play. Then, Rex Grossman returned to his usual self - throwing two fourth quarter picks. St Louis cut the lead to 17-10 and had the ball with 3:20 left at their 28 yd line. But league's worst offense could only get 11 yds and were stopped on downs. Washington held on to win 17-10 WIN
The Big Flippy was perfectly random aslo going 1-1-1 with
North Carolina State +10 vs GT - Tie
Troy -16.5 vs UAB - Loss
Washington +1 @ St Louis - Win
The Sax Man had a nice week going 2-0-1 with
Georgia Tech -10 @ NC State - Tie
Michigan State +3 @ Ohio State - Win.
Detroit +1 @ Dallas - Win
But the best picking by far was the Unknown Picker notching a perfect 4-0
Auburn +9.5 @ South Carolina - With the Unknown Picker in attendance - the Tigers scored a TD with 1:39 left to take a 16-13 lead. South Carolina marched down to the Auburn 29 yd line but time expired before they could attempt a tying FG. Cock's HC Steve Spurrier argued there should have been 1 second left but that is why you need Spartan Bob running the clock! WIN
Wisconsin -9.0 vs Nebraska - Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska. Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez threw three interceptions while Wisconsin rolled for 486 yds of offense in blowing out the Huskers 48-17. WIN
Air Force +3.0 @ Navy - Woodward Academy's Tim Jefferson was 9 for 10 and 136 passing and another 60 yds rushing as the Falcons held on to win in OT over Navy. Air Force blew an 18 point fourth quarter lead as Navy rallied to tie the game. But Navy was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty on the overtime TD. The extra point was blocked and AF would win 35-34 WIN
Detroit +1.0 over Dallas - WIN
WEEK 6 MEGA BETS
Western Michigan -10.5 vs Bowling Green - Last week, I went with a Mini Mega on Western that paid off as they beat UConn 38-31. Time to promote the Broncos to a full Mega Bet. They are playing well against BCS schools and demolishing non BCS teams. This week the host an OK but not great Bowling Green squad. This will be BGSU's third straight road game. Teams playing on the road three straight times usually fare pretty poorly. Last week I noticed that Tulane was on the road for the third straight week against Army. Army crushed Tulane 45-6. I meant to take a Mini Mega on Army but didn't. I won't make that mistake again.
Texas A&M -8.5 @ Texas Tech - Playing the bounce back angle here. A&M lost two straight tough losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas. Ahead 20-3 at the half, the Aggies crumbled and lost to OSU 30-27. More of the same last week as the Aggies led the Hogs 35-17 only to lose 42-38 as Ark scored the winning TD with 1:41 left. Texas Tech, meanwhile, has struggled to hold off a couple of lousy teams in Kansas (W 45-34) and Nevada (W 35-34). This game figures to be a shootout but the Aggies will hold on in the second half this time to rout the Red Raiders.
Arizona -2.0 @ Oregon State - Two of the weaklings in the Pac 12 square off in Corvallis. Arizona is bad going 1-4 so far. OSU is worse at 0-4. ASU has lost to some pretty good teams including Oklahoma State, Oregon and Stanford. OSU lost to a bad UCLA and Sacramento State. Sacramento State?? The Beavers offense is putrid, can't run, can't throw. Meanwhile, ASU QB Nick Foles had a nice game against USC last week throwing for 425 yds and 4 TDs. This week he will get a chance to ravage the 114th ranked Beaver pass defense. It won't be pretty but the Wildcats will come home with a win.
Tennessee +3.5 @ Pittsburgh - The Tennessee defense has been Titanic allowing a maximum 16 points to Jax in week one (their only loss). Since then they have beaten the Ravens, Broncos and Browns. Meanwhile Pittsburgh QB Big Ben Roethlisberger is nursing a sprained foot, and while expected to play, will not be 100%. Same with Rashard Mendenhall who is nursing a hammy. The Steeler offensive line has been battling injuries too - with the patchwork unit allowing 14 sacks - third highest in the NFL.Seattle QB Matt Hasselback has been the answer for the Titans in replacing Vince Young. Hasselback has the second highest QB rating just behind Tom Brady. Pittsburgh is not your Daddy's Steelers - Titans will win at the Ketchup Field. Just
Missing the cut but worth a look:
Washington State +3.5 @ UCLA - Just above the bottom dwellers are UCLA and Washington State. WSU passing game has been on fire ranking 4th overall in Div 1A. It takes a good DL to put pressure on the Cougars and beat them, UCLA doesn't have one. The Bruins have 3 sacks on the year - ranking them ahead of only UAB, Indiana and Minnesota. Overall, the Bruins defense is ranked 93rd overall and 73rd in pass defense. It will be bombs away as the Cougars roll. Consider splitting your bet and take some money line action at +145 (i.e. forego the points to bet 100 and win 145). Be careful though, I'm making an important exception here - this is WSU's third straight road game.
Temple -8.5 @ Ball State - Playing another bounce back angle. Temple pulled out a clunker in losing to a top echelon MAC team Toledo last week 36-13. the Owls have been solid so far this year in a close loss to Penn State 14-10 and crushing Maryland 38-7. Ball State is coming off an absolute beat down by Oklahoma 62-6. Ball State's offense is not moving the chains - ranked 87th overall and 85th passing. Temple can shut down one dimensional teams with its 12th ranked defense (27th against the pass). Expect Temple to right the ship and hang a double digit win on the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh -7.0 @ Rutgers - It was a coming out party for Pitt RB Ray Graham. He ran through, around and all over a not bad South Florida defense last Thursday. Graham ended up with 236 yards and 2 TDs as the Panthers blew out USF 44-14. Pitt has been up and down this year but seems to be on an up cycle having held Notre Dame to 15 points in a 15-12 loss the week before. Rutgers has quietly gone 3-1 so far including wins over a pretty good Ohio squad 38-26, a loss in a squeaker to a better UNC team 24-22 and an OT win over a disappointing Syracuse squad 19-16. The Scarlet Knights are struggling on offense and especially in running the ball. If the Panther offense stay s on track this should be a blow out. One drawback to the pick - Dobby will be keeping his good wine in the cellar the next time I head over.
For the Point Whore Parlay I'll take:
Kansas +31.5 @ Oklahoma State
San Jose State +13.5 @ BYU
UNLV +20.5 vs Nevada
For the Over/Under Parlay I'll take:
Ohio @ Buffalo Under 53.0
Ohio State @ Nebraska Under 44.0
Miami (FL) @ Va Tech Under 44.5
The Sax Man and Unknown Picker have weighed in with their week 6 picks
The Sax Man likes:
Air Force (+14) over Notre Dame: I like Air Force. They might not win, but ND's defense will give up some yards. Falcons cover 14.
Tennessee (+1.5) over U(sic)GA: In true Bulldog fashion, Cornelius Washington went out and celebrated his team's big win against Mississippi State by drinking with underage women and trying to see how fast he could drive with a .12 BAC. I think Neyland Stadium comes up big for the Vols and Rocky Top takes a big jump in the SEC East standings.
Tampa Bay (+1.5) over San Francisco: The only thing the Niners have going for them in this one is the time change. I saw this line and had to check and make sure I was reading it right. Tampa wins it outright.
The Unknown Picker has adopted the alias of "The Big Guy" and has chosen:
Penn State -3.5 vs Ohio State
TCU -3.5 @ San Diego State
Georgia -1.5 @ Tennessee
Let's hope the Sax Man and The Big Guy don't come to blows over the UGA Tenn game
Finally the Big Flippy has gone with all away teams with:
BGSU +10.5 @ Western Michigan
Texas A&M -8.5 @ Teas Tech
Arizona -2.0 @ Oregon State
Pittsburgh -7.0 @ Rutgers
Randomness rules!!
And as always - For all the picks by the Big Book of Guesses - here is the Handy Dandy Week 6 Bettors Guide!

Week 6 Bettors Guide |
5 Weeks to VEGAS BABY
GO JUMBO!!
GO JUMBO!!