College Football Idiot Savant Week 10
This week we’ve seen the last of Brian Kelly at LSU after a beatdown at home, as well as a 3-1 outcome on the picks. The Rockets didn’t survive their west coast trip, I can’t emphasize this enough, don’t bet on your alma mater unless it’s Ohio State. But that’s all water under the bridge, we’ve got the Buckeyes back in play and a couple of SEC contests to ponder upon.
Prediction 1: It’s a football Friday in Columbus again, the cold weather won’t prevent the tailgate. The matchup we had circled on our calendars before the season is now a twenty point spread with Penn State at #1 Ohio State (-20.5). I’m not making the same mistake I did with Wisconsin, I don’t like the number, but I’m not doing a ceremonial Kirk pick. Buckeyes cover at the shoe in football weather.
Prediction 2: Talk about a loaded noon window this week, if Penn State had handled their business would could have had a party this weekend. #9 Vanderbilt at #20 Texas (-3) represents the most intrigue for me this week, David and Goliath, Intellect vs Strength, chickens coming home to roost for SEC fans that underestimated the only academic institution in the conference. We may see the end of Texas’ playoff run and the emergence of another threat. Take Vandy and the points.
Prediction 3: It might be too early to call it a play-in game, but with #18 Oklahoma and #14 Tennessee (-3.5) both sitting at two losses it might be. That isn’t to say a three loss team won’t make it to the playoff this year, but it is to say it wont be either of these two. With those hopes nearly dashed last week by Ole Miss, Oklahoma will get the final nail in their playoff coffin this week in rocky top Tennessee! Volunteers to cover.
No matchup this week for the Rockets as they will enjoy a week and a half break until they take on Northern Illinois on a Wednesday. As we start to peer into the abyss that is the playoff bracket, teams will be eliminated this week. You can’t win the Masters on Thursday, but you can lose it. Conference championship matchups will also take shape over the next few weeks, so be sure to enjoy the action. I had some Tommy’s Pizza last weekend, and it didn’t disappoint. It remains the best bet for your tailgate this weekend.
Summary:
Ohio State to cover -20.5
Vanderbilt and the points +3
Tennessee to cover -3.5
Record: 22-11-1
College Football Idiot Savant Week 9
Well I guess I should know better than to make a bet against the scarlet and gray, but 3-1 on the picks was a nice recovery. It’s nice to see teams like Notre Dame and Georgia barely cover to know there is more parity in the sport with NIL, and Toledo cover comfortably in bounce back fashion. The Buckeyes are resting this week but we have a bevy of ranked matchups to mull over. Remember, if you must bet more, put it on the team playing Michigan and forget parlays.
Prediction 1: Circle the wagons Sooners, this is an SEC game you joined the conference for. #8 Ole Miss travels to Norman to take on #14 Oklahoma (-5.5) in the new SEC. While the Sooners will enjoy the home field advantage, I see these teams as more evenly matched, and I really want another Lane Kiffin sound bite to remember from the post game presser. Take Ole Miss and the points.
Prediction 2: I recently asked #15 Missouri to, “Show Me” something as their state nickname implies, and they failed. This week they visit #10 Vanderbilt (-2.5) and I don’t have any more confidence that something great is going to come out of Missouri. Vanderbilt is the far better storyline this year, and with this basically being a pick-em game, I’m going with the academic school that’s giving up points. Vandy to cover.
Prediction 3: In our deep fried, big bucket, double bypass game of the week, the Aggies of #3 Texas A&M (-2.5) head down to Baton Rouge to take on #20 LSU. The thing you have to ask yourself with this matchup is this: Do I take a better team on the road to knock Brian Kelly out of the rankings for the price of less than a field goal? The answer is yes, allow the viewing of Kelly’s anguish to make your Saturday night more enjoyable. Texas A&M to cover.
In all that SEC talk, I didn’t forget about those in midnight blue who hail from fair Toledo. They go across the country to face a Washington State (-1.5) team that isn’t ready for Tucker Gleason. He threw four touchdowns and no interceptions last week in a rout, and it would be foolish to think he can’t engineer another victory. Here in Columbus Tommy’s remains the tailgate option of choice, stay classy and get your mind right for next week.
Summary:
Ole Miss and the points +5.5
Vanderbilt to cover -2.5
Texas A&M to cover -2.5
Toledo and the points +1.5
Record: 19-10-1
College Football Idiot Savant Week 8
It’s betting weeks like the last one that make you appreciate being a Buckeye fan. It’s betting weeks like the last one that I see them rolling in cover fashion to the tune of Whitesnake’s, “Here I Go Again.” They certainly walk on the lonely street of dreams, and although I went 1-2-1 last week, my resolve is not broken. There is still nothing good to report out of Missouri with that push, and it looks like I need more Indiana material. Tip of the cap to Eddie George’s Falcons and Pudge, we will see you next year at The Glass Bowl.
Prediction 1: It’s not out of nostalgia for the College Gameday show that I say it’s fallen. It’s because for some reason Disney is paying Pat McAfee and Desmond Howard to be the most unwatchable couple of blowhards I’ve ever seen on a sports broadcast. That said, they will be in Athens for #5 Ole Miss at #9 Georgia (-7.5) where I just have to go with the blue blood program and the NFL bodies on the Bulldogs roster. Georgia covers, but I would be interested to see what Lane Kiffin says afterward if they were to pull this off.
Prediction 2: Before you say I’ve gone Herbstreit, I didn’t throw for five touchdowns and eleven interceptions in my career at Ohio State. #1 Ohio State (-25.5) takes on the Badgers of Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium and twenty five and a half points is simply too much. Wisconsin will jump around at the end of the third, the Buckeyes will jump around at the end, and you can jump around the corner to the bank with Wisconsin and the points.
Prediction 3: I have a cynical theory. As much as I think the playoff committee tries to put together a good bracket, history tells us that Notre Dame (-9.5) will be the first three loss team to make the playoff. There has not been a more consistently overrated and undeserving team in my lifetime than the golden domers. That said, USC doesn’t play any defense, and Notre Dame should cover this week in the Colosseum.
I didn’t forget about you Rockets (-26.5), I’m looking forward to a bounce back blowout against Kent State at The Glass Bowl. Tucker Gleason is still on the roster, he went to his engineering classes this week, and he wants to party behind engineering Saturday night. Also, in my tradition of rooting with my heart against my bets, let me just say Trojans, “Fight On!”
Summary:
Georgia covers -7.5
Wisconsin and the points +25.5
Notre Dame to cover -9.5
Toledo covers -26.5
Record: 16-9-1
College Football Idiot Savant Week 7
Last week saw the top ranked Buckeyes continue to The Cars’ hit, “Let the Good Times Roll” at home and Alabama survive to improbably cover against Vanderbilt. While it may not be a rivalry week for the big matchups this time, what can’t be understated is The Battle of I-75 taking place at high noon on Saturday. The Toledo Rockets (-10.5) make their way a few miles south to take on the Bowling Green Falcons led by their locker room cat Pudge. Honestly the cat is a nice gimmick, but Pudge isn’t even that cute, must be a Bowling Green graduate.
Prediction 1: #1 Ohio State (-15.5) travels to Champaign to take on #17 Illinois, who will take one last swing at legitimacy after giving up 63 points to Indiana. I don’t love this bet, it’s a lot of points to give up as an away side, but the Buckeyes are about to go into a three game stretch in the Big Ten that can’t be overlooked. Illinois, Wisconsin and Penn State would be a great run to go on for this team, and they have the competence to play it well, Buckeyes cover.
Prediction 2: I’m not going to celebrate going undefeated in the pics last week, because #8 Alabama’s (-3) cover was a gift. That said, #14 Missouri hosts them this week, and what’s the last great thing you heard about coming out of Missouri? Maybe it will be an upset from the Tigers, although I think it says a lot about Alabama’s decline that this is a three point line. Take the hungry home Missouri and the points, Alabama isn’t what it used to be.
Prediction 3: The recently ascendant #3 Oregon Ducks (-7.5) fly to Bloomington to face undefeated #7 Indiana in a new look Big Ten spectacle. I have expressed my distaste for the state of Indiana on several occasions, but since they deserve it, I’ll do it again. What could compel a person to grow up in Indiana and cause them to stay? The only acceptable answer should be a prison sentence, which is not entirely dissimilar from being on the outside in the state. Oregon rides the jet stream for a top ten cover.
Expect the Rockets to avenge last year’s home loss at The Glass Bowl with a cover. Tucker Gleason has got something up his sleeve tattoo for the Falcons this year and he can sling it. The University of Toledo has a rocket outside their stadium that is pointed to land at Bowling Green’s fifty yard line. In my 15 years as a Toledo alumni, I have never heard about the equivalent on their campus, some schools want it more.
Summary:
Ohio State covers -15.5
Missouri and the points +3
Oregon covers -7.5
Toledo covers -10.5
Record 15-7
College Football Idiot Savant Week 6
Well Husky Stadium was no match for the Buckeyes, and they should have played Bachman Turner Overdrive’s, “Takin’ Care of Business” on QFM afterward. Penn State still can’t win a big one, and I’m beginning to think the whiteout is just to pump up t-shirt sales. Let’s get ready for another exciting week, and make some Ben Franklins (Always remember to gamble responsibly).
Prediction 1: The deep fried, big bucket game of the week sees #16 Vanderbilt travel to Tuscaloosa to bring an offering of grits and brain cells to a city bereft of one of those things. #10 Alabama (-10.5) looks to avenge one of the worst defeats in their history from last season against the Commodores. Frankly if they can’t cover against Vanderbilt, you don’t need to bet on them the rest of the season. It took Michigan 7 years to schedule Appalachian State after that debacle, but then they beat them 52-14. Alabama covers, hopes Neil Young will remember.
Prediction 2: If you asked Buckeye fans what they wanted most at the beginning of the season, it probably would have been to beat Michigan. Close on the list however would have been a big night game at the shoe. Instead, #1 Ohio State (-23.5) gets Minnesota at the 7:30 PM time slot, with a spread that’s not attractive to me. However, Minnesota struggled with Rutgers last weekend, Ohio State has Jeremiah Smith, as well as a host of offensive players that can allow you to cover on a lit up national broadcast.
Prediction 3: There is only one title contender playing in the state of Florida this week, and that is #3 Miami (-4.5) who is traveling to #18 Florida State. This matchup always makes me remember an animated Lee Corso on College Gameday shouting, “Wide right!” Of course a reference to the three heartbreaking wide right misses of Florida State kickers against Miami. The best part about this game for Florida State fans will be the pregame traditions, Miami covers.
This week sees the Rockets resting after an impressive cover against Akron I should have pulled the trigger on. With next weekend being The Battle of I-75 in third world Wood County, they should be prepared for the task at hand. I don’t want to be overly sensational, but if Vanderbilt wins, expect a themed week for the picks next time. The college football playoff doesn’t need Alabama around anyhow.
Summary:
Alabama covers -10.5
Ohio State covers -23.5
Miami covers -4.5
Record: 12-7
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