cubsker
Used to be "Fun Cub"
He's athletic!
time to post my week 14 (championship week) card so far
- Thread starter RetroVK
- Start date
He's athletic!
Johnnyonthespot
CTG Regular
Bond between UCF QBs Darriel Mack Jr., McKenzie Milton fuels Knights' success
Not only are they close friends, but they roommates as well.
Senior offensive lineman Wyatt Miller said one of the first things that impressed him about Mack was his size, with the 6-foot-3, 230-pounder showing off a mix of speed and strength.
“He’s almost as big as me and he’s pretty tough to tackle,” Miller said.
But Miller also insists there’s more to Mack than his obvious physical strengths.
“His football IQ is extremely high. He knows what's going on on the field. He knows what to expect. He's a gamer, too. McKenzie’s the same way,” Miller said.
So far, Mack’s success has been built on his ability to run the football. He’s gained more than 280 yards and has two touchdowns on the ground this season with an impressive 7.0 yards per carry average. During two-plus quarters against USF, he finished with 51 yards on 10 carries.
The Knights say he has a solid command of the passing game as well.
Mack’s grasp of the offense isn’t the only thing that endears him to his teammates.
“He always has a smile on his face,” Colubiale said. “His smile is really contagious and he brightens the locker room up.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.or...os-sp-ucf-darriel-mack-jr-1129-story,amp.html
Not only are they close friends, but they roommates as well.
Senior offensive lineman Wyatt Miller said one of the first things that impressed him about Mack was his size, with the 6-foot-3, 230-pounder showing off a mix of speed and strength.
“He’s almost as big as me and he’s pretty tough to tackle,” Miller said.
But Miller also insists there’s more to Mack than his obvious physical strengths.
“His football IQ is extremely high. He knows what's going on on the field. He knows what to expect. He's a gamer, too. McKenzie’s the same way,” Miller said.
So far, Mack’s success has been built on his ability to run the football. He’s gained more than 280 yards and has two touchdowns on the ground this season with an impressive 7.0 yards per carry average. During two-plus quarters against USF, he finished with 51 yards on 10 carries.
The Knights say he has a solid command of the passing game as well.
Mack’s grasp of the offense isn’t the only thing that endears him to his teammates.
“He always has a smile on his face,” Colubiale said. “His smile is really contagious and he brightens the locker room up.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.or...os-sp-ucf-darriel-mack-jr-1129-story,amp.html
Johnnyonthespot
CTG Regular
Tyler Huntley probable
Two Utes
Manual Toothbrushes FTW
I'll be shocked if he plays and quite frankly I hope it's Shelley. Shelley makes much better decisions in the RPO and he does a better job spreading the wealth in the passing game. Huntley nearly got Covey killed last time they played Washington.
Johnnyonthespot
CTG Regular
I was thinking same thing when I saw update Utes. I'm on them regardless. Let's get it.
carolinablue
College Football Guru
horses
Brady licks Marino's knob
Where are you seeing this? That would be significant but I dont think so.
Timh
CTG Psychiatrist - Dr. Tim
Utah HC Kyle Wittingham told reporters on Monday that junior QB Tyler Huntley (collarbone) could play in the Utes' bowl game.
That would be huge, especially if Utah is able to pull off the moderate upset of Washington in Friday's Pac-12 championship game. Jason Shelley has performed well for the Utes, but Huntley is a key reason why Utah put themselves into this position. He was carted off the field after a November 3 game against Arizona State, so this would be a quick turnaround, but a big one for Utah in whatever bowl game they end up in. Nov 26 - 2:28 PM
Source: Josh Furlong on Twitter
That would be huge, especially if Utah is able to pull off the moderate upset of Washington in Friday's Pac-12 championship game. Jason Shelley has performed well for the Utes, but Huntley is a key reason why Utah put themselves into this position. He was carted off the field after a November 3 game against Arizona State, so this would be a quick turnaround, but a big one for Utah in whatever bowl game they end up in. Nov 26 - 2:28 PM
Source: Josh Furlong on Twitter
Johnnyonthespot
CTG Regular
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Johnnyonthespot
CTG Regular
Boom. Line gets spanked.
See what I'm talking about?
I was trying to tell my people, jeez
See what I'm talking about?
I was trying to tell my people, jeez
pressitup
Leader of the Adult Humor Industry
That's what I think(everyone rushes to bet the over)
pressitup
Leader of the Adult Humor Industry
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
Grats to NIU bettors. I know some of you have seen me get angry during (those of you I text with) and after a loss. I try to vent as much as possible and then let it go. I didn't get angry after the Buffalo loss. It was a game that kind of wounded me and I think it will stick with me for awhile unlike the games where I get mad. 5.0 yards per pass attempt heading into the game and scored on three bombs in 15 minutes of the MAC championship. It just hurts.
I never got around to posting it but I lost on Utah tonight as well. I think Washington deserved the money but my angle was thinking Washington would struggle to score and they did, though probably deserved a 9-3 win or 12-3 win for the huskies. As a fan of the sport, I think the last play was called correctly too.
If I am being honest with you, and I should be since I am posting plays, I am not feeling great about the selections this week. I like Clemson and ULL considerably more than the others fwiw. I am laying a lot of DD against good teams and above average teams in conference championships and it really feels incorrect to me.
VT my numbers do not even warrant the play. This is a game where I just think it is scheduled for one reason and one reason only for each team ... for Marshall to get some cash and for VT to get bowl eligible.
Fresno - I liked them the first go around and they were fairly competitive while playing flat. I just expect a little better effort and get a slightly better number here. Teams know eachother well at this point. Fresno will have to do better in the trenches this time.
Alabama - I just think this is one of the only spots where we know for sure Alabama will be motivated. If they are going to play their best game somewhere, I would think it was here even more than vs the four seed or Clemson in the championship game. This should be the one. Georgia is really good and playing really good right now. Even if Alabama plays well, you would think the backdoor could be open. It's a tough team to lay points against. I made it higher and bet it .. but not so sure now .. not so confident in this. The over is a bit of a hedge because it is hard to imagine Bama not scoring.
ULL - I feel decent here. Both teams will run the ball with some success but it looks like a grinder to me and ULL should be competitive throughout. I made the total really lower so that is where the most value is but I think this is a really good play.
ECU and Over - I bet this before the Ahlers news and before the coach firing. Pretty much screwed and if you are looking to tail, I would not recommend tailing that game. Never know what will happen but I would prefer both NCSU and under as of this second. I think ECU will try and be more balanced now which is ironic since the Wolfpack secondary is their weakness. NCState mostly been good to me this year sans Syracuse. I worry it is a game where ECU just doesn't care and the QB for NCSU just goes nuts. He could if they do care too fwiw. Was a great spot to back ECU and then the administration pulled this. Part of me is praying for the split but I don't hate it enough to lock up money for the book and get off both .. though I could fluke side something. Whatever .. these bets hold no value now.
South Carolina - Akron cannot score on MAC defenses so I think S Carolina has a shot of keeping Akron to a low number and even if disinterested I think there is too much talent on offense to not find points. BOOM MF seems to have the team ready emotionally every time. I do think it would be bad form to blow out Akron given they were doing the gamecocks a favor by scheduling the game. Laying 30 with S Carolina in a game that doesn't matter... what have I done?
Texas OU under - How brilliant a play is this? Who doesn't get 40 again? My thinking here is that Texas QB is a little banged up and the horns might play a little keep away and if the horns fall behind early, their passing game might not be their best weapon to score with and it could cause them problems. Obviously huge concerns with OU wanting to impress. Fast track is probably bad. They have gone over this number something like three times in the last seven meetings but I don't think once in the prior 100+ though I could obviously be wrong. Oklahoma defensive weakness is the safety play in my estimation but not sure how effective texas can be exploiting it right now. OU defense maligned so they need an effort there. I like unders in big games as a general rule and this qualifies for that. Some more obvious concern is longhorns defense vs similar offenses like ou the first time, wvu, ok state, texas tech .... If Herman is smart, it is time to pound the rock with the RB's. If OU is smart, they focus on the RB and make ehlinger keep. Since all football players and coaches are stupid, this game will see 100 points. I cannot blame anyone for avoiding this .. the bottom line is that I ran my numbers and came up with a lower number and bet on the variance.
MTSU and under - concerns are revenge, uab offensive line back for this game, weather supports uab. I am on record with thinking MTSU matches up well compared to most teams UAB has faced, UAB has played a weak Schedule, the game is basically a home game, the father-son battery is playing for memories and a future 30 for 30 episode. MTSU peaking, particularly defensively. MTSU losses were three SEC teams and the game Stockstill got hurt. Maybe UAB was laying in the weeds last week. We will find out. I at least like this one from a solid mathematical handicapping point of view. Both defenses with the edge .. lets see how it goes.
Cal 3 - I guess this another one I do kind of like quite a bit. I think they have the best unit on the field with their defense and they have a shutdown cornerback who can defend Stanfords only real weapon. Stanford gonna have to throw cause they sure as hell aren't running here. Small chance I have the better team getting points and if California is gonna beat Stanford, this seems like as good a spot as any. Likely a close game so the points could come in handy.
Clemson - If they don't wipe the floor with Pittsburgh, I would be shocked. So I should have a chance at the cover at a minimum. As stated prior, Pitt is a running team that won't be able to run. Maybe they can have by far their best passing game of the year, the way Childers and NIU did, but I think the Clemson secondary probably had a good week of practice this week and we shut down defense. Pitt defense not good enough to not eventually get swarmed under the tiger barrage.
Ohio State and over - this is stinky poo I think now. The overwhelming odds are that Ohio State will know they are out of the playoff before the game starts. IF so, that will mean they have little motivation. I have spent a handicapping career never letting one weeks outcome influence me too much but I have definitely bought into the TOSU team based off of one game, while dismissing a season of underachievement. Decent chance they just aren't good enough to cover this number against a solid, veteran NW team. With that said, they are going to out athlete NW just about everywhere and if they are smart enough to hold on the offensive line, there isn't a team in the nation that can consistently stop their WR unit. In any event, I think NW will have to score to keep up and doubt it goes NW to the under too often.
I never got around to posting it but I lost on Utah tonight as well. I think Washington deserved the money but my angle was thinking Washington would struggle to score and they did, though probably deserved a 9-3 win or 12-3 win for the huskies. As a fan of the sport, I think the last play was called correctly too.
If I am being honest with you, and I should be since I am posting plays, I am not feeling great about the selections this week. I like Clemson and ULL considerably more than the others fwiw. I am laying a lot of DD against good teams and above average teams in conference championships and it really feels incorrect to me.
VT my numbers do not even warrant the play. This is a game where I just think it is scheduled for one reason and one reason only for each team ... for Marshall to get some cash and for VT to get bowl eligible.
Fresno - I liked them the first go around and they were fairly competitive while playing flat. I just expect a little better effort and get a slightly better number here. Teams know eachother well at this point. Fresno will have to do better in the trenches this time.
Alabama - I just think this is one of the only spots where we know for sure Alabama will be motivated. If they are going to play their best game somewhere, I would think it was here even more than vs the four seed or Clemson in the championship game. This should be the one. Georgia is really good and playing really good right now. Even if Alabama plays well, you would think the backdoor could be open. It's a tough team to lay points against. I made it higher and bet it .. but not so sure now .. not so confident in this. The over is a bit of a hedge because it is hard to imagine Bama not scoring.
ULL - I feel decent here. Both teams will run the ball with some success but it looks like a grinder to me and ULL should be competitive throughout. I made the total really lower so that is where the most value is but I think this is a really good play.
ECU and Over - I bet this before the Ahlers news and before the coach firing. Pretty much screwed and if you are looking to tail, I would not recommend tailing that game. Never know what will happen but I would prefer both NCSU and under as of this second. I think ECU will try and be more balanced now which is ironic since the Wolfpack secondary is their weakness. NCState mostly been good to me this year sans Syracuse. I worry it is a game where ECU just doesn't care and the QB for NCSU just goes nuts. He could if they do care too fwiw. Was a great spot to back ECU and then the administration pulled this. Part of me is praying for the split but I don't hate it enough to lock up money for the book and get off both .. though I could fluke side something. Whatever .. these bets hold no value now.
South Carolina - Akron cannot score on MAC defenses so I think S Carolina has a shot of keeping Akron to a low number and even if disinterested I think there is too much talent on offense to not find points. BOOM MF seems to have the team ready emotionally every time. I do think it would be bad form to blow out Akron given they were doing the gamecocks a favor by scheduling the game. Laying 30 with S Carolina in a game that doesn't matter... what have I done?
Texas OU under - How brilliant a play is this? Who doesn't get 40 again? My thinking here is that Texas QB is a little banged up and the horns might play a little keep away and if the horns fall behind early, their passing game might not be their best weapon to score with and it could cause them problems. Obviously huge concerns with OU wanting to impress. Fast track is probably bad. They have gone over this number something like three times in the last seven meetings but I don't think once in the prior 100+ though I could obviously be wrong. Oklahoma defensive weakness is the safety play in my estimation but not sure how effective texas can be exploiting it right now. OU defense maligned so they need an effort there. I like unders in big games as a general rule and this qualifies for that. Some more obvious concern is longhorns defense vs similar offenses like ou the first time, wvu, ok state, texas tech .... If Herman is smart, it is time to pound the rock with the RB's. If OU is smart, they focus on the RB and make ehlinger keep. Since all football players and coaches are stupid, this game will see 100 points. I cannot blame anyone for avoiding this .. the bottom line is that I ran my numbers and came up with a lower number and bet on the variance.
MTSU and under - concerns are revenge, uab offensive line back for this game, weather supports uab. I am on record with thinking MTSU matches up well compared to most teams UAB has faced, UAB has played a weak Schedule, the game is basically a home game, the father-son battery is playing for memories and a future 30 for 30 episode. MTSU peaking, particularly defensively. MTSU losses were three SEC teams and the game Stockstill got hurt. Maybe UAB was laying in the weeds last week. We will find out. I at least like this one from a solid mathematical handicapping point of view. Both defenses with the edge .. lets see how it goes.
Cal 3 - I guess this another one I do kind of like quite a bit. I think they have the best unit on the field with their defense and they have a shutdown cornerback who can defend Stanfords only real weapon. Stanford gonna have to throw cause they sure as hell aren't running here. Small chance I have the better team getting points and if California is gonna beat Stanford, this seems like as good a spot as any. Likely a close game so the points could come in handy.
Clemson - If they don't wipe the floor with Pittsburgh, I would be shocked. So I should have a chance at the cover at a minimum. As stated prior, Pitt is a running team that won't be able to run. Maybe they can have by far their best passing game of the year, the way Childers and NIU did, but I think the Clemson secondary probably had a good week of practice this week and we shut down defense. Pitt defense not good enough to not eventually get swarmed under the tiger barrage.
Ohio State and over - this is stinky poo I think now. The overwhelming odds are that Ohio State will know they are out of the playoff before the game starts. IF so, that will mean they have little motivation. I have spent a handicapping career never letting one weeks outcome influence me too much but I have definitely bought into the TOSU team based off of one game, while dismissing a season of underachievement. Decent chance they just aren't good enough to cover this number against a solid, veteran NW team. With that said, they are going to out athlete NW just about everywhere and if they are smart enough to hold on the offensive line, there isn't a team in the nation that can consistently stop their WR unit. In any event, I think NW will have to score to keep up and doubt it goes NW to the under too often.
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AliShaheed
Pretty much a regular
I just cannot imagine OSU packing it in if they see an OU win. No way.
AliShaheed
Pretty much a regular
OSU or mich would both roll washington
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
Retro, how would you rank these plays? I have to complete a card for my league today and it’s much tougher in the last week when there is a limited number of games and you have to pick some that you normally wouldn’t.
Already lost the two last night, have to pick 8 more today.
NC State -23.5
S Carolina -28.5
MTSU -2.5
Cal +2.5
Fresno +2.5
Ohio State -14.5
Clemson -26.5
Marshall +4.5
ULL +17.5
Already lost the two last night, have to pick 8 more today.
NC State -23.5
S Carolina -28.5
MTSU -2.5
Cal +2.5
Fresno +2.5
Ohio State -14.5
Clemson -26.5
Marshall +4.5
ULL +17.5
pressitup
Leader of the Adult Humor Industry
They got me at 8.5
bones
We Must Protect Our Democracy
I Bought the .5 and went 3X @ +10
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
Week One: 22-29 -9.90 units
Week two: 28-26 -0.6 units
Week three: 31-31 -3.1 units
Week four: 27-24 +0.6 units
Week five 38-33 +1.7 units
Week six 39-33 +2.7 units
Week seven 39-32 +3.8 units
Week eight 42-25 +14.5 units
Week nine 35-31 +0.9 units
Week ten 41-21 +17.9 units'
Week 11 22 -15 +5.5 units
Week 12 17-17 -1.7 units
Week 13 24-20 +2.4 units
Week 14 11-9 +1.1
Overall 416-346 +35.8 units
Week two: 28-26 -0.6 units
Week three: 31-31 -3.1 units
Week four: 27-24 +0.6 units
Week five 38-33 +1.7 units
Week six 39-33 +2.7 units
Week seven 39-32 +3.8 units
Week eight 42-25 +14.5 units
Week nine 35-31 +0.9 units
Week ten 41-21 +17.9 units'
Week 11 22 -15 +5.5 units
Week 12 17-17 -1.7 units
Week 13 24-20 +2.4 units
Week 14 11-9 +1.1
Overall 416-346 +35.8 units
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
Quick discussion of the games as related to my investments yesterday.
Virginia Tech - Obviously went as planned though the game played a little closer from a competitive standpoint than the final score will show. VT caught a few breaks and was plus 2 in turnover margin. Marshall had some late success which made the yardage and FD numbers more even but that was long after the game had been decided. This one worked out well and I think we bet it for the right reasons.
Fresno State - Unfortunate blizzard was a real advantage for Boise State (though it limited crowd/attendance) and Fresno State tried to get out of there with a win by being super conservative which almost cost them. Up 3 or 6 most of the second half, Fresno State just tried to not turn it over and run the clock out but they failed at both. Boise finally put one drive together and their stud RB broke one for a TD scamper. Fresno State blocked the extra point (it seems Boise State doesn't understand the guy on the edge can block a kick as their scheme was to let him go free). The game eventually went to overtime where a key play had Fresno QB hitting the TE in the middle and they ran an option play at the one for the win (Boise State FG in OT Prior). Game was a coin flip so I will definitely take it and the blocked extra point didn't hurt the cause (though it caused panic for me personally in something unrelated to this thread).
Alabama - I think that is the worst I have seen Alabama play this year and by saying that, I do not mean it was forced by what Georgia was doing. I found the play calling dubious, the wide receivers had a bad case of the drops, Tua was less mobile than any game all year that I have seen due to multiple boo-boos, and the dumb penalties they took were not typical of an Alabama team. The roughing the kicker end of first half was just a bad ST coaching decision to go all out. I though UGA played their A game for most of the game but felt the coaches puckered up in the second half and didn't do what worked offensively in the first half. This lost and deservedly so for how the game was played but I don't mind the bet so much. A B effort from Alabama would cash.
ULL - this game along with Clemson were my two favorite plays heading in and this one played out as expected. Teams were pretty even in yardage and first downs at around 300 each but ULL had two turnovers and that was the difference as far as who won. Getting three scores and playing dead even with the opponent is good enough for me and it definitely played as the grinder game that was anticipated. Felt this one was handicapped correctly.
ECU and Over - As mentioned a couple posts ago, the investments were made prior to Ahlers and Coach being fired news and I would have preferred NCST and Under at kickoff. To say NCSU dominated would be an understatment. 32-4 on first down margin has to rank up there as most dominant disparity of the year in that regard. 655 yards to 104 also has to rank as one of the most dominant performances of the year. The game going over the total was ridiculous at the end,,, I will let you watch svp bad beats this year to see that. I think it ridiculous that Montgomery was fired a day or two before the game to end his season. What a slap in the face to him and what a slap in the face to the current seniors that were playing that day. And for what? So they could get a quick hire of the James Madison HC before Charlotte could?? And shame on Charlotte for firing their coach who did an amazing job there this year, as long as i am ranting about it. Anyway, back to the bet ... once the coach was fired in that fashion, there was little chance ECU was going to try. The school quit on them so why represent in that spot? They may have just been completely outmatched anyway (this was a regression from the Cinci game which certainly wasn't pretty). Maybe an opportunity missed to not come back and bet NCST. Anyway, got an undeserved split. I will take it.
South Carolina - Remember when we talked about the idea that South Carolina may go out of their way to not blow out Akron. Well that appeared to be a good angle, unfortunately. They called off the dogs at halftime and had failing after failing in the red zone. Frustrating game but the situation was odd and a concern from the start. I feel from an X's and O's perspective this one was right but obviously from a situational perspective it had issues and those issues seemed to bear out. I thought Gamecocks could score quite a bit without even trying to on some levels but instead they turned it over 4 times and were also stopped on downs in the red zone. Not much else to say on this one other than it was one of the games I was cheering extra hard for.
Texas/ou under and 2h over - If Texas gets that TD at the end, we nail the middle. I don't really want to talk about this game because it was one of the ten worst officiated games from a lopsided perspective that I have seen in the last ten years. That was simply ridiculous. I sort of liked Texas plus the points in the game but avoided it because I thought the conference would want that playoff $$$ and it could cost the horns 3 points. I think it actually cost them about 20 points. It was so bizarre in its ridiculousness that one would have to be blind to think it was not an edict from the top. I guess a quick comment on the QB's since I don't want to discuss the game much otherwise .. Ehlinger is a gamer. He will never be a great college QB, I don't think but he will always effort. Murray is just a special player and perhaps deserving of the Heisman this year. some of the plays he makes are just really, really, really good. Also ... I hate Oklahoma and think TOSU is a more deserving team (and I think almost anyone who does power ratings would have TOSU in the -2 to -4 range against the sooners) to make the playoffs....... but with that said, they came into the weekend ranked by the committee ahead of Ohio State and the win over Texas is on par with TOSU's win over Northwestern so Oklahoma should be in the playoff per the committee. Congrats to them if so.
MTSU and Under - MTSU out gained them by 91 yards or so and 6 scoring drives to UAB's 5 but UAB found End Zone more often and MTSU failed on their two point conversion try. MTSU forced a punt to get the ball back down two with a minute left but had too many men on the field which gave uab a first down. No chance at heroics. UAB is a nice story, I suppose but this was a gut punch as we got the good version of UAB (which wasn't a given at all) and were still quite a bit better but couldn't get the job done. Total was wrong . both teams moved it better than expected.
Cal - Usually when you have the dog and they out gain and out first down the opponent you at least win the ATS, though the bears last drive is the only reason they out gained Stanford. To be fair, Stanford had the lead all game so they may have been less inclined to take offensive risks. Cal was slow to get off the bus and gave up 10 early to Stanford but basically shut them down the rest of the game. Cal missed a chip shot FG and then allowed a FG drive for Stanford to put the Tree up 10 late. Was hopeful for backdoor at that point but then an interception led to a stanford score on the backdoor drive. Then Cal got the backdoor TD a drive too late. Tough .. I didn't see enough of it to say Cal was the correct side but I would definitely play them again with all available information. Sad this wasn't a national television game as it is one of the better rivalries.
Clemson - This game was on at the same time as Fresno where I feel I got a little fortunate and TOSU where I feel I got a little fortunate but this is the game where I felt most fortunate to win and it was an important game to me with slightly more on them and some other interests involved with them. Clemson scored 42 on 419 yards and 13 first downs so that is obviously ridiculous and why I feel so fortunate along with the fact there was a front door cover. With that said, we were unfortunate that the game was played in the rain, given we had a big team speed advantage and the better passing attack. Defensively, overall, it played out like we thought with Pitt only getting 200 yards of total offense and 8 yards passing. In good weather, I think this would have looked like a really good bet .. as it was .. feel lucky because I got lucky.
TOSU and Over, TOSU and Over 2h - TOSU fell asleep at the wheel coming out of halftime and Thorson and company put up a run on them .. for the other three and half quarters, Ohio State was the most impressive team of the top 6 yesterday. 31 to 21 first down edge and out gained nw by almost 200 yards while putting up over 600 yards. They were probably 30 points better than NW yesterday but they were also fortunate to cover given the front door aspect of the end and the time and score situation half way through the third quarter. Not much to say here as I think all of these were good bets and would make them again, even though they wouldn't be lined the same way again.
Virginia Tech - Obviously went as planned though the game played a little closer from a competitive standpoint than the final score will show. VT caught a few breaks and was plus 2 in turnover margin. Marshall had some late success which made the yardage and FD numbers more even but that was long after the game had been decided. This one worked out well and I think we bet it for the right reasons.
Fresno State - Unfortunate blizzard was a real advantage for Boise State (though it limited crowd/attendance) and Fresno State tried to get out of there with a win by being super conservative which almost cost them. Up 3 or 6 most of the second half, Fresno State just tried to not turn it over and run the clock out but they failed at both. Boise finally put one drive together and their stud RB broke one for a TD scamper. Fresno State blocked the extra point (it seems Boise State doesn't understand the guy on the edge can block a kick as their scheme was to let him go free). The game eventually went to overtime where a key play had Fresno QB hitting the TE in the middle and they ran an option play at the one for the win (Boise State FG in OT Prior). Game was a coin flip so I will definitely take it and the blocked extra point didn't hurt the cause (though it caused panic for me personally in something unrelated to this thread).
Alabama - I think that is the worst I have seen Alabama play this year and by saying that, I do not mean it was forced by what Georgia was doing. I found the play calling dubious, the wide receivers had a bad case of the drops, Tua was less mobile than any game all year that I have seen due to multiple boo-boos, and the dumb penalties they took were not typical of an Alabama team. The roughing the kicker end of first half was just a bad ST coaching decision to go all out. I though UGA played their A game for most of the game but felt the coaches puckered up in the second half and didn't do what worked offensively in the first half. This lost and deservedly so for how the game was played but I don't mind the bet so much. A B effort from Alabama would cash.
ULL - this game along with Clemson were my two favorite plays heading in and this one played out as expected. Teams were pretty even in yardage and first downs at around 300 each but ULL had two turnovers and that was the difference as far as who won. Getting three scores and playing dead even with the opponent is good enough for me and it definitely played as the grinder game that was anticipated. Felt this one was handicapped correctly.
ECU and Over - As mentioned a couple posts ago, the investments were made prior to Ahlers and Coach being fired news and I would have preferred NCST and Under at kickoff. To say NCSU dominated would be an understatment. 32-4 on first down margin has to rank up there as most dominant disparity of the year in that regard. 655 yards to 104 also has to rank as one of the most dominant performances of the year. The game going over the total was ridiculous at the end,,, I will let you watch svp bad beats this year to see that. I think it ridiculous that Montgomery was fired a day or two before the game to end his season. What a slap in the face to him and what a slap in the face to the current seniors that were playing that day. And for what? So they could get a quick hire of the James Madison HC before Charlotte could?? And shame on Charlotte for firing their coach who did an amazing job there this year, as long as i am ranting about it. Anyway, back to the bet ... once the coach was fired in that fashion, there was little chance ECU was going to try. The school quit on them so why represent in that spot? They may have just been completely outmatched anyway (this was a regression from the Cinci game which certainly wasn't pretty). Maybe an opportunity missed to not come back and bet NCST. Anyway, got an undeserved split. I will take it.
South Carolina - Remember when we talked about the idea that South Carolina may go out of their way to not blow out Akron. Well that appeared to be a good angle, unfortunately. They called off the dogs at halftime and had failing after failing in the red zone. Frustrating game but the situation was odd and a concern from the start. I feel from an X's and O's perspective this one was right but obviously from a situational perspective it had issues and those issues seemed to bear out. I thought Gamecocks could score quite a bit without even trying to on some levels but instead they turned it over 4 times and were also stopped on downs in the red zone. Not much else to say on this one other than it was one of the games I was cheering extra hard for.
Texas/ou under and 2h over - If Texas gets that TD at the end, we nail the middle. I don't really want to talk about this game because it was one of the ten worst officiated games from a lopsided perspective that I have seen in the last ten years. That was simply ridiculous. I sort of liked Texas plus the points in the game but avoided it because I thought the conference would want that playoff $$$ and it could cost the horns 3 points. I think it actually cost them about 20 points. It was so bizarre in its ridiculousness that one would have to be blind to think it was not an edict from the top. I guess a quick comment on the QB's since I don't want to discuss the game much otherwise .. Ehlinger is a gamer. He will never be a great college QB, I don't think but he will always effort. Murray is just a special player and perhaps deserving of the Heisman this year. some of the plays he makes are just really, really, really good. Also ... I hate Oklahoma and think TOSU is a more deserving team (and I think almost anyone who does power ratings would have TOSU in the -2 to -4 range against the sooners) to make the playoffs....... but with that said, they came into the weekend ranked by the committee ahead of Ohio State and the win over Texas is on par with TOSU's win over Northwestern so Oklahoma should be in the playoff per the committee. Congrats to them if so.
MTSU and Under - MTSU out gained them by 91 yards or so and 6 scoring drives to UAB's 5 but UAB found End Zone more often and MTSU failed on their two point conversion try. MTSU forced a punt to get the ball back down two with a minute left but had too many men on the field which gave uab a first down. No chance at heroics. UAB is a nice story, I suppose but this was a gut punch as we got the good version of UAB (which wasn't a given at all) and were still quite a bit better but couldn't get the job done. Total was wrong . both teams moved it better than expected.
Cal - Usually when you have the dog and they out gain and out first down the opponent you at least win the ATS, though the bears last drive is the only reason they out gained Stanford. To be fair, Stanford had the lead all game so they may have been less inclined to take offensive risks. Cal was slow to get off the bus and gave up 10 early to Stanford but basically shut them down the rest of the game. Cal missed a chip shot FG and then allowed a FG drive for Stanford to put the Tree up 10 late. Was hopeful for backdoor at that point but then an interception led to a stanford score on the backdoor drive. Then Cal got the backdoor TD a drive too late. Tough .. I didn't see enough of it to say Cal was the correct side but I would definitely play them again with all available information. Sad this wasn't a national television game as it is one of the better rivalries.
Clemson - This game was on at the same time as Fresno where I feel I got a little fortunate and TOSU where I feel I got a little fortunate but this is the game where I felt most fortunate to win and it was an important game to me with slightly more on them and some other interests involved with them. Clemson scored 42 on 419 yards and 13 first downs so that is obviously ridiculous and why I feel so fortunate along with the fact there was a front door cover. With that said, we were unfortunate that the game was played in the rain, given we had a big team speed advantage and the better passing attack. Defensively, overall, it played out like we thought with Pitt only getting 200 yards of total offense and 8 yards passing. In good weather, I think this would have looked like a really good bet .. as it was .. feel lucky because I got lucky.
TOSU and Over, TOSU and Over 2h - TOSU fell asleep at the wheel coming out of halftime and Thorson and company put up a run on them .. for the other three and half quarters, Ohio State was the most impressive team of the top 6 yesterday. 31 to 21 first down edge and out gained nw by almost 200 yards while putting up over 600 yards. They were probably 30 points better than NW yesterday but they were also fortunate to cover given the front door aspect of the end and the time and score situation half way through the third quarter. Not much to say here as I think all of these were good bets and would make them again, even though they wouldn't be lined the same way again.
