Br@ssknux
Pretty much a regular
Well, hopefully everyone is doing well as we mosey into the best time of the year. I can't be the only guy who's favorite month is September, can I? This looks like it'll be a pretty interesting year. Just about every team in the country has every Tom Dick and Harry returning on their depth charts, so it lends itself to what might be some competitive football. The only college football players from last year who aren't back this year basically fall in 3 categories: 1. NFL draft picks. 2. Actual college students who graduated and are ready to start actual jobs and become adults, or 3. Guys who wore out their welcome and nobody wants. Everyone else is back. We've never seen the likes of this before, so who knows? I've always looked for reason to bet underdogs, like a lot of you on here, and I don't suspect this year will be any different.
Usually week 1 leaves little need for running head to head matchup comparisons, but this year, so many rosters have seen so little turnover that looking at week 1 as somewhat of a continuation of last year(assuming no coaching changes) has some merit.
Week 1 turned out to be pretty easy for me, which I assume is the case for everybody, as it doesn't take a genius to come to the conclusion that fading UConn, New Mexico State and Scott Frost as a TD+ road favorite might make some sense.
Ohio State -14 PUSH
Boise State +6 WON
Iowa -3 WON
Western Michigan +17 LOST
Alabama -19.5 WON
Maryland +3(-120) WON
Louisiana Tech +23 WON
San Jose St +14 LOST
Texas Tech +1.5 WON
Clemson -3 LOST
UCLA +3(-120) WON
Utah State +18 WON
Thursday:
1. Ohio State -14 @Minnesota: Well, here's the douchebag who calls himself a dog bettor immediately laying two TDs with a road favorite. Not ideal, but there's a few reasons for this. First of all, Ryan Day has been money on the road, 6-1 so far as a road favorite, and he has given every indication that wagering against him might not be a great idea. Although I'm sure you could conjure up some reasons for optimism for the Gophers because they're bringing a lot of their rank and file back, the one thing that conjures no good feelings for me is that terrifyingly bad run defense the Gophers trotted out a year ago. 124th on a per carry basis, and they were bad just about every week and atrocious in a few other cases (Maryland). It's a lot of the same faces and it's the same staff and scheme, so assuming that they just magically have the ability to stop this Buckeye offense from gashing them for 7-8 yards per carry isn't based on any sensible logic. Talking heads have been spilling the beans that Top national recruit TreVeyon Henderson is better than JK Dobbins ever was right now according to "observers". Whether that's true or not is irrelevant, because the first Buckeye freshman you round up on the quad on the first day of classes in Columbus could probably run for 180 yards and two scores on that Minnesota run defense if they aren't drastically improved from what they were last year. I'll hitch my wagon to Day and co and their road pedigree here.
2. Boise State +6 @ UCF: Kudos to UCF for snagging Malzahn. I know he fell out of favor at Auburn, but what other coach has the accomplishments he had on the plains over the last few years. He ran the offense that won a National Championship and then came within a whisker of a second one as a head coach a few years later. Several wins over some vintage Saban Alabama teams when they were at their peak and the ability to recruit with all the big boys, Frankly, among Auburn, Tennessee and UCF in that game of coaching musical chairs, I'd suggest that UCF walked away with the best guy. I'm definitely bullish on UCF long term, but I think we're getting ahead of ourselves by letting this spread approach a TD. I know we're all looking at UCF's offense and dreaming what Malzahn will do with an accurate QB like Taylor Gabriel, but in this matchup, we also have to remember that Hank Bachmeier(and if necessary) Jack Sears are both capable of throwing the ball all day long on a UCF defense that couldn't be bothered to stop anybody last year. Although it's true that Boise looks vulnerable against that UCF offense, their strength is up front, and the Malzahn scheme's MO is the running game which Boise might be poised to stop. Andy Avalos is a Boise lifer, having played under Dan Hawkins and coached under Petersen and Harsin, so he'll continue the culture there. Offensively, Boise will be able to score, so UCF will have to totally expose Boise's D to cover more than 6, and I like Boise's chances to be as competitive as they usually are on both sides of the ball here.
Usually week 1 leaves little need for running head to head matchup comparisons, but this year, so many rosters have seen so little turnover that looking at week 1 as somewhat of a continuation of last year(assuming no coaching changes) has some merit.
Week 1 turned out to be pretty easy for me, which I assume is the case for everybody, as it doesn't take a genius to come to the conclusion that fading UConn, New Mexico State and Scott Frost as a TD+ road favorite might make some sense.
Ohio State -14 PUSH
Boise State +6 WON
Iowa -3 WON
Western Michigan +17 LOST
Alabama -19.5 WON
Maryland +3(-120) WON
Louisiana Tech +23 WON
San Jose St +14 LOST
Texas Tech +1.5 WON
Clemson -3 LOST
UCLA +3(-120) WON
Utah State +18 WON
Thursday:
1. Ohio State -14 @Minnesota: Well, here's the douchebag who calls himself a dog bettor immediately laying two TDs with a road favorite. Not ideal, but there's a few reasons for this. First of all, Ryan Day has been money on the road, 6-1 so far as a road favorite, and he has given every indication that wagering against him might not be a great idea. Although I'm sure you could conjure up some reasons for optimism for the Gophers because they're bringing a lot of their rank and file back, the one thing that conjures no good feelings for me is that terrifyingly bad run defense the Gophers trotted out a year ago. 124th on a per carry basis, and they were bad just about every week and atrocious in a few other cases (Maryland). It's a lot of the same faces and it's the same staff and scheme, so assuming that they just magically have the ability to stop this Buckeye offense from gashing them for 7-8 yards per carry isn't based on any sensible logic. Talking heads have been spilling the beans that Top national recruit TreVeyon Henderson is better than JK Dobbins ever was right now according to "observers". Whether that's true or not is irrelevant, because the first Buckeye freshman you round up on the quad on the first day of classes in Columbus could probably run for 180 yards and two scores on that Minnesota run defense if they aren't drastically improved from what they were last year. I'll hitch my wagon to Day and co and their road pedigree here.
2. Boise State +6 @ UCF: Kudos to UCF for snagging Malzahn. I know he fell out of favor at Auburn, but what other coach has the accomplishments he had on the plains over the last few years. He ran the offense that won a National Championship and then came within a whisker of a second one as a head coach a few years later. Several wins over some vintage Saban Alabama teams when they were at their peak and the ability to recruit with all the big boys, Frankly, among Auburn, Tennessee and UCF in that game of coaching musical chairs, I'd suggest that UCF walked away with the best guy. I'm definitely bullish on UCF long term, but I think we're getting ahead of ourselves by letting this spread approach a TD. I know we're all looking at UCF's offense and dreaming what Malzahn will do with an accurate QB like Taylor Gabriel, but in this matchup, we also have to remember that Hank Bachmeier(and if necessary) Jack Sears are both capable of throwing the ball all day long on a UCF defense that couldn't be bothered to stop anybody last year. Although it's true that Boise looks vulnerable against that UCF offense, their strength is up front, and the Malzahn scheme's MO is the running game which Boise might be poised to stop. Andy Avalos is a Boise lifer, having played under Dan Hawkins and coached under Petersen and Harsin, so he'll continue the culture there. Offensively, Boise will be able to score, so UCF will have to totally expose Boise's D to cover more than 6, and I like Boise's chances to be as competitive as they usually are on both sides of the ball here.
Last edited: