Alright punters, hope you got your bets in because there are several games that moved away from where we took the points and we have better value because of it.

Pretty good night last night. I took Georgia Tech at -5 for the game and over 22 in the first half as separate bets. In the pro game I parlayed Tennessee +6.5 and the under 36 points, and bet “no three scores in a row for one team” for +150 (don’t you love NFL action!). Normally the no 3 scores thing is a horrible bet, but this early in the season I figured the defenses would be way ahead of the offenses and this would be a 13-7 to 17-14 scoring game.

At halftime they all looked great as Tech scored 24 by themselves and held a 17 point lead, while the Titans were tied with Pittsburgh 7-7. Clemson’s rally spoiled my perfect night, but I went 4-5 with 2 bets parlayed for a nice pull. Meanwhile tonight while I'm writing the piece, I’m watching Colorado at Toledo where I took the Rockets +4 for 80% of my normal college football bet, and with a spread so close 20% on the Toledo money line +145. This is an article written on the day published because the spreads can change daily!

BEST BET ON THE GATORS

So the line went up… a half a point from -36.5. I still think by the final gun Florida covers the now -37 point spread over the Troy Trojans. I bet the Gators and I also bet the over 30 points in the first half. Think UF tries to get a lot of work done in the first so they can once again play plenty of backups in the second half. My only concern would be Troy getting some 4^th quarter points against 3^rd stringers and freshman as this is the last game before redshirts must be handed out.

SEC

7:00PM FIU @ Alabama -33.5 down from 34: Moved down a hair. I’m not the only one who thinks the points are a little high, but we’re only slightly in the majority. Bama wins easily, but I let this one slide.

7:00PM South Carolina @ Georgia -7, Steady: Holding steady across the board, I like South Carolina in a close low scoring game to cover, but this could easily be a push.

7:00PM Miss State @ Auburn -14, Steady: I just don’t know. If you put a gun to my head I’d pick MSU in a low scoring affair, but I’d do it as I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes

7:00PM Vanderbilt @ LSU -14.5 Steady: If this was the exact same team, with the almost the same history, and the same players and everything, I’d bet on Vandy. LSU looked kind of shaky and Vandy is really trying to build on last year’s success.

BUT

I love Vanderbilt. I really do. I always root for Vanderbilt when they aren’t playing the Gators. Always have. I got it from my dad; who once told me he rooted for them because one of his best friends went there, and they also didn’t have an SEC title. Well that ended years ago for the Gators, but my dad and I have a saying that goes back as far as I can remember caring about football. “That’s why they’re Vanderbilt.” The last really bad one I remember off hand was in 2007. They were in a back and forth game with Arkansas in a classic “Houston Nutt totally playing to his opponent” game. The Dores moved into field goal range, several yards over their kicker’s career long, with seconds remaining. Good snap. Good hold. Good kick, right down the middle. On a more or less windless day, a gust of wind the TV announcers described as 30-40 mph came directly from the end zone in question. The field goal fell a yard or two short of the crossbar. That’s why they’re Vanderbilt.

7:00PM UCLA @ Tennessee -10 up from -7.5: By far the biggest shift within the conference, we should’ve jumped on the Vols for our middle. This is a tough game to look at. UCLA had to rally from down 14-3 early last week, and eventually won comfortably against San Diego State 33-14 but failed to cover the 20 point spread. Tennessee played a Western Kentucky team that just moved up to the FBS level and it showed. I think we learn a little more this week now that the athletes should be on more equal footing. I like the Vols by a TD, so if this spread dropped I would’ve bet it. Now that it’s 10, I’m leaving it alone, but don’t be surprised if either of these teams wins by 14 or more.

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

12:00PM UNC -4.5 @ UConn steady: I still like UNC, this one moved up to 5 and back to 4.5 but the odds increased for UConn to +100. I still like UNC in this one and I took it 4.5 even odds early in the week.

12:00PM Stanford @ Wake Forrest -3 up from -2: I guess I’m in the minority here, because I like Stanford, but the rising spread means other people don’t. I really think Wake is middle of the pack in the ACC this year, and as bad as Oregon looked, Stanford could shoot as high as 3^rd in the Pac 10.

3:30PM BYU -18 to 18.5 @ Tulane up from 17: Guess everyone is jumping on the BYU bandwagon because no one thinks like I do they might have the classic letdown game after a huge win. I’m not saying BYU loses but that it’s tighter than expected. Leaving this one alone after all, but would’ve taken it with a lower spread.

3:30PM Texas -32 @ Wyoming: down from 33.5: I guess no one else believes the Horns keep rolling along. Personally, Wyoming is a pretty terrible team historically and even with the altitude Texas rolls.

3:30PM TCU -11 @ Virginia down from 11.5: personally I’m pretty surprised. I thought this one would go up but BCS bias by uninformed people must be pushing this one up. I like TCU in this one.

3:30PM Houston @ Oklahoma State -16 up from -15: People are jumping all over OSU south for beating a weak Georgia team. Wouldn’t be surprised if Houston keeps this one close, but I ended up leaving it alone.

8:00PM USC -7 @ OSU steady: The odds have shifted away from USC but the spread hasn’t moved. This tells me there is action on USC but the books are scared to give any more points to a freshman QB. Personally I think USC runs the ball well and has a better defense and only ask the freshman to make a few throws. I think USC covers, and I got them early at a fair -110 normal spread price.

OTHER GAMES I LIKE:

Purdue -12 @ Oregon: as good as Purdue looked last week against a Toledo team that just beat Colorado’s ass, and as bad as the Ducks looked last week this is a no brainer.

Duke @ Army Pick ‘em: I took this game at -2.5 for Army, and if this game makes it to Duke -1 by kickoff tomorrow I will bet for a split, but I think Army wins.

Utah -14 @ San Jose: Hopefully Utah doesn’t screw me two weeks in a row. Utah, BYU, and TCU are leagues ahead of the rest of the conference.

Oregon State -7 @ UNLV: I think the Beav’s win by a TD at least, and that means cover or push.

Kansas -13 @ UTEP: I got this at Kansas -12. Kansas has proven to be a decent team within the Big XII while UTEP lost to Buffalo last week.

OK see you guys Monday with a recap. May the covers go your way!

AL D