After a bad opening weekend saw me take a dive, a pretty good second week has me back to treading water for the season. Some bad luck went our way in a bunch of the games mentioned in the column last week.
WEEK 2 RECAP
After a strong opening to the weekend with the games on Thursday and Friday, my weekend picks were somewhat of a damper because of the way some of them lost.
Best Bet on the Gators went well, although I was seriously sweating the +30.5 in the first half after the first 17 minutes of the game because I had triple bet (3x normal bet on a college football game, see Better Bettor) the points. The -36.5 spread also looked in danger as the rain made for poor conditions as UF fumbled twice and looked sloppy. The 2nd quarter explosion was along the lines of what I thought would happen and the Gators cruised to a comfortable 56-6 victory.
SEC
FIU 14 @ Alabama 40 (-33.5): It was a good idea to let this one slide. Bama allowed FIU to stay in the game through the first half to only lead 20-14, but turned it up in the second and won by a comfortable but not spread covering 26.
South Carolina 37 @ Georgia 41 (-7): OK I think we can all agree the supposed demise of these two offenses was a little premature. Don’t think I was the only one stunned by the offensive output of this one, as both teams individually scored more than the total over/under. My prediction of South Carolina was on point however as they covered the 7 point spread in another closely contested game in this series.
Mississippi State 24 @ Auburn 49 (-14): What a difference a year makes. Maybe Auburn is still the year in, year out, top 25 team they been for a decade instead of the one that ran off a good coach because of a fluky, bad breaks, no second chances in the SEC season that won this game last year 3-2. Rushing for 390 yards always makes life much easier at any level of football and the War Tigereagles are suddenly looking punchy. With a revenge game this week at home against West Virginia (who haven’t looked like world beaters), Ball State, and at Tennessee, Auburn could conceivably be 5-0, in the top 25 and making the people who voted for them in the preseason polls look like the smart guys instead of the dumb ones who just pick on reputation. (Can you guys tell I’m buying into the hype lol family members who are fans don’t help)
Vanderbilt 9 @ LSU 23 (-14.5): The Dores got it done and covered by thismuchas they made it by half a point. If you are an LSU fan you better have dropped into DEFCON status because the early returns have not looked good. If Washington throws a scare into USC feel a little better, but that USC team is gonna get beat at some point this year. Vandy is much better the last few years than they have been, but Tigers need to step it up if they are going to justify that #11 ranking.
UCLA 19 @ Tennessee 15 (-10): Tennessee’s offensive is awful. Both these teams did not look very good and I believe will be in for long seasons again. It’s really early, but they both have a long way to go. Glad I stayed away from this one.
BEST OF THE REST
Dropping the Crème name, they haven’t been too tasty very far.
UNC 12 (-4.5) @ UConn 10: UNC needed a late safety to slip by and I would’ve preferred overtime for a chance to cover. I thought the Tar Heels easily got it done, and got burned. That’s the last pro ACC bet until they prove something.
Stanford 17 @ Wake Forrest 24 (-3): Oh, yeah. Damn you ACC.After I filed this away as a win in my mind after I saw the score entering the 4th quarter, Wake rallied to win by a TD they scored instead of a FG that would’ve at least given me my money back.
BYU 54 (-18.5) @ Tulane 3: Seems the Sooner shocking Warrin’ Mormons (wait, that’s not their name… why not?) are for real. Showing no signs of side effects know to afflict squads of 18-22 year old college boys following big wins or losses (see: Oklahoma State below) is no surprise as BYU generally has a bunch of guys who are in their mid 20s following a Mormon mission. A fact I stupidly overlooked that could’ve paid.
Texas 41 (-32) @ Wyoming 10: Texas’s slow start really screwed Longhorns supporters as they missed the spread by 1 point. After only leading 13-10 at the half, Texas totally dominated the second and any more points in the first would’ve done the trick.
TCU 30 (-11) @ Virginia 14: The Hoo’s put a scare in this one with a late score and outside kick, but TCU dominated this game.
Houston 45 @ Oklahoma State 35 (-16): My instincts were more than a little on here as Houston came out swinging in the 1st half and led 24-7, and a game effort by the Cowboys in the 2nd couldn’t make up the deficit as they lost outright.
USC 18 (-7) @ Ohio State 15: The Trojans actually looked pretty shaky in a game that the Buckeyes played well enough to win. I reversed my bet by betting the other way in the 2nd half taking OSU +5 and prayed for anything but a 6 point USC win. Got my wish.
Purdue 36 @ Oregon 38 (-12): Purdue played well enough to win outright but two defensive touchdowns by the Ducks was the difference.
Duke 31 @ Army 19 Pick ‘em: someone please slap me for wagering on a game involving the worst team in the ACC and a service academy
Utah 24 (-14) @ San Jose State 14: after scoring late to take a 14 point lead, SJSU put together their best drive of the game to get back within a score. Utah got a late field goal to ice it the win, but didn’t get the cover
Oregon State 23 (-7) @ UNLV 21: Oregon State almost lost in the 4th before getting a last second field goal to win it.
Kansas 34 (-13) @ UTEP 7: Kansas won comfortably like they should’ve.
7-6 for the week, but the triple bet on the Gators points makes it more like 9-6, enough along with the success Thursday and Friday to make up for last week’s mistakes. Along with last week’s 4-5 record puts us to 13-11 or 54%. Look for this week's post tomorrow morning 9-10ish.
