COLLEGE FOOTBALL - WEEK 11
Buckle up, Buttercup, TOB has been sick at home so it's a full on article today...
Oh dang! Finally a weekend with top match ups galore, even if some of them are bigger on paper than they will be on the field. Somehow Iowa gets thrown into the rankings despite being 6-3, with a loss to Northwestern. I guess a win over Ohio State is worth 30 spots in the rankings. The committee really wants Wisconsin to have a win over a ranked opponent prior to the Big 10 Title Game apparently. Whatever dude.
Tailgating in Michigan is always a good time, except when it hails. Then, it is much more fun to go to the Wolverine State Brewing Co. A good coffee stout, and some sort of fruity beer that TOB’s lady enjoyed. The only downside, a bunch of Michigan fans.
Cut Jared Leto, “Do you believe that you can win this fight tonight?!” If you’re reading this, it should be safe to assume you watch at least some college football, and are forced to see a commercial with that song playing over a highlight reel. TOB’s advice to aspiring bands, make songs with very little content, but a powerful chorus with the words “power, fight, win, amazing, greatest, pow” in them. Oh, also a good drum beat and progressive guitar riff. That should do it, I’ll take 10% plus all the swag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8wsimE8Sks
“It means what it means”
As predicted by TOB last week (TOB is more of a macro predictor, not so much on the micro, as in game to game) the rankings helped to play themselves out leading into this weekend. Think of TOB as more of an Oracle, an all knowing being that allows free will, but with an ever keen eye on the prize (the CFB playoff). Cheech on the other hand, well, he’s a two bit hustler who only thinks week to week. You decide which is more valuable.
As TOB broke earlier in the article, UGE (Trump voice) week this week. Tons of ranked match-ups and others that will have playoff implications even if the current rankings don’t reflect that. A few of the key games with TOB’s completely biased analysis:
(9) Washington at Stanford – Selfishly, TOB is pulling for Stanford so they can jump back into the rankings prior to playing ND. Unfortunately, they have been up and down all year, and will likely lose a close one to Washington. Kudos to the PAC12 for sneaking in a big game on a Friday night. TOB appreciates being able to watch as many games as possible, even if the PAC12 is crap. They need Washington to win out and get some help if they have a chance to make the CFB playoff. Last year, they snuck in only to get blown out by Alabama, so the committee will be eager to put in a 1 loss Clemson or Oklahoma over 1 loss Washington. Go Cardinal, and may your mascot remain the most entertaining and drunkest in college sports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE1ic3kXmjo
(12) Michigan State at (13) Ohio State – Ouch. This game still has some sizzle, but likely no playoff implications. Definitely a loser leaves town match, though the winner of this game is likely the BIG10 East winner, aka the turd in the punchbowl for Wisconsin. TOB is pulling for Michigan State for ND’s sake, though Ohio State is favored by 16.5, which seems much too high.
(1) Georgia at (10) Auburn – Big game for Georgia, not really for Auburn. This would all but ensure Georgia a place in the SEC Title Game with only Kentucky and Georgia Tech left on their schedule (Tech being an out of conference game). A convincing win here would be a statement to Alabama.
(20) Iowa at (8) Wisconsin – J/k, this really shouldn’t be a big game. Iowa may hang around, but Wisconsin will win in unimpressive fashion as per usual. Earn that ranking Iowa, knock those cheese eaters off!
(2) Alabama at (16) Mississippi State – Similar to UGA/Auburn this is a big game for only one of these teams. Bama wants to stay sharp for their Iron Bowl matchup later this month.
(6) TCU at (5) Oklahoma – Do you like basketball? What if there was no dribbling, and it was on grass? Well, that was OK/OKST last weekend. Dramatic? Yes. Quality football? No. TCU plays some defense, so we will see how ole Baker Mayfield (read that with a southern drawl) fares after a 600 yard game. The committee will likely side with a 1 loss BIG12 team over a 1 loss PAC12 or BIG10 team after the BIG12 was shut out last year.
(3) Notre Dame at (7) Miami – Oh baby oh baby! This should be a good one. Weather is set to be 77 degrees and partly cloudy at game time. Not much to say about this one, just want to sit back and enjoy. Unfortunately, TOB is going on a party bus beer tour all day Saturday, so it may not be fully watched until Sunday morning. No spoilers!
Shout out to Cherbear turning 60 this weekend, looking forward to the party bus! Double shout out to Mark Ragon for the hockey tickets last week!
Now for the segment that Vegas is trying to get TOB to stop running, Tony and Cheech make picks sure to go wrong!
Last weeks’ results:
Cheech (24-19-2) – 3-2 last week, short sighted…
Penn State (-10 ) over Michigan State – After a tough loss to Ohio State, Penn State needs a big win to stay relevant in the committee’s eyes. However, a MSU good performance or win would really help the Irish… - LOSS
Texas A&M (+15.5) over Auburn – Why is Auburn ranked #14 again? A&M isn’t that much worse than Auburn. – Win…by 1/2
ND (-14.5) over Wake Forest – Have to win big and keep winning. Style points matter. - LOSS
NC State (+8.5) over Clemson – Another selfish pick, go Wildcats (are they wildcats?). - WIN
West Virginia (-3.5) over Iowa State – They turn back into a pumpkin. – WIN…by 1/2
TOB (15-29-1): 3-2 last week, cash me outside!
Stanford (-1.5) over Washington State – Despite TOB’s love for Mike Leach, Stanford winning benefits ND, so we are betting with our heart this week. - LOSS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVKYV4GEFTM
Florida (+3.5) over Missouri – Apparently it isn’t good to lie about receiving death threats. Who knew?! Even so, Mizzou is terrible and shouldn’t be favored over any SEC team. – LOSS…by 25
Oklahoma (+1.5) over OKST – Oklahoma looks good this year, despite the loss to giant killer Iowa State. They should win this game, if by a slim margin. – Win…by a slim margin!
TCU (6.5) over Texas – Texas sucks, TOB stands by it. – WIN…Texas does in fact suck.
Miami (-2.5) over Virginia Tech – Need this win for ND. Go Hurricanes! - WIN
This week:
Cheech:
This week's picks are coming to you live (well, not live actually) from some crappy wannabe southern restuarant in the ATL airport while I wait for my buddy's flight to land so we can go tailgate the Auburn-Georgia game tomorrow. #1 team in the country, wowzers! Also, as I started typing this, a random old couple sat down next to me, obvisouly had just met on the airplane, took a shot, made plans to go find a place to fuck, and then left. In their short stay next to me I learned that he used to be addicted to heroine, she (Veronica) was an alcoholic (which he thought was cool) and they had just flown in from Sierra Leone. That's a helluva day. To the picks!
Stanford (+6) over Washington. You know what? I'm tired of the emotional headge picks. They haven't gone right for me all season. And not that Notre Dame really needs Stanford to put up a good fight against the 9th ranked Huskies, but you never know. Anyway, it's at the Farm and I think the Cardinal are due for a good game and possibly even a win. Boom.
Iowa State (+6.5) over OK State. I think the Cyclones are a team of destiny this season. And that destiny is to play significantly better than anyone expected, knock off a few top ranked teams, and still not get anywhere close to the CFB Playoffs. Sorry 'bout it. Plus, my boy Roy was in Ames this week, so there's that.
Michigan State (+17) over Ohio State. Wow, when was the last time a #13 team was giving 17 points to the #12 team? (I looked it up... #13 UCLA was favored by 19 points over #12 Texas in 2002, and then Ricky Williams tore them up for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns) Just kidding, I made that up. Anyway, I know OSU can be good, but that seems like way too much. Go Sparty.
Side note, you know that U ofM says "Go Blue" right, but how lame is it that Michigan State says "Go Green, Go White"??? Super lame.
Georgia (-2.5) over Auburn. No much to say about this one, other than I'll be there and that's what I think is going to happen.
Washington State (-1) over Utah. Also, not much to say about this one, just wanted to leave the ND-Miami game for T-Bone. I think I would take ND (3 point favorites). We're gonna pull the ol' #6 on 'em. Go Irish!
Also, Mizzou, who lost 35-3 to Purude and 31-13 to South Carolina is 12.5 points favorites over Tennessee. Oh, and they lost to UK and allowed 43 points to Missouri State. HAHAHAHA.
Also, the TCU - Oklahoma game is going to be interesting. It's at OU so I think I would go w/ the Sooners (+6.5)
Also, I'm kinda drunk now. Check ya later.
TOB:
Penn State (-31) over Rutgers – Rutgers is not very good, PSU wants some style points and thinks they can still sneak into the BIG10 title game if things break right. They are wrong.
Oklahoma State (-6.5) over Iowa State – Iowa State has lost it’s shine. Still a great season with two big wins, but will likely end the year 7-5.
Clemson (-15.5) over Florida State – Clemson needs style points for reasons previously discussed, Florida State is “booty.”
USC (-13.5) over Colorado – Somehow USC has snuck back near the top 10 (currently ranked 11). That’s good for ND, but kind of confusing since it was widely reported that USC was having a terrible season. Aside from getting smashed by ND, their only other loss is Washington State by 3. The bigger issue may be some of their wins (OT vs Texas, by 1 over Utah). Either way, nothing makes TOB smile more than watching one of Steve Gerring’s (TOB’s personal rival) favorite teams struggle. Darnold, stay in school, you don’t want to go to Cleveland.
Mizzou (-12.5) over Tennessee – Apparently Mizzou can beat the crap out of bad teams. Its teams that have a hope in this world they struggle with. Highly possible they win out and go 7-5 after what most would consider a terrible season. Barry Odom and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell may end up with the same record in their second seasons, though they will have gotten their in very different ways.
Shout out to the Veterans on Veteran’s Day. Both of TOB’s grandfathers served in WWII, though TOB’s paternal grandfather joked that the two things he learned from the war were: 3 card poker and how to open a can of peaches without a can opener. Thank goodness he was on our side!
GO IRISH!
-Tonyonball
