COLLEGE FOOTBALL - WEEK 8
How many times does something have to happen before it becomes a pattern? How about a habit? A trend? Either way, we are back baby! TOB is back at home base this week, Dragon is having his house warming party today…a little late, they’ve lived there for over a year. What’s the statue of limitations on that? TOB is protesting by not bringing a gift. Instead, a tasty side dish to share…j/k TOB’s staple is hummus and a veggie tray, I’ll have that whole thing to myself. Speaking of appetizers, TOB’s current favorite commercial:
The disdain this woman displays toward her boyfriend/husband is something TOB is very familiar with.
Now for a new TOB original segment, “Why are you still in my life?” Yes, this is about exes, but not ex-husbands, ex-wives, or even just ex-what are we’s. This is about ex-athletes who won’t get off of my TV. Announcing a game. Joining a sports talk show for some in depth analysis about an upcoming game involving a former team. Fundraisers for charities in cities where said athlete played some or all of their career. These should be the only places we see you. Instead, Petyton Manning (four years retired) continues to hock random products like he’s paying Shawn Kemp’s child support. Let’s present a few facts:
· Money Peyton Manning made from the NFL ONLY: $248,700,000
· Pro Football Reference says that Peyton’s nicknames are “The Sheriff” and “The Caveman” – not relevant to this conversation, but worth mentioning. Have you ever heard him called either?
Apparently advertising is so easy, “The Caveman” can do it. Here are the products Peyton has represented (or is currently representing):
· Nike
· Buick
· DirecTV
· Gatorade
· Nationwide
· Papa John’s (owns 32 franchises)
· Mastercard
· Logo Athletic
· Reebok
· Nabisco
· Hasbro
· Rawlings
· Sprint
· Sony
· Kraft
· Air Tran
· First Tennesse Bank (local)
· Famous Fixins (loca)
· Tennessee Beef Council (local)
· Seems like there should be more
Here is TOB’s personal favorite. Young Peyton, hardly recognizable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FlwJwL6kdo
Next week, Shaq!
Last week mostly lived up to the hype. OU and Texas ended up being a close game, even if it felt like OU was one fumble away from running away. Despite the final numbers, Jalen Hurts did not play well. He was careless with the ball and likely cost himself the Heisman (Tua continues to pile up numbers, and Justin Fields from Ohio State is currently leading the Buckeyes to a huge victory over Northwestern). Bama and Wisconsin rolled, which was mostly expected, LSU pulled away at the end, ND/USC was close, but not a very well-played game, Penn State/Iowa was relatively boring as expected (keep it up BIG10, Michigan/Penn State has to be better than the last few marquee matchups), and of course, down goes Georgia! Finally, a top 5 team loses (to a non-ranked team no less). Let the chaos begin! A few more good games this week, as the SEC prepares for a cannibalistic late October / early November:
· 9 Florida (-5.5) at South Carolina – Are the Gamecocks giant killers? Probably not. At 3-3 they probably just won their biggest game in 4 years. Florida should roll here and move into a good position to play Georgia for the right to go to the SEC Championship Game.
· 16 Michigan at 7 Penn State (-8) – In previewing this match-up, TOB can’t help but notice that Michigan only has one loss. It was a bad one (embarrassment at the hands of Wisconsin), but still just one. Oh yeah, they almost lost to Army too. Their common opponent with Penn State to this point is Iowa, and the both won terrible, defensive games. Hopefully this one gets closer to the over/under (46.5).
· Well, that’s it. Bummer.
Further bitching/facts about the cupcake season (which may just be the season):
· Week 1 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 30.5
· Week 2 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 42.5
· Week 3 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 40
· Week 4 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 38.5
· Week 5 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 23.5
· Week 6 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 29.5 – come on!
· Week 7 average margin of victory for top 5 teams: 15 – We finally had a top 5 loss!
· Week 8 average point spread top 5 teams: 27.5 – apparently even conference play is imbalanced these days
TOB just witnessed Ohio State defeat Northwestern 52-3, so put that into the huge spread for top 5 teams. Remember when Northwestern was in the BIG10 Championship Game? The next time TOB makes mistakes at work for several consecutive months, the excuse will be, “Well, I’m in a rebuilding year.”
“Countdown Until Urban Meyer Takes a D1 Job.” Nothing new here, just the usual suspects:
· UCLA – 5:1
· Tennessee – 3:1
· USC: 5:1
· Michigan: 20:1
· Michigan State: 10:1
· Remains analyst: 100:1
Seems like a good time to actually revisit the rankings, now that Clemson has dropped and we finally have a loss to chew on. Here are the current top 10 and a few key (read: TOB deems them key) facts about each team:
1. Alabama – Big Wins: Well, they beat A&M by a lot; Close Calls: None; Diff: +203
2. LSU – Big Wins: 15 Texas, 9 Florida; Close Calls: Texas; Could make a strong case they deserve to be #1 with that resume
3. Clemson – Big Wins: Sim to Alabama; Close Calls: UNC by 1 point; Could be a Championship Hangover, but the defense just doesn’t look as dominant. “But TOB, they lost a lot of players to the NFL.” Welcome to what Alabama deals with every season…
4. Ohio State – Big Wins: Michigan State? Maybe?; Close Calls: None; very similar to Alabama’s resume. They win by an average of 43 points, but they probably should given who they are playing. Wisconsin next week will be a good challenge (and probably a BIG10 Title preview), plus they finish with Penn State/Michigan the final two weeks. Will learn a lot about them (and Bama) come late November
5. Oklahoma – Big Wins: 15 Texas; Close Calls: Does beating Kansas by only 25 count? Three of these top 5 teams appear to be the same, playing very few tough games and piling up 40 point victories. I guess it will be fun when they are all in the playoff together, but TOB pines for the days when good teams played each other all season. Or maybe they never did, hard to say, there’s been a lot of alcohol involved in these Saturdays…
Now for the picks!
Robert the Cheech
Week 1: 1-4 - Yikes
Week 2: 5-0 – Yeah Bobby (6-4)
Week 3: 3-2 – Typical (9-6)
Week 4: 3-2 (12-8)
Week 5: 3-2 (15-10) Making Money!
Week 6: 3-3 (18-13) Welcome to my life, Robby
Week 7: 3-2 (21-15) Solid
· Mizzou -12.5 over Ole Miss - L
· Wisconsin -10.5 over Michigan State - W
· AZ State -1 over Washington State - W
· Eastern Michigan -1.5 over Ball State - L
· Bowling Green +26.5 over Toledo – W. Not just a cover, an outright win! What would you have gotten on the moneyline there Bobby???
Week 8:
· Texas -21 over Kansas
· Penn State -9.5 over Michigan
· Eastern Michigan +8.5 over Central Michigan
· Texas A&M -6.5 over Ole Miss (that seems low)
· Wisconsin -31 over Illinois (same)
TOB
Week 1: 2-2 with 1 push – slowly losing money
Week 2: push
Week 3: push
Week 4: (5-4-1)
Week 5: 2-3 (7-7-1) Just burning money, 10% at a time
Week 6: 2-2-1 (9-9-2) Has there ever been a more mediocre gambler? Yeah, probably
Week 7: 2-3 (11-12-2) Here I sit on Mount Mediocrity
· Florida +13.5 over LSU - L
· Virginia +2.5 over Miami - L
· Texas +10.5 over Oklahoma - W
· 16 Michigan +22 over Illinois – L
· 8 Wisconsin over Michigan State – W
Week 8:
· 9 Florida -5 over South Carolina
· 2 LSU -18.5 over Mississippi Sttae
· 12 Oregon -2.5 over 25 Washington
· Cincinnati -16.5 over Tulsa (TOB has a new affection for Cincinnati after that tweet)
· OKST -4.5 over 18 Baylor (Why is OKST favored over a ranked team? Fishy fishy)
Let’s see how these Pro’s did. Keep in mind it cost me $200 to join; I then put $100 on each of these games to win $90.
Week 7: (4-1) – Current balance: $560 – Look at that, already made money! Let’s let it ride!
· Colorado State -3.5 over New Mexico (Will Buckley) - W
· LSU -13 over Florida (Walter Perry) - W
· Oklahoma -10.5 over Texas (Walter Perry) - L
· Boise State -12 over Hawaii (Walter Perry) - W
· UAB -12 over UTSA (Walter Perry) – W
Week 8:
· Fresno State -14.5 over UNLV – (Tom Sullivan) W - game was last night
Unfortunately it appears they have caught on to the fact that I am not going to pay them (or respond to their texts). Oh well, it was a fun gimmick while it lasted. As they randomly send info, we will track it.
Off to the Dragon’s “Open House”
-Tonyonball
