COLLEGE FOOTBALL - WEEK 14
Holiday football is here! With Thanksgiving falling late this year, Championship games will be the first weekend of December, just three weeks before bowl week! No more bowl teams claiming to be “rusty” because they haven’t played in six weeks. Let’s just make this the usual NCAA. TOB completely forgot about the ever exciting “Egg Bowl” last night. Half a bottle of Buffalo Trace led TOB to bed at half time, only to find out Ole Miss fell just short due to a taunting penalty/missed PAT. Classic Ole Miss, probably wouldn’t have happened at home after they took trip down the “Walk of Champions.” Being around Ole Miss fans during the holidays, it is interesting how disappointed they get in their team that seems to go 5-7 pretty much every year. That would be like meeting a Florida Marlins fan that is perpetually disappointed they don’t win the NL East. You’re a door mat for better teams, act accordingly. Unfortunately Mizzou seems to be in the same boat. As TOB is writing this they are tied up with Arkansas and players are getting carted off like the movie Gladiator. Following this game Barry Odom’s career record will be 25-25. Sounds about right.
And now, a commercial that is currently getting under TOB’s skin:
We are in a rough patch here for commercials. Holiday commercials talking about how much stuff you NEED to get for Christmas are particularly annoying. We are just now getting into the political commercials too, which will only increase for the next year. This may be the straw that finally gets TOB to cut the cable. TOB’s special lady has already purchased Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sling. We are probably already paying for all of our channels twice.
Please submit your item for TOB review in the comments. Anything from food, drink, podcast, book, TV show, movie. TOB has opinions, may as well share them with 8 people….
Key games this week, the last week of the season L.
1. OSU at Michigan – Should be a blowout. Michigan has shown no ability to beat a good team (blowing out ND earlier this season doesn’t qualify, ND is a decent team, no big bowl aspirations). Shea Shatterson will likely throw a couple of picks, perhaps a fumble or two caused by Chase Young. Ohio State could have blown out Penn State last week (that overturned TD in the first quarter really flipped the game). Spread here is 9.5, OSU will likely run away with this one
2. Alabama at Auburn – First big test for Mac Jones. Unlikely he will have the same success he did against Western Carolina. Bama is only a 3 point favorite, which really just shows that if Auburn was in any other conference they would probably be undefeated. Utah is pulling for Auburn as much as any, Bama is blocking their path to the CFP, a win here will solidify two SEC teams making the playoff.
3. Wisconsin at Minnesota – Two decent teams competing for who gets to lose by 40 to Ohio State next weekend. Wisconsin has already been down that path, PJ Fleck and Minnesota have yet to see a team of that caliber. Unless he flees for a Florida State or another big school, the future is bright with the Golden Gophers.
4. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State – The BIG12 is probably going to be on the outside looking in based on OU’s number 7 ranking (behind the PAC12, BIG10, SEC, ACC leaders). Need a big win here, and next week, and some help. Unlikely, but college football tends to keep things exciting.
For being a rivalry weekend, there aren’t as many compelling games as in the past. FSU falling off really hurts that game, and nothing else really has any stakes (TOB’s father in law would argue that Ole Miss/Miss St. is HUGE for recruiting within the state…sure). Well, after a quick Google search, it turns out Jerry Rice, Brett Favre, and Walter Payton are from Mississippi. Perhaps TOB doesn’t know what he’s talking about after all…
With the latest rankings putting Ohio State at 1, LSU at 2, Clemson at 3, Georgia at 4, and Bama at 5, the committee is ensuring that two SEC teams make the final (unless something goes haywire this weekend). By putting Ohio State at 1, they are also setting the groundwork for the two SEC teams to not play each other in one of the semi-finals. TOB is in full support of this strategy, and finds it hilarious that people are arguing that LSU should still be #1. TOB certainly agrees, but also understands that the playoff is a TV show. People want to see OSU/BAMA and Clemson/LSU in the semi-finals, and that is probably what they will get. The big wrench in the system will be if Georgia beats LSU. TOB would suggest they flip spots in the rankings and LSU stays in the playoff at 4. A neutral site loss to Georgia would be better than a home loss to LSU (Bama’s resume). But, we shall see…
“Countdown Until Urban Meyer Takes a D1 Job.”
· UCLA – 5:1
· Tennessee – 3:1
· Florida State – 3:1
· USC: 5:1
· Cowboys: 10:1 – New Addition, Jerry loves successful college coaches
· Michigan State: 10:1
· Remains analyst: 100:1
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
Week 8: 2-3 (23-18) Sliding toward .500
Week 9: 4-1 (27-19) Big bounce back, Bobby!
Week 10: 3-2 (30-21) Still making money
Week 11: 3-6 (33-27) back to earth
Week 12: 3-3 (36-30)
Week 13: 5-5-1 (41-35-1) Getting by
· Ball State -3.5 at Kent State - L
· Iowa -15 vs Illinois - L
· Northwestern +16 vs Minnesota - Push
· Oklahoma State -6 at West Virginia - W
· Michigan -10 at Indiana - W
· Nebraska -6.5 at Maryland - W
· Virginia Tech -3.5 vs Pitt - W
· Georgia -13 vs Texas A&M - L
· Baylor -5 vs Texas - W
· Wisconsin -24.5 vs Purdue - L
· Missouri -3.5 vs Tennessee - L
Week 14:
· Eastern Michigan -3.5 over Kent State
· Ball State over Miami Ohio
· Texas -7.5 over Texas Tech
· Nebraska +5 over Iowa
· Boise State -14 over Colorado State
· South Carolina +27 over Clemson
· Indiana -7 over Purdue
· Ohio State -9 over Michigan
· Baylor -14 over Kansas
· Pitt -8.5 over Boston College
· Wisconsin -3 over Minnesota
· Kansas State +5 over Iowa State
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
Week 8: 3-2 (14-14-2) Yikes, right at .500
Week 9: 3-2 (17-16-2) Back on the winning side!
Week 10: 3-2 (20-18-2) Getting there!
Week 11: 4-1 (24-18-2) Real Nice!
Week 12: Bye
Week 13: 1-3 (25-21-2) Bummer
· Ohio State -19.5 over Penn State - L
· Georgia -13 over Texas &M - L
· Oklahoma -18 over TCU - L
· Boise State -8 over Utah State - W
Week 14:
· Bama -3 over Auburn
· Iowa -4.5 over Nebraska
· Boise State -14.5 over Colorado State
· Ohio State -9.5 over Michigan
· Wisconsin -2.5 over Minnesota (emotional hedge)
· Baylor -14 over Kansas
· Kansas State +4.5 over Iowa State
Sharps
Week 7: 4-1 – Current balance: $60 – Look at that, already made money! Let’s let it ride!
Week 8: 1-0 (5-1) – Current balance: $150
Week 9: 3-3 (8-4) – Current balance: $120
Week 10: 3-1 (11-5) – Current balance: $290 – Not bad fellas!
Week 11: 2-3 (13-8) – Current balance: $170 - meh
Week 12: 5-0 (18-8) – Current balance: $620 – Wow!
Week 13: 2-1 (20-9) – Current balance: $700 - Nice
· Utah -23 over Arizona – (Vic Arisa) - W
· Memphis -14 over South Florida (Leo Green) - W
· Wisconsin -24.5 over Purdue (Frank Angel) - L
Week 14:
Virginia Tech -3 over Virginia (Mark Reeves)
Appalachian State -12 over Troy (Mick Finn)
Go Irish, finish strong and get that big bowl near STL so TOB can be in attendance! Shout out to TOB’s special lady’s sister Kaitlyn. She left her 20’s today, cocktails at the Ritz this evening to celebrate.
-Tonyonball
