Betting With The Angry Old Man, Week Two

Posting my picks this early in the week is seriously cutting into my nap time, but if I want equitable lines, I'll have to make a sacrifice. Here's to more shut-eye later this week (my selections in bold)

Auburn -1.5 @ Mississippi State
Maybe this is a trap game for novice gamblers as Auburn has a reputation as somewhat of a powerhouse, whereas Mississippi State has been down for a long while. Regardless, I still like what Gene Chizik has done in his short time with the War Eagles, and think the Bulldogs may be a season or two away from a big breakthrough. I'll take the road favorite in what amount to a near pick.

Iowa State @ Iowa -13.5
Iowa is as solid a footbal team as you'll find across the midwest this season. Too much firepower in this one for the Cyclones to handle as the Hawkeyes host their in-state rivals to early-season tit-scrubbing.

Oregon -12 @ Tennessee
Oregon Neon Yellow > Tennessee Blaze Orange

Troy @ Oklahoma State -13.5
I don't see an offense as potentially explosive as Oklahoma State being held in check at home by a marginal Sun Belt defense. I like the Cowboys big.

ROAD DOGG LOCK
Michigan +3.5 @ Notre Dame
The Brian Kelly Experiment is off to a great start, but I'll maintain what I said last week: DickRod needs a HUGE season if he wants to stay in Ann Arbor, and can't afford to let many of these games slip away. Given the recent history of this series, we know that Notre Dame isn't going to win big (factoring out Rodriguez's debut 2008 campaign, which was Michigan's worst season in 100 years or something like that, Wolverine losses to Notre Dame have come by an average of less than 6 points).

The fact that no one should trust a Fighting Irish squad who looked suspect against a marginal Purdue Boilermakers only adds to my confidence that an explosive Wolverines offense that can strike at anytime is going to be too much for the BKE this year. Lay the points!

THE HOMER CALL OF THE WEEK
West Virginia -13.5 @ Marshall
Having seen both these teams in person last week, I have two observations: 1) The Mountaineers are better then last week's score would suggest; 2) The Thundering Herd is worse than last week's score would suggest. Nevermind that the much-ballyhooed WVU offense looked less-than-impressive against 3C (Coastal Carolina Chanticleers); as loyal follower of Team MVP, Buckeye Jack remarked that Marshall "may be a worse" than Coastal.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Buckeye Jack's name may or may not be an allusion to his favorite activity to engage in with his "weenus")

One thing struck me as odd/interesting as I sat through the drubbing in Columbus last Thursday: Marshall's entire squad is made up of players with names that you'd probably recognize from off-season recruiting in EA Sports NCAA Football (Brian Anderson, Antavious Wilson, Chuck Walker, to name a few).

I don't see last year's 2-point squeaker as a trend; the talent gap in the Coal Bowl is not shrinking. When you recruit on XBox and are fielding a squad of Mark Snyder retreads, What do you expect? Mountaineers roll.

Hard Leans
Miami, FL +9.5 @ The Ohio State University
Syracuse +14 @ Washington
Standford -6 @ UCLA
Mississippi @ Tulane +20.5
Georgia @ South Carolina -3

If I had actually watched any football or highlights this weekend, I'd probably be feeling a lot more confident about most of the leans. You live, you learn, you drink more beers.

Chalk.

- Grey Bush