SEC items of interest
Is Alabama that much better than everyone else? It sure looks like that way. The Tide went to Knoxville and beat a top-10 UT team 49-10 in a game that was not that close. Now the Tide are almost a three-TD pick over Texas A&M. By most measure, UT is the best team in the East and the Aggies are the second-best team in the West. And Alabama and Saban could very well boatrace each of them. Holy buckets, Lord Saban has built a well-oiled machine in Tuscaloosa.
Does the Auburn rebound continue? Vegas certainly thinks so, considering the home-standing Tigers are a 10-point pick over Arkansas despite the fact that Arkansas is ranked 17th and Auburn is 23rd in the AP poll. Go figure, but as always, the Vegas numbers are more accurate than the voters' numbers. Health, as it always is, will be a big concern. If Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson is back on the field, it would be a big lift against an Arkansas defense that has struggled against the run. Johnson rolled his ankle at Mississippi State two weeks ago. For the Hogs, the aches and pains of playing seven games in the first seven weeks of the season - Arkansas gets a bye after its trip to Auburn - will certainly be felt.
Coach O bowl. Ed Oregon is part ace recruiter and part Shrek. He mumbles his answers and has been know to rip off his shirt to motivate his team. He has a closet full of skeletons by most accounts and locker room full of players willing to lay it on the line for the lovable Coach O. Oregon's first head coaching job was a disastrous time in Oxford. Now he's the interim coach at LSU trying to make his case to get that plumb gig full time. A winSaturday night against the up-and-down Rebels seems almost mandatory to stay in that conversation. We'll see.
Mississippi State carries the West banner. The SEC West has not lost to the East this year. With the possible exception of the always-close Auburn-Georgia game next month and Florida's two road trips to LSU and Arkansas in November, this one will be the East's next best chance. Kentucky has won three of its last four and has renewed bowl hopes. A win over the reeling Bulldogs would be huge for the Wildcats' postseason wishes. And for the little brother than is the SEC East.
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) scrambles against Wisconsin's D'Cota Dixon during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis) Fab 4 picks
We went 2-5 against the number last week. It was our worst week since a 1-5 week in 2013.
It was far from entertaining. On any level.
And we try to rebound on college football weekend that is filled with Halloween-scary lines and numbers that simply do not make sense, which already feels like a trap.
Example one: Alabama is laying 18 points to No. 6-ranked Texas A&M. There have been four instances in the last 30 years when teams ranked in the top six have played and the spread has been more than two TDs. The underdog has covered in all four and won outright twice.
And there's still no way to feel comfortable laying any amount of points with an Alabama team that scores as much on defense and special teams as a lot of offenses.
But they are not the only massive favorite among the power programs this weekend. No. 2 Ohio State is laying 20 at Penn State. Third-ranked Michigan is laying 36.5 against an awful Illinois team. Fourth-ranked Clemson is off, and No. 5 Washington is laying 37.5 against Oregon State. That means with top-ranked Alabama, the top four teams in action this weekend are laying 112 points. College football balance. Gotta love it.
Where does that leave us? Looking for entertaining value and valuable entertainment in some unfamiliar places. Like with a few more underdogs than we normally lean toward.
Ohio State-Penn State over the 57. Huge crowd and huge stakes for a night game in Happy Valley. PSU coach James Franklin will pull out almost every trick he knows. It still won't be enough, but against THE Ohio State, it could be enough to put three scores on the board. And consider this: Everyone feels like the Buckeyes struggled offensively last week, and they still scored 30 on a tremendous Wisconsin defense on the road. And after hearing all the Michigan banter, here's thinking OSU drops half a hundred on Penn State.
East Carolina plus-3 over Cincinnati. Each team had a bye last weekend, and each team has underachieved. But the Bearcats are potentially on the verge of packing their tents. Since a fourth-quarter collapse in a tight game with Houston, UC has escp
Syracuse plus-4.5 over Boston College. The wrong team is favored. Granted, if you risk entertainment on this one it likely means you are going to watch this one, and for that we apologize on the front end. But BC is dreadful offensively, scoring 14, 0 and 10 points in its three FBS games - all losses - this year. BC's three wins are over Wagner, Buffalo and UMass, which hardly screams confidence.
Wisconsin minus-3 over Iowa. There's a real chance the Badgers, even after the disappointment of last week's overtime loss vs. Ohio State, could toss a shutout at the Hawkeyes, who have been injury riddled on the perimeter. The under is right around 42 and that does not feel like as good a value considering Iowa allowed 35 points to a bad Purdue offense last week. Even with the OSU hangover, Wisconsin rolls. As with all 3-point lines, but the half of course.
Air Force minus-16 over Hawaii. OK, when you are riding a tough streak, sometimes you simply have to go to some old-school favorites. One of those has forever been looking to bet against Hawaii when it comes to the mainland, especially when that trip goes to the altitude of Colorado and kicks at 2 p.m. Eastern - or 9 a.m. Hawaii body clock time. Now, factor in that Air Force is pretty good - caution, research alert (told you we were desperate) - as the Cadets beat Navy and are 4-0 at home this year. Also, Hawaii has not beat Air Force since 2001, including last year's 58-7 loss to AF. And that was on the island, and Hawaii has not won in Colorado Springs since 1993. Yes please. You need more research: Air Force averages 275 yards rushing a game; Hawaii is 119th in rushing defense nationally, allowing more than 236 per game. You get the idea.
Miami (Ohio) plus-5 over Bowling Green. Another game that has the wrong team favored, and another game that will be watched by alumni, family members and degenerates like us who have entertainment on the action. And that's it. In fact, if this game is televised, then that's the biggest testament yet that there are too many college football games on TV. These teams are a combined 2-12 with those wins coming against Kent State and North Dakota. Each team is terrible, but Miami is less terrible, and in a scenario that screams 6-3, the team getting five points looks really good.
Arkansas plus-10 over Auburn. This may be another sign that we are desperate, because we only believe in backing an underdog if you think they will win the game. We think Arkansas can win the game, but we truly believe this is entirely too many points. All of the feel-good stories about an Auburn turnaround have been generated and jumpstarted really by one impressive half on the road against the worst Mississippi State team of the Dan Mullen era. That's not enough of a sample size for us. Yes, the timing of the game greatly works in Auburn's favor, considering the Tigers were off last week and Razorbacks have played seven straight weeks and are coming off physical games against Ole Miss and Alabama. Say it with us: That's just too many points. And feel free to buy the half for the backdoor protection.
Oregon plus-3 over Cal. This game is Friday night - and we like a Thursday night game, but since that won't make the papers we will not include our love for Boise State - so make your calendars accordingly. Oregon is bad, and this side of Nebraska, the Ducks have been one of the teams we've had the best feel for this year. So as bad as Oregon has been, it still is more talented and faster than Cal. Another game in which the wrong team is favored. And yes, with a three-point spread, buy the half for late-night comfort.
Last week: 2-5 against the spread (not sure of the percentage but know that it means heading to the ATM)
This season: 23-18 against the spread (56.1 percent, which is making entertainment, but only slightly. That's more "Everyone Love Raymond" reruns more than classic "Seinfeld" reruns for comparison.)
Debate
Well, that was painful. And full of lies, and insults and rudeness.
How's this for the ultimate indictment on the current state of American politics? My 9-year-old asked if he could watch last night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Our first instinct was a since of pride in his curiosity of the process and a thirst for knowledge beyond what he gets from 8:40-3:15 each day.
Then in dawned on us that, well, the subject matter - and the subjects - can certainly trend toward an 'R' rating, if not NC-17 depending on the talking points.
We take the 'pundits' opinions about who the debate and who lost with a 55-gallon drum of sand all things considered.
We think either of these candidates saying they are fighting for the rights of women is simply insulting and demeaning. And that means you as well, Sec. Clinton after your lifetime of threatening victims and covering up misdeeds of Slick Willie.
We were not overly impressed with Trump, but we are still waiting for her Holiness in that white suit to answer about the missing $6 billion and her open border plans. (And for Hillary to look into the camera and say she supports the second amendment is akin to the 5-at-10 looking at the American people and trying to convince everyone that Bud Light does not go good with a cookout or college football. PUH-lease.)
And maybe the worst part of the whole thing was the knowledge that she's going to win because of the number of mistakes Donald and the GOP have made in concert through this whole mess and the country is facing four years of that awfulness that is Hillary.
Maybe we can go north and become the 5-bout-10, eh? (Take off you hoser.)
This and that
- Giants kicker Josh Brown wrote in his journal and letters wrote about his acts of abuse and assault against his ex-wife. Brown was investigated by New York police and the investigation led to the conclusion that Brown was abusive to his wife while in the league. This is a monster issue for the league, and it's fair to wonder how the league - a near $10 billion annual operation - can't find details like this when the investigation was ongoing over the summer.
- Titans ownership has said the team is not for sale despite reports that Jon Bon Jovi and Peyton Manning were leading a group interested in buying the franchise. And everyone, Titans fans groan. A Bon Jovi-Manning ownership tandem would be pretty cool right?
- Speaking of Nashville, well, the TV show of that name will return in January on CMT. Guess we need to figure out which channel CMT is, huh?
- The Cubs' bats awoke in the NLCS and they drilled the Dodgers 10-2 last night to give all of their nation full of fans a sigh of relief. The win, after all guaranteed the series will return to Chicago. That said, if we are going to have instant replay, then why are we still missing calls when we go to said instant replay. The out call on Adrian Gonzalez at home to end the second went to the replay officials/umps and unlike everyone else watching at home, they could not see that Gonzalez' hand touched the plate before he was tagged in the face. Now on the surface, one run would not make a huge difference in a 10-2 game. Now know that if that had correctly overturned the call on Gonzalez, the inning would have continued with runners on first and third with the Dodgers up 1-0. And more importantly, the pressure would have been immense on the Cubs rather than them seizing some momentum after a big out at home. Here is Mr. Gonzalez feeling less than thrilled about the events of last night.
- Cleveland has advanced to the World Series with a win over Toronto. Here's hoping Roger Dorn doesn't cost them a big game by side-stepping a big grounder.
Today's question
Well, if you got this far, we say thanks. That was more than a few words this morning, eh?
What bout a mailbag entry, eh? (OK, that's enough Canada speak. It makes my head hurt. And we couldn't move there. Not when they try to peddle ham as bacon. Shame on you guys for that.)
Some cool birthdays today. Mickey Mantle would have been 85 today, and for that we'll offer two Rushmores. The Rushmore of athletes who would have been crucified if they had been stars in the social media world - Mantle and Namath are far left - and a Rushmore of switch-hitters. Mantle and Eddie Murray are the first two choices, and wondering if Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner qualifies?
Finally, good ol' Tom Petty is 66 today. Rushmore of American rock and roll solo artists?
Whatcha got? (Eh.)