[Mikey]

College football kicks off tonight... and you know what that means. The bookie's cell phone is blowing up.

The picks for opening week:

Wake Forest -11 at Baylor.
Stanford +3 and UNDER 45.5 vs. Oregon State
Clemson -4.5 vs. Alabama
USC OVER 43 at Virginia
Tulsa -14 at UAB
Hawaii +35 and OVER 67 at Florida
Virginia Tech - 9.5 at East Carolina

[The Jewish Cunthead]

Aug 28, 2008 13:36:41 GMT -5 Mikey said:

College football kicks off tonight... and you know what that means.

Sav can forget about college because her father is lolife, yes?

[Mikey]

Aug 28, 2008 13:39:46 GMT -5 The Jewish Cunthead said:

Aug 28, 2008 13:36:41 GMT -5 Mikey said:

College football kicks off tonight... and you know what that means.

Sav can forget about college because her father is lolife, yes?

Well, so's her grandad... so she was already screwed.

[National Champion Chris Cole]

Aug 28, 2008 13:36:41 GMT -5 Mikey said:

College football kicks off tonight... and you know what that means. The bookie's cell phone is blowing up.

The picks for opening week:

Wake Forest -11 at Baylor.

Tough call. Baylor is bad but I don't think Wake is that great either and they are on the road. If forced to bet I probably go with Mike but for me I'd avoid this one.

Clemson -4.5 vs. Alabama

Sure. If this was later in the year I'd go Alabama. Early in the year Clemson loves to tease fans with the possiblity that they will actually be really good.

USC OVER 43 at Virginia

With Sanchez or Mustain USC probably puts up close to that amount themselves.

Hawaii +35 and OVER 67 at Florida

I'm with you. 35 points is WAY too much. Florida is putting up 42 or more and Hawaii is good for at least 24. I like both of Mike's bets.

Virginia Tech - 9.5 at East Carolina

VaTech is sometimes the reverse of Clemson. They start slowly. I think 9.5 is probably safe enough of a bet to make but I'd worry a bit.

[Attitude Adjuster]

OK, pick for Week 2:

Michigan -14.5/Miami, OH
Florida -22/Miami, FL
East Carolina +8/West Virginia
Temple +7/Connecticut
Duke +6.5/Northwestern

[Mikey]

Sept 4, 2008 23:13:44 GMT -5 Attitude Adjuster said:

OK, pick for Week 2:

Michigan -14.5/Miami, OH
Florida -22/Miami, FL
East Carolina +8/West Virginia
Temple +7/Connecticut
Duke +6.5/Northwestern

Funny, I was going thru lines in the past 10 minutes and had those first four written down. I think Florida's gonna beat Miami by five TD's.

As a rule, I NEVER bet on Duke to cover a football line.

[Tommy]

Pro Degenerate Picks (avg. lines as of 4:15 PM EDT):

Miami +3 @ NYFavres (O/U 36, I'm VERY tempted to take the under)
Houston +6.5 vs. Pittsburgh (I think Houston wins this game outright)
Jacksonville -3 vs. Tennessee (I'm almost scared that they put this at a pick-em. I hate when they make me re-think myself)
Detroit -3 vs. Atlanta (Another scary one. O/U is 41, I'm thinking under that, but I'm not 100% on that one.)
San Diego -9 @ Carolina (I guess only the Patriots get double-digit lines)
Indianapolis - 9.5 @ Chicago (see above)

Stay away from:

Kansas City vs. New England (-15, O/U 44). Kansas City is always a tough place to play, and historically, the Patriots kind of suck there. New England SHOULD cover the spread, and probably the O/U by themselves, because KC is bad and Herm Edwards is worse (I wish he was still the Jets coach). It's just too many points to cover, and knowing that KC will score maybe 14 if they get their offense cranking, the O/U would have to be the Patriots responsibility too.

[Attitude Adjuster]

Two quick things:

Mike, Duke is a decent team this year. I mean, they aren't bowl-caliber or anything, but they could win four games. Of course I also thought Vandy Under 3 wins was a great bet and now I'm fight for my life two games into the season.

Tommy, I learned a few years back to NEVER, EVER bet the spread in the NFL. If you think an underdog can win, bet straight up. Otherwise, stay away. Especially, stay away from any favorite giving up just over the magic 7 and 14 number. KC could easily backdoor that cover, more so vs. New England because Brady is said by "reliable sources" to be playing with a broken bone in his foot.

[Tommy]

Sept 5, 2008 17:58:02 GMT -5 Attitude Adjuster said:

Two quick things:

Mike, Duke is a decent team this year. I mean, they aren't bowl-caliber or anything, but they could win four games. Of course I also thought Vandy Under 3 wins was a great bet and now I'm fight for my life two games into the season.

Tommy, I learned a few years back to NEVER, EVER bet the spread in the NFL. If you think an underdog can win, bet straight up. Otherwise, stay away. Especially, stay away from any favorite giving up just over the magic 7 and 14 number. KC could easily backdoor that cover, more so vs. New England because Brady is said by "reliable sources" to be playing with a broken bone in his foot.

That's why I said "Stay Away From" ???

[Mikey]

The official picks for today, and hopefully I do better than I did last week:

Michigan -14.5 over Miami-Ohio
Wisconsin -21 over Marshall
Ohio +34 over Ohio State
Wake Forest -7.5 over Ole Miss (playing with ACC fire here, I know)
Florida -23 over Miami

Also like Notre Dame -20.5, MTSU +12.5 over Maryland (WTF is Maryland going TO MTSU for?), Tulane +30 over Alabama, UNDER 47 in the Penn State/Oregon State, and OVER 48.5 in the WVU/ECU game.

Oh, and Tommy, I think Houston beats Pittsburgh outright, as well.

[Mikey]

Fuck Michigan for taking a knee rather than smashing it home in the final minute inside the 10 yard line.

And fuck the refs for that bogus interference call that bailed Ole Miss out of that 3rd and long and potentially blowing my cover.

And don't fuck me for not playing the ND, Penn State, and ECU plays above. Those turned out really well.

[Mikey]

Sept 6, 2008 10:07:04 GMT -5 Mikey said:

Florida -23 over Miami

I would've rather lost outright than pushed with that sissy ass call with less than a minute left. Yo Urban... you're up by FUCKING TWENTY POINTS!! Why the fuck are you kicking field goals inside the 15 yard line??

[National Champion Chris Cole]

In all fairness in recent years Florida has been DREADFUL in field goals. Any chance to get in game practice is welcome. We hadn't even attempted one this season until that kick. Honestly I have more problems with Urban keeping Tebow, Harvin and company out there with 2 minutes left up 20 and throwing into the end zone then kicking the field goal. Our guys need that practice.

[Mikey]

Sept 7, 2008 8:16:49 GMT -5 National Champion Chris Cole said:

Honestly I have more problems with Urban keeping Tebow, Harvin and company out there with 2 minutes left up 20 and throwing into the end zone

Very good point. I happen to remember a game in Tuscaloosa three years ago when it was the Gators getting hammered, and Mike Shula leaving the starters in and throwing for the end zone directly led to the Theismann-esque snapping of Tyrone Prothro's leg, which was the beginning of the end of the Shula era in T-Town.

But hey, SI told me that Bama was Back the next week. [/rant]

That's the THIRD different way I missed that cover. The others being the blocked punt they couldn't handle in the end zone late in the first half and then the 50 yard bomb Tebow put right on the money for the presumed cover-clinching score... only to have it called back on some bogus formation infraction. Nothing sucks more than seeing a flag on the play when your number just hit.

[Attitude Adjuster]

Get 'em while their hot! I like this week's games.

Oregon State -12/Hawaii
Clemson -18/NC State
Ohio State +10.5/USC
Rice +7/Vanderbilt
South Carolina +7/Georgia

[Mikey]

Everybody's on USC - which is the ONLY thing that scares me off of that, because I see no reason the Trojans don't win by 20.

[Attitude Adjuster]

Everyone thinks Ohio State's game against Ohio meant something to the Buckeyes. And they think Virginia is a decent team. Wrong on both counts. This game means everything to Ohio State, and 10 points is a gift when you hve a defense like Ohio State.

[Mikey]

I had USC semi-routing them BEFORE the Ohio game though.

[National Champion Chris Cole]

USC by at least 2 TDs. Ohio State has shown over and over what happens when they face fast, athletic teams. Add that they are traveling across the country to play a road game and I can't see this one being closer then 14.

[Attitude Adjuster]

USC is not a fast and athletic team. Ohio State's OL and DL will dominate this game. Sanchez will not have time to throw the ball, and Ohio State will get 100 yards rushing with or without Wells.

[salmonjunkie]

I say USC beats the spread.

I also say Notre Dame beats favored Michigan.

[Mikey]

I still like Michigan there. In fact, let's see if Mikey can end up in the black this week:

Michigan State -17 and OVER 61.5 against FAU - not taking this due to weather concerns
Georgia - 7 against South Carolina
Michigan -2 against Notre Dame
Penn State - 27 against Syracuse
Georgia Tech +6.5 against Virginia Tech
Western Kentucky +28 against Alabama
Auburn -10 and UNDER 39.5 against Mississippi State
USC -11.5 against Ohio State
Fresno State +2 against Wisconsin

[Attitude Adjuster]

Mikey, who are you reading and following this year? You're making some very "professional" plays these last few weeks.

[salmonjunkie]

I got my 2 of 2 for college this week.

Now here's my NFL picks.

Bears +3 vs. Panthers

Eagles vs. Cowboys -7

Giants -8.5 vs. Rams

Saints -1 vs. Redskins

[Mikey]

Sept 13, 2008 18:35:31 GMT -5 Attitude Adjuster said:

Mikey, who are you reading and following this year? You're making some very "professional" plays these last few weeks.

Actually nobody.

I mixed up my plays on the Auburn game because I tried to get cute - otherwise I'd be sitting nice today. As it is, I'm barely in the red... again. That's 3 weeks straight now.

If I bet the NFL, I'd take Denver, New England, and the Giants today.