My gambling brethren: we're back. Better than ever? Settle down, let's be reasonable with the expectations.
We've got some rules tweaks to make it interesting:
Maximum of $200 bet per week.
You can only go "All In" ($125 or more) 1 time during the regular season.
You must bet a minimum of 4 games.
You must bet wherever College Gameday is and feature it as the game of the week.
Moneyline bets max of $40 (We call this The "Hinkle is bitter about Chuck's Tulsa ML victory last year" Rule)
Gambling Playoffs! (It's like the FedEx Cup! Except more likable and makes less sense.)You must be in the black to qualify.
Week 1 we will play the regular season rules. Two Highest totals advance to week 2.
Week 2 we will keep the rules the same as regular season.
Championship:
Must make 4 bets on the National Title Game (prop, moneyline, total, spread, half, quarters, game...etc)
$300 Bankroll
Got it? Good. ON TO THE PICKS!!!!!
MattareFresh off a ridiculous comeback in the last six weeks of the season, I am back to defend my crown as the greatest gambler on this prolific website.
1. Alabama (-10) over Penn State...$44 for $40Billy Boy is going to be in Happy Valley to witness what is sure to be an ass-whooping for the ages. All the white tee wearing fans in Pennsylvania won't be able to keep the Nittanys close in this one, because screaming loud doesn't get your team first downs. Bama by 21.
2. Boston College (+7) over UCF...$33 for $30Everyone likes to hate on BC, but this spread is too much to pass up. The Fighting George O'Leary's may win this game, but Fredo will find a way to grind it out and keep it close.
3. Virginia (-6.5) over Indiana...$33 for $30Two reasons for this pick. First is that good coaches usually take big steps in their second year in a program. I think Mike London is a very, very good coach. Second, Indiana is so bad. So, so, so bad.
4. Notre Dame (-3) over Michigan....$66 for $60Guess what? The Irish are bouncing back and they're bouncing back in a convincing fashion. The only hope Michigan has is the 'Nard Dog going off--which, of course, you can't rule out. The Irish are a legitimate top ten outfit if they play smart football. The Skunkbears are a mediocre team at best if they pitch a perfect game.
MikeyAll lines from covers.com.
1. Mississippi St. (-6.5) over Auburn...$66 to win $60 The Bulldogs are looking gooood and are my big sleeper for the SEC this season. Auburn is still ranked somehow but should have lost to Utah St. last week at home- a rather unimpressive start. I think Miss. St. makes their first statement this weekend when they take on a Tigers team that lost nearly every key component from last year's title run.
2. Oregon St. (+20.5) over Wisconsin...$33 to win $30If there was one game I wish I could've seen last week it was Sacramento St. beating Oregon St. College sports is all about the upset baby and that one came out of nowhere for the Beavers, who were probably looking forward to this weeks matchup at Wisconsin. Well if they're going to put all their eggs into the beating Wisconsin basket I think they'll keep it within the points and wake up from the trance that allowed them to lose so badly. The Badgers are a very good team with Russell Wilson running the show now but they've got to come back to Earth from that beatdown they laid on UNLV a week ago.
3. Virginia (-6.5) over Indiana...$77 to win $70 I'll be at this game on Saturday in Bloomington so it was a must pick. Have no clue who's on either of these team, who coaches them or even how to get to the stadium but if UVA is favored by almost a TD on the road they must be the much better team. Rock solid logic, bet your shirt on this one.
4. GAME O' THE WEEK Michigan (+3.5) over ND..$33 to win $30This is a bet against Notre Dame rather than one for Michigan. The Irish fall flat every single time you think they have the pieces and are going to be relevant in the national title scene (that should make this site's readers happy). Last week proved to be the same story with the boneheaded loss to So. Fla. and I don't think it will end there as they go on the road to face Michigan in a heated rivalry game. Brian Kelly's face will be even redder than last week as they go down in Ann Arbor and he names Dayne Crist his week 3 starter.
HinkleTo all my fans around the world, I AM BACK, live from Tucson, AZ............
.....With a vengeance. After a runaway season last year capped off by a a ridiculous "Bowl Season" which cost me the throne, I am poised to take the title this year. New rules in place to regulate the outlandishness we saw last year will not happen. Your champ will give you winners each and every week. No chasing, no craziness, just a steady diet of winners.
Obviously, college football is back. Same great game with the same great standard results. Examples.
1. Notre Dame chocking at home and me having to send Mattare what seems to be my standard weekly "checking for a pulse" text to make sure he did not commit suicide over another devastating loss. Don't worry ND nation I am sure you can still go 12-1 since for the "x" year in a row all I heard from the media and your fans is "this is our year".
2. Boise State wins ANOTHER big game, this time versus the SEC. Now what? Ohhh okay haters Georgia isn't that good? SEC East contenders to start the year ranked in the top 20. I get they don't play an SEC season, but give my boy Kellen Moore some credit. Does he throw incomplete passes? I really hope they run the table this year and get a shot at the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, or Oregon (2-0). I mean come on, who doesn't want to see what would happen?
I said my peace with those two teams...now on to Week 1 picks from scoresandodds.com
1. Arizona @ Oklahoma State OVER 66...($55 win $50)My boys in the backyard exploded on offense last week. Nick Foles put up Kellen Moore like numbers throwing for 80+% and 5TD's. Oklahoma State put up a huge 61 spot in week one while giving up 31 to an offense no where near the capability of the Wildcats. I look for both teams to drive up and down the field with a ton of big plays. Should be an entertaining game to watch on commericals of Saints/Packers. TONS of points!
2. Alabama (-10) @ PSU...($44 win $40)I had the awful pleasure of watching PSU last week on the Big Ten network. Their QB play is worse than any I saw coaching in the Colonial League last year. Seriously, who is their QB? If I was starting a team, I would not want any of them to run my scout team. Inconsistency all over the board. Are they going to split time again? If one gets the nod, they will be playing with their eyes over their shoulder, not on the defense. No chance PSU hangs in this game at all.
3. Mississippi States (-6.5) @ Auburn...($33 win $30)I really do not think Auburn will finish above .500 this year. Cam Newton was Auburn. No Cam is like no Peyton Manning (gulp). Last week vs. Utah State they made so many mistake that will not allow them to stay competitive in the SEC week in and week out. They got embarrassed. Winning in the last 3 minutes as a defending champion in that fashion is absurd. I will lay the points in a game that is a double digit loss, the first of several, for the Tigers of Auburn.
4. Game of the Week: ND -3 @ Meeeeeeeeeechagin...($66 win $60)Tommy Rees is a solid QB. I was impressed by his play last week and if he would have been under center the whole game I think they win the game. Red zone turnovers are the death of any team, but I still think Rees has the "it" factor that the Irish need to be successful this year. Michigan won a sloppy, rain filled, ugly, delayed, I don't know what in the world that was but I am not sold on their play. Some big plays versus a directional Michigan team doesn't tell me much. Coach BK MUST have said "F#%$" at least 25 times on national television so I can only imagine the ear raping they took all week. If the Irish do not come out and dominate this game, and for some reason lose, OMGGGGGGGGGG! I do not even want to know what will happen. I like the Irish in this spot a ton. They would have been a play for me even if they were not the site of Gameday in Ann Arbor. I mean come on, even they play with half the intensity as their fans do in "Full Beer Flip Cup", this game should be over by half!
ChuckThis week's slate of games are like the collection of girls you find at a local sportsbar. There aren't many of them, they're haggard around the edges, and often already taken. But after hanging around for a while and sloshing through $1 PBR drafts, you find that one girl who you're going to try and go home with despite her bountiful gut, cankles, and Eli Manning jersey. Auburn: do you wanna come back to my place and have a drink?
1. Arizona (+14) @ Oklahoma St...$33 to win $30The scoreboard will be lit up like the Fourth of July in Stillwater on Thursday night. Everybody knows about the prolific Weedon to Blackmon connection for the Pokes, but don’t forget about Nick Foles and Juron Criner who connected for 151 of Foles’ 412 passing yards in opening week trouncing of Northern Arizona. I fully expect the Pokes to win this one, but I like the Cats and the points.
2. Mississippi St. @ Auburn (+7)...$66 to win $60Before everybody piles on me for this pick, yes, I did watch Auburn against Utah State on Saturday. To put it politely, they did not deserve to win that game. But they did, and that seems to be the M.O. of Auburn under Gene Chizik. After a slow start, their offense heated up and moved the ball well in the second half. Barrett Trotter looked capable of making plays in the pocket, and you know Gus Malzahn will have a solid game plan dialed up for their SEC opener.
Mississippi State got their season started by handling one of the worst teams in the FBS, Memphis. Not much stock should be placed in this game, and I am interested to see how the Bulldogs respond to the pressure of being ranked early in the season. The bottom line is you have to love a home underdog, especially in the SEC. Tigers lose a close one to the Bulldogs.
3. Northern Illinois (-7) @ Kansas...$33 to win $30In a week where there’s not too much free money on the board, I am going to introduce you to my 2011 Tulsa: the Northern Illinois Huskies. Loyal readers might remember my fascination with Tulsa last year and the way they put points on the board. Well, this year my small conference crush is the NIU Huskies led by dual-threat stud Chandler Harnish. In opening week action last week against Army, Harnish only had 195 yds and 5 TD’s through the air to go with 80 yds rushing and 1 TD on the ground. That was not a typo. Huskies roll in Lawrence.
4. Notre Dame @ Michigan (+3.5)...$22 to win $20These new rules put a gun to my head, and there is simply no way I can pick my Irish. I would probably feel pretty good about this pick if I was not a Notre Dame fan, but given my allegiance there is no way I can plunk down serious change on this one. So what do I like about the Wolverines in this one? 1. Michigan is 5-1 in their last 6 against ND in Ann Arbor. 2. The first night game in the Big House will have Wolverine fans jacked out of their minds. 3. Noting Maryland’s victory over Miami on Monday night and Oregon’s recent success, I have developed a very unscientific theory that ugly uniforms win games. Michigan’s seemingly rugby inspired “retro” unis are hideous and definitely beat out ND’s rags in this one.
