Last weekend was a good one for the "Ponderosa Spread Favorites. Even with spreads as high as 42 points, the favorites went 5-1-1 in seven games. That brings the Ponderosa Spread Favorites to 7-5-1 for the season.
Last weekend was not nearly as good for my mythical picks. I went 2-3 in my five picks meaning I lost a mythical $130 for the weekend. That brings the season totals to 5-6 for a net mythical deficit of $160.
Even though I remain undaunted and will continue making picks, no one reading this should use any of this information as the basis to make a wager or as the means to decide which side of a wager to take. To do that would make you dumb enough to think that Johnny Cash is a pay toilet.
General Comments:
Maurice Clarett will serve a minimum of 30 months in jail after his guilty plea last week. His lawyer said that he hoped that Clarett would be assigned to a penitentiary where there are good workout facilities so that Clarett can use the time to stay in shape and hopefully have another shot at the NFL when he gets out. That's actually funny and what's even better is that the lawyer said it with a totally straight face. I'm surprised that the lawyer didn't also mention that poor Maurice is really sad that his incarceration will render him ineligible to vote in the upcoming elections in 2006 and 2008 because Clarett is so concerned about his civic obligations.
Rice University is not a football school. Two weeks ago, they played UCLA; last week they played Texas; this week they play Florida State. Did the person in charge of scheduling in the Athletic Department fail to get the memo about Rice not being a football school?
How about this as a way to reduce the number of cupcake opponents scheduled by major colleges:
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Before the contract can be signed for National Powerhouse U to play Whomever College, all of the players currently on football scholarships at National Powerhouse U will be called into a room and given a quiz proctored by the NCAA. They would have to identify the school in terms of what city and state the school is located and they would have to be able to mention two things about the history of the school that are "special".
If a majority of the scholar-athletes on football scholarships cannot do that, then the game will not be allowed to happen.
"Rumors from Logan say the USU band - in an effort to get students and fans involved - is thinking of playing the fight song after first downs instead of just touchdowns. Previously, the band played only after an Aggie TD. But since they have only one touchdown this year and no offensive scores, they'll want to get some music in the air. Why wait until the snow flies?"
As bad as things are with Utah State, it could be worse. Consider Temple. Minnesota led Temple 45-0 at the half and won the game comfortably at 62-0. That is the exact score that Temple lost by a week ago to Louisville. For the season, Temple's cumulative score is on the short end of 133-3. It's a shame that Ray Charles isn't a Temple alum because then they could use Born To Lose as their post-game song.
Miami players went out and stomped on the Louisville logo at the start of the game. Then the Hurricanes led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. Then Louisville lost their starting QB with a broken thumb - having lost their starting running back in the season opener two weeks ago. Then Louisville ran off 31 straight points to shut up the Miami posers. The last team to stomp on the Louisville logo was Cincinnati; and as I recall, the Cardinals hung 70 points on them when they did that.
Syracuse beat Illinois 31-21. Is it time to fire up the "fireronzook.com" website again? Do you think the guy in Florida who started it several years ago would sell the domain name to some "interested parties" in the Champaign Illinois area?
By the way, the Big Ten is the only BCS conference with two losses to Division 1-AA schools this year. Northwestern lost to New Hampshire two weeks ago; last week Indiana lost to Southern Illinois.
Nebraska may have learned that USC in the third game of the year is not such a good idea if you have scheduled Nicholls State and Louisiana as the first two opponents of the year - but I doubt it. Those two teams just don't give you any way of anticipating the level of talent that USC will bring to the stadium. Hopefully, the Nebraska fans enjoyed the two blowout wins over the two cupcake schools to the tune of 105-17.
ESPN called last weekend "Separation Saturday". Having watched Michigan destroy Notre Dame and expose the Irish cornerbacks as very mediocre, might I be so bold as to suggest that "Separation Saturday" was devoted to separating Notre Dame from any possible chance at the national title game in January. They were on the bad end of a real beatdown; and while Michigan looked good, I didn't think they were one of the great college football teams I've ever seen.
I caught glimpses of the Texas A&M/Army game and then watched the final 6 or 7 minutes. Here's what I saw: Texas A&M is really a slow football team - particularly their linebackers; they had trouble catching up with Army running backs and wide receivers. This team is in for real problems when it leaves its cupcake schedule and moves on to play Texas and Oklahoma and other Big 12 conference foes.
The ACC has lost two home games to schools from the MAC. Akron took its "nonqualifiers" to Raleigh and beat NC State two weeks ago; last week Western Michigan went to Charlottesville and beat UVa. That does not indicate and depth within the conference. And remember, Duke is at the bottom of that conference having lost to Division 1-AA Richmond in the opener and the Blue Devils face the very real possibility of an 0-12 year. There are Internet rumors already that Duke Coach, Ted Roof, will be fired at the end of the year and ironically replaced by the coach at Division 1-AA Richmond, Dave Clawson. I guess it would be unfair to say, "the Roof has fallen in on the Duke football program"…
Probably the best games of the weekend will be Penn State/Ohio State, Notre Dame/Michigan State - remember the Spartans got almost 550 yards of offense against Pitt last weekend - and Arizona State/Cal. Maybe it isn't "Separation Saturday" again, but those could be interesting games to watch.
Games of Interest:
Here are fourteen Ponderosa Spread Games for this week. Please note that the favorite is at home for all of them:
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Buffalo at Auburn - 42
Tulane at LSU - 36
Rice at Florida State - 30
Fla Atlantic at South Carolina - 29.5
Utah State at BYU - 29
Middle Tennessee State at Oklahoma - 28.5
Temple at Western Michigan - 28
Colorado at Georgia - 27
Cincy at Va Tech - 27
Iowa State at Texas - 25
La Tech at Texas A&M - 24
Troy at Nebraska - 24
Kentucky at Florida - 24
Idaho at Oregon State - 24
Connecticut at Indiana - 2 (47.5): Indiana lost to Southern Illinois last week and gave up 244 yards rushing. Connecticut likes to run the ball. I know that taking a small time program on the road is dangerous, but Indiana is not a team to inspire fear. I'll take Connecticut with the points.
Notre Dame - 3 at Michigan State (59): Michigan State has a good offense and Notre Dame has a mediocre defense. Note Dame has a good offense and Michigan State has a mediocre defense. I like this game OVER.
Colorado at Georgia - 27 (36): Look at that line and at the total. Rarely will you ever see numbers that close. But Georgia has only given up 12 points all season long. The Colorado defense is better than the Colorado offense; that's not saying much. I'll take this game OVER because I think Georgia will have its offense on the field for two-thirds of the game and wear out the Colorado defense. I'll also take Georgia to win and cover.
Wake Forest at Mississippi - 3 (40): Since Wake had to hustle at the end to beat Duke, you might think I'd never take them on the road. But Mississippi lost big to Kentucky last week and Kentucky is not a good football team. So, I'll take Wake and the points here.
Wisconsin at Michigan - 14 (44): Wisconsin has a very good defense. Michigan has a very good defense. I like this game UNDER 44 because I think Wisconsin will not score more than 14 points.
Alabama at Arkansas - 2 (37.5): Alabama gives up less than 80 yards a game rushing and the Arkansas passing game is not enough to carry the team when the running game is plain shut down. I think the wrong team is favored here so I'll take Alabama with the points.
UNC at Clemson - 16 (47.5): Last week Clemson went to Tallahassee and beat Florida State. Last week UNC had to claw and scratch to beat Division 1-AA Furman by a field goal. Clemson should get a boost playing at home after their upset win and I think they pour it on a less-than-good UNC squad. I want Clemson to win and cover here.
Good luck.
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