Sunday, December 7, 2008

Podolsky's Hotter than Oklahoma; Rich Goes 17-4 over Last Two Weeks

Can't conceive that anyone is hotter than Rich after he went 17-4 the last two weeks, culminating with 8-1 record last week, Championship Week.

Included in last week's 8-1 performance were his three best bets: Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma, all winners. This brings his Best Bet record for the season up to 26-19, while his mark for the entire season for all of his picks now stands at 108-86-2.

Keep Those Comments Coming

After five straight successful seasons picking games against the line for ESPN and AOL we started our on blog this year and hope you've followed it. Please let us know via the comments at the bottom of the blog what was helpful and what else you'd like to see in our weekly selections and editorials--other than more winners. Really do need your feedback, so please send your comments.

In the meantime, feel free to scroll down and checkout our selections from the last two weeks, or all season for that matter, and check out the reasoning behind our picks. Have a good week or two off getting reacquainted with your families.



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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

End of the Line for Alabama

We went 9-3 last week and only Nebraska’s sleepy start prevented us from going 3-0 on our best bets (Boise and Texas were the others). Last week’s record nudges us up to 100-85-2 for the year, which is the sixth straight we’ve been over the Mendoza Line.

Conference championships highlight this week’s games, which have been a specialty of ours the last few years. For the most part, we’re going with the big favorites, Florida, Tulsa and Oklahoma, but feel that Buffalo has a chance to surprise Ball State, which is disappointed about failure to make a bowl match-up with undefeated Boise State.

Last week: 9-3; Season: 100-85-2
Best bets: 2-1; Best bets season: 23-19

Thursday
Louisville +10 1/2 at Rutgers—Rutgers is one of the hottest teams in the country and Louisville might be one of the coldest. The Scarlet Knights are playing for a possible Sun Bowl berth while the Cards are finishing out a dismal season. Losing at Syracuse had to be the worst. Can’t see L’V stopping the Rutgers offensive attack, especially the way they’re throwing the ball.
The pick: Rutgers (best bet).

Friday
MAC Championship (at Detroit)
Buffalo +15 vs. Ball State—Buffalo has done a good job hanging with everyone on their schedule this year, pulling many out in the final minutes. Turner Gill has done a great job and just might have convinced the Bulls they can compete against mighty Ball State. We all know about Ball State’s potent attack and 12-0 record, but who can remember that Buffalo played a tougher schedule. Yes, the Bulls made things difficult for Missouri at Mizzu, trailing just 20-14 at the half and trailed at Pitt by just 17-16 in the fourth quarter.
We’ll take our chances with Buffalo and a bundle.
The pick: Buffalo.

Saturday
SEC Championship (at Atlanta)
Alabama + 10 vs. Florida—The so-called experts are saying that Alabama’s smash-mouth brand of football is perfect to stop Florida with. Well, nobody’s stopped Florida all year, except Florida. Other than their 31-30 loss to a very good Mississippi team, the Gators have destroyed everyone. Winning by 30 has become commonplace to them. If there ever was a time or a situation that would slow them down you’d think it might’ve been last week in the pouring rain at Florida State. Didn’t happen. Besides, how’s Alabama going to catch up once they’re down two touchdowns?
The pick: Florida. Don't be surprised if Florida's special teams are the difference.

ACC Championship (at Tampa)
Boston College -1 vs. Virginia Tech—This is an awfully tough spot to put freshman QB Dominique Davis for Boston College. Davis has been very good replacing veteran Chris Crane the last few games, not throwing any interceptions and managing the game well, but this is for all the marbles and this is the Virginia Tech defense he’s facing. Giving Tech a big edge with two-headed QB. Both have experience in big games and either can get the job done. BC’s been winning with smoke and mirrors and good D, but the party ends here.
The pick: Virginia Tech (best bet).

Big 12 Championship (at Kansas City)
Missouri +16 1/2 vs. Oklahoma—Only the weather might be able to slow down Oklahoma, which has scored 60 plus in four straight games. And Mizzu certainly doesn’t have the defense to do it. The Sooners had Missouri’s number last year when the Tigers were much better. Can’t see much of a competition here.
The pick: Oklahoma (best bet).

Conference USA Championship
East Carolina +12 at Tulsa—Unlike the other conference title games, this one is not played on a neutral field, and Tulsa has wiped out everyone at Tulsa this year. In their five home games this year Tulsa has won each by spreads ranging from 28 to 49 points.
East Carolina held the ball nearly 39 minutes last week while crushing UTEP 53-21, running the ball 53 times. With Patrick Pinkney throwing and running effectively, the Pirates could be tough and will obviously try to play keep away from Tulsa, too. In the end, though, Tulsa just has too much firepower at home.
The pick: Tulsa.

Army +10 1/2 vs. Navy (at Philadelphia)—This is a much better Army team then in past years, but we’re still not sold. Navy still looks to be better moving the ball on the ground or the air. By comparison, Navy easily won at Air Force against a team that handled Army on the Hudson. The Middies also beat a couple of good teams in Wake Forest and Rutgers and just last week easily handled Northern Illinois on the road, which is one of the better MAC teams.
The pick: Navy.

USC -33 at UCLA—USC has little to play for. The Trojans are disappointed they’re going back to the Rose Bowl and figure they just have to show up to beat the Bruins. UCLA has everything to play for. A near victory would be a win for UCLA in this situation, and getting almost five touchdowns is too much to pass up in this rivalry. This team has more heart than Notre Dame.
The pick: UCLA.

Arkansas State +11 at Troy—Arkansas State began the year by upsetting Texas A&M, but that win doesn’t look nearly as good in December. The Indians didn’t live up to their potential by losing at home to Southern Miss and at Memphis, At Alabama they played hard but failed, 35-0. Troy, on the other hand, was a quarter away from knocking off LSU and only a lost by faltering late. In their other big-time game Troy was very competitive, losing 28-10 at Ohio State. This looks like an easy Troy victory.
The pick: Troy.


Second Thoughts

Well the BCS did it. They ruined everyone’s football season by sending Texas to the showers while rewarding Oklahoma for getting hot late. This is even worse than ’04 when Auburn was snubbed with a perfect record. Even a plus one would be a lot better than what we have, but the Obama eight-team plan is the one we need.

Looking ahead to the Rose Bowl, with a disinterested Southern Cal team taking on a good underdog in Penn State. Last weekend the L.A. Times called Penn State, “just another Big Ten vase.” I’m sure that will go over well.



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