short writeups for each game now that i have a bit of extra time.
ncst is an improved team, qb was hot late last season and home opener with revenge in mind of last years ass whipping they got from scar. scar coaching staff is a mess again, spurrier appears to be closer to the end than start of his tenure in columbia. i would have bet this game -6.5 and lower.
utah state i like the qb and how they played late last season. utah from a much stronger conference, but after going 13-0 ly, they lost alot of weapons from that squad. i would have bet this game at 17 or higher.
ntex is similar situation as usu. bad team that looks to be improving playing a team that was hot last season, but lost most of its main weapons. ball st faded late losing mac champ game and was completely blown out in bowl game. would have bet this game anything 15 or higher.
ohio is home dog here vs uconn a team that lost some stars to nfl. like solich as a coach and think wrong team is favored. ohio gave ohio st a real fight last season in columbus and think they win outright here. would have bet this one at ohio -2.5 or lower and any + of course.
minny is one of my darkhorse b10 teams. love their offense with alot of weapons, returning qb, great wr, solid ol and a couple good recruiting classes. opposite situation with cuse. new coach, alot of players left the program. like the qb potention with cuse, but not in opener as the cuse d had several starters quit this spring/summer. would have bet minny up to 9.5 but over a td half or less than what ive bet here.
illinois is my 2nd b10 darkhorse. similar offense, returning qb, great wr, ol is ? but missouri is replacing some of the greatest players the program has ever produced like maclin who was also a big special teams and their best big play threat. missouri also replacing much of their d and ill off weapons too much here for missouri to win and/or stay within a td. would have really pounded this one if i would have bet this at opener -3 for big $ but i wasnt as quick this year as i was with last years openers.
san jose is a well coached scrappy team with size on dl, returning qb, ol looks solid. usc is still a dominant team but with a road trip to osu in their heads, i can see pete keeping this one simple and not showing too much offensively. bottom line is usc lost too much to draft again this season and dont expect san jose to be shutout here. thus 36 is too much lumber for usc in this spot. would have bet this anything +28 or higher.
idaho is a merely a line value play. idaho is not a good road team but has decent qb and rb. nmex st has new coaching style and switching from hal mumme pass happy attack to a defensive minded team with dwalker as new coach. thought this should have been a pick em game so i grabbed the 6 pack.
mtsu is a solid and deeper than theyve been in several years. like the offense and have some sec calibur players and coach. clemson very solid this year, but new offensive coaches and thursday road game at ga tech will keep them off the gas pedal in 2h imo. mtsu capable of scoring points and not intimidated playing big names. beat maryland outright last year and went to wire at kentucky b2b weeks last season with a very depleted offensive line. like mtsu anything +17 or higher.
uab has nearly everyone returning and similar team to mtsu with decent talent and coaching staff sec groomed. rice was tough last couple seasons, but lost nearly the entire offense and definitely in rebuilding mode. would have bet uab up to -7.
am -12.5 puking on my plate i missed getting big action on -7 opener, but my number for this game was -19 so played it anyway just for less. am nothing special but some returning talent and they won at nmex last season. nmex a new coach, and defense is very weak especially the DL. not a good recipe for a non bcs team heading into b12 country.
ndame -12.5 simply put, nd finally loaded this season and pre-season whispers about them being in natl title hunt. like nevada, especially the offense, but coming east to play a loaded nd squad less than 2td is a short #. would have bet this up to -16.5