3-1 ATS PAC-10 GAME OF THE WEEK
6-3 ATS Last Week, 19-11 For the Year all lined PAC 10 Games
One could have made a killing betting against Arizona the last two week, this team is truly pathetic. However, I cannot bring myself to call it the Game Of The Week, simply for the fact that TCU has many injuries on the offensive side of the ball, and may not be able to put up the necessary points. Don’t get me wrong, I will be betting against Mackovicazona, but not as big as last week.
GAME OF THE WEEK (WEEK 5)
ASU +6 AT OREGON STATE
I’m sure all of you saw a pathetic Arizona State team effort last week and are hesitant to bet with this team. I can’t blame you, they looked pathetic. But this isn’t a bet for ASU as much as it is a bet against Mike Riley and his conservative coaching.
First off, with the exception of the secondary, Oregon State looked very strong offensively and defensively last week against Boise State. They completely manhandled and physically punished Boise State, holding the nations second leading rusher to under 60 yards. The Oregon State offense gained over 400 yards, and marched up and down the field at will. Yet, they only won by 2 points (back door cover). And if not for a blown fumble call with 1:30 left, I truly think Boise State would have won the game, similar to the Fresno State/Oregon State match-up earlier this year.
Now some of you know I am a former Beaver, and am an avid fan. I watched the game last week at home with my girlfriend, who does not care for football but is cool enough to hang anyway. After the first half she looked up and said, I’m bored, it’s like watching the Chargers. EXACTLY. Anyone who followed the Chargers under Riley’s tenure knows that, although dealt a pretty bad hand, there were at least 10 games that the Chargers were leading in the last five minutes and lost in the final minute. Mike Riley does not coach to win, he coaches not to lose. His teams always seem to have difficulty scoring in the red zone (play calling?) and he is certainly not afraid of field goals (four last week vs. Boise State). He has the best running back in the country, yet he only calls two different run plays, off right tackle and draw, 90% of the time. This does set up the play action, which leads us to OSU QB Derrick Anderson.
Anderson, who looked sharp at times vs. Boise State but still has the worst mechanics of any Pac-10 quarterback, will be faced against a much bigger and faster ASU defense, which has a better pass rush and faster secondary than Boise State. Count on Anderson to throw at least two pics and a dozen overthrows. In Corvallis, it is considered a great game if Anderson completes 50% of his passes.
Now to ASU. This team certainly does not look like the break out team that we saw last year, but they are still a very good offensive unit, certainly better than any Oregon State has faced this year. And given OSU’s secondary woes, it is quite possible that ASU QB Walter will pass for 300+ yards. Any coach watching game tape of OSU/BSU will spot the poor pass coverage by OSU in the deep secondary. That should help ASU complete two or three pass plays over 50 yards.
I do think OSU is a better team than ASU, especially at the skill positions. But when factoring the conservative coaching of Mike Riley, I’m afraid ASU will win this game outright. They should certainly cover the number if they play a solid game. Back door cover, certainly a good chance if OSU is winning by more than a TD late in the game. If ASU falls apart like last week, I’ll be out a lot of $$$$$.
Final Score – Same as last week, why not.
OSU 26 - ASU 24.
Rest of the Pac 10.
Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks. Your time in the spotlight is over. I’m taking Washington State to cover in Eugene. WSU has played a tough road schedule, choking at Notre Dame, and winning at Colorado. Playing on the road is no problem. This is a let-down spot for Oregon, and may expose them as the farce that they are, because this is not a top-10 caliber team.
As mentioned will bet against Arizona until Mackovic is fired.
I will play USC against California, as USC had a week off to prepare and Cal has to be worn out with five straight games, three of which were in another time zone.
I’m not impressed at all with Washington, which has beaten up on two cupcakes so far this year. I don’t know that Stanford is very good, although they are off to a good start, but they have a solid running attack and defense, which should keep Pickett and Williams off the field.
UCLA hosts San Diego State, a series in which UCLA has absolutely destroyed the Aztecs in the past 10 years. Will this year be different? My money is on the chalk, but I got this at 12.5 to start the week. Until I see UCLA show me something on offense, I can’t bet with them. SDSU has a very good defense and should keep UCLA under 24 points. However, UCLA also has a strong defense and has the potential to completely shut down SDSU.
Final Predictions:
Oregon -4 vs. Wash. State: WSU 31 – Oregon 27
Arizona +13.5 vs. TCU: TCU 27 – Arizona 10
USC -13 at Cal: USC 37 – Cal 17
Wash. -13.5 vs. Stanford: UofW 28 – Stan. 17
UCLA -10.5 vs. SDSU: UCLA 20 – SDSU 13
Finally, a big
to Wisconsin for the heartburn last Saturday. Congratulations to the MAC for proving they belong, and as always, the Big 12 is the most overrated conference (top to bottom) in football, year in, year-out.
Good Luck to all.
6-3 ATS Last Week, 19-11 For the Year all lined PAC 10 Games
One could have made a killing betting against Arizona the last two week, this team is truly pathetic. However, I cannot bring myself to call it the Game Of The Week, simply for the fact that TCU has many injuries on the offensive side of the ball, and may not be able to put up the necessary points. Don’t get me wrong, I will be betting against Mackovicazona, but not as big as last week.
GAME OF THE WEEK (WEEK 5)
ASU +6 AT OREGON STATE
I’m sure all of you saw a pathetic Arizona State team effort last week and are hesitant to bet with this team. I can’t blame you, they looked pathetic. But this isn’t a bet for ASU as much as it is a bet against Mike Riley and his conservative coaching.
First off, with the exception of the secondary, Oregon State looked very strong offensively and defensively last week against Boise State. They completely manhandled and physically punished Boise State, holding the nations second leading rusher to under 60 yards. The Oregon State offense gained over 400 yards, and marched up and down the field at will. Yet, they only won by 2 points (back door cover). And if not for a blown fumble call with 1:30 left, I truly think Boise State would have won the game, similar to the Fresno State/Oregon State match-up earlier this year.
Now some of you know I am a former Beaver, and am an avid fan. I watched the game last week at home with my girlfriend, who does not care for football but is cool enough to hang anyway. After the first half she looked up and said, I’m bored, it’s like watching the Chargers. EXACTLY. Anyone who followed the Chargers under Riley’s tenure knows that, although dealt a pretty bad hand, there were at least 10 games that the Chargers were leading in the last five minutes and lost in the final minute. Mike Riley does not coach to win, he coaches not to lose. His teams always seem to have difficulty scoring in the red zone (play calling?) and he is certainly not afraid of field goals (four last week vs. Boise State). He has the best running back in the country, yet he only calls two different run plays, off right tackle and draw, 90% of the time. This does set up the play action, which leads us to OSU QB Derrick Anderson.
Anderson, who looked sharp at times vs. Boise State but still has the worst mechanics of any Pac-10 quarterback, will be faced against a much bigger and faster ASU defense, which has a better pass rush and faster secondary than Boise State. Count on Anderson to throw at least two pics and a dozen overthrows. In Corvallis, it is considered a great game if Anderson completes 50% of his passes.
Now to ASU. This team certainly does not look like the break out team that we saw last year, but they are still a very good offensive unit, certainly better than any Oregon State has faced this year. And given OSU’s secondary woes, it is quite possible that ASU QB Walter will pass for 300+ yards. Any coach watching game tape of OSU/BSU will spot the poor pass coverage by OSU in the deep secondary. That should help ASU complete two or three pass plays over 50 yards.
I do think OSU is a better team than ASU, especially at the skill positions. But when factoring the conservative coaching of Mike Riley, I’m afraid ASU will win this game outright. They should certainly cover the number if they play a solid game. Back door cover, certainly a good chance if OSU is winning by more than a TD late in the game. If ASU falls apart like last week, I’ll be out a lot of $$$$$.
Final Score – Same as last week, why not.
OSU 26 - ASU 24.
Rest of the Pac 10.
Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks. Your time in the spotlight is over. I’m taking Washington State to cover in Eugene. WSU has played a tough road schedule, choking at Notre Dame, and winning at Colorado. Playing on the road is no problem. This is a let-down spot for Oregon, and may expose them as the farce that they are, because this is not a top-10 caliber team.
As mentioned will bet against Arizona until Mackovic is fired.
I will play USC against California, as USC had a week off to prepare and Cal has to be worn out with five straight games, three of which were in another time zone.
I’m not impressed at all with Washington, which has beaten up on two cupcakes so far this year. I don’t know that Stanford is very good, although they are off to a good start, but they have a solid running attack and defense, which should keep Pickett and Williams off the field.
UCLA hosts San Diego State, a series in which UCLA has absolutely destroyed the Aztecs in the past 10 years. Will this year be different? My money is on the chalk, but I got this at 12.5 to start the week. Until I see UCLA show me something on offense, I can’t bet with them. SDSU has a very good defense and should keep UCLA under 24 points. However, UCLA also has a strong defense and has the potential to completely shut down SDSU.
Final Predictions:
Oregon -4 vs. Wash. State: WSU 31 – Oregon 27
Arizona +13.5 vs. TCU: TCU 27 – Arizona 10
USC -13 at Cal: USC 37 – Cal 17
Wash. -13.5 vs. Stanford: UofW 28 – Stan. 17
UCLA -10.5 vs. SDSU: UCLA 20 – SDSU 13
Finally, a big
Good Luck to all.
