Gheorghemas Day 3: Three Scummers Picking

The final weekend on the College Football Season is upon us and frankly, I'm sad. College Football is my favorite sporting season and it also happens to be the shortest. Life is cruel like that sometimes. What am I supposed to make ill advised wagers on now? The NBA? College Basketball? Pffft. (Take Kansas -7.5 and the under in Lakers-Celtics tonight). Well, there's no sense in getting sentimental now. It's better to live, and bet, in the moment.

Wisconsin -4 vs. Ohio State
Despite my disdain for Urban Meyer, I had really begun to like this Buckeye team. JT Barrett was becoming a heck of a QB and I've always enjoyed watching Meyer's spread attack. Of course all that went to shit last weekend when Barrett broke his ankle against Michigan. Brady Hoke ruins everything, including his shirt whenever he eats. Now that Barrett is out, Ohio State turns to its 3rd string QB Cardale Jones. I don't know much about Cardale Jones but I know I'm not putting my money on him to beat Wisconsin. Oh, I also know this might be the greatest tweet ever sent out by a College Football player. On Wisconsin.

Kansas State +7 at Baylor
Baylor started the year like a house on fire, dismantling opponents and lighting up scoreboards. Now, you can attribute some of this to the nation's worst out of conference schedule but there's little denying that they were an offensive juggernaut. They've slowed since early October though as injuries along their OLine and inconsistency with QB Bryce Petty (these things are possibly related) slowed the offense and made Baylor a less impressive team. This is a large reason why the CFB Playoff Committee has them sitting behind TCU in the rankings as they've inexplicably placed the "eye test" above head to head results. Hopefully that won't matter after today and a Kansas State win in Waco. Whether that happens or not, I'm not sure. I will take the points and the Wildcats though.

FSU -4 vs. Georgia Tech
I haven't consistently gotten much right with my CFB wagers this year but I've been on the "bet against FSU" train since Week 2 and it's been very, very good to me. This is the week where I go the other way. Everybody is picking Georgia Tech and nearly universal agreement on an upset is more often than not a bad thing. On top of that, I've been predicting and FSU loss in the CFB Playoff all year, not the ACC Championship. The Seminoles win and cover.

Danimal
Sitting here listening to xmas music post bike-ride. Anyone else put their tree up and decorate it at 730 this morning? No, just my family? Purchased the tree last night at our Costco - $30, 8' tall. Beat that! Trees around here are outrageous, costing a minimum of $70-$80 for an 8-footer anywhere else, and getting well into the hundred for 10+. Fuck that. So I sucked it up and drive to the godforsaken place after work last night (my wife made me). It's about 20/25 miles from my home. It took my 75 minutes to get home, so I was pretty pleased. Told the wife, it's staying on my car tonight - I am NOT effing with it. She didn't press. But this morning she wasn't shy. "Ok, before you go on your ride, can you get the tree, trim bottom, put in stand, blah blah blah?" Sure, doll. So I did. It blew at the time. But it's done and my Saturday morning/afternoon which WAS going to be consumed with tree buying, decorating has been cleared.  I thought you all would like to know that.

Another season bids adieu. Sad that it is over, but I will admit that it will be nice not to sweat out these picks for a few weeks. Yeah, I'm inserting a hiatus in the season until the decent bowl games get started. I need to get my hunger back. Onward.

The lazy pick.
I agree with Mark on Wisconsin. I mean, that's just too risky. A 3rd string QB with 1 game under his belt, or less really. Bur Urban does cause me worry. He's good. Plain and simple. And it's not like Cardale isn't an athlete. But...it's a big unknown. Bet against big unknowns.
Wiscaaaansin

Houston at Cinci -7
Cincinnati is on a roll, winning their last 7 in a row straight up AND against the spread. Their QB Gunner Kiel most know by now is an ND transfer. When he left I thought, "big whoop - we got Golson." I'd like to rethink that now. So Gunner has 28 TD's, 11 INT's, and 2800 yards passing in his first year playing in college. Houston has a Top 10 D - this is a small concern but I will ride this Cinci train anyway. Regardless, this will be a good game to watch so don't pooh pooh it, mmmmkay? Give it a looksy.
Cinci

Florida State vs Ga Tech +4
Early this week, my thoughts were identical to Mark's. FSU is going to make a statement since being dropped to #4 in the polls. But in the last 24 hours I've come back home. FSU has almost lost to every mediocre or better team that they've played. I said early on that there is no way FSU gets through this entire season undefeated. Gosh darn it I am sticking to that edict! Joe-ja Tech is gonna put the sting on the 'Noles.

HI EVERYBODY. It's TJ here. I am a horrendous gambler, and therefore you should in no way use the following picks in real-life. Hell, I barely understand the "laying points" vs. "giving points" concept. So waste your money elsewhere, like on these spiffy socks.

I see Mark and Danimal picked the good games, so I will waste some (very few) words on two sure-to-be-classic contests (not. at. all.)

Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Boise State Broncos (-23.5) ... O/U (69.5)
WOOOOO THE MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT. You're getting a two-for-one special from me here (mainly because there aren't a lot of games left for me to pick - wait until you see the next choice below). From what I can gather, Boise State could be favored by 40 and folks would be taking them. They are 6-0 ATS at home this year (have been told this acronym means "against the spread"). Must be that god awful blue turf giving them super powers.
And along with being a fratty O/U, when the Broncos undoubtedly drop 50 in this game all we need is a measly three TDs from "the armpit of America"** to top that O/U line. Boise State has dropped 50 or more in four of the past five games - they've won their last two contests by a tidy sum of 113-33 (Wyoming and Utah State = poop emoji). Go all in. Bet the house. Bet the kids. Use your Xmas bonus on this one. Guaranteed sure-fire vinner.
Take Boise, and the Over. 
**please submit other candidates for AofA (armpit of America). my vote goes to Troy-let, NY

One more to come...it's an awful game...

5-6 Temple vs. 3-8 Tulane. Temple's favored by 3.5.
A Sugar Bowl matchup we are most definitely not getting. This game is brutal. What sort of degenerate gambles on the game? Temple has scored one touchdown in THEIR LAST 11 QUARTERS. The only touchdown Tulane has scored in the last two games was a garbage time TD in a 38-7 drubbing at the hands of Memphis. Temple is desperately trying to get win #6 so they can make the Carlsbad Canyonero Bowl - a big feat, since the Owls have only made two bowl games since 1979. But seriously, who the fuck cares about this game, absolutely no one I tell you. Fuck Temple and Fuck Bill Cosby. Take the Green Wave.