***Note CFB games Tues-Fri.***


This weekly wagering contest will reward the best football prognosticator with a $100 gift certificate from a meat/steak company. New guys can still join in any time and you don't have to make a pick every week. Post them all at once or in separate posts, but they must be posted in the current week's contest thread. Post your plays any time, but they must be posted before a game you are playing kicks off. You must make your picks in this thread and you must provide at least one reason for each pick. Minimum 50 picks to qualify by the end of the contest.


______________ThisWeek___Total______%
DarrenTinleyPark2-4________16-7-2____70
reents________6-6________31-18-1___63
Coast2Coast___4-2-1______20-12-2___63
Chus__________7-6-1______48-29-4___62
Hawkeye Vince_0-0________13-8______62
Albert Hoffmann_7-4________14-9______61
Bud Dude______7-7________25-18-1___58
donspiracy_____7-4________23-18-1___56
shultzyy_______0-0________13-11-2___54
Irish Boy_______5-6________21-19-1___53
RFDC__________6-8________29-27-1___52
schmitty1121___5-7________34-34-4___50
good dolphin____6-8________29-29_____50
sabu___________4-1________13-13_____50
MattMurtonsBeard0-0________5-5_______50
City Of Fools____0-0________1-1_______50
muman89_______2-3-1______16-17-2___49
WaltWilliamsNeck_5-6________22-26-2___46
newper_________0-0________5-6-1_____46
a retard________0-0________4-5_______44
Colonel Angus__10-7-1______26-39-2___40
M_C___________0-0________14-23-1___38
Nas____________0-0________0-1_______0
At Large________0-0________0-1_______0


OverallStandings
CFBWeek 1 60-43___58.3%
NFLWeek 1 87-78-9_52.7
NFLWeek 2 86-70-9_55.1
NFLWeek 3 101-103-5_49.5
NFLWeek 4 83-79-4_51.3
_Total__417-373-27_52.8

Please let me know if any of the totals are incorrect. Thank you.


Early CFB Action
ALL TIMES CENTRAL

Tuesday, September 30
7:00 PM Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee

Wednesday, October 1
7:00 PM Louisiana Tech at No. 17 Boise State

Thursday, October 2
6:30 PM Pittsburgh at No. 10 South Florida
6:30 PM Nicholls State at Northern Iowa
7:00 PM Memphis at UAB
8:00 PM Oregon State at No. 15 Utah

Friday, October 3
7:00 PM No. 8 Brigham Young at Utah State
7:00 PM Cincinnati at Marshall

_________________
CSFMB: Home of the small minded

NCAA

Ohio State -2 WIN
Fresno State -22 LOSS
Arizona -21 WIN
Virginia Tech -28 LOSS
Pitt +14 WIN
Memphis -3 PUSH
Oregon State +12 WIN
Marshall +3 LOSS
Ole Miss -2 LOSS
Tulane -19.5 LOSS
Iowa/Michigan State under 47 WIN
Rice/Tulsa over 79 WIN
Akron -3.5 LOSS
Iowa State +12 WIN
Maryland -13 LOSS

7-7-1

NFL
Arizona -1 WIN
Kansas City +10 LOSS
Minnesota +3.5

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Oregon St. +12

BYU -28

Penn St. -12.5

Indiana +7.5

____________________

Colts -3

Bears -3.5

Denver -3

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

this week's power sweep download for those that want it.

http://www.zshare.net/download/197058928b533c06/

Arizona -21

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Thursday Night from Pinnacle Sports

Pittsburgh +13.5 vs South Florida- Pitt was supposed to be a top team this year, and it still want to prove will need to keep this close, if not win it to keep Big East title hopes alive.

PinnacleSports

10/1
Boise St. -2

Pinnacle Sports.com

10/3
BYU -29.5

10/4
Vandy +4
Temple +7
Illinois +2.5
Texas -13.5
Cal -9.5
Central Florida -13.5
Navy +6
Nevada -29.5
Washington +22
Oklahoma -26.5
Wisconsin +1
Rice +16
Oregon +16.5
New Mexico -12.5
Hawaii +22.5

10/5
Colts -3
Titans -3
Chargers -6.5
Bears -3.5
Los Gigantes -7

Boise is -24

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

That's what I meant!!! I wrote down the wrong number...

Kansas -12
Illinois +3
Wisconsin +1
Rice +15.5

Colts -3
Bears -3.5
Broncos -3
Bills pk
Jaguars -4
Saints -3

_________________
Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

Saturday
Baylor +27 (matchbook) vs. Oklahoma
OU in a TCU/UT sammich and might possibly be just a tad flat. Briles raised the level of play at Houston and their last game in which they hung with U Conn showed he is elevating the Bears' play pretty quickly also. He's one of those coaches you might look to ride a little and this looks like a good spot to do it.

ND -7 (greek) vs. Stanford
The Irish are coming tra la tra la. That offense that beat Purdue last week showed promise.

Mississippi -2 vs. South Carolina (greek)
This might be Spurrier's worst team ever. Offense for sure. Ole Miss is too excited to be flat after winning in the swamp.

Indiana Minnesota over 58 (greek)
These teams usually play shootouts. Both teams' Os are much bette rthan their Ds

SMU +14 (matchbook) @ UCF
I rode the Jones boys last week to a cover at TUlane and I'm doing the same here against a very very soft UCF team. Jones is another one of those coaches like Briles whose systems and style of play can win games like this.

Oregon +17 @ USC (matchbook)
Trojans had trouble stopping the run in Corvallis last week and the Ducks can run...to the tune of 300 ypg.

Sunday
NY Giants -7 vs. Seattle (bookmaker)
Fading the Seahags again. Just don't see much to commend them and think they are again over-valued. Early east coast start for a west coast team always an angle worth considering also.

Virginia Tech -28

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Week 6 Top 25 Rundown

- Today's Games -

Pittsburgh at South Florida -13 1/2

USF QB Grothe will tear up Panthers D. Pitt O will be in quicksand.

Oregon State +11 at Utah

Beavers can stay within ten of the shoosty Utes.

- Friday, October 3, 2008 -

Brigham Young -29 1/2 at Utah State

BYU hangs another fiddy on the board, The Aggies struggle to get 20.

- Saturday, October 4, 2008 -

Oklahoma -26 1/2 at Baylor

Red River Shootout next week. Baylor gets to be scrimmage game. An opponent OU has beaten 12 straight times in conference play by an average of more than 24 points. Fiddy!

Kentucky at Alabama -15 1/2

Alabama leads the series with Kentucky 33-2-1 and is 8-0 in Tuscaloosa. The Tide, who have not trailed all season, have scored four non-offensive touchdowns and outscored opponents 74-0 in the first half. Good grief, cue the star destoryer music already.

Missouri -10 1/2 at Nebraska

The total for this game is 68 1/2. How in the heck are the Cornhuskers supposed to keep up with Chase and pals? Fiddy! Fourth-ranked Missouri begins the defense of its North Division title as it tries to win its first game at Nebraska in 30 years on Saturday night.

Texas -12 1/2 at Colorado

Colorado has lost five of its last six meetings with Texas, including the last two in Boulder. Buffs will play better at home , but can't hang with Colt the TD machine. They've scored at least 42 points in each one and given up no more than 13, outscoring opponents 198-43 overall.

Penn State at Purdue +13

The Nittany Lions are 9-16 overall on the road since the start of the 2003 season, and have lost four of their last five road games against Big Ten opponents. In three career games against Penn State -- all Purdue losses -- Curtis Painter has not thrown a touchdown pass in 104 attempts. Painter will find the end zone once or twice, hopefully not for a safety!

Texas Tech -7 1/2 at Kansas State

It should be a high-scoring affair in Manhattan when a pair of top-10 scoring offenses meet. The total is 66. The Wildcats have been outscored 132-64 in losing their last three meetings with the Red Raiders. Texas Tech leads the all-time series 6-3. The Red Raiders are 8-4 in Big 12 openers.

Oregon +16 1/2 at USC

USC is 21-1 against ranked opponents in the regular season since Oct. 19, 2002, and already knocked off then-No. 5 Ohio State in mid-September. Still love the Ducks RB's. USC QB Sanchez will cost his team a 20 point win.

Florida at Arkansas +24 1/2

With Arkansas having lost its last two games by a combined 77 points, coach Bobby Petrino is preaching patience as he tries to instill his philosophy in his first year with the team.
"We can't panic," he said. "We've got to make sure we stick to our beliefs, we stick to our fundamentals and how we're going to build this program, and just keep grinding and working hard." Arkansas' offense has scored two TDs in the last two weeks, while giving up three. Alabama scored on two interception returns and Texas on one.

Auburn at Vanderbilt +4

Vandy is ranked? And the gameday crew will be there? Tigers D will be too much for Vandy, but both teams struggle to get more than 13 points. Total is 37 1/2. They are grindy too.

Ohio State at Wisconsin +1

There may be even more pressure on a Badgers team looking to avoid its first 0-2 conference start since 2002. Wisconsin began Big Ten play 0-3 that season on its way to a 2-6 conference finish. The Badgers have won 27 of their last 28 games at Camp Randall, including 16 straight since a loss to Iowa on Nov. 12, 2005. Look for Luckeyes to give this one up in OT.

Kansas -11 1/2 at Iowa State

Kansas shoosts for its fourth consecutive victory over Iowa State as the schools open Big 12 play. While the Jayhawks' running game has stalled, QB Todd Reesing has picked up the slack, throwing for over 1,400 yards in four games. The Cyclones have won four straight at home, but dropped eight in a row against ranked opponents.

Western Kentucky (2-3, 1-3 away)
(20) Virginia Tech (4-1, 2-0 ACC)

Texas A&M (2-2, 1-0 away)
(21) Oklahoma St (4-0, 3-0 home)

Hawaii (1-3, 0-1 WAC)
(22) Fresno St (3-1, 0-1 home)

(24) Connecticut (5-0, 1-0 Big East)
North Carolina (3-1, 1-1 ACC)

_________________
CSFMB: Home of the small minded

Penn State -13.5
-The only chance Purdue has is to score a few td's in the fourth quarter by the backup QB.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Pitt +14
Memphis -3
Oregon State +12

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Interesting comment, Rick. Aren't you the same guy who was pooh-poohing my preseason prediction that this would be a good year for Penn State when you said this:



Your statement was a demonstration of a common belief so many media types make about athletes and teams. I don't generally buy this hypothesis. What happens OFF the field often does NOT always affect what happens ON the field. You think it does, apparently. But other than the Cincinnati Bungles or colleges that have a significant number of players or star players suspended, I'd be interested in what evidence you have to support that hypothesis. (And besides, I would argue the Bungles' problem isn't so much the off field arrests as it is lousy talent and worse coaching).

But to your original main point: If Joe Paterno has "lost control of the team", as you contended one month ago, it doesn't appear to be showing on the field in the actual game results does it? And if you still believe this, then what does that say about your beloved Boilermakers that you think they will get whacked by a coach who has "lost control of his team"?

Coast,
When you completely ignore the off the field issues with your team it's not a distraction. Anyways, I already commented how wrong I was about Penn State this year. Can't be perfect on preseason predictions.

Purdue isn't a good team, and will likely have to bench Painter soon. He's not only not improved from last year, but he's regressed. It's almost difficult to watch him constantly miss receivers or throw it so hard that they have no chance at getting it. It's pretty sad that the rest of the team has improved(running game, defense) but the supposed best player on the team can't do it. I hope I'm wrong and he can figure it out, but I think he'll be seeing the bench pretty soon.


That they aren't very good and will be lucky to make it a bowl game this year. Any more questions?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Some pix........

Vandy +4 over Auburn: Biggest home game in Vandy history. Auburn's offense struggles
Under 37 1/2 in same game: See above

Mizzou -10 1/2 over Nebraska: The Tiger train keeps rolling. Look for Daniel to toss at least 4 tds

Texas Tech - 7 1/2 over K State: To much fire power. The scoreboard will spin and look for the Raiders to hang a half of hundred on them

NFL:

TN -3 over Baltimore: Two tough defenses will maul each other, but in the end the TN running game will get the win and cover

Marshall +3
Ole Miss -2

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

From thegreek.com:

Cincinnati (-3) over Marshall
Just for shits and giggles.

Illinois (+2) against Michigan
The Wolverines come back down to Earth after win over the Badgers.

Missouri (-10.5) over Nebraska
Missouri is on course for a BCS championship game and won't let the Cornhuskers get in their way.

Michigan State (-6.5) over Iowa
Sorry Hawkeye (Vince), but the Spartans take care of business at home.

Ball State (-7.5) over Toledo
The Cardinal continue to roll.

Tennessee (16) over Northern Illinois
The Volunteers have to right the ship soon (very soon).

USC / Oregon over (56)
Trojans are steaming after last week's loss while Oregon looks to make it a losing streak for USC.

Indianapolis (-3) over Houston
The Colts come off the bye in fine fashion.

San Diego (-6.5) over Miami
Although Miami's coming off the bye, I believe (and hope) that they won't be able to control LT.

Denver / Tampa Bay over (47.5)
A lot of offense in this game (and hopefully no defense)

Thanks Rick. I don't know that JoePa "ignores" off field issues as you suggest, because he has suspended guys about as much as many coaches. THey have had issues and bad actors, no question. My impression though is he has dealt with them by suspending guys about like most coaches. The difference is he doesn't seek style points from the media about how he publicly talks about his miscreants. He doesn't let the media spend time in his press conferences talking about it and he doesn't talk about it publicly much. That may actually be a good thing for his team and a positive and professional way to handle things, rather than being a media whore about it. My impression of JoePa is they have screwups and they deal with them. And when they screw up, Joe is not going to drag the kids through the mud by repeatedly talking about their screwups no matter how much the media asks him the questions. I'm not sure it's ever a good idea for a coach or manager of any organization to throw a player or worker under the bus...regardless of how much fans or the media expect them to do just that. He's kicked some kids off the team and he's suspended some, depending on their violations. I just don't see that as being "ignoring" the issues.

Yeah I have one more question. Is it a smart strategy to have coaches announce they are retiring after "next season" and then let them play out the string in their last season? Purdue has now allowed both Keady and Tiller to do this. And while that's not a lot of evidence, it sure doesn't seem like either team played/is playing very hard for those lame duck coaches. I've seen teams, particulary college teams, win one (game) for the gipper. Asking them to win an entire season for a coach they know is going to be gone next year doesn't seem to be working very well.

This whole notion that coaches..like Tiller for example...should be able to decide when they retire on their own terms is a bunch of BS. Who else in America, other than these egocentric coaches, can control their retirement date when their job performance is not meeting expectations? I said four years ago Tiller should have been gone when he repeatedly missed expectations and his teams played below their talent. Of course, I said the same thing about Joepa too a few years ago. That the game had passed him by. Tells you what I know.

PinnacleSports

10/5
Bills +1
Steelers +4

10/6
Saints -3

I'm not betting on Iowa this week, but I know some sharpies who are. Certain indicators make this a good week to bet on the Hawkeyes. Not many teams are 9 point chalk one week and 8 point dogs the next. I know Vince loves the guy, but the evidence is starting to mount that Kirk Ferentz is one of the most over-rated coaches in America. The media loves the guy because he had a few good years and he takes all their calls, which might be partly responsible for why he's gotten such a pass from them over the last few years. If a company missed expectations as much as Iowa has recently, the CEO would be gone. The fact that there doesn't seem to be a lot of heat on Ferentz is part puzzle and part testament to the fact that the media doesn't objectively critique and publicly criticize guys they like.

College Football from Pinnacle Sports

Penn State -13 vs Purdue- This one will be ugly as Penn State rolls over a Purdue team that will be hard to find wins.

Michigan State -6.5 vs Iowa- Sparty needs this one, because the schedule gets a little tougher after this one and Iowa still has no quarterback.

Illinois +2.5 vs Michigan- Juice will keep up his great play up on Saturday as Illinois not only covers, but wins this game.

Miami -2 vs Florida State- If Miami was playing anybody else this weekend, I would think they lose after last week's tough loss, but it's the Seminoles and Miami gets back on the winning track.

Ohio State-1 vs Wisconsin- I think this will be an easy win for the Buckeyes, Badgers lost a little of their swagger after last week, Pryor plays well and leads the Buckeyes to win.

From Oddsmaker or SBG

Minny -7 over Indiana

Home team covered 9 of 11. Minny covered last 6 at home. First RG for Indiana after a tough game against Mich St last week.

TCU -24 over SD St

Big comedown in opponents talent for TCU this week. After playing Oklahoma last week playing SD St should be just what TCU needs.

NIU +16.5 over Tennese

I dont think Tenn is that good. This is the ultimate sandwich game for Tenn. NIU has played everyone tough this year, their two road losses by 4 and 3 pts.

Tulane -20 over Army

Tulane has covered last 4 in series. Army played AM tough last week. Dont see them having much left this week. Tulane got up big last week and let SMU back in. They wont let Army back in this week.

Notre Dame -6.5 over Stanford

I think ND is much improved this year and because of their brutal season last year they are still undervalued. I think they should be a 10pt fav here so will lay less than a TD.

Navy +5 over Air Force

Dog is 15-5 ATS in series. Lookin for a FG game.

Fresno -21 over Hawaii

Fresno's second home game, they lost their first. I see a 30+ pt win against a bad Hawaii team.

Tulane -19.5

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Iowa/Michigan State under 47

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Hawkeye Vince is back and trying to keep up with all of you whippersnappers

WAsh State @ UCLA UNDER 55.5 - WAshington State is very banged up and shouldn't provide much battle for UCLA who looked much better last week. (Winner)

Ball State -7 @ Toledo - Ball State played well last week against Kent State and has beaten some good opponents on the road. Toledo dropped last week to what was a staple on the Bottom 10. (Winner)

South Carolina +2.5 @ Mississippi: After Mississippi big win last week in the Swamp, this may be a trap game for the Rebels with a trip to Bama next week. South Carolina boasts a very good defense. (Winner)

Hawkeye Vince is back and trying to keep up with all of you whippersnappers

WAsh State @ UCLA UNDER 55.5 - WAshington State is very banged up and shouldn't provide much battle for UCLA who looked much better last week.

Ball State -7 @ Toledo - Ball State played well last week against Kent State and has beaten some good opponents on the road. Toledo dropped last week to what was a staple on the Bottom 10.

South Carolina +2.5 @ Mississippi: After Mississippi big win last week in the Swamp, this may be a trap game for the Rebels with a trip to Bama next week. South Carolina boasts a very good defense.