Mikie2times

I've had the ticket the last few years but I moved to a location that doesn't have a clear view of the southern sky. What's worse is being in Sylvania, OH. You get Cleveland which is traditionally a 1pm start, and the Lions which is also a 1pm start. So not only do I have zero chance of getting the Bills on TV, but I have zero chance of watching any good football teams.

True, the Lions are so bad they will probably be around .500 ATS.

I'm not a proponent of the BCS but I’ll play devils advocate. In what is supposed to be one of the most screwed up years in BCS history each team had complete control of its destiny. All these potential two's could have locked up a spot by taking care of things on the field. Isn't that what the BCS is ultimately trying to accomplish? Furthermore what makes people think it is the NCAA's wish to have such a clean playoff system? The controversy the BCS has caused has created some of the most intense debate college football has seen in years. That in turn increases college football's popularity. It's not as if people are saying I hate the BCS so much I'm just not going to watch anymore. They're saying I hate the BCS, and I'm going to follow each game obsessively to find out who Ohio State plays.

A good friend of mine is a State alum, I'll ask him for the heads up this weekend. For the time being some info popped up when I entered his name on Yahoo.

Inland North

It has nothing to do with the Lions getting hot. The Dolphins are about to get cold, or at the very least colder then the box scores have been the last few weeks. They've needed turnovers and defensive TD's to win the last few weeks. That's fine, teams find different ways to win. But even if they’re legitimate turnovers it's happening at a rate that no team can keep up with. They also have a QB who throws a lot of picks. Something will give eventually, and they have nobody to pick up the slack when it does.

Because being good at handicapping doesn't involve finding a team that has already been hot. It involves finding one that is about to cool off or get hot. If this game was played before Miami/Chicago in this environment it would be Lions -3. Look at the facts DCM. Miami has been helped a ton by turnovers, and played at home 2 of the last 3. They needed 14 direct points off turnovers to beat a mediocre Minnesota team at home. Harrington has several issues and it would be shocking if after 4+ years the Lions aren't aware how to exploit them. The majority of people think they way you think when it comes to betting, and the majority of people lose.

Buy the half point, it's worth it.

It's as solid a play as you will find all year. I'll be placing my large size bet on it. I never recommend betting the house on one game.

Look at how Miami is winning right now. Massive amounts of turnovers, including +4 at Chicago and two TD returns this week. Ronnie Brown is not healthy; Joey Harrington is not playing well. This 3 game winning streak is a fluke. Now Miami heads into Detroit as 3 point favorites? Even better on wagerline the public is pounding Miami at almost a 70% clip. The Lions are good at home, and usually even better on Thanksgiving. You also have to figure they will know how to defense Harrington. If you’re going to jump on I would buy now while it's still +3.

If Peter King did my handicapping I'd be a homeless crack addict.

Jags off a short week. By the way very good post. I like this place so much more after a win.

I think people discredit the strength of a team too much if their perception of that team proves wrong. The perception of ND coming into the season was that they would roll. Unfortunately they started slow, and had to play two underrated teams in GT and Michigan. People overreacted to those games without the foresight of GT and Michigan being good, and ND just starting slow. Now they started to get things rolling but so have a few other teams and ND hasn't been able to overcome those early impressions.

Besides special teams we don't do anything well. Some will take that as a knock on Dick Jauron's coaching. If this was his third season I would feel the same way. The way I see it is we have marginal and young talent all over the roster. This is a bad team, but this bad team just got its 4th win. It's sad to say but I think 4 out of 10 with who we have is a very good job. Last year we probably had more talent to work with and the same systems yet Mularkey only won 5.

Well good for him. I'm sure his experiences helped build character, and resiliency. Let's hope he can translate that to the field.

Hit big on Cincinnati, and Kansas (NCAA). Moderate win on San Francisco, and possibly Denver. No complaints.

Pennington's from Compton?

So you got caught up in the hype, happens to us Bills fans nearly every year. Rutgers is a good team, with GREAT coaching. College football games can be very funny at times. Maybe if Rutgers makes that first FG, or if Teel hits on any of those open 1st quarter passes it's a different game. As it was Cincinnati came out hungry, and Rutgers only fed them confidence in the first half. Unfortunately I think WV will really take advantage of Rutgers smaller DL. When your DT's are both 260 pounds they need to play in the backfield. WV has one of the best centers in college football. I also see the misdirection WV runs hurting an overaggressive Rutgers defense. No matter how it plays out it's been a hell of a year for Rutgers. They have nothing to be ashamed about.

Ok then so what are we even talking about? You took my stance on Rutgers win being more circumstance as being all circumstance. That wasn't what I was trying to say. Circumstance clearly played a roll. You also have to be pretty good to take advantage of those circumstances. I still don't feel they're better then Louisville. This all started by Ed arguing about them beating WV, when I don't even think they will beat Cincinnati (in large part do to circumstance).

We will see. Oddsmakers have Rutgers -6 at Cincinnati tonight. So as of now they tend to agree with my point of view. After tonight you might also. If not I guarantee you will when they play West Virginia.

Yup. I still see WV as the class of the Big East. Even though they beat Louisville I would only rate Rutgers 3rd in the Big East. The win against Louisville happened under ideal conditions, and then still barely happened. It was a horrible trap set up for Louisville. First they play the biggest game in Louisville history at home. Then following week they have to play the second biggest game in Rutgers history on the road. They couldn't match Rutgers intensity for 60 minutes, and blew a 20 point lead. I played them over +200 and made a bundle so I was happy, but the point is Louisville wins that game more times then not. I believe the same can be said in the case of West Virginia beating Louisville. That was a horrible set up for them to play in, but on a neutral field West Virginia beats Louisville more times then not. If Rutgers survives this weekend, then it will mean the Rutgers/West Virginia game would be for the Big East. No way in hell West Virginia will let that opportunity pass them by after they already thought they lost it a few weeks ago.

He really struggled as a Junior in a new system, but has clearly rebounded this year. Palko could be a very intriguing fit for us. He has a gunslingers mentality which will sometimes lead to turnovers; it will also lead to some great throws under pressure. He has less then ideal arm strength, but is accurate and smart. He worked very hard in the off-season to improve on his Junior year, and it shows. Outside his skills he's about as emotionally involved in games as any QB I've seen. He has that Farve look to him. Obviously not Farves talent, but he will complete a pass after getting hit and start yelling at the guy that hit him.

If Rutgers gets past Cincinnati they have zero chance of beating West Virginia. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cincinnati knock them off. Most teams will have an off week following a huge win. They benefited from facing Louisville a week after they played West Virginia. Now they will be the ones who have to come off a huge win, and play a good team on the road. Cincinnati is improving every week. They play excellent run defense, and have played well against good teams all year. It will be the last home game they play this season. I knew once the line was released it would plummet so I grabbed Cincinnati +7.5 Sunday night.

Being from Michigan and now stuck in Ohio I would like nothing more then a Michigan victory. I just see Henne looking like Bledsoe Jr and it costing them the game.

The line reflects Ohio States recent advantage over Michigan, Smith over Henne, HF, and a dominating ATS number the last two seasons. None of which I can disagree with. Oddsmakers have had a long time to think about this line. They mentioned it would be around -7 as early as three weeks ago. They know this game will see more action then any other college football game this season. Let's just say it's a solid number. Sharp action is what bumped the number to -7 today. It was at -6.5, and if I had to make any play it would have been Ohio State -6.5.