Rivals Predicts the Bowls



Speculation was that the NU
Wildcats would be invited to go
to Dallas for the Ticket City Bowl,
prompting wild celebrations like
this one from Dallas based alums.
Rivals has the 'Cats headed for
Dee-troit to play in the
Foreclosure Bowl vs Tony Packo's
Toledo Mudhens.

 Here's their opinion : click

Feasting

A 4 / 4 sweep on the star selections, couldn't bring it home with the parlays.  I also put up a parlay on the late games, a 4 parter, and went to sleep Saturday night with three of the conditions affirmative (ND & Stanford UNDER, San Jose & Fresno UNDER, USC -16, all in line).  Then UNLV gave up 1 point too many (a TD with 1:11 to go in the game, damn!), and my success turned into a 1/2 point loss.  That would have been some sweet ending for the weekend! 

BTW, the ND:Stanford affirmative result in the four part parlay is a covert curse breaker.  Slipping that one in under cover of west coast start times and a parlay was necessary to allow bowl success.  They are just another team now...as if we haven't known that for 20 years.

Here's the recap.

**** Memphis @ Southern Mississippi -35 1/2
Final 44-7
Pete's Perfect Pick was, indeed, perfect.  Nicely done, Two Gun(n).
***Maryland @ NC State -12    WIN
Final 56-41
NC State was 34-14 at the half, they trailed by 6 with 6 minutes to play, and they came back for an incredible cover 3 star winner!
** Wyoming +34 1/2 @ Boise State  WIN
Final 36-14.
The Cowboys put up 7 in the 1st and 7 in the 4th, enough to cover.  Another good win for us.
* Tulane +16 1/2 @ Hawaii
 Final 35-23
Everybody wins: Hawaii gets a W, Tulane gets a trip to the beach, we get a sweep of our star wagers.  Ain't that America!

The parlay blew up early.

• Northwestern +6 hosting Michigan State   Final 31-17.  The game turned in the 2nd quarter: NU fumbled on the 3, MSU scored 4 plays later, 14 point difference.  NU banged a line drive punt into the hands of MSU's best returner and it was 7 more, a total of 21 turn around points in the first half.  Can't do that against good teams, boys.
• Iowa State +28 1/2 vs Oklahoma Final 26-6.  The Cowboys led 6-3 when OK hit the "ON" switch and shut 'em down.  A good cover, this one.
• Wyoming +34 12/ @ Blue Men Group   Final 36-14.  Wyoming was good enough
• Auburn +21 1/2 against the Tide  Tide running back Trent Richardson killed the cover with an amazing 57 yard run to set up the cover breaking TD for Alabama in the 4th quarter.

Elsewhere, Minnesota likely put the finishing touch on the tenure of Illinois coach Ron Zook with a 27-7 beatdown.  The Illini won their first six and then lost their next six.  That's probably going to be the swan song for Zook.

In Boca Raton, the "Win One for the Schneller" speech worked wonders, as FAU broke through with a 38-35 victory, the team's only win of 2011.  Irrespective of this hallmark victory  , Coach Schnellenberger and his entire staff have already been dismissed.

Fantastic matchups coming this week and Bowl Game announcements next Sunday!

XIII, Because Roman Numerals Are Cool

We begin Week 13 with the handicapping stylings of the lovely and talented Two Gun Pete, providing here a 4 Star PPP : Pete's Perfect Pick. 

**** Memphis @ Southern Mississippi -35 1/2
Saturday 3:00 p.m.
Conference USA November Lock of the Month of November, the SoMiss Golden Eagles over Breathe for Me Elvis Memphis Tigers.  SoMiss is a 9-2 football team with an 8-2 home record the last 2 years, and the losses were by 1 point each.  It's SoMiss's home finale, the Hattiesburg Social Event of the Year, with tailgate parties to rival Georgia or Florida.  Coach Larry "the Hat" Fedora is bowl bound for the 6th consecutive year, this time a major proclaims the Hat.  The Eagles will soar to uphold the honor of the Fair State of Mississippi. SoMiss has wins over SE Louisiana 52-6 (SELa already beat Memphis), LA Tech 19-17, Virginia 30-24 (as a dog, yet!), Rice 48-24, Navy 63-35, we go on and on, SMU 27-3, UTEP 31-13, the Pirates of East Carolina 48-24, UCF and George "I coached USB for 20 minutes" Leary 30-29 last week. The team tackles like fly-through-the-air parallel missiles for the honor of the South. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!
PS: A big thanks for helping me work up this PPP to my research intern, Sweet Margie Warmform! --Two Gun Pete
***Maryland @ NC State -12
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
2-9 Maryland visits 6-5 NC State.  There's two compelling factors: MD has lost 6 in a row ATS and it's the Wolfpack's final home game. 
** Wyoming +34 1/2 @ Boise State
Saturday 1:00 p.m.
Boise State and the blue field (the field that looks so awful on the big screen, the one that's using up all the blue that's loaded into my TV) usually spells doom for teams visiting Boise (pronounced boy-cee by Idahoans, who da ho? Idaho).  The bet here is that Boise has lost its last 4 ATS (2 at home, 2 on the road) and the Cowboys have been playing their best football in a long time over the last few games.  Five touchdowns is a lot.  Boise has covered that and more, but WY should be able to hangwiffem.
* Tulane +16 1/2 @ Hawaii
 Saturday 10:00 p.m.
Tulane is very, very bad.  They are, however, 3-1 ATS on the road.  The Rainbows of Hawaii are not so good, and they're 0-3 ATS at home.  Usually, the end of the year trip to Hawaii is bad for mainland teams, as it's too much beach and luau.  Hawaii hasn't made it work this year, so Tulane should stay close enough, maybe two TD's. 

Finally, a 4 dog parlay offering 12:1

• Northwestern +6 hosting Michigan State
• Iowa State +28 1/2 vs Oklahoma
• Wyoming +34 12/ @ Blue Men Group
• Auburn +21 1/2 against the Tide

Finally, Howard Schnellenberger and staff will coach their last game at FAU on Saturday, click here.  FAU has lost every game so far this year, including the 3 home games in their brand new stadium.

Thanksgiving in TX and a Black Friday Parlay

The kids are in the dining room emptying another bottle of wine and playing cards (the older kids), the endorphins are kicking in, and Swamp People is on TV.  This is the episode where Troy hires Elizabeth ("shooooot 'im 'Lizbeth, shoooot 'im!!!") and I'm waiting for Texas @ TX A&M.  The 3 year old grandchild, Lily, told Grandpa to pick A&M, but I'm not sure that her handicapping skills are ready, since she's barely gotten past the potty training thing.  On the other hand, I think she's on to something, so I'm taking A&M to go over 30 1/2 tonight, and no, Lily doesn't get half.

There's a big slate this weekend, and we'll put up a Pete's Perfect Pick for the Saturday schedule.  For tomorrow, I'm just putting up one bet, a parlay that's a shade under 25:1.

• E.Michigan @ NIU -18 1/2 NIU by just 6
• Louisville +3 1/2 @ USF Cardinals won big
• Bowling Green @ Buffalo -2 1/2 Buffalo couldn't be successful 2 consecutive weeks
• Iowa +9 1/2 @ Nebraska Iowa, blechhh!
• Boston College @ the U -14 1/2 Really, Doc, BC?

Shoot 'im, Lizbeth, shooooot 'im!
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Update: Six minutes to go in the TX : A&M game and I'm throwing in the towel.  A&M's QB, Ryan Tannehill is inept tonight.  A&M's in it to have a shot to win, but
Tannehill's 18 for 44 passing night so far assures that they're not going to score 31 points.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Update II: Texas wins 27-25 on a game ending field goal.  Tannehill finishes 20 for 49, a pretty poor performance, but still picks up 224 yards in the air.  Same-same, it's a holiday loss for us, a turkey, you might say.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Music link for TwoGunn, aka Peter Gunn, click here

Life is a Rolling Ocean

1. Entertaining football this weekend, but no blood.  No profits, either. 

 The best contest of the weekend wasn't a football game.  We'll discuss, but first, the recap.

* Oklahoma State -27 @ Iowa State   LOSE
The Cyclones win straight up in 2 OT!
I said they were unpredictable, those Iowa State Cyclones.   I just wish I had shown a little more faith in being faithless...or something along those lines.  The #2 team in the polls got spanked, shake up the rankings again!
** Arkansas State -11 @ Middle Tennessee State     WIN
45-19 the final
Two Gun's Red Wolves pay off again, boo-yah!
*** The Zips @ Buffalo -11 1/22     WIN
Buffalo 51, Zips 10
Bad game, even for the Zips, getting pounded senseless by the Buffalo Bulls.  Good for us, though.
**** Tulane @ Rice -13 1/2   LOSE
Rice 19, Tulane 7
This was the closest thing to a moral victory that a heartless gambler can have.  Rice scored a touchdown with a minute and some to go in the game.  Rice coach David Bailiff, knowing just how much this meant to us here at FSF, chose to go for the 2 point conversion that would put his team ahead by 14.  To our collective chagrin, the attempt was unsuccessful.  Coaches who go for covers, gotta love 'em.

2. The parlay, alas, the agony of the parlay...

• - Minnesota vs. Northwestern - Minnesota+15 1/2   Final NU 28, MN 13 
• - New Mexico vs. Wyoming - Wyoming -24   Final WY 31, NM 10 
• - Miami Florida vs. South Florida - South Florida pick 'em   The U 6, USF 3
• - Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee - Tennessee +1 1/2  who cares
• - UNLV vs. Air Force - Air Force-23 1/2   who cares, part II

We see another example of great handicapping in MN v NU, we fortunately landed on the right side of the 1/2.  New Mexico, egad, they win a game last week and now they're playing like a team possessed...for one quarter. They led, 10-0 at the end of Q1, before getting smoked.  More great handicapping in Tampa as the U wins on a FG as time runs out. I didn't track the last two since the parlay was already a smoldering heap.

3. Hideous uniforms noted this week: First--USF sporting a bizarre shoulder pad/ pant strip/ shoes combo, hundreds of black and white rectangles colliding inside a black border, all inside their green uniforms, yuck!   Hideous uniforms II : USB with those absolutely freaky gold colored helmets, this week without the huge shamrock on the side, but still looking like a video game gone awry.  The glowing color gold they've used reminds one of ancient religious artwork, where the gilding is overemphasized to the verge of being cartoonish.  Most appropriate.

4. As for the best contest of the weekend, it was on the race track.  If you pay any attention whatsoever to the traveling circus that is NASCAR, you know that the final race of the year was yesterday in Homestead, Florida.  Carl Edwards in his #99 Ford began the day in first place, followed by Tony Stewart's #14 Chevrolet Impala.  Stewart had battled from way back in the points several weeks ago to put himself in a position to challenge.  There was only one outcome that would allow Stewart to become the champion : Tony had to win the race.

After numerous caution flags, an hour long rain delay, one after another poor performances under pressure from his pit crew, after all that, with the 400 mile finish line just laps away, Stewart was in first,  leading Edwards by a few car lengths, and that's how it ended, with Steward and Edwards 1 & 2.  By virtue of their 1-2 finish, they finished in a dead heat for season points, and Tony Stewart won the championship by virtue of the tie breaker : most races won during the season. Stewart and his team were elated, obviously.  If you had the opportunity to witness the interview that Carl Edwards gave immediately after the race, you witnessed the most gracious of competitors.  Smiling, composed, complimentary to the victor, Edwards was all this. 

Props to the #99.

5. Back to football: For the latest bowl match up projections, click here  and then come back and click here.

6. Finally, another bit of previously unidentified music that has been making me crazy, the song from the Citi credit card commercial.

6a-- listen to the first 10 seconds again.  It's the same as the start of Da Doo Ron Ron by the Crystals from a hundred years ago.  Click here after you listen to the Non-Coms to watch a reunion performance of the Crystals.  Big fun, lots of energy

A Great Day for Football

My wife doesn't read this, so she won't be
upset that I referred to her as strange.

This is my Saturday parlay, offering up 25:1.

• - Minnesota vs. Northwestern - Minnesota+15 1/2
• - Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee - Tennessee +1 1/2
• - New Mexico vs. Wyoming - Wyoming -24
• - UNLV vs. Air Force - Air Force-23 1/2
• - Miami Florida vs. South Florida - South Florida pick 'em

This is the view from where I spent last night, on the 30th floor of the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, with a strange woman.

And finally, here is a house that you should buy.

It's Almost Thanksgiving

Here we are, week 12 already!  Amazing to me that the bets all seem so clear...after they play the games. 

On America's greatest holiday, Thanksgiving, the major retail companies appear determined to destroy the family element by opening their doors for Black Friday earlier and earlier.  Black Friday is now Thanksgiving evening.   Target will open at 11:00 p.m. Thanksgiving night, Walmart countered by going to 10:00 p.m., and Toys 'R Us trumped by announcing they'll be opening at 9:00 p.m.

I urge you to boycott them all, and if you're really offended log on to their websites and tell them so, and pass along your dissatisfaction to everyone you know.
There's a trio of interesting matchups this week.  Not interesting as wagers, but intersting as "who thought this was a good idea?".  The first of the three games to which I'm referring is the Furman Paladins @ the University of Florida.  This shouldn't be happening.  Neither should  curiousity of the week #2, a showdown between 9-1 teams: the Crimson Tide hosts...Georgia Southern? The third is Samford @ Auburn.  It appears that week 12 is "scrimmage for profit" week in the south.

* Oklahoma State -27 @ Iowa State
Friday 7:00 p.m.
The Cowboys are #2 and they have been just rolling and getting better.  Iowa State is fun, and just a bit unpredictable, that's why I'm only comfortable at 1 star.
** Arkansas State -11 @ Middle Tennessee State
Saturday 2:00 p.m
Two Gun "discovered" the Red Wolves and they've been good for us.  MTS is a team that seems to be good enough to lose; I sure hope they are that this weekend.
*** The Zips @ Buffalo -11 1/2
Saturday 2:30 p.m.
Buffalo isn't all that good, but the Zips, like MTS before them (before them on this page, anyway) are usually good enough to lose.  They've been atrocious on the road this year, have the Zips, and that is the play here.   
**** Tulane @ Rice -13 1/2
Saturday 2:30 p.m.
This is not the smarmiest matchup of the week, but it's pretty lame.  Tulane is bad, and while Rice isn't very good, the Owls should have enough to pound flat the Green Wave.

Wagering for Fun and (Wishing For) Profit

This was one of the most entertaining weekends of the year, wager-wise.  That could be our new motto : "wager wise".   It was ho-hum, profit wise.  On with the show.

* USF -3 @ Syracuse  WIN

USF 37, Syracuse 17

USF was up 23-10 when one of their receivers, stretching while airborn, trying to make the end zone, fumbled the ball and sent it bouncing through the end zone and over the back line for a touchback.  Syracuse put together a drive, and it looked like what was going to be a 30-10 margin was about to be just seven points.  Too bad for the Orange;  the drive petered out in the red zone, and the rest of the game was punctuated by stone fingered Syracuse receivers dropping passes that would have turned this one around.  USF turned to a dominating running game and we logged a Friday night winner.   

** Texas -1 1/2 @ MissouriLOSE

Missouri 17, Texas 5

Mack Brown sucks.  That's all I have to say.

*** Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech OVER 77 1/2 LOSE

Final 66-6.

This one tore me up.  It was a blowout, which I feared, but we were about to cover anyway when OK State got flagged for a crackback block at the TT 2 yard line as they were about to get the covering 6!  The resulting 15 yard penalty killed the drive, no more scoring, we lose.  DAMN!

**** Tennessee @ Arkansas -15WIN

Arkansas wins 49-7.

How sweet it is! This one started a little timidly, then...BAM!  A good win for us.

Sadly, the parlay failed @ 26:1.  I should have picked those last three on the star wagers.

• Rice @ Northwestern OVER 67 1/2 LOSE Who'd a thunk? NU pitches a shutout into the 4th quarter en route to a 28-6 victory that blew up the parlay.
• Nebraska -3 1/2 @ Penn State  LOSE 17-14 the final.  Great handicapping.
• Kent State -5 @ the ZipsWIN  Kent State 35, Zips 3
• Wyoming +16 1/2 @ Air Force  WIN Wyoming wins straight up, 25-17
• TCU +16 @ Boise StateWIN TCU wins straight up, 36-35

In order to address my sadness with losing the parlay, I picked another one using the later games, this time 6 layers deep, that offered a sweet 43:1.  The first four propositions fell in line, one after another, leaving me grinning foolishly and waiting, needing only Alabama and LSU, last week's marquee match up teams, to cover their spreads.  Inhale, big smile, and...neither covered, just another trip down the boulevard of broken dreams. 

• Football - NCAA - Rutgers vs. Army - Rutgers
• Football - NCAA - Wisconsin vs. Minnesota - Minnesota
• Football - NCAA - UAB vs. Memphis - UAB
• Football - NCAA - Florida Atlantic vs. FIU - FIU
• Football - NCAA - Western Kentucky vs. LSU - LSU
• Football - NCAA - Alabama vs. Mississipi State - Alabama

So, like alchohol free beer, we got all the gas and none of the giggles.  We will be back and hit one of these, and we will rule the world!!!    Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.

Finally...here's the answer to the question that's been nagging me (what is the song on the new Toyota Prius V commercial?)

Load 'Em Up, Week 11...11/11/11

I'm still muttering about forgetting to plunk down a few scheckels on Houston last night.  To no avail, the muttering, but it is strangely comforting.  In reverse order, we go.

* USF -3 @ Syracuse
Friday 7:00 p.m.
The Bulls haven't acquitted themselves all that well, record wise, since their opening weekend win in South Bend.  They're 4-4 overall, 2-5 ATS, 0-5 ATS on the road. So why pick them now? The last 3 weeks they lost by 3 to Rutgers, 3 to Cincinnatti and 6 to Connecticut.  Good competition, all.  Syracuse has lost their last two, on the road, to Connecticut by 7 and to underwhelming Louisville by 17.  The danger of a southern team coming up north and freezing their baguettes off is rendered null thanks to the Carrier Dome which also offers a fast surface to play to USF's speed.  Skip Holtz needs a "W".
** Texas -1  1/2 @ Missouri
Saturday 11:00 a.m
Texas is 6-2, coming off a nice win (that cost us) last week, 52-20 over Texas Tech.  Missouri beat Baylor by 3 last week and won by a touchdown over Texas A&M the week before.  Mack Brown's boys should bring it home this week.
*** Oklahoma Sate @ Texas Tech OVER 77 1/2
Saturday 11:00 a.m.
They both like to put up points and they both have a tendency to give up points.  Both strong, strong teams.  The danger is that the game gets one sided.  If not, it's going to be an entertaining offensive circus. 
**** Tennessee @ Arkansas -15
Saturday 2:30 p.m.
Arkansas is 8-1, Tennessee is 4-5.  Reviewing Tennessee's record shows they beat the bad teams and get beaten by the good teams.  Arkansas made us crazy earlier in the year with blown covers, but it's time for them to pay us. 

Finally, the parlay this week pays 26:1

• Rice @ Northwestern OVER 67 1/2
• Nebraska -3 1/2 @ Penn State
• Kent State -5 @ the Zips
• Wyoming +16 1/2 @ Air Force
• TCU +16 @ Boise State

Veterans Day Salute

Happy Veterans Day, Two Gun!  We will follow the usual party schedule for alumni:  a roll of quarters and new deck of cards, live it up.

It's been a busy week and my computer is still awaiting repair.  As a result, last night's four star wager was never made.  Houston was -34, and they thumped Tulane 73-17. 

Bah!

Back to work tonight for the weekend.

The Morning After

During the Q&A following the dismissal announcement yesterday evening, at least one reporter was incredibly strident in his demands to know about the justification of  the university board of directors in reaching their unanimous decision to terminate Joe Paterno as football coach. 

News reports this morning talk about "rioting" by students on the PSU campus and show an overturned television transmission truck.

The morning sportstalkers are again picking on PSU alum/TV personality Matt Millen.

You can google the grand jury report on Jerry Sandusky if you're interested.  It's a detailed list of depraved behavior;  more accurately: allegations of such. As the storm has gained power, Sandusky has remained silent and out of sight.

The reporter last night was angry because he perceived that the iconic football coach wasn't treated with appropriate deference by his employer.  Students threw a tantrum because of the same.  An old football player is grieving publicly about the alma mater.  

The sexual predator who started this has gone underground.

As have you, I have been watching this story unfold, watching as the crime has become less the story than the cover up, though I use cover up very imprecisely, as we don't know with certainty that it was a cover up or criminal neglect or somewhere in between.  Everywhere, people are outraged, though in reading and listening I am seeing their outrage vacillating between the crime, the coverup, and the response of those in charge. 

A sexual predator exploited his notoriety from the football program and defiled children.  The people responsible for his employment didn't respond appropriately.  The story came to light and they've all been sacked, including one who was a treasured national icon.  The result is great anger on multiple issues.

The anger has a common grounding point.  The grounding point is an old man who's been painted for many years as representative of what can be good about big time college sports. All of us who follow these games and who channel some vicarious thrills from the games have had our fantasy deflated by the revelations and the actions of the past week at Penn State University.  An ugly part of the real world overtook our storybook world and the acclaimed old warrior who is one of its heroes.  People have responded in different ways, like the angry reporter at the press conference challenging the university board of directors, like the kids who ran around the PSU campus in the night venting their unhappiness, and like the media celebrity who felt compelled to offer up his muddled thoughts for everyone to share.

There will be more revelations, and more public outcry and grief, most to no purpose.  The victims of the assaults will eventually be offered help, though the tragedy cannot be undone.  The men who responded inadequately will live out their days with the taint of the scandal always upon them.  The name of the university will not be mentioned for a generation without invoking thoughts of these repulsive events, a stain upon countless people who identify themselves in some way with the school.

The stories will drop from the front page soon; they inevitably do so as the next nugget of news demands headlines.   The games will go on.  The more than 400,000 living graduates of PSU will get on with their lives.

Good-bye, Joe. 

More Information

Penn State fired its president and it's football coach a few minutes ago. I was about halfway through reading the grand jury report when the press conference began, the press conference at which the dismissals were announced.

President Spanier and Coach Paterno were dismissed for failure to act, or for failing to take sufficient action. The report contains graphic and specific details of acts of depravity undertaken by Jerry Sandusky.

A grand jury report is not a criminal conviction.

The action taken by the Penn State University Board of Trustees was unanimous.

The information in the grand jury report is stunning.

So was the failure by all concerned to take action when these acts of depravity took place.

It is a sad time for everyone touched by this.

Terse

I have listened for several days now to the unfolding story of scandal that is eminating from Penn State.  My observations (and I invite you to share yours):

• everything is still an allegation
• "if" is a big word, as in "if proven guilty"
• Joe Paterno is not the central figure in this terrible story
• Joe Paterno cannot escape this terrible story
• if Sandusky did these things of which he has been accused, he is devoid of moral compass and deserving of the worst of punishment
• the administrators who appear to have let it all meander along, they got a lot of 'splainin' to do, Lucy
• if these things happened, children have been harmed in the most reprehensible of ways unimaginable
• the print media has been much more restrained in reporting on and opining upon this story than has the electronic media
• "restrained" and "responsible" are interchangeable in this case

As the facts emerge, we will all feel worse about this.

Just another reason to...

You know the rest. If not, after you click to this story, you surely will.

Positive Week and Go 'Cats

Good news : the 4 and 3 plays worked out just fine, as Two Gun's Arkansas State Red Wolves dispatched FAU 39-21 on a 17 point spread, and Stanford won 38-13 to cover the -21 for 3 stars.

San Diego State couldn't push across that last TD to cover against my favorite dog, the New Mexico Lobos.  The final was 35-7, the spread was 34 1/2, so we fail to convert there.

Texas and Texas Tech, ugh.  I thought TT would bring game, they brought shame.  Final was 52-20, not even in the same barnyard with the +14 we had on TT.

I paired Northwestern and Pitt in a small parlay and cashed that one, woo-hoo to the 'Cats for their big win at Nebraska.   I also played a rambling 10 team parlay that held a payoff of over 500:1. 

Since I have reported to work today, you may safely assume that I missed.

Week X, continued

Nothing but choices.

*** Stanford -21 @ Oregon State
They're 8-0, they appear highly focused, and they have Andrew Luck. Sounds like a winner.

** New Mexico @ San Diego State -34 1/2
NM hasn't disappointed us yet.

* Texas Tech +14 @ Texas
Bet against the Horns at home? This is the week.

Week X

The biggest contest of the weekend is Alabama v LSU. I'm thinking LSU.

Then I'm thinking Alabama.

Then back to LSU. You get the picture.  On to the money ball.

BTW, it's an unformatted presentation today because my computer is being repaired and formatting using Ipad is either

• too difficult,
• beyond my Ipad skill level, or
• hopeless because the blogger framework doesn't like Ipad.
• all of the above

In any case, today's formatting flavor is vanilla.

BTW, in my spiritual haze over the weekend, I failed to correctly subtract 48 from 56. I am saying that Stanford did indeed cover and we had another winner. I'll fix the scoreboard later, because of the iPad and blogger software inability to coexist.

**** Arkansas State -17 @ Florida Atlantic
Arkansas State is 6-2 and just paid on last week's ****. I'm going back to them this week against Coach Howard's hapless squad. FAU is 0-7 and their new stadium has been no salvation, attractive as is. Red Wolves to cover.

More to come Friday night.