Jack Jones
25* South Carolina -2.5
15* Purdue -3
15* Tennessee -2.5
Cowtown Sports
3* S. Carolina -2.5
3* North Carolina St. -2
3* Michigan St. -1
Bob Balfe
Penn State +1.5
For starters, the Spartans are not as good as most 10-1 football teams. This squad has been on the right side of almost every lucky play and are a good team, but not a great team. Penn State plays great at home and Joe Paterno simply knows how to beat Michigan State, as he has dominated them in the last few years. The Penn State defense is very big and physical and things are starting to gel on offense. Joe Pa says he is coming back next year, but you never know. His players will want to send him out a winner in what could be his final home game. Take Penn State.
Billy Coleman
4* Rice +3
4* Cal -7
3* Fla +2
3* Tenn -2.5
3* BYU +8
3* USC -4
4* Memphis Under 194
3* Miami +2.5
3* Phil -2
3* Indiana St -4.5
Ben Burns
10* California -7
10* North Texas +14
9* Duke Over
10* St Louis Blues
9* Ottawa
Al DeMarco
North Carolina St
Arkansas
Oklahoma St
Steve Corsi
50* Central Florida -26
50* LSU/Arkansas Over 54.5
40* Utah -8
40* Idaho/Fresno St Over 60
40* Georgia Tech +14
Triple Threat Sports
7* GOY Tennessee
John Fina
5 Units Arkansas -3
2.5 Units Virginia +23.5
2.5 Units Syracuse -3.5
2.5 Units Kentucky +3.5
Lenny Stevens
20* Purdue
20* Oklahoma St
10* Mississippi
10* Michigan St
Jeff Benton
25 Dime Washington
10 Dime Ohio State
WASHINGTON
How in the world can anyone trust Cal to win, let alone cover a 7-point spread, today? I sure as hell don’t. To refresh your memory, two weeks ago the Bears came within a whisker of upsetting second-ranked Oregon in Berkeley, but came up short 15-13. Then last week, hosting arch rival Stanford in The Big Game, the Bears didn’t even bother to show up, losing 48-14 as a 6½-point home underdog. (As you know, I cashed a huge 40 Dime winner on Stanford in that one!)
So my question is: If Cal is going to lay a big fat egg like that against its most bitter rival, how can you expect the Bears to bring any kind of effort to the field against Washington today? Heck, just look at Cal’s last four games: Yes, it gave Oregon a fight, but the Bears still got outgained 317-193 in that contest, then got out-yarded 467-299 against Stanford last week (with the bulk of Cal’s yards coming in garbage time when they were down 45-0!).
Prior to those two contests, the Bears barely got past god-awful Washington State (20-13 as a 14½-point road favorite) and got drilled 35-7 at Oregon State (getting outgained 392-206).
One of Cal’s biggest problems? It doesn’t have a reliable leader on offense. Since taking over for the injured Kevin Riley, Cal sophomore QB Brock Mansion has not inspired confidence. He’s completing just 48.2 percent of his throws for 551 yards, two TDs and four INTs, with a pathetic 4.8-yard-per-pass-attempt average.
Yeah, I know, Washington – whose 4-6 record is worse than Cal’s 5-6 mark – hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations this year, either. But unlike Cal, the Huskies haven’t quit on the season. After getting wiped out in three straight losses to Arizona (44-14), Stanford (41-0) and Oregon (53-16) – all without star QB Jake Locker – Washington could’ve thrown in the towel. Instead, it showed up in a big way last Friday, pummeling UCLA 24-7 as a 2½-point home favorite.
And don’t forget this is the same Huskies team that scored one-point wins over Oregon State (home) and USC (road) – the same two teams that trashed Cal by a combined score of 83-21!
Washington has covered the spread in three of the last four meetings with the Bears, including last year’s 42-10 rout as a 6½-point home underdog! Now, do I foresee another 32-point win for the Huskies today? Uh, no. But as depressed as Cal has to be after seeing it season go down the tubes the last two weeks, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Washington get the outright upset. Either way, the Huskies will at least cover this pointspread.
After all, while Cal needs a win today to become bowl-eligible (and I seriously question whether the Bears even want to be involved in some lower-tier bowl game anyway), Washington already knows it can’t qualify for postseason, meaning this is the Huskies’ bowl game. And they’ll play with bowl-like passion and intensity. Don’t expect much of that from the home team.
OHIO STATE
This year’s Ohio State-Michigan battle comes down to one word: Defense. One team plays it as well as any team in the country; the other team treats it like a disease. Ohio State has given up a total of 41 points in its last four games, has held eight of 11 opponents to 17 points or less, and if you eliminate special teams touchdowns, the Buckeyes’ D hasn’t surrendered more than 24 points in a game all season. Overall, Ohio State ranks in the top five nationally in scoring defense (13.9 ppg, 5th), total defense (241.1 ypg, 3rd), rushing defense (86 ypg, 3rd) and passing defense (155.1 ypg, 5th).
Michigan is coming off a 48-28 home loss to Wisconsin, meaning it has now surrendered 35 points or more in seven of its last nine games, including six of seven against Big 10 foes. In fact, within the conference, the Wolverines are allowing 39.6 ppg, and among 120 Division I-A teams, they’re 98th in scoring defense (33.5 ppg), 112th in total defense (445.6 ypg) and 111th in passing defense (263.9 ypg), and they’re also surrendering 181.3 rushing ypg.
Ohio State is riding a six-game winning streak against the Wolverines (5-1 ATS), including 42-7 rout the last time Michigan trekked to Columbus. Additionally, the Wolverines have failed to cash in 25 of their last 35 games overall, 22 of their last 26 Big Ten games (0-7 ATS in league play this year) and 11 of their last 12 November games. On the flip side, the Buckeyes are on pointspread surges of 47-20-1 overall, 37-14-1 in the Big Ten, 13-3 at home, 11-1 as a home favorite, 10-1 as a double-digit home chalk and 7-1-1 in November.
Mismatch city here, boys. Lay the big price and watch Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes’ offense – which has put up 42, 42 and 37 points in the last three home meetings with Michigan and is averaging 46 ppg at home this season – run all over the Wolverines’ crappy defense all day long.
Kelso
200 Units Central Florida -6
Power Play Wins
Tennessee -2.5
Nick Bogdanovich
Connecticut -2.5
Oklahoma +3
Bob Balfe
Tennessee -3
Penn St +1
LSU +3.5
Dayton +1