Good afternoon everyone. As I sit here typing today's blog entry, San Marcos, America is on precipice of one of its biggest weekends ever, especially for those of us who have any ties to Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State University, don't get me started...). Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. the Bobcats will host their first football game as an FBS school (formerly NCAA Division I, don't get me started...). My alma mater will be taking on the Texas Tech Red Raiders just one week removed from pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA football history. Entering last week's game at Houston against the Cougars, the Bobcats were about a 37-point underdog (depending on when you saw the line for the game). The final score was Texas State 30 Houston 13. From the sources that I have been reading, only Stanford's upset of USC (I believe in 2007), when Stanford was about a 39-point underdog, is the only upset that anyone can remember that trumps that of the Bobcats last Saturday. You have to keep in mind that last Saturday's game was at Houston, that the Cougars went 11-1 last year, and that it was my alma mater's first football contest at the FBS level.
Fast forward to this weekend, and the famed 'Square' that I mention with regularity in my blog posts will be hosting a rally from 3:00 p.m. today until 2:00 a.m. to kick off the festivities for the weekend. Along with membership as an FBS football member came a stadium expansion to 30,000 - tomorrow night's game has been sold out for quite some time, and I've been told that every hotel room in town is booked for the weekend. Things ought to be very interesting around town for the next few days... Last season in a matchup of these 2 teams in Lubbock, Texas Tech beat Texas State 50-10, but the Bobcats held a 10-9 lead at halftime... Eat 'Em Up, Cats!!!
The Red Raiders are currently 18 1/2 to 19-point favorites depending on which line you look at (for those of you interested in sports betting). Coincidentally, the one winning ticket that I have so far from Las Vegas is a five-team parlay in which the Bobcats were one of my choices... ;) Speaking of sports betting, let's get to my picks for this week. Let me state right here that the lines that I am going to list for the NFL games below are lines that I got while I was in Las Vegas, and most of them have changed. One that has changed dramatically (if you will) is the line on the Texans/Dolphins game. When I arrived in the valley, Houston was a 7-point favorite, but now that line has moved to 12! I got it when it was at 10, and I'll stick with it. The Patriots line against the Titans has gotten worse for me, which I don't understand at all. I got it at - 6 1/2, and now it's - 5 1/2. Anyway, below are the 5 NFL bets that I had already made, and the 5 college games which I am choosing for this weekend.
Houston (- 10) over the Dolphins
New England (- 5 1/2) over the Titans
Buffalo/New York Jets (under 40 1/2)
Pittsburgh/Denver (under 44) - Go Steelers!!!
Baltimore (- 6) over the Bengals
Ohio State (- 18) over Central Florida
USC (- 26) over Syracuse
Nevada (- 1) over South Florida
Oklahoma State (- 10 1/2) over Arizona
Oklahoma State/Arizona (under 70)
I hope that is enough to whet your appetite before the first full slate of NFL games
The Titans line move makes perfect sense. Sharp money coming in on Titans, public money on Pats. 84% of bets on Pats but line moves the other way. Playing against the public is a 55% winner - I'll take the Titans :)
ReplyDeleteAs well as my college picks did yesterday, the Titans should win by 50... :) Actually, unless Brady gets knocked out of the game, I'm interested to see how the Titans cover all of those receivers..
ReplyDeleteI lost vig yesterday. Went 2-2. Today I will be a definite winner or loser. Betting 5 games to prevent that 2-2 crap ;)
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