Caught Looking Ahead - Week 3
There weren’t any nail biters for us to really enjoy last weekend in college football. In fact, the only game that had any major national interest last Saturday that went down to the wire was Michigan’s 28-24 win as a 3 ½-point road pup against the Fighting Irish.
My first pick for a hangover play this week would have been the Hurricanes, but they take the week off before heading out to Pittsburgh. Don’t worry about that letdown spot not being here for us this week as there are plenty of games where teams are looking ahead to their next opponent.
Bearcat Concentration…
The Butch Jones era started on a down note for Cincinnati after losing 28-14 at Fresno State. And while the Bearcats are coming into their battle with North Carolina State as 1 ½-point road pups, their minds might be elsewhere. That tends to happen when you know you’re playing host to the Sooners the following weekend.
This might not be such a big deal for Zach Collaros under center as he’s looked good throwing the ball with a 60.3 completion percentage with 349 yards and three touchdowns. Cincy’s offensive line, on the other hand, could very well find themselves thinking of Oklahoma’s big, bad d-line.
The Bearcats have been just plain awful in the offensive trenches in 2010. How bad has it been? Cincy’s o-line has allowed Collaros to get sacked 10 times this season. This was a unit that gave up 15 sacks in all of 2009. The Wolfpack only had two sacks last weekend against Central Florida with a suspect defensive line. Yet they forced the Knights into throwing three interceptions.
As far as gamblers should care, Cincinnati is 3-15 straight up and 10-8 against the spread when posted as a road underdog since 1996. However, the ‘Cats are 0-7 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games in this role.
Slow on the Mountain…
West Virginia was flat out lucky to come back last week to pick up a 24-21 overtime road win over the Thundering Herd. Now gamblers have to debate on whether to take the Mountaineers as 10-point home favorites against border rival Maryland.
This isn’t a tough game for the Mountaineers as they’ve won and covered the spread in their last three games against the Terps. But West Virginia does have bigger fish to fry in its Sept. 28 trip to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers of the SEC.
So why could this be a bad game for Bill Stewart’s crew? Well, the ‘Neers were ugly on offense against Marshall last weekend. They found themselves turning the ball over on downs in the first quarter when they had a certain field goal to go up 6-0. Instead, they were down 7-3 to the Herd. The Mountaineers had three turnovers in total that were either due to turnovers or fumbles and they were lucky that Marshall only turned it into seven points.
Plus, the Mountaineers are just 3-2 SU as home faves against the ACC. Gamblers have been wise to fade West Virginia in those games since they were 1-4 ATS.
Pining for Smurf Turf…
It’s not every day that two teams have a date circled to meet up in Boise, but Oregon State and the Broncos have done just that for Sept. 25. Both teams also are double-digit favorites this weekend.
The Beavers welcome Louisville to town as 19 ½-point home favorites this weekend. They haven’t played since their 30-21 loss to TCU at Cowboys Stadium to open the season. While that was a quality effort, Oregon State let the Horned Frogs convert 11 of their 17 third downs. If the Cardinals can even do half as good in moving the chains, they could keep themselves within two scores.
As far as Boise State is concerned, they’ve played more in the media in the last week off because the Hokies lost to James Madison. The Broncs did need a late Kellen Moore touchdown to win 33-30 over Virginia Tech. But will that really matter for the Broncos as 23 ½-point road favorites against Wyoming?
The Cowboys may have lost 34-7 at Texas last weekend, but they played them very tough. Plus, Austyn Carta-Samuels can keep opposing defenses honest with his arm and ability to get out of the pocket to run up the field.
Now I know that there are going to be a lot of people that will say that the Broncos will cover easily. Yet Boise State has gone just 3-3 SU and 0-6 ATS when listed as a road pup after a bye week during the regular season going back to 1998. Don’t be shocked if Wyoming covers the large number in this spot.
There weren’t any nail biters for us to really enjoy last weekend in college football. In fact, the only game that had any major national interest last Saturday that went down to the wire was Michigan’s 28-24 win as a 3 ½-point road pup against the Fighting Irish.
My first pick for a hangover play this week would have been the Hurricanes, but they take the week off before heading out to Pittsburgh. Don’t worry about that letdown spot not being here for us this week as there are plenty of games where teams are looking ahead to their next opponent.
Bearcat Concentration…
The Butch Jones era started on a down note for Cincinnati after losing 28-14 at Fresno State. And while the Bearcats are coming into their battle with North Carolina State as 1 ½-point road pups, their minds might be elsewhere. That tends to happen when you know you’re playing host to the Sooners the following weekend.
This might not be such a big deal for Zach Collaros under center as he’s looked good throwing the ball with a 60.3 completion percentage with 349 yards and three touchdowns. Cincy’s offensive line, on the other hand, could very well find themselves thinking of Oklahoma’s big, bad d-line.
The Bearcats have been just plain awful in the offensive trenches in 2010. How bad has it been? Cincy’s o-line has allowed Collaros to get sacked 10 times this season. This was a unit that gave up 15 sacks in all of 2009. The Wolfpack only had two sacks last weekend against Central Florida with a suspect defensive line. Yet they forced the Knights into throwing three interceptions.
As far as gamblers should care, Cincinnati is 3-15 straight up and 10-8 against the spread when posted as a road underdog since 1996. However, the ‘Cats are 0-7 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games in this role.
Slow on the Mountain…
West Virginia was flat out lucky to come back last week to pick up a 24-21 overtime road win over the Thundering Herd. Now gamblers have to debate on whether to take the Mountaineers as 10-point home favorites against border rival Maryland.
This isn’t a tough game for the Mountaineers as they’ve won and covered the spread in their last three games against the Terps. But West Virginia does have bigger fish to fry in its Sept. 28 trip to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers of the SEC.
So why could this be a bad game for Bill Stewart’s crew? Well, the ‘Neers were ugly on offense against Marshall last weekend. They found themselves turning the ball over on downs in the first quarter when they had a certain field goal to go up 6-0. Instead, they were down 7-3 to the Herd. The Mountaineers had three turnovers in total that were either due to turnovers or fumbles and they were lucky that Marshall only turned it into seven points.
Plus, the Mountaineers are just 3-2 SU as home faves against the ACC. Gamblers have been wise to fade West Virginia in those games since they were 1-4 ATS.
Pining for Smurf Turf…
It’s not every day that two teams have a date circled to meet up in Boise, but Oregon State and the Broncos have done just that for Sept. 25. Both teams also are double-digit favorites this weekend.
The Beavers welcome Louisville to town as 19 ½-point home favorites this weekend. They haven’t played since their 30-21 loss to TCU at Cowboys Stadium to open the season. While that was a quality effort, Oregon State let the Horned Frogs convert 11 of their 17 third downs. If the Cardinals can even do half as good in moving the chains, they could keep themselves within two scores.
As far as Boise State is concerned, they’ve played more in the media in the last week off because the Hokies lost to James Madison. The Broncs did need a late Kellen Moore touchdown to win 33-30 over Virginia Tech. But will that really matter for the Broncos as 23 ½-point road favorites against Wyoming?
The Cowboys may have lost 34-7 at Texas last weekend, but they played them very tough. Plus, Austyn Carta-Samuels can keep opposing defenses honest with his arm and ability to get out of the pocket to run up the field.
Now I know that there are going to be a lot of people that will say that the Broncos will cover easily. Yet Boise State has gone just 3-3 SU and 0-6 ATS when listed as a road pup after a bye week during the regular season going back to 1998. Don’t be shocked if Wyoming covers the large number in this spot.
Comment