May 7, 2026

PAC 10 is Now Open for a New King!

August 31, 2009 by

Extra! Extra! USC doesn’t win the Pac 10 this year.

The USC Trojans are once again the big favorite to win the Pac 10 and hold claim to an eighth consecutive league title. There have been a few close calls, but all in all USC has pretty much been the big bully of the PAC 10. Even with new coordinators and a freshman QB leading the team it seems almost every credible media head likes USC to bring it home.

Not so fast my friend!

Finally a rough schedule, freshman QB, suspect D and their top receiver on the shelf for the first 6-8 weeks means they are due for rebuilding, but not a whole lot of it.

Oregon and California enter this season of flux as the two primary candidates to take down the mighty Trojans. Cal has loads of talent and arguably the best running back in the nation in Jahvid Best. Jeff Tedford is an outstanding coach and if he can coach up quarterback Kevin Riley this could be the Bears year. The Ducks have a new head coach in Chip Kelly, but he was the offensive coordinator last year for Oregon and one of the most potent offenses in the nation. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is very special and if the retooled offensive line can gel then the Ducks could even be more explosive than last year.

Things drop off a bit after the big three, but there are still some programs to keep an eye on this season. Oregon State led by head coach Mike Riley consistently has a tough defense and Jacquizz and James Rogers is a powerful combo in the backfield. Arizona started to turn things around finally last year and will look to take another step ahead with this year’s squad. Rick Neuheisel brings legitimacy back to UCLA and if he can only find some offense the Bruins should do well with All-American candidates Alterraun Verner, Brian Price, and Reggie Carter on the defensive side of the ball. The Stanford Cardinal has been improving during the two years under Jim Harbaugh and they have aspirations of going bowling this year for the first time in EIGHT years. Arizona State is on the decline and probably won’t be much of a force in the overall scheme of things this year.

Washington State and Washington appear to be the two basement teams this year, but look for the Huskies to improve on their 0-12 season from last year. Quarterback Jake Locker is back and former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is now the head coach for Washington.

Below is a short list of players to keep your eyes on this year in the PAC 10.
FS Taylor Mays, Sr. USC
RB Jahvid Best, Jr. Cal
DT Brian Price, Jr. UCLA
RB LeGarrette Blount, Sr. Oregon
TE Rob Gronkowski, Jr. Arizona
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, Soph. Oregon St
QB Jeremiah Masoli, Jr. Oregon
DE Dexter Davis, Sr. Arizona State
CB Alterraun Verner, Sr. UCLA
QB Jake Locker, Jr. Washington
RB Tony Gerhart, Sr. Stanford
CB Walter Thurmond, Sr. Oregon

Surprise Team

Stanford – Jim Harbaugh has lifted this team to new heights during his first two years as head coach of the Cardinal. Stanford will make a bowl game this year after looking like it had a chance last year until fading over the last month of the season. Recruiting is dramatically improved and Stanford seems ready to make some noise again in the PAC 10.

Disappointing Team

USC – Too many new faces on the field and on the sidelines makes this USC team just a good team, but not a great team. Look for a 9-3 season which for most programs is fantastic, but in SoCal it is below par without a doubt. Oh and a loss to UCLA and Notre Dame will happen this year.

Game of the Year

Boise State at Oregon. What a way to start the college football season. This game on the opening night of the season is huge for both programs. Whoever wins this game grabs an upper hand in either of their BCS chances and its only week 1! If Boise wins they may run the table due to the lack of strength overall in the WAC. If Oregon wins they are Top 10 in the polls the next week with tons of confidence as well.
jBest

Bottom Line – The Pac 10 is coming off a 5-0 bowl season and is slowly getting some respect as a conference to be held in the top 3-5 BCS conferences in college football. Considering the sputtering of the Big 10 and Big East that is a safe assumption to make. So who will be the team to take down USC this year? Cal finally breaks through this year in the PAC 10. The best running back in the country with a Tedford led offense that always scores points in conjunction with a strong defense lends itself to a 10-2 record at worst. This time they won’t lose to a 1-8 team at home when they have an opportunity to claim a Top 3 spot in the polls like they did 3 years ago against Oregon State.

After opening up at home against Maryland, with an axe to grind for their loss last year, they play Eastern Washington at home and then travel to Minnesota before their PAC 10 opener at Oregon. Cal has USC on Homecoming Oct 3rd a week after they play at Oregon so they can take control of the conference before they take a week off after USC before heading to UCLA.

The PAC 10 has USC, Oregon, an improved Oregon State, 2nd year Neuheisel/Chow combo at UCLA, a resurgent Stanford all waiting for their chance to shine this year. Rest assured they will, but with a huge bull’s eye on USC, Cal will be the team with a favorable home schedule who will walk away with a Pac 10 crown and a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 51 years.

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Crack Kills

August 26, 2009 by

I don’t know what Lou Holtz or Beano Cook is smoking, but it must be some potent stuff. We mentioned yesterday that Lou Holtz had officially lost his marbles and now it seems Beano Cook has as well. Holtz and Cook are claiming that Notre Dame will be in the BCS Championship which to me is ludicrous at best.

holtz1 Lou isn’t saying that ND will be 1 of the 2 best college football teams in the country and Lou isn’t saying that if ND played anybody this year that they could and would beat anybody. What Lou is saying is that given the 2009 ND football schedule there is very little reason to expect fewer than 11 or 12 wins for the Irish. That is, of course, highly debatable and in the end I don’t see it happening, but Sweet Lou and Beano do!

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Lou Holtz Has Officially Lost His Marbles

August 25, 2009 by

Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz has made his prediction of who will make the BCS Championship game this year and it has turned some heads to say the least. The deranged ESPN analyst informed the Los Angeles Times the Florida Gators will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the title game. While selecting the Gators is going out on a limb about as far as predicting the sun will come up tomorrow the Irish prediction seems to be a maniacal bias more than anything else. Holtz has been so far up the Notre Dame football program’s a$$ in recent years he now has a permanent residence. We all understand Notre Dame has one of the most favorable schedules in the last few years for an Irish squad, but Aloha Bowl (which they didn’t deserve to make, but did because they are Notre Dame) to BCS title game in one year? In a separate prediction Holtz stated Elvis would sing the national anthem during the Navy/Notre Dame clash on November 7th. Have another sip of granny’s cough medicine Lou!

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The Wonderful World of College Football Wagering

August 21, 2009 by

Since college football is less than 2 weeks away it is time to discuss why many of us degenerates love the game so much.

As Fred Flintstone knows it is all about “bet.bbbb..bet”. fred_flintstone

Today I am going to give you the best and worst bets over the last 3 years which include the Win-Lose (teams who have an over .500 record but can’t cover), the Win-Win (teams who win and cover) and then the Lose-Win teams who have horrible records, but always seem to bring home the bacon.

Win-Lose

The SEC – yes can you believe it? The SEC is the conference in all of college football with the most teams in this category over the last 3 years.

LSU is 31-9 SU /15-20 ATS

Bama is 25-15SU/17-20 ATS

Georgia is 30-9 SU/17-16 ATS

Auburn is 25-13 SU/15-21 ATS

The Big East (West Va 31-8 SU/16-19 ATS) and ACC (Maryland 23-16 SU/15-21 ATS & Clemson 24-15 SU/ 16-20 ATS) are also players in this category, but the leader of this group comes from the WAC. Fresno State with all its, “I’ll play anyone anywhere”, bravado is 20-18 SU and a woeful 10-27 ATS.

260px-Gambler71

WIN-WIN

“They are who we thought they were!” USC, Oklahoma, Florida, Utah, TCU, Oregon and Ohio State are all covering at a 60%+ clip.

The Sleepers are:

South Florida 26-13 SU/ 20-16 ATS

Rice 20-18 SU/ 23-14 ATS

Troy 24-14 SU/ 23-14 ATS

San Jose St. 20-17 SU/21-13 ATS

Ball St 24-15 SU/23-12 ATS

Central Michigan 26-15 SU/25-13 ATS

And my personal favorite – Kansas 26-12 SU/24-11 ATS.

One thing to remember is that Kansas, South Florida, and Central Michigan have had the same QB for 3 years and they are all coming back for 2009-10 season.

Lose-Win

This is a great category. Any of you who like to bet money lines or parlays here are the teams who either kill ya or make your weekend.

Lets start with the obvious – Duke is 5-31 SU/ 17-17 ATS and temple 10-26 SU/ 20-14 ATS. A combined 15 wins over the last 3 years but a whopping 37 covers so maybe its time to take a second look at those 38 1/2 spreads.

Buffalo 15-23 SU/23-14 ATS

Mississippi 16-21 SU/ 20-12 ATS

NC St 14-23 SU/ 17-16 ATS

And then my personal and dearly beloved team – UCLA 17-21 SU/24-13 ATS. This is the team I can not wager on due to my already intense passion for them so unfortunately I have not been able to drown my game loss sorrows with a cover.

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Poor Charleston Southern

August 19, 2009 by

Danny Sheridan of USA Today has made Charleston Southern a 73-POINT underdog against the mighty Florida Gators in the first week of the pending college football season. The staggering line is believed to be the biggest point spread in college football history. Vegas doesn’t normally post lines for FBS (1-A) versus FCS (1-AA) schools because the teams just aren’t on level playing fields. FBS schools are able to keep 85 players on scholarship while FCS teams are only able to have 63 scholarship players. Yet it is a common theme for FBS teams to include one of these games on their schedule so they can embarrass the weaker teams.

Since the NCAA created the separate divisions a little over 30 years ago there have only been five FBS that haven’t played a FCS opponent. These reputable teams are UCLA, USC, Washington, Notre Dame and Michigan State. That being Michigan State will no longer be on this list after the first week of this season after their home game against Montana State. I can only hope the other four hold strong because I respect them and others should as well.

Florida is the king of scheduling early creampuff games and shows no shame in doing so because they aren’t penalized in the end. Not only do they schedule early creampuffs they cater their entire nonconference schedule to their favor in egregious fashion. The Gators haven’t played an out-of-state regular season nonconference game since 1991 and it has even been longer since they last played a regular season game west of the Mississippi considering they haven’t done so since 1983. Charleston Southern, Florida International, Citadel, Florida Atlantic, Western Kentucky, Western Carolina, Middle Tennessee State, Eastern Michigan and Florida A&M are some recent examples of the cupcake competitors the Gators chose to chomp.

In the end this is the state of college football and I’m not going to lose sleep over it because it isn’t going to change. Now, on to more in important things and something we can control. Who is going to take the Charleston Southern Buccaneers +73?

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Paulus Is a Quarterback

August 18, 2009 by

Many of you have already heard that Syracuse University’s new head football coach Doug Marrone announced late Monday night that former Duke point guard Greg Paulus will begin his “one and done” season at Syracuse as it’s starting quarterback.

Surprised??

You shouldn’t be. Really, this should come as no surprise to anyone.

I have to admit that I was not too fond of the idea when I first heard that Paulus was coming to Syracuse. And I was not sure how I felt about him getting the starting job. I think that the ‘Cuse nation is about 60%-40% on the whole deal; most are taking a wait and see attitude. That’s what several years of dismal performances will do to a fan. (I think fans are more upset by the fact that Syracuse’s AD Daryl Gross has decided to ship off 3 of its marquee games to be played at the new Meadowlands, but more on that another time.)

But no one should be surprised.

After a day of quiet reflection on the golf course today, I am now a BIG fan of this move by Syracuse and the powers that be. Call it a pure publicity event if you want, but the fact is its working. Syracuse is all over every news outlet. It was even on CNN.

It has Big East coach’s spewing out bulletin board material left and right.

– BE coach on Paulus: “Won’t be easy for him to read zones and pick up blitzes.”
– BE coach on Paulus: “Wonder how much fans in the seats have to do with this.”
– BE coach on Paulus: “I wish we were opening with Syracuse.”

This is a storied program that not more than 4 months ago needed some major upsets to even get a mention in the Podunk Times. Now Syracuse is getting play everywhere you turn.

Depending on what the team and the staff actually do with it is yet to be seen. This could turn out to be the story of the season. It won’t take long to find out as Syracuse takes on Minnesota, #8 Penn State and Northwestern in its first three games.

But at least for now Syracuse is in the spotlight and recruits all over the country are seeing it. That can’t be bad for business, especially when you are in the business of rebuilding a program.

Oh yea, and let’s not forget.

That 5th year graduate student that just took over the starting quarterback position at Syracuse… 4 years ago he could have played for Notre Dame, Miami or a host of other schools that he could have picked from. Instead he decided to play basketball for one of the premier programs run by one of the premier coaches in America.

It’s not like he’s been sitting on a porch belching for the last four years.

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The Fatttest Football Coaches

August 18, 2009 by

The top ten list of the largest most rotund coaches past or present from the NFL and college.

Number 10 Butterball – Mike Holmgren

Mike Holmgren

Number 9 Blimp – Phil Fulmer

Phil Fulmer

Number 8 Potbelly – Art Shell

Art Shell

Number 7 Chunk – Bill Parcells

Bill Parcells

Number 6 Plump – Romeo Crennel

Romeo Crennel

Number 5 Lard – Andy Reid

Andy Reid

Number 4 Gargantuan – Charlie Weis

Charlie Weis

Number 3 Roly-poly – Tom Amstutz

Ralph Friedgen

Number 2 Jabba the Hut – Ralph Friedgen

Ralph Friedgen

Number 1 Whale – Mark Mangino

Mark Mangino

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ACC is Now a Football Conference

August 14, 2009 by

Surprise Team

Maryland – The ‘08 season started out with the Terps losing to Delaware, but then 2 weeks later defeating Cal. This team was a Jekyll and Hyde winning games they shouldn’t have and losing those they were supposed to win. 2009 promises big time talent due to the recruiting of Ralph Friedgen and friends. Also, Maryland is returning on offense a sophomore playmaker in receiver Torrey Smith who will be taking over for the #7 pick in the NFL Draft Darrius Heyward-Bey. Smith is not as fast, but a more complete receiver overall. Junior running back Da’Rel Scott is back and the 2nd leading ACC rusher has his sights set on back to back first team All ACC. On the defensive side of the ball the new coordinator Don Brown will scheme a ton of blitzes using linebackers Adrian Moten and Demetrius Hartsfield. Maryland’s schedule is pretty easy once they go to Cal for the opening weekend and try to stop the best running back in the nation Jhavid Best. Next comes James Madison, Middle Tennessee State, Rutgers and Clemson all at home before playing at suspect Wake Forest then home against Virginia in a payback game and then to Duke. Could it be that Maryland will be 8-0 when they visit the ACC Sleeper NC State on November 7th?
acc

Disappointing Team

Virginia Tech – Very tough schedule as usual and the loss of Orange Bowl MVP running back Darren Evans is a death blow. Evans was the only running back that had any real game experience so they will have to lean on their defense even more than usual.

Game of the Year

Virginia Tech vs. Alabama in Atlanta. The Chick-fil-A College Kickoff opener isn’t just about Virginia Tech getting off to a good start to their season. The reputation of the ACC to an extent is involved with the outcome of this game. If Virginia Tech could somehow pull off the upset then the ACC would have a top five team and a nice win over a very good SEC team. The ACC can’t afford to have another embarrassing loss like Clemson suffered in this same game last year against Alabama or the blowout Georgia Tech suffered to LSU in the Peach Bowl.

Wagering history

Maryland is 7-4 SU but 1-7 ATS first month of the season last 3 seasons
V Tech last 3 seasons 9-1 SU & ATS on the road against non conf
Miami is on an 11-3 SU & 10-2 ATS run on road when total is 45-49
NC St is on an 11-3 ATS run vs. winning teams

Prediction

Don’t give the BCS berth just yet to Virginia Tech even though most of the media are predicting them to win. Georgia Tech and their wishbone offense is will be much better this year and coach Paul Johnson is a winner. Miami and Florida State are definitely not back to their former powerhouse programs and even though UNC is on the rise they aren’t a top 25 team in the end. So who will win the ACC this year? I am going with NC State and this isn’t a biased selection. That’s right, eight home games and two early tough non-conference foes in South Carolina and Pitt will prepare the Pack for ACC play. The Pack only have four away games and they don’t even start until October 3rd when they drive ninety miles to face a weak Wake Forest team and then back home against Duke. NC State can potentially be 6-0 when they travel to play BC with a new coach and system before they get a week off before heading to Florida St. They do have to play at Virginia Tech in late November which will be very tough to win, but in the end they will make the Championship game.

Russell Wilson an All ACC quarterback is back with another year under his belt and a slew of returning players on both sides so I can see 9-3 record and an ACC BCS crown!

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Is the Big East Underrated?

August 11, 2009 by

The Big East went through a tough season last year to say the least, but let’s not forget this conference won consecutive BCS games the three previous years. The glaring issue right now is West Virginia isn’t the annual national title contender they were for so many years under Rich Rodriguez and no other Big East team seems ready to step up. That being said, almost every team in the conference this year truly feels they have a chance to win the Big East and cash in on the large BCS payout.

Cincinnati would love to repeat as champions, but they lost a crippling 10 defensive starters from last year’s Orange Bowl team. Quarterback Tony Pike leads a high profile offense under head coach Brian Kelly, but I’m not so sure they can recover from their defensive issues. Rutgers has had great success under coach Schiano in recent years even if they haven’t made the most impressive bowl games. Rutgers has a workable schedule with Pittsburgh, South Florida and West Virginia coming to town so keep an eye on the Scarlet Knights.

South Florida has made big strides in recent years and in 2009 might be the year they put it all together. Star quarterback Matt Grothe is in his senior year and the defense is quite talented as usual. UConn under Randy Edsall continues to focus on getting the best quality of player they can sign and then coach them up to a whole new level. Four players were drafted on the first of the NFL Draft last year which is very impressive for a school that just a few years ago stunk up the football field. Connecticut will still be solid on the defensive side of the ball and you can rest assured they will continue to focus on the rushing game.

Pittsburgh has been picked by many to win the Big East this year based on a fantastic defense along with a good special teams. The big question is how do the Panthers recover from the loss of RB LeSean McCoy in order to generate some semblance of an offense. If they can score a reasonable amount of points then they can win the Big East.

Syracuse and Louisville are the two teams who aren’t in contention this year. There isn’t really much more to say about either team other than the fact Syracuse has former Duke basketball point guard vying for the starting position at quarterback.

Below is a short list of players to keep your eyes on this year in the Big East

LB Reed Williams, Sr. West Virginia
DE George Selvie, Sr. South Florida
WR Mardy Gilyard, Sr. Cincinnati
DE Greg Romeus, Jr. Pittsburgh
QB Matt Grothe, Sr. South Florida
DT Arthur Jones, Sr. Syracuse
RB Noel Devine, Jr. West Virginia
LB Scott Lutrus, Jr. Connecticut
RB Victor Anderson, Soph. Louisville
LB Ryan D’Imperio, Sr. Rutgers

Suprise Team

South Florida – The Bulls have become a more prominent team in recent years, but this could be the one when they get over the hump. A lot of the pressure will ride on the arm and legs of Matt Grothe because you can count on their defense being solid.

Disappointing Team

West Virginia – Mr. Everything quarterback Pat White is long gone and coach Bill Stewart pales in comparison to former head coach Rich Rodriguez. Take these two factors in conjunction with an offensive line overhaul and you have a recipe for disaster.

Game of the Year

South Florida at Pittsburgh. This year is really wide open in the Big East, but this game could be the deciding factor in who wins the conference crown. Look for this game to be a defensive brawl and don’t forget the 26-21 victory Pittsburgh pulled out last year in South Florida

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Beano Cook Means College Football is Back!

August 10, 2009 by

The first college football games are now just 24 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes away so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that Beano Cook has awaken from his 8 month slumber.

No he hasn’t already called a Notre Dame player to win the Heisman Trophy nor has he picked Penn State or Pitt to win the BCS Championship, but what he has done is get out of bed (or coffin) so now the whole world is back on track.

Just the fact you can here his voice and then Beano provides a few quips and that can only mean it’s close to the best time of the year and the yearning for football is coming to a peak.

If this doesn’t get you going then remember these immortal words of Beano Cook to get your football jones kicking.

“You only have to bat a thousand at two things; flying and heart transplants. Everything else you can go 4 for 5”

24 days, 5 hours, 45 minutes till kick off….

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