Category Archives: NCAA Pick Reviews

Free NCAA football pick reviews by luclylester.com. Each week during the college football season Lucky Lester makes predictions on the outcome of selected matchups and this is the free pick review category.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 10

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Boy, I had a very tough week – I don’t even want to go into detail about my losses – but I took some tough games on the chin late. Oregon easily outgained the Bears, but couldn’t put up points. FSU? Come one. Iowa? Goodness. San Jose State gives up 14 4th quarter points after being up 30-10 after 3. Killing me. Ad the DirecTV games are even more frustrating. This is a perfect example of what could have been. So many games decided on final drives and I just seemed to be on the wrong side of every single outcome that came up. I was 5-6-1 in my weekly picks, and 2-6 in my DirecTV Package – tough call. I was 3-3-1 on my Best picks of the week (Video picks) – but overall it was a tough time in my bank account. It’s like I own a bunch of stock for God’s sake. Anyway, sorry, better next week and some better beats hopefully. 

Wisconsin Badgers (+5) @ Michigan State Spartans: (WINNER) 

Northwestern Wildcats @ Minnesota Golden Gophers (-6): (LOSS)

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (-7) @ Arkansas Razorbacks: (LOSS)

Arkansas State Indians (+23.5) @ Alabama Crimson Tide: (LOSS)

Oregon Ducks (+3) @ California Bears: (LOSS)

Florida State Seminoles (+2.5) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: (LOSS)

Iowa Hawkeyes (+3) @ Illinois Fighting Illini: (PUSH)

Stanford Cardinal (-29) @ Washington State Cougars: (WINNER)

San Jose State Spartans (-16.5) @ Idaho Vandals: (LOSS)

Washington Huskies @ USC Trojans (-43): (WINNER)

Boise State Broncos (-20) @ New Mexico Lobos: (WINNER)

TCU Horned Frogs (-13.5) @ UNLV Running Rebels: (WINNER)

DirecTV GamePlan

West Virginia Mountaineers @ Connecticut Huskies (+4): (LOSS)

Miami Hurricanes @ Virginia Cavaliers (-2): (LOSS)

Auburn Tigers @ Mississippi Rebels (-6): (WINNER). 

Kentucky Wildcats @ Mississippi State Bulldogs (-2):  (LOSS) 

Florida State Seminoles (+2.5) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: (LOSS)

Iowa State Cyclones (+30.5) @ Oklahoma State Cowboys: (LOSS)

North Texas Mean Green (+17) @ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: (WINNER)

Tulane @ Louisiana State (-26.5): (LOSS)

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 9

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Well, it wasn’t well worth your time, I know, but I came out 1 game over .500 at 10-9 on the week. If you headed my advice and didn’t bet much on my two “maybe you should stay away” games, then you did a little better than me. All that said, here’s my review of this weekend’s games. 

Boston College Eagles @ North Carolina Tar Heels (-3): (WINNER) “You know my love affair with unranked favorites over ranked opponents – lets do it again this week. I know the Heels are without their starting quarterback and their stud receiver, but I like them against a weak Boston College team.” And like them I shall. North Carolina hammered the Eagles. 

Kentucky Wildcats (+26) @ Florida Gators: (LOSS) Apparently the injuries were worse than I thought. Either that or Florida is awesome. Maybe both? Kentucky got embarrassed by the Gators on Saturday. In turn, I got embarrassed. 

Penn State Nittany Lions (-2) @ Ohio State Buckeyes: (WINNER) “I know the history here. I know the Nittany Lions haven’t won at Ohio State in my lifetime (does that date me?) – but I’m not so sure that means jack right now.” And that didn’t mean jack. The Lions were the better football team and I wasn’t the only person to see that. Despite a very tough football game and losing their starting quarterback late, the Lions pressed on and took out OSU on the road.  

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-10) @ Washington Huskies: (WINNER) Notre Dame did everything and anything they wanted. UW did get two sacks on the day, making that 5 for the entire season. On Monday Ty Willingham announced that he will be stepping down at the end of the season. It’s too bad, I like the guy, but it was something that needed to happen. 

Oklahoma Sooners (+18.5) @ Kansas State Wildcats: (WINNER) It may have been tight, and maybe the Wildcats should have covered in this one, but I didn’t need that last field goal to cover, as 20 points would have been just fine for me. The Sooners are that much better than the Wildcats, conference game or not. 

Wyoming Cowboys @ TCU Horned Frogs (-30): (WINNER) I was thinking about 40-3 in this one and it ended up 54-7. TCU’s 30-0 2nd half helped pull to covers over Wyoming’s unsuspecting heads. This one was done in the 3rd – gotta love that. 

South Florida Bulls (-3) @ Louisville Cardinals: (LOSS) And Louisville wins at home against their conference rival. A game they almost surely should lose. The Big East can really get you in the guts. 

Texas Tech Red Raiders @ Kansas Jayhawks (-1): (LOSS) “Maybe I’m crazy but I like the Jayhawks here because they are at home and promise a more balanced attack and defensive game plan than the Raiders. That being said, this is a TT game and anything can happen. This is my smallest play of the week, but a play nonetheless.” Go ahead, mark it down, I was crazy when I made this pick. Texas Tech is legit, they will give Texas troubles next Saturday. Kansas just didn’t have it. After a 14-14 1st quarter, Tech outscored Kansas 49-7. You betcha. I hope your play was small like mine. 

Cincinnati Bearcats @ Connecticut Huskies (+2.5): (WINNER) A nice outright win by the Huskies? Try 40-16. After being down at the half, UCONN came out and put up 30 second half points, limiting the Bearcats to just one field goal. This was a nice cover for me. 

Central Michigan Chippewas (-4) @ Toledo: (LOSS) The Chipps needed a 4th quarter touchdown to finally pull ahead of a fighting Toledo squad, and I couldn’t get that extra field goal I needed to push. It’s alright, I freaking hate pushing. Well I guess getting your money back is better than losing it. Who knew?

Fresno State Bulldogs (-14) @ Utah State Aggies: (LOSS) “I’ll warn you that somewhere over 70% of the public is on the Bulldogs here and the lines are still moving up and away. Maybe it’s not as easy as I see,” I hope you listened to the advice I couldn’t listen to myself. I hate when I do that, but as long as you folks are doing alright I’ll call it even. 

Oklahoma State Cowboys (+12.5) @ Texas Longhorns: (WINNER) Oklahoma came out fighting and almost ended the Longhorn’s perfect season. Tough game for sure, one of the better battles in football this season. The Longhorns won 28-24, and I covered this pick easily. 

UCLA Bruins (+18) @ California Golden Bears: (LOSS) This was a TERRIBLE BEAT, let me tell you that. Cal scored 24 fourth quarter points on way to covering the spread by 3. I capped this game right on the money, expcept the money slipped out from under my hands and went straight down the gutter when freakish points started going on the board in the 4th. Oh well, that’s sports. 

Virginia Tech Hokies (+5.5) @ Florida State Seminoles: (LOSS) The Seminoles won by 10, which means I don’t cover anything. The 3rd quarter got me, and Virginia Tech looked a little out of sorts on Saturday. It’s tough when the team you’re betting on loses their most athletic player, and starting quarterback, before he throws one single pass. Oh, and then they lose their 2nd string guy later in the game. I lost, but you see where I’m coming from here? Lady Luck peed on my salad in this game. 

Bowling Green Falcons @ Northern Illinois Huskies (-7.5): (LOSS) NIU pulled this one out, but a field goal win is a loss for me. Damned Huskies. 

New Mexico State Aggies (-12.5) @ Idaho Vandals: (LOSS) I’m officially taking Idaho out of my “always bet against Washington Schools” motto. They pulled a huge upset on the Aggies this week. I was sure Idaho wouldn’t be winning again this year. The MAC is killing me! 

Mississippi Bulldogs @ Arkansas Razorbacks (+6.5): (WINNER) The Bulldogs won, which makes me happy, and hte Razorbacks covered, which makes me even happier. I needed some 4th quarter heroics to get this one in, and Arkansas put up two touchdowns to Mississippi’s 10 points. That’ll do, that’ll do. 

Florida Atlantic @ Louisiana Monroe (+2.5): (WINNER) “In conference home dog – I’ll take it. I like UL’s signal caller, that’s enough for me to lean on the home dogs here.” Well, Monroe didn’t win, but when you are a dog you get points, and when you get points and lose by 1, you win. That’s right, I got a little luck with this small school battle. I’ll take it.  

Nevada Wolfpacks @ Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (+3.5): (WINNER) “Hawaii is at home against a Nevada team that has 4 unimpressive wins over unimpressive opponents. I’ll take Hawaii. They look to be getting it together a little behind their new coach.” Hawaii in Hawaii is tough. I thought the Warriors should have been favored by a field goal in this one and they played like it. This was a battle down to the last drive, but Hawaii pulled it out, winning by 7.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 8

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Here goes something… 6-4 with my Free NCAA Picks for Week 8, and how about my DirecTV ESPN GamePlan Package Picks? Well, just 6-5, but that moves me 3 games up on the season – and in a tough week I’ll take that for sure. 

LSU Tigers (-3) @ South Carolina: (WINNER) “You bet – free money.” Closer than I thought, but free money comes in with a winner – you have to like that. 

Missouri Tigers (+6) @ Texas Longhorns: (LOSS) “Maybe Texas is better and this game is at home for them, but” – next time no buts, the Longhorns are playing great football, good enough to make them the best team in the Nation. I wasn’t much of a believer, and some weird penalties kind of kept Missouri out of it early, but Texas is good everywhere.

Virginia Tech @ Boston College (-2.5): (WINNER) The fact that BC was unranked and a favorite in this one fit perfectly. I liked the Eagles before I realized that, and afterward it made me even happier. Still, this one was close and it came right down to it. BC was the better team, even with some big mistakes. 

Oregon State Beavers (-13.5) @ Washington Huskies: (WINNER) “Free money again. This fits so many of my “good bet” categories I’m not even going into detail.” Does 34-13 qualify as a win? Oh it does? Cool, I was really worried about this one. 

Mississippi State Bulldogs (+7.5) @ Tennessee Volunteers: (LOSS-but) I started out liking the Bulldogs, but after further review, and later in the week I did the best I could to let you guys know that I would “stay away from this one” and bought back my bet by taking Tennessee – I hope you recognized that, all it did for me was give me a push and lose me my vig. 

Utah State Aggies (+21) @ Nevada Wolfpack:  (LOSS) “I just don’t think Nevada should be favored by 3 touchdowns against anyone in their conference, and despite the Aggies attempt to crush my soul be getting pounded by San Jose State last week, I think they are a good bet here.” Okay, I was dead wrong. Utah State is that bad and there is ONE school Nevada should be favored by three touchdowns against – the Aggies. Blast!!!

Pittsburgh Panthers @ Navy Midshipmen (+3.5): (LOSS) “First of all, this game won’t come down to points – either the Midshipmen win or they’ll get beat pretty good.” I thought Navy’s option two looked good and I was wrong, Pittsburgh just grabbed on to LeSean McCoy’s saddle and watched the score go up and up. Bad loss for me here, but I did slightly warn you about this possible outcome. 

USC Trojans (+42) @ Washington State Cougars: (WINNER) “This spread is freaking huge – I’ll take it.” Hahaha – bet against Washington teams, what can I say, this motto is getting easier to believe in so watch out for it next week. Still, this game was 41-0 at half time and USC just ran out the clock instead of scoring again. USC’s backups could have covered this margin. This game was just as big a joke as I thought it would be. 

Kansas Jayhawks (+20) @ Oklahoma Sooners: (WINNER) “I just think Kansas is closer to Oklahoma’s level than this. OK will be up to play this game after having their #1 ranking plundered from them, and I think they win this game, just not by this much.” Well there, the Jayhawks were up for the battle and if a couple things go their way this is even closer – still, as is, the Jayhawks put up enough points to cover in Oklahoma. 

Ohio State Buckeyes (-3) @ Michigan State Spartans: (WINNER) “Really? Hmm… I don’t see it that close.” Well, I can’t wait to tell you that I saw this one coming. The Spartans aren’t a Top 10 football team – one loss to USC doesn’t make the Buckeyes garbage. Penn State – Ohio State should be interesting.

Game Plan

Wake Forest Demon Decons @ Maryland Terrapins (+2.5): (WINNER) The Terps win outright, by a huge margin, and continue to be one of the weirdest teams in college football. Wake, no problem, but Delaware? Oh, there was a tough contest they barely got away with a win in. Weird. 

Western Michigan (-1.5) @ Central Michigan: (LOSS) “I like CMU QB Dan Lefevour,” and I should have stuck with that. Dan was balls on Saturday, taking it to Western Michigan and getting a huge win for his CMU squad. Damn it. 

Miami (OHIO) Redhawks (+10) @ Bowling Green Falcons: (WINNER) “The Falcons have allowed as many points per game as they’ve scored, and that’s never a good thing. These two teams have a nice history, and that usually ends up with Miami taking the game against the Falcons.” What do you know, Redhawks win. Sometimes that history is a good thing to follow (see this game) sometimes it’s not (see Michigan and Penn State – ha). 

Syracuse Orange (+24.5) @ South Florida Bulls: (LOSS) Damn Syracuse, what was I doing going away from betting against them? Ah, this one was closer than the score indicated. In fact, if it weren’t for that late 2nd quarter score, this would have been a different ball game. South Florida took mo into halftime and multiplied that into a bunch of points and a loss for me. 

Vanderbilt Vandals (+15) @ Georgia Bulldogs: (WINNER) “This game was close in ‘06 and close in ‘07 and this Vanderbilt team is better than they’ve had in a long time. Georgia is a very good football team, but they aren’t a “blow you out” group by any means. They’ve had trouble playing close with their opponents, and a complete upset here wouldn’t surprise me. They only beat Tennessee by 12, Arizona State by 17 and South Carolina by 7 – Vandy is better than all three of those schools. Close game here, that’s my bet.” There you go – the Bulldogs were in control, but I was right on the button about them, not a blow you out football team, especially against a never give up Vandals group. This was a nice win. 

Army Black Knights @ Buffalo Bulls (-10.5): (LOSS) Buffalo needed a lot of action late and an overtime to beat the Black Knights as obviously this one got the better of Ole Lucky on Saturday. 

North Carolina Tar Heels (-4.5) @ Virginia Cavaliers: (LOSS) Carolina had my win wrapped up with almost no time left, but wrapped is a joke in college football because Virginia tied this one up with a touchdown at 47 seconds left in regulation. Boo me. Then Carolina kicks a field goal and now I’m at the weird position of rooting for the Cavs to score but not a touchdown. They scored… a touchdown… I lose. Damn it! 

Middle Tennessee State (+14.5) @ Louisville Cardinals: (LOSS) “This one seems easy.” And it seemed even easier after MTS went into halftime up 3. Ah, but games are not just one half, those tricky games, and Louisvilles three touchdown 4th quarter just got me out of the money – thanks fold. The Cards won by 19 – And while I’ll admit my loss, I still think I was on the right side of this game. 

Toledo Rockets @ Northern Illinois Huskies (-8.5): (WINNER) “Toledo beat Michigan at the Big House last week… So what? Michigan is terrible, I’d take Northern Illinois over the Wolverines any day of the week and this game is at home. The Huskies have been good all year. I don’t see it, but most “experts” on a pretty prolific site have Toledo in this one. I’ll take the Huskies and be a renegade… Follow who you please.” If you followed me on one of my better picks of the week, ignoring the “experts” on said site (lets call it Lovers because it may or may not rhyme) then you took home an easy win that showed how bad Michigan really is right now. Yhatzee. 

Mississippi State @ Tennessee Volunteers (-7.5): (WINNER-but) I won this side of the bet, but I didn’t like it after further review – still, all this win did was get me a push because I bought back my bet earlier in the week by taking Tennessee here. 

Idaho Vandals @ Lousiana Tech (-20): (WINNER) 32 point win for LT – that’s a cover folks.

NCAA Football Picks REVIEW: Week 7

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I finally had a terrible week, and like everyone knows, it is bound to happen some time. Before I have a huge rebound week, here’s where things went wrong this Saturday. 

Texas Longhorns @ Oklahoma Sooners (-6.5): Boy, Sam Bradford had 5 touchdowns passes and a gaggle of yards, but it was Texas’s ability to run the ball on short yardage situations and win the line of scrimmage that gave them this game. To my credit, Oklahoma was walking away with this one early until their best defensive player went out for the game with injury. I’m not sure how it would have ended up, but feel me on this one. 

Arizona Wildcats (-6) @ Stanford Cardinal: And Arizona falls to Stanford. Every time a school in the Pac 10 starts to separate themselves from the rest of the disgusting pack, to say, “wait, there’s a couple good teams in the Pac 10” they lose to a very bad conference opponent. This week’s losers of street credit, the Wildcats – thanks for playing boys. 

Washington State @ Oregon State (-30): YAY! A win is a win, and it’s even nicer to win when you lose so many games you can’t see stop signs because of the teary blurr. Ah, it wasn’t so bad, every once in a while you lose a week – this week was tough for Ole Lucky. 

Nebraska Cornhuskers @ Texas Tech Red Raiders (-20): TT barely won this week as upset Saturday was in everybody’s cards except the Nittany Lions – ha. Anyway, I can’t believe this game was close – tough week for me. 

LSU Tigers (+6) @ Florida Gators: The Gators showed where the talent has been going lately. Florida had way too much speed and athleticism for the Tigers and it showed on just about every play. Florida killed LSU in ever phase of the game. Tebow was back to his old self. Florida, when playing well defensively, is one of the Nation’s Top 3 teams. 

Penn State Nittany Lions @ Wisconsin Badgers (+5.5): “If the Badgers proved anything last week, it’s that they play great football at home.” If they proved anything this week it’s that they can play absolutely terrible at home too, or that Penn State is going to be playing in the National Championship game – maybe both. 

Boise State Broncos (-10.5) @ Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles: Boise State pulled this one out 24-7 and I get a little happiness back in my soul. 

Tulsa Hurricane (-24.5) @ Southern Methodist Mustangs: Damn good coaching. SMU almost pulled this one out, meaning that 24.5 point spread i had to cover didn’t quite make it. 

Idaho Vandals @ Fresno State Bulldogs (-34): Fresno played like absolute garbage. Nobody in college football should give up so many points to the vandals. Needless to say I was crushed by the Bulldogs in this one. 

Air Force Falcons (-10.5) @ San Diego State Aztecs: 28 unanswered 2nd half points allowed Air Force to walk away with an easy win here, giving my a much needed 4th win on the season. So it didn’t end so bad after all… Okay, it was bad, my 5 games over .500 last week went right back to even as I finished Week Seven 3-7… Ugh. Better next week.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 6

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15-10-1 in a tough Saturday in NCAA Football. I was a handful of tough losses away from a brilliant week, but I’ll take 5 games up – that’s for sure. A special thanks goes out to college football teams in Washington – keep up the coverless football fellas!

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at West Virginia Mountaineers (-14) (LOSS): Up 14 headed into the 4th, I thought I could get a little help from the Mountaineers and pull this one out despite the injury to Pat White that had him out headed into the final frame. The Mounties tried to run out the clock, and White was out for good. Rutgers scored a late touchdown and I lost this one. I still think it was a good bet, but having White go out was tough.

South Carolina Gamecocks at Mississippi Rebels (-2.5) (LOSS): I still think the Rebels are the better team. A couple freakish “spurrier plays” turned momentum and South Carolina pulled this one out. When analyzing these two teams, I think Mississippi wins 7 or 8 out of ten. This just happened to be one of the 20% – bummer for me.

Florida State Seminoles (+3) at Miami Hurricanes (WINNER): “Talk about two up and down teams, you never seem to know what to expect from these two teams absolutely chalked full of talent. I’m just going to go ahead and chalk FSU’s 3 point output against Wake Forest up as a flukey bad loss and go with them headed into “The U” – Miami has talent, no doubt, but FSU has shown some strength against decent teams, Miami has only played well against nothing good. Rivalry game, but I’ll take the road team.” Well, I was certainly right on the button about these two Florida schools being more up and down than a yo-yo circus act. With FSU up 24-0, Miami’s lone 1st half score, a measily field goal, seemed to open up some kind of sadistic U flood gate to points. Miami put up 36 second half points, but that wasn’t enough to keep the visiting Seminoles out of the win column as FSU won by two.

Arizona State (+9.5) and (+10) at California 3:30 pm: (LOSS, PUSH) This was a push, though earlier in the week the line was 9.5 and so I guess I get a loss for that bet, my late bet got me a push though – so I’ll take that – ha. Arizona State didn’t do anything offensively, and I was lucky to get a push here.

Temple Owls (+8) at Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (WINNER): “I just like what Temple brings to the table with 11 returning starters, 20 seniors, and 26 juniors – this is a good football team that has had some tough losses against some good programs to start the season. I think they fight back with a nice win in this one.” Sometimes what I like and what I think become one in a fantastic explosion of joy and money winnings -this was one of those instances. The Owls were never down in this game, and while it got close in the 3rd, Temple came out tough in the 4th to put up 14 unanswered and make me a smart winner of more money.

Florida International (-6) at North Texas (WINNER): “Florida International is pretty decent – they stick close to good teams, and given a shot against a relatively equal opponent I think they will win easy. North Texas isn’t good – against anyone. Unless I’m sleeping on something, I like the FLINT to win by 3 touchdowns – lots of rushing yards from them in this one.” Did I say three touchdowns? How about 42-10, and North Texas didn’t put a touchdown on the board until the 4th quarter. I think I had this one pretty well figured out.

Northern Illinois at Tennessee Volunteers (-15.5) (LOSS): Maybe I’m wrong and Tennessee is really bad. Fluke loss to UCLA or just not very good? I’m thinking, after this week’s performance against NIU, option two is looking good. Sorry about this beat.

Oregon Ducks at USC Trojans (-16): (WINNER) Up 27-10 at half time I liked my chances. up 37-10 after three I was beginning to cash my check. And the 44-10 end game result was icing on the cake. Maybe the Trojans just had a bad game, and quite possibly, wait for it, they are actually really freaking good. Crazier things have happened.

Hawaii at Fresno State Bulldogs (-21): (LOSS) And Hawaii wins… It’s an interesting ball game, this college football, you never know what’s going to happen for sure. Just ask the Bulldogs. 21 point favorites losing in overtime to a Hawaii team that’s never upset a ranked team on the road. Ranked team
? Fresno? Well not anymore they aren’t.

Oregon State Beavers @ Utah Utes (-11): (LOSS) Damn Thursday Night games… That’s it for me, take the underdog on Thursday night or don’t bet the game at all. There’s no point in watching black magic happen against you – that’s my new philosophy and I’m sticking to in, until of course there’s nice value on a favorite.. Haha..

Cincinnati Bearcats (-3) @ Marshall Thundering Herd: (WINNER) The Bearcats, with 3rd string quarterback and all, were a heck of a lot better than the Thundering Herd. I knew it, you knew it, everyone knew it, so I’m hoping I wasn’t the only one cashing in on this winner.

BYU Cougars (-29) @ Utah State Aggies: (LOSS) “Cougars by 38 – that’s my best guess. Did I say guess? I didn’t mean it, I meant that’s my strong opinion based on facts and assumptions that border on the line of reality.” You can say what you want, and argue what you will, but I watched a BYU team walk into the 4th quarter with a 34-0 lead and on pace to one up my 38 point win prediction. What happened? Once again a team lets up late, not thinking of the bettors at all, and a couple souls get crushed. They didn’t go for the jugular and they allowed a couple late scores, and 34-14 doesn’t even cover my private parts. This was the first of four tough losses for me this weekend.

Boston College Eagles (-8) @ North Carolina State Wolfpack: (LOSS) I hate Boston College. They went into “try not to lose” mode and nearly let one slip away. What they did do was allow a bad Wolfpack team to crawl right back into this one with a 14 point fourth quarter. A late touchdown won it for BC, but I was still a point down, and despite my hopes and dreams, the Eagles didn’t elect to go for two to get me a push. Damn them.

Akron Zips (-3.5) @ Kent State Golden Flashes: (LOSS) The Zips win by 3 in overtime and I get a half point loss. You win some you lose some, but when I look back at what could have been an unbelievable week, I see a couple very tough losses on the card that could have easily gone the other way.

Florida Gators (-24) @ Arkansas Razorbacks: (WINNER) I needed most of those 21 fourth quarter points to pull out a cover here, but Arkansas couldn’t get into the end-zone all day. They had plenty of chances, and this game shows me that Florida probably doesn’t have much value anywhere close to 4 touchdown dogs, but it’s nice to learn a lesson and get a win – no doubt about that.

Oklahoma Sooners @ Baylor Bears (+27): (LOSS) This one didn’t start out well, that’s for sure, but it got close there, and if it weren’t for a late 4th quarter touchdown by the Sooners, I would have walked out of Baylor with yet another win to my name. As it was, I lost this one by 5 points. That’s the bad news. The good news, I wouldn’t lose another one all day long…

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (+28) @ Virginia Tech Hokies: (WINNER) “This is a real test, but after much deliberation I still can’t even fathom the Hokies as a -28 favorite against anybody in the nation, not even a Hilltopper team that has a 38 point loss to Kentucky and a 34 point loss to Alabama to be credited for.” You have to say that I had this one right on the dot. The Hokies can will a win out as well as anyone, and they play some solid defense, no doubt about it, but this game shows you they aren’t 28 point favorites, not even against Hilltoppers.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (-7) @ Kansas State Wildcats: (WINNER) “Don’t be fooled by K-State’s 3-1 record thus far, North Texas and Montana State don’t count, they lost to Louisville, and beat ULLaffayette by 10. Needless to say I like the Raiders, even though the public is riding this like a used up quarter pony at Walmart. Ride it!” Ride it, my pony…. The Raiders made K-State’s defense look like stationary defensive decoys as the TT put up 58 points on their conference foe. Maybe the Raiders are pretty good afterall, and maybe beating North Texas and Montana State doesn’t put you in close proximity to a Top 10 team in the Nation. Shoot, I don’t know.

Kentucky Wildcats (+17) @ Alabama Crimson Tide: (WINNER) Just as I thought, the 17 was too big of a spread here. Alabama came out and put up 14 quick points, but the rest of the game wasn’t that easy, and they needed a late onside kick recovery to finally put away the hard fighting Wildcats. Kentucky is solid, and maybe Alabama shouldn’t be huge favorites regardless of competition.

Illinois Fighting Illini (+3) @ Michigan Wolverines: (WINNER) “Because one of these weeks the Wolverines are going to get obliterated by all those stupid mistakes and Illinois is too physical and good to allow Michgan back in a game in which the Wolverines are getting handled. Juice will have a huge game, showing the Wolverines what kind of QB they need to be legit.” You know Rich Rodriguez was watching Juice throw the ball all over his defense and just admiring the young QB. Williams absolutely torched Michigan in the 2nd half. Juice’s 310 passing and 121 rushing yards were plenty of offense for the Illini, as they fought an early 14-3 first quarter deficit to win 45-20.

Nevada Wolfpack (-24) @ Idaho Vandals: (WINNER) “Because that’s how bad Idaho is.” Nevada went to 3-2 and beat Idaho 49-14. Does that cover a 24 point spread? Let’s see, carry the 3, you bet. It was 28-0 in the 3rd quarter, and Idaho’s 21 fourth quarter points sealed a nice win for me.

UL Lafayette (-2) @ UL Monroe: (WINNER) A little closer than I thought, Lafayette still took this one by 9 after Monroe put up 13 points in the 4th quarter. I love me some winners!

Washington Huskies @ Arizona Wildcats (-21): (WINNER) Well, this one was even easier than I thought. I needed some Washington Sports programs to come to my rescue, and by losing big and without much of a fight, they did exactly that.

Ohio State Buckeyes (-1) @ Wisconsin Badgers: (WINNER) Ohio State didn’t win by 10 like I thought they would, but a late touchdown put them over the top of one of the best home teams in the Nation, and they covered that 1 point spread by the hair on Jim Rome’s chinny chin chin.

Washington State Cougars @ UCLA Bruins (-17): (WINNER) This one seemed easy – it was – boy oh boy, Washington Sports is at a tough spot right now.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 4

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There certainly were some tough games this weekend, a few frustrations that got me down on Saturday – but looking at the entire card, and tallying up the wins and losses, I still came out on top. 8-6, bringing me 9 games over .500 on the season. Win the tough weeks and you’ll be just fine – that’s what my favorite coach always said. This is how the damage went down.

Mississippi State Bulldogs (+8.5) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (LOSS) – The Yellow Jackets ran all over the Bulldogs and absolutely obliterated them in Georgia. I had a loss early on, and it was a big one – Jonathan Dwyer (GT’s sophomore running back) had 141 yards on just 9 carries. There were 4 Tech runners with at least 56 rushing yards, and 7 had over 25 yards on the ground. It was a team effort for sure, but a rushing team effort. Note to self, don’t pick against the Jackets if their opponent can’t stop the run.

Alabama Crimson Tide (-9) @ Arkansas Razorbacks (WINNER): If you risked it all, you got it all back and then some. I thought this line was fishy, and in the end I was right, the Tide were at least 3 times the team Arkansas was this Saturday – at least that’s what the 49-14 score said.

Virginia Tech Hokies (+3) @ North Carolina Tar Heels (WINNER):  The Hokies played tough down the stretch, but that’s what they do. VaTech is and always will be a tough team. North Carolina came to play, surely, and they might have deserved a win if not for a little bit of a 4th quarter melt down, but Tech pulled the minor upset to move to 3-1 and 2-0 in the ACC.

Miami Hurricanes (-3) @ Texas A&M (WINNER): Miami was up 24-10 going into half time, and they came out swinging. The Hurricanes put up 17 points in the 3rd quarter and ended the game with an 18 point road victory. Big game for the U – that’s for sure. And I got yet another win. As it turned out, I’d need all these wins to make up for a few slaps in the face.

Idaho Vandals @ Utah State Aggies (-4.5) (WINNER): With the score tied going into half time, and the Aggies up just 4 barreling down on the 4th quarter, I was a little worried – surely. But then, like a circus clown out of a cannon, the Aggies found their offensive game and managed 21 points in the 4th quarter – 21 unanswered mind you. And Utah State gave me another nice win.

Temple Owls (+29) @ Penn State Nittany Lions (LOSS): I need to stop underestimating the Nittany Lions – now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get any help in this game as the Owls lost their senior team leader in QB Adam DiMichele, to a first quarter shoulder injury – but it seems that unless Adam was one hell of a super hero tackling extraordinaire, I was probably SOL in this game anyway. The Lions put up 45 big ones in this contest, allowing just 3 to the Owls. I would still like to think DiMichelle would have managed a couple touchdowns – but that might be lofty hopes. I’ll never know, all I know is that I lost this one.

East Carolina Pirates (-7.5) @ North Carolina State Wolfpack (LOSS): I was kind of sad when East Carolina lost this game – when the damn thing headed into overtime I new my money would never be seen again, as it’s downright impossible to win by 8 when overtime starts. But I still wanted East Carolina to keep their BCS Crusher bid for a few more weeks – now all they can do is over achieve and get some crappy bowl game against an overrated Pac 10 team and crush them just to prove a point. Lets write it down right now, I have the Pirates over Arizona State on a random December 29th bowl game.

Iowa Hawkeyes (-1) @ Pittsburgh Panthers (LOSS): This was as close as the spread indicated, but the home team Panthers pulled it out against the Hawks with a 4th quarter touchdown. The Hawkeyes lost by a point, and I lost by a couple – my hopes for a last minute field goal were crushed when Iowa’s quarterback lost a fumble with time winding down. Tough loss here, but a loss nonetheless.

Central Michigan Chippewas @ Purdue Boilermakers (-10) (LOSS): I was had by Dan LeFevour – damn me! I knew all about the kid, but I didn’t think the Chipps could hang with Purdue. But of course they did, the big quarterback tossed the ball around the Boilermakers’ secondary for nearly 300 yards and gave his guys a chance. But, Kory Sheets ran in a 46 yard touchdown with a minute left and Purdue won – but not by enough, just a touchdown. I lost again!

Central Florida Knights (+10.5) @ Boston College Eagles (LOSS): I was stoked headed into halftime up 7-3 in this game thinking, “This ain’t going to be a problem at all!” hahaha – famous last thoughts. Before I could inhale my pulled pork sandwich the Eagles were up 17-7. By the time I finished watching the game, my covering dreams had been crushed like an obese wingless fly, and the Eagles rolled off 31 unanswered points in the 2nd half. Oh boy.

Akron Zips (-10) @ Army Black Knights (WINNER): Up 9-3 to start the 2nd half, I liked my chances. Up 12-3 to start the 4th quarter I was looking for some help. The last think I wanted was Akron to play it real safe and just realize that all they needed to do was run clock, because no way Army was scoring a couple times in this one. Luckily, I got 10 in the 4th and the Zips smashed the Black Knights 22-3, covering easily.

Buffalo Bulls (+34.5) @ Missouri Tigers (WINNER): “This one will be much closer. Buffalo is sneaky, and a pretty solid offense should get them points. If they can score 3 touchdowns, which I think should happen, then Missouri will have to put up more than 54 points to cover. I don’t see that happening.” I must say, I called this game to a T – hopefully you really got excited about my analysis and bet the house here, because the Bulls scored 3 touchdowns, and the Tigers didn’t have enough time to put up 54 to cover. A 42-21 Missouri victory made me feel grand.

Arizona Wildcats (-2.5) @ UCLA Bruins (WINNER): “That whole first game upset that put UCLA back on the map seems to be a long time back – and that map, well, they are still on it, but all four edges are burning back to the ashtray it came from.” BACK TO THE ASHTRAY!!! Haha, Bruins fans, see, Rick New-weasel doesn’t have all the answers. UCLA isn’t a team that’s going to beat your Tennessee’s on a normal basis – don’t be confused. But then again, Tennessee isn’t looking all that good right now are they? They’d still beat the Bruins 8 out of 10 times. Arizona will be a tough Pac-10 squad, and considering their bottom of the bin standing over the past few seasons, they might just have nice value for most of the season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Michigan State Spartans (-8.5): “Don’t be confused, Michigan beat Michigan last week, and the Irish just got credit for the win because they were the team lucky enough to be playing them in Week 3. Javon Ringer is 10 points better than the Irish. Believe that.” You better believe that – if you didn’t prior to Saturday’s action, then you certainly do now. RInger put up another 200+ yard performance, and the Spartans beat the Irish 23-7 in a game that wasn’t that close. I watched most of this battle, and Notre Dame’s offense was pathetic. The much better team won easily.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 3

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I started the week 1 game under .500 but by the time Baylor rolled up Washington State I was actually even to start Saturday’s games. I had 17 games this week behind the DirecTV GamePlan picks and my other 7 games – this is how all 17 went down. With one game postponed (texas/arkansas) I put up a 12-4-1 record this week, losing a couple close ones and pretty much dominating the books in Week 3 – so far this season I’m 7 games over .500. Yhatzee. Stay tuned for next week, here’s this week’s review…

Washington State Cougars @ Baylor Bears (+2): (WINNER) “Rule of thumb for 2008 college football season: If the Washington State Cougars are ever favored, make sure to bet against them. More so, if the Cougars are on the road and favored, first make sure they are playing against, at the very least, a division 2 program or greater. If they indeed are, say Baylor for example, go ahead and pick against the Cougars and feel 99% safe about your bet.” Did I say 99%? I meant 100%. This was like buying a stock that had a 100% chance of doubling. Basically, it was a nice little bet.

Michigan Wolverines (pk) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (LOSER) “Free Money!!! Hooray! Come one, come all, take the Wolverines and watch your account grow in funds.” Well, you can’t win them all right? I was almost as sure about this game as I was about the Baylor Bears. This just shows ya, even a guy on a nice little September weekend run can miss one from time to time. The Irish got me again!

Georgia Bulldogs (-7) @ South Carolina Gamecocks: (PUSH) Interesting and boring game. I don’t know how Coach Spurrier does it, but the guy was 1 goal line fumble away from tying this game up – unbelievable. Luckily for me the Bulldogs ended up covering despite getting equalled by the Gamecocks. Spurrier’s a tough guy to figure out, that’s for sure, unless he’s coaching in the NFL of course, then he’s a nice guy to bet against.

Rice Owls @ Vanderbilt Commodores (-7): (WINNER) “How can you not like it? Vandy has finally won me over, maybe just in time for them to crush my soul? Nan. Vandy plays tough defense, something the Owls haven’t faced in quite some time. Rice gives up a lot of points, something Chris Nickson and the track team skill positions in Vandy will take advantage of.” The Commodores outscored the Owls by 21 in the 2nd half, shutting Rice’s offense out completely. The final score was 38-21 as Rice just couldn’t match the Commodore’s speed.

Oklahoma Sooners (-20) @ Washington Huskies: (WINNER) “Free money!!! Thank you for scheduling this game so I could win free money. I am taking all the money in my accounts and putting it on the Sooners – at least if I get this one wrong I’ll lose it all. That’s right – my big risk and yours, should result in a big payoff. You think the Sooners are going to leave this game up to Pac-10 officials? Haha… Not after Oregon. Not after the call last week against Jake Locker. Sooners by 40. Free Money.” 55-14, Sooners by 41, not 40. I hate when I get it wrong by a point. The Sooners could have taken this game by 70, but they decided to grind it out and sit their starters in the 4th quarter. What does a one man team look like? Ask Jake Locker. I hope you took your free money!

Ohio State Buckeyes @ USC Trojans (-10): (WINNER) The Buckeyes were trounced and no, Beanie Wells wouldn’t have done anything about it. USC dominated this from the get go, as they were obviously the better team. This surely makes USC a favorite to win the NCAA Title.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (+23) @ Arizona State Sun Devils: (WINNER) Well, UNLV just touched up the home team Sun Devils for a HUGE upset, and I had all those points to play with. You can bet I loved this one.

Wisconsin Badgers @ Fresno State Bulldogs (+1.5): (LOSS) The Badgers won, but this was as tough a game as they’ll play this year. The Bulldogs were in for the fight, and they had lots of chances. In the end, Wisconsin’s resilience and consistent defensive play finished off the Bulldogs in Fresno’s biggest home game in their history. I lost this one, but the Bulldogs are going to win me some money this year, I’ll bet on that.

Temple Owls (+6.5) @ Buffalo Bulls (12:00pm EST): (WINNER) A hail mary answered – you can’t get really angry about that. The points made me feel better though, and I knew I had already won when Buffalo tossed up a 50 yard prayer that I almost knew was going to be answered. Both teams played well, but it was the hail mary last second touchdown win that gave the game to the home team, leving Temple out and in the loss column, and me just a friendly underdog cover.

North Carolina State Wolfpack @ Clemson Tigers (-17.5) (12:00pm EST): (WINNER) I get some bad luck later, don’t worry. That’s right, I won this one by a half of a point, but that was a big half a point. NC State’s only score was an interception return for a touchdown, so it’s not like they had much of a chance. Still, I was worried until late when CJ Spiller scored a late touchdown to get me over the spread. Thanks young fella.

UAB Blazers (+30.5) @ Tennessee Volunteers (12:30pm EST): (LOSS) Ugh. This was a 32 point game – what can you do? I took the Blazers, but Tennessee did a nice job of shutting UAB down throughout, holding them to just 3 points. I was wrong about this one, but just barely.

Penn State Nittany Lions (-27) @ Syracuse Orange (3:30pm EST): (WINNER)b”Penn State is too tough and Syracuse can’t play a 2-3 zone in this one, so they are SOL. Take the road favorites to score at will.” 55-13… Does that cover a 27 point spread? I said this one wouldn’t be close and it wasn’t. I was right. Hooray me, and hooray you if you were listening.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+7) @ Virginia Tech Hokies (3:30pm EST): (WINNER) Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are now both 2-1, as the Hokies held on to beat the Jackets. The score was 17-20, and I covered. This was a tight one for sure. I still think G-Tech would win this game 7 out of 10 times, they have a better offense and a much tighter rushing attack (278 rushing yards against Tech on Saturday) but this was Tyrod Taylor’s day. The Hokies were helped out by some big GT penalties, as they got a much needed victory. They win, I win, can’t hate that.

Arkansas Razorbacks @ Texas Longhorns (-24) (3:30pm EST): (This game was postponed, so I’ll take it as a no bet, obviously)

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (+28) @ Alabama Crimson Tide (7:00pm EST): (LOSS) Alabama was on fire to start this game, and they only needed 3 quarters of solid play to ice the HIlltoppers. Bama won, and I got one of my few losses on Saturday.

Middle Tennessee State (+17) @ Kentucky Wildcats (7:00pm EST): (WINNER)  The Wildcats needed 10 points in the 4th quarter to beat Middle Tennessee State, and that still almost wasn’t enough. What am I talking about? Joe Craddock, MTS’s quarterback, put up a last minute hail mary that was caught, but came just a yard short of being a touchdown and State lost by 6, 20-14. It was a tough one, but I loved my +17 as it was an easy win and never left me in doubt throughout the contest.

Bowling Green Falcons (+17) @ Boise State Broncos (8:00pm EST): (WINNER) 20-7 – I was almost had, but the Falcons played tough after going down 20-0 in the first half. They never allowed another Bronco score, and they added a 4th quarter touchdown of their own to make me a winner. Hey, every once in a while that last quarter meaningless score sure helps me out. I’ll take this one with a smile.

Utah Utes (-24) @ Utah State Aggies (8:00pm EST): (WINNER)  “Utah is more like Oregon than UNLV – and the Aggies lost to them both. I know it doesn’t work like this, but Utah beat UNLV by 21, and the Aggies lost to UNLV by 10 – that’s 31 – ha. Utah is a very good team that could make a run at undefeated. It’s time for them to rub that in their instate rival’s face. I’ll take the Utes here.” How’s 58-10? That’s not 31, that’s 48 folks. Utah is a very good team that would do some solid work in big conferences this year. They’ll have to win out to get a sniff at a BCS game, but I like their chances.

NCAA Free Picks Review: Week 2

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Some would say “black Saturday” but it wasn’t that bad. Sure, I was 2-5 with my 7 Free PIcks, and just 3-3 with my DirecTV ESPN GamePlan Picks, but after a pretty tough Saturday on Week 2, I sit just one game under .500 for my college selections. Not winning money yet, but some tough luck will turn around, and I’m guessing next week. Here is my Week 2 college review, all games explained.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+7) @ Boston College Eagles: (19-16 WINNER)

The Jackets pulled the upset, making me look good. I just love G-Tech’s rushing attack. When an underdog they can always find a way to smash mouth opposing defenses. Matt Ryan’s absence does seem to get more and more evident when watching the Eagles. Tech barely took this won, scoring 9 unanswered 4th quarter points. The ACC still looks gross.

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (+18) @ Auburn Tigers: (13-27 WINNER)

It didn’t look good early as Auburn shutout Southern Miss in the 1st half, 14-0. But my boys came through late, playing the Tigers to a 2nd half tie and covering. YAY! If it weren’t for all of Southern Miss’s 1st half mistakes, this game would have been a heck of a lot closer. Auburn is the better team, but don’t sleep on the Golden Eagles.

Cincinnati Bearcats (+21.5) @ Oklahoma Sooners: (26-52 LOSS)

I really thought I had this one in the bag. The Bearcats started slow but came back in the 2nd quarter with a couple touchdowns to make things interesting – and I thought I could easily stay within 3 scores. But Oklahoma came out in the 2nd half showing everyone why they are one of the favorites to find a place in the BCS title game. They absolutely treated the Bearcats like their little brothers and beasted them throughout the duration of the game. I lost by 5 points.

Mississippi @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-8): (28-30 LOSS)

Up 20-14 headed into the 4th I thought I had a nice opportunity to take this one. One more Wake field goal and holding Miss would have given me the win. As it went, 24 points were scored in the final frame and I ended up taking a loss. Wake needed that “field goal” to win the game, as they did, taking out Miss by 2. Both teams look solid.

Buffalo Bulls @ Pittsburgh Panthers (-13): (16-27 LOSS)

Up one going into the 4th quarter, the Panthers couldn’t quite cover for me. They scored 10 4th quarter points to get me just a field goal away, but couldn’t pull the trigger. Those chumps. Buffalo is better than I thought. Pitt is exactly what I thought.

Tulane Green Wave (+30.5) @ Alabama Crimson Tide: (6-20 WINNER)

” A 30 point favorite is too much for me to buy. The Tide come in hot on bettor’s minds, and that’s never a good thing for the favorite. Tulane plays teams pretty tough. They lost a lot in Matt Forte, but in their season opener I expect enough excitement to keep this game closer than 4 touchdowns. Alabama is a tough match-up for Tulane, as their run defense is stellar, but that won’t stop the Green Wave from handing the ball off, and their schemes are good enough to get some first downs. John Parker Wilson will come back to earth in this one.” This one was tight, just as I figured. Don’t be spending too much money hoping for Bama to win by 30.

Connecticut Huskies (-6) @ Temple Owls: (12-9 LOSS)

When this game went into overtime I was stoked about a possible win despite the tight contest throughout. But the Owls won the toss and kicked a field goal, and now I was hoping for the Huskies to get stopped on the 5 and have to tie the game with a field goal just so they could try to score first and hold the Owls out to get me the ATS win. It’s a funny thing watching a game with money on the line. Ha. I was had when UCONN scored to end it.

BYU Cougars (-9) @ Washington Huskies: (28-27 LOSS)

The Huskies really played very well, then got hosed by a ridiculous celebration penalty as Jake Locker tossed the ball in the air after scoring the game tying touchdown with 2 seconds left. That call should never be made. I wonder if that striped donkey feels good about himself today. Idiot. Anyway, I knew I was in trouble as soon as the Huskies came out and scored in the second half. They usually don’t do that until the game is out of reach. I took it on the chin here, I thought this game would be a laugher.

Akron Zips (+5) @ Syracuse Orange: (42-28 WINNER!)

Yhatzee! If you took my Zips to win you must be a happy human. Akron pulls the minor upset showing themselves to be a much better team than Syracuse. The days of Donovan McNabb to Marvin Harrison are a long ways away Orange fans!

Central Michigan Chippewas @ Georgia Bulldogs (-23.5): (17-56 WINNER!)

How about this Knowshon Moreno kid? Talk about efficient – he was handed the ball 18 times and ran 168 yards with it – oh, and three touchdowns to boot. Plus he caught 3 balls for 30 yards. Not a bad day for one of the most talented runners in college football. Matt Stafford played well, but he didn’t need to be dynamic today, the Georgia rushing attack, as I predicted, was way too much for the Chipps.

Oregon State Beavers (+17) @ Penn State Nittany Lions (14-45 LOSS)

And it wasn’t that close. Okay. I was wrong about Oregon State. For the foreseeable future I will not pick them. Ha.

West Virginia Moutaineers (-7.5) @ East Carolina Pirates: (3-24 LOSS)

WVU 3? Points? Maybe I expected too much from this offense? I don’t know. Back to the drawing board on this one I guess. I liked the Pirates, and this game only intensifies that admiration, but the Mounties just didn’t come to play. They got some unlucky bounces and rolls and whatnot, but surely not 24-3 worth of that stuff. Yikes.

Maryland Terrapins (-12.5) @ Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: (14-24 LOSS)

The Terps lost by 10. Yep. If there was ever an example of a team that just hasn’t come to play for two straight weeks, it’s the Terps. Usually it’s not two straight weeks, but in this case, that is what happened. Until they prove they’re heads are clearly out of their rears, I would stay away from them.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 1

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Well, well – a winner is a winner is a winner I guess. When you win more than you lose it all works out. It wasn’t as hard as it sounds. I picked 10 games of Week 1’s action and finished 6-4. There were a couple tough ones, (cough, cough – Vanderbilty/Miami-Ohio – cough) and some really nice upsets that I pulled off as well (go Bowling Green) – this is the review…

Vanderbilt Commodores @ Miami-Ohio Redhawks (-4): (loss)

“Vanderbilt loses their best player in wide receiver Earl Bennett. He was by far their most effective and productive offensive player. Their leading returning receiver is out with a stress fracture (George Smith). If that weren’t enough, the Commodores also said goodbye to their leading rusher from last year, as well as their entire starting offensive line – that’s the kicker. The Commodores don’t have much cohesion right now, as new starters are still being decided. The starting quarterback for this Thursday’s game wasn’t decided by the weekend, leaving much to be answered in the four days before kickoff. While Vanderbilt has all the questions, Miami of Ohio looks to be full of answers.” (Me) Well, I guess I was wrong about this one. Still, I read everything going into this game and it looks like a tough go for the Commodores. Luckily they named the right QB as Chris Nickson rushed 20 times for 166 yards, tormenting Miami-Ohio’s defense. It all sounded good to me, I guess I can’t always know.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-12) @ Baylor Bears: (WINNER)

“Wake Forest is the real deal. I expect them to start off the season hot, and ride their quarterback to the top of the ACC. Take them over the Bears by a couple touchdowns.” I couldn’t have predicted this game any better, except a couple touchdowns turned into 4 touchdowns. Riley Skinner lit up the Bears to the tune of 27 for 36 with 220 yards and 3 touchdown passes. The Deacons defense was stout, holding the Bears to just 6 points through 3 quarters.

Oregon State Beavers (-3) @ Stanford Cardinal: (9:00pm EST, 8-28-2008)

The Beavers fell down early and when they were just about to get up, or score the game tying touchdown, their young wide receiver fumbled the ball through the end-zone, ending what would have been one heck of a come back for me. The Beavers lost by 8. The Cardinal did it on the ground while putting up just enough points to win despite Lyle Moevao’s 404 passing yards and 4 TD passes. I was 1-2 before the weekend even started.

Friday’s Game


Temple Owls (-7) @ Army Black Knights: (7:00pm EST, 8-29-2008)

“Temple, amazingly, won 4 of their last 7 games, have three Pre-Seasons All Conference players returning, and were voted “Program on the Rise” by the MAC conference. They return their leading passer and an offensive line that found cohesion late last year. Defensively, Temple is better than expected, as Army will find out. Army switched their entire offense around this summer, moving from a no-huddle spread to an option based rushing attack. When that happens originally, teams seem to struggle because of the recruiting differences for offenses like that. I never thought I’d consider taking a Temple team on the road and favored by a touchdown, but that’s exactly what I’m doing and I’m confident about it.” Sometimes I can really pick them. Temple held Army scoreless in the first half while putting up 21 points of their own. The game ended at 35-7 and Temple looked good carrying my win on their backs.

Saturday’s Games


Bowling Green Falcons (+13) @ Pittsburgh Panthers: (WINNER)

“The Bowling Green Falcons bring 17 of 22 starters back to a team that is expected to compete for a WAC crown this season. The Falcons won 5 of their last 6 regular season games in 2007 before getting absolutely crushed in their bowl game against Tulsa. I like that last part. The Falcons have waited all summer, 17 returning starters and many other frustrated kids, to get back on the football field and prove that bowl game was a fluke. In comes the Panthers with one of the best running backs in the Nation and a former pro-football head coach. I like the Falcons’ chances – take them and all those points.” YES! Bowling Green pulled one of the weekend’s biggest stunners and I was right there to pat them on the back. I have to admit, I was a little worried when LeSean McCoy and company marched down the field for a score, and then went up 14-0. But the Falcons were resilient and finished off the Panthers 27-17.

Akron Zips @ Wisconsin Badgers (-26): (tough loss)

Akron’s 4th quarter touchdown killed me, taking this game from a two point cover to a 5 point loss. It’s always tough with big spreads, which is why I like to stay away from them for the most part – but up 38-10, the Badgers kicked me right in the junk when they allowed Akron to throw a touchdown pass with 38 seconds left on the clock. Now that’s a bad freaking beat!

Utah Utes (+3.5) @ Michigan Wolverines: (3:30pm EST, 8-30-2008)

“The Utes are very good and should win their conference this season. Michigan lost too many good players and are in the midst of a complete turn-around with their new head coach, Rich Rodriguez. I don’t know what else to say besides this, Utah is the better team with a better mentality and they also have nothing to lose in this one. Sign me up for that every single week.” The Utes made this closer than it had to be, but I’m still not that impressed with the Wolverines. They rode a little momentum late but the better team was Utah all day long. The game ended with the better team winning.

Oklahoma State Cowboys (-6) @ Washington State Cougars: (WINNER)

“The Cougars weren’t very good a year ago, usually open the season soft, don’t have much of a home-field advantage during the first few weeks of the college football season, lost their star quarterback to graduation, and don’t have much confidence either. Hmm…” What else can you say? I wasn’t real surprised when I won this one in the first quarter. End of game score, 39-13- Cougs, thanks for playing – see you next week.

Michigan State Spartans (+5) @ California Golden Bears (loss)

This game was close, but the Bears looked better than the Spartans all night long. Sometimes I feel robbed after a loss, but that wasn’t the case here. The Bears looked solid defensively despite the big score at the end of the game. MSU fought hard at the end of the game but in the end Cal had the better athletes and it showed. Still, I was just a field goal away from winning this one.

Idaho Vandals @ Arizona Wildcats (-27): (WINNER)

“It seems like a lot of points, and it is, but I just have a feeling… …This game wouldn’t surprise me if it was a 45-7 WIldcat blowout.” It would however surprise me if the Wildcats put up 70 in this one. Try a 35 point 2nd quarter and a 70-0 final score. Yikes. Like I said, I just had a feeling.

6-4 overall with a few huge wins a couple tough losses – such is the way it goes. Tune in tomorrow for some Week 2 Free NCAA Picks!

Week 14 College Football Picks Review: 2007

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I needed some help in Week 14 after a couple stinkers, and I think I got just that! 4-1! On to the Bowls!

LUCKY LESTER’S Free NCAA Football Picks

Free Picks: Week 14

Virginia Tech Hokies (-4.5) @ Boston College Eagles: win
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: Belmont)

The Hokies were the better team for the second straight game, and this time they came out of the game with a big win. To think, if they didn’t crumble in the last 4 minutes last time they played BC, they would be playing for the National Championship. I hate the BCS, by the way.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane @ Central Florida Knights (-7.5): win
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: Belmont)

Boy, this was one of the easier picks of the week. Check out my free picks section to see how well I called this game. On the freaking button.

Army Black Knights @ Navy Midshipmen (-14): win
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: Belmont)

While this game was closer than I thought, it was my biggest bet of the week, and I sure am glad it won big for me. I needed the Midshipmen to come out and run all over the Knights, but Army was up to the challenge. However, a couple tough calls and some “fortunate turnovers” (fortunate for me) helped me get a huge win, and a nice 4-1 mark on my last week of the regular season.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (+7.5) @ Nevada Wolfpack: loss
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: Belmont)

Well, my lone loss came in a game where I underestimated the Wolfpack’s talent. This was a killing, as the Bulldogs never stood a chance. They lacked the want to win all year long, losing too many close games, but in the end, they came out and put a hurting on the Bulldogs.

Oregon State Beavers (pk) @ Oregon Ducks: win
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: Belmont)

Vegas picked this well, but in the 2nd OT, the stronger team took the Cival War, and could very well end up in a better Bowl situation than their Green instate enemies.