Tag Archives: Akron Zips

Akron Zips vs Bowling Green Falcons Week 12 NCAA Pick

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Akron Zips (+13) @ Bowling Green Falcons Week 12 NCAA Pick: I thought this line would move the other way. And that’s how it started out. After opening at -12, the Falcons had to give another point by the time I made my decision, and with the public lining up behind the Falcons (73% of the public bet is with Bowling Green), I fully expected this one to get to two touchdowns by mid-week. But it’s moved the other way. Right now, as I write this article, the common line sees the Falcons as just 11 point favorites despite the high public backing. Maybe somebody bigger than me saw what I saw, the Zips as a great value bet on the road.

Now, this one could run away from me, but either way, I still see good value. The Zips may be 0-5 on the road this season, and Bowling Green is 5-5 compared to the Zips 2-8 record, so obviously Akron has become comfortable losing. But they just aren’t as bad as their record insists, and Bowling Green isn’t as good as their 5-5 mark. When I’m looking at value, I’m looking at the lines that have been posted throughout the season. I see that Akron has been a 13 point dog or greater just twice, against a superior powerhouse (Penn State) and against a very good Central Michigan team. I see that Bowling Green has never been favored by more than 4 points. All of a sudden 13? That’s value.

Both have had close games against Kent State, Buffalo, and Ohio. I think Bowling Green is the better team, but their questionable ground game should keep the Zips with-in striking distance.

DIRECTV – ESPN GamePlan Free NCAA Picks: Week 6

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Rutgers Scarlet Knights at West Virginia Mountaineers (-14) 12:00 pm: Fresno State handled them easily, North Carolina trounced them on National Television, and Navy ran the ball all over them for a close victory. The fact that they beat Morgan State last week doesn’t make me feel better about Rutgers. West Virginia has some tough losses, but I think they play good in this one and oust the Knights by 3 or 4 scores.

Akron Zips (-3.5) at Kent State Golden Flashes 12:00 pm: (already picked this game in my NCAA Free Picks: Week 6) This Zips team is legit. They’ve played well against quality opponents. They almost took down Cincinnati last week, and that wasn’t because the Bearcats played bad. Akron forces the issue, and they should easily handle Kent State.

Boston College Eagles (-8) at North Carolina State Wolfpack 12:00 pm: I picked this game earlier, but the more I look at it the closer it is. Boston College’s quarterback situation is almost as bad as NC State’s, but I think BC is still the favorite to cover here but it’s not the greatest bet around, not as good as I thought it was yesterday.

Florida (-24) at Arkansas 12:30 pm (already picked this game in my NCAA Free Picks: Week 6)

South Carolina Gamecocks at Mississippi Rebels (-2.5) 2:00 pm: I like going against Spurrier, especially when his team is getting a “Spurrier line” – he’s tough to go against because he’s bound to make anything happen, but the better team is Mississippi – they are at home, and I don’t think they let down this week – nobody has let down games against Steve Spurrier’s teams, everyone hates them right?

Florida State Seminoles (+3) at Miami Hurricanes 3:30 pm: 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.

Arizona State (+10) at California 3:30 pm (already picked this game in my NCAA Free Picks: Week 6)

Temple Owls (+8) at Miami (Ohio) Redhawks 3:30 pm: 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.

Texas Tech (-7) at Kansas State 3:30 pm (already picked this game in my NCAA Free Picks: Week 6)

Nevada (-24) at Idaho 5:00 pm (already picked this game in my NCAA Free Picks: Week 6)

Florida International (-6) at North Texas 7:00 pm: 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.

Northern Illinois at Tennessee Volunteers (-15.5) 7:00 pm: Alright – Week 1 was a fluke loss to a bad UCLA team. Week 2 was about right, killing UAB 35-3. Week 3 was about right, losing by a little more than I expected, but still getting handled by a real good Florida team. Week 4 might have been even better than I expect from Tennesse, going on the road and finishing two back of a good Auburn team. This week they play Northern Illinois. The best teams they’ve beat are Indiana State and Eastern Michigan. Yeah. They lost to Western Michigan (close game) and Minnesota (close game). I think Tennessee comes out with a little to prove in this one and wins by 3 touchdowns.

Oregon Ducks at USC Trojans (-16) 8:00 pm: I’m not crazy about this game, but I’ll take USC at home to come back and get a nice Pac 10 win. They are still one of the best teams in the nation, one down game where they were outplayed doesn’t change that for me. If they would have won last week I’m guessing this would have been a 22-24 point line. I’ll take the value coming after that loss, especially with all those quarterbacking questions at Oregon.

Ohio State (-1) at Wisconsin 8:00 pm (already picked this game in my NCAA Free Picks: Week 6)

Hawaii at Fresno State Bulldogs (-21): It’s that loss to San Jose State that does it for me here. I know this is a bit of a rivalry, but Hawaii just isn’t the same team without the coach that built their program. I’ll take Fresno State here and expect it to be 5 or 6 touchdowns by the end of this thing. The Bulldogs won’t let up.

Free NCAA Football Picks – Week 1

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Here we are! It’s August 25th, 2008 and NCAA football games are just a few short days away. Summer is on the way out, and fall is just about to turn the leaves red. That means school for you young scholarly types and just colder weather for the rest of you – but it also means football! It all starts with a little NCAA action. For Week 1 I went ahead and picked out 10 winners… Enjoy the first edition of my NCAA Free Picks for 2008…

Thursday’s Games


Vanderbilt Commodores @ Miami-Ohio Redhawks (-4): (7:30pm EST, 8-28-2008)

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. Miami has a stout defense with very talented linebackers. They may be a smaller college, but they can play football. 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.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-12) @ Baylor Bears: (8:00pm EST, 8-28-2008)

Wake Forest is the real deal. Despite winning 8 of their last 10 games and then spanking Connecticut in the 2nd half of their bowl game, the Deacons just can’t seem to get the credit they deserve. THe Deacons return their freshman quarterback sensation, Riley Skinner, and while they lose their top receiver from ’07, Wake is full of young talent at receiver. Head coach Jim Grobe knows what he’s doing. The Deacons are off and on on the road, but they’ve been a darn good football team with Riley Skinner at quarterback. 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.

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

The Oregon State Beavers seem like the forgotten Pac-10 team heading into the season. Everyone seems to forget that the Beavers won 7 of their last 8 games including an upset victory over Maryland in their bowl game. During the last 8 games of the season, the Beavers’ only loss came against USC in Southern California. Last year, when the Beavers played Stanford, a tough Oregon State defense held the Cardinal out of the end-zone, winning 23-6. The Beavers lost their talented tail-back, Yvenson Bernard, to graduation – but they have a nice offensive line and a couple new running backs that have impressed when given the chance. One player that should have a great bounce back season is Sammie Stroughter, the speed demon that was a 2006 3rd team All-American. With family problems and injury woes, Stroughter struggled in 2007, playing only 3 games. He was awarded a medical red-shirt, and now he has one more chance to prove himself in the Pac-10. Every time he touches the ball, touchdowns can happen. Look for the Beavers to out-talent the Cardinal all over the field, dominating this early-season conference match-up.

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.

Saturday’s Games


Bowling Green Falcons (+13) @ Pittsburgh Panthers: (12:00pm EST, 8-30-2008)

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.

Akron Zips @ Wisconsin Badgers (-26): (12:00pm EST, 8-30-2008)

As if going into Wisconsin to play the 12th ranked team in the Nation wasn’t a tough enough opener, the Zips have really struggled with injuries during football camp. With a couple junior college transfers and position battles being effected by these injuries, the Zips preparation time for a tough Wisconsin team will be shortened. The Badgers return big names, it seems, when looking at their 2008 starters. P.J. Hill, the ultra talented tailback, and Travis Beckum, one of the most highly touted TEs in college football. Defensively, the Badgers are senior laden with an elite linebacking crew. It may be his first season as a starter, but senior quarterback Allen Evridge has been around for a while. Look for the Badgers to lean heavily on the run and really pound it to the Zips.

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.

Oklahoma State Cowboys (-6) @ Washington State Cougars: (3:30pm EST, 8-30-2008)

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… I don’t like Pac-10 teams that open their seasons against tougher conferences, and that’s what I think this is. The Cowboys might not finish above .500 and they’ll probably look really bad in some games – but not this one. This is a team that, last year showed they can play tight with Kansas and Texas, beat Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Indiana – so I surely like them against the Cougars.

Michigan State Spartans (+5) @ California Golden Bears (8:00pm EST, 8-30-2008)

This isn’t me loving the Spartans as much as me down on the Bears. Cal has a super talented and amazingly fast sophomore running back in Jahvid Best, but besides that I’m not too impressed. They are supposed to have one of the top rated offenses in the Pac-10, but without a quarterback to deliver the bread, I’m not sure that will be the case. Michigan State’s defense isn’t dynamic, but I think they’ll stack the box and make Cal’s quarterbacks beat them. That’s what will be the undoing of the Bears in Week 1, I just don’t think they can beat the Spartans through the air.

Idaho Vandals @ Arizona Wildcats (-27): (10:00pm EST, 8-30-2008)

It seems like a lot of points, and it is, but I just have a feeling the Wildcats are going to go off for about 45 points in this one. They always run the ball hard and Idaho consistently can’t stop anybody else’s ground game. The Wildcats finished the season well, beating Washington, UCLA, and Oregon before losing to ASU by 3 points. The Wildcats really played well all season last year, losing to Stanford by 1, USC by 7, Oregon State by 2 scores. I like the Wildcats to get a little luck to sway their way this season – but that shouldn’t matter against the Vandals. Idaho was 1-11 in the WAC last season, and I expect much of the same this time around. This game wouldn’t surprise me if it was a 45-7 WIldcat blowout.