Just like the NFL, .500 rears it’s ugly head! A bounce off the foot for a last minute pick 6 did me good in a game that shouldn’t have been close to begin with. I didn’t get a lot of luck going my way, that’s for sure, but such is the way it goes, and at least a couple times the scores landed in the right slot. Here’s my Week 6 review…
Nebraska Cornhuskers (-3) @ Missouri Tigers: (WINNER) Speaking of a little luck actually going my way, how about this one? A tough beat for Tiger-backers, that’s for sure. Up 12 nil going into the 4th quarter, the Tigers get the brunt of four 4th quarter Cornhusker touchdowns while not scoring once. Nebraska finally pulled their collective heads out and easily covered despite going scoreless for 3 quarters and being down 12 with just 15 minutes to play on the road. Thursday’s are crazy!
Auburn Tigers @ Arkansas Razorbacks (+3): (WINNER) “There’s a certain time where hype hits down week and down week hits reality. That might be this time around for the Tigers. After finally smashing into the Top 25 after a 5-0 start to the season, a solid Razorbacks team hosts Auburn in an early Saturday Morning showdown. Now the road team has won 6 of the last 7 between these two programs, but I’m taking the home dog here. I think Arkansas puts up enough points, and sooner or later the luck runs out on the Tigers.” The luck ran way out on the Tigers, Arkansas walked over Auburn from the beginning, got three 3rd quarter touchdowns to get to within 11, only to see Arkansas fight back to open up the margin yet again. Got this one right on the button.
Michigan State Spartans (-4) @ Illinois Illini: (WINNER) “I don’t think the Spartans are good, or even worthy of being favored on the road, this line doesn’t have great value or anything, but the Illini are bad. Even after a big win over their “in state big brother” program, I still think the Spartans have enough in the tank to get a double digit win in Illinois.” You know it’s bad when you really don’t like a team, don’t think they are worth much, and still take them as a favorite on the road in a Big 10 match-up. I was onto something, the Spartans easily took this one.
Oregon Ducks @ UCLA Bruins (+6.5): (LOSS) The Ducks were down 3-0 at the half, but needed just 13 seconds to get a lead after the 3rd quarter started. That 100 yard TD return set the table for a second half that would go all Oregon’s way. Injuries and question marks led me to believe Oregon wouldn’t produce much offense. They didn’t need to, a couple non-offensive touchdowns made it 14-3 and Oregon never looked back.
Alabama Crimson Tide @ Mississippi Rebels (+6.5): (LOSS) I expected Jevan Snead to come out and play good football after laying an egg last time he saw a decent defense come to play. I mean, this guy has been rated as a Top 3 QB in the upcoming NFL draft by some scouts that I respect. But after watching this game all the way through, he makes bad reads, doesn’t use his feet well, lacks accuracy, has no big-game push, and basically looks like an MLB closer not named Mariano Rivera, scared for his life when it matters most. My fault on this one.
Indiana Hoosiers (+7) @ Virginia Cavaliers: (LOSS) I couldn’t have been more wrong about a game. Took a huge loss here.
Duke Blue Devils (+15) @ North Carolina State Wolfpack: (WINNER) “I think Duke has one of their best teams ever, now that being said, they are still not all that good. That being said, neither is NC State. Duke’s coming off a pretty good game against Va Tech last week, and I think they’re a nice value getting more than two touchdowns. The last three games in this match-up have been very close contests, and 6 of the last 7 have been NC State wins, but by a touchdown or less. I think that trend continues, if Duke doesn’t upset outright.” Yeehaw! It’s rare that you call a Duke football upset could be brewing, and it actually happens. Craziness! Gotta love it!
Arizona State Sun Devils (-20) @ Washington State Cougars: (LOSS) This game was a bad beat. The Sun Devils score 3 touchdowns but miss one PAT and get another blocked to be up only 19 in the third quarter, and I knew that would come back to haunt me. The Cougars get a lucky 99 yard touchdown late in the 4th after the Sun Devils go for 2 to at least get the push. I get a loss here. Tough one. The Cougars had -54 yards rushing in this one. WSU is still a joke, I’ll get them soon enough!
Florida Gators (-9) @ Louisiana State Tigers: (WINNER) This one was just by the hair on my chin. The Gators dominated defensively, allowing nothing more than an LSU field goal. LSU did fine work on the defensive end as well, but Florida’s TD and two field goals were just enough. That late 4th quarter field goal to ice it was huge!
Arizona Wildcats (-3) @ Washington Huskies: (LOSS) Screwed. The Huskies played well against the Wildcats running game, but gave up tons of passing yardage, and really got outplayed all night long. But they just hung around, then a ball gets kicked into the air, lands right in the husky’s paws and they return it for a game winning touchdown. Ridiculousness. But hey, the Huskies deserved some good ju-ju after getting Irished last week at Notre Dame. Now I need some good ju-ju, for goodness sakes!