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Weather. Grudge matches. Conference races. Teams putting it all together. Teams letting it all fall apart. It's November, and that means chaos in the college football world.
WEEK NINE IN REVIEW
We apologize for the losing week. Those responsible have been sacked.
Texas... oh Texas... that's not what people mean when they say you have to make sure you get a bagel in Manhattan. (That's going to be our best joke of the week, so you can stop reading now if you'd like.) Whiffing on every scoring opportunity is a recipe for a shutout and failure to cover. Then there was Wazzu, a statistical even match for Arizona, but not before coming out in front of the home crowd and spotting the Wildcats a quick 31. Ouch. Good ol' Dr. Bo killed the patient on the operating room table in Baton Rouge. No more needs to be said. On the plus side, the Mountaineers dispatched Oklahoma State with relative ease and Utah - having dominated the game - managed to actually not turn the ball over on its final possession to beat USC.
Bonus bets were a brighter spot. Cal and Oregon sailed over the total on Friday night. Our B1G teaser came through, with Nebraska comfortably putting a thumping on Rutgers and Michigan State reliably dispatching Michigan. (We almost feel sad for Brady Hoke, but then remember he played a kid with a concussion, so screw him.) But Steve Spurrier getting ornery and pushing every "Woooo! I'm drunk in Vegas!" button imaginable kept the Auburn game close and blew up our SEC West teaser.
We burned through 113 GBHs with that substandard performance. Again, those responsible have been sacked.
CURRENT BANKROLL 10,074 GBHs
THE WEEKLY CARD
Let loose the dogs of November.
THE GAME Navy +15 vs Notre Dame
We'll start off with a rivalry game that one side sees as a rivalry and the other sees as more of a nuisance. Notre Dame DC Brian Van Gorder hasn't defended against an option team in over a decade, and the Irish are in a bit of a lookahead spot with a huge game at Arizona State looming next week. We look for Navy to treat this as their Super Bowl. Expect the Middies to run the ball well, shorten the game, and keep the margin within two scores.
THE BET Navy +15, risking 110 GBHs to win 100
THE GAME North Carolina +15 at Miami
Miami is a little inflated after their primetime beatdown of Virginia Tech last Thursday. And while the Canes ran the ball well, Hokie turnovers artificially grew the margin and the Miami passing game underwhelmed. North Carolina, on the other hand, is doing that Larry Fedora thing where his teams look lost for the first six weeks of the season only to put things together and become increasingly dangerous down the home stretch. Miami has no home field advantage, so we love the Heels to keep it close (and get A's on all the papers they won't be writing).
THE BET North Carolina +15, risking 110 GBHs to win 100
THE GAME Florida +11 vs Georgia
Easy money you guys! Georgia is soooo much better than Florida ohmygosh Florida is horrible and Georgia is one of the hottest teams in college football! *ahem* Hold up. This is a rivalry game where Will Muschamp is coaching for his career. Sure, we don't expect Florida's offense to do much, but UGA still doesn't have the down field passing game to test the Gator defense. Coach Boom (remember when that was a thing?) keeps everyone close to the line of scrimmage and uglies this one up, giving us a Bulldog win by single digits.
THE BET Florida +11, risking 110 GBHs to win 100
THE GAME Stanford +8 at Oregon
Oh how soon everyone forgets. This is another public lovefest, with expectations of the speedy Ducks finally blowing out that Stanford team of slow dudes. But despite the preponderance of bets on Oregon, the line has tightened. The Ducks' weaknesses along the OL match up perfectly to Stanford's strengths, and we don't trust the Oregon defense in the least. Even if Kevin Hogan is the frighteningly shaky QB under center for the opposition. Oregon wins, but Stanford keeps it within a single score.
THE BET Stanford +8
THE GAME Utah +6.5 at Arizona State
Credit Todd Graham. Yes, he keeps real estate agents fat and happy, but he also fields pretty darn good football teams. This year's incarnation of the Sun Devils have shown remarkable resiliency and improvement. The backup QB looks better than many team's starters, and the defense has improved dramatically in-season (Aggies, feel free to gaze with envy). On the flip side, Utah is overvalued after their huge home win against USC and is overdue to return to earth. The Utes also missing their top WR and will be largely one dimensional on offense. Forcing Utah to play from behind, ASU takes it at home by more than a touchdown.
THE BET Arizona State -6.5, risking 110 GBHs to win 100
BONUS BETS
A&M -34 vs ULM (risking 33 GBHs to win 30) Both QBs will be puttin' up points as Sumlin feeds the unsettled hordes a tasty blowout.
Baylor -36 vs Kansas (risking 33 GBHs to win 30) Sorry Jayhawks, but there's a playoff committee to impress.
Ohio State -28.5 vs Illinois (risking 33 GBHs to win 30) Urban joins Art in striking a sexy pose for the committee's beauty pageant.
Enjoy the games and grow your bankroll, everyone. Good luck!