Who Deserves The Irish?

I don’t understand why everyone’s default position about the most talented or best team in college football this year always goes to Alabama.  They have played two teams that are good enough to beat them all year and they are 1-1.  I’m not saying the SEC isn’t the best conference in the country, they are, and I don’t know that there is even a close second.  But if the third best team you played all year is Michigan, you didn’t play a tough schedule regardless of the conference patch on your jersey.  Alabama has beat the snot out of teams that are terrible………Western Kentucky, Western Carolina, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Florida Atlantic………….and they have looked very pedestrian against teams that are half decent. 

Calm down guys, we can still lose and it won't matter

I think when it comes down to the BCS National Championship Game, it should be about what teams deserve to play in that game.  With Notre Dame running the table against a schedule that included Michigan, Michigan State, BYU, Oklahoma, Stanford, and USC, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind, they deserve to be there.  So, what team deserves to play them in the title game given who they beat and who they lost to this year?  As a Florida State Seminoles fan, my answer may surprise you.

Florida

Below is a list of teams with one loss and teams they have beaten with 3 losses or less and the team they loss to and how many points they lost to them by.  This presents a resume of quality wins after the season is all played out.  Sure Kansas State beat West Virginia and at the time, WV was ranked pretty high, but as the schedule played out, that win shouldn’t mean as much since West Virginia ended up not being that good.  That seems like a pretty good measurement of who you’ve played, lost to, and beat after things all shake out.  Alabama set the precedent last year that says you don’t even need to play in your conference title game to play in the National Championship so don’t use that against Florida this year.

Florida

Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina, Florida State

Jean shorts yes, number two, also yes

Georgia (-8)

Alabama

LSU

Texas A&M (-5)

Georgia

Florida

South Carolina (-28)

Oregon

Oregon State

Stanford (-3)

Kansas State

Oklahoma

Baylor (-28)

Manti T'eo deserves to win the Heisman Trophy

I think the National Championship game should be between the two schools I hate the most, Notre Dame and Florida.  They both have played the toughest schedules, one ran the table and one lost a game after a fumble on the goal line.  If every game really does matter, then the game needs to be determined after every game is played and not based on WHEN losses happen.  Currently, it’s all about WHEN you lose in college football and it takes away part of the entire body of work.  If Alabama had lost to A&M last week and still been playing for the SEC Championship this weekend, we would be outraged to suggest they could just win one game and be in.  The same goes for Georgia.  They got HOUSED by South Carolina and if that happened this past Saturday, they would not even be in a discussion for the right to play in Miami January 7^th.  

You need to look at the entire body of work, and for as much as I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE to say it, Florida and Notre Dame have the most impressive resumes right now and there is nothing any other team can do this weekend to convince me otherwise.  

The Sky Might Be Falling

One game does not a season make, and if I’m looking at things with the glass half full, the Bears have lost to the Packers, Texans, and 49ers this year, the sky isn’t falling.  They lost two of those games with Cutler out and one game when they lost Forte.  The defense has played one really bad game this year and it was last night.  I still think, depending on the health of Jay Cutler, and this would be assuming he doesn’t miss any more games, that they can finish 4-2 or 3-3 giving them an 11-5 or 10-6 record and hopefully securing the 5^th seed in the NFC.  

Don't worry bud, I'm sad too

Here’s the deal why, as a Bears fan, you can still convince yourself this team can make a run:

• The Bears still have a good defense.  Like I said, one game does not a season make.  It’s the NFL, not college.  Urlacher, Briggs, Peppers, Tillman, and Jennings are all still healthy. 
• Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey, although rusty last night, and both guys obviously had no rapport with Campbell, are still a very good WR combo, the best we have ever seen in Chicago.
• Matt Forte and Michael Bush are still one of the best 1-2 RB combos in all of football. 
• Jay Cutler makes a BIG difference with this team.  In the games he’s started and finished in the past two years, the Bears are 14-4. 
• The 5^th seed will most likely play either at New York or Dallas, and either of those would be winnable games
• Assuming they won, they would most likely play at Atlanta, another winnable game. 
• And assuming they win there, they would play either at San Fran or at Green Bay.  A tough game no doubt, but it’s hard to beat a team twice in the same season, or 3 times in the case of the Packers should Green Bay beat the Bears at Soldier Field in 4 weeks. 

 After watching last night, it’s very hard to hold this perspective, but the Bears are still 7-3 and still play 4-5 of their 6 remaining games against teams that won’t be in the playoffs. 

I can still take us to the promise land guys

Now………..with all that said, last night was embarrassing.  Every aspect of the game was poorly played and I turned the game off at halftime because I felt sorry for the team I was rooting for.  Jason Campbell, for someone who started 71 career games in the NFL, looked worse than Caleb Hanie.  The defense got punched in the mouth and never responded.  Mike Tice continues to display a lack of creativity on the offensive side of the ball.  The 49ers looked like a far superior team in every single aspect of the game.  It was a worse loss than week 2 at Green Bay for the simple fact that the strength of this team in the defense, played like an old, slow, bad unit.  In the Packers loss (and even against Houston), there was something to hang your hat on (the defense played well), but last night, you could only walk away feeling thankful that the game ended and the NFL didn’t make teams play 5 quarters. 

It’s hard to call any game in an NFL season a must win but Sunday against the Vikings will determine the course of the rest of the season.  If the Bears win, we can all take a deep breath and start to fill up our fan glasses half full again.  If the Bears lose, they put themselves in danger of not making the playoffs and we will start hearing rumblings of coaching changes, the defense being too old, and Cutler not being a franchise guy. 

Week 5 College Football Picks

HEY MUSTACHE.... I'm back! The sabbatical was great: as Sef mentioned in the opener, there is a new Yasko hanging around now and I am damn thankful that I have been able to coordinate her nap/sleep schedule with the ND games so far this year. And now, Mr. Holy made himself a mistake... He went off to Europe with Mrs. Holy and gave me the ability to post whatever I want on Mustache. Challenge / opportunity accepted!

And my first order of business for the 2012 season is to quote the ESPN NFL primetime crew and say, “C’mon man!”  I missed the first couple weeks of college football and I have to return to statements like Auburn will be ranked in the top 20 at the end of the season and Michigan will beat Saban’s tide outright?!  On top of that I find a Mustache sports page filled with FSU graffiti!? Sef Sam, I’m not even going to address the prediction of a Denard Robinson led Michigan beating anybody in the SEC, much less Alabama (the Wolverines being ranked 9 in the nation to start the season was a ploy to make that Bama game look better than everyone knew it was going to be). But Ryan, I know you're new to the Mustache family and everything, and of course I welcome another Gold Domer with open arms to fight the evil forces of Sef Sam Holy's Seminole nation, but the War Eagles / Tigers (nobody should have 2 mascots by the way, it's greedy and confusing) have to rely on Kiehl "the furthest thing from Cam Newton" Frazier as their field general. Not ideal.

And the kid who played at the same high school in Arkansas that 2010 Broyles Award winner (with that national championship Auburn team) Gus Malzhan, got his first taste of coaching success at, has never proven that he is anything more than a high school athlete. And this is by no means a hindsight assessment, Auburn knew of their quarterback’s deficiency entering the season as when Kid Kiehl made his debut last year during a beat down in Fayetteville he managed to throw 2 egregious picks in just 4 attempts and walked away with a NEGATIVE quarterback rating. Gene Chizik has already relegated him to the "game manager" role, and if Auburn has a better quarterback last week against LSU, maybe one who doesn't throw 7 picks in his first 4 games, they beat Bayou Tigers. Perhaps the saddest reality on the tips of the tongues of the Auburn fans in Jordan-Hare stadium, however, is the realization that Frazier is the best they have. We saw Clint Mosley last year and he was anything but impressive, and so the more experienced option with an ailing shoulder remains plan B. But you know it’s closer to a plan B minus when no one is even stammering for the kid to have a shot at starting, too bad Coach Brian "Uncle Ricko" VanGorder can't chuck the tater.

But I digress. These are my first picks of the year and I am going to go at them alone this week because again, Sef is across the pond and Ryan has this awesome job where he gets to drink wine all day… and apparently all night too. But I want to start week five’s picks with a little something new for me this year. Last season, my 3 fans kept asking me, “Yasko, why aren’t you telling us who the best teams in the nation are? We already know your picks are far superior to Sef Sam Holy’s and so how about some insight into who you think is REALLY good?” And so for our tens of readers here at Mustache, this year on top of the Game, Intrigue and Lock of the week features, I present The Yickity Yes Top 5 where I will let you know who the REAL 5 best teams in the nation are right now. And so we obviously have a lot to get to; let’s get started.

 

The Yickity Yes Top 5: Week 5

                Yasko                                        AP                                          USA Today

1 -           Alabama                                   Alabama                              Alabama
2 -           Georgia                                    Oregon                                 Oregon
3 -           Florida State                            LSU                                       LSU
4 -           Oregon                                     Florida St.                            Florida St.
5 -           Kansas St.                                 Georgia                                Georgia

The most glaring difference in my, well thought out and analytically sound teams compared to the robot picks we get every week from the AP and USA Today is the absence of LSU. The simple reason for that is I don’t believe in them this year. And I know what they say about judging a team on one game, but you can obviously see how I feel about Auburn and LSU was a safety away from seeing Auburn in extra time last week. Granted, LSU out gained Auburn 351 to 183 yards, but pay very close attention to LSU’s game this week against Towson. The game is of course off the board with most books, by Towson boasts probably the best running back in FCS, Terrance West, who had a record 29 touchdowns last year as a freshman. The kid’s a bruiser too at 5’11, 230, and has a quarterback in Grant Enders who completes passes at a rate of about 75%, and so this is a well balanced Towson Tiger team on offense. Of course LSU wins this game, but pay attention to the first half score before the SEC team exemplifies their depth and scholarship advantage over the FCS school and if it were available; I would tell you to take Towson in the first half.

One quick note on K-State, they are really good and are going to sneak up on you. Big 12 champions? I will stick my neck out and say that after they travel to Morgantown in two weeks and beat the Mountaineers, the Cats will be the front runners in the conference. But after Kansas this week and a pretty solid Iowa State team next week, West Virginia is only the beginning of their gauntlet of a schedule as they end the season like this: Texas Tech, Oklahoma St., at TCU, at Baylor and finally home against Texas. And so we’ll really see what the senior Collin Klein can really do in the months to come, by my prediction is at least a trip to Dallas for the Big 12 championship game for Coach Bill Snyder’s team.

Texas -2 ½ at Oklahoma State
What has Texas proven to us this year? That they can actually pick a starting quarterback? That they can beat up on teams that lose to FCS schools? I am not going to be convinced that David Ash is an elite Big 12 QB until he beats some elite Big 12 competition and so this is a good test for him. He built a lot of confidence against Wyoming, New Mexico and Ole’ Miss building an impressive stat line of 703 yards and 7 touchdowns on 55 for 72 passing. And with the one-two punch of Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron out of the backfield, I think that Texas covers this spread and moves on to 4-0.

PICK: Texas -2 ½

Tennessee +13 ½ at Georgia
Aaron Murray is a senior and is starting for his third year for the Dawgs. Todd Gurley is a freshman and has burst onto the SEC scene by averaging 9.2 yards per carry so far this year. Michael Bennett and Tavarres King are fast, physical receivers amongst 12 different pass catchers this year for UGA. The result? The Dawgs currently have the best offense in the SEC which means they sit at the head of the table and I haven’t even talked about their defense. It’s a squad that this year that has been depleted with injuries and suspensions and after 3 tough games they proved last week that they are praise worthy as well. And oh yeah, the likes of LB Alec Ogletree and All-American safety Baccari Rambo may be back on the field this week. UGA runs away with this thing.

PICK: Georgia -13 ½

I am running out of time here, I wanted to post this before games started and that has long since passed. I actually want to watch some games today and so we’ll go rapid fire for the remainder of week 5…

Ohio St. +3 at Michigan St

Ohio State will soon be back under Urban Meyer and today’s win will prove a good indicator of that.

PICK: Buckeyes +3

GAME OF THE WEEK: Baylor +11 at West Virginia

It’s going to be high flying and high scoring and in a game like that I will almost always take the points

PICK: Baylor +11

INTRIGUE OF THE WEEK: Texas Tech -2 ½ at Iowa St.

The Cyclones have played everybody tough this year and Texas Tech may never get back to Mike Leach caliber football.

PICK: Iowa St. +2 ½

LOCK OF THE WEEK: Wisconsin +11 ½ at Nebraska

The Huskers slipped and fell against a UCLA team that they are better than. But as the best team in the Big Ten (like being the skinniest kid at fat camp recently) I think they cover against a Wisconsin team that has proven they have no weapons outside of the concussion riddled Montee Ball.

PICK: Nebraska -11 ½

 - Yasko

College Football Fun with Ryan McMahon

  

This Ducks fan used Ryan's week one picks

Welcome to week 3!  Let’s jump in.  

#20 Notre Dame (+5.5) at #10 Michigan State

Sef Sam Holy:  Does Notre Dame have a chance to beat Michigan State this week?  What about Michigan?

Ryan:  They absolutely have to beat them both, and I think they will. I say that because I imagine(hope) that Reese will break his leg in the 1st qtr. 

Sef Sam Holy:  I know you have to hate them, but is that what you honestly think? That ND will beat MSU?

I think MSU wins big Saturday night and I'm not just saying that because I hate Notre Dame, I just think the Spartans are legitimately good.  Like, they could be a 10 win team in the SEC good. 

Ryan:  NO, I dont really believe that at all.  As much as I wish they could somehow pull it out I know that MSU is just too talented.   They are coached better and that D-Line is going to cause Reese to throw several picks, because.... well... thats all he's good at.  If ND starts "that other guy" at QB they still lose but look more athletic doing it.  ND will cover

#18 Florida (+3) at #23 Tennessee   

Tyler Bray is gangster

Sef Sam Holy:  South Carolina and Georgia got all the pub in everyone's preseason previews on the SEC East. People even said that Florida would be the dark horse school if Jeff Driskel proved to be any good. But let me go out and say on record that everyone should have been talking about Tennessee. Tyler Bray is legit and will be the best QB in the conference and with Justin Hill and Cordarrelle Patterson to chuck it to.  I think they not only beat Florida by 10 in Knoxville, but they now serve as America's best chance to knock off Alabama in a couple weeks.

Ryan:  Couldn't disagree more, Ill concede Bray may be the best QB in the conference but that’s all they got.  Florida's new ground and pound offense will control the ball and allow only a few big plays to that TN offense.  Volunteers are favored by three and not only will those Gators cover, they will win outright!!  In truth I like neither team long-term, but Saturday in Tennessee, Florida runs its way to 3-0.

#1 Alabama (-20) at Arkansas

"I'm so glad I don't have to play Saturday"

Sef Sam Holy:  Losing to Louisiana Monroe really took the pizazz out of this Saturdays matchup between these two SEC West squads but I think Alabama won this game when Bobby Petrino crashed his motorcycle with his younger, not that attractive and already engaged, mistress on the back. Alabama runs all over the Razorbacks, injures Tyler Wilson’s backup, Brandon Allen or Mitchell, and wins by 3 TD's.

Ryan:  Can’t argue with you even though I want to purely for fun but Tyler Wilson will not play Saturday and he must be so, so, so happy.  Because Alabama will cover the 20 points in a route, maybe if Wilson was healthy and maybe if Bama's defense had to count to 5 Mississippi before they could rush I would give the razorbacks a chance to cover.  But this is real football and Arkansas isn’t nearly as good at real football as I thought they were a month ago.

#2 USC (-8.5) at #21 Stanford

Sef Sam Holy:  Neither team has really impressed me. Last week Syracuse hung up 29 on a USC defense that was supposed to be as good as anyone in the country. I think missing 10 scholarships and still not being as deep as they need to be on that side of the ball hurts the Trojans chances at running the table. I'll take USC by 6.5, anything more than that, give me the Stanford Cardinal (I picked the game before I saw the line so I had to stay with Stanford).

Ryan:  So you’re taking the Cardinal to cover??  That’s not going to work out well for you, Stanford hasn’t looked good they are only ranked becuase last year they some guy named Luck who is no longer there.  USC wins big, their #1 and #2 wide receivers are the 2 best in the country.  Sure the Trojan defense isn't nearly as good as most thought but they won’t have to be verse The Cardinal.  USC wins by 14 and probably looks bored halfway through the 3rd quarter.  Yippie for Lane Kiffin.

Sef Sam Holy:  This weeks upset special....Idaho over LSU!

Just kidding

I’ll also take BYU (-21) over Utah

Ryan:  My upset special..... Utah over BYU, giving the (whatever nickname the state of Utah has) state some love this week.

We both agree but don’t have much to say about.

FSU (-27.5) over Wake

Northwestern (-3.5) over Boston College

Enjoy your weekend ladies and gentlemen.  I’ll be at Rebel in Wrigleyville at 10am Saturday for some FSU football if you need me. 

There won't be any body paint on Sef Sam Holy Saturday, but Rebel should be a good time

Record to Date:

Sef Sam Holy – 5-4

Ryan – 4-5

Last thing, Lambeau is awesome, the Bears are not.   

Bears Packers - Week Two

I'll be there ladies and gentlemen.  I got a free ticket from my boy Kurt (Burt Kolson) and I couldn't be more giddy.  I've overdosed on my football intake since Notre Dame Navy kicked off Saturday the 1st and I was trying to use this week to disconnect and calm my brain down but it's not happening.  

Lambeau Field can't wait to meet me tonight!

This is a game that will also determine whether or not I emotionally invest in the Bears this year.  If they win, I'm in.  And if they lose, I'm going to focus on the White Sox breaking my heart and dealing with Florida State losing to NC State while I'm away in Europe and can't watch.  I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm too old and the Bears have broken my heart too much for me to excited about a 1-1 start.  

My prediction:  Cutler and Rodgers go back and forth the entire game, we see tons of Lambeau Leaps (someone at my office called it "Lambeau Jump" no joke, and he poses like he really cares about football and the Bears, what a jerk), and Cutty to B Marsh connections.  I'll even throw in a special teams touchdown by each team just because I can.  Someone wins the game 41-38 but I'm not gonna say who.  

Ok fine, I'll take the Bears, but only because I deserve to be a homer a couple times a year.  

Tomorrow, Ryan and I break down this week's college football games worth watching, but for right now, let's go Bears!  

Lambeau Jump.  Wow.  

College Football - Week One Picks

Stick with us and your Sunday mornings will never feel like this

I rarely ever gamble on anything.  I'll play poker here and there, or bet a buddy $5 on a game we are watching together, but I don't have a bookie or an online gambling account.  I do feel like putting myself out there by providing my picks against the spread is risk enough.  The upside, you think I know what I'm doing.  The downside, you think I'm an idiot.  I'll take being an idiot in your eyes over having to tell my wife I lost a paycheck because a 20 year old kid threw 3 interceptions.  

Record to date

Sef Sam Holy - 2-1

Ryan McMahon - 1-2

#24 Boise State (+7) at #13 Michigan State

Ryan:  I like Boise to cover in a close game.  Close game throughout but MSU just comes out ahead.  Boise has lost 7 starters and has a inexperienced QB starting for the 1st time on the road, you know they can score points but MSU's crazy good D ends (specifically Gholston) will put the untested Southwick on his back several times. 

Sef Sam Holy:  I'll take MSU to not only beat a depleted Boise team, but make a statement that they are force to be reckon with this season.  Losing Kirk Cousins will undoubtedly hurt their offense, but Andrew Maxwell will play well enough with a sick defense and home crowd behind him tonight to win by 10 points. 

Notre Dame (-16.5) vs Navy in Ireland

Ryan:   ND covers.  ND beat Navy 56-14 last year, I predict much of the same.  Total homer pick and couldn't care less. 

Sef Sam Holy:  For the first time all year, I'll agree with you.  I hate Notre Dame and nothing would start off my Saturday better than to see Brian Kelly crying on the sidelines in another country as the Irish drop a game they should win, but I think they are way too much for a Navy team I won't care about enough to watch again the rest of the year.  

#14 Clemson (-3.5) vs Auburn in Atlanta

Ryan:  The line on this game feels so spot-on its unbelievable.  I think Auburn wins in the first upset of the year.  If this game is played in late October Auburn wins by double digits, they are loaded with talent even if its young and I say they finish the year in the top 20. 

Sef Sam Holy:  I hate Clemson almost as much as I hate Notre Dame.  Without Sammy Watkins, Tajh Boyd may struggle to get going but I think they end up winning this game.  Tons of people are sleeping on a very talented Clemson team and for good reason, see last year's Orange Bowl, but they won the ACC last year, and return almost everybody.  Will they cover the 3.5?  Sure but I'm about as confident in that as I am in Lee Corso making sense on Game Day Saturday morning.   

Hawaii (-42) at #1 USC 

Reason enough to watch USC

Ryan:  Really!?!? 42 point spread week 1!?!? Thats ridiculous, obviously SC wins huge but not that huge.  Kiffin (insert bad word to describe a person) gets his starters out after 3 quarters and with Norm Chow taking over at Hawaii i think they can at least score some points.  USC does have the most talent 1-22 in my opinion, but who cares because they're USC and if you have ever walked on that campus its like a model shoot every step.  You would have to be some sort of super moron to not want to go there.  Hawaii covers

Sef Sam Holy:  This type of line is why I don't gamble.  I'd rather watch this game to enjoy Gus Johnson yelling than worry about what happens in the 4th quarter of what will be a blowout.  Give me USC just to disagree with a guy that lived in Vegas and really gambles on football.  

#8 Michigan (+14) vs #2 Alabama in Dallas

Ryan:  Michigan to cover.  Alabama pounds the ball and plays boring old Saban ball.  They win but it will probably be closer to a 10 point victory.  Early in the year like this Shoelace's talent alone keeps the game close against a defense that lost 6 players to in the draft alone.  Great first week game, really pumped for this one  and even though as a ND fan i despise Big Blue i wouldn't mind seeing an upset.  

Sef Sam Holy:  Michigan can win this game outright if they don't turn the ball over, Denard makes 3 big plays (40+ yards), and their defense scores them a turnover that gives their offense the ball inside the red zone.  If there is ever a time to play a defense that is starting 7 new players, it's the first game of the season.  We saw last night in the Vandy/SC game that missed tackles are a part of early season college football and those missed tackles can turn into 78 yard TD passes.  I do think Michigan comes into this season slightly overrated but they find a way to make this a game worth watching when the 4th quarter rolls around and cover the 14 points.  

Georgia Tech (+7.5) at #16 Virginia Tech

Ryan:  It sucks to play in Blacksburg and GT knows it.  GT gets Beamered all Monday night.  VT has been slow to start the last few years but that trend ends this year, 9 defensive starters return to one of the nations already best units.  They will be tested against that stupid GT triple option offense, the only way to stop that though is with speed on D and VT has that in spades.

Believe all you want, it's still Kentucky football

Sef Sam Holy:  I'm going to go the other way on this and say this game mimics what you see happen quite a bit when a vastly more talented team plays someone they are supposed to beat in an early season conference game.  Yes, Blacksburg will be going nuts and the Yellow Jackets will struggle, but expect a low scoring affair that's closer than the rosters will indicate when the NFL Draft rolls around.  Georgia Tech covers but only because I think Va Tech wins by 7.  

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful 3 day weekend that's filled with good friends, college football, and BBQ.  Soak it in baby, watch the pregame shows, put on your favorite jersey, and let hope spring eternal.  There is still a chance your team runs the table and plays in Miami this January.  Come Tuesday, work is back and your team could be looking at an 0-1 start.  

College Kickoff With Ryan McMahon

Rule one in college football, your team is always number one

I’ve had one of the worst weeks of my adult life this week.  I won’t share any details because no one reads a sports blog to hear about the personal life of the guy writing the entry, but let’s just say it’s making the college football kick off tonight extra nice. 

I got an email from a buddy of mine that moved to Colorado and now has to watch and talk college football with people that would rather spend their Saturdays in the fall hiking and being outside rather than sitting on their couch watching the best sport ever all day long.  Needless to say, I feel bad for him, but he does like Notre Dame so it’s give and take. 

Anyway, let’s hear from Ryan McMahon. 

Ryan:  I haven’t even thought about Saturday’s lines, I can barely contain my excitement for tonight, let alone Saturday.  And I have 2 Fantasy Football drafts tonight, one will take place at hooters and all my GF wants is some fried pickles to-go.  Basically these next 5 days are going to be fantastic.

Sef Sam Holy:  My next 60 hours - Fantasy football draft at work at 330, home for tape delayed Vandy SC, sleep, work, MSU Boise State, sleep, cook steaks for friends at 730, have 4 friends over for Notre Dame Navy, then on the couch for laying down and watching college football until San Diego State and Washington get done.  Yeah, I'm stoked.  College football has officially become my favorite sport and this first weekend is better, in my opinion, than the first weekend of March Madness.

South Carolina (-6.5) at Vandy

Ryan:  I’ll take the Gamecocks to cover tonight even though they always have trouble at Vandy.

Sef Sam Holy: I think SC will cover the 6.5 tonight but it's a great line.  I would be willing to bet Vandy has a halftime lead.  The thing that makes me nervous about taking SC with that cover is that Steve Spurrier now plays boring, SEC football.  They have a ridiculous defense and Lattimore is going to run the sheezy out of the ball.  I think Vandy is up at half like 10-7, SC ties it on their first drive in the 3rd, and then scores a TD early in the 4^th.  But ya know what, let's start off the year disagreeing, it's more fun, give me Vandy. 

Ryan: Lattimore gets the ball all day but the Old Ball Coach will chuck it a few more times this year with a less alcoholic QB.  If Vandy ever does have the lead it will be 3-0 and wont last long, but im glad you disagree because this is football dammit, and agreements are for badminton.

Minnesota (-8.5) at UNLV

Ryan:  UNLV to cover although that is a bet with my heart.  Minnesota will be terrible as always

Sef Sam Holy:  I'll go Big Ten over UNLV any day of the week.  After the 100 Day Burpee Challenge, I might be big enough to suit up and play for the Runnin Rebels.  If Duke and Indiana can't be good at football, neither can UNLV.  Disagree again, give me the Gophers. 

Ryan: You can make all the Rebs jokes you want but they will happily lose by a touchdown and cover just the same.  And UNLV can be good at football, two words: Randell Frickin Cunningham!!! You know how many burpees Randell did at UNLV? The answer: all of them.

Washington State (+12.5) at BYU

Ryan:  WSU to cover Mike Leach turns the program around starting tonight.

Sef Sam Holy:  Giving Mike Leach 12.5 points is nuts but it's game one, of year one, so it's a game I would definitely stay away from if I was betting my own money.  BYU won 10 games last year and although they were all against teams not in the top 25, 10 wins is still 10 wins.  They don't score a ton (30.1 ppg in 2011) so the almost two touchdown win could be difficult, but I'll take BYU just because I've seen them be decent and I want them to be the best independent team in college football (my passive aggressive jab at ND). 

Ryan:  Mike Leach.  Mike Leach.  Mike Leach. Dont care that its his first game and his talent isn't what you would call "talent".  WSU finds a way to score and keep it close enough to cover those beautiful 12 1/2pts.