Another #2 goes down in what appears to be the cursed poll position. Here are my picks, and how I did against the spread.
(23)Iowa at (68)Indiana, line: Iowa -19.5. "Take Gene Hackman's team (I know, I know, different Hoosiers) with the points." Result: Indiana 31, Iowa 28. Wow! I wasn't expecting the upset, but the Hoosiers sure beat the spread. My Record: 1-0.
(72)Minnesota at (22)Wisconsin, line: Wisconsin -8.5. "the red teams wins the battle of the rodents and covers the spread." Result: Badgers 48, Gophers, 12. "Bring on the Beavers," say the Badgers in the big win over the Gophers. Wisconsin easily covers the spread. My Record 2-0.
(47)Florida State at (115)Duke, line: FSU -23. "Duke probably wouldn't beat my local community college, but FSU couldn't put up 23 points in Arena Ball. Take Duke and the points." Result: My local community college 24, Arena Ball 51. So, I was wrong. FSU could probably compete with the Kansas City Brigade. My Record 2-1.
(1)Ohio State at (50)Michigan State, line: OSU -14.5. "The Buckeyes will cover and then some." Result: OSU 38, MSU 7. Boy did they cover. My Record: 3-1.
(33)UCLA at (20)Oregon, line: Oregon -8.5. "Still, the Ducks cover." Result: OU 30, UCLA 20. It looked like the Ducks were going to run away with this one, but UCLA scored two 4th quarter TDs to make many in Vegas nervous. Still, the Ducks covered. My Record: 4-1.
(86)Ol' Miss at (38)Alabama, line: Tide -15.5. "I would take the Rebs and the points." Result: Tide 26, Rebs 23 in OT. More than two TD underdogs, the Rebs take the Tide into overtime. I wasn't sure how good Alabama was, and now I'm pretty sure they're not very good. A loss would have effectively ended their season. My Record: 5-1.
(73)Baylor at (13)Texas, line: Texas -infinity. Oh wait, make that Texas -27. "Texas, meanwhile, has made a game of seeing how much they can beat lesser opponents by: N. Texas by 49, Rice by 45, Sam Houston by 53. Fun game huh? How about Texas over Baylor by more than 27." Result: More of the same, Longhorns 63, Bears 31. Texas is getting bored. They spotted Baylor a 10 point first quarter lead before exploding for 63 points in three quarters. My Record: 6-1.
(4)Florida at (14)Auburn, line: Florida -2.5. "This game will end with everyone wondering why the point spread was so low." Result: Auburn 27, Florida 17. At least when I get it wrong, I get it wrong by a lot. Not only did the Gators not cover, they become the fourth AP #2 team to go down in the seventh week of the season. My Record: 6-2.
(65)Arizona State at (2)USC, line: USC -18.5. "Why do the odds makers keep making USC such an overwhelming favorite? Haven't we learned anything yet? Reggie Bush doesn't live here anymore." But then I said, "USC picks off Rudy three times and looks like they did against Arkansas, covering the spread." Nope, USC continues to be the most unimpressive undefeated team in the country, including Rutgers. Result: USC 28, ASU 21. My Record: 6-3.
(3)Michigan at (37)Penn State, line: Michigan -6. "I gotta say, I don't get why the spread is so small... Michigan easily covers." Well, not easily, but covers. Result: UM 17, PSU 10. My Record: 7-3.
If I didn't know any better, I would say that I'm pretty good at this stuff. Considering the $10 for $11 in single game Vegas betting, if I bet $11 on each of my picks, I would have made $114 Bucks! Sweet. And I would have solidly lost a parlay.
Notes on the ranking: USC moves up to #1. Yes, I saw the game. No, they are clearly not playing the best football in the country right now. But from the perspective of what each team has accomplished USC has played only one team with a losing record, and non-conference foes Arkansas and Nebraska have only one loss each, to USC. Go back to this post to see the input criteria for my ranking.
Whoa, Rutgers is high. But why not? Their first four opponents were complete garbage, but their last two wins, S. Florida and Navy, are not so bad. Besides, staying undefeated it hard. Just ask the 112 Div 1-A teams who are not.
Florida above Auburn? Are you mad? They just lost to them yesterday. Yes, upsets happen. If Indiana pulls off the upset of the century and beats Ohio State next week should they be ranked higher? Florida has still had the more impressive overall season. Same goes for Cal being ranked higher than Tennessee.
Here are the rankings:
| Rank | Week 7 | W | L | |
| 1 | Southern Cal | 2.6388 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 2.6277 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | Michigan | 2.5569 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Louisville | 2.2819 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | Florida | 2.2769 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Rutgers | 2.2215 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Auburn | 2.2001 | 6 | 1 |
| 8 | California | 2.1917 | 6 | 1 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 2.0943 | 6 | 0 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 2.0940 | 5 | 1 |
| 11 | Missouri | 2.0609 | 6 | 1 |
| 12 | Boise St | 2.0590 | 7 | 0 |
| 13 | Boston College | 2.0498 | 5 | 1 |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 1.9702 | 5 | 1 |
| 15 | Clemson | 1.9486 | 6 | 1 |
| 16 | Texas | 1.9452 | 6 | 1 |
| 17 | Arkansas | 1.8786 | 5 | 1 |
| 18 | Oregon | 1.8691 | 5 | 1 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 1.8599 | 6 | 1 |
| 20 | Tulsa | 1.8587 | 5 | 1 |
| 21 | Nebraska | 1.7815 | 6 | 1 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 1.7765 | 4 | 2 |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | 1.7645 | 4 | 1 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 1.7431 | 6 | 1 |
| 25 | LSU | 1.7117 | 5 | 2 |
| 26 | Pittsburgh | 1.6661 | 6 | 1 |
| 27 | Navy | 1.6355 | 5 | 2 |
| 28 | Wake Forest | 1.6348 | 6 | 1 |
| 29 | Brigham Young | 1.5409 | 4 | 2 |
| 30 | Washington St | 1.4971 | 4 | 3 |
| 31 | Iowa | 1.4628 | 5 | 2 |
| 32 | Georgia | 1.4592 | 5 | 2 |
| 33 | Southern Miss | 1.4568 | 4 | 2 |
| 34 | Air Force | 1.4397 | 2 | 2 |
| 35 | Washington | 1.4294 | 4 | 3 |
| 36 | Alabama | 1.4262 | 5 | 2 |
| 37 | Penn State | 1.4158 | 4 | 3 |
| 38 | Maryland | 1.4011 | 4 | 2 |
| 39 | South Carolina | 1.3992 | 4 | 2 |
| 40 | Virginia Tech | 1.3970 | 4 | 2 |
| 41 | Ohio U. | 1.3836 | 4 | 3 |
| 42 | Florida St | 1.3652 | 4 | 2 |
| 43 | UCLA | 1.3650 | 4 | 2 |
| 44 | Oklahoma St | 1.3462 | 4 | 2 |
| 45 | Arizona St | 1.3222 | 3 | 3 |
| 46 | Colorado St | 1.3211 | 4 | 1 |
| 47 | Texas Tech | 1.3209 | 4 | 3 |
| 48 | Indiana | 1.3008 | 4 | 3 |
| 49 | Miami FL | 1.2928 | 4 | 2 |
| 50 | Kansas St | 1.2855 | 4 | 3 |
| 51 | Purdue | 1.2613 | 5 | 2 |
| 52 | South Florida | 1.2516 | 5 | 2 |
| 53 | Kent St | 1.2496 | 5 | 2 |
| 54 | Oregon St | 1.2113 | 3 | 3 |
| 55 | North Carolina St | 1.2016 | 3 | 3 |
| 56 | Houston | 1.1951 | 4 | 3 |
| 57 | UTEP | 1.1934 | 4 | 2 |
| 58 | TCU | 1.1830 | 3 | 2 |
| 59 | Western Michigan | 1.1825 | 4 | 2 |
| 60 | Michigan St | 1.1748 | 3 | 4 |
| 61 | Utah | 1.1559 | 4 | 3 |
| 62 | Syracuse | 1.1409 | 3 | 4 |
| 63 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1.1404 | 3 | 2 |
| 64 | Hawai`i | 1.1299 | 3 | 3 |
| 65 | Central Michigan | 1.1275 | 4 | 3 |
| 66 | Bowling Green | 1.1204 | 4 | 3 |
| 67 | Wyoming | 1.1089 | 3 | 4 |
| 68 | Kentucky | 1.1069 | 3 | 4 |
| 69 | Northern Illinois | 1.0937 | 4 | 3 |
| 70 | Arkansas St | 1.0579 | 4 | 2 |
| 71 | San José St | 1.0507 | 4 | 1 |
| 72 | New Mexico | 1.0473 | 3 | 4 |
| 73 | Cincinnati | 1.0463 | 3 | 4 |
| 74 | Minnesota | 1.0431 | 2 | 5 |
| 75 | Vanderbilt | 1.0422 | 3 | 4 |
| 76 | Nevada | 1.0275 | 3 | 3 |
| 77 | Iowa St | 1.0113 | 3 | 4 |
| 78 | Middle Tennessee St | 1.0086 | 3 | 3 |
| 79 | Arizona | 0.9877 | 3 | 4 |
| 80 | Connecticut | 0.9853 | 3 | 3 |
| 81 | SMU | 0.9827 | 4 | 3 |
| 82 | Baylor | 0.9744 | 3 | 4 |
| 83 | Army | 0.9708 | 3 | 4 |
| 84 | Kansas | 0.9585 | 3 | 4 |
| 85 | East Carolina | 0.9253 | 2 | 4 |
| 86 | Idaho | 0.9091 | 4 | 3 |
| 87 | Alabama-Birmingham | 0.8518 | 3 | 4 |
| 88 | Akron | 0.8505 | 2 | 4 |
| 89 | Virginia | 0.8471 | 2 | 4 |
| 90 | North Texas | 0.8450 | 2 | 4 |
| 91 | Rice | 0.8437 | 2 | 5 |
| 92 | Illinois | 0.8280 | 2 | 5 |
| 93 | Central Florida | 0.8208 | 2 | 4 |
| 94 | Mississippi | 0.8177 | 2 | 5 |
| 95 | Tulane | 0.8017 | 2 | 4 |
| 96 | Mississippi St | 0.7926 | 2 | 5 |
| 97 | Fresno St | 0.7596 | 1 | 5 |
| 98 | North Carolina | 0.7366 | 1 | 5 |
| 99 | Colorado | 0.7346 | 1 | 6 |
| 100 | Troy | 0.7338 | 2 | 4 |
| 101 | Florida Atlantic | 0.7048 | 2 | 4 |
| 102 | Louisiana Tech | 0.6924 | 1 | 5 |
| 103 | Toledo | 0.6842 | 2 | 5 |
| 104 | New Mexico St | 0.6617 | 2 | 4 |
| 105 | Marshall | 0.6480 | 1 | 5 |
| 106 | Northwestern | 0.6421 | 2 | 5 |
| 107 | Ball St | 0.6195 | 2 | 5 |
| 108 | Utah St | 0.6135 | 1 | 6 |
| 109 | Buffalo | 0.6024 | 1 | 5 |
| 110 | Stanford | 0.5858 | 0 | 7 |
| 111 | San Diego St | 0.5452 | 0 | 5 |
| 112 | Memphis | 0.5336 | 1 | 5 |
| 113 | Temple | 0.5302 | 0 | 7 |
| 114 | UNLV | 0.5188 | 1 | 5 |
| 115 | Louisiana-Monroe | 0.4865 | 1 | 5 |
| 116 | Duke | 0.4745 | 0 | 6 |
| 117 | Florida Int'l | 0.4586 | 0 | 7 |
| 118 | Miami OH | 0.4225 | 0 | 7 |
| 119 | Eastern Michigan | 0.3854 | 0 | 6 |
It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.
Posted by: MBT Shoes | July 23, 2011 at 01:08 AM