Welcome back to another fun week of Friday Bet$ For Realz as some of your favorite Pencil Storm characters share actual bets they are making on NCAA and NFL football. Depending on our bank accounts we will be checking in throughout the 2025-26 with our blazing hot takes and sure-fire winners. However, it’s important to remember that sports betting is for suckers, so as long as you are cool with that.. Let’s Boogie!
Brian Phillips (Former Radio Morning Show Host CD101)
I would advise people to do the opposite of whatever nonsense I come up with... I have been wrong way more than right. That said...
Ohio State -25.5 at Wisconsin... I hesitate a bit because Luke Fickel is of course a Buckeye. Perhaps Ryan Day will not want to rub it in... Still, I don't see how the Badgers score here.
Washington +4.5 at Michigan.... I think this should be under a field goal.
Buffalo -16.5 at UMass... UMass lost to Kent last week 42-6.
Texas A&M -7.5 at Arkansas... This number should be at least double.
UCLA -2.5 home to Maryland... The cross country travel has doomed more than a few EST Big Ten teams (see Penn State at UCLA). I'm stunned at the turnaround at UCLA, but I'm going to ride with it this week.
USC +9.5 at Notre Dame... Way too many points.
Tennessee +8.5 at Alabama.... Two points too fat.
RIP Ace.
BIG $ (Pencil Storm Browns Beat Writer)
I would like to thank my guy, Shane Bieber, for providing the units for these bets. I knew you had a moneyline W and 5 k's in you ol pal.
So inspired with that confidence, here are some CFB picks.
Fridays have had some interesting battles, I think Louisville keeps it within 13.5 of Miami (-105)
The Huskies have been gaining steam, Sherrone's squad has not
Washington MONEYLINE over TTUN +170
Houston has started to anchor my cards, I trust them MONEYLINE against Uof A (- 108)
Purdue is just not good, which makes me feel good taking Northwestern n-2.5 (-118)
and give me the 2.5 and the Maryland Terps to slow down the fighting Neuheisel's of UCLA (-105)
good luck, fade or tail,
Big $
Jeremy Porter (Pencil Storm Co-Editor in Chief, rock and roll musician, Mexican fast-food enthusiast, proudly representing that state to the north in hostile online territory MICHIGAN GO BLUE!)
I came into the football season smokin’ hot but to say it’s cooled off would be an understatement. Looking to turn things around this weekend with some solid picks.
Gotta take the Wolverines -4.5 over Washington at home, though I agree with my colleagues above and below Michigan doesn’t have the coaching and has shown their vulnerability. Someone’s gotta represent TTUN.
OSU -25.5 against the Badgers? Holy smokes that’s a lot of points. I’ll admit that OSU is the best team out there, but I’ll take my neighbors to the west with the points.
I like Georgia -7 at home Vs Ole Miss and I’ll take MSU +27.5 against that surprising Indiana team, even though I’ll be pulling into the Lansing/EL area just as that game is getting under way.
In the NFL I gotta stick with my Lions on Monday night, though the Bucs are no joke and who knows. I’ve been digging parlays with Goff TD passes and St Brown reception counts too.
Eagles at Vikings will be a great game and I’ll take Philly -2. Panthers -1.5 against the Jets seems a given, but the Jets are due, so be careful.
Broncos -7 at home against an inconsistent but more fun than they’ve been in while Giants team will be a fun one too.
RIP to the SpACE man!
Colin Gawel (Pencilstorm guy / musician solo and with Watershed)
My son is a senior in college and is making his first guys trip to Las Vegas this weekend. I gave him my gold plated advice “Control the first 12 hours and you will be OK”. If the wheels are going to come off a young fella on his first trip to Vegas, it will happen right out of the gate. While it has never happened to me, musicians don’t have the steady income or credit to get in serious trouble at the casino, I have witnessed marriages end and houses lost and it always happens the first night. Sometimes what happens in Vegas follows you home to your bank account.
But he is a sensible young man so I doubt my advice will be necessary. But you know…parents…we just cannot shut up.
Anyway, this college football season has been very unpredictable. IE: I cannot pick anything right. My theory which I proposed earlier that teams with a large NIL and returning roster may be over-rated by the sharps has proven accurate. See Penn State, Clemson and Texas. All three were considered locks to make the CFP and already two are dead and one is on life support. This is historically unprecedented so the evidence suggests something is amiss with the oddsmakers.
As for this week, I am taking two parlays. I like Vandy -2.5 and Texas AM -7.5 covering and I am betting against Penn State +3 and Texas -12.5. Each pays +247
Ben Galli (Pencilstorm NBA Beat Writer)
Being the preeminent NBA beat writer for Pencilstorm, I thought I’d go with a couple NBA futures that caught my fancy.
Houston Rockets +1100 to win Western Conference
I believe in the championship hangover and I think the Thunder are too young to have what it takes to successfully defend their title. Enter Kevin Durant on a team designed to succeed in today’s basketball. They’ll be missing Fred VanVleet but I never thought he was that great anyway. The Rockets defense and strong coaching may carry KD to a third title.
Ace Bailey +900 Rookie of the Year
Yeah, Cooper Flagg is probably gonna win this. But if you want the best odds for someone else outshining him, it’s Ace Bailey on the Jazz. He’s already turning heads and should be able to stuff some stats on a weird Jazz team. He’ll be asked to just score while Flagg will have the weight of the Luka Doncic trade to carry.
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Bet$ remembers Ace.
The best version of this Ace Frehley KISS classic I could find comes from KISSFEVER RADIOACTIVE, a KISS tribute located in a country where they speak Spanish. Or Portuguese. From Ace to all you degenerate gamblers…
“Two Sides Of The Coin..Choose One!” - #RIPACEFREHLEY