Whoa. Time to dial in. This weekend we have some titanic college football matchups, MLB futures are heating up, the Ryder Cup is happening and to top it all off we have the Browns vs Lions! Winners play and players win. Let’s do this.
BIG $ (Pencil Storm Browns Beat Writer)
Ok, so last saturday I bet with my heart and my fascination with Bret Bielama and it backfired badly as the illini crumbled. This week Im looking to get back on track by focusing on some of the blockbusters:
Buckeyes aint scared of no sailboats - OSU -8.5 (-115)
Dan and Dante beat that quack Franklin - ORE +3.5 (-108)
Kirby gets over the hump - UGA -3 (-108)
and....
Bret , I cant quit you , take the points - ILL +7 (-115)
NFL, Trusting the out of conference, on the road pitfalls- the Browns picked me up on Sunday
same math
Rams -3.5 (-115) over danny and Indy
Hou v Tennessee over 39.5 (-105)
and I trust Kyle , 49ers -3 (-115)
as always, good luck, fade or tail
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 think OSU easily covers against Washington. I’ll even give `em a couple extra points -10 1/2 for a +110 bet.
Michigan is off this week, so I’ll look at our Central Michigan Chips to beat my alma mater Eastern Michigan, -2 1/2 for a +105 bet.
In the NFL, the Lions are coming off their best game in some time against Baltimore last Monday, and I thank them for padding my MGM account, but -10 is a lot of points, even against the perpetually struggling Brows, who I know some people here are quite passionate about. I’ll still take that bet, because I am a homer, but the truth is that 1 game does not a season make (unless it’s OSU-Michigan amirite?) so these Lions are still an unknown entity.
A lot of good games to watch but betting lines are otherwise a bit daunting. Chargers -6.5 against the terrible Giants seems safe. The Ravens-Chiefs will be a banger, and the Bills spread is crazy, but I may take action on both.
Colin Gawel (Pencilstorm guy / musician solo and with Watershed)
Clemson was the odds on favorite to make this year’s CFB playoffs. Yet, they are already eliminated after starting the year 1-3. How could the sharps be so wrong? I have a theory: This is only year two of college players being paid by NIL funds. Perhaps this is having an unexpected effect on these teams who are returning most of their players and pundits who expect them to dominate. Alabama looked completely uninspired in their week one blowout loss to FSU and even my squad, Ohio State, was mostly flat last year until a humiliating loss to a horrible Michigan squad motivated them by sheer embarrassment.
My point you ask? Maybe teams with a bunch of returning high paid players aren’t better, they are just complacent. If someone gave me $100,000 when I was still in college I doubt I would be leaving the bar early to get a good night’s sleep.
It’s just a working theory but I point you to this weekend’s Oregon v Penn State matchup. On paper EVERYTHING favors the Nittany Lions. They return almost their entire squad from last season, Oregon cannot stop the run and playing on the road in a hostile “white out” environment should be the death knell for the Ducks.
Yet, I wonder…..Maybe Penn State doesn’t have it.. Still, I’m not crazy, I’m not putting my hard earned $$ on the line to test my crackpot RFK style hypothesis. However, I will be gathering more information by watching that game with interest.
In the meantime I will take a Georgia / LSU money line parlay that pays +233. That’s free money.
Ben Galli (Pencilstorm NBA Beat Writer)
Reds to Make Playoffs +200
Man, the Reds have been so frustrating this season. Soaring to the cusp of expectations only to plummet back down to mediocrity every single time. Great pitching, anemic offense, and of course, the usual lack of spending on needs in the offseason. But with the Mets Frank the Tanking, Cincy remains one game out of the final NL Wild Card spot. Guardians friends have been telling me to trust in Tito, and it's come down to this weekend's final series versus the NL-leading Brewers. I've been wrong all year, please let me be right this once.
Ohio State -8.5 -110
The spread has jumped around a bit on this one, opening at Ohio State -13.5 before falling as far as -7.5. Respect for this Washington football team and cross-country road trip, Ohio State's first. But I'm not moved by it. In fact, I think it greatly increases the chance the Ohio State covers. I may not have taken them by two touchdowns in Seattle, but I'm pretty certain the drop in spread is lighting a fire under this Buckeyes team. The defense, especially, should take this to heart, and I don't think it's far-fetched to say we have a better quarterback this year. The Buckeyes will ride these snow dogs to an easy victory. Shout out, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Brian Phillips (Legendary Morning Radio Show Host)
BG/Ohio under 50.5. Team Eddie will try to muck this up.
UW +8.5. I hate to do this, but the UW offense is electric. Bucks will win, but too many points. Sayin will have to deal with a loud, hostile environment for the first time. It's not crazy to hit UW on ML with a sprinkle.
Air Force -6.5. Hawaii a terrible road team at elevation. Anything under 7 is too good.
Middle Tennessee +7. Kennesaw should not be laying 7 against anyone.
Arizona +5.5. Iowa State nearly lost to Arkansas State. Kansas State win looks worse with the passage of time. I think this improving Cats team can hang.
Oregon +3.5 and sprinkle on ML. Franklin will fuck this up somehow. In a match up between two psychos give me the more malevolent of the pair.
App State +16.5. Bad spot for Boise who have the Irish on deck. They'll win, but let's calm down a bit.
UTEP +3.5. They hung with Texas. Louisiana Tech is still LA Tech.