ND=no defense

Well sorry for the little break I took. Things got a little hectic at school and then I went up to ND to witness a pathetic looking defense, but hey a win is a win (even though we loss Floyd). Oh well. I'm back this week and since it is already Saturday morning I will get right to the picks.

College Ball:

1. LSU -12 at Mississippi St. (11:20 central)-I don't think LSU is the same team with Les Miles in place, but they're still decent enough to take on the Bulldogs from Mississippi with ease.
2. Wake Forest +1.5 at Boston College (1:00 central)- This is Wake's first away game this season, but they handle this in stride. It will be a close game and I just think Wake has better players to outlast BC. Should be a good one to watch if you got the time.
3. Pittsburgh +1 at NC State (2:30 central)- NC State is not that good. Pitt took on Navy last week and played good defense against them. NC State has a bunch of players out for the season/injured/suspended. Pitt wins this outright. FREE MONEY PICK OF THE WEEK.
4. TCU +2.5 at Clemson (2:30 central)- I know TCU is not the greatest team out there, but how are they getting points against Clemson?????? Are people serious? I feel like there is something I don't know, but this should be easy money here. Clemson hit with the flu a little bit, TCU still hungry for respect. Horned Frogs roll here with another win. I say take the money line.
5. Auburn -32.5 vs. Ball St. (6:00 central)- Got to admit I was not really happy when Auburn hired Chizik, but he has this offense clicking and they will be looking for another easy blowout win before they start their SEC games. They win by 40.
6. Houston +1 vs.Texas Tech (8:15 central)- Tech showed some good stuff last week when they took on Texas, but after such a big game like that down in Austin they are in for a let down. Houston meanwhile beat Oklahoma St. then had a week to relax, heal and prep for Tech. They win outright and perhaps enter the top 20 next week?
7. Washington +8.5 at Stanford (8:00 central)- This is perhaps the most amazing team for me this season. They go win less last season and now already have 2 wins under their belt, one coming against USC. They are still pumped. They will give Stanford a fit and if they don't win the game they will lose within one score (TD or field goal).

Professional Ball

1. NY Giants -6.5 at Tampa Bay (12:00 central)- The Giants played terrible last week and still got a win against the Boys. Even if they play that badly (which I doubt) they will still cover the spread here. Probably easiest NFL money of the week.
2. Pittsburgh -3.5 at Cincinnati (3:15 central)- Cincy showed they can actually play some football last week against Green Bay, but against Pitt's defense they will struggle Pitt wins by at least a TD.
3. Arizona -2.5 vs. Indianapolis (7:20)- Larry and Warner will take on Manning. A good Monday night game, but 'Zona will take the victory at home here.

Well there you have them. 10 good picks and hopefully you can use them in some way. For those of you keeping track I had a rough week two weeks ago. I am now 7-8 (below .500) for the season, but I feel good about this weekend. Have a good rest of the weekend.

$NDIRISHJER€

First Full Week of College and NFL

Welcome to the first full week of college and NFL football. The first week of college ball was very entertaining and needless to say I was very, very excited to see Notre Dame pitch the only shutout in the top 25! Besides that gamer, there were a lot of good games to watch. I kind of feel bad for Bradford, but then again I kind of feel like there was no reason why he is playing for OU. He probably left a few million on the table and scared a lot of NFL scouts away, but I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Well, enough about that.

Results:
Last week I went 4-2 and won my Free Money Pick of the Week when Mississippi took down Memphis. I was also impressed with Baylor and their outright win.

College Picks:

1. Nebraska -21 vs. Arkansas St. (1:00 central) - The Huskers might not be the team they once were and Arkansas St. won 61-0 last week, but I still believe there is no way Nebraska lets this one get anywhere close. I think the Indians will put up a fight for a little bit, then Nebraska will take over and roll to an easy win. I think the worst you can do here is push.
2. TCU-11 at Virginia (2:30 central) - This is the season opener for the Horny Toads. They will be hungry to get started after having to sit and watch last weekend. One of the games I bet they watched was Virginia lose to William & Mary?! How does that happen? This is my Free Money Pick of the Week. Free money right here, come and get it.
3. Notre Dame -3 at Michigan (2:30 central) - Yes, I am quite a big Irish fan, but come on. ND blanks Nevada last weekend, a team that has serious offensive threat and then we are only favored by 3? I know it is at the Big House, but Clausen is a junior and played there before. Plus you think Rich Rod really has his team working overtime to get ready for the Irish? doubt it.
4. BYU -18 at Tulane (2:30 central) - I am not just calling this game because BYU beat OU last week. I believe they are really a good team. Good enough to play like Tulsa and beat the Green Wave by more than 20.
5. USC -7 at Ohio St. (7:00 central) - I don't think I have to give you a rundown of OSU's struggles against other highly ranked teams in the recent past. The last time these teams met, USC won by 32. I think it will be closer this time, but still more than 1 TD. Pryor still has a lot to learn and USC just has too much for him.
6. North Carolina -4 at UCONN (11:00 central) - This is probably my weakest pick. I truly think NC is better than UCONN, but it is hard to say it is 'free money'. I think it is a good bet, but do your own research and see if you like it.

NFL Picks:

1. Cincinnati -4.5 vs. Denver (12:00 central) - Cincinatti is decent. Not great, but good enough to take down a team like Denver. Carson's leg is fine for week 1. I am ok with Cincy for now, but later on in the season I will have my doubts.
2. Chicago +3.5 at Green Bay (7:20 central) - Cutler and the Bears go to Lambeau and take an outright win from the Pack.
3. New England -10.5 vs. Buffalo (6:00 central Monday) - It kind of concerns me that Brady is only 'probable' for this week...wait, never mind, Belichick is still the coach and he likes to play little games like this. Fine let him have his fun, but we all know that Brady is fine and they will go on to win by 2 TDs or so.

Well there you have it. 4-2 on the season looking to improve. Good luck out there and enjoy the games (that's what it's all about anyway).

$NDIRISHJER€

P.S. This brings a smile to my face

http://mysmufootball.com/Pony.Pride/

The 2009 Edition

Welcome to the 2009 season everyone. Hope you all had a good winter, spring and summer. In some ways I can't believe football is here, yet in other ways I can't believe it took this long. I'm back in the US of A now, got my HD TV all setup and am ready to go. Now all I got to do is make some free money picks, buy some beer, burgers, maybe some a brat, and get after it. As you know in the past I will put some "Free Money Picks" up here almost every week. In the past my postings have been,... well not consistent. I am hoping they will be better now that I am back in same time zone and all.

Well without further delay here are my picks for the first full weekend of football. This week I will obviously focus on college because the professional league is still trying to cut their rosters to 53 people. The first week of college ball is always very difficult to pick because teams schedule cupcakes, spreads can get up into the 40s and really we do not know how the team will perform except for some practice videos on the web and other hype by ESPN and others. This week I like to play with home teams and also stay with games where the spread is under 4 touchdowns, because you just never know how long the 1st team will stay in. On Thursday night there were 5 games with spreads and totals up. There were 4 unders, 3 dogs winning outright (with spreads at +5, +7, and +16), 1 dog covering the spread, 1 favorite covering, and 1 O/U push. What does this tell us about the games coming up? Probably not too much, although I am tempted to stick with unders while the offenses are trying to sync up and get in a rhythm. Anyway, here are the picks:

1. Baylor +2.5 at Wake Forest (2:30 central) - Yes, Baylor went 4-8 last year, but they played a great schedule last year (6 top 25 teams), Sophomore Griffin is returning at QB, and they are returning a lot of the players from last year when they could have easily turned those losses into wins. I think with experience they will learn how to win instead of losing a close one. Wake is suspect on defense and I think this will be a decently high scoring affair with the Bears from Waco pulling it out.
2. Oklahoma St. -4.5 vs. Georgia (2:30 central) - I think that both of these teams may be overrated at this point, but I think the game being played at OSU at Pickens' new stadium will have the players and fans going crazy for this great season opener. Both teams will be good this season, but not thinking Top 15 here. I say it will be close, but OSU takes it by a TD.
3. UAB -6 vs. Rice (3:00 central) - Rice had a great season in 2008, but a few of there biggest producers are gone. This one is on the road, UAB is returning a lot of players, sit back watch the points pile up and UAB take it by 10 or more.
4. LSU -17.5 at Washington (9:30 central) - I am a little bit scared because Washington got rid of Willingham and that has to do nothing but help your program out when they get something to drink besides chocolate milk and some actual plays in the playbook, but I just cant see this one being close. It is going to be awhile until Washington can compete with a program like LSU. Take the Tigers in this one.
5. Mississippi -17 at Memphis (2:30 central Sunday) - Ole Miss is coming off a great season, returning some great players, and I think they are just too much to handle for Memphis right off the bat. Leaning on this one being my FREE MONEY PICK OF THE WEEK.
6. Notre Dame/Nevada Over 62 (2:30 central) - What can I say. I am really, really, really tempted to throw ND -14 in there (having a hard time finding 14 pts right now), but it is the first game and I am trying not to let my heart interfere. That being said, I think the Over is the play here. ND is returning a great QB/WR group and should be able to hang some points on Nevada and I think the ND defense has a lot to prove. Looking for a 42ish to 24ish Irish Victory here.

Well there you have it. Play the picks anyway you like; single games, parlays, don't play, etc. Just enjoy the first full weekend of college ball and I will be back here next week posting my results and picking out games for next week. Good luck.

$NDIRISHJER€