Well, last week I did what we call in the business “kissed my sister.”
Although going 2-3 isn’t the worst, it also ain’t a winning effort. My friends, I want to make this point very clear to you all, I am considered one of the best, most-successful college football handicappers in the world, and I still went 2-3, losing a unit.
Why am I stressing this? I’ll tell you why. I was in a sportsbook this past weekend and (like any average day in the book), noticed one guy, who was obviously losing, just looking depleted. I mean, the only thing holding this guy up was the starch in his suit.
He recognized me, leaned in and said, “I bet you crushed it.” My reply was a simple, “No sir, I did not.” We spoke for a bit and I explained it was just one football day. There are months left in the season. Yes, we want all winning days but that just doesn’t happen. I told him he is just one day away from back in the plus column. That’s that. He looked at me like I was Einstein.
On that note, he walked away smiling. My point is – this is a marathon, not a sprint. Of course we want every day to be a winning one, but it isn’t possible. So if you have a bad day, it’s just that, one bad day. Tomorrow is another day and if you play smart, it just might be a positive, fun, enjoyable, winning day. By the way, Sunday, I went 2-0, and Monday Night, I got paid again.
Now this weekend there are some games that scream “trap” to me. The Vandy/Notre Dame game has a line of -14.5, which scares the heck out of me. Another game on television is the Washington/Utah ESPN matchup. After losing to Auburn in their opener, Washington needs every win they can get. But slow your roll (as the kids say), Utah has covered three straight in this series.
The LSU/Auburn contest is a lot of points but looking closely, the L2 years were separated by a combined 9 points. The spread is currently -9.5. Then there’s the top team in the country, the Crimson Tide, laying -21 against the Rebels. But listen, ‘Bama doesn’t have a real opponent until a November meeting with rival LSU. So, when does “Slick Nick” pull his starters?
Here are this week’s Best Bets as it currently stands.
Saturday
Duke +6.5 over Baylor: With word of Daniel Jones sidelined, the line went from -2 up to -6.5. But HC David Cutcliffe has junior QB Quentin Harris primed and ready to go. Not only that but the Duke defense is strong, having held Army to 14 points and Northwestern to just 7.
Baylor, which hasn’t covered a game yet, steps up in class here after facing Abilene Christian and Texas-San Antonio. The Blue Devils are 5-0 ATS the L5 overall, 6-1 ATS the L7 in September, and 20-5-1 ATS the L26 non-conference games.
The Bears are 0-4 ATS the L4 at home, 3-7-1 ATS the L11 in September, and 0-4-1 ATS the L5 non-conference games. DUKE
Houston +2.5 over Texas Tech: I’ll take the points here with the revenge-minded, Houston team, especially after their, 45-18 thumping over Arizona. Cougars QB King has the poise and experience to best Red Raiders’ true frosh play-caller Bowman. Texas Tech is 1-4 ATS the L5 at home and 3-7 ATS the L10 overall. Houston is 15-6 ATS the L21 in September and 13-6 ATS the L19 non-conference games. HOUSTON
Hawaii +6.5 over Army: Don’t mind taking Hawaii flying cross-country here as the Rainbow Warriors are off to their first 3-0 start in over a decade. They already toppled the Rams in the high-altitude of Colorado State Stadium and faced a similar, option-offense in their home-beating of Navy.
Army had issues in their loss vs. a high-flying Duke team two weeks ago. The Black Knights are 2-5 ATS the L7 vs. the MWC and 3-8 ATS the L11 following an ATS win. HAWAII
Texas -3 over USC: Texas lost a 27-24 heartbreaker in OT, last year to USC in LA, with Sam Darnold at the helm. Now, a banged-up (hand injury, but scheduled to play), true frosh QB, JT Daniels has to face a Longhorns team in Austin. The Trojans crush bettors, going 11-27-1 ATS the L39 on the road, 0-6 ATS the L6 non-conference games, and 3-13-1 ATS the L17 overall. TEXAS
Last week: 2-3
Season: 5-5.
Good Luck and have a winning day.