Some interesting betting propositions
are on this week’s college football card.
Saturday, Nov. 17:
Florida State at Florida: It
wasn’t too long ago that this game would have carried national implications.
Not so this year. The Seminoles have already lost three times and are a long way
from their accustomed high national ranking.
The Gators, on the other hand, continue
to pursue a BCS bowl appearance, while flashing the most sophisticated passing
attack in college football. We made them our best bet of last week and they
responded with a 54-17 thrashing of South Carolina, scoring on their first nine
possessions.
Florida is our best bet again this
week. And you don’t have to worry about Steve Spurrier showing mercy to an
outmanned opponent. Last Saturday, when holding a 30-point lead in the game’s
closing moments, he ordered a pass to boost the margin. There are no kneeldowns
in the Florida play book. Take Florida (—15).
Syracuse at Miami: This
game will probably settle the Big East championship and land a berth in a BCS
bowl. The Hurricanes were lucky to escape from Boston College last Saturday with
an 18-7 win even though BC star running back William Green did not play due to
an infraction of team rules.
Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey threw four
interceptions and the overall result did nothing to enhance the Hurricanes
standing in the polls and BCS computers. Must expect sharp improvement playing
at home. Syracuse is a good team — one of the surprises of the season — and
the Orangemen will not lie down and play dead. But the Hurricanes have superior
talent. Take Miami (—20).
Michigan at Wisconsin: Except
four a couple of weird plays, the Wolverines (7-2) would be unbeaten and
challenging for the highest national honors. A blocked field-goal attempt
returned for a touchdown beat them at Washington after they had outplayed the
Huskies. A victory keeps Michigan
ahead of Illinois in the race for the Big Ten title. Take Michigan
(—6).
UCLA at USC: It
would be quite a feather in the cap of first-year USC coach Pete Carroll if he
could win this one. Not only would it be a satisfying triumph over one of the
Trojans’ two great rivals ”” the other is Notre Dame ”” it would
boost USC to a 6-5 mark and bowl eligibility.
Take USC (+4½).
Duke at N. Carolina: This
would be a great game if the sport was basketball. Unfortunately for the Blue
Devils, it’s not. There’s no good reason to ignore soft pickings like this.
Take North Carolina (—27).
California at Stanford:
Another mismatch. The Golden Bears (0-9) ooze incompetence at every pore while
Stanford is one of the better teams in the nation. Stanford and North Carolina
might make a nice parlay. Take Stanford (-24). Navy at Notre Dame: The
Navy gridiron program has reached its nadir. The Midshipmen are 0-8, the head
coach has been dismissed, and the team is being coached by an assistant on an
interim basis. To make matters worse, this week Navy faces a team against which
its record is 9-64-1 and hasn’t defeated since 1963.
That’s a series losing streak of 37 games. Over the past four years, the average Irish victory margin over Navy has been 23 points. Take Navy (+27½).
