Saturday Winners

Posted on November 14th, 2009 by jamiemac No Comments

Let’s channel our inner Jay Trotter today. Trotter was the hero of Let It Ride, a gambling taxi driver, down, but not out, who rallies for a magical day at the track. Or something like that. In the middle of the best day of his life, he argues with his wife over his return to the track to gamble. Trotter exclaims, “honey, I’m not gambling. I’m winning!” Classic line. Let’s do that today. Let’s not gamble. How about we win.

So far, we’re off to a good start going 4-0 in the midweek MAC picks and splitting last night’s Big East Shakedown in the Natty. We’re also already down on Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan and Iowa come Big 10 play per my weekly diary at mgoblog.

While there are no earth shattering showdowns on today’s docket, there sure is going to be a lot of drama and good football. There are 20 games on the schedule between teams with winning records and another eight between teams with a winning record, .500 or one loss below .500 team. Translation: All sorts of bowl jostling will be on the line as most teams head into their final two regular season games.

Division races in the ACC could be locked up with Georgia Tech and Clemson wins, but thrown into chaos if either losses to Duke or NC State, two teams fighting hard for a bowl berth. All six, yes six, contenders in the Big 12 North play each other. In the Big 12 South, Okie State and Texas Tech look to score 100 total points. Oklahoma and Texas A/M square off to stay above .500. In the Pac 10, can Oregon stay ahead of the pack against a 6-3 ASU club? Meanwhile the four teams looking to take advantage of a Duck loss go head to head with Stanford at USC and Arizona at Cal. Utah travels to TCU in the mid major showdown of the day, while in the WAC feel good Idaho goes to the Smurf Turf, in the middle of their best season ever, but still are 31-point dogs. Fresno and Nevada will entertain us with 1,000 yards rushing. Charlie Weis is on the hot seat against one of the hottest teams in the nation. Miami and North Carolina, two of the best groups of young football players in the country, strut their stuff. Can Bobby Bowden avoid a sixth loss against a Wake team that has beaten the Noles three years in a row? The Big 10 Championship will get decided. Can Spurrier derail his former school. Will any Volunteer players rob any of the Rebels? Auburn and UGA hate each other and play tonight, with the loser falling to .500. So, barring any upsets, the top of the polls wont be changed this week, but there is plenty of action between good football teams. If only somehow playoff spots were in the line.

Anyway, I will update this post two more times today, before the 3:30 window and before the night games start. In addition to the Big 10 games, here are the nooners on the menu. UPDATE: Here are the night games:

Arizona +3 over Cal

Miss St +11 over Bama

Auburn +4 over UGA

Utah +20 over TCU

ND +7 over Pitt

TT/Okie State Over 60

UPDATE: Here are the 3:30 games:

USC +17 over Florida

Stanford +11 over USC

Boise/Idaho Over 64

UNC +3 over Miami

Washington +14 over Oregon State

Fresno +7 over Nevada

WOOF WOOF BARK……or something like that

Tennessee +6 over Ole Miss…..clearly I dont think the distractions will bother than Vols. Not to sound callous, but two of those kids werent even contributers. One was a seven game starter for the defense that’s really been playing well this year. But, i trust Monte Kiffin to adjust on the fly and not really miss a beat. I like the way the Vols have responded to Kiffin all season, getting covers and/or wins against Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Here’s a stat: The much maligned Jonathon Crompton leads the SEC in TD passes. Meanwhile, his counterpart Jevon Snead leads the league in INTs. Paging Eric Berry, paging Eric Berry.

NC State +8 over Clemson…..I love CJ Spiller. He’s a stud. Watch this game for him. But, hey, I am betting the programs historic identity in this one. They have a chance to take a big step towards a division title, but we’ve seen Clemson get to this point before and stub their toe NC State is a good team. They’re hot on offense and I feel they can score a ton of points against Clemson today. I’ll take the TD-plus head start at home.

Kansas State +1 over Missou…….Everyone is in the race for the Big 12 North. But, with a win, KSU can pretty much make it a two team race with it all on the line against Nebraska next week. So, this is a big game and I will take the resurgent Cats and Bill Snyder. They’ve allowed 6, 10 and 14 points in the three Big 12 home games. Defense wins out and KSU gets another big win.

I will update at the top of the page for the 3:30 and night games. Cheers!

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