Colt McCoy says that he is coming back to Texas for his senior year. That’s a bit surprising, but I’m glad. Not that I have any love for Texas at all – their suffering makes me happy. I just like it when guys come back for another year. Not that it makes much sense here, really. This year he is in an ideal situation – no matter what happens in the BCS Championship game he can tell anyone who will listen that they would have been the better team if they were given the chance to prove it. Things can’t get much better for him next year,but they can get worse. Somebody should give McCoy Matt Leinart’s number. Or Brian Brohm’s.
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There are some mostly meaningless and uninteresting regular season games to be played today. The interesting ones, though, are obviously the five conference championship games that are being played. One, Buffalo and Ball State for the MAC, is already in the books. Here’s a quick look at the other four, in order of their starting time:
East Carolina (+11.5) vs. Tulsa – This should be a much more interesting game than it actually is. Both teams looked like they had the potential to be giant killers earlier in the season, but neither was able to hold it together. East Carolina has covered just twice in their last 10, while Tulsa has just one cover in their last four and is coming off an incredibly flat game at Marshall last week. One of these teams has to win, but it is pretty hard to care – after all, the prize is only a Liberty Bowl berth.
It’s not yet official, but it appears that USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will replace Ty Willingham at Washington. He has denied it through USC, but that means nothing – the season is still on and USC has a game to prepare for. This move gives us a lot to think about:
Worst NFL Game of the Week – It could be argued that we get this one out of the way tonight when Oakland visit San Diego. That one could be ugly, but there are, sadly, worse. St. Louis at Arizona should be ugly – the Rams were blown out once already by the Cards, and they were better then than they are now. New England at Seattle could be ugly unless we see a much improved Seattle team suddenly. We won’t. The ultimate choice is clear, though – Cleveland at Tennessee. Ken Dorsey against the most ferocious defense in the league. Good luck with that.
A slightly belated look at what transpired in football action over the weekend, and we could be learned from it:
1. Big 12 QB’s non-throwing hands are fragile – Graham Harrell completely shattered his non-throwing hand early in his game against Baylor, yet was somehow able to overcome it and lead a comeback to avoid embarrassment. Sam Bradford hurt his, too. Both guys should be okay by the time they next take the field, but one thing is clear – being a Heisman candidate in the Big 12 is dangerous. If I was Colt McCoy I would be sleeping with one eye open.
Wow, is this ever a terrible Monday night game. If someone paid me to come up with something nice to say about these teams or this game I would have to give the money back. With one exception – Steve Slaton has had a very good game, and that’s becoming a trend for him. The biggest problem is that we are getting exactly the same game that it looked like we would get. I just wish the league would do something about these terrible Monday night matchups – like cancel them.
Since this is essentially the end of the regular season, this will be our last look at top 25 games to watch. Worry not, though – we’ll find lots of (hopefully) interesting ways to fill the space.
The biggest problem this week has is that a few games that would other wise be interesting are meaningless. I would have loved, for example, to see what Cincinnati could do against a weak Syracuse team. Cincinnati’s BCS bid has been secured, though, so the intensity won’t be there – staying healthy is the priority. Kansas at Missouri is a game that could have been good but is also absolutely meaningless. There are still plenty of gems, though:
There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching college football on a Friday morning. In fact, I could get used to it. Neither the West Virginia – Pittsburgh nor the Nebraska – Colorado games were classics, but they were both entertaining and a good way to spend a day. I had Colorado to cover so I was pleased, but I am disappointed for them that they didn’t become bowl eligible. The Nebraska wins that I don’t have to worry about watching the Gator Bowl – the Huskers against an ACC team is not a recipe for a good game.
While you all are down there eating turkey and watching football, I’m stuck up here in Canada watching football and wishing I has some turkey. Enjoy it while you can.
I was going to do a take on the Turkey Awards for college football today. But then I saw this one, and I couldn’t possibly do better. Check it out. I am particularly fond of the Kevin Hart story.
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants – It’s very well documented and obvious what Coughlin has done in the last season and a half in New York. What is remarkable about him, though, is that somehow his teams keep covering the spread no matter how much of a love affair the media has with them. He is in the midst of his fifth season with the Giants. He’s already guaranteed to have a profitable season for bettors this year since he is 9-2 ATS. He has then had only two non-profitable season, and both were barely so – 8-8 and 7-8-1. He was 10-5-1 ATS n 2005. Last year he was 10-6 ATS and a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs. Not only is he 9-2 this year, but he has covered his last six in a row despite the fact that everyone in the public regularly reads that they are the class of the league. That tells me that he has his team focused and playing their best instead of just well enough to win. That’s a bettor’s wet dream. He wasn’t as impressively reliable with Jacksonville, but he was still solid – he had four profitable seasons in eight years, and he never covered fewer than seven games. In his first job at Boston College, Coughlin had two very profitable years, and was 6-6 ATS in the third.
Continue reading “Three Coaches Football Bettors Should Love”
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