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:
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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.
I am not a happy guy right now. See, I like Louisville. A lot. That means my faith is being truly tested. The third ranked Cardinals were playing their third game, and it shouldn’t have been a contest. They were playing Western Kentucky – a team that hadn’t beaten a top three team in 41 years – and they were favored by 19.5. In the end it wasn’t a contest, but the wrong team ran away with it. It was tied at the half, but Western Kentucky came out strong early on in the second half and never looked back. Ultimately, they won by 14 in a game that went under the total by 17 points. The result is disturbing, but beyond that it raises some key issues when it comes to handicapping Louisville:
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”
Worst NFL Game of the Week – Baltimore at Cincinnati is going to be an ugly blowout. Kansas City at Oakland features two teams playing together that nobody really wants to watch. There is some hope their, though – Oakland is coming off a win, and Kansas City at least has shown offensive potential. It won’t be a good game, but it at least has the potential to be interesting. The clear winner, though, is Miami at St. Louis. Miami is fine, but St. Louis is so indescribably bad that there can’t be one positive thing said about them, or one good reason to watch this one.
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