Hovering around mediocrity (like the Dallas Cowboys) since 2003
[colored_box color=yellow]Last Week: 4-1 Straight Up / (1-4 vs. Spread)
Season: 47-14 / 30-31[/colored_box]
Well, it finally happened. Water has found its level. I am back under .500, or as I like to call it….â€Home Sweet Homeâ€. I actually started the season pretty strong. After 5 weeks of the season I was sitting at a pretty respectable 20-14 ATS. But since then, 10-17 (37% winning percentage). That is brutal, my friends, and I’m not going to talk about this anymore or I’m going to start punching babies.
There are four weeks of conference action remaining, still time to eke out an overall winning season in 2013. Keep the dream alive! Let’s go Around the Big 12!
Iowa State at Oklahoma (-24.5), 11:00am [FS1] – Thanks to writing this weekly column I’ve been forced to follow the giant epic sinkhole that is the 2013 Iowa State Cyclones football season. At this point even *I’m* wishing their season would just end. It’s just too depressing. I can’t imagine being a Cyclones fan this year, as things in Ames just continue to find new lows. The QB “controversy†continues, and I use controversy in quotes because I’m not sure what you can debate when both options are terrible. DL David Irving took matters into his own hands and decided to end HIS season early, when he was jailed on domestic assault charges on Wednesday night. The guy attacked his girlfriend with scissors, cutting her hair and punching her repeatedly. Hmmm, can’t imagine he’ll see the field the rest of this season. The rest of the Cyclones also showed some fight last week, but a heartbreaking late loss to TCU was yet another kick to the nards. I can’t imagine they’re “in a good place†heading to Norman this weekend. Hell, even the Des Moines Register suggests that Iowa State just try to survive this weekend, and set all their hopes on winning the Kansas game next week. Now THAT is pa-thetic. SOONERS – 40 Cyclones – 13
West Virginia (-7) at Kansas, 11:00am [FSN] – This is a tough spot for West Virginia and anyone tempted by this curiously low line. The Mountaineers are coming off an emotional loss last week, and the health of starting QB Clint Trickett is in question. Although one could argue that there’s not a gulf of difference between Trickett and backup QB Paul Millard. Many people may have seen the Texas-West Virginia final score, 47-40, and assumed that both defenses were terrible. But oddly enough I came away really impressed with WVU’s front 7, especially against the run. After the game, Around the Big 12 immediately named LB Nick Kwiatkoski to his 2013 Big 12 Lunch-Pail All-Star team. All Kansas can do is run, and the Jayhawks appear to be backsliding after showing some hints of progress early in the season. WVU has a bowl trip to play for – they must win their final two to get a Holiday Vacation to the Pinstripe Bowl in the warm, sunny Bronx – so I expect them to play with focus, which is all it takes to smash Kansas. Mountaineers roll. MOUNTAINEERS – 31 Jayhawks – 14
Oklahoma State (-3) at Texas, 2:30pm [FOX] – You can study statistics and try to find trends and pore through all the data you want….and maybe eventually you think you’re some kind of expert, but every once in a while a team comes along like Texas. A team that makes no sense. Sometimes that’s good and sometimes that’s bad. If you only look at the box score, how in the living hell did West Virginia push Texas to overtime? The Longhorns forced 5 turnovers, held West Virginia to 2.3 yards per carry (an inflated number due to six sacks), and committed only 5 penalties for 37 yards. On the other hand, you could probably watch Texas games and purely judging by the eyeball test, you’d wonder how Texas is WINNING these games. The Horns withstood a shaky start, terrible red-zone performance, and somehow made the plays it took to win another tough road game. The Horns remain a strong do-not-wager until further notice, unless you like living on the edge. Unlike some past Texas-oSu matchups the running game is going to decide this one. Curiously, the Pokes went away from the running game a bit last week against Kansas, throwing the ball 39 times and rushing only 31. Like most Big 12 teams, the Cowboys probably saw the Kansas game as a good chance to get some practice in. Both Clint Chelf and Case McCoy are prone to big plays – both for and against their opponents – but neither team wants to be put in position where they must rely on their QB. Texas also needs to come out fast. OSU has jumped all over its last 3 opponents, and Texas has been sleepy in their last 2 first quarters. This is a toss-up of tossups. But damn if I’m not sorta starting to believe in this Texas team, even if none of what’s happening makes any sense whatsoever. LONGHORNS – 33 Cowboys – 30, OT
TCU at Kansas State (-10.5), 2:30pm [FSN] – Look, red-hot Kansas State is going to crush ice-cold TCU. End of story. What I really want to talk about here is the strange promotion that K-State employed last Friday to increase student attendance at the season’s first women’s basketball game. Five free strips of bacon was all it took for 1000 students to show up and devour 300 pounds of bacon. Having been to Manhattan twice, and having seen what passes for a co-ed in that town, the wild success of this promotion does not surprise me at all. In fact, next year when we travel up to Aggieville I think I might just keep a few strips of bacon in my jeans pocket. After all, you never know when – uhhhh — you might need to ask a dog to do a few tricks. WILDCATS – 33 Horned Frogs – 16
Baylor (-27) vs. Texas Tech, Arlington TX, 6:00pm [FOX] – This week Screamin’ Gus Johnson is calling a game with an Over/Under of 85. Is FOX trying to kill the poor man? This game SHOULD be an automatic Baylor pick, as the Bears cover every spread in sight and the Red Raiders are sinking like a stone. But of course I’m going to over-think this thing and talk myself into a TTU cover. Watch how it’s done! First off, Baylor is experiencing their first dance with the injury bug in 2013. It’s looking unlikely that Lache Seastrunk or Glasco Martin will play Saturday. Shock Linwood gets the start, with WR Antwan Goodley sliding back to RB as needed. Also missing at wideout is speed-freak Tevin Reese, who dislocated his wrist against OU… and that sounds like the most painful injury on earth. He’s out for the season. Tech is backed into a corner with nothing left to lose, and for some reason I see the Red Raiders jumping out all over Baylor early. Maybe even leading as much as 31-10 or 31-17. But then Baylor will wake up, the boulder will start tumbling downhill, and a massive Baylor run will crush any dreams of an upset. BEARS – 54 Red Raiders – 31
