Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Vindy's Picks Week 2-2014


FAMOUS AUDIBLE NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT WE HEARD
DENVER, Colorado (REUTERS)…Much ado was made over Peyton Manning’s use of the word “Omaha” at the line of scrimmage, reportedly captured in a league video-compilation as many as 44 times, in his team’s January playoff win over the San Diego Chargers. Players on both sides, however, revealed the star QB was actually shouting the expression of shock and bewilderment, “Omigawd! Omigawd!” after looking over the defense!

BTW, CB-radio aficionados will of course remember Manning as the voice of “Rubber Duck’ in the song “Convoy”…”Yeah, 10-4, Big Ben…what’s yer 20?...Omaha?!...Well, they ought to know what to do with them hogs out there fer sure…”
A horrendous 3-12 (.200) outta’ the gate had us quickly contemplating closing up shop and takin’ the rest of the season off, but we’ve Picasso’d ourselves up off da’ canvas and hope for better results from…

THE WEBER KID’S 2014 WEEK 2 FORECAST
(Safe as a Sochi Olympics half-pipe!)
Citadel @ #1 FLORIDA STATE: No line.

Florida Atlantic (+40) over #2 ALABAMA: Mounties’ 100-yard kick-off return for a score in the Second Quarter sounds like several ’Bama  special-teams scholarships being vacated. Owls gave up almost 500 rushing yards on fitty-seven carries in blowout loss to Nebraska and now fly into Tuscaloosa, facing Tide team that saw RBs Yeldon and Henry each clear 100 yards on the ground vs. West Virginia. Yep, that’s gonna’ leave a bruise…Tide 48 FAU 10
#7 Michigan State (+12 ½) over #3 OREGON: UPSET PICK OF DA’ WEEK #1. LOCK OF DA’ WEEK. We’ll put more stock in Spartans’ 45-7 win over then-FCS #8 Jacksonville State team than in Ducks hanging 62 on AA South Dakota squad. Mallards QB Mariota warrants his Heisman-talk, but Sparty closed last year with underdog SU wins over Ohio State and Stanford. Ducks are crapshoots as home-chalk. One of Oregon’s defeats last season came at the hands of defensive-stalwart Stanford. Double-digits just too-good to pass up with State… MSU 27 Quack Attack 24

#4 Oklahoma (-24 ½) over TULSA: Sooners 44 Tulsa 16
#5 AUBURN (-31) over San Jose State: Tigers 44 SJSU 9

#6 Georgia: IDLE (next @ South Carolina)
#8 OHIO STATE (-12) over Virginia Tech: State’s 17-point win over Navy is misleading. We watched the game. Middies were in it until the last 8 or 9 minutes. While the rushing attack is obviously Navy’s MO, the Ensigns gashed the Buckeyes run-D for long-gainers on several occasions. QB JT Barrett did improve as the game went on in place of Braxton Miller. A missed 36-yard FG cost us the forecast win last week, but considering a number of calls by the replay official favoring the Boat People, we won’t complain too loud. Buckeyes are just 8-7 ATS at Da’ Shoe the past seasons, but should fare better vs. a more-traditional offense this week…State 29 Hokies 12

Lamar @ #9 TEXAS A&M: No line.
Northwestern State @ #10 BAYLOR: No line.

Memphis (+24) over  #11 UCLA: Bruins D did the heavy-lifting last week in Virginia, scoring three TDs on three turnovers, with UCLA offense not hittin’ the scoreboard until the final 90 seconds of the game…UCLA 35 Tigers 24
Sam Houston State @ #12 LSU: No line.

#13 STANFORD (-3) over #14 Southern Cal: Just prior to last week’s opener vs. Fresno State, Trojans DB Josh Shaw fessed up that his story about his high-ankle sprains resulted from leaping off  a balcony to save his drowning nephew was…horse hockey! The exact details of his actual fall from a balcony were not divulged, but Vindy’s spies say Shaw had been watching Wrestlemania on TV and tried to emulate a “diving back elbow drop”. No turnbuckle was available, so he improvised…landing a solid blow to the chest of his 7-year-old relative, but bustin’ up his wheels in the process! Frankly, we’d be happy with a push, but we’ll call it…Trees 24 Trojans 20
#15 Mississippi (-20) over Vanderbilt (@ Atlanta, GA): Senior QB Bo Wallace and his Rebels teammates overcame a sloppy INT-filled game (7 total combined) to beat Boise and notch one of our three correct picks in Week One. Meanwhile, the NCAA and SEC dropped anchor on Vandy’s now-banned unis, which proclaimed “Anchors Down” on the back in the midst of the Commodores’ embarrassing 30-point loss to improving-but-not-that-improved Temple. Ole Miss chalked up 387 passing yards but the running game was absent and the Rebels have won just 6 of last 16 SEC contests. Vandy’s got a new coach after losing James Franklin to Vindy’s alma-mater…Rebels 41 Vanderbilt 17

Michigan (+4 ½) over #16 NOTRE DAME: Despite the academic drama, QB Golson carried the Leprechauns, literally, with three rushing scores, and passed for a couple more in trashin’ Rice. Big Blew needs to figure out how to put the close ones in the dubya-column, suffering 4 losses by 11 total points last season and going 4-11-1 ATS in games decided by 7 or less the last three years. Senior QB Devin Gardner avenged a much-publicized 2007 loss to Appalachian State last week. Irish had won four straight (by 7 or less) until UM’s 41-30 triumph in 2013… Leprechauns 27 UM 24
NEW MEXICO (+26) over #17 Arizona State: Best guess for this week’s “wish I had it back”. Lobos nearly rallied from 17-point halftime hole vs. UTEP, using a strong running game (about 9 yards per carry), but minus-three in turnover ratio didn’t help. New Mexico finally has a full allotment of scholarship players, lotsa’ seniors and a third-year coach in Bob Davie, though Lobos are down a couple key players…Pitchforks 38 UNM 20

Western Illinois @ #18 WISCONSIN: No line.
McNeese State @ #19 NEBRASKA: No line.

#20 Kansas State (-12 ½) over IOWA STATE: ‘Clones, as we warned in our Week One “upset alert”, were beaten by the reigning FCS triple-champion North Dakota State Golden Bison...not just narrowly, but by almost three touchdowns…at home!! The Purple Persians can relate. They were beaten 24-21 last year by those same Golden Bison. Dust Devils return 10 on offense but just half as many on D. ‘Cats have been money-makers for their backers the last three seasons and have won 7 of 8 games following an ugly first half of 2013…
San Diego State (+15) over #21 NORTH CAROLINA: Tarheels 27 Aztecs 20

East Carolina (+16 ½) over #22 SOUTH CAROLINA: Poultry’s youth on defense showed badly in outright loss to A&M last week (and maybe…just maybe…the Ol’ Ball-Coach won’t give the Pirates any disparaging sound-bites). SC RB Davis is doubtful fer this game. Can’t quite pull the upset trigger on ECU squad that’s been poor in road-dog mode, but points look worthy…KFC 34 Arrrrgh! 27
SC State @ #23 CLEMSON: No line.

TOLEDO (+4 ½) over #24 Missouri: UPSET PICK OF DA’ WEEK #2. Rockets 31 Tigers 27
Murray State @ #25 LOUISVILLE: No line.

BETWEEN THE HASHMARKS
Apparently, the volume of penalty-flags thrown for pass interference and defensive holding under the new regulations was so numerous during the NFL exhibition season that cheerleaders on both sidelines of any given game were seen sewing quilts with the yellow hankies at halftime! Come to think of it, referees who watched too much of da’ World Cup coverage were awarding penalty-kicks for defensive infractions occurring inside da’ tackle-box!

Having already suffered the egging of his truck last year in the wake of a lost game (BTW, Justin Bieber could not be reached for comment) and having his wheels set ablaze, possibly intentionally, ahead of last Saturday’s game at Auburn, Arkansas QB Brandon Allen was seen this week driving a tank acquired from the Fayetteville  National Guard!
Replying to a media question about UNLV-to-Arizona transfer Adonis Smith providing some intel about the Rebels to his new team prior to their season openers in Tucson, UNLV coach Bobby Hauck quipped, ”You are inferring that he was paying attention while he was here.” Given the Wildcats’ 58-13 victory, apparently, yes…yes, he was!

Eastern Michigan players struggled, while wielding sledgehammers, to knock down a concrete wall to get to their sideline in their opener last Saturday. “Mr. Gabriel…Mr. Peter Gabriel…to the white courtesy-phone, please!” We think there’s a Miley Cyrus Wreckin’ Ball parody comin’! On top of it, Eagles squeaked past AA Morgan State 31-28. Will enlist Kool-Aid to lead them onto the field this week! Might help bolster attendance too!
New signage in the Michigan State Spartans’ locker room misspelled “accurate” after omitting the second “c”. We realize MSU ain’t Harvard, Yale, Duke, Stanford or even Northwestern, but we an’t help but wonder whih Mihigan State uarterbak will line-up under enter and help his team hit the soreboard vs. the Duks this week!

In addition to aforementioned ISU Cyclowns, we put several other teams on upset-alert against their FCS opponents last week. None of those fell outright, though Montana lost just 17-12 at Wyoming and Mizzou pulled away late from South Dakota State. Other final scores of note from Week One include…Bethune-Cookman’s 14-12 win over Florida International, NC State 24-23 over I-A newcomer Ga. Southern, Syracuse 27-26 (in double OT) over Villanova, Central Michigan 20-16 over UT-Chattanooga, South Florida 36-31 over Western Carolina, Iowa 31-23 over Northern Iowa and Texas Tech 42-35 over Central Arkansas!  
This week on Upset Alert…Eastern Washington @ WASHINGTON (No line). The UDUB defense hung on for the last 12 minutes to preserve 17-16 victory for an ineffective Huskies offense at Hawaii. Sled Dogs do return starting quarterback Cyler Miles from suspension fer this one, but still, the E-DUB Eagles are #2 in the FCS Poll this week…

With team captains for Super Bowl 48 at midfield for the start of the game, Joe Namath prematurely tossed the coin. Kudos to referee Terry McCauley for jumping the route and picking off the ceremonial currency before it hit the ground. McCauley subsequently bolted down the left sideline to the end zone, but was ruled outta’ bounds at the five. The officiating crew would, however, go on to score the first of several touchdowns vs. the Broncos.
During the Sochi Games, snowboard athletes complained about bumpy, deteriorating conditions of the Olympic halfpipe (though competitors from Washington and Colorado noted “a half-pipe is better than no pipe, duuuude”)

Black Shirt: PSU kicker Sam Fickin for his last-second FG in Ireland, leading to the alma-mater’s win and cover over Central Florida…and one of Vindy’s “best bet” dubyas!
“Wish I Had That One Back”: We wish we had damn-near any selection we made in Week One back, but we specifically said we were “not comfy” layin’ the limber with ‘Bama over West Virginia!

“Locked in a Box?”: We open 1-0 (1.000) on the year as Ole Miss put the hurt on Boise last Thursday! One of the few highlights of Week One fer us.
Shoppe Talk: The Gamecocks (0-1 season, 3-9, .250 skid back to last year) host the season-opening of Ye Olde Taxidermy Shoppe…not only failing to cover -10 ½ vs. A&M, but having their tail-feathers handed to ‘em by the Aggies Fresno State was actually 1-7 (.125) headin’ into the 2014 campaign and hosed us again to start the year. Last year’s Flame-Throwers…‘Bama, Oklahoma, Clemson… also hit us (but so did damn-near everybody on the slate last week!)

Vindy’s Week 2 Best Bets:       Last Week: 1-3        Season: 1-3 (.250)
JOJA’ STATE -1 over New Mexico State, NORTHWESTERN -7 over Northern Illinois, Akron +14 over PENN STATE, Colorado State +11 over BOISE STATE

 

 

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