Vindy's Picks Week 11

VINDY FILIBUSTER IMPROBABLE

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (ITAR-Tass)...The "Gang of 14", consisting of seven Las Vegas Strip sportsbook managers and seven from a coalition of downtown casinos and "locals’ hangouts" across the Vegas Valley will convene this week to go over options relating to the Vegas Vindicator’s planned release of the 2005-06 Weber Bowl Predictions this December. One of the bookies, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that while there are concerns Weber will bring a bias toward Big Ten teams in the post-season picks, there are no early indications that a filibuster might occur. The linesmakers are inclined to watch and wait to see Vindy’s final regular season results first before resorting to extreme measures, noting Weber would likely continue application of fair and objective standards to his forecast. The Nevada State Gaming Control Board remains on the sidelines for now, but has not ruled out implementation of the so-called "nuclear option", denying the bookies their right to filibuster Vindy’s Picks if they violate bipartisan gambling agreements.

A little extra pressure to get the picks out early last week due to a Wednesday night game featuring a ranked team seems to have been good for Vindy, who went a nice 12-4-2 (following an 0-2 start) to claw his way back over .500 at 86-83-2 (.509) for the year! On a three-week tear of 37-14-2 (.725) ATS, the Sun City Soothsayer offers...

THE WEBER KID’S 2005 WEEK 11 FORECAST

WED. NOV. 9
#16 West Virginia over CINCINNATI giving 13 ½: Vin considered this choice for "lock". Bearkats have played better lately, beating Syracuse and UConn, while barely missing a third cover, losing by 24 at Louisville as a 22-point puppy. Mounties are 3-0 ATS on the road and Cincy will have problems stopping West Virginia’s Top 20 rushing attack. Mountaineers were very efficient last week, scoring a point every 8.27 yards of offense vs. Connecticut...WVU 38 Cincinnati 13

THURS. NOV. 10
#20 FRESNO STATE over Boise State giving 7: "LOCK OF DA’ WEEK". Boise certainly hasn’t been the team it was in the past few seasons and this one ain’t on the dreaded blue carpet. Broncos haven’t knocked off anyone with a defense. Bulldogs have allowed only two opponents more than 17 points. Fresno visits SoCal next week, but the focus will be here...Fresno 37 Boise 20

FRI. NOV. 11
#23 LOUISVILLE over Rutgers giving 22: No faith in this pick. Cardinals are 4-0 against the line at home while Scarlet Nuts are 1-3 ATS away. Rutgers is already bowl-eligible and has an off-week followed by very winnable home match against Cincinnati. Louisville has more to prove and has been trashing the opposition since blowout loss to South Florida...Redbirds 45 Rutgers 20

Sat. NOV. 12
CAL over #1 Southern Cal taking 19: Bears are without a lot of the starters that played in the last three season games vs. the Trojans, which were decided by 2, 3 and 6 points. However, we’ll side with history and Berkeley coach Jeff Tedford is no stranger to the ‘dog role in this one...USC 31 Bears 21

#2 TEXAS over Kansas giving 33: Longhorns take on the Big 12's 4th best defense and Kansas stoppers accounted directly for 16 of the Jayhawks’ 40 points last week in romp over Nebraska. They also held potent Texas Tech offense to 30 points on the road. Kansas had scored a total of 32 points over four games prior to the Husker tussle. That won’t cut it this week...Texas 48 Fightin’ Manginos 13

WAKE FOREST over #3 Miami taking 14: Hurricanes are in a letdown situation following big road win over Virginia Tech, albeit with the assistance of six Marcus Vick turnovers. Deacons have enough of a running game to burn the clock and keep it within a pair of touchdowns...Miami 23 Wake 13

#4 ALABAMA over #5 Louisiana State taking 1: Have to chalk up Bengals’ ho-hum 24-0 triumph vs. Appalachian State to lack of interest and the coaches evaluating next year’s potential starters. If Trojans or Steers falter, ‘Bama could end up in the title game in its first year off probation. Tide has momentum, the home field and mostly importantly, a healthy squad...Alabama 17 LSU 13

#6 Penn State: IDLE (next @ Michigan State) Lions get their first bye all season!

Navy over #7 NOTRE DAME taking 24: Inaugural clash of Independents in 2005. Midshipmen will likely chalk up its 42nd consecutive defeat to the Leprechauns, but Navy has covered 11 of last 15 in the series, including three outta’ the previous four. The Boat People can still end up 7-4 by whacking Temple and Army later, but a good showing here could enhance their bowl opportunities...Irish 41 Sailors 24

#8 Virginia Tech: IDLE (next @ Virginia)

#9 GEORGIA over #15 Auburn giving 4: Fourth road trip in last five tilts for the Tigers. Nothing about Auburn’s accomplishments this season screams "take da’ points". On the other sideline, ‘Dawgs have been in a bunch of close games and should get starting QB Shockley back this week. Auburn is still in it for the SEC West crown and this could be a preview of the conference title match...Joja’ 24 Auburn 16

#25 Northwestern over #10 OHIO STATE taking 18: ‘Cats have struggled a bit last couple of games. Still this is a team that should’ve beaten Vindy’s Lions and the Buckeyes defense is commensurate with Penn State’s. If NW goads State into a shootout, they could win outright...OSU 34 Northwestern 24

#11 Oregon over WASHINGTON STATE giving 3: Mallards are 6-2 ATS overall, 3-1 ATS away from the Pond. Good enough for this forecaster, who called for the Ducks to win the PAC-10 in the preseason. Coogs three home losses have all been by a trey. In overtime...Decoys 27 Wazzou 20

SOUTH CAROLINA over #12 Florida taking 24: Gators face ex-coach, though Weber doesn’t think there’s anyone left on the Gainesville club that remembers Steve Superior as the Ol’ Ball Coach. Gamecocks are 4-1-1 ATS over last 6, including back-to-back upsets on the road and Vindy thanks Super Steve for helping him cash one of two winning tickets this past week. Might be less about the players and more about the coaching match-up of Meyer vs. Spurrier. Crocs players are hurting. Is there yet another shocker up Steve’s sleeve?...Florida 16 Poultry Nation 13

#13 Texas Tech over OKLAHOMA STATE giving 24: Yet another pick nearly selected as "lock". Cowpokes’ average margin of loss at home is 20 (and that’s skewed by mere 7-point loss to Mizzou). T’was a mighty effort put forth in leading Texas by 19 at the half last week, only to lose big. Can’t think of any other reason to back State here. No-longer-to-be-feared Sooner squad is only remaining game on Tech’s slate...Red Raiders 54 OKSU 20

Arizona State over #14 UCLA taking 4: Recent photos from the Cassini spacecraft found a "heavily cratered surface but no hint of atmosphere." But enough about the Bruins game-plan last week at Arizona. Sun Devils turned around a struggling season with a sweep of the Apple State. They get the nod here...ASU 28 UCLA 27

#17 Florida State @ CLEMSON: OFF (And Weber ain’t real upset about that!)

#18 TCU over Unlv giving 27: The Weber Kid considered this one also for "lock". At first glance, this appears to be an awful lotta’ juice to lay with the Frogs. Rebels, however, seemingly have thrown in the towel. UNLV has done little outside surprising win over the Aztecs. Despite losses by 25, 35 and 41 at Wyoming, at Air Force (who’s having a down year) and versus BYU, respectively, members of the Las Vegas Bowl committee secretly smiled following last week’s result. CSU Rams turned it over 4 times in last week’s loss to the Cougars. Rebels will probably match or surpass that...TCU 47 Rebels 10

#19 WISCONSIN over Iowa giving 3: Hawkeyes are 15-4 ATS in last 19 November battles. Last spread loss in November? Yep, those four spread losses! NBC Universal will air a new cable channel called "Sleuth" in January 2006, directed at fans of crime and mystery. The premiere episode reportedly will feature the Badgers’ defense... Wisconsin 31 Iowa 24

Indiana over #21 MICHIGAN taking 24: Wolverines are making mad charge to save Lloyd Carr’s job following three early season losses. Will 7-4 be enough? Hoosiers are 4-4 outright, but have been blasted by the conference’s upper-tier teams. Vin just knows he’s gonna’ regret takin’ Indy...Michigan 35 Hoosiers 16

#22 Colorado over IOWA STATE giving 2 ½: Woo-hooooo! Winner gets inside track to play body-bag game vs. Texas in early December...Bison 24 Cyclones 20

#24 Georgia Tech over VIRGINIA taking 5: Bees have a three-game win streak going. No consistency from either sideline. Initial selection was Virginia. ‘Yellowjackets get the vote...GT 21 Wahoos 17

BETWEEN THE HASHMARKS

Vindicator takes a bow for calling the exact 45-7 final score of Fresno’s victory over San Josie State in Week 10!!!

John Madden accepted an invitation this week from California Gubbahnah Arnold Schwarzenegger to accompany him aboard Arnie’s tour bus, the Reform to Rebuild Express. Madden said he would enjoy the travel and promised to post pictures of the MVPs (most valuable politicians) on his horse-trailer along the way!

Da’ Niners recently picked up former "Bachelor" star, QB Jesse Palmer. Can’t wait to see clips of the weekly rose ceremony in the San Fran locker room as Palmer whittles down an initial group of 25 players to select his starting five offensive linemen!

The Stardust this week banned 15-team bets on ½-point parlay cards following seven (count ‘em, seven!) successful 15-team cards! Holy crap!!! 15-teamers!!!!???? Vindy struggles mightily to put two teams correctly ATS on a bet much less 15!!!!

Dialed In: Weber went 13-1 picking NFL winners straight up this past weekend in the Coast Casinos "Pick The Pros" contest, missing only Indy’s win over the Pats on Monday night. Upon further review, Weber is almost glad he didn’t submit a perfect card for the second time in four weeks this season as 330 other contestants were 14-0 and 329 of ‘em received a mere $60.29 for their efforts!

A pirate attack on a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia ended without injury this week as the cruise-liner crew gladly joined the marauders to escape yet another pleasure trip chartered by the Vikings! In related news, the Minnesota organization hired two former Carolina Panthers cheerleaders almost immediately following their dismissal from the team after being busted for engaging in..ohhhh, let’s call it..."illegal contact" in a Tampa bar bathroom stall! Now there’s a video Vindy wouldn’t mind seeing on SportsCenter!

Neuheisel Trial Part II: Rick indicated he didn’t consider laying $6400 on an office pool to be "gambling". Did anyone get the license plate of the turnip truck he fell off???!! Neuheisel eventually got a $4.5 million settlement for his illegal termination. His only regret?...He didn’t get da’ cash in time to put it on the Tarheels in this past year’s Big Dance!!!!!

In July, Terrell Owens was denied the opportunity to play for Sacramento Kings’ summer hoops team. Bummer. But with Owens’ recent dismissal for the rest of the year, maybe Dallas will give him a shot. Vin anticipates seeing TO get speared by...hmmm..let’s say..Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzski after spiking the ball on the Dallas logo at center court following a slam dunk!

"Locked in a Box?": Lock record is now 3-7 (.300) behind those Red Raiders of Texas Tech!

Shoppe Talk: The Seminoles get a weekend pass after posting their first forecast win of the season. Louisville has been a royal pain in the Astroturf with nothin’ but seven forecast losses this year!

Vindy’s Week 11 Best Bets: Last Week: 2-2-1 Season: 16-17-1 (.485)
VANDERBILT -13 over Kentucky, East Carolina +11 ½ over TULSA, KENT STATE -11 ½ over Buffalo, Nevada-Reno -10 ½ over NEW MEXICO STATE, Central Florida +9 over UAB, North Texas +7 over FLORIDA ATLANTIC