SEAL-EXPERIENCE BENEFITS LOCAL HOOPS-SQUAD
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN)…Special forces training, rather than time with the cute, aquatic-animal-in-question during the offseason, is paying dividends on the court for the UNLV basketball team, currently 4-0. The two grueling days in September involved not only physical conditioning, but also leadership and communications. The team learned to understand each-other's hand-signals on the hardwood, as well as communicate via radios and headsets. Players were also shown how to blow a basket in-place and to set-up Claymore mines around the defensive-perimeter. In addition, Basic Underwater Demolitions sessions were held, just in the event Sin City ends up facing Navy or the Pirates of Seton Hall or East Carolina in da' NCAA Tournament!
Elsewhere, yer omniscient-oracle showed no ill side-effects following the off-week ("best bets" notwithstanding), registering a nifty 15-6 outing (114-87-3, .567). Hopin' for tasty Thanksgiving left-overs (and unders) , while dodgin' da' NFL Tryptophans-right formation, it's...
THE WEBER KID'S WEEK 13 FORECAST
(Now with Turkey Day "doorbusters" and Black Friday pricing!)
THURS. NOV. 23
Mississippi (+16) over #16 MISSISSIPPI STATE: Bulldogs 34 Rebels 24
FRI. NOV. 24
#2 Miami (-14) over PITT: 'Canes 28 Pitt 10
Baylor (+25 ½) over #10 TCU: Best guess for wish we had it back ( for not takin' "under 51"). Toads will await bowl-seating after this one. TCU held potent-but-SU-win-poor Texas Tech 32-points below its previous-average last week. Bares had a pair of late turnovers in 10-point defeat to ISU. Froggies won by 40 in 2016 and show seven-consecutive "unders" on the 2017 outing. Baylor went "under" in last four. Bears' spread-tally has dropped in each of last three campaigns, but BU has equaled 2016's quad of ATS-wins to-date...Amphibians 40 Cubbies 23
#22 South Florida (+11) over #13 Central Florida: LOCK OF DA' WEEK. Behind Buckeyes-Wolverines and Bama'-Auburn, possibly best game of the week. Bulls could reach AAC title game with a victory. UCF has its sights set on New Year's Six bowl-berth. South Florida has won 3 of 4, but covered just once and show SU-wins over instate-rival by 43 and 17 the past two years. First Top-25 foe fer either side in 2017. Gilded Paladins have lost all trio of tries vs. Top 25-teams badly the last three seasons. In the motivation-department, USF, chalk in 19 of last 20 contests, ain't been given double-digits since early 2015 in cover at Florida State, going 3-4 SU in the role. Bulls have covered 5 of 7 facing ranked-teams. UCF's blow-out of Temple is deceiving because Owls were careless with the ball multiple-times deep on their own side of the gridiron. In a nod to the Game of Thrones fans amongst the readership, we say..."For the Golden Knights are dark and full of terrors."...Lancelots 31 South Florida 28
#24 Virginia Tech (-7 ½) over VIRGINIA: Hokies 27 Cavs 17
SAT. NOV. 25
#1 Alabama (-4 ½) over #6 AUBURN: As a holder of a 25-1 futures-bet on Aubie to take the National Championship, there's nuthin' we'd like better than to see Gus Malzahn's charges win here and win big before repeating beatdown of Joja' fer second-time in four-weeks to offer a case for at-least-#4 spot in final CFP rankings. However, always a proponent of "cheer with yer heart, bet with yer head", we have to back the Pachyderms. Tide looked vulnerable in 8-point home-win vs. A&M and 7-point Houdini at Mississippi State and show 1-11 ATS, but 8-4 SU in last three years playing Top 25, meaning Tigers have a 1-in-3 shot to grab the upset. 'Bama's 17-point neutral-site decision to open the year over Florida State has lost significance. Tide has, however, avenged both SEC SU defeats last season by 14 and 7. Auburn has not lost outright at Jordan-Hare in six tries to-date, but will prolly need a break on D or special-teams. We'll happily eat the host's scoreboard-victory as a forecast "L", but quoting "Lost In Space"-regular Dr. Smith..."Oh, the pain...the pain!". We hope either Elephants cover or Auburn walks-off with a victory because Tiger-loss-but-cover would just seriously-annoy us!...Alabama 26 War bEagle 17
West Virginia (+22 ½) over #3 OKLAHOMA: Spooners are now 12-4 laying points in Norman the past three seasons, but haven't knocked-off a Big 12 opponent by this many so far in 2017 and last MOV this big in conference-play came vs....well...vs. Kansas...in mid-2016...Okies 41 WVU 30
SOUTH CAROLINA (+14) over #4 Clemson: Wonderin' if da' Gamecocks posed in da' buff last March holding said-item strategically to promote the short-lived "Naked Chicken Chalupa". Ironically, it was pulled just ahead of the team-photo! Tigers merely need a victory to stay in CFP ahead of ACC title game vs. Miami. Nuggets could post best SU-record since 2013 with a win. Homefield and motivation to the Pugilistic Poultry...CU 21 Gamehens 16
#5 Wisconsin @ MINNESOTA ("under 43"): O-Fers need a victory to bowl. Badgers need some style-points to maybe pass eye-test for waning playoff-berth, but are likely focused on conference title-game vs. Buckeyes. Minny got its *pass* handed to it in goose-egg at Northwestern. Only concern is Wisky's mere-two-TD triumph at B10's version-of-Kansas...Illinois...Cheeseheads 22 Minny 10
GEORGIA TECH (+11) over #7 Georgia: 'Ramblin' Wreck has won two of the last trio in the series and margins of victory have been 6, 6 and 1. Both sides featuring strong ground-games, which could potentially-limit possessions, but with Tech yielding 105 points in past three tilts, we think "over 52" wouldn't be a bad choice either...Joja' 41 Buzz-Buzz 34
MICHIGAN (+12) over #8 Ohio State: State's won SU the past three seasons, but went just 1-2 ATS and got a controversial victory by three in double-extras last year. Big Blew has covered the spread at the Big House only one time in 2017 (vs. Minnesota) and see first home-dog spot since late 2015 (+1 in bad loss to these same Buckeyes). Wolverines have avoided late-season slide that plagued them in 2016, but have still posted recent 2-4-1 spread-skid in past 7 contests. Meanwhile, State, having fallen already to Iowa, hasn't suffered more than a single outright conference-defeat in a given season since going 3-5 in 2011. Jim Harbaugh has gone collective 1-4 SU in first three years as UM coach vs. OSU and Michigan State, and alumni expect better. Quoting Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Urban Meyer says "A pox on both yer 'Big Houses'"! (Can't accuse Vindy's Picks of lacking classic-literature references!)...OSU 31 Meeshigan 27
#20 STANFORD (+2 ½) over #9 Notre Dame: With Our Lady's D banged-up and bruised by Middies' triple-option, we're banking-on homefield-ad and RB Bryce Love to get the Trees thru this one on the plus-side, with both clubs coming-off tough-fought victories over traditional-rivals...Cardinal 23 ND 16
#11 USC: IDLE (next...PAC-12 Championship)
#12 Penn State @ MARYLAND ("under 58"): Alma Mater 34 Terps 0
#14 Washington State (+9 ½) over #15 WASHINGTON: UPSET PICK OF DA' WEEK #1. Huskies have won easily the past three games in this series, but multiple trends back the Coogs here...Wazzou comes-in off a bye, has been solid as road-puppy the last almost-three seasons and been money against the Top 25. UDUB might be a poser, given pastry-chef non-conference slate prior to losses vs. two of the better PAC-12 teams on the schedule (and just-missing shoulda'-been loss to Utah)...Cougars 38 Sled Dogs 31
East Carolina (+28) over #17 MEMPHIS: Tigers 44 ECU 27
Kansas (+40 ½) over #18 OKLAHOMA STATE: Jayhawks have covered 2 of last 4 games, but were demolished by 48 last time here. Big 12 title-chance off the table fer the Cowpokes. Blue-Birds embracing hoops-season. The *coin* prefers da' dog...OKSU 49 Dorothy & Company 20
Texas A&M (+10 ½) over #19 LSU: A&M wants revenge for 54-39 loss last year. In his preseason publication, Phil Steele noted the Bengals are the only West Division club that the Aggies haven't toppled since becoming an SEC-member half-a-dozen campaigns ago...LSU 24 TAMU 21
RUTGERS (+14) over #21 Michigan State: With newly-replaced Joisey-governor Chris Christie streamin' live-flicks on his laptop from a closed Garden State beach, it's..."This...is...Sparta!" 19 "A Scarlet Knight at the Museum" 10
#23 Northwestern (-16 ½) over ILLINOIS: Felines 37 Illini 14
FRESNO STATE (+7) over #25 Boise State: UPSET PICK OF DA' WEEK #2. Preview of December 2nd Mountain Jest Conference title-match. Another game in which we might rue passing-up the "under 58". Boise has also won and covered all three road-fave opportunities on the season and now 14-6 in that role the past almost-four years. Bulldogs took out Wyoming, who was short QB star-trigger-man Josh Allen, but we still have to support Canine-squad that bested San Diego State on conference-road by 24...Bulldogs 13 Broncos 12
BETWEEN THE HASHMARKS
BTW, the Runnin' Rebels closed-out both training-days on the range, improving their hand-eye coordination and focus by firing a variety of weapons at red, rectangular stone blocks, leading Coach Menzies to question the wisdom of his team "shooting bricks"!
Also, BTW, Vindy and his preseason-forecasting team underwent recon training with the Marines, leading us to quote Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge..."We pick swift, we pick silent, we pick deadly.”
Last summer, takin' heat from fans, Florida State officials yanked a controversial "I'm lovin' it!" McDonald's sign from Doak Campbell Stadium. Local Tallahassee Mickey D's order-takers, however, still ask Seminoles players if they'd "like to super-size that loss"! In related-news, Champaign-faithful and alumni, in wake of the school's current 5-17 SU tally, are petitioning the Illini AD to dispose of a similar-display inside Memorial Stadium that proclaims...I'm Lovie-Smithin' It!"
True story...Vindicator did Panda Express fer lunch on Monday. Fortune-cookie read, "Any troubles you have will *pass* shortly." Yer humble-narrator went the rest of this week's forecast tossin' quick-outs and screens!
Just checking...did everyone else out there, earlier this month, remember to change to Daylight Point-Shavings Time???!!!
"Wish We Had It Back": We'd like to rewind our call of Nebraska @ PENN STATE "under 57" after noting "we think UN +26 would be worth a gander as well".
"Locked in a Box": K-State not only covered +3 TDs, it toppled Oklahoma State outright, raising da' "lock"-tally to 8-2-1 (.800)!
Black Shirt: We awarded the coveted-cloth to all the Kansas Jayhawks captains, who provided just-enough fuel-to-the-fire to Oklahoma (-36 ½) by refusing to shake Baker Mayfield's hand ahead of the coin-toss of KU's 38-point loss!
Shoppe Talk: Ye Olde Taxidermy Shoppe actually closed its doors this weekend, as da' Leprechauns and Mountaineers each posted forecast-dubyas! (Judges, however, have advised both teams (2-5, .400)...along with Clemson (2-5-2, .400)...to not leave their respective states!)
Vindy's Week 13 Best Bets: Last Week: 1-4 (OUCH!) Season: 21-24-1 (.467)
Indiana @ PURDUE "under 49", Iowa State over +3 KANSAS STATE, North Texas –12 ½ over Rice, Tulane +8 over SMU
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