With just a pair of tilts featuring Top 25 teams, we’ll withhold our usual volume of opening-content fer now. Fresh off our stint as Ryan Gosling’s understudy in his role as “Ken” in the “Barbie” movie, we put forth...
THE WEBER KID’S 2023 WEEK ZERO FORECAST
(As always, lookin’ Pretty in Pink!)
SAT. AUG. 26
San Jose State (+30 ½) over #6 USC: Spartans finished 5th outta’ a dozen clubs during July’s Mountain Mae West Conference preseason poll. We'd like to think that reflects Senior-heavy San Josie’s improvement off a 5-3 conference record vs. an overall perception of weakness of teams outside the top four. Chevan Cordeiro also clocked-in at MWC All-Conference Team QB. Hopin’ those honors hold true against a SoCal squad lookin’ to assess talent-depth this week (and next Saturday). USC grabbed a Monty-Haul from the transfer portal. USC went 5-2 ATS non-conference in Coach Riley’s first year. Spartans, who did not lose more than 16 in ‘22, if nothing else, need to protect the ball (USC +22 turnover-margin last year, though State was also +DD in TO-margin). Most-recent meeting was a 30-7 victory by USC in L.A. in ‘21. Trojans will have plenty of room to substitute strings with just anticipated MWC bottom-feeder Reno up next, while State will likely leave its starting 22 on the pitch as long as possible to get experience for the upcoming schedule, including Oregon State on-deck...Troy Boys 41 San Josie 16
#13 Notre Dame vs. Navy (@ Dublin, Ireland) (“over 50 ½”): Be advised, our original gut-feeling was “under”, however, upon further review, the four final totals between these two were 66, 72, 40 and 66. Midshipmen garner Phil Steele’s #14 Most Improved Team. Annapolis shows a seriously-unusually high number of returning-starters (17). Middies charged back from 22 points behind on the Emerald Isle last year but were down 35-32 at the final gun as the rally didn’t quite make it. That same week, we correctly made the Ensigns +17 in South Bend our “lock of da’ week”! Sailors won just 4 of 12 (and thus under new management). Phil Steele anticipates the Boat People to put it in the air more often behind an experienced offensive line, which could generate more scoring opportunities. Swabbies have gone 5-1-1 against the number in past 7 neutral site contests. Navy hasn’t finished straight-up above .500 since posting an 11-2 tally in 2019. USN coughed-up its initial neutral-site spread-loss in the last 7 seasons via 3OT demise vs. Army (20-17) last year (now 5-1-1). Meanwhile, the Irish snagged former Wake Forest star QB Sam Hartman thru the portal. We don’t think a combined fitty-one is too much to ask. May the jet-lag take more toll on the D-units, allowing the offenses to crank it up again enuff...Leprechauns 38 “The Last Voyage of Demeter” 24
BETWEEN THE HASHMARKS
If a football team’s depth chart meets a classic Meatloaf tune, do we hear...”Though it’s colllld and lonnnely in the deep, dark night...I can see paradise by the scoreboard light”...Ain’t no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed. ‘Cuz we were barely second-string and we were barely-dressed!”
And fer da’ Trekkies out there...”you haven’t read Vindy’s Picks until you read them in the original Klingon!”
Back next week with our full-blown regalia! To be continued!
No comments:
Post a Comment