EX-SEC HEAD MAN TAKES LOCAL POST...WITH A CAVEAT
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania (BBC)...Hugh Freeze has agreed to fill the head coaching vacancy left by the departure of James Franklin under one condition...he wants the return of Topgolf to Beaver Stadium. The four-day sporting event was previously hosted in Happy Valley in June of 2023. Reportedly, Freeze was let go by Auburn, at least in part, due to his tendency to hit the links early and often, in particular on Sundays following losses by the Tigers football team. Under the new program, Freeze would roam the sidelines in a golfcart for “all 18 holes” rather than four quarters, players could request a “gridiron” from the caddy and Gatorade buckets would be replaced by water hazards. Coach stated the only flags on the field would be the ones marking the holes and would eventually be picked up; linebackers and the secondary would be referred to as the “back nine” and shots from atop the venue would hopefully not land in the “gallery” AKA the student section!! During halftime and post-game, athletes and coaches will retire to the “clubhouse” rather than the locker room!
Finally! BYU thumped da’ Horny Toads in our final pick of the weekend, pushing us over the hump to a 3-2 (28-33-1, .459) result and ended a two-week “lock” skid along the way!
Oprah’s 2025 Favorite Things list dropped not long ago. On it were candy bag charms, Apple air pods, Stingray Spot Remover (fer those stubborn stingray spots that just won’t come out) and...
THE WEBER KID’S WEEK 13 FORECAST
(“6-7”)
SAT. NOV. 22
#16 Southern Cal @ #6 OREGON (“over 58 ½”): Ducks proved they could win a mud wrestling match, getting by Iowa 18-16 and the Badgers 21-7, but average 42 ppg on Da’ Pond. Trojans’ mean output on the road is 27.5 points per tilt. USC is 6th in total ypg (489). Mallards are close by at 475. Both have an equal number of rushing touchdowns (26). Each has just one B10 loss and there’s no glaring reason to believe this won’t exceed the projected total as the winner tries to keep pace with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers...Drakes 38 SoCal 28
#23 Missouri (+8) over #8 OKLAHOMA: We vacillated between this and the “under 42 ½”. Tide cost itself the game vs. The Sooners last week with multiple turnovers and a missed FG on a bad snap. Oklahoma’s running back room is a sick bay as four (count ‘em, four!) ball-carriers are illin’ right now, QB Mateer can run as needed but can’t do it all himself. Overall, OK’s air game is roughly serviceable with 11-7 TD-to-INT ratio. Matt Zollers will prolly remain behind center for the Tigers, who’ve covered 11 of last 14 away tilts and getting more than a touchdown is attractive. During the Tennessee game, Oklahoma K Tate Sandell was called out by Kirk Herbstreit for the skimpy length of his pants. Made us flashback to a hair removal TV ad fitty years ago. Altogether now, “Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts. If ya dare wear short shorts...Nair for short shorts...” ...Boomer Schooner 23 Mizzou 17
#15 GEORGIA TECH (-2 ½) over Pittsburgh: Coach Narduzzi’s pre-Irish comments became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Panthers’ best win to-date is 53-34 over NC State, who beat the Bees by 12 two weeks ago. Pitt should improve on its 0-13 conversion rate on 3rd Down last week, but not enuff . Across the field, one does not simply escape then 1-9 Boston College without bouncing back. ‘Jackets Brent Key, acknowledging his name being tossed around for another head coaching spot, said it was ‘flattering’ but “Slice me open and see what color I bleed.”. The Golden Eagles damn-near did that and the hue was red, making him a candidate for then-open Virginia Tech. That position was taken by James Franklin this week, but Ole Miss might become available. Stay tuned! If the internal cannibalism continues (and the very short line suggests it certainly might) and Notre Dame wins out to finish 5-1 vs. ACC, we think Our Lady should get a spot in the conference title game! Who’s with us?!...Wreck 33 Pitt 27
Kansas State @ #13 UTAH (“over 51 ½”): LOCK OF DA’ WEEK. Fair warning. Original choice was KSU +17 ½. State, 5-5 SU, has four defeats by 6 or fewer [with 3 by a FG or less]. All but two Wildcats’ games have been over this total. Ditto, Utah. However, Purple Persians lost their top wide-out to injury against the Cowpokes and there’s significant drop-off to the next pass-catcher up. Only the Holy War vs. BYU finished closer than this margin, and the Utes are 7-2 ATS. While projected (this week anyway) to participate in the local Las Vegas Bowl, Utes haven’t been eliminated from playoff consideration...Utah 44 K-State 24
#24 Tulane (-8) over TEMPLE: Wave’s last three matches have been high-scoring...74, 70 and 59. Similarly, Owls last four games prior to 14-13 slobberknocker defeat at West Point coming in with a minimum of 59, persuading us to ponder the “over 56”. Tulane made the CFP’s desirable dozen on Tuesday after Navy dismissed South Florida. Wonder how the folks at North Texas with one loss, two notches higher in the AP Poll and having dismantled Texas-The Alamo (Tulane’s lone AAC “L”) feel about that. Line seems reasonable after Wave bested lowly FAU by just 11 in Nawlins. Tulane is on 1-3 spread slide. Temple, at 5-5, already has nearly as many wins as it did collectively across the previous two seasons (6), needs a victory to bowl for the first time in six years and would have to upset aforementioned Mean Green in Denton next week if it fails here, so expect an all-out effort this week (sounds like we’re tryin’ to talk ourselves outta’ this pick, don’t it??!!). Feelin’ a smidge uneasy about this one... Tulane 31 Hooters 20
BETWEEN DA’ HASHMARKS (The Musical!)
BTW, if Coach records a two-under par, would it be a Philadelphia eagle??!! Would players fielding kicks call for a “fairway catch”??!! Will kickers “check the lie” before attempting FGs?! If the FG is successful, will we hear announcers call, “It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole.”
Annual rant regarding late season scheduling...while multiple teams are fighting for playoff spots (or even just bowl appearances), what college football pantheon quirks bring us these November beauties...The Citadel (FCS) @ OLE MISS, New Mexico State @ TENNESSEE, Charlotte @ JOJA’, Eastern Illinois (FCS) @ ‘BAMA, Samford (FCS) @ A&M, Furman (FCS) @ CLEMSON, Mercer (FCS) @ AUBURN (sadly, this one might actually be competitive with the Bears leading the Southern Conference and 8-1 overall, while War Eagle is averaging 18 ppg over its past 7 contests)
At halftime of the Trojans-Northwestern game earlier this month, Mick Fleetwood performed some content from the Fleetwood Mac album “Tusk”, which was originally recorded back in the day with the USC marching band. Tracks on that vinyl included “Second Down News”, “Move the Chains”, “Over/Under My Head” and the classic “Never Goin’ Cornerback Again”.
Army unveiled its unis for the annual clash vs. Navy. The font resembles the one used on a famous album cover by Jethro Tull. Maybe the Keydets band will taunt the Middies with snippets from the title track...Aqualung!
In related news, the James Madison Dukes will be sporting Marvel-inspired superhero-themed helmets against Wazzou this Saturday. Players can choose from Thor, Black Panther, Captain America, Hulk and Iron Man. Personally, we think the Coogs should counter with headgear bearing Marvel villains. Given the closer proximity in age, perhaps selections from the DC Legion of Super-Heroes might be more apropos...Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet??!!
Bills QB Josh Allen let it be known he listens to “very slow old school stuff” such as Elvis, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Billy Joel (a fave musician of your humble host). Gotta’ figure the preferred playlist includes “Piano Man-to-Man", “Team Captain Jack” and “You’re My Homefield”!
And while we’re on the topic of music and the Sunday League, here are a few performers we’d rather see play the Super Bowl 60 halftime show rather than Bad Bunny...New Kids on Da’ Blindside Block (with a cameo by NSYNC doing “Bye, Bye, Bye Week”), Cold Playbook, Boyz II Linemen, The Grateful Dead Ball Foul and “Peter! Peter! Peter!”, Paul & Mary.
We think the folks at Topps should give Pope Leo his own autographed trading card featuring the Pontiff in a White Sox baseball uniform while holding a bat, complete with a variety of statistics on the back. Maybe a foil “chase” (“chaste”?) card?
F1 is in Sin City this week and average pit-stops usually register 2.3-2.5 seconds...or the length of time it generally takes your flustered forecaster to drop a “best bet” pick!
Black Shirt: Our prestigious pec-cover is awarded to Hilltoppers RB La’Vell Wright for his 37-yard scoring run with 1:50 to play leading Western Kentucky to cover –14 over Middle Tennessee (our only winning wager of da’ fortnight too!)
“Lock of Da’ Week”: Last Week: 1-0 Season: 5-7 (.417) Again, kudos to Brigham Young (-4 ½) for plastering TCU by 31 points
Shoppe Talk: The Joja’ Bulldogs enter da’ Shoppe at 1-3 (.250) after whacking the Steers (+6).
Vindy’s Week 13 Best Bets: Last Week: 2-2 (.500) Season: 21-27 (.437)
Hawai’i +3 over UNLV, MARYLAND +13 ½ over Michigan, TROY –11 ½ over Georgia State, Illinois @ WISC “under 41”
Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to purchase some hockey rink cuisine for “Duane Jet-Ski" with our Discover card!
No comments:
Post a Comment