BCS National Championship

Alabama -1 vs. LSU (at New Orleans)

Bowls to date: 16-16-1

Season: 64-55-3

2012 College Bowl Picks

Penn St. +7 vs. Houston
Georgia -3 vs. Michigan St.
South Carolina -2.5 vs. Nebraska
Florida -2 vs. Ohio St.
Oregon -5.5 vs. Wisconsin

Oklahoma St. -3.5 vs. Stanford
Michigan -3 vs. Virginia Tech
Clemson -3 vs. West Virginia
Kansas St. +7.5 vs. Arkansas
Pittsburgh -3 vs. SMU
Arkansas St. -1 vs. Northern Illinois

Edit: After the first five games on 1/2.
Bowls to Date: 16-12
Season: 64-51-2

College Bowl Picks

Here are the rest of the pre-New Year's Bowls.  The New Year's Bowls through the BCS National Championship game will be posted around December 29.

Marshall +4 vs. Florida International

TCU - 9.5 vs. Louisiana Tech

Boise State -13.5 vs. Arizona State

Southern Mississippi -6.5 vs. Nevada

North Carolina +4.5 vs. Missouri

Purdue -2.5 vs. Western Michigan

NC State -2 vs. Louisville

Toledo -3 vs. Air Force

Texas -3 vs. California

Notre Dame +3 vs. Florida State

Baylor -9.5 vs. Washington

BYU - 2.5 vs. Tulsa
Rutgers -2 vs. Iowa State
Mississippi State -6.5 vs. Wake Forest
Iowa +14 vs. Oklahoma
Texas A&M -10 vs Northwestern
Georgia Tech -3 vs. Utah
Illinois -2.5 vs. UCLA
Vanderbilt -1 vs. Cincinnati
Auburn -1.5 vs. Virginia

Bowls to Date: 1-2
Season: 48-39-2

Football Picks

College Bowls

Temple -6.5 vs. Wyoming
Utah State -2.5 vs. Ohio
San Diego State -4 vs. UL Lafayette

Last Week: 0-1
Season:  47-37-2

NFL

Dallas -7 vs. TAMPA BAY
Washington +6.5 vs. NY GIANTS
Green Bay -13.5 vs KANSAS CITY
New Orleans -6.5 vs. MINNESOTA
Seattle +4 vs CHICAGO
BUFFALO -1 vs. Miami
Carolina +6 vs. HOUSTON
Tennessee -6.5 vs INDIANAPOLIS
Cincinnati -6.5 vs. ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND +1 vs. Detroit
New England -7.5 vs DENVER
NY Jets +3 vs. PHILADELPHIA
ARIZONA -6.5 vs. Cleveland
Baltimore -2.5 vs. SAN DIEGO
Pittsburgh +2.5 vs. SAN FRANCISCO

Scary all the road picks, especially the favorites.  Also all the 6.5 spreads.  They are curent Hilton or MGM Grand lines as of me writing this (Pitt-SF is Bodog).  (LINK)

Was horribly wrong about Thursday Night Football.  To be honest, I changed my mind on the Jags because of what they did to Tampa last week.  Shouldn't have gone against my initial judgment.  So I'm 0-1 this week to date. 

Top Ten Reasons San Diego State and Boise State are joining the Big East

The media is reporting that The Big East Conference will be adding five schools, including San Diego State and Boise State for football only.

Right off the top, this makes perfect sense.  But all joking in place, here are the Top Ten Reasons San Diego State and Boise State are joining the Big East.

10. Schools hope to supplement current endowment with frequent flyer miles.

9.  San Diego State is tired of all the seventy-degree, cold weather football games in November and December.

8.  Boise State aspires to one day have a "last place in the Big East" caliber basketball program.

7.  Schools get to renew their long-standing football rivalries with Rutgers and UConn.

6.  The SEC would not take them.

5.  Nobody studies geography in college anymore.

4.  Hope to expand current recruiting base to football hotbeds such as Maine and Vermont.

3.  Southwest flies west to most Big East destinations, with only a short layover - in London.

2.  Should feel right at home after the Big East rightfully loses its automatic BCS bid.

and the #1 reason San Diego State and Boise State are joining the Big East is...

1.  Always wanted to compete for a berth in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, against the 8th place team from the Big 12.

College Bowl Match-ups

College bowl match-ups were announced today.  I'll probably break the picks up into before and after New Year's Day games.  Before that, here are a few first impressions from looking at the schedule.

Football Picks

NFL


Philadelphia -3 vs. SEATTLE
BUFFALO -1.5 vs. Tennessee
CHICAGO -7 vs. Kansas City
Oakland +3 vs. MIAMI
PITTSBURGH -6.5 vs. Cincinnati
Baltimore -6..5 vs. CLEVELAND
NY Jets -3 vs. WASHINGTON
Atlanta -2.5 vs. HOUSTON
Carolina +3.5 vs. TAMPA BAY
NEW ORLEANS -9 vs. Detroit
Denver +1.5 vs. MINNESOTA
SAN FRANCISCO -13 vs. St. Louis
Dallas -4.5 vs ARIZONA
Green Bay -7 vs. NY GIANTS
NEW ENGLAND -20 vs. Indianapolis
San Diego -2.5 vs. JACKSONVILLE

Last Week: 11-4-1
Season: 81-85-9

College


OKLAHOMA STATE -3 vs. Oklahoma
BAYLOR -2.5 vs. Texas
LSU -13.5 vs. Georgia (at Atlanta)
Virginia Tech -7 vs. Clemson (at Charlotte)
Michigan St. +9.5 vs Wisconsin (at Indianapolis)
Houston -12.5 vs. Southern Mississippi (at Houston)

Last Week: 3-4
Season: 43-34-2

Football Picks

College


Texas +7.5 vs. TEXAS A&M
Arkansas +13 vs. LSU
MICHIGAN -7 vs. Ohio State
Georgia -6 vs. GEORGIA TECH
AUBURN +21 vs. Alabama
Penn State +15 vs. WISCONSIN
Florida State -2.5 vs. FLORIDA

Last Week: 2-4
Season:  40-30-2

NFL


Green Bay -6 vs. DETROIT
DALLAS -7 vs. Miami
BALTIMORE -3 vs. San Francisco
Arizona +3 vs. ST. LOUIS
Buffalo +8.5 vs. NY JETS
CINCINNATI -7 vs. Cleveland
Houston -3 vs. JACKSONVILLE
Carolina -3 vs. INDIANAPOLIS
TENNESSEE -3 vs. Tampa Bay
ATLANTA -9 vs. Minnesota
Chicago +5 vs. OAKLAND
Washington +4 vs. SEATTLE
New England -3 vs. PHILADELPHIA
SAN DIEGO -6.5 vs. Denver
Pittsburgh -10 vs. KANSAS CITY
NEW ORLEANS -7 vs. NY Giants

Last Week: 7-5-2
Season: 70-81-8

Opinion: Urban Meyer to Ohio State?

If Urban Meyer is offered the Ohio State job, then he'll "have a decision to make".

The only sense I can make of this is that, if Meyer wants to be the next head coach at Ohio State, then he will be their next head coach.

That may depend on health, family, and NCAA sanctions at OSU.  Meyer's health and family, I know nothing about.  Hopefully their both great.  But why else would this be on the news, reported by his employer, ESPN, when Meyer could simply say, "I have a job. Ohio State has an interim coach.  I have no comment at this time"?

Would he be a candidate for an NFL job?  San Diego?  Jacksonville?

The NCAA sanctions part:  The NCAA should come down hard on Ohio State.  They cheated, have for years, and lied, misled and withheld information from the NCAA in order to keep players eligible and go to the Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State should have reported violations, ruled players ineligible, and withdrawn from bowl consideration.  Jim Tressel protected the program, enabling them to go to and win the Sugar Bowl.  Tressel paid for his transgression, having been fired as head coach.  Terelle Pryor is now on a bench in the NFL.  The university will learn its fate soon.  That fate should include post-season ineligibility, making the job a little less appealing, but perhaps not a deal-breaker for Meyer.

My guess is, Ohio State offers the job. Meyer accepts.  The team is ineligible to play in a bowl next season.

Life goes on, and soon Ohio State will be back to winning conference championships and competing for BCS Championships.

The JBS

After a weekend of college football upsets, here is how I would rank the top 10:

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Arkansas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Virginia Tech
6. Stanford
7. Oregon
8. Oklahoma
9. Houston
10. Boise State

I don't know if this is even possible, based on BCS rules, but here are some guesses on the Bowls:

Football Picks

College


Nebraska +3.5 vs MICHIGAN
Penn St. +7 vs. OHIO ST.
Mississippi St. +13 vs. ARKANSAS
SOUTH FLORIDA +1 vs. Miami
BAYLOR +15.5 vs. Oklahoma
OREGON -14.5 vs. Southern Cal. (USC)

Last Week: 5-1
Season: 38-26-2


NFL


NY Jets -4.5 vs. DENVER  *line is now -6.5*
ATLANTA -6 vs. Tennessee
Buffalo +2 vs. MIAMI
Cincinnati +7 vs. BALTIMORE
Jacksonville pk vs. CLEVELAND
Oakland -1 vs. MINNESOTA
DETROIT -7 vs. Carolina
GREEN BAY -14 vs. Tampa Bay
WASHINGTON +7 vs. Dallas
SAN FRANCISCO -9.5 vs. Arizona
ST. LOUIS -1.5 vs. Seattle
San Diego +3.5 vs. CHICAGO
Philadelphia +4.5 vs. NY GIANTS
NEW ENGLAND -15 vs. Kansas City
Bye -7 vs. INDIANAPOLIS

Last Week: 8-8
Season: 63-76-6

Football Picks

Thursday Night Football begins tonight, so I'll try to get all picks in earlier.


NFL


Oakland +7 vs. SAN DIEGO
Pittsburgh -3 vs. CINCINNATI
KANSAS CITY -3 vs. Denver
INDIANAPOLIS +3 vs. Jacksonville
Buffalo +5 vs. DALLAS
TAMPA BAY +3.5 VS. Houston
Tennessee +3.5 vs. CAROLINA
Washington +4 vs. MIAMI
New Orleans pk vs. ATLANTA
CHICAGO -2.5 VS. Detroit
St. Louis +2.5 vs. CLEVELAND
Baltimore -6.5 vs. SEATTLE
NY Giants +3.5 vs. SAN FRANCISCO
New England +1.5 vs. NY JETS
GREEN BAY -13 vs. Minnesota
PHILADELPHIA -14 vs. Arizona

Last Week: 8-6
Season: 55-68-6


College


Virginia Tech +1.5 vs. GEORGIA TECH
Michigan pk vs. ILLINOIS
Texas A&M -4.5 vs. KANSAS STATE
Oregon +3.5 vs. STANFORD
ARKANSAS -14 vs. Tennessee
SOUTH CAROLINA -3 vs. Florida


Last Week: 4-2
Season: 33-25-2

College Football Picks

OKLAHOMA -14 vs. Texas A&M
ARKANSAS -5 vs. South Carolina
UCLA +8.5 vs. Arizona St.
Boise St. -41 vs. UNLV
PITTSBURGH +4 vs. Cincinnati
ALABAMA -4.5 vs. Louisiana State (LSU)

Last Week: 2-4
Season: 29-23-2

College Football Picks

Bunch of road favorites to cover, and Michigan State (+165) to win; this is probably a bad idea...

Arkansas -9.5 vs. VANDERBILT
Clemson -3.5 vs. GEORGIA TECH
Georgia -2.5 vs. Florida (at Jacksonville)
Michigan State +4 vs. NEBRASKA
Stanford -7.5 vs. USC
Oklahoma -13.5 vs KANSAS STATE

Last Week: 3-3
Season: 27-19-2

Weekend Football Picks

College

West Virginia -14 vs. SYRACUSE
Oklahoma State -6.5 vs. MISSOURI
Tennessee +30 vs. ALABAMA
Southern California +9.5 vs. NOTRE DAME
Auburn +21 vs. LSU
MICHIGAN STATE +7.5 vs. Wisconsin

Last Week: 3-3
Season: 24-16-2


NFL


TAMPA BAY +1 vs. Chicago
Washington +2.5 vs. CAROLINA
NY JETS +2 vs. San Diego
CLEVELAND -3 vs. Seattle
Houston +3 vs. TENNESSEE
Denver +2 vs. MIAMI
Atlanta +3.5 vs. DETROIT
OAKLAND +5.5 vs. Kansas City
Pittsburgh -3.5 vs. ARIZONA
St. Louis +13 vs. DALLAS
Green Bay -9 vs. MINNESOTA
NEW ORLENS -14 vs. Indianapolis
JACKSONVILLE +8 vs. Baltimore


Last Week: 4-9
Season: 36-49-4

Note**Good thing I decided betting NFL games was a losing venture after Week 2.

Football Picks

I started picking games this last season, just to see how I would do based on what I thought about the match-ups.  Last season, I did well on NFL and poorly on NCAA.  So far, this season is the opposite.  I don't place a lot of sports bets, but I am about even for the season - probably because all of my winnings are invested back into losing parlays.

Weekend Football Picks

College


Southern Cal. -3 vs. CALIFORNIA
Virginia Tech -7 vs. WAKE FOREST
Baylor +9.5 vs. TEXAS A&M
AUBURN +2 vs. Florida
TEXAS +7.5 vs. Oklahoma State
Michigan +2.5 vs. MICHIGAN STATE

Last Week: 4-2
Season: 21-13-2


NFL


St. Louis +14.5 vs. GREEN BAY
PITTSBURGH -12 vs. Jacksonville
WASHINGTON +1.5 vs. Philadelphia
DETROIT -4 vs. San Francisco
ATLANTA -4 vs. Carolina
Indianapolis +7 vs. CINCINNATI
Buffalo +3.5 vs, NY GIANTS
Houston +8 vs. BALTIMORE
Cleveland +6.5 vs. OAKLAND
NEW ENGLAND -7 vs. Dallas
New Orleans -4.5 vs. TAMPA BAY
CHICAGO -3 vs. Minnesota
NY JETS -7 vs. Miami

Last Week: 6-7
Season: 32-40-4

College Football Picks

Oklahoma -10 vs. Texas (at Dallas)
ALABAMA -29 vs. Vanderbilt
Auburn +10.5 vs. ARKANSAS
Georgia -1 vs. TENNESSEE
VIRGINIA TECH -7 vs. Miami
LSU -13.5 vs. Florida

Last Week: 3-3
Season: 17-11-2

College Football Picks

Picks were made earlier; just got around to posting.

Mississippi State +6.5 at GEORGIA
Texas A&M -2.5 vs. ARKANSAS (at Arlington, TX)
Alabama -4.5 at FLORIDA
Auburn +11 at SOUTH CAROLINA
Clemson +7 at VIRGINIA TECH
Nebraska +9.5 vs. WISCONSIN

Last Week 4-2
Season 14-8-2

Weekend Pootball Picks

College


Arkansas +11.5 vs. ALABAMA
Louisiana State (LSU) -5.5 vs. WEST VIRGINIA
Florida State +2.5 vs. CLEMSON
Oklahoma State +4 vs. TEXAS A&M
Missouri +21 vs. OKLAHOMA
SOUTH CAROLINA -16 vs. Vanderbilt

Last Week: 4-2
Overall: 10-6-2


NFL


CINCINNATI -2.5 vs. San Francisco
New England -8 vs. BUFFALO
NEW ORLEANS -4 vs. Houston
CLEVELAND -2.5 vs Miami
Denver +6.5 vs. TENNESSEE
Detroit -3.5 vs. MINNESOTA
Jacksonville +3.5 vs. CAROLINA
SAN DIEGO -14.5 vs. Kansas City
NY Jets -3.5 vs. OAKLAND
ST. LOUIS +4 vs. Baltimore
Atlanta +1.5 vs. TAMPA BAY
Arizona -3.5 vs. SEATTLE
Green Bay -3.5 vs. CHICAGO
Pittsburgh -10.5 vs. INDIANAPOLIS
Washington +6.5 vs. DALLAS
NY Giants +7.5 vs. PHILADELPHIA

Last Week: 7-6-2
Season: 12-15-4