So as you probably know by now, Bart’s Best Bets went 4-1 last week. I’m not going to get too excited though, it’s a VERY long season. But for real, What a start to the college football season! I could take all the credit for a great week of picking, but that would be very unfair to my wife, who deserves a good amount of credit herself. I know Saturday’s are for the boys, but I spent all of Saturday watching football with my wife (bless her heart). Now you’re probably wondering, “Where does this magical power thing come into the story?” Well, here it is: We’re watching the Michigan v. Florida game on Saturday afternoon (in the cave) when I notice her starting to go into full nap mode, which I don’t think much of because Michigan is up 10-3 at this point and they look like they are in control. Once she is fully asleep, the wheels start to fall off for Michigan. Wilton Speight goes ahead and throws TWO PICK SIXES IN A ROW! Florida is now leading 17-10 and I have a very uneasy feeling in my stomach. Those that know me are well aware that I am very superstitious so I start to get a little worried about the fact that my wife is sleeping; everything was going great until she dozed off. I told myself I wouldn’t go into full panic mode and wake her up until at least half time. Luckily, she woke up with about six minutes left in the second quarter. This is where things get weird. Right when she wakes up, Michigan starts driving down the field easily and kicks a field goal with four minutes left in the half. So it’s 17-13 at half time and I told my wife that she was not allowed to fall asleep for the rest of the game because I had a hunch that bad things would happen if she went back into nap mode. She stayed awake for the rest of the game and Michigan went on to outscore Florida 20-0 in the second half and cruises to an easy 33-17 victory (Florida did not score an offensive touchdown, ouch). Now, some of you may think this is just a big coincidence, and that’s okay. Just know this, when my wife was alert and awake Michigan outscored Florida 33-3 and when she was asleep Florida outscored Michigan 14-0. There’s a lot of dots that can be connected there. My wife has magical football powers and all you readers need to thank her for Michigan -4!
Quick Miami Hurricane update: The Canes beat Bethune-Cookman (who?) with a score of 41-13. Score was tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, but then Miami woke up and played like they were supposed to. They still couldn’t manage to cover the 51.5 point spread. No worries though, because we discovered they have this thing called the “Turnover Chain” they give to anybody who forces a turnover so they can wear it on the sideline. Such a Miami move it’s not even funny. THE U IS BACK (for a week, at least). Unfortunately, due to Hurricane Irma (prayers to everyone affected), the Miami @ Arkansas State game has been cancelled, which means they will not make the game up and Miami will only play 11 games this year. We are still trying to find out what exactly this means for our OVER 9 wins bet, but it will most likely end up being no action and a push. So, basically the same result as our Arkansas bet last year, but a lot less exciting. I will still be a big fan of the Miami Hurricane football team no matter what this year. They have my heart.
Before we get to the picks, just a quick reminder, I don’t actually gamble real money, because gambling is illegal in Nebraska. If I could gamble legally, these would be the picks I would go with. All of the lines and totals are set at time of publishing (odds coming from oddshark), and will not change as the week goes on. So get’em while their hot! Here we go, Bart’s Best Bets Baby!
Friday, September 8th
Ohio @ Purdue (-3.5)
I never thought I would be taking Purdue in a football game, let along Purdue as a 3.5 point favorite, but here I am. I very well could be overreacting to how well Purdue played against Louisville on Saturday, but they really looked like a team that could win a couple games in Big Ten play (remind me I said that when they go 1-8 in the Big Ten). As for Ohio, they demolished Hampton 59-0 and held them to only 108 yards of offense and 7 first downs. Ohio lost a lot of receivers and their quarterback from last years team, so they are pretty much limited to running the ball. Purdue threw the ball well against Louisville and I believe they will continue that against Ohio’s weak secondary. The bottom line here is that Purdue now knows that they could be a decent football team this year, but in order for that to happen, they have to beat Ohio at home on a Friday night. I know Ohio is no slouch (I LOVE me some MACtion), but give me Purdue by a touchdown.
Saturday, September 9th
Northwestern @ Duke (+3)
Are these two teams playing football or taking the SAT against each other? Either way, if I’m given Duke as a three point home dog, I’m taking that all day long! In my opinion, Northwestern has been and always will be an overrated team (betting wise) and I have no idea why. They were in a fight to the end with Nevada at HOME last weekend. They were 24 point favorites going into the game, but were down 17-7 at half. Sure, they ended up winning the game 31-20, but they cannot afford to have a slow start against Duke on the road. Duke had a great start to their season, beating North Carolina Central 60-7. Their biggest problem last year was their offense, so scoring 60 points in their opener has to give them confidence going into week 2. This year, Duke’s weakness will be their defense, but luckily for them Northwestern doesn’t have the most explosive offense in the country. This is going to be a back and forth game, and I think the crowd will get behind them in the fourth quarter and help Duke squeak out a nail biter against Northwestern.
Nebraska/Oregon OVER 70
As you all probably know, I am a Nebraska Football fan, so I’m not going to get started on a rant about the game last week. Instead, I’ll just post the scores from both Oregon and Nebraska’s week 1 games. Oregon beat Southern Utah 77-21 and Nebraska defeated Arkansas State 43-36. That’s a total of 120 combined points for Oregon and Nebraska last week. I don’t think either defense will be too interested in staying on the field for an extended period of time and I look for this game to become a shootout early. This line is going to continue to go up and probably close around 72, so get it while it’s hot!
Oklahoma @ Ohio State (-7.5)
This is going to be a fun game and I’m really looking forward to watching it. I think we’re getting some great value with Ohio State here. The only reason this line isn’t -10.5 is because they let Indiana hang around for 2.5 quarters last Thursday. Sure, Oklahoma looked good in their 57-6 win over UTEP, but Ohio State has a couple extra days of rest and it’s their home opener on Saturday AND it’s a night game. I don’t have the numbers, but I feel like Ohio State has pretty good record in their home night games. Oklahoma will hang around for a half or so, but I think Urban Meyer and his boys will pull away towards the end and win by 10+ points.
Minnesota (+3) @ Oregon State
I cannot help myself with this one. You guys are well aware by now that I absolutely LOVE me some PJ Fleck action, and I don’t think too highly of Oregon State this year. Oregon State lost to Colorado State by 31 points two weeks ago, and then BARELY beat Portland State at home last Saturday. So here’s the burning question: Why in the world is Oregon State favored by 3 points in this game?! Yeah, Minnesota didn’t play particularly well against Buffalo, but at least they didn’t allow 30+ points to Portland State! Minnesota should be favored in this game by at least a field goal, so I’ll definitely take the Gophers at +3. I say PJ Fleck Rows His Boat Into Corvallis and wins by a touchdown.
Bart’s Best Bets Year to Date: 4-1
There you have it, folks. Week 2 of Bart’s Best Bets. I hope you enjoyed reading and enjoy my picks this week even more. Have a GREAT weekend of football watching, and don’t forget to check out DaveCh999’s NFL Week 1 picks! Oh yeah, don’t forget to thank my wife!
Double COVERage 