Somehow I find myself baffled by college football already and we are only two weeks in. I’ve done my homework this week but that doesn’t mean I’m overly confident at this point, but you have to have a short memory. Hopefully in a week or two I’ll be able to happily say that I got my bad run out of the way early, I just hope I have some money left to be able to turn things around. It’s time to start turning things around, so let’s get to week 3.

Big Games

Texas Tech +3 vs TCU Thursday 7:30pm, ESPN

Texas A&M +7.5 vs Alabama 3:30pm, CBS

Locks of the Week (0-7)

TCU -3 @ Texas Tech

Thursday night college football. TCU is still trying to figure out their capabilities on offense but their defense hasn’t really missed a beat. The offense is going to need to be better this week but the pressure is on the defense to stop that quick passing attack from Tech. Tech should score some points but TCU is bigger and stronger and should get this win.

UCLA +4.5 @ Nebraska

For some reason people are down on UCLA already. They haven’t even lost yet. They won their one game against Nevada 58-20. Now they are coming off a bye against Nebraska who is nothing spectacular. As long as Taylor Martinez is even marginally contained the Bruins should cover this line. The only potential downfall is if the 12pm start time causes a sluggish start for the west coast team.

Alabama -7.5 @ Texas A&M

While this feels like a lot of points, Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide want revenge. Saban is a defensive genius and has had a year to prepare for Manziel, not to mention the bye week they had last week to get even more prep time for the Aggies. Something tells me we are going to see the Tide roll once again.

Duke +8.5 vs Georgia Tech

Duke is a bit underrated. This is way too many points to give up to Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils have a pretty solid defense that should be able to combat the triple option offense of the Yellow Jackets. While Georgia Tech probably should win this game, it should be a close one.

Teaser of the Week (0-1)

Alabama -1.5 @ Texas A&M

Louisville -7.5 @ Kentucky

The only thing that kept Louisville off the bets of the week section is that 13.5 feels like a touch too high for a rivalry game. But Teddy Bridgewater has looked superb thus far and should provide enough offense by himself to cover this spread.

Moneyline Special (0-2)

UCLA +175

Man do I hope they don’t start this game off slowly. If they do keep an eye on their second half line for some nice value.

Best Bet (0-2)

None

For two reasons. First nothing really jumped out at me as being better than the rest and second because I don’t really deserve to call anything a “Best” bet at this point. An 0-12 start doesn’t exactly create confidence.

mlz

Thursday, September 12, 2013