OT: PAC 12 Meets Week 3: The shootout in the desert

They’ll get up big and pull everyone that matters. Spreads get tough to bet on at 40+ points.

Colo St (2-0) at Colo (0-2) [-7]
Big spread for a two-time loser vs. an undefeated at a neutral site (Broncos’ stadium)? Nah. State has beaten two crap teams, CO lost to two good ones. Take CO to beat the 7 in this, erm, Rocky Mountain Showdown.

CO 28-14. Hey, CO ain’t great, but they are prolly almost PAC 12-competitive. Ka-ching.

No. 23 TX (2-0) [-3 ½] at UCLA (1-1)
TX might be good – we’ll find out Oct. 8 and 15 (OK and OKie St) – and might be conf shopping this game. UCLA might be good, but don’t count on it til next year. These shlubs couldn’t get by San Jose – SAN JOSE – til the 4th. Bet TX to top this 3 ½.
 
TX 49-20. Yep, TX might be good after all. And I’m thinking Neuheisel is nearly toast.

U Dub (2-0) at No. 11 NEB (2-0) [-17]
As one wit put it, it’s the Battle of Husk-: the –ers vs. the –ies. The -ers want revenge for last year. The -ies want revenge for last year too. Lacking Locker, gimme the –ers to win in Cornhole Stadium, but not by 17. Hey, Fresno put up 29 on ‘em there.

NEB 51-38. Played to form. First half was a v. good game.

Mizzou St. (0-2) at No. 12 Orygun (1-1) [-56]
Most houses are offering no line on this "game," and it’s not hard to see why. The last time I bet a game with a spread over 40 I lost, as -41 SC – which I said shoulda been -50 – got beat by Stanford, in the Coliseum, in the biggest upset ever. OK, I have to bet, so: take OU…moderately.

OU 56-7. Damn. State scored first – but just couldn’t hold on. (And Kelly decided he didn’t like spread-makers, so screw the 4th qtr.)

Presbyterian (1-1) at Cal (2-0) [-42 ½]
The Presbyterian College Blue Hose. No joke. A Big South school in Clinton, SC. Which IS a joke. Why are these teams playing? Is Cal 42 ½ better? How much life insurance is enough? I have no idea (cubed) but for today’s throw-away, take a teeny flyer on the Pres to beat. Hee-hee.

Cal 63-12. Yeah, well, the words throw-away and teeny were there for a reason.

Wazoo (2-0) at Dago St. (2-0) [-4 ½]
SDS pissed me off last wk piddling away an easy beat at Army. ARMY! And Wazoo showed a lot, as in Who needs Tuel?. So I’m doing the unthinkable: betting WSU to beat on the road. They might even win! No, I’m sober ‘n’ everything.

Dagos 42-24. But not sober enough, obviously. Where’d the WSU DEF go in the 4th qtr?!?

No. 22 ASU (2-0) [-2] at Ill (2-0)
I’m actually going to take the Scum Devils here for the Duh Reasons: they have better athletes and better coaching. Period. And while Ill is one of he more imaginative Big Dim schools and they’re a dog at home, I’m guessing ASU has sort of grown up after last wk. So sue me.

Ill 17-14. A less interesting game than I thought, and blown by the Scum Devils. Buncha dopes. Are you really gonna sue me?

Syracuse (2-0) at SC (2-0) [-15 ½]
Syracuse sucks, a Big East team that’s snuck by Wake and RI. Yes, Rhode Island! The Rubbers, on the other hand, are a talented bunch that has little idea how to use its resources. I’ll take ‘em again this week to cover. They OUGHT to win by 30-35, but they’ll PROBABLY go by 16.

SC 38-17. Yep, played to form. SC is one of the least imposing undefeateds around.

Utah (1-1) at BYU (1-1) [-3 ½]
Beats the hell outta me. UT looked unfocused at SC, which has been majoring in unfocused. BYU shoulda beat TX away but didn’t. It’s a Big Rivalry game, so I guess I’ll take the Latter Days to beat/win at home.

UT 54-10. Holy crap, here’s the anomaly result of the wk. Utah goes nuts (away!), and BYU coughs up seven [7 ] turnovers. Wow.
 
No. 6 Snodfart (2-0) [-9] at Zona (1-1)
This week’s only conf game, and it outta be good. Luck vs. Foles may be one you wanna tape, as one or both are likely to go 400/4 or sth. Stanford hasn’t been tested, and I didn’t like how hapless Doook threw against them. My hunch is Luck will win, but not by 9.

STA 37-10. Deja vu revisited for the Zorros: Foles can’t throw ‘em out of trouble against a good team when he’s sacked 5 times and they rush for 51. Luck was as good as necessary (325/2) when you have Stepfan running for 153.