Game Theory Radio

Friday, October 12, 2012

NCAA Week #7 College Pick 'em

Have you ever had deja....deja.....deja....deja....deja vu? I almost did last Saturday going 4-0 with my first four picks then dropping the Washington @ Oregon game. I was less than pleased as I thought I had that game pegged, but as I say all the time even though I am a skilled handicapper I cannot handicap for turnovers, which is what ultimately did the Huskies in. 4-1 still not bad but I can do better. On a side note, I love how these "pay for pick handicappers" email you with their free pick that is never correct but are always 100-1 ATS +400 units and their units are $1000, grow up and piss off. That being said lets get to my action for Saturday:




Oregon State +6   Not quite sure what gives with this spread, the Beavers continue to get no respect despite being ranked, yes they are on the road at BYU, for some reason Vegas loves the Cougars, well I love money and like the Beavers to win this low scoring affair out right. The Beavers have beaten better squads on the road this season then BYU and I also feel that this is the only team that will be able to take down the Ducks in the Civil War. Maybe we are getting some value because Oregon State only won by 13 at Washington State. Hard to over look the fact that the Bears are 17-6-1 in their last 24 road tilts though.


3 Units.




West Virginia -4   When I first looked at this spread I thought I was walking into a trap. However, I think Vegas is giving the Red Raider defense some props because they are near the top in total defense in the nation, too bad they haven't played anyone but the Sooners and how did that work out for Tech? I think the Mountaineers offense is a touch more potent then Oklahoma's. Geno Smith will continue to do work in this game. The Red Raiders just will not be able to keep pace with WVU on the scoreboard.



4 Units.





Utah State +4   Much like Oregon State the Aggies get are getting no respect from Vegas either. Utah State is 5-0-1 in their last 6 ATS. The Aggies have a very tough defense and on the offensive side they can move the ball. San Jose is no slouch either but they have been scored on in bunches this season a couple of times. should be a good game but I think we are on the right side taking the points.




3 Units.





Florida -9    The Gators have been snow balling this season, you can see improvements on both sides of the ball with each passing week. The defense has been stellar while Driskell and Gillislee are rounding into form. Vandy has been a disappointment and I think they will struggle mightily to move the ball exposing the defense too many times and letting the Gators control the time of possession. Although Vandy is at home I just do not see them scoring more than 10 points in this game and I am comfortable that the Gators can put up at least 21.




3 Units.





South Carolina +3   I struggled with my 5th pick looking at Middle Tennessee State and La Tech, but I feel that the Gamecocks are the better team here. A couple things give me pause, a night game in Death Valley and a desperate LSU team with their season on the line. However, Shaw and Lattimore looked great against UGA last week as they owned the Bulldogs wire to wire last week. The defenses will cancel each other out, but USC's offense trumps LSU's by a long shot.




2 Units.




There you have it money lovers, lets hope to match or improve upon last weeks results!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

NCAA Week 6 Pick 'em

Had a good weekend in Vegas where I did some damage to the Vegas coffers, Tropicana, Laggasse's, Caesar's Palace and Planet Hollywood sports books were all left licking their wounds. To top it off my biggest play of the weekend was the Giants +2.5. I covered it by a half point and collected a healthy cash windfall. Followed it up by crushing some prop bets on Monday nights game as well as hitting the over on the Bears- Cowboys game. My biggest play was Jay Cutler with less than 19.5 completions, covered it with 1.5 completions to spare! Still not where I need to be in the Pick 'em contest, however at least I'm not the guy that lost $24,000 on the Eagles at the Tropicana sportsbook on Sunday night! Lets see what we have for this week:




Florida +3    Tough play here, this is the way I see it. Gators are coming off a bye, they are at home, the Florida defense has been nasty all season long and Driskell has been coming along. I have watched LSU a couple of times this year and their quarterback really struggles on the road, the pressure that Auburn brought really bothered him. While I do not put too much stock into the performance against Towson last week because I know the Tigers were looking ahead to Florida I feel that the Gators are in the right spot here.


2 Units.





Northern Illinois -3    This spread is dead on both teams are equal, I think the Huskies have a little bit more on defense which should slow Testicle Tech down as the Cardinals can score some points as well as give them up. NIU is 13-1 straight up in their last 14 games, so I feel they can pull this conference game off by more than 3.




2 Units.





Washington +24     The Ducks have yet to play a true road game this season, now they head back to Autzen for a game against the Huskies. The public loves to bet on the Ducks because they rack up points, that being said they routinely have deal with laying big numbers. Washington could be flat after taking out Stanford  last week, I would take the let down alert into consideration if the Huskies weren't playing the #2 team in the nation. Sarkasian will have his team prepped for the Ducks. Oregon will win, but 24 points is just too much for this spot.



2 Units.







Louisiana Tech -24   I hate laying this many points but the Bulldogs have been good to me all year. They are playing at home for only the 2nd time all year. No doubt the home crowd will be chomping at the bit for their 4-0 team to take down the sacrificial lamb in the form of UNLV. La Tech has taken down a Big 10 team and an ACC team in consecutive weeks so they will be ready to put a show on at home. La Tech showed last week that they can come from behind as they were down most of the game to Virginia but managed to pull it out on the road.




2 Units.






Louisiana Monroe  -3     Middle Tennessee is a decent team, and coming off a huge win against Georgia Tech this will be a let down alert game for them. The Warhawks on the other hand despite their 2-2 record have been playing solid ball. They lost to Baylor at home and Auburn needed a FG to put ULM away and the Warhawks dusted off the Razorbacks in their first of three tough games. The battle tested ULM team will not be concerned with this road game, I like them in this spot.




3 Units.




There we have it, I noticed that I posted 6 games last week and did not even realize it as I was posting from my hotel room on my iphone, went 3-3 in posted picks, .500 will not get it down, that being said I am trending in the right direction after my 4-1 week one start. Need a 5-0 performance this week for sure!


Friday, September 28, 2012

NCAA Week #5

Live from Vegas this week, started the trip off on a good note taking BYU -26 for some security coverage. 2-3 last week, still no where near where I'm used to being. Things were looking ok late last week then FSU let Clemson score a late TD and Arizona decided to stay in the locker room for the 2nd half. I have my bet slips in hand from the Palazzo sportsbook, who had a guy behind the counter tell me I couldn't by the 1/2 point on a single game bet. I remember my first job, know your profession people! Here is what we have:


Western Kentucky -2   The Hilltoppers are a good football team who I have been taking notice of. They travel to Arkansas State. The Redwolves put some points up on the road against the Ducks, but have been rather pedestrian as of late. I like WKU and red Grimace to take this one by more than 3.

3 units.


University of La Monroe -20   The Warhawks have had a tough schedule so far this season, well here comes a cupcake in the form of Tulane. The Green Wave are a mess and I just do not see them staying with ULM on either side of the ball. This one could get ugly quick!


2 Units


Iowa State +2.  Don't look now but the Cyclones have on of the longest home winning streaks in college football. Iowa State handled Texas Tech rather easily in Lubbock last season and both teams are largely the same. The Cyclones will take this game outright.


2 Units.



Ohio -24. The Bobcats take on UMass this week. The Minutemen are soft to be nice on defense. Their offense is no juggenaut either. Ohio is good on both sides of the ball Tettleton is a player and has the Bobcats offense hitting on all cylinders
, they should have no problem covering this one.


2 Units.








Nevada -18  The Wolfpack travel to take on newcomer Texas State. Nevada can score points and they travel well, I don't see how Texas State will be able to stay with them on the scoreboard.

2 Units.



Louisiana Tech -3  The Bulldogs travel to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have been unimpressive this year. I watched them play TCU last week and their WR's struggled to catch passes. I know that TCU is a little more staunch on defense than La Tech. However the Bulldogs can rack up points quick. I feel that Illinois is a better team then the Cavaliers so La Tech should have no issues covering the 3.


3 Units.





Saturday, September 22, 2012

NCAA WEEK #4

6-9 on the season thus far, really? As a benchmark I am #2 in my Yahoo! College ATS Pick'em league out of 2,000 people. Which tells me I am trying to be too fine with my picks. All late games for this Saturdays action and I have 5 more days until I invade the Las Vegas sportsbooks! So here we go:



San Jose State +3   I think the wrong team is favored here, even though they are on the road I do not see this teams as equals. Bothe team scan put so points up and I like getting 3 here as SJS will be ready for the Aztecs. Both teams are 2-1 with SJS coming up just short against a Stanford squad that shut down USC last week.

3 Units.


LSU -21  Not much to say here, I know everyone is calling for a close game in this contest but I feel that even though Auburn is at home they will lose interest if LSU jumps on them early. Auburn was happy to escape with a win against ULM, that tells me that the Tigers know what kind of talent they have on their team, talent that will not be able to stay with LSU even though they will be without their starting RB.

3 Units.




FSU -14  At home against Clemson who just got Sammy Watkins back, I watched the FSU game last week and they completely shut down a decent WF squad who gave FSU fits last season. Doak Campbell will be a hornets nest and teh FSU defense will be swarming. The Noles running attack is devastating, the Noles will not get a shut out by I like them to win by 17.


2 Units.




La Tech +3   Bulldogs are 9-1 SU in their last 10 contests, they travel to Illinois to take on a rejuvenated Illini team who has been playing well too. La Tech's defense travels well and they can put up some points as well. I like this game to be close not sure who will come out on top but the Bulldogs are looking forward to playing a "big time" team since their tilt with Texas A&M was washed out by Isaac.



3 Units.





Arizona +22  The Wildcats head to face the Quack Attack in Autzen Stadium, Richy Rod seems to have this team focused. The Ducks will win this game, but I think that 22 points is too much wood to lay here. The Ducks defense is pourous and I am quite sure that the Cats will keep it within 3 touchdowns, it could be closer than that if Arizona can withstand the early Oregon onslaught.




2 Units.





Lets hope for a rebound week as I sorely need one! I also need to bank roll my account for my showdown with Vegas next week! Until that time............

Saturday, September 15, 2012

NCAA WEEK #3

Can't do much worse than I did last week. 1-4 is a disgusting result. 5-5 on the young season. I will be in Vegas in 13 days and a wake up and really need to tighten up my shot group. I felt good about all of my picks last week too, oh well. Lets see what we have for this Saturday.




Northern Illinois -3 @ Army: Golden Knights are a plausible squad, but this spread tells me that Vegas dislikes money. NIU played Iowa very tough, granted Iowa is what they are but it was in Iowa, they are still a Big 10 team, and Kirk Ferentz is still their coach. NIU takes this one by a TD.

3 Units.




Utah State +14 @ Wisconsin: Aggies can play some defense and are not afraid to play in a hostile environment such as Camp Randall. The Badgers are a paper tiger, still living off the hype of Russell Wilson who is in Seattle as the Seahawks QB. Aggies keep this game close and low scoring.

3 Units.





VT -10 @ Pitt:  Pitt is just flat out a bad team, it seems like they have given up now that the mustache is no longer roaming the sidelines. The Panthers have been beaten handily by The Penguins (Youngstown State type, not the Pittsburgh ones) and were embarrassed by Cincy on national television just like my Alma matter was on Thursday night. I digress. You know what you are getting with VT, slow out of the box and they start building steam. Beamer's boys will get together in this contest.

3 Units.




Ohio State -17 vs Cal:   This game should be a blowout, that being said since I am taking it Cal will win by 40. In reality I think the Buckeyes had a much tougher test last week with UCF  who has a solid defense, I know that the Bears put up 50 on Southern Utah but this is still a team who lost to Nevada by 7 at home, lets hope this game is covered up by halftime!

2 Units.




Wake Forest +28 @ FSU: Remember this game last year? Jimbo Fisher does. The Demon Deacons knocked off an athletic UNC squad last week and were no doubt focused on this game. This is FSU first D1 test of the year, I feel like this will be a tight game and FSU will pull it out late. I like this possibility of being up 35 points if Wake scores first as well.



4 Units.




There you have it. Enjoy. Until that day!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

NCAA WEEK #2 2012

Not a bad start to the gambling season, lets see if we can improve upon last weeks effort.



Mizzou +2  The Tigers are at home against UGA. Some pre game chatter has been had and Georgia is looking to hand the SEC newcomer a beating. Won't happen. The Dawgs defense looked soft against the Bulls last week and they are now missing their best defensive player. The Dawgs had no answer for Zordich so I do not see how they will stop Franklin. Tigers outright.

2 Units


Nevada -1   The Wolfpack had a solid debut on the road at Cal last week, I look for them to continue that success this week as they should handle the USF Bulls rather easily. The Bulls cannot play on the west coast and were unimpressive in their win against a D2 school last week.

2 Units



Air Force +21  Alabama might be beating Michigan two weeks in a row. The Falcons come to the Big House to face the wounded Wolverine squad in this contest. I am not sure the Wolverines will react and come out after waving goodbye to their season in week 1. Falcons won't win here but they will keep it within 3 touchdowns.

2 Units




Vandy -3   I am riding the Commodores again this week. They played a solid Carolina team tough last week and I don't see Northwestern continuing their winning streak here. Granted the 'Cats put some points up on the board but also gave a ton up against a less than formidable Syracuse team, Vandy gets into the win column here.

2 Units



Arkansas State -22  The Red Wolves went into Autzen and put up some points, granted the Ducks called off the dogs in the 2nd half but 34 points against the Ducks is impressive nonetheless. I am also willing to bet that Oregons 2nd and 3rd stringers are better than anyone Memphis has on the roster. The Red Wolves caught my eye last season and its time they get a chance to earn for me. The Tigers are garbage and this game will be a blow out.

3 Units



There you have it folks, short and sweet. Pressed for time this week so no flowery words of wisdom! Just $$$$ Enjoy.



Friday, August 31, 2012

NCAA WEEK #1 2012



It is that time again, time for me to defend my crown against the savages of the pick 'em crew. Will it be a three peat for The Blanket, lets hope so! I started out on the right foot last night with some 2 unit action on Vanderbilt +7 in a covered loss. I generally do not like to go to heavy on Week #1 contests so all of my plays will be small here.



Boise State +8    The Broncos travel to East Lansing for a tilt with Sparty on prime time tonight. Boise St. does not shy away from these week #1 road dog contests. Sparty is solid on defense this season, however I am afraid the offense cannot say the same. Boise State lost some pieces as well but they are a well coached team so I am comfortable with them staying with Sparty in what should be a low scoring Michigan State win. I'll take the 8 points.
2 Units.

Ohio +7   The Bobcats have built up a decent little program, Penn State needless to say is in shambles. 7 points might be a tad much here but I am not complaining. Penn State has lost an awful lot in the off season. Their new head coach will have them ready but I am not sure if the talent is that much better than what Ohio has to offer. Another tight game here as the Nittany Lions pull off the squeaker.
1 Unit.
Tennessee -3  The Vols travel to meet the Wolfpack, Tennessee will be an improved team this year, even with the loss of their top WR as he had his invitation to the game pulled for trying to be the next Kenny Britt. N.C State is a decent squad but Dooley's boys are improved this year. This spread tells us that these two teams are even in Vegas's eyes, lets hope the Vols make the scoreboard uneven.
2 Units.
Michigan +14 Why not? Here is how I see this game, If the Wolverines can win the time of posses ion game and not have any turnovers they should be able to keep this game close. Alot of if's I know but Denard Robinson can make an early Heisman statement here with a solid performance. Alabama has a stout defense as per usual but their offense is what concerns me here. hoke has had all off season to prepare for this one. I like the Wolverines to cover but Bama will get the outright win by single digit points.
1 Unit.


There we have it, I was tempted to make a play on WVU but I do not care for laying 25 points to a instate rival. Lets start the season off playing it smart! Until that day...................