Black Shoe Degenerates: The Beginning

And we’re here folks! Time for another edition of Black Shoe Degenerates, where I pick the games, and you laugh at my choices. This week features a lot of massive lines that only a fool (me!) would consider taking, and a few other intriguing matchups that are not being talked about as often.

As a remind from last week’s post, I’m doing things differently this season. Instead of just making a pick, I’m starting out with a budget of $1000, and putting a value to each pick, as if I were doing this for real.

My rules are:

1. I have to bet on every game I cover.
2. I have to bet at least $25 on each game.

And, of course, the part you’re all waiting for: You get to join in too! Unlike me, you don’t have to pick every game I cover, but you can only pick from the games I cover. Since we’ll be taking the Richness Factor™ throughout the season, it makes sense that everyone is picking form the same list of games.

Your rules are:

1. Pick on any game I cover (or all, but it’s not required).
2. Pick only from the games I cover
3. Pick at least once every week. Any player that fails to pick on any given week automatically loses $100.
4. Still have to put at least $25 down on each game
5. Pick with or against me. If you don’t agree with what I’m about to pick below, feel free to pick the opposite.

In the event that someone reaches a zero balance, they’ll go into the negative numbers.

I have the standings available for viewing. I’ll post the top five here every week, but feel free to check the list for the overall standings. Picking a game today, for those not on the list, also counts as signing up. Signups are closed after this week’s games. Without further ado, onto the games!

The Picks

Indiana +21.5 vs No. 2 Ohio State (-110) - First game for both teams, home game for Indiana, and the Hoosiers have covered for three years straight. Kevin Wilson will make a difference in Ohio State’s offense, but I don’t know that the difference will be more than three touchdowns on a Thursday night in Bloomington against a team already used to his offenses. I can easily see them winning by exactly three touchdowns, but not more. $50

South Alabama +23.5 at Ole Miss (-110) - This is another line that seems unnecessarily high. South Alabama actually beat Mississippi State (and San Diego State) last season, and a Freeze-less (liquid?) Ole Miss team that was already facing challenges due to departures will probably have an even harder time covering this four-score spread. $25

Navy -9 at Florida Atlantic (-110) - Lane Kiffin jokes aside, Florida Atlantic was one of the worst teams in FBS last season. They stocked up on transfers this season, so they may not be as terrible as they were a year ago, but this should be a game Navy wins easily. $50

Michigan -5 vs Florida (-110) - Michigan’s affinity for third place aside, they should have a talented team capable of repeating their 10-win plateau. Florida is also supposed to be at least decent, but they’ll be missing 10 players for this game. That’s a lot of players to be suspended without a drop-off. $25

Record

Last Week: 0-0
Season: 0-0
Richness Factor™: $1000

By the way, if I added someone who doesn’t want to play, let me know and I’ll remove you.