Black Shoe Degenerates: Week 7

Welcome to Week 7 of Black Shoe Degenerates, your weekly gambling column written by the smartest gambling expert you know.

I hope you all enjoyed the easy week last week. I know I used my bye week to relax and cry about how poorly I did in this column, but! The past is in the past, and we’ll do better this week.

Before we get into this week’s slate, let’s take a look back and review last week’s performance.

Last week’s picks:

ARob’s week 6: 1-5 (19-22-1 this season)

• Maryland +17 (loss)
• West Virginia -29 (loss)
• Miami -14 (loss)
• Kentucky +5.5 (loss)
• SMU/UCF under 75 (win)
• Vanderbilt +26.5 (loss)

Pat’s pick: Virginia Tech +7 (loss, 3-3 this season)

I don’t want to talk about it.

This Week’s Picks:

Tennessee at #21 Auburn, noon
My pick: Auburn -15

Tennessee is reallllllllly bad, and I think Auburn will have a bounce back game against the Vols after losing on the road to Joe Moorhead and Mississippi State. Give the points at home.

Akron at Buffalo, noon
My pick: Buffalo -11.5

I think Buffalo is really good. The Bulls are averaging more than 400 yards per game, and the only team that’s been able to beat them is Army, who put up 281 yards on the ground. I don’t think the Zips can replicate anything close to that, so take the home team.

Pitt at #5 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m.
My pick: Notre Dame -21

I mean, have you watched Pitt? Have you watched Notre Dame? Yeah, this is a lock.

Michigan State at #8 Penn State, 3:30 p.m.
My pick: Penn State -14

Listen to this week’s Black Shoes, Basic Podcast for more on this one, but I don’t think Penn State will have any problems rebounding from a tough loss.

#7 Washington at #17 Oregon, 3:30 p.m.
My pick: Oregon +3

The best game of the week is in Eugene this weekend. I think Oregon could sneakily be the best team in the Pac-12, and will hand Washington its second loss of the year. Justin Herbert is the truth.

Houston at East Carolina, 7 p.m.
My pick: Houston -16

I really like Houston here. East Carolina is coming off a 43-point loss to Temple, and the Cougars have the two best players on the field in defensive tackle Ed Oliver and quarterback D’Eriq King. 16 points is big, but not enough to make me take the points. Give ‘em, ride King’s high-powered offense, and watch Oliver shut the Pirates down.

Pat’s Lock of the Week: Wisconsin at Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
Pat’s pick: Wisconsin +8

Wisconsin doesn’t have the defense it usually does, but eight points is a lot in what I expect to be a lower scoring game. This seems almost too obvious, but I am a sucker so we’ll take those points.