Welcome to Week 10 of Black Shoe Degenerates, your weekly gambling column written by the smartest gambling expert you know.
This is the best week so far this year, hands down. I’m low-key glad Penn State is away this week, it’ll give me a chance to watch all of these great games.
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 9: 5-2-1 (31-29-2 this season)
- Clemson -17 (win)
- Michigan State -1.5 (win)
- Kansas +13.5 (win)
- Oklahoma -24.5 (win)
- Iowa +6 (push)
- Texas A&M +2 (loss)
- Washington State +3 (win)
- Texas -3.5 (loss)
Making money all day here. Kansas and Washington State won straight up as underdogs which was awesome. Penn State and Iowa pushed, which wasn’t surprising. But how about them Tigers? Woof, Florida State got absolutely smacked.
This Week’s Picks:
Nebraska at Ohio State
My pick: under 73
My thinking here is, Nebraska will be lucky to get to 10 points. Their offense is just not good at all, and it’ll struggle mightily against the Buckeyes. That means Ohio State has to score 63 or more to beat this, and I don’t think it will.
Oklahoma State at Baylor
My pick: Oklahoma State -7.5
Oklahoma State is genuinely good I think, and it has momentum coming off a big upset of Texas. Baylor... is not. Take the Cowboys
West Virginia at Texas
My pick: West Virginia +2
I’m picking this for two reasons. One, I like West Virginia. I think it’s the only team that has a legit shot to beat Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. Two, who knows what the hell Texas is going to do week-to-week. If you bet against them, you lose, and then if you bet with them the next week, you lose again. I’ll take what I know over what I don’t.
Georgia at Kentucky
My pick: Kentucky +9.5
If you can buy a half-point I’d be much more comfortable with this, but I think the Wildcats are legit. Their defense is one of the best in the country, and I’m excited to see it go up against a good Georgia team. This is one of the biggest games in program history for Kentucky, and it’s just another average Saturday for the Dawgs. I like the home team here.
Penn State at Michigan
My pick: Penn State +10.5
I don’t know if Penn State will have the juice to win it outright, but I do think this is the best team Michigan will have faced since Notre Dame, where it got smoked on the road. Trace McSorely will keep it close, but I think the home crowd gives the edge here.
Notre Dame at Northwestern
My pick: Notre Dame -9.5
This just feels like a classic Northwestern letdown game. Coming off a huge win against Wisconsin, they’ll be overhyped and ready to go. But, the Wildcats never play well two games in a row. On the other hand you have Notre Dame, who will be playing a pseudo-home game. Fans of the Irish will probably match the home fans 50/50. Give the points here.
Alabama at LSU
My pick: LSU +14.5
We’ll finally see what Tua Tagovailoa looks like in the fourth quarter! I think LSU will keep this one close for sure, even if it’s just because Alabama hasn’t been tested yet. I think the Tide still win, but 14.5 is just too many points.
Pat’s Lock of the Week: Nebraska vs Ohio State
Pat’s pick: Ohio State -18.5
The Buckeyes are going to blow Nebraska out... That’s all I got.