Black Shoe Degenerates, Week 13: The Home Stretch

Another good week for me, and now I’m over .500 for the first time this season! That, of course, means I’m going 0-fer this week to get back to my rightful place in the world.

UCLA seemed to have things under control in the first quarter, then everything fell apart and Utah took advantage of every Bruin mistake and rolled to a comfortable victory. The other two were always going to be easy covers, because those lines were massive no matter how bad Rutgers and UMass are.

Standings

TBD

Full standings.

Picks

Penn State +18.5 @ Ohio State - Yes, I’m going for it. On paper, there is no reason why the Buckeyes can’t win by three scores or moe against this team. On the field, though, how many times has this actually happened under James Franklin? Once. In 2015, Penn State went into The Shoe for a night game, kept it close for most of the night, then the wheels fell off in the fourth quarter. Can this happen again? Sure, especially since Chase Young basically took a two-week break to heal up for this game. Will it happen again? No. $200.

Bonus: I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Penn State +700 ($200)

Pitt +4.5 @ Virginia Tech - Don’t look now, but Pitt is 7-3, and could win the Coastal again if they win out and the Hokies beat Virginia to end the season. All that aside, Virginia Tech has looked better in recent weeks, but I don’t think they’re going to be able to overcome Pitt’s “not bad, really” defense in this one. Giving me more than a field goal here just makes my life easy. $100.

Texas A&M +14 (-120) @ Georgia - The only Power 5 teams Georgia has beaten by more than two touchdowns this season are Vanderbilt (terrible), Kentucky (not at all what they were last year), Tennessee (remember them?), and Missouri (got blown out by Vanderbilt). Every other team they’ve beaten, they’ve beaten by a touchdown or fewer. I’m going to say Texas A&M avoid getting blown out. $100.

Results

Last week: 2-1
Season: 21-20-0
Stash: $2624.92

Make your picks.