This week, we are changing up the format of the MBOC. Rather than try to 'pick' a game, we are just going to post a letter that Hazma Abdullah sent to the Washington State Cougs Football team to get them ready for Apple Cup.
Win the VICTORY, Cougs!!!! (letter below the break....)
Peace and Blessings fellow Cougs. I pray this letter reaches you in the best of health and spirits. My name is Hamza Abdullah, 2004 Apple Cup Champion...Why did I introduce myself as that? Because, that's all that matters.
I was on teams that were very successful, but the thing we are remembered by is "we couldn't win the big one", "we couldn't beat the Huskies". The best feeling I had in college was winning the Apple Cup my senior year (2004). It was bigger than any bowl game. I want you seniors to feel that. It's something they can't take away from you.
I meet people all the time and all they want to know is, "Did I beat UW". When they ask you that question I want you to say "YES". Emphatically, say "YES".
Growing up in California, I didn't know what the Apple Cup was, but shortly after I arrived in Pullman I realized how big it was. It's the game of the Year. It's the game that's circled on every Calendar West of the Mississippi. It's that big. The emotions you feel will be unmatched.
Play hard, Play under control, Play fast and Play with Passion. For a number of you guys, this could be the last time you ever put on a pair of cleats. Make sure you're holding that trophy at the end of the night. I like every other Coug on the planet will be watching.
Coach Wulff has put a great plan together, and when you follow it, stick with it and execute it, you will have success.
Thank you for listening, from one Coug to another, I love you guys and I'm coming to party with you guys in the spring. Let's have that trophy with us. Remember this: WE DON'T EAT, WE DON'T SLEEP, IT'S APPLE CUP WEEK... Be Blessed
Money betters….we stumble into the week tying one of the worst skids of MBOC history. 3 years ago, we had a 4 game skid in the middle of the season that rivaled this losing streak. Heads were hanging low around the office this week as we dug through some pics, looking for the game. Last week the Money Bet of the Century had a much needed mid-season bye. Spirits were lifted when we received the new MBOC Marketing assets. As you can see, at the top of the page we have a new logo that has replaced our old ghetto logo. We feel this is a good omen for getting out of the slump.
Much thanks goes out to Victor, Idaho’s Scott Wood. One time Seattle resident and Merlin, Oregon native Wood has been at the design game for quite some time, initially cutting his design teeth at Seattle’s own Expeditors’ International. Later Scott moved on to Jackson, Wyoming’s ‘Cloudveil’ where he pumped out world class designs. So thanks again to Scott for the new design.
This week we’re bringing the MBOC back home to a west coast showdown. Oregon State comes into this game after a disappointing loss to league doormat, Washington State. In a 31-14 DRUBBING, Washington State amassed 378 total yards, keeping Oregon State under 100 yards of rushing. Washington State finally started to look like a team, only committing two turnovers as the offense starts to gel. It was an exciting time for Washington State fans, as they haven’t won a pac-10 game in almost 2 years (against Washington on November 22, 2008). Oregon State has had some bright spots in the season, beating both #9 Arizona (@ Arizona 29-27) and thumping a 5-5 California team at home. But lately, they’ve been on a skid since losing a two-overtime battle to Washington (35-34) and losing James Rodgers for the year.
USC comes into this game starting to heat up. They’ve slowly but surely started improving things throughout the season. USC now falls within the top 30 of Passing Yards and Rushing Yards, and has put up some total offense averaging 35.2 offensive points a game. In an impressive win last week over Arizona (24-21), Running Back Marc Tyler ran like a horse for 160 yards and 1 touchdown. After two shocking losses to Washington and #16 Stanford, USC has only faultered to #2 Oregon in a 53-32 game. 3 small points separate them from being a nationally ranked top 10 team.
Oregon State comes into this game limping, staring down a momentum-generating USC squad that has won 3 of its last four games. (p.s. that is Sara Jean Underwood on the right, Oregon State Alum and Playboy Playmate)
Although USC is a -3.5 point favorite, Look for USC to turn on the juice and gnaw away at the beavers by 14!!
As always, please vote your decision in the upper right hand corner of my blog.
It's the Money Bet of the Century!!!! Back for Week #10. Right now I have the feeling like I am trying to come up with a 'Rally the Troops' type speech, and the reader base is standing their uninspired. 3 weeks in a row, you ask.....how could we blow this three times in a row. I think we're overthinking it, and need to simplify things.
We're going down to Baton Rouge to break the slump. The Crimson tide are rolling into town for this Powerhouse SEC Showdown. A lot of BCS polls had LSU near the top, until they lost to Auburn last week. How silly was this? Over the course of the year, LSU has not really dominated any of its opponents with key proof for this statement being that they only won by a margin of 18 points over North Carolina, West Virginia, Florida, and Tennessee. That doesn't sound like a dominant team, that sounds like a team that is just barely holding on for dear life.
Alabama comes into this game with something to prove. After that shocking week #6 loss to South Carolina, they're still out to prove that they are the team to beat this year. Julio Jones is also out to prove something, after having a bad game against LSU last year. In that game, Patrick Peterson neutralized Jones and held him to no catches, something extremely uncommon for one of college receiver's best receivers.
Alabama is favored by 6.5 in this contest, but the good money lies on the Crimson Tide. Throw down a wad on Bama and let the good times roll.....BAMA BY 14.
Don't forget to vote in the upper right hand corner!!!!
Well Money Betters- what can we say......the money bet of the century has let you down twice in a row. I can honestly say that a two week skid is very rare around the office. Walking amongst the rows of cubes, there have been a lot of forlorn faces. No more a long face than that of Adam Smith, who 'doubled down' last week by not only making the pick....but also dropping $550 dollars on his bet at the local Vegas Sportsbook. Although we offer Adam our condolences on his pick, we plan to keep the image of that bad pick around for quite some time....he'll never know when and where that memorable PDF Screenshot might pop up in his life. :)
Getting along to this weeks pick. We've got an iconic game lined up for you......a game that is also known as 'The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party'. That's right friends....we're talking about Florida vs. Georgia. This game has been played in a neutral location every year except for 1995 and 1996, where it was played at Georgia's home stadium one year, and 'The Swamp' one year. This game has had a lot memorable moments, probably none more memorable that this classic moment. You'll have to listen to the commentator all the way through to really appreciate the 'Game Call'...
Let's get down to the call. Georgia comes into this game as a 2.5 point favorite. And let's be honest....I think they definitely deserve to be. With a 82nd ranked passing attack (out of 119 teams) and the 75th ranked rushing offense, Florida has not been much of an offensive threat this year. Missing Tim Tebow anyone??? It must have been a huge letdown for the Florida fans who have grown accustoming to coming up in the National Championship discussion every year. John Brantley has been less then illustrious this year, throwing for 6 touchdowns in 7 games so far this year. Probably most shocking was the loss last week to Mississippi State, the first time the gators have lost to them since 2004. Florida has been on a 3 game skid, losing to the likes of #1 (at the time) Alabama, #12 LSU, and finally....the aforementioned Mississippi State.
Georgia comes into this game and a somewhat lukewarm opponent, but a lukewarm opponent who is getting much warmer. Georgia is really heating up in their rushing and passing game, throwing for an average of 228 yards per game, and rushing an average of 153. You know A.J. Green will be good for at least 80 yards and 1-2 touchdowns in this matchup. The best news about this pick is that it is played on a neutral field. No home field advantage for either team means that there is going to be an even playing field.....and an even playing field for this matchup means the ultimate advantage for Georgia.
COULD IT HAVE BEEN ANY MORE WRONG LAST WEEK?! Here at the MBOC, we promote full disclosure. If you make a bad pick, you own up to it. The readers appreciate that....hell, the readers deserve that. Nothing is weaker than sitting behind your green curtain telling everyone you are the mighty 'Wizard of Oz'.....AND THEN getting exposed by a tiny dog......that's just straight up lame SHIT....
Anytime we get dealt a blow at the MBOC, we try something a little different. In this case....it's to dig deeper to find the real money for the readers.
So....we went to Field Correspondent Adam Smith out in Sin City LAS VEGAS this week for the pick. Adam is known around the Las Vegas community as a man with his hand on the pulse of college football gambling, and an all-around good dude. His picks have been known to sway major casinos lines.....so...when we really need an MBOC win.....I look to my field correspondent dugout, I come up tapping the right arm and calling in Adam Smith, the MBOC closer.....he runs to the mound ala-John Rocker style, and always chalks up a 'W'.
Adam understood we were on the fence from last weeks lost, and rolled back his sleeves for this weeks pick. The research he put in just might make this the most solid pick of the century.
Wisconsin was a team that successfully drilled home that they could run at will against the Buckeyes last weekend posting up a 31-18 win as a four-point home underdog. John Clay and James White combined for 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Badgers can’t get fat off of that win for too long as they’re set for another big league showdown. Now they head to Iowa City to face off with the Hawkeyes for the Heartland Trophy.
Most of the betting shops out and about have posted Iowa as a 5 ½-point home favorite in this contest. And VegasInsider.com’s expert handicapper Tom Freese believes that Kinnick Stadium is all the advantage the Hawkeyes will need.
“Both of these teams have great running games and defenses that can stop opposing attacks. Yet Iowa is an awfully tough team to beat at home.”
Freese is right on in that the Hawkeyes are tough in front of a home crowd. Iowa has gone 14-2 Straight Up at home dating back to the start of the 2008 campaign. Gamblers, however, have been on a see-saw when backing them with an 8-8 Against The Spread (ATS) mark. Those two losses, by the way, both came to Northwestern. If we’re tightening that info up to just Big Ten games, then the Hawkeyes are 5-1 Straight Up (SU) and 2-4 ATS in their last six in this spot.
Regardless of the issue of covering the spread, Iowa still has a damn good team. Ricky Stanzi is the third-most efficient quarterback in the country, completing 68% of his throws and posting a rating of 180.49. Should the Badgers be able to contain Stanzi’s passing attack, that’ll just give Running Back Adam Robinson a chance to shine in a big way. All he’s done is average 103.8 YPG on the ground with eight touchdowns.
When looking at past battles, you’d have to notice that the Hawkeyes have gone 6-4 SU against Wisconi. But for our MBOC purposes, Iowa has been the smart play nearly every time, evidenced by an 8-2 ATS record. Plus, the Badgers are just 2-8 SU and 3-6-1 ATS as road underdogs the last five years against Big Ten foes.
One other amazing fact that is EXCLUSIVE to MBOC readers: The last seven teams to beat an AP No. 1 in the regular season have just a 3-4 record in their next game!!
IOWA gets it done out in Iowa City against the Badgers. Look for Iowa to take this one by 18!!! And if you want to know if we just pick 'em and don't have skin in the game....Adam would like to share this with you... GET IN THE GAME!!!! (don't forget to vote in the right hand corner and comment below!!!)
I’m proud to say that last week, we made the call by exactly ½ of one point.
A lot of things did not go down the way we expected in Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh. Dion Lewis never got it moving in any way, shape, or form. He ended up carrying the ball 13 times for 63 yards. The Notre Dame defense and Linebackers put up a wall!!! Pitt struggled to score at all in the Red Zone. But it wasn’t a pretty win for Notre Dame "It's not a beauty contest yet for us. It's certainly not that. But my job is to get Notre Dame to win football games and we're starting to do that.", noted Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly.Notre Dame can look forward to a win this week against the Western Michigan Broncos.
This week, the money bet is OBVIOUS!!! One of the highest scoring offenses in the country is Ohio State. They are averaging a whopping 43.2 points per game. This will be there first tough test since a showdown in the 2nd week of football against Miami. The game is at Wisconsin, so we’ll get to see how they play on the road against a tough team. Ohio State only allows an average of 13.5 points a game, and their defense has allowed only 10 points in the win versus Indiana last week.
The Wisconsinites will be ready for a big game. Camp Randall Stadium, with its 80,321 person capacity, can get rockin for a mid-October in-conference showdown. You can believe the stadium will be filled to capacity and there will be more red in the stadium with both schools colors being very similar to one another.Wisconsin comes into this game with quite the rushing game. They are currently 11th in the country, averaging 240.8 yards per game.The key to the game for Wisconsin will be getting the ball into John Clay’s hands. He may not top his 2009 totals of 1517 yards, but he’s looking to get close with a projected 1384 yards this season. Wisconsin loves its short, stocky, built-like-a-tank runningbacks….Following in the great footsteps of the great Ron Dayne of the late 90s. You might see Clay opt to go pro after this year and forego his senior season.
This game is going to be a close one….but there’s no stopping the might of Terelle Pryor. With 1,349 yards this year, he’s on pace to have over 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns this season. The key to the game for Wisconsin’s defense will be to get in and shut down Pryor before he can do any major damage. Buckeyes are favored in this game by 4, and they get it done clawing the badgers by 10!!!!
Do you agree....do you disagree!??!?!...Vote in the upper right hand corner and be heard!
But this time this week, if you are not sitting on a Caribbean beach with a beautiful babe on your lap and a drink in your hand...wondering if you want to eat 'Surf or Turf' for dinner this evening....you have only yourself to blame. As Promised....
T H E D O U B L E D O W N S P E C I A L
has enough potential to damage as a ton of bricks slamming into a bag of feathers! You were disappointed that you had lost money in week 4, and we delivered a solution to your problem. So...if you are sitting in your office reading this, you need to question your ability to bet on a good deal when you see one.
The 'Bears were what we THOUGHT they were' in the UCLA vs. WSU game. WSU actually ended up hanging around in this game....and there was a point in the game where I thought we were actually going to win the game. But as predicted, the combined point total was nowhere close to the 50.5 Over/Under spread predicted by Vegas. Combined score ended up being a whopping 70 points....the same line set for the Washington State vs. Oregon game this weekend. Half of me wants to say that game will score over 70, as well.
On to the Money Bet of the Century.....there isn't a lot of good games this weekend. MBOC Feel Correspondent Dustin Schnaitman likes Michigan State to win outright over Michigan, which after seeing the gutsy play calling of Sparty this year, could definitely happen. I'm worried of the crowd getting behind Denard Robinson. The MBOC is going to predict a Heisman Trophy at the end of next season for young Denard.
This week's game will be Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame. Notre Dame looked good last week in their 31-13 handling of Boston College. But then again....it is Boston College. Dayne Crist has a phenomenol first quarter, driving down the field and helping the Irish put the game out of reach early on. Still, Notre Dame has proven when it comes to a substantial opponent, often times they come up short. Who could forget the play 'Little Giants' a few weeks ago, when Sparty sneaked the field goal then dumped the ball of to their tight end for the game winning score. What you didn't see was that the tight end ended up right in the Notre Dame band section, and their celebration for the score knocked around some of the ND Band Members. Talk about adding injury to insult (about 40 seconds in)....Here's a recap of that if you didn't see it enough times on Sportscenter.
Pittsburgh is one of those teams that always ends up doing better than you thought they were going to do. My old business school roommate Matt Michaux would make me a bet every year (usually after a few Yuengling beers) and he'd say "I'll bet you 5 bucks that Pitt ends up in the top 15". Well....he was wrong both years I bet him....but to give him credit, it came down to the last game both years.....and if they would have won, they would have silently finished out the year in the top 15. They are good......sneakily so. Utah is #10 in the country and damn near lost to Pitt in the first week of the season. Past that, Pitt's only lost is to Miami, where they were fairly well beaten. Other than that, their two wins have been by an average of 2.5 points. Weak sisters you say.... (Florida International and New Hampshire)...!!! You won't get any argument from me there....but the point is that they have the offensive power to put up points, and they've been fine tuning it against lesser opponents. Dion Lewis did not play in Week 5, and in my opinion....he is an NFL caliber running back that should be in the outside discussion of a Heisman Candidate. But once again.....Pitt just kind of does its thing....quietly. Now you might ask yourself....are these girls really from the University of Pittsburgh. Dude.....Who cares!
So here's the scoop. This game is at Notre Dame, and touchdown Jesus will be staring down at the field from the endzone hoping for another Notre Dame win. The line is Notre Dame by -6.5 which makes me leery, because a touchdown wins the spread for them. But the Panters are poised to take a bite out of some Irish ass. Look for Pitt to win this game and for Dion Lewis, now back and healthy, to run for 175. Panthers win this game by 7 in South Bend!!! Don't agree?!?! Tell me about it below....
Well folks.....what can I say about last week other than I let you down. One thing to remember is that the season is long, and if I put up 14 straight weeks of wins, I'd be talked about in Vegas like I was a god. I also wouldn't be working anymore, either.
Last week's game went wrong in just about every way possible. UCLA had an offense and made plays happen. UCLA's Quarterback Prince actually only had 27 yards of passing, but they got it done on the ground. Who could believe that UCLA would actually not have to go to the air AT ALL to beat Texas. Who could believe that a QB who puts up 27 yards of passing from the Pac-10 could beat the #7 ranked team in the country? Simply 'a fluke'....
Over here at the MBOC, when we encounter the first loss of the season, we circle up the field correspondents and have a talk. We're a small organization....but not one without resources!!! Long-time contributor and field correspondent Adam Smith was 'on the ground' in Vegas, spending time at the different sports books getting a feel for the way the week was shaping up. He poured over countless statistics and research this week and uncovered what we feel to be is a gem. This weeks pick is being called 'THE DOUBLE DOWN SPECIAL'. This week, your pockets are hurting from the last week, but we've found a way to help you recover your losses from last week.....and a nice tidy stack of bills on top of that!
This week, The Cougs hit the the road to Los Angeles to face the same UCLA team that was in a pick last week. The Cougs hit their 'low water mark' last year, as they plowed through the season finding it seemingly impossible to pull a touchdown from anywhere. They were simply one of the worst teams in college football (but remember husky fans, they did not go 0'fer). This year they are back....looking 'slightly' better. Last week they were once again routed by another team, losing to USC 50-16. Not a lot can be said about this performance. I watched the game and the Cougs were able to keep in close in the first half of the game (28-13), before the wheels came off in the second half. Jeff Tuel, when he wasn't throwing one of the games 3 interceptions, through for 222 yards and a touchdown. The Cougs defense LOVES to allow other teams to score points on them, ranking 116 out of 121 teams in the FBS. They face a UCLA team that comes into this game riding high off their win last week at Texas.
While I still can't say that the UCLA offense is that impressive, they definitely did get it done last week against Texas. They seem to have found their game plan in a rushing attack, and are currently putting up 218 rushing yards a game on opponents, good for a top 20 showing in the FBS rankings. The Bruins will also find that it is easier to go to the air this week against a mediocre-at-best Washington State secondary. Look for Prince to hit some thinly guarded slant routes to his receivers and tight ends as the WSU linebackers have to stay home and guard against the run. In short, WSU is looking anemic enough to make UCLA into a duel threat run/pass type of team. With the UCLA team allowing an average of 22 points a game, and WSU allowing 43 points a game, we were shocked to uncover that the over under spread in this game was only a meager 50.5 points!!
To follow in the footsteps of the great Gordon Gekko, this week, "never run away when you are down". Step in with A DOUBLE SIZED bet this week on the Over in this game, and walk away on Saturday with a fat stack of Bills.
COUGS AND UCLA COVER 50.5 POINTS as UCLA goes on to win 42-21!. .....AND THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS A MONEY BET YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!
A triumphant win was registered last week here at the MBOC. Nebraska made the trip out from their 'fly-over-frozen state' to the great city of Seattle. Here at Ground Zero, there was a plethora of Nebraska Red Sweatshirts and hideous 'Mom Jeans' walking around the city looking wide-eyed up at the skyscrapers. People from Nebraska probably didn't even know that buildings were even built that tall! ha! But true to form....the corn huskers shucked their way into town and handily took care of the Washington pups. As we predicted, Jake 'The Hype' Locker didn't really ever lead his team to anything other than another disappointing loss. He was able to rack up the awe-inspiring statistics of 4 of 20 for a total 71 yards. He also scrambled for a less-than-desirable 51 yards as the Huskies went on to lose the game 56-21. As MBOC field correspondent Jeff Wood aptly put it, "well, at least Washington's semi-fans will put their purple and yellow sweatshirts away until next fall and we won't have to hear any more talk of the "resurgent" huskies for another year"......very true, Jeff. Guess the re-surge will have to wait at least one more year.
This week, there are some interesting games to choose from. One big contender is the Pac-10 match up between California and Arizona. Arizona looks hot coming off of their big win over #9 Iowa. As it turns out, Iowa isn't very good when they come out West. Something like their last 7 trips out West have ended in humiliation. It's ridiculous to even think that this Arizona team cannot beat a stumbling-bumbling California team by 7 (California got taken behind the wood shed by Nevada last week).
I also like Oregon to defeat Arizona State by 12. Oregon looks like the team to beat right now in the Pac-10, and is the #1 scoring offense in the country (averaging 63 points) and the #1 Defense (allowing 3 points).
Nevertheless, the Money Bet of the Century game this week....er century....will be Texas vs. UCLA. Anyone who has watched UCLA play this year will quickly determine that this team isn't very good. This UCLA team is ranked #118 in the country in Passing Yards and 105th in the country in Points for (17.7). They are also in the bottom 1/3 of allowing points, allowing on average 26.3 points per game. Their Quarterback Kevin Prince might sound like royalty, but he only threw for 99 yards with 0 touchdowns in their 31-13 win over the Houston Cougars. So the Houston Cougars lose another game.....they are used to losing....who will ever forget a couple years ago when the Oregon Ducks Mascot beat the living crap out of their mascot. If you forgot, watch it again here:
In short....UCLA is terrible...but at least the MBOC reporters were able to uncover a few great photos of some of their great looking co-eds.
Texas comes into this game with something to prove. They've got to claw their way up the rankings if they want to get back into the national title game again this year. And to be honest, they've got a shot. If they can get through a couple tough games in the next couple weeks (Oklahoma & the Red River Shoot Out coming up next week, and then a tough road game at Nebraska), they'll be sitting in the cat bird seat......but that's a big 'if' at this point. Texas' defense is looking pretty good, only allowing 12.7 points per game (9th best in the country). They are only mediocre in other categories in offense in rushing, but this could be a game they look back on later this year as a break out game. They need to make a statement going into week #4 that Oklahoma and Nebraska can start being worried about. Texas is badly missing their star quarterback from last season, Colt McCoy, but Garrett Gilbert is starting to look like a QB that can step up to the plate. Last week he threw for 227 yards and 2TD. If he can just get a little bit more control on the ball, we won't be seeing numbers like 3 interceptions. You can bet that Mack Brown has been on his ass this week about ball control...but you can expect these types of situations when you are dealing with a true sophomore qb.
Texas gets it together this week and enters the national championship conversation, but still has some groundwork to cover before playing Oklahoma next week. Look for Texas to 'HOOK' A growl-less UCLA Bruin team this week by 24!!! Is this the call of the century??? Don't forget to post your thoughts below and make sure that you vote in the upper right hand corner!!
.....AND YOU CAN TAKE THAT MONEY BET TO THE BANK!!!
I understand there was some confusion on The Money Bet of the Century last week. I have been posting it solely in Facebook and was not emailing people the link. Some people have become accustomed to receiving The Money Bet via email, so we’ll continue that to keep the readers happy.
Week 1 was a huge success for The Money Bet. Tate Forcier did not get the starting role as was expected. Instead, the starting role went to Sophomore, un-tied shoes phenom Denard Robinson. And boy did that guy run all over Connecticut. 29 carriers, 179 yards and one touchdown….oh….and then he threw for 186 yards and a touchdown as well. What an amazing first start for him. He definitely looks like he is going to be a threat out at Michigan for the next couple years. Look for good things from this program (whether you like them or not) with him at the helm. Is this the resurgence of the Big 10???!!!
This week, The Money Bet of the Century focuses on a non-traditional matchup that is always a good game. These teams have faced each other 7 times, and the series is actually tied at 3-3-1 (the tie happened in 1925 and ended in a 6-6 stalemate). Who could forget the 1998 shellacking of the Huskies, when they lost to the Cornhuskers 55-7 at home in Husky Stadium? Then there was the ‘Glory years’ victory for the Huskies, when Puyallup, Washington’s own Billy Joe Hobart led the #2 Washington Huskies to a 29-14 victory over the #12-rannked Corn Huskers. Mark Brunell saw some playing time in this game, and both Hobart and Brunell went on to NFL careers.
This year proves to be another interesting match up. Nebraska brings a team to Seattle that is missing the leadership and dominance of Ndamukong Suh (actually from Portland, Oregon you Nebraska fans). Still, this is a strong team. So far this year they’ve averaged 328 yards of running offense in the first two games of the season. That’s enough to make them the #3 rushing team in NCAA football right now.There weak spot is definitely at passing, only averaging 179 yards per game so far this year….and that’s against some pretty weak teams to start off (Idaho and Western Kentucky). Corona, California’s Taylor Martinez will get the start at Quarterback. As a Freshman, this will be his first road test…..visiting a legitimate competitor in Washington. Roy Helu Jr. (also from California) is back at running back in his Senior season and is looking to have a strong year. In 2009 he amassed 1147 yards and 9 touchdowns. This team is your typical Run-It-Down-Your-Throat Midwestern team, and they’ll try to pull the same thing on Washington.
Jake “The Hype” Locker gets the starting nod at Washington. I know a lot of people will think that I am talking trash about Locker because he is from Washington. That’s where you’re wrong. I think Jake Locker is a good quarterback. I think Jake Locker has a chance to make it in the league. What I don’t think is that Jake Locker has lived up to any of his expectations thus far. Sure….the college bookstore is sold out of #10 jerseys, but I ask of you “What has Jake Locker done that has been remarkable?”. At Washington State, many people laughed when the Cougars put Jason Guesser on the podium as a possible Heisman Candidate. But remember…. Jason Guesser helped Washington State return 3 ten win seasons between 2001 and 2003. Jason Guesser helped the team WIN GAMES….and any Heisman trophy candidate should do exactly that…..HELP THEIR TEAM WIN GAMES. Without wins, there is no argument.The Huskies come into this game looking the opposite Offensively. They are currently 25th in the country in passing, putting up an average of 279 yards against their opponents in the first two games. They are 72nd in rushing offense with 151 yards per game.
This game will see some scoring, as Nebraska and Washington both will run their prospective offenses successfully. The question is, how will Washington’s Defense hold up to the Cornhuskers running game. By the 3rd quarter, will the D-Line have its hands on its hips, slogging back to the line after every play. I think Nebraska shucks the Dawgs and wins by 14 in a game that will be close, and will earn the Huskies some respect.
CORNHUSKERS BY 14.....YOU CAN TAKE THAT MONEY BET TO THE BANK!!
