The Money Bet of the Century, 2011- Week #2

Fellow Money Bettors-

After having a 'bye' in week one of the college football season (The Co-Founder of MBOC was off getting drunk and enjoying the Katie Neary & Scott Wood wedding in Wyoming), the MBOC kicks off the season in week two.

And let me tell you, there are definitely some high hopes for the MBOC in its 9th year of publication.

First, we must give props where props are due. The college season is well underway on September 10th, 2011, but lets not forget the brave men and women of the Fire Departments and Police Stations that gave their lives 10 years ago on September 11th. I remember living in the Green Lake neighborhood with fellow MBOC Field Correspondent and sometime-guest-writer Jeff Wood. It was a sunny morning and it seemed like everything in the world was right. A lot changed on that day, and it would be remiss to not start off this year's blog with a nod in their direction. Thanks for your bravery on that day. 10 years later, we will always remember you and you will always be missed.

Let's get this season off with a B I G W I N ! ! like the MBOC always does. Looking back over the data from the past seasons, the MBOC is at its best in the first few weeks of the season, and this year will be no different.

We have some major conference changes this year. The off-season brought Nebraska to the Big 10, and saw Utah and Colorado come to the Pac-10 (now the Pac-12). Major shakeups in the future are guaranteed, with Texas A&M most likely leaving for the SEC. I've also heard talk of the Pac-12 becoming the Pac-16. Anyway it turns out, excitement and controversy are just around the corner. We'll all have something to get in heated arguments over beers about soon. Woohoo!

For this year's selection, we head out to BIG 10 country (er, Big 12?). Half of me wanted to take a look at the Penn State (For the glory!!!!) vs. Alabama game. Alabama is coming to Happy Valley without Julio Jones and Greg McElroy. Playing in State College is a challenge for any team when 100k Penn State fans have been marinating in the Big Game Environment (and $1 Big Easy well drinks) for a couple days. But I think another game looks even stronger....

Michigan comes into 'The Game of the Week' off of a 34-10 win over the Broncos of Western Michigan. It was probably the most strange game in College Football I can remember. Michigan was blanked in the first quarter, before ripping 20 on Western Michigan in the 2nd quarter. Into the fold came lightning and rain, that caused both teams to call off the rest of the game with 1:24 left in the 3rd quarter. But not before Michigan was able to put up another 14 unanswered points! Fitgerald Toussaint (neither Irish or French, mind you) had a strong first outing at Running Back, locking down 11 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns in the first 3 quarters of the game. Denard Robinson, last year's phenom Sophomore QB only mustered a shockingly low 98 yards of passing in his first outing. The passing game for Michigan, which has been historically very strong, never really got a chance to get going before the game was called off.

Notre Dame started off the year falling victim to a suprisingly strong looking South Florida squad by a score of 20-23. Lately, the coaching job at Notre Dame has been something of a curse. Starting with Tyrone Willingham's second season, the team compiled a record of 11-12. ND dropped Willingham to pick up Charlie Weis. The Weis era initially looked very promising, with a 9-3 season and a commanding Fiesta Bowl 34-20 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, but Weis proved to be a dud over the long haul. Weis then looked good before going 3-9, 6-6, 6-6 in his last 3 seasons. Many diehard Irish fans will remember 'The Navy Game' that Notre Dame lost in 2009 (23-21). This was the second loss to Navy in 3 years, at a time where ND has beaten Navy 43 straight years before this streak. That loss proved to much for the Irish Faithful and Weis was shown the door.

Brian Kelly came over after great accomplishments at a normally mediocre Cincinnati program. No matter what you think about Kelly, it's easy to see that he was lucky to have one of my favorite underdog quarterbacks Tony Pike at the helm. I can't tell you how many times that guy helped out my college fantasy team....

Sophomore QB Tommy Rees will get the start for Notre Dame as they travel to the Big House for Michigan's first ever Night Game start. Ticket sales are ripping, with Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon saying "I wish I had 50,000 extra tickets to sell for this game". You can bet that the Big House will be bumping as a nationally televised Michigan/ Notre Dame game gets underway. Denard Robinson will come out blazing, running for 120 yards and passing for another 280. The line on this game favors Notre Dame by 3 points, but don't be fooled money betters. The smart money rides on Michigan, MONEY LINE, to carry the Day. Wolverines put the bite to the Irish by 10.....you can lay a BET ON IT!

As always DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER FOR YOUR SELECTION!

From all of us at The Money Bet of the Century, have a great college football weekend. We'll see you back here next week with a 1-0 record!!!