Money Bet of the Century | Rivalry Week!!

Money Betters-

We're closing in on the end of the College Football Season, but not before rivalry Saturday, and not before the BCS Bowl Season.

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Today's game is one I've been waiting weeks for weeks to be played. This game is played every year between these two teams, and though it is not a 'heated rivalry', it's always a great college football game. This year, the game will be played in California, and yes....it is Notre Dame vs. USC.

I believe that this #1 Notre Dame team is quite possibly the weakest #1 team in the last few years of college football. I'll give them credit for their defense keeping them in some games where their offense wanted to lose the game for them. But don't let me get away with that statement without breaking down some sound logic. First, let me debunk the people who go to Notre Dame's ESPN Clubhouse page and say "But they've played 4 ranked teams, and won all of those games!!!". Notre Dame played Michigan State when they looked like they could have been a weapon (currently have lost more games then they have won at 5-6). They got lucky with Michigan, and won by a touchown. The Stanford game should have been won by Stanford in OT, they blew it (luck of the Irish.) and I will straight up give them props for going into Norman, Oklahoma and disposing of Oklahoma in a 30-13 beat down. But when you look at the strength of their ranked opponents, no top 10 team winnings except Oklahoma.

Secondly, Notre Dame 'Squeaks by' in games that should be dominating. When an LSU, Oregon, Ohio State, or Alabama plays weak teams, they dominate them. Not the case with Notre Dame. In 5 games this year, Notre Dame has won by less than 7 points. That's almost half of their entire games. Some of those marginal wins happened against easily beatable teams like  Purdue, BYU, and Pittsburgh. Can anyone tell me what would have happened to Pittsburgh against an Oregon or Alabama? It wouldn't have taken 3 overtimes to  win the game, friends, it would have been blow out city, friends. Blow out city. (said 2nd time for emphasis).

USC has been running teams all year long. With the exception of that loss to Stanford (which seems to be a yearly occurrence for them), the inevitable loss to Oregon, and the two unexplainable losses to Arizona and UCLA, they seem to be a solid squad. Matt Barkley, unfortunately, will not be playing in today's game, missing his first game since anyone could remember. Freshman Quarterback Matt Wittek will get his career start today, and it couldn't be a bigger game for the Freshman from Newport Beach, CA. He'll be looking for the pen-ultimate receiving target in Marqise Lee, who has already caught 14 TDs on the year for 1605 yards. There's also the option of Robert Woods who has caught 10 TDs. The big question of the day will be if the old Penn State sell out RB Silas Redd will be able to punch through a strong ND defense led by Hawaiian LB and  Senior Manti Te'o. You know he wants to go to the BCS Championship and will be playing with his hair...on...fire....

The line on this game is ND -4.5 (which is pretty amazing considering USC has a backup QB in the game), but the Trojans get this one done at home. Trojans win this game in OT on a field goal at home! That's the Money Bet......and don't forget to donate at the above link! :)

The Money Bet of the Century | Week 9

Money Betters-

The MBOC is back after our Bye week last week, a mandatory break that Vegas makes us take each year because they need a chance to win back some of their money from people who are winning cash by reading the Money Bet of the Century.

Unfortunately, two weeks ago, we missed the Kansas State game by 1 point. True, K-State went on to win the game but---in this case---it was just one point shy of hitting its mark.

This week, we'll pick a game that will make up for that unfortunate miss.

This game doesn't fall far from the MBOC's Corporate Headquarters in Seattle, Washington. The game is an epic battle between Oregon State vs. Washington.

I'll never forget this same game in 2000. Oregon State came marching up to Husky Stadium looking like the best team in the country.Who would have knownn that the team, led by Dennis Erickson (who has coached almost every single college team in the country) would graduate so many players to the NFL. On that roster were all-star recievers TJ Houshmandzadeh, Chad 'Ocho Cinco' Johnson and running back Steven Jackson. A true all star cast.

Oregon State's famous Sara Jean Underwood

But the Huskies were ready to play this game tough, and assembled a tough (and at that time #11 ranked team) to face off against the Beavs. Coug-Killer Cody Pickett came out slinging the ball and Oregon State fell 30-33 in a late 4th Quarter field goal by UW. It was their only loss on the season that year, as Oregon State went on to face off against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, crushing the Irish 41-9 in Sun Devil Stadium. What could have been, Oregon State....what could have been. Take back that loss and this star-studded Oregon State team would have gone on to win the National Championship.

This year, the Huskies will be no match for the (very similarly) undefeated Beavs....and they aren't going to be playing a #11 ranked Husky Team (who is fresh off an ass-whooping last week down in Tucson where they lost to the Arizona Wildcats 52-17)

University of Washington girls....in the library

The self-admittedly steady Keith Price will get the game ball for Washington. He's had a pretty decent season throwing for 1336 yards and 8 touchdowns. He'll be looking downfield for Sammamish's own Kasen Williams and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. One has to wonde what will happen if Austin Seferian-Jenkins meets a woman who is independent and decides she wants to hyphenate her last name. Maybe they will produce another athelete sone with a name like James Seferian-Jenkins-Jones??? More on that in 20 years.

Oregon State comes into this game being a prolific passing offense (currently #15 in the country, with an average 310 passing yards per game). Pleasanton, California's Sophomore QB Sean Mannion is looking wholesome and fresh this season  (subtle nod to Safeway, whose corporate headquarters are also in Pleasanton, CA) with 1358 yards and 7 TDs. His primary target, who the MBOC predicts will have 2 touchdowns today, will be Markus Wheaton. So far Markus has had a great year, catching 6 TD passes for 654 yards. Turncoat Desmond Trufant (whose much more well known brother, Marcus Trufant attended Washington State University and went on to an illustrious career in the NFL) will have to have a game and coordinate a defensive shutdown of the Mannion/Wheaton.

But it won't be enough to replicate a 2000 victory for UW......the line on this game is Oregon State by 3.5....and they'll post up a 10 point victory in Seattle!!!!!! Now go lay a bet (and don't forget to vote in the upper right hand corner)

 

Money Bet of the Century | Week 7 | 2-4

Money Betters-

It's called a heater. 

And the MBOC is on one.

If you weren't a believer before, you definitely are reading at the right time. To recap, the MBOC started out the year cold. Uncharacteristically cold. But like Penn State, which is on a 4 game winning streak.....(and furthermore could be undefeated if they had a field goal kicker that could drain a 35 yarder)...the MBOC is back and cranking on all cylinders.

Last week's Money Bet was the Gameday 'Game of the Week', and an almost shutout of #5 Georgia. The last 7 points were garbage points, as SC and 'Head Ball Coach' went on to show they are one of the best teams in the country in early October. Hey.....I TOLD YOU THAT SC COULD GO! CLICK CLACK!

LinkedIn babe of the week is back. Thanks for the recommendation coming internationally from Tim W in Germany. Congratulations Alexandra Cohen of the 'Greater New York City Area'. Your work at Michael Kors as a Licensing Coordinator makes you 'fashion forward', and your degree from Southern Methodist University lets us know you are a rule breaker. Good double combo, Alexandra. Hope those yanks aren't giving you too much of a hard time up in new york with the southern accent.

Morale has been good around the office, as we look forward to some great games this weekend. Field Correspondent and longtime Oregon State supporter Otis Kimzey is "nervous about it, personally"
He acknowledges that "BYU has a highly ranked Run Defense--- and with a backup QB, it's going to be tough". BYU is favored by 5, but you can't count Oregon State out of the game at this point.

For all of the Big 12 conference fans, the time-honored Red River Shootout is this weekend in Cowboys Stadium. Should be a good game as always. Oklahoma is favored in that game by 3.5 in that game, but Texas wants to make their only loss to West Virginia look like a fluke OT loss. Kick off temp is 77 in that game with winds out of the Southwest at 10-15 miles per hour. Not sure why you need to know that stat, but maybe it will be important.

Friends, the game of the week happens at high noon tomorrow in Aimes, Iowa at Jack Trice Stadium. And it really was not a complicated pick this week. My man Collin Klein's going to be looking to get it done against the Cyclones. Klein has thrown for 887 yards this year and 7 touchdowns. But the real strength of this K State team lies in the rush. Not only can Collin thrown the ball, but he's the dual threat rush. He's already 73 times for 405 yards, but you can also bet  that John Hubert will be getting the ball for a little ground and pound. The Junior out of Waco, Texas is having the beginning of a nice little season with 527 yards and 8 TDs. When the run gets jammed up, Collin will be looking to my boy Tramaine Thompson to get open against Iowa States CB defense. He's averaging 16.9 yards a catch this season with 3 tds. Look for him to pick up 1 in this game.

Iowa State is riding high after their win last week against TCU. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Does anyone remember when TCU was in the national championship conversation? Guess what happens when you aren't playing weekly cupcakes?

Iowa Defense should put up a pretty good fight against the K-State run but Iowa State has dropped four straight in this series -- since a 31-20 win in the Wildcats' last visit to Ames on Nov. 3, 2007. Additionally, Iowa State had lost 11 straight home games against ranked opponents -- by an average of 21.1 point.


The line in this game is Kansas State by -6.5, perfect to win by a touchdown. But they go bigger then that...K-State wins by 14! So get out there and go lay a bet, it's MBOC approved!!

Money Bet of the Century | Week 6 | 1-4

Money Betters-

Well, it took a few weeks, but alas--the losing streak has been broken. The staff apologies for the late post this week, as everyone from the company was at the Sigmar/Coutee wedding last night. Festivities carried on until late in the night, and it was hard to shake up the team this morning to have a 'Meeting of the Minds' meeting.

We're very interested in continuing our winning ways, which started last week with a University of Texas win. The staff mulled this important game over before picking it, and had determined that the Longhorns would win by 7. As it turned out, that wasn't far off of the mark with Texas winninig 41-36. Joseph Randle had a big game putting up 200 yards and 2TDs on a pretty decent Oklahoma State Defense. Spirits were high around the office this week after finally getting it right.

We decided to invest in a little bit of office moral boosting last week, and I personally fronted the cost for the whole team to get out to the Washington State vs. Oregon game. Although the Cougs were not victorious, everyone was in agreeance that the first half was a solid effort by the Cougs. I can't remember a time when I was that excited to be at a Coug game, and they put out a very impressive first half effort. Keep up the good work Cougs, you're making headway and if we keep improving like this, we'll be at the top of the 'Pac' in no time.

This week, we're looking to continue our winning ways. A lot of good games around the country today, but we've settled on the Gameday matchup between Georgia and South Carolina.

This is how University of South Carolina
sell jerseys....

The matchup today pits a couple undefeated teams in Georgia and South Carolina in a home matchup for South Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium. This game will be an interesting one, as South Carolina currently only allows 11.6 PPG, the #6 team in the country in points allowed. Marcus Lattimore will be looking to get it done today against the Bulldogs. After missing 6 games last year due to a knee injury, he's definitely going to be out to prove he's a 100%. So far he's off to a good start- the junior from Duncan, South Carolina has already tallied 440 yards and 8 touchdowns. And let's not forget what he did to Georgia in 2010, rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-6 nailbiting win.

Georgia girls at the tailgate.

On the other side of the ball, Georgia has a potent offense.  Aaron Murray has completed more than 58 percent of his passes thrown 20 yards or more downfield with no interceptions this season. Last season, Murray completed more than half of his 20-yard throws in just two of his 14 games. You can bet that Todd Gurley will be getting some touches this afternoon. The 6'1" 218 pound freshman from Tarboro, N.C. has already got his fair share of play time this year. He's carried the ball 68 times for  536 yards and 9 touchdowns. It's going to be up to South Carolina's defense to focus on Gurley and shut him down.

The Gamecocks are playing at home, in a nationally televised NIGHT GAME. You can bet the crowd will be rowdy and fired up from a full day of tailgating, and "Head Ball Coach" knows that this is a must win situation for SC if they hope to continue their winning momentum going into next week when they play LSU (currently in a battle against Florida in the swamp).


Gamecocks are favored in this matchup by 1, but they win by 7 at home. You can lay a BET on it!!!!!!!

Money Bet of the Century | Week #5 | 0-4

Money Bettors-

I'm 0-3, so last week I called in a Guest Editor, Jeff Wood. A long time field correspondent, we brought Jeff in to make the call to break the snap. It didn't happen, and the MBOC is off to the worst start in it's prestigious 10 year history. To some extent, I'm wonder if we should go for a Hearts type strategy and 'Shoot the Moon'. LOL.

But think of it this way......we can still go 9-4 if we go on a FATTY run right now. There are some great games going on this weekend as we start getting out of the cupcake games and into the meat of the season. This is traditionally where the best have come anyways. If you've lost money in the first 4 weeks of the season, it's time to sit up and take notice because this is where it counts.

Looking at the schedule day, there's a lot to choose from. The Gameday matchup in East Lansing, Michigan pits Sparty vs. Ohio State. It's going to be a great game. Ohio State has an offensive weapon in Braxton Miller (not to be confused with Tony Braxton). He runs, he throws, and he can juke defensive lines with the best of them. But Sparty is a very experienced Defensive Line. Devin Smith is going to try and run the ball, along with B. Miller trying to do some pocket scrambles, and they're going to have a tough time. If Michigan State can tighten up the D, it's going to cause Ohio State to have to go to the air. If they can get it done in the air, they win this game, but it's a road game in East Lansing....not an easy place to play.

Another big game today is the Otis Kimzey special. Oregon State marches into Tucson to play the wildcats. The MBOC was not an early believe in Oregon State and they have helped deliver 2 of the 4 losses to the blog. Oregon State is looking LEGIT. They aren't running the ball or putting up a lot of points, but their D is monstrous, holding two top 25 teams to under 30 points COMBINED. Look for Oregon State to pick up this game against my beloved Zona.

This week, there were many submissions for the Linkedin Babe of the week. Final nod goes to Elizabeth Thorson over at Microsoft. Elizabeth attended Western Washington University and graduated with a degree in Marketing. She has worked at Nordstrom (plenty of babes have started their career at Nordstrom) but spends her time these days at the evil empire....er....Microsoft doing work with their digital media production. Thanks for the forward Tim S. of Seattle, WA....and Congrats Elizabeth.

Hook 'em Horns

Now for the game of the week.

In the first true test of the week, Texas hits the road to battle against Oklahoma State. In the first few weeks, Texas has offensively dominated their opponents on the field. David Ash has already thrown for 7 touchdowns and 700+ yards in the first few outings. The offensive line has done a great job protecting him against the rush only allowing 2 sacks in these first 3 outings. Their schedule is about to get a lot tougher in the coming weeks, as they face West Virginia next week, followed by Oklahoma & Baylor in the next two weeks. The mental preparation starts today against Oklahoma State. They have two primary offensive weapons in running backs Malcolm Brown & Joe Bergeron. These RB's are split pretty evenly with 3 touchdowns and 300 yards a piece in the first few weeks. Look for Texas to get it done on the ground today.

Oklahoma State is passing and scoring like no other team in the country so far this year. They put a ridiculous 84 points against Savannah State in week one. But they lost to a solid Arizona team in week #2, and beat Louisiana Lafayette in week #3. Today will be the first true test for the #1 offense in the country. J.W. Walsh will get the nod for the start and will be looking for two primary WR targets in Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith. Both receivers have had an active opening part of the season netting 4 touchdowns a piece.

OK State girls gettin' down in Stillwater

Oklahoma State faces a tough Texas defensive squad that is 28th in the country in points allowed. Their CBs are strong and will be able to put the pressure ono both Randle and Smith in this game. The line on the game is Texas by -1.5, on the road, but Texas wins this close game by 7.

This is the week that the MBOC hits 'the turn'. You can lay a bet on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget to vote in the upper right hand corner!

Money Bet of the Century - Week #4

Well MBOC is off to an stumbling start to the season at 0-3 and Dave called in one of his field corespondents to right the ship.  Jeff Wood here up in beautiful Bellingham, Washington....the so called city of subdued excitement to give MBOC the old college try. 

There are plenty of quality games on the slate this weekend including Michigan @ Notre Dame, Clemson @ Florida State, and USC hosting Cal.  But the game I am locking in on is UCLA hosting Oregon State at the Rose Bowl.  Now, the only time I have seen a game at the grand-daddy stadium in Pasadena the MBOC founder and I were in a wee bit of trouble to say the least but that is a long story for another day. 

Thanks go out this week to Ganesh Harinath of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania who brings us the LinkedIn Babe of the Week. Claudia Gneiting. Claudia owns her own CPA firm and helps people do their taxes. She also has an MBA from Westminster College. Congrats Claudia on this noble achievement. You should put it on your LinkedIn Profile....

Lets get to the game itself.  UCLA is riding high sitting at 3-0 after wins over Rice, Nebraska, and Houston.  They are led by senior Johnathan Franklin on the ground who averages a NCAA best 180.3 yards per game.  Frosh QB Brett Hundley can also throw the pigskin with precision and that gives the Bruins a dual threat that is hard to handle.  The Bruins also have a ball hawking D that came up with 5 interceptions last week against Houston.  


The Beavers are also off to a great start, having a marquee win in upsetting Wisconsin at the big burrito, Reser Stadium.  And while that win was legit, it was their only game of the year because of a postponement due to Hurricane Isaac.  While they stuffed the Badgers, OSU put up only 10 points and I feel that their offense won't be enough to hang with the firepower of UCLA.  The rust factor also won't help having this game be only the second of the year for OSU while it's UCLA's fourth time strapping it on. 

The line is Bruins -7....my MBOC prediction: UCLA 31, OSU 14.

Money Bet of the Century | Week 3 | 0-2

Money Bettors-

It's hard looking at that subject line, seeing that ominous 0-2 start for the MBOC's 2012 year. Last week the call was way off, as I was guilty of believing the hype surrounding Wisconsin. I thought that Wisconsin's ground and pound style offense would wear down the untested Oregon State Defense.  I should have consulted with field correspondent Otis Kimzey before making this call, as he had some additional insight into the Beavs' performance. The Big-10 isn't looking very Big at all..with 3 Big-Ten teams losing to Pac-10 Teams last week. The aforementioned Wisconsin, Nebraska (vs. UCLA) and Illinois took a drubbing from Arizona State (45-14). It's going to be a long year for the Big-10, with potentially Michigan State & Ohio State needing to pull weight to keep the conference respectable. A September 29th showdown between these two schools will most likely reveal who the champion of the Big-Ten will be. And then there's always Michigan.

Coming into week 3 with two losses to start the season would have some odds pickers hanging their head and wallowing in shame. But we do things differently at the Money Bet of the Century. When we are looking at a couple losses staring us in the face, we write a column called The Double Down Special issue. The Double Down special issue always rights the ship. Looking back at the Double Down special over the last 3 seasons, we are 3-0. Typically the staff will pull 80+ hour weeks pouring over all elements of the games on the board this week. Elements that were looked at this week include location of game,  the temperature at kickoff, historical performance of the two teams when they play each other, which company made the football, etc. There is nothing that wasn't covered when reviewing the games this week. The staff is just thankful it's Friday, and at time of publishing, they had all left to go home and sleep. Thanks for your hard work field correspondents!

Are LinkedIn Babe of the Week was discovered by none other than Jon Washington. Jon- we're not sure what your job entails on a daily basis, but whatever it is....you definitely squeeze time in to work on the LinkedIn Babe of the Week segment. You take your job seriously, and the readers are appreciative of your steady dedication. Congratulations go out to Alexandra Avdey of 'The Greater Los Angeles Area'. Alexandra currently spends her days over at E! Entertainment as an Executive Assistant in Digital Media and Business Development, but spent time at Ford modeling and had a short stint at Sony Pictures as an intern. She is the proud recipient of a Marketing degree from Arizona State University. Congratulations Alexandra (and thanks again Jon).

This week's game is a perennial Pac-12 showdown that has been exciting in recent years. Last year, in 2011, these two teams went into a triple overtime showdown that ended in a 56-48 point extravaganza. In 2010, the victor was decided by only two points, and in 2007---only one point. You're always guaranteed a good show when these two teams play, and this year should be no different. The billing for the game is a 7:30PM start on FOX, but Alexandra guarantees us that she is about to sign a contract so this game will be on E! next year. As everyone knows, a night time show down always adds a little extra excitement to the game.The game we are talking about is, of course, USC vs. Stanford.

The USC Song Girls at the Pool

USC comes into this game fresh off of sanction over the last few years, and is ranked #2 in the country. Matt Barkley is well on his way to being a front runner in the Heisman race, already throwing for 10 touchdowns in the first two games and 559 yards. He has two very reliable target receivers in Marquise Lee (21 catches/ 263 yards/ 4 TDs) and Robert Woods (16 catches/ 135 yards/ 4 TDs). And Silas Redd (sellout Redd as we know him here at MBOC, for transferring from Penn State) is consistent on the ground with 163 yards of rushing for one touchdown. This USC team is stacked and ready to rumble.

Reese Witherspoon went to Stanford

Stanford is no slouch coming off of a 50-13 pummeling of Duke, but had a close call with San Jose State in Week One (20-17). This will be Stanford's first true test of the season, and there are a lot of question marks surrounding offensive power. Stepfan Taylor has rushed for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns, but there is a big question mark at the receiver position. Zach Ertz and Ty Montgomery were pretty much shut down in the first two outings this season.

Stanford will be going up against a great USC defense both against the Rush and the pass, which is going to make it difficult for them to put points up on the board. Look for Barkley to go to the air with is receiving core, and Stanford's corners are going to be put to the test this weekend. Look for them to tire by the 2nd half when USC starts to open things up.

The line on this game is USC by 8.5, but look for them to handle the Cardinal by 17!

The Money Bet of the Century - Week 2 | 0-1

Well Money Betters,

I hate to say I've learned this lesson before---starting off the season betting on my alma mater has proved to not be the wisest decision in the past. I guess I had to relearn that lesson.

The Cougs looked pretty terrible actually. The defense tightened their game a little bit in the 4th quarter, but not before BYU could put 30 on them. And for an 'Air Raid' offense, they put up a paltry 6 points. The Cougs ended up rushing for -5 yards, and currently sit near the back of the country in 'Points-For (6) and Rushing Yards (-5). Let's just all hope and pray that BYU turns out to be better than everyone expected and, when we look back on it, we weren't ready to play them.

Congratulations go out to Grace Chou for making our list as LinkedIn Babe of the Week. For those of you not familiar with this new tradition, you nominate girls you know or see on LinkedIn that are....well hot and smart. Grace is a double major in Economics & Legal Studies from the University of California and is currently an Investment Banker working on M&A in the tech space...oh, and she looks hot.

If you have any recommendations, send them my way. I'll give you a shout out if I end up picking one. (Thanks go out to George Petersen, the hardest working man at finding smart/hot girls on LinkedIn). We enjoy the fruits of your labor, George...thanks.

Wisconsin Girls ---What's not to like?

Let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the game that's going to redeem this week. That game, my friends, is the Wisconsin vs. Oregon State game.

Junior QB Danny O'Brien gets the ball handed off to him this season, and is a little wet behind the ears. In his first outing, he put up 220 yards and 2 td's against a pretty shaky Northern Iowa squad. But with his sea-legs under him, and Monte Ball ready to run for another 2000 yards this year, look for Wisconsin to pull it together against a formidable opponent in Oregon State. A steady target at Wide Receiver, Jared Abbrederis, picked up 6 catches for  84 yards in the home opener & two touchdowns to boot.

Ex-Beav Sara Jean Underwood doing what she does best...

Oregon State will be looking to make a mark in their first home game of the season (if you remember, their first away game last week was cancelled against Nicholls State due to a Hurricane Isaac threat). Sean Mannion is back at the helm after a solid outing last year as a freshman. He put up 3300 yards as a freshman!...but he isn't going to have James Rodgers shaking CBs for yards this year. He does have a very reliable receiver in Markus Wheaton, (Wheaton put up almost 1000 yards last year) but he only got to dance in the endzone once all year.

The line on this game is Wisconsin by -6.5, and I'm taking this game for the Badgers because I know they will cover at least 7, maybe 10. If this game was -7, I might look elsewhere.

Wisconsin and Monte Ball put the 'Ground and Pound' on the beav (terrible pun intended) and puts up at 28 to win 28-17.

(a heart-felt apology goes out to Field Correspondent Otis Kimzey who is sure to send me a follow up bashing for picking against his beloved Oregon State Beavers).

The Money Bet of the Century Week #1 - 10 Year Anniversary!!!

The Money Bet of the Century is back, and guess what folks....it's the 10th year!!! For all of you married long time Money Bet of the Century readers out there, it means you are supposed to give me a gift of tin....don't ask me why they have picked something lame like Tin for a 10th anniversary gift.

For those of you who are new to 'The Money Bet'.....let's start with a little bit of back story.  This blog is The Money Bet of the Century (MBOC), and our aim (and our tagline) is to "find you that one college football game each week that slipped past the odds makers in Vegas!!!"

In all began in 1999, when yours truly was still just a young pup, in his final year of undergrad at Washington State. Fellow MBOC co-founder Marc Cooperstein was on a gambling losing streak of epic proportions. He couldn't pick a winner to save his life. In a desperate attempt to pull out of his losing streak, he put up the keys to his 1978 BMW, to fellow fraternity brother Cody Woodruff, in order to take a loan for 800 dollars for the big win that was going to "reverse the curse" and send him on an EPIC winning streak.

Before making this legendary bet, he was seen running around the fraternity screaming at the top of his lungs "THIS IS THE MONEY BET OF THE CENTURY......IF THE ODDS MAKERS ARE GIVING OUT FREE MONEY, I MIGHT AS WELL STAND IN LINE AND COLLECT IT, BITCHES!!!! WOOOOOO!....GET IN THE GAAAAAMMMMMMEEEEEE!!" Well, Marc definitely got into the game all right....and as it turned out, Marc's prediction was a little off. This Money Bet didn't turn out to be.....well....very 'money' at all.

Some time later, he regained possession (and his dignity) of the keys to his car. What team did Marc lose this legendary bet on? I can't really say for sure. But as we peeked in the window of his locked fraternity door slightly after the clock ran out on his 'money bet, and he could be seen huddled over his television sadly shaking it in despair.

Marc went on to greater achievements, and recently was married in Lake Tahoe and will spend the rest of his days sipping martinis in California while his good wife makes money to support him.  We salute you Marc.

Super excited to be back in the 10th year, and there's a lot going on in College Football this year. Washington State has some new stadium renovations and a brand new coach (Mike Leach). Leach will bring his fiery personality and winning ways back to the Coug faithful.

University of Washington is getting a "new stadium" this year. Not quite sure what all the hoopla was about. I went to a game last year against Oregon, and they had all of these husky greats down on the field and everyone was crying and carrying on like the team was being moved. Over the next few months, a wrecking crew came in and knocked down part of the stadium, and they are building the "new stadium" in the exact same place as the last one. I mean...realistically, it's like a MAJOR stadium remodel. Haven't heard anything about them this whole summer, but I know Keith Price will come out throwing (oh, and I'm sure I'll get to hear more about how great Jake Locker is(n't) going to be in the NFL.

This year we have a new tradition for you. Not only are we going to keep the hot co-eds in the blog (like we've done the last 3 years), this year we are including a section for 'LinkedIn Babe of the Week". To meet this qualification, you have to meet many criteria. #1. You must have a solid job. #2. You must have a solid educational background. #3. You must have an interesting extra-circular background (extra points for various languages, philanthropies, or other interesting hobbies you call out on your LinkedIn page). I fully expect the readers to send me profiles that they think meet this criteria. Week #1 goes to Mr. Jonathan Wesner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr Wesner has nominated Ms. Yunan He.

Ms. He did her undergraduate at University of California before moving on  to Paris' HEC School of management, which as it turns out, happens to be one of Europe's leading business schools. For work, Ms. He spent time at Abercrombie as a model before moving on to a stint at Morgan Stanley as an Investment Banking Analyst. Yunan is currently at Goldman Sachs in Paris during a summer analyst job before returning to finish up her graduate studies at HEC. Yunan He. Oh yeah, did we mention she speaks French, Chinese, and English.  You are straight up hot, smart and could probably support me if I want to quit my job to become a full time playboy. All of the staff here at the Money Bet of the Century salutes you. (Thank you MBOC field correspondent Wesner--I know you surfed through many, many profiles to come up with Ms. He. You live a tough life.)

Coug girls. Always cute, always fun....

Let's get right to the Money Bet of the Century Folks as we've already rambled on.....
This week is a clear cut choice. I've shied away from getting involved with alma mater before in the past, but we are entering a new era this year. This is the Mike Leach era!!! This is the year it all changes for the Cougs. This is the year our foes look back on and always say with a grumble "but then you guys picked up Mike Leach....."

For this Thursday game, we're looking at an epic "night game" show down to kick of the season. With an 7:15pm start time, you can be sure that the BYU kids will have been drinking a good 8-9 hours before kick off and will be well on their way.........wait.......no they won't....that's the WSU fans I'm thinking about. Sorry BYU. Curfew is right after the game.

Oh yes you can, we won't tell.....

BYU RB Michael Alisa felt the need to open his mouth to a reporter and letting the country know that "Every team across the nation will be watching BYU and Washington State play on Thursday night. All of our hopes for a potential BCS bid are on the line" Thanks Michael, there's a reason you are unranked to start the season, and it doesn't have anything to do with your likeliness of going to the BCS title game!

The line on this bad boy is hovering right around BYU -13 according to the MBOC official oddsmaker, VegasInsider . I know Vegas has figured in Leach's ability to work the "Air Raid", but leach will have other tricks up his sleeve that cannot be prepared for. Look for Leach to start 6'3" Jeff Tuhl, and look for Wide Receiver Marquess Wilson to catch 3 touchdowns in what will be a STANDOUT season for the Junior form Tulare, California.

Everyone has this game wrong. Cougs win this game by 13 points down at BYU and start the season 1-0!

Don't forget to vote on your choice, upper right-hand corner!

G O    C O U G S ! ! !