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!