FMQ - Who's It Gonna Be USC? Fire Mack Brown Now....

If that’s what is making the refs make these calls….In case you haven’t heard or seen it, there was a completely abominable call last night in the last minute of the ISU-Texas game.  Long story short:  Texas clearly fumbled (even the announcers stated that it was a fumble) and the referees didn’t call it correctly NOR DID THEY OVERTURN IT ON REPLAY!  The whistle had not yet been blown meaning it was still a live play and nothing on the player had touched the ground….BAD CALL.  If that’s how you keep Mack Brown in a job….Fire his ass now so kids aren’t getting screwed with calls like this… I completely agree with ISU Coach Paul Rhodes and I hope they start a collection to pay his fine for bitching about the call because the call was BS…..Here it is if you haven’t seen it.

In other news…Pat Haden has before him the most important decision he will make in his tenure at USC, and the reason it’s the most important is that he’s already made the 2^nd most important decision by firing Lane Kiffin.  (Quiet, B-ball fans…I know he fired and hired a new coach for the B-ball team as well…You know – he hired Amanda Marcum’s husband.  But let’s face facts:  This is a bigger deal!)

In addition, someone besides DeLoss Dodds may have to eventually deal with the head coaching vacancy that will be left at Texas once whatever happens there happens…Whether Mack is fired or retires seems to be a moot point.  It’s going to happen one way or the other (eventually) and someone is going to need to fill that spot.  Will it be the last act of Dodds or will Dodds’ replacement get the nod if Mack can somehow hang on that long (end of 2014?).  My guess is, once Mack is gone the last official act of Dodds will be to hire his replacement and not all the pressure is put on the new guy and if the new AD needs to fire said replacement.  Just the way I’m seeing it.

That still leaves two of the biggest coaching jobs in the country up for grabs (not to mention U-Conn and probably more, lower profile jobs) to whatever up and coming coach has the desire to pursue those positions.  But my thinking is beginning to trend opposite of what it used to be.  I used to think that any coach would jump at the chance to improve their lot in life and take a more prestigious, higher paying gig.  It just seems like the natural progression.  But when you look at some of the more recent FAILS in the “coach leaving for the greener grass” (Rodriguez – Petrino – Graham – Willingham - Chizik), well, I’m sure it has a lot of coaches rethinking their decision if the dream job suddenly landed at their doorstep.

But if you’re a good coach at your alma mater (Fitzgerald ) or you simply like the deal you’ve got (Petersen), why leave?  And I get that.  You could end up being a 3 years and out statistic looking for a job and getting stuck in a worse situation completely.  Or you could be out of coaching altogether.  I think the high profile position is one that needs to go to someone that is approaching the “twilight” of their career.  Not someone over the hill (Pasqualoni) but someone that has reached an age where they have 5-10 good years left and if it doesn’t work out, the TV booth is right there waiting for them and they have some great stories to tell having been the head coach at an iconic institution.

That doesn’t make the AD’s job at USC and Texas any easier.  In fact, it might make it harder.  How many guys did Sailboat Bill go through before Rodrigues said yes?  I think both of these AD’s might just find out how hard a “high profile” coaching job is to fill.

Sparty UPDATE – Rumor is running rampant that Narduzzi (Sparty D-coordinator) is the top name on U-Conn’s list of interviewees when the time comes.  Just a heads up. 

FMQ

After a great week last week where all the favorite picks came home and we even hit the parlay, I’m feeling pretty full of myself, quite confident and am looking forward to several of this week’s games and the opportunity that lies within.  While I don’t see any Sooner-domer type gifts, I think there’s some easy money to be made.

Washington @ Stanford (-7):  I get that the Huskies are decent.  But this spread screams value at me when I see the Cardinal only laying 7 at home.  Cardinal are still undefeated this season ATS, so, who am I to buck that trend?  Yeah, I know it’s probably going to throw me sooner or later…let’s hope later…

Take Stanford and lay the 7 for $70

WVU @ Baylor (-28):  I firmly believe that WVU’s victory last week after seeing some highlights and seeing how poorly Okie State played was a complete fluke.  Baylor has not had a single game all season with less than 600 yards of offense.   In Waco for the first time…WVU fails….

Take Baylor and lay the 28 for $40

ohio(-6) @ NWU:  Man…I was really hoping for a double digit spread here and I would have been all over the Purple Kitty’s like white on rice.  I still think the upset is possible…I just didn’t want VEGAS to think it was possible…This spread is just screaming at me to take the suckeyes…Miller looks fine and I’m fairly certain that the suckeyes beat the 2^nd best team in the B1G last week in Wiscy….So, it’s either lay the points or PASS….

ASU (-5) @ Domers (Neutral Site Game - Dallas):  The domers get beat BAD at home and the Sun Devils come off a huge victory over USC and they have mo-mo running in their favor.  A neutral site game that favors ASU (it’s a lot closer to them) and I still don’t think Rees has stopped throwing INT’s…I think Graham might still be pissed at the domers from his short stint at Pitt…

Take ASU and lay the 5 for $60

Ducks (-38) @ Colorado:  I know what you’re thinking –leading rusher for the Ducks is in a boot and won’t play this week.  You know how many points the line moved on that news?  ZERO…..Something tells me the Ducks have the depth at tailback and against Colorado, it’s not going to matter..

Take the Quack Attack and lay the 38 for $60

Maryland (+15) @ FSU:  Wow….This is the team that blanked WVU and is playing pretty well vs. the team that was down to BOSTON COLLEGE 21-3 before they got their act together….I want to jump all over Maryland here, but something keeps telling me that FSU is a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off on someone…still…two TD’s in one of the last ACC match-ups these two teams will play see seems like enough..

Take Maryland and the 15 for $40

Louisville (-34) @ Temple:  Remember when I said there wasn’t a gift on the board this week?  I lied….

Take Louisville and lay the 34 for $70

Sparty @ Iowa (-1.5):  O/U – 42:  Okay.  Sparty cannot in any way, shape or form score 21 points on any defense in the B1G with the exception of maybe Purdon’t...No "offense" Sparty...I think you all actually all agree with this... Iowa WON’T be able to score that much on Sparty.  Could this be the first 0-0 tie in regulation in the B1G for the first time since who knows when?  Maybe…

Take the 42 - UNDER for $40

Minnesota @ Michigan (-19.5):  Jeez…I hate 3 TD spreads and said I would never bet them again when Michigan was involved…nope-nope-nope…..But, Michigan did get a bye week to figure some stuff out – big changes on the O-Line…That makes me happy and nervous at the same time…They’re home…and the Gophers just came off a horrendous loss to Iowa, who’s actually looking pretty good despite that NIU loss early in the season…..Why do I do this to myself?

Take Michigan and lay the 19.5 for $40

PARLAY!
Stanford – Ducks - Louisville  $20

Starting Bank:         $1,411.50

Total Bet:                  $440

BANK:                       $971.50