FMQ Week #13 - Do Or Die!

“Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to Do or Die…” 

Lord Tenyson – The Charge of the Light Brigade

I find myself getting more out of High School English as I get older than when I was taking it.  It seemed like a huge waste at the time as I was reading stuff that was written so long ago by people I could care less about…However, as I’ve aged, I find myself remembering a lot more and better understanding cultural references to the great writings of yesteryear…

And if that particular passage by Lord Tenyson is coming back to me, it also means that The FMQ must be in a world of hurt and has his back against the wall with only three betting weeks left before the Bowls start….Where did the season go?  We spend an eternity waiting for it to get here and then it’s gone so quickly…..

The FMQ is in the green, but nowhere near doubling up.  With one betting week left before Thanksgiving Rivalry Week (where historically, it’s tough to make money), this is the weekend that is similar to the last Daily Double in the 2^nd Round of Jeopardy.  You’re opponent that’s ahead of you almost has you doubled up in money and it’s time to bet it all, Alex….Do we have the guts and can we find any value in this weekend’s games to take a big gamble?

Let’s have a look….

Illini (-7) @ Purdue:  I should have been betting AGAINST Purdue all year.  They only have 1 win ATS and that’s enough for me to get a little crazy with the Illini here..

Take the Illini and lay the 7 for $75

Sparty @ NWU(+7):  This one is tricky.  Sparty should win this thing walking away…But something tells me that the Purple Kittys won’t go down without a fight…Still, I would prefer if the Kittys were getting double digits…I have to PASS

Boston College @ Maryland(PK):  You mean, all I have to do is pick the winner without laying or taking any points?  This should be a gimme….So,

Take Maryland for $60

BYU @ Domers (-1):  A Battle of the Independents…Domers (JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS!) Nix is out on defense and it moved the line….I wanted to take the domers at home here in this one…but now, I’m really not so sure…Therefore…PASS

Indiana (+35) @ suckeyes:  I saw this spread and realized that the suckeyes will be looking ahead BIG TIME to next week and the playbook will more than likely get pared way down heading into “The Game”.  I also think the Indiana has a bit of a chip on their shoulder and has something to prove.  They don’t want to be anyone’s “Style Points Bitch” this late in the season…

Take IU and the 35 for $75

Wiscy (-16) @ Minnesota:  Wiscy, on the other hand, has been doing nothing but CLOBBERING teams with their running attack and seeing as how Michigan’s last impressive rushing performance happened to be against the Gophers, well, I have a feeling that this spread might not actually be enough in this game….

Take Wiscy and lay the 16 for $100

Oregon (-20) @ Arizona:  The loveable Quack Attack also believes they have a shot at getting back into the NC fray if they can win out…So don’t look for them to have any mercy on the Wildcats…

Take Oregon and lay the 20 for $100

Baylor @ Okie State (+10):  I want to be a Baylor Believer, but this spread is troubling.  Clearly, Okie State is better than it’s record and I frankly still can’t figure out how they lost to WVU…I think with the Big 12 Championship on the line, Okie State loses, but it’s closer than the 10 points the prognosticators are forecasting…

Take Okie State and the 10 for $50

Texas A&M @ LSU(+5):  LSU getting 5 at home against Johnny Football.  Not sure that’s enough as the Tigers have failed to impress me this year. 

Take Texas AM and lay the 5 for $65

Michigan (+6) @ Iowa:  Can you believe that pre-season, Michigan had a “futures” spread against Iowa where they were laying 15 points????  I’m not making that up.  That means that Michigan has more or less played themselves into a 21 point swing in the spread this season against an Iowa team that has proven to be a lot better than they were supposed to be.  And Michigan never plays well at Kinnick…

Take Iowa and lay the 6 for $25

PARLAY!  (6 to 1)

Oregon-Wiscy-Illini for $50

Starting Bank:         $1,144.50

Total Bet:                  $600

BANK:                       $544.50

If You Are a Purple Kitty Fan...What Are You Thinking This Morning?

So, we’re sitting there in the basement (Ashley and I) and my wife and Jenna come home from Costco on Saturday evening and want to know what we’ve done about dinner.   Clearly, they were not listening to the game on the radio on the way home.  However, they yelled downstairs and asked if they could order a pizza.

“The game is almost over. So, sure.”  I heard them turn the TV set on upstairs.

“Oh MY GOD!  They’re losing to Northwestern???”  This was my wife….

“…..Yes…..”  It was a slow response….

We were all (You, too) watching what appeared to be another loss for the 2013 season to a team that appeared to be somewhat inferior to the “Better” Michigan team we have seen in games this year.  However, this wasn’t the “Better” Michigan team, this was the Michigan team that seems to play down to the level of their competition and find ways to lose.  They are not hungry enough to want to win and will themselves to victory…

“Okay, so, can I order a pizza and you can go get it?”  I looked at the time remaining on the clock and the length of the field that had to be covered to even have a shot at kicking the tying field goal.

“Sure.  This thing will be over soon.” 

Then, almost as if the Football Gods had heard that I would need to leave my house in 10 minutes, DG converts on a 4^th down.  Then, there’s another pass that gets them a little closer.  Suddenly, with 18 ticks on the clock, Gardner finds Gallon for a 16 yarder….But they’re still looking at a 44 yard Figgie with less than 12 ticks…and Gallon didn’t get out of bounds…

Wait – they’re letting Dileo hold the ball?  What is this?  Playground Day at Northwestern??  At least Gibby has the wind…but there’s going to be a flag or something…too many men on the field?  It looks like they might have moved on the o-line?  It’s up – OMG!!!!!

“IT’S GOOD!!!   WOOOOOOHHHH!!!”

“What, did they win?”  Again  - from upstairs. 

“No – but they just tied it up!”   There was a few moments of silence.

“Are you going to be able to get the Pizza?” 

 

JEEZ…

“YES…We will go get the Pizza!”  I turned to Ashley.  “You staying or coming?” 

 

"Coming!" 

“Let’s go.”

So, we hopped in the car and wheeled it in record time to the White Lake Inn which is right around the corner from the house, but seemed like an eternity at that moment in time.  I won’t openly say I fractured any speed laws…The seats in front of the TV at the end of the bar were surprisingly open and we grabbed them.  Shawn, a well known bartender to us, recognized us and said the Pizza was ready. 

“Can you put that in the warmer please?” Her reply – “Sure Thing!”

The first OT where touchdowns were exchanged was reminiscent of too many recent games against these Purple Kitties and reminded me a little of PSU.  We got a little caught up in the 2^nd OT with figgies getting exchanged and Ashley said, “Dad, this is reminding me a lot of Penn State.  Why do we have problems in Overtime?”

“I dunno.  But let’s see what happens here.  It’s critical that we at least score something in the 3^rd OT.”  And Gardner must have heard me again as he fought his way into the end zone to score 6.  And then Gardner single handedly tacked on the deuce for Michigan to go up by 8.  We cheered out loud on both scores and some Sparty rabble sitting on the end of the bar made a comment that they had already beaten Michigan.  Shawn spoke up.

“Do you want me to tell them to shut up?”  I shook my head at her.  “No, but tell them if they want my attention they need to buy me a beer.”

Finally, after what seemed like a game within a game, the Purple Kitties once again found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of a certain victory over the Wolverines of Michigan.  I can only imagine in the new alignment that Northwestern will be elated to see that Michigan is not on the schedule. 

Does Saturday’s game change anything with respect to where Michigan is as a team?  Fitz had better get healthy and practice well or he may not have a job…other than that, it’s still the Fred and Barney show and this team still has a lot of work to do….

But they are for sure 1 win closer to a better bowl…for whatever that’s worth.  Oh wait, we know what its worth as there are fans who’s teams still haven’t qualified!  Shall we review the

5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief

PRE –GRIEF:  HOPE!  Suckeyes – move over.  Oregon has now joined you in this category.  The MMQ favorite to beat Bama in the title game, The Stanford Cardinal, have now inexplicably lost two regular season games to teams they should have beat rather handily.  For being smart kids, they don’t get up for the teams they need to get up for.  Meanwhile, a door has cracked open and there is a light that Duck Fans are trying to crawl towards but they still need a lot of help.  Baylor has also joined you as that fan base is hoping and praying for a Seminole – Bama Slip…..As the MMQ, I say, Why not Both?  Wouldn’t that be fun?  And just because I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned them in my blog for being a good Football Team – Duke.  They are hoping to do the impossible….but that should end soon enough.

1.  Denial and Isolation This fan base is getting thinner as most fans have moved down a notch or two in the grief stages this deep into the season.  However, if I had to put someone here, it might be the already mentioned Cardinal.  They have to be in a state of shock thinking that if there was EVER a year they could beat USC, it would be this year with USC in a coaching carousel.  But, Ogeron has the Rubbers playing FOOTBALL….And the Cardinal should have seen this coming…
2. ANGER  - Lots of fans here.  Cornhuskers losing at home in what should have been a manageable game against Sparty.  Wiscy fans bitching about their still low ranking having only two losses but one of them on a botched FG attempt….GATORLAND is back up from bargaining and immediately want a coaching change – any coaching change – to take place before the end of the season due to the fact that the Gators, after being in a BCS last year, look like they will miss a bowl entirely this season.  This is a team that ranks in the top 5 Nationally in recruiting on an annual basis.  So, that just goes to show you what recruiting can mean without execution.  Throw Hurricane Fans into this category after starting undefeated and now losing to….DUKE???
3. Bargaining – Still too many fanbases to call out here, but the Gamecocks might be one that comes to mind.  I think (I need to look it up) that they still have a shot in the SEC East but need somebody to beat MIzzou.  Auburn is ACTUALLY BELIEVING and after the Hail Mary win over Georgia, well, you can BET that they more than believe that they can beat Bama in the Iron Bowl…..Clemson is still down here wondering if anyone can knock off FSU, but they need even more help than that.  Oregon Duck fans are realistically here and know they need miracles to happened for a BCS title appearance….And I’ll throw a couple of Spartys in here just because you never know where they would be ranked had they just found a way to beat the Domers. 
4. Depression –Georgia Bull Dawgs…What a way to lose.  I think you have this one to yourselves…Oh Wait – Let the Hokies join you down here after losing their last shot at Maryland.  And they lost to a B1G team….that can’t sit well with that fanbase….
5. Acceptance – Anyone that usually is flapping their gums at you on Monday early in the season but isn’t anymore……

The BCS Mess

So, not much has changed in the top 5, but Sparty is up there at 13…..Most surprising team?  Auburn….Didn’t see that one coming….

Rank	Team	Record	Rank	Pts	%	Rank	Pts	%	Avg	Avg	Last Week
1.	Alabama	10-0	1	2620	.9981	1	1544	.9961	.980	.9914	1
2.	Florida St.	10-0	2	2517	.9589	2	1487	.9594	.980	.9661	2
3.	Ohio St.	10-0	3	2375	.9048	3	1404	.9058	.850	.8869	3
4.	Baylor	9-0	4	2343	.8926	4	1386	.8942	.870	.8856	5
5.	Oregon	9-1	5	2102	.8008	5	1231	.7942	.780	.7917	6
6.	Auburn	10-1	7	1967	.7493	7	1145	.7387	.870	.7860	7
7.	Clemson	9-1	6	2019	.7691	6	1217	.7852	.750	.7681	8
8.	Missouri	9-1	8	1919	.7310	8	1129	.7284	.710	.7231	9
9.	Stanford	8-2	11	1584	.6034	12	865	.5581	.710	.6238	4
10.	Oklahoma St.	9-1	9	1660	.6324	9	1030	.6645	.470	.5890	12
11.	South Carolina	8-2	12	1459	.5558	11	882	.5690	.640	.5883	10
12.	Texas A&M	8-2	10	1626	.6194	10	928	.5987	.400	.5394	11
13.	Michigan St.	9-1	13	1269	.4834	13	729	.4703	.440	.4646	16

I still stand by the bet and say that one if not both of the teams sitting at 1 and 2 might not be there at the end of the season.  Just sayin’….FSU would appear to be the strongest team out there right now, but the lack of ACC competition is tough to really determine how good they are.  The darkest of the dark horses?  Somehow Oregon makes a leap back up into the fray with a series of disasters by everybody else….That would more than likely result in an Oregon – Auburn National Title if I’m synthesizing everything correctly in my head….That might even happen if Baylor DOESN’T LOSE but would be coupled with a suckeyes, Seminoles and Bama loss….I love Football in November!

Idle Thoughts From Saturday

-Okay, here we go.
-Where’s Fitz?
-Aha….Apparently hurt in practice this week…
-You miss some stuff being in a foreign country…
-I’m not saying the internet doesn’t work…
-Just busy.
-Jeez, this is kind of a boring game.
-The weather must be a lot worse than anyone is saying…
-It appears to be windy.
-I expected these two teams to open up on offense a LOT…
-Kind of like the Michigan-Minnesota game.
-9-3 in the 4^th quarter?  And we’re DOWN? Seriously?
-What has this offense come to?
-OH MY GOD…. a 7 yard punt and they're on the 10 and CAN’T SCORE A TD?????
-What is going on????
-Now they’re going on 4^th  down….And of course don’t get it…
-It’s over…Not a chance…
-But wait, this is Northwestern…
-And last year’s game finished in an OT.
-I guess I’ll wait until the clock reads 0:00.
-Hey….great catch!
-NICE RUN!
-Can Dileo just slide in there and do that? 
-IS THAT ALLOWED?  Can he hold the snap?  Are they MAKING THIS UP?
-Come on Gibby! 
-WOW!  AWESOME!
-Now I have to go get Pizza?????
-Are you kidding me?
-Let’s go - We can watch it there….
-TD and TD….Good.
-Field Goal and we can’t score a TD…DAMN!
-TD and the deuce!  That’s huge!
-Finally…it’s over. 
-Two games left with 7 victories.  Double digit wins still in sight!
-Yeah, I know…Who am I kidding?
-But they HAVE TO PLAY THE GAMES!

The Hot Seat

Miranda Kerr has made it into the finals as Week #11’s winner!  This is getting exciting and I’m looking forward to the finals.  I may actually have to do something different this year as I can’t get everyone into one poll unless the blogger HQ figures out what my problem is.  However, without further ado, and again with a HT to Sports Illustrated, I offer up Week #12 Hot Seat Mascot Nominee:  Nina Agdal!  As the months grow colder, there’s something about looking at an HSM on a nice, warm sunny beach….

 

GONE LIST:  (It’s not the EARLIEST we’ve ever had a gone list….but it’s the earliest “in season” we’ve had a Gone List…)

1.  LANE KIFFIN
2. Paul Pasqualoni
3. Treadwell
4. Carlson – Valpraiso….(I know, not exactly on my radar, either.)

Hot Seat Rank

1. Muschamp – First time on the list, but GATORLAND is getting pissed…Gatorland still not BOWL ELIGIBLE one season after being considered for the BCS Championship….
2. Hazell:  Poor Purdue….what are they gonna do?
3. Weiss:  Can’t believe he’s still there…
4. Mack Brown – You knew he’d be back.
5. Biliema:  Arkansas Nation does not like  a B1G re-tread…
6. Holgorensen:  Moves down a little…but had better find a consistent offense
7. Richt – Out of top 25…..
8. Snyder:  Retiring?
9. Daivd Shaw:  Losing two to teams you shouldn’t lose to…Oh, who am I kidding…This is Stanford….
10. Ogeron – All the guy did was win, but an interim won’t have the USC job…Jack Del Rio interviewed last week…

FMQ Betting Results:

Due to a flight from Germany to Detroit, the FMQ was unable to do anything last week.  However, we are now up against it this week and we might just have to put a little extra on the table depending on what we see setting up.

SPECIAL THANKS:

Check the Hit Counter to the right...While I know it's probably the same 10 of you out there clicking multiple times, the MMQ is about to hit a milestone of sorts with 100,000 blog hits...

I want to thank you all for making it worthwhile!

Husked....And De-Cobbed (Is That a Word?)

I will admit that I had somewhat given up all hope of any chance of a B1G Championship after the display up in East Lansing two weekends ago…But I hadn’t given up hope on a season that could be partially salvaged with 3 victories in the last 4 games.  (I honestly believed that three of the games were winnable - this being one of them.  Not locks, mind you….but Winnable.)  Assuming of course, the right Michigan team shows up.

What I saw Saturday was not only an ugly display of football, it really has me questioning the heart and more to the matter, the integrity of the players that are wearing the Maize and Blue.  I don’t care if you play hard and lose.  That happens.  But what I saw offensively and defensively on Saturday…Well…It was sad.  Dis-illusioning.  And a downright pathetic excuse for Michigan Football. 

I took my oldest daughter to the game (her first this season) and we watched in disbelief as the half time stats showed Michigan with negative rushing yards for the 2^nd week in a row.  I thought - What is happening in this program?  You have to earn yards on the ground and I’m frankly getting a little tired of hearing how “Well Tuesday Practice went” when it clearly doesn’t translate on the field.  I don’t know what to think anymore….And we had to leave the game early as I had another commitment Saturday evening.  I was unusually quiet and my daughter, a freshman in high school, spoke up in the car as we were weaving our way through Ann Arbor. 

“Dad, what would you say to the team at half time?”  Ashley has been in her share of, shall we say, difficult half time meetings….I shook my head.  “I dunno, Ash.  I’m a little too stunned for words right now.”

Ashley sat for a minute.  “Know what I’d say, Dad?”  I looked at her.  “Let’s hear it.”

 “I’d say, ‘Listen up all of you!  When I was out there I saw one team playing something that looked like football and I saw another team running around like chickens with their heads chopped off!  And I think you are smart enough to know which team is which!  So you better get it together and go out there in the 2^nd half and play Michigan Football.  All of you suck right now….Why is that?”

“And then someone from the team might say something to the coach, Dad.  You know, like ‘But the crowd isn’t cheering for us like they always do.  They are all mellow and not pumped up like they usually are.’ (Clearly Ashley hasn’t been in a football locker room at half time…But she was on a roll.)

“And then I’d say:

“Well, let’s think about that for a moment, shall we?  You guys gave up a victory to the evil enemy last weekend!  What’s the crowd going to cheer for the way you’re playing today?  Oh, Yeah!  It’s the Michigan Team who lost 6-29 last week and you look like you’re about to hand us another loss!  You all need to wake up NOW!  A wise man once said nobody is better than the team…The team is the most important thing.  That man came to be known as the greatest football coach ever known (at Michigan – I will correct her and have her study up on Yost – ed.).  Look around you.  This isn’t the team.  Your parents, the fans, the people who made Michigan possible is the Team.  Your ancestors walked on that field and became legendary.  They made Michigan proud!  They are the football Legends of Michigan.  So, if all you boys want to do is take the name Michigan and not care about if you win or lose then you have failed the football legends that have come before you.  If you want to be remembered as Legends, you have to play like Legends.  Live up to your ancestors names.  Redeem yourselves!  Redeem the name of Michigan!  So get your heads out of your‘ – Dad, can I say the A-S-S word?” 

I nodded….

“ASSES and play like you already won, because if you don’t play like you’re Legends, then you shall never become Legends!  Now get out there and redeem yourselves!  Get out there and play the game you were born to play!  REDEEM the name of Michigan!”

I will admit that the road started to get a little blurry as my eyes began welling up.  They say that the apple never falls far from the tree.  While I knew that Ashley had some of my passion, I never realized how much she had gleaned from some of her own athletic experiences and locker room coaching sessions.  I now know that whatever happens to the ole MMQ in the future, I have a feeling that the blog will live on for quite awhile and at some point, when the torch is handed down…well, let’s just say there will be something to read (the Hot Seat Mascot may not look the same, but oh well....).  I asked Ashley to please write down what she said when she got home.  I have what she wrote here in the office and it will go up on my wall as a reminder of passion.  And Youth.  And the fact that you can only become a slappy fan on your own.  It can’t really be taught…

I would have preferred that Ashley HAD given the half time speech as what came out of the locker room in the 2^nd half wasn’t much better than what we saw in the first.  We watched the 4^th quarter at home with the rest of the family.  As the final feeble attempt to get a 1^st down failed, Ashley turned to me and said.

“Dad, it’s okay.  Michigan sucks this year but there’s always next year.”

Ah….Hope.  The one common denominator of every Slappy Fan….

5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief

PRE –GRIEF:  HOPE!  Suckeyes own this category all by themselves…they are DESPERATELY HOPING that someone loses and that someone else doesn’t jump them with SOS’s that are so much better than what the Suckeyes have left on their list……They are hoping and praying and rubbing their collective Suckeye nuts and it will all end ugly for them and they will find themselves down in:

1.  Denial and Isolation LSU Tigers, Oregon Ducks, Oklahoma Sooners, and probably some Domers…..These are teams that sort of played with their competition over the weekend, but really, when it came down to the nitty-gritty, well, let’s just say that none of the three mentioned above are worthy of a BCS Championship game.  LSU was probably the biggest disappointment as Les has never lost a regular season game to Bama by that wide of a margin.  That’s two in a row where Satan has owned him…The Ducks were never in the game on Thursday night against Stanford, even though they valiantly tried to rally.  The Sooners are a team that just isn’t right and there should be a majority of their fans down in the next phase…We will thow Vandy up into this phase as beating the Gators has to feel good and have you believing that better things are coming…but let’s face it…Gatorland is the Michigan of the SEC this year….
2. ANGER  - Yeah, if you’re a Sooner, getting your butt kicked BADLY twice in one season is gonna make you mad…But domers(JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS!) are really down here in force after their team’s debacle in Pittsburgh on Saturday.  Yes, the refs played a big part of that and I’m not sure I like this new “ejection” rule.  Tuit is a very key person on the domer defense and throwing him out of the game is like having the referee decide it right there…Yeah, I love to see the Domers lose…and sometimes I think Karma is alive and well….
3. Bargaining – Wow…Too many fanbases here to name…but you know who you are.  Suckeyes – (You’re NEVER gonna make it into the Championship Game….Either Stanford or the Baylor Bears will leap frog you….) everyone who is sitting in 2^nd place in a major conference or division hoping and praying that someone in front of them screws up.  Clemson, LSU, Huricanes, Sparty (wondering how they lost to the domers and are still blaming the refs on those pass interference calls), just to name a few….There’s also a few delusional Hokies down here that believe that Beamer’s Boys can now do the impossible…Trust Me  - The Canes aren’t that good….And if you get a crack at FSU…Well, we’ll see.
4. Depression –The Michigan Wolverine fanbase is collectively down here at this point…If you are a Wolverine Fan and you’re not depressed…well, I don’t know who you are.  Not only has your team lost two in a row to arch rivals, but you TICKET PSL RENEWAL just arrived in the mail and they are asking for money early.  Believe me when I say that more than a few of those may have found their way into trash cans across the state of Michigan last week…and possibly on Saturday night.  Gatorland, Game Cocks, Trojans, Wolverines, Clemson Tigers, Hurricanes, Gophers, Kansas and Horned Frogs are all down here, too.    
5. Acceptance – NWU, Georgia, Purdue, Gatorland (some), Volunteers, and Hoosiers are figuring it out and learning to cope…..

The BCS Mess

Some shake ups in the rankings as a top 5 team goes down and another top 10 team makes its first “Top 5 Appearance”.

Rank	Team	Record	Rank	Pts	%	Rank	Pts	%	Avg	Avg	Last Week
1.	Alabama	9-0	1	2625	.0000	1	1546	.9974	.990	.9958	1
2.	Florida St.	9-0	2	2514	.9577	2	1485	.9581	.970	.9619	2
3.	Ohio St.	9-0	3	2373	.9040	3	1401	.9039	.870	.8926	4
4.	Stanford	8-1	5	2240	.8533	5	1307	.8432	.910	.8689	5
5.	Baylor	8-0	4	2304	.8777	4	1376	.8877	.820	.8618	6
6.	Oregon	8-1	6	1968	.7497	7	1162	.7497	.800	.7665	3
7.	Auburn	9-1	9	1843	.7021	9	1069	.6897	.770	.7206	9
8.	Clemson	8-1	7	1940	.7390	6	1164	.7510	.670	.7200	7
9.	Missouri	9-1	8	1855	.7067	8	1083	.6987	.730	.7118	8
10.	South Carolina	7-2	12	1417	.5398	12	830	.5355	.600	.5584	12

Now, I’m not much of a gambling man…Okay, who am I trying to kid?  I would be willing to bet right now that one of the top two teams will NOT BE IN THE 1 OR 2 slot by season’s end.  And I’ll lay 100 cool American clams on that if anyone wants to take the bet.  Yes, I’ll say right here and now that Bama or FSU won’t be in the Championship Game.  Can’t say which one, I’m just saying that one of them won’t be.  Anyone want the bet?  Also, not that I CARE all that much at this point, but what is South Carolina doing in the top 10?  This is no a top 10 team, plain and simple.  And believe it or not, as bad as they are, you still have LSU and Georgia with three losses in the top 25…..I guess some of that is sour grapes….But still…..

 Idle Thoughts From Saturday

-There’s a Slappy In The House!

-And It’s a “BIG GAME!”
-I hope we ruin his day…
-And his team doesn’t ruin ours.
-Okay, Back In the Big House!
-This should go better today. 
-Husker defense sucks this year.
-What are we doing?
-God…We cannot rush the ball, period.
-Why are we even trying?
-I get that you need a running game….
-This is pathetic.
-Where’s the defense?
-Nebraska isn’t that good on offense, either…
-We’re making them look like heroes…
-WHAT ARE WE DOING????
-Jeeeez….Can someone block SOMEBODY?
-Overheard in the stadium:
-“Are we any better off after three years of Hoke than we were with Rich Rod?”
-Are our memories REALLY that short?
-I mean…Yeah, I get that the Hoke experiment doesn’t look good right now…
-But the Rich Rod experiment…Well, I guess there was offense.
-Except for when there wasn’t.
-Which wasn’t often and we always seemed to find a way to move the ball…
-Can it be that I’m torn?
-I mean, I hated Rich Rod Football at the end…
-Not the guy himself, just what he put on the field.
-Oh man….Where to from here?
-I’ve been asking that question a lot lately…
-This team has regressed worse than any team I can remember at Michigan
-And I remember a lot of them….
-Even the ugly Rich Rod ones….
-So, where to from here???

The Hot Seat

Hillary Rhoda easily took Week #10 and while some other Mascots got some votes, Hillary will be in the finals.  And still no word from the blog master as to what happened to be being able to add more than 4 options on a Poll.  I will figure something out so don’t worry.  In the meantime, the Hot Seat Mascot for Week #11 is a Victoria Secret model that I happened to stumble on when I saw a blurb in the USA Today that her and hubby Orlando Bloom are splitting…and I figured, “Hey, she’s Hot Seat Mascot Worthy!”  Miranda Kerr!

 

GONE LIST:  (It’s not the EARLIEST we’ve ever had a gone list….but it’s the earliest “in season” we’ve had a Gone List…)

1.  LANE KIFFIN
2. Paul Pasqualoni
3. Treadwell
4. Carlson – Valpraiso….(I know, not exactly on my radar, either.)

Hot Seat Rank

1. Hazell:  Poor Purdue….what are they gonna do?
2. Weiss:  Can’t believe he’s still there…
3. Muschamp – First time on the list, but GATORLAND is getting pissed…Gatorland still not BOWL ELIGIBLE one season after being considered for the BCS Championship….
4. Snyder:  Retiring?
5. Biliema:  Arkansas Nation does not like  a B1G re-tread…
6. The Hatter – you can’t get blown out by Bama…You can lose…but you can’t get blown out.
7. Holgorensen:  Moves down a little…but had better find a consistent offense
8. Mullens – Mississippi State…gotta be getting warmer…
9. DABO:  no chance at national title….
10. Richt – Wow…Again, injuries are tough….

FMQ Betting Results:

 

Ugh….What a week.  Sometimes when the points get you, you suddenly want to take every big spread out there.  Then, when the teams cover, all you want to do is take the powerhouses…Again, it was a mixed bag and we are going to be struggling at the end to double up.  We may have to get bold here on someone and just make a big bet.  Even though I hate to do that….

Domers @ Pitt (+4):  Take Pitt and the 4 for $50…Sometimes its like taking candy from a baby…Pitt getting points at home should have been a bigger chunk of change…still, I’’ll take it as it’s the only game I got right this week….

WIN!  BANK:  $95

LSU (+13) @ Bama:  Take LSU and the 13 for $50…OOOOOOPS!  I had said this was a tricky game and I almost didn’t touch it.  But with the Hatter getting so many points….

LOSE

Va Tech @ Miami (-7):  Take Miami and lay the 7 for $40…So, while I was thinking Beamer would lay down, I guess I should have reversed my thinking between the Hatter and Beamer…Who knew?

LOSE

FSU @ WF (+35):  Take WF and the 35 for $40  You know what’s sad here?  I had circled FSU to cover and then AT THE LAST MINUTE!!!!!!!  I changed my mind and took Wake Forest to cover at home in bad weather….

LOSE

Huskers @ Michigan (-7):  Take Michigan and lay the 7 for $50.  I hate it when every pick I made should have gone the other way….Hence is why we toned it down this week.  I guess I had a bad feeling…..

LOSE

Starting BANK:       $1,049.50

TOTAL WIN:            $95

BANK:                       $1,144.50