Weekend Card (Oct 27th-29th)

Irish

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UCLA (7.5) over Stan
ucla has looked solid of late as has stanford. But the passing of Olsen should be too much for the Stanford defense. UCLA averages 44 points per game while stanford allows big plays in the passing attack. Running back Kimble was hurt last week and that will hurt the effectiveness of the card offense. Also this the stanford offense might have blown their load last week against ariz st. Drew has come on of late and Jones-Drew is a monster. But the TE for the bruins can get open on these stanford lb's. As much as Stanford will want to be ready for this game, having USC next might raise some interest from stan players. UCLA is not a very good road team but they should have enough offense to run past stanford. The winning streak for stanford does one thing... gets UCLA to focus on them. Stanford has generated turnovers, UCLA needs to value the ball. Solid offensive battle but UCLA has too much offense and a decent enough defense to get some stops.

Cheers
Irish
 
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Dice34

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D.O.C.
I agree...UCLA run defense is the weak link but Stanford can't run the ball. Their RB's averaged less than 2 yds per attempt against AZ. St and like you said Kimble got hurt and didnt play in the 2nd half, when he left he only had 6 car for 12 yds.

Stanford pass D also ranks 110th in the nation allowing almost 280 yds a game and Drew Olsen is avg. 270 and 3tds a game, a matchup that heavily favors UCLA. Add in Maurice Drew's play making ability on O and Special teams and I see alot of value in the play.

Good luck
 

Irish

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Penn St (-15.5) over Purdue
Again I will ride the team playing Purdue because as I have said all season they are given too much credit. The make poor mistakes with the ball and might have a pack it in mentality for this game. More than likely a college football team will try and play spoiler in this role in happy valley. Penn St plays very well at home and their defense should make it very difficult for sophomore Curtis Painter (1 TD, 3 INT) who will get the start for the boilermakers. Not good for Purdue to hand over the offense to a sophomore against this defense. This is also bad because Koy Sheets (this sticks in a RB's head) has been fumbling of late and takes no pressure of the QB with a running game. The Penn St defense should be licking their chops to see this team. The #2 defense in the big ten and the 16th overall should look to force turnovers and stop the run all day. The lions allow 299 yards per game and they should be able to shut down the passing game for Purdue all together. Looks like Joe Pa has found his offense, they have the speed and talent to make plays and now playing with extreme confidence the Lions should beat up on the Purdue secondary. Not only do the Boilermakers fail to generate a pass rush but they have poor cover corners that lack a lot of speed. They are LAST in the nation against the pass and the speed on Penn St should blow by the corners unless they play a very deep cover package which opens the field up for the running game and Hunt (a back that has exceeded expectations 6.4 yards per carry). I also like that when Purdue throws an interception they can be scored on, Wisky took two back for TD?s last week. This shows a lack of heart for this team and it might be exploited again given the chance. The LB?s for Penn St are quick, mean and smart and they should have big games on Saturday. All of this and the home field advantage which has increased as Penn St gets better makes this a play. Too much offense against a poor defense, tough nosed defense against a young QB and a fumbling back, and a rocking happy valley. Even though it is a lot of chalk Penn St should jump on top as long as they are not looking at the badgers.


Cheers
Irish
 
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Irish

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VT (-13.5) over BC
I really liked BC in this match-up, coming off a bye with a great O-line and the ability to score but then again this is Blacksburg. The VT team plays like a monster at home and they feed off the energy of the crowd which is ALL in favor of VT. Turn overs were the name of the game against Maryland but that should be corrected and something that was good to get out of the way against the terps. Love the running and passing ability of Vick and think the O-line for VT is pretty solid. BC is 7th nationally in total defense giving up only 272 yards per game and only 77 rushing yards. Big problem for the Eagle defense in injuries especially on the defensive front. Kiwanuka practice for the first time this Monday and he is still a game time decision, even if he plays I?m not sure how effective he will be, a redshirt Freshman backs him up. Also Washington/ DT and Williams/ CB are banged up. They have practiced but they are not 100%. Making Brian Toal the anchor on defense and the tough yard getter on offense. BC is 3rd in the ACC in 3rd down conversion so they can keep a drive going. This will be tough against one of the best defenses in NCAA. The hokie defense allow 102 yards rushing per contest but they limit the amount of big plays teams make. Bigger problem is the QB situation for BC, Porter is banged up and people are calling for Ryan. Both are solid QB?s but Blacksburg is not the place to have your QB second guessing, that will lead to poor decisions and possible turnovers. Then there is the edge in special teams which also goes to the hokies, not only can they block a FG or punt for a big play but they have the ability to take it the distance on every return. Again on national TV at Home the hokies come out fired up and should jump all over the Eagles. This contest is normally a high scoring affair, averaged over 60 in the last 5 meeting. Still if the hokies do not start slow and force Porter/Ryan into throwing the ball, the defensive line should get to him and he will be throwing quicker than LB?s and safeties will jump the routes. VT normally gets burned when they try to make a play on the ball not the man and in most cases they get to the ball. Imoh had a poor game last week look for him to turn that around as well. The hokies have outscored opponents 137-21 at home. Also a little revenge for VT as the last time BC came into Blacksburg they beat VT 34-27.

Cheers
Irish
 

Irish

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Smaller play
Mich St (-18.5) over Indiana
At home off an embarrassment to N?western the Spartans should be all over the Hoosiers. The Spartans can take advantage of the Indiana defense and as long as Stanton does think to highly of his arm and force throws he should find open receivers. Indiana lost by 31 to Ohio St at home now they go into Mich st and get a very unhappy Spartan team, not the best place to be. Away this year Indiana lost to Iowa by 17 and Wisconsin by 17. Both of those games the opponents had big games coming up and might have been looking past Indiana, unfortunately the Spartans should be locked in on them. This game is also HUGE considering the Spartans have 3 big ten loses in a row. Small play because of the amount of chalk but I still think they come out strong and pour it on once it gets started. The key for Mich St is to come out swinging and swinging hard, get Indiana down and keep them down.

Cheers
Irish
 

Irish

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Neb (-1.5) over Okla
Bad blood between these two team. Okla tried to run it up on Neb last year and I'm sure that is fresh in the huskers minds. Okla coming off an emotional win against baylor last week goes into a very hostile arena against a strong defense. The huskers should be undefeated but they let TT slip by in the closing mins. The huskers have to key on peterson, they shut him down, they shut Okla down. Okla is 1 out of 3 on the road. The nebraska defense leads the nation in sacks with 38, the should get to Bomar. Injuries are hitting the sooners and hindered this team. The huskers defense, the crowd, bad blood, and a poor Okla team means Nebraska should take this game. Expect Callahan (I hate him) to pull out everything because he can't stand Oklahoma.

Cheers
Irish
 

Shibby

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I see lots of folks on Neb. The only real advantage I see is home field. Other than that, it's a pretty even matchup. See it going either way.

Do you like any dogs this week?
 

ScreaminPain

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You've convinced me, Irish.

Being a UCLA alum, I don't bet on any of their games due to the bias. But this week is another story.

UCLA leads Stanford in every important offensive category. Stanford does possess an impressive set of stats against the run, allowing a measly 3.9 yds/att.. Olsen will loosen up that defensive line pretty quickly and I think UCLA wins this one going away. My line shows UCLA by 16.

This will be my 1st bet on the Bruins this year...Good Luck to us!
 
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Irish

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Colorado St (+6) over N. Mexico
The running Lobos at home take on the Rams that IMO have a bit of a swagger right now. Yes they lost to BYU by 10 but they have beaten some of the bigger players in their division AF, Utah and Wyoming. The have found a running game with Kyle Bell and they have a solid QB in Justin Holland that when given time has an NFL type arm, it doesn?t hurt that they have some good receivers either. The Rams average 305 through the air per game. This is VERY bad news for N. Mexico because they give up 239 through the air per contest. Plus they have a poor D-line that generates next to no pass rush. It will be up to the Rams to out score the Lobos because they can?t stop them. In the last 3 games between these teams D. Moore has rushed for 577 yards. The Rams allow a terrible 198 yards per game rushing. The Lobos rush the ball for 211 yards per but they have a problem holding on to the ball and have coughed it up on too many occasions. A ton of injuries for the Rams on defense also make stopping N. Mexico very difficult. Baskett is the only reliable deep threat the Lobos have and he will need to be covered more than likely with safety help. Kole McKamey has turned into a very good QB running or throwing. The Rams have lost 5 in a row away from home stadium. It should be a shoot out and looking for both teams to generate points but the Rams have the talent to keep it close, if not sneak away with a win. Too many injuries to the front seven of Colorado st to think they hold the Lobos but the offense has to make plays and keep them in the game.

Cheers
Irish
 
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