Look for Kendricks to be on the recieving end of Scott Tolzien's arm a lot today.

Big day of college football coming up. T&C went 1-1 on Thursday, here’s a good one for the weekend…

The lines:
Wisconsin -4 @ Michigan
O/U 67.5
The Pick : Wisconsin -4
This is a tough game for me because my hatred of both of these teams is equally high.

Once again, there has got to be an explanation for Michigan’s opponent not being favored by more points, which for UM it usually means there is just flat out more public money on them. Vegas is begging me to take the Badgers.

Wisconsin is having a solid year with wins over Iowa and Ohio State (don’t forget – I’M TALKING TO YOU VOTERS – UW got thrashed by Michigan State earlier this season). The Badgers running attack has developed over the season, led by John Clay, James White and Monte Ball, and is arguably the most potent ground attack in the country.

I feel like we’ve gone over this several times this year: Michigan is bad. Their second consecutive September Heisman winner can’t make it through a whole game, their defense is pitiful (at best), they struggle on special teams and their coaching staff is delightfully incompetent.

Michigan’s biggest shortcoming is in their secondary and I full expect Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien to take advantage of it. Look for huge days from TE Lance Kendricks and WR Nick Toon.

Sorry Wolverine fans, this Badger team just hung 80+ on an Indiana team that has a better defense than yours. Also, I don’t think Wisconsin has forgotten the 2008 loss to Michigan – they’ll be out for revenge today. Ann Arbor is probably feeling happy-go-lucky after back to back wins over Big Ten bottom dwellers. This is going to get ugly in Michigan Stadium today. Take Wisconsin and give up the 4.

Thursday Pick: Three Games?

Once again apologies as real work keeps getting in the way of blogging and watching college football. Things should lighten up around the holidays so T&C can look at the bowl games. Three games on TV tonight!

The lines:
Air Force -19.5 @ UNLV
ML is OFF
O/U 56.5
The Pick : Air Force -19.5

Air Force has made a habit of putting up big offensive numbers on bad teams this year – and UNLV is a bad team. AF is doing fine on the road this season and I don’t think it’s going to be a problem to open things up against the Runnin’ Rebels. I would be concerned about a visiting team coming into Vegas for a Thursday night game but I don’t think the Falcons will be distracted. Give up the 19.5 – Air Force by three TDs.

The lines:
UCLA +2 @ Washington
UCLA +110/UW -130
O/U 53
The Pick : Washington -2

So you’re telling me I can pick against UCLA and only give up 2? I’ll take Jake Locker at home.

Georgia State @ Alabama

Also of note, Alabama plays host to Georgia State. Nice I-AA sacrifice for the Crimson Tide. I’m sure Georgia State will get a nice payday traveling to Tuscaloosa in their inaugural season.

Pick of the Week 11/13: Oregon @ Cal

Darron Thomas leads the Ducks into Berkley

An ugly – and uncharacteristic – Thursday Night loss for T&C. On to the weekend…

The lines:
Oregon -20 @ Cal
ML is OFF
O/U 56.5
The Pick : Over 56.5

This is one of those that I feel so right about that I must be wrong. Someone explain to me: what makes Vegas think that Cal will hold Oregon alone under 56 points?

Thursday Pick: Pitt @ Connecticut

Greg Romeus could return to the Panther lineup tonight.

The lines:
Pitt -5.5 @ UConn
Pitt -270/UConn +190
O/U 46.5
The Pick : Pitt -5.5

Pitt is the Big East’s last remaining chance at a (semi) respectable BCS team this year. As it has been noted all season, the Big East is a weak conference in a down year – the conference champ will likely get thrashed in their bowl game this season.

The great news for Pitt in this game is that the reigning defensive player of the year in the Big East, Greg Romeus, might return to give the defense a lift. Though, Pitt’s DL has been solid with out him, led by Jaabal Sheard, the Panthers are on a three game win streak surrendering an average of only 12 points in each game.

The Huskies come into the game at 4-4 and have struggled in conference, despite knocking off West Virginia at home last Friday. The thing that stands out most when looking at UConn’s team is the offense has been slowed this year by the shuffling of several QBs through the starting role.

I like Pitt here because they haven’t played a game in 13 days, and that means the Panthers’ speedy running back Dion Lewis has had plenty of time to rest some injuries he has been battling all season. Covering the 5.5 won’t be an issue for the Panthers – they should win by a few scores. Take Pitt on the road.

Working for the Weekend v2.0

In the words of Keith Jackson, "Woah, Nelly!"

What a week in college football! Per usual, after another win on Thursday, we got our weekend pick(s) all wrong. Fear not, we’ll be looking for a big recovery this weekend. T&C can relax this weekend because MSU has a bye week… just relax and watch some football. On to our weekend preview:

T&C Talks BCS (Part I)

I am not a huge fan of BCS debates. It has some bright spots and it has some pitfalls, but I don’t think anyone is purposely screwing anyone else. What I would accuse some of the bowl folks of is holding too tightly to tradition.

I’ve always thought that the purpose of a college football season isn’t necessarily to crown a national champion, but at the same time I agree a playoff system over the current BCS would be lucrative and compelling for fans. In my mind, the playoffs in college football start in late August – lose one and you’re out. If a team goes undefeated and is favored by 25 points in their toughest conference game, sorry that doesn’t cut it.

Pick of the Week 11/6: Two Pack

Nathan Scheelhasse has a QB rating of128.5

We improved to 5-1 on Thursday night games for the season yesterday – making us 10-5-1 for the season. We’ve got two picks for the weekend…

The lines:
Illinois +3 @ Michigan
Ill. +130/Mich. -150
O/U 57.5
The Pick : Illinois +130

So let’s look at Michigan’s run of Big Ten games this season:

-3 against MSU

+3 against Iowa

-3 against PSU

And now we’re looking at -3 against Illinois. If you look at the team’s track records this season, it is an easy game to call – and there isn’t much point analyzing it. Illinois has three losses to teams in the top 15: Missouri, Michigan State and Ohio State, plus they went on the road and crushed Penn State. They have proven to have a solid defense and a serviceable offense with a few big play threats. The Wolverines have a not-so-durable Denard Robinson and a terrible defense.

This is purely a case of Vegas trying to get even money on each side of the coin and there are still way to many Michigan faithful putting money on the Wolverines. Use your head and take the Illini to win straight up.

The lines:
Oklahoma -3 @ Texas A&M
Okla. -150/TAMU +130
O/U 61
The Pick : Oklahoma -3

Texas A&M got off to a rough start in their Big XII season schedule going 0-3. Since then, the Aggies have rebounded and beat up on Kansas and Texas Tech. Oklahoma has had an outstanding season with only one loss coming against Missouri on the road. The Sooners have a solid defense and a great offense, led by QB Landry Jones, WR Ryan Broyles and RB DeMarco Murray.

My biggest concern in this game is Texas A&M’s quarterback situation. Starter Jerrod Johnson had a lot of hype coming into this season, but he is now splitting time with backup Ryan Tannehill. This week when reporters asked the pair of QBs if they knew Mike Sherman’s plan for this game, they both indicated they had no clue.

College Station is one of the toughest stadiums in the country to play in, and this weekend the 12th Man should give the Aggies a huge advantage. Unfortunately, with A&M’s quarterback issues, I don’t think they have the talent to keep up with Oklahoma this year and Stoops is going to once again undo Sherman (who I’ve said before is not the right fit for Texas A&M). My pick is Oklahoma -3.