"Every submission will be correct in week nine." -Mike Gundy's mullet
After coming out victorious for six straight weeks, we took it on the chin a bit during college football's eighth week. It's only our second down weekend of the season, so we are 100 percent certain that a nice little rebound is coming.
We had 11 picks on the books last weekend and ended up going 4-7.
What went wrong?
Let's start in the Big Ten with the Michigan and Penn State game. We missed on the Wolverines (+9.5) and under 44.5 points. Jim Harbaugh's offense is bad, but it was still rather surprising that the Nittany Lions put up 40+ on their own. Saquon Barkley looked like some sort of super-rare unicorn and Michigan had no answer for that particular species.
We also felt good about USC (+4) against Notre Dame. Things did not go as planned in South Bend and the Irish may actually be a legitimate contender this year. Elsewhere, we had Tennessee covering against Alabama. That did not happen, which was perhaps the least surprising thing of the weekend.
I'd like to issue a special shoutout to Kentucky and Mississippi State. We had the Bulldogs covering (-11) and under 54.5. Mississippi State ended up winning by a score of 45-7, so that was a double score for us. LSU (-7) over Ole Miss and Baylor (+9.5) against West Virginia were the other winning submissions.
Weekly reminder:
- No analysis is involved as we are just making the opposite picks. None of this actually reflects our gambling thoughts, opinions, or insight.
- For now we are sticking with $10 on each line. Please note that the lines do move throughout the week.
- Ohio State won't be included on our end.
Clay's Week Nine Picks:
Here are @outkick's gambling picks for the week. We're going 11-0! https://t.co/6EPAe8TJMh
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 25, 2017
11W Week Nine Picks:
Florida State (-3.5) @ Boston College
Michigan (-23.5) vs. Rutgers
Oklahoma State (-7.5) @ West Virginia
Kansas (+24.5) vs. Kansas State
USC (-3) @ Arizona State
Duke (+15.5) @ Virginia Tech
Florida (+14) vs. Georgia
Western Kentucky (+7) vs. FAU
Kentucky vs. Tennessee, OVER 46.5
South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt, OVER 44.5
Where things stand:
- Initial Funds: $500
- Previous Week: –$33.64
- Current Funds: $486.96
- Pending Bets: 10
- Pending Funds: $100
Going against the Travis grain has us as road warriors yet again this week, and I'm not really feeling it with some of these picks.
A few months ago, many people had Florida State in their playoff projections. Fast forward to late October and the Seminoles are just a really bad football team. Losing a starting quarterback never helps, but Jimbo Fisher has some big problems right now. The Noles could lose their fifth game of the season on the road at Boston College, but we've got them winning by more than a field goal. Maybe the talent wins out this weekend, but I'm not a fan of rolling with FSU at the moment.
The Trojans hit the road to take on the Sun Devils, and this is the same Arizona State squad that handed Washington its first loss when the Huskies ventured to Tempe. USC is coming off an awful performance against Notre Dame, but much like Florida State, they are clearly the more talented team. I can see USC covering here, but again I don't like siding with the road team.
Oklahoma State is probably the road team that I feel the best about. Morgantown is a tough place to play, but I've got the Cowboys staying undefeated. 7.5 points is a pretty hefty spread in what should be a shootout, but this one gives me a little bit of confidence
Speaking of hefty spreads, Michigan (-23.5) against Rutgers is another one I am okay with. I think the Wolverines can bounce back after last week's disaster in Happy Valley. Elsewhere, Georgia is a lot better than Florida, but the game is in Gainesville at a neutral site so perhaps the Gators can stay within a couple touchdowns.
Tennessee and Kentucky are two of the easiest teams to root against. 90 percent of the Volunteer fanbase is currently on Twitter discussing Jon Gruden's new mansion in Knoxville, and the Wildcat faithful seems to have this false belief that they are relevant in something other than basketball. I don't care who wins this game – though I do enjoy the flames that are engulfing Butch Jones' throne and the rampant #Grumors – but let's hope for some points.
Looks like we are bouncing back with a perfect, undefeated 10-0 weekend. #GetRich
