YA I DID TOO JAMES FRANCO.

Instead this dang hurricane is out here wreckin’ our football! Brilliant, CTE-free, football scientist Danny Kanell had the great idea of not canceling the football games until everyone has traveled to the place where the hurricane is supposed to hit:

https://twitter.com/dannykanell/status/1039556455353987073

It may be news to Danny, but the goal of hurricane evacuation is to get out of the way of the hurricane. Maybe at Florida State, Kanell should have got out of the way of a few more Miami Hurricanes then he would be able to see this clearly. But I will go easy on him since Florida State and the ACC are a dumpster fire.

In all seriousness, stay safe East Coast.

Now moving onto the football that isn’t cancelled, we have our rundown of the week!

The Run Down (All Times EST)

Thursday Happy Hour Game

Boston College (-5.5) at Wake Forest, 5:30 ESPN

Yes, you read that right. A 5:30 game. Boston College goes from playing Holy Cross to traveling to play the Demon Deacons. Heisman hopeful AJ Dillon should run wild against a Wake Forest team that barely escaped the Green Wave in New Orleans. No, I’m not talking about a sea of Dos Equis, I’m talking about the Tulane Green Wave.

Gambling Advice: Take Boston College, they’ll win by double digits.

Saturday Morning Hangover Games

#5 Oklahoma (-17) at Iowa State, Noon ABC

REVENGE GAME!! Last year Iowa State went to Norman and pulled off the upset. This year Oklahoma has been killing everybody. Sure they haven’t had much competition with UCLA and FAU, but their offense looks legit. Iowa State on the other hand scored 3 points against Iowa last week and have a hurt quarterback.

Gambling Advice: OU smokes them. Take Oklahoma.

Florida State (-3) at Syracuse, Noon ESPN

Just how far are the Seminoles going to fall. The Willie Taggart era hasn’t started smoothly with a blowout loss to Virginia Tech and close game against Samford. We will see if Florida State can turn it around in the Carrier Dome.

Gambling Advice: Stay away. Florida State is unpredictable right now which is never good for betting.

6-Pack Down Afternoon Games

Vanderbilt at #8 Notre Dame (-14), 2:30 NBC

It’s always nice seeing a SEC team go into South Bend, even if Vanderbilt doesn’t exactly scream SEC atmosphere. Notre Dame is coming off a not impressive 8-point win against Ball State. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt actually has been playing some decent football against weaker opponents.

Gambling Advice: Take Vanderbilt and the 14 points. They may not win, but they’ll cover. Vanderbilt has a decent defense and Notre Dame’s offense has only averaged 24 points a game. Might as well take the Under 52 points while you’re at it.

#12 LSU at #7 Auburn (-9.5), 3:30 CBS

Best game of the week. SEC Football. Top 15 Matchup. This is what fall is all about. Both of these teams have had impressive non-conference wins, but Saturday will show which one is the real threat to Alabama in the SEC West.

Gambling Advice: I don’t get the 9.5-point spread. I think it is going to be a close game and I’m not confident who is going to win. But give me LSU and the points.

#17 Boise State at #24 Oklahoma State (-2.5), 3:30 ESPN

The best group of five team with a legitimate power five matchup. Nobody is talking about how good this Boise State team is. They have a legitimate quarterback in Brett Rypien and a very good defense. Oklahoma State’s quarterback, Taylor Cornelius, on the other hand hasn’t played as well. Think Boise State is the better team and comes out with a win in Stillwater. Cowboys fans will need a few Payne County Painkillers at Copper Penny (You Shotgun a Red Bull with Alcohol in it… so I’ve heard).

Gambling Advice: Boise State +2.5 and take the over 62.5.

Houston (-1) at Texas Tech, 4:15 FOX

Red Raiders and Cougars in Lubbock. Tech students will be glad it’s not a 11am kickoff, but it could be the last non-conference game for Kliff Kingsbury. Especially with a 1-2 start before Big 12 play even starts. Houston blew out an unimpressive Arizona team and I think they win a close one against Texas Tech.

Gambling Advice: Bet Houston.

Whiskey Night Games

#1 Alabama (-21) at Ole Miss, 7:00 ESPN

The Rebels have offense, but absolutely no defense. Tua may accidentally throw for 500 yards. The Alabama secondary will be tested, but Bama hasn’t gave up at least 30 points since Deshaun Watson in the 2016 National Championship. Ole Miss will keep it closer than last year when they lost 66-3, but Alabama still wins big. At least the Rebels still have the Grove. And a $75 cover at the Library.

Gambling Advice: Alabama, Alabama, Alabama

#4 Ohio State (-12.5) vs. #15 TCU, 8:00 ABC (Arlington)

The first test for Ohio State. Dwayne Haskins and the Buckeye’s offense has looked elite against mediocre competition. TCU’s defense will be a little bit more of a test. The TCU offense isn’t bad also as they’ve scored 40+ points against non-FBS competition. This is going to be new QB Shawn Robinson’s first test.

Gambling Advice: Ohio State wins by two touchdowns and the Over 60 points hits

#22 USC at Texas (-3), 8:00 FOX

Honestly both of these teams aren’t very good. They’re big name College Football programs that have very little offense. USC scored just 3 points against Stanford and Texas hasn’t scored more than 30 points all season. Texas could only beat Tulsa by seven points. I guess enjoy 6th street because both of these teams are extremely average this year.

Gambling Advice: Take USC +3

One-Eye Open Game

#10 Washington (-6.5) at Utah, 10:00 ESPN

Have to stay up for this one because it could be a Pac-12 After Dark upset. Top ten team traveling to play a late night game in Utah sounds like an upset recipe to me.

Gambling Advice: Stay Away, unless you need some entertainment. Then I’d go Utah and the points

Top 10 Bets of the Week

1. LSU (+9.5) at Auburn
2. Missouri (-7) at Purdue– Purdue is not very good and Missouri can score some points. Mizzou by double digits.
3. USC (+3) at Texas
4. Alabama (-21) at Ole Miss
5. Boise State (+2.5) at Oklahoma State
6. Ohio State vs. TCU (Over 60)
7. Georgia Southern at Clemson (Over 44.5)– This line confuses me. Georgia Southern has scored 30+ the past two weeks and Clemson could score 45 points by themselves. I’d watch the weather though.
8. Boston College (-5.5) at Wake Forest
9. Houston (-1) at Texas Tech
10. Vanderbilt (+14) at Notre Dame

Bonus Picks

1. Vanderbilt at Notre Dame (Under 52)
2. Boise State at Oklahoma State (Over 62.5)
3. BYU (+21) at Wisconsin– Wisconsin hasn’t covered the last two weeks. BYU isn’t a bad team and Wisconsin struggles blowing these teams out.
4. Rutgers (+3) at Kansas– I get it. Kansas won last week. But they’re still Kansas and I don’t think they can beat Rutgers.

 

Rant of the Week

Why is fumbling out of the end zone a touchback? Down 28-20 with 2:13 left, Quartney Davis for Texas A&M made a move for the pylon and fumbled. It looked like the ball went to the left of the pylon, but replay didn’t have a good enough angle to overturn it. Clemson’s ball.

But my question is why should Clemson get the ball. They never recovered the fumble and the possession was last with Texas A&M. It remains one of the dumbest “it is what it is” rules in not only College Football, but in every level of football. There is no reason for Clemson in this case to get the ball. How fumbling at the one-yard line somehow turns into the other team’s ball at the twenty is mind-boggling.

Let’s say they did change the rule. Wouldn’t that make football more exciting? It would mean more diving for the pylon and not worrying about losing the ball out of bounds. Changing the rule makes sense and would add more excitement to the game.