That was a near-perfect confluence for the Sooners. Not only were they playing about flawless football on both sides of the ball but they also caught every break during the game -- if a ball hit the ground it was bouncing right toward a player in an Oklahoma uniform -- the other team was hyped to the point of jitteriness and the opposing coach got into panic mode early in the contest. Games like that don't come along very often, and it's rarer still to see two in a row.
Yeah, Leach was definitely in the panic mode...Those onsides kicks they tried were just ridiculous. They gave OU two easy scores just on bad coaching decisions alone. And then going for it on 4th down early on from their own 45 isn't a good idea either. Especially since it didn't work. Make that 3 gifts they gave the Sooners. OU is neither as good as the score indicated nor is Texas Tech as bad...All I can say is I wouldn't want to be Baylor this weekend.
I took Tech -20 last night. Now that the pressure is off they can go back to putting up gaudy numbers and steamrolling lesser opponents in front of their crazed home crowd.
If I like what I read in the Lubbock paper during the week, and if the line doesn't climb too high, I may up my bet on that one.
Laying the number
does anyone remember lsu-11 vs. arkansas or wv-27 vs. pitt last year or usc -12 vs. ucla in 2006. all these teams had to do was win and go to the bcs and they all lost outright. (lsu did backdoor it thanks to wv and mo. losing)
big spreads and a lot of nervousness on young men do strange things. you also have weaker teams using this as their bowl game.
hey, it could be texas 77-0 but stranger things have happened in the other direction.
does anyone remember lsu-11 vs. arkansas or wv-27 vs. pitt last year or usc -12 vs. ucla in 2006. all these teams had to do was win and go to the bcs and they all lost outright. (lsu did backdoor it thanks to wv and mo. losing)
big spreads and a lot of nervousness on young men do strange things. you also have weaker teams using this as their bowl game.
hey, it could be texas 77-0 but stranger things have happened in the other direction.
Texas Tech (-20) over Baylor ***
Unless everybody has short memories of their games before the OU fiasco in Norman, I think we all know that unless you have a great defensive line and can get to Harrell, he's going to eat you alive in the passing game..And Baylor has shown that they don't have the defensive line to compete with the Big 4 from the South Division. Even a tired Texas team with a hangover from playing 4 top ten teams in a row was able to beat Baylor by 24 points..OU beat them by 32 points in Waco. And OSU beat them by 32 points in Stillwater after Gundy said that the Pokes played their worst offensive game of the year..I think you get the picture..Baylor is an improved team. But not THAT improved. And they basically haven't been very productive on offense when playing on the road in the Big 12. Texas Tech still has alot to play for. If OU loses to OSU Saturday night, then Tech goes to the Big 12 Championship game, and a possible slot in a BCS bowl for the first time in the school's history. But just as importantly, they need to come back with an impressive win here to show the bowl representatives that they would be a very good candidate for a good bowl. Prefably a New Years Day bowl like maybe the Cotton. So the Raiders really can't afford to let up here. And they'll be wanting to send their seniors out on a good note after that beatdown to OU...I think it's going to be Tech big here in a 56-21 type of game.
Unless everybody has short memories of their games before the OU fiasco in Norman, I think we all know that unless you have a great defensive line and can get to Harrell, he's going to eat you alive in the passing game..And Baylor has shown that they don't have the defensive line to compete with the Big 4 from the South Division. Even a tired Texas team with a hangover from playing 4 top ten teams in a row was able to beat Baylor by 24 points..OU beat them by 32 points in Waco. And OSU beat them by 32 points in Stillwater after Gundy said that the Pokes played their worst offensive game of the year..I think you get the picture..Baylor is an improved team. But not THAT improved. And they basically haven't been very productive on offense when playing on the road in the Big 12. Texas Tech still has alot to play for. If OU loses to OSU Saturday night, then Tech goes to the Big 12 Championship game, and a possible slot in a BCS bowl for the first time in the school's history. But just as importantly, they need to come back with an impressive win here to show the bowl representatives that they would be a very good candidate for a good bowl. Prefably a New Years Day bowl like maybe the Cotton. So the Raiders really can't afford to let up here. And they'll be wanting to send their seniors out on a good note after that beatdown to OU...I think it's going to be Tech big here in a 56-21 type of game.
This is EXACTLY why GS is far from nuts. GS, to begin with, I thoroughly enjoyed your flashbacks to college and the old bowl game/ New Year's day memories. God those were fun days. I absolutely hate how no bowls matter anymore....not even the other BCS bowls. It truly stinks. Because I gamble on every single bowl, I'll watch every single bowl, but I totally agree with you on your assessment of our situation in college football.
Now onto your two selections; I couldn't agree with you more on both of these. And it isn't because I'm a die hard Longhorn. You have been around long enough (SWC, Big 8 days) to have earned my respect in your knowledge of the football teams in this part of the country. You and I both know that OU going to Okie Lite on Saturday night, with Okie Lite having 2 weeks to prepare, is EXTREMELY dangerous. For anyone to bet on OU JUST BECAUSE of the 3 hour display they watched this Saturday night is ignorance. Granted they played well, but please, look at what Tech did their last game out prior to OU (I was ready to anoint them nat'l champs after playing Okie Lite). Bottom line is, this spread should be 3-5 due to the severity of the rivalry, and Okie Lite having very legitimate play threats. Leach's gameplan against OU was absolutely horrible. Not attacking OU's middle of the field was idiotic and suicidal. Gundy will be better prepared.
And as for TEXAS, it's now or never. Thursday evening's game will be a spectacle and a celebration of the program, of Will Muschamp, of the defense, of the seniors, and on and on. The 2 losses to A&M these past 2 seasons have been 2 of the most painful losses in Mack Brown's era. He will not tread lightly on the Aggies. He has no ties w/ Mike Sherman. This is also a live audition for the Heisman and Colt. It will be a trouncing, an absolute trouncing. Again, i would make this a 4 star if I were you GS, but I understand your reasoning not to. Best of luck this week bud.
Ewwwwww, as a guy on Gameday says..."Not so fast my friend". Now i know all the numbers will add up to an ass whooping in Lubbock on Saturday, but for the same reasons I like Okie Lite on Saturday, I'm also going to be on Baylor (small) for this game. Reason 1) Baylor was off this past weekend, so the've had 2 weeks to prepare for this game. Reason 2) this IS Baylor's bowl game. They will take this as serious as any game this season. They realize they have ZERO to lose. Reason 3) There is absolutely NO WAY Tech will be over what just happened to them, NO WAY. Their world was just thrown upside down and shaken about for 4 hours. If you noticed before the game, the Red Raiders were actually talking shit to the OU players. This to me signified that they truly thought they belonged on the same field....uhhhhhh, no, sorry. It's going to take a whole off-season to get over this game. Reason 4) See reason 3. This reason counts as 2. They will be mind fucked after getting throttled like they did. Leach is not the kind of coach (see Stoops, Brown) that can restart the engines of these kids like those coaches can. Reason 5) Art Briles, Baylor's head coach...I'm a freaking believer in this guy. And reason 6) Injuries. My Tech buddy said that the team, including Harrell and Crabtree, came physically limping off the bus in Lubbock upon their return from the ass-raping that OU put on them. They're physically banged up. I don't see them being ready.
You are right about the matchups though. If Tech can somehow erase from their memory the nightmare that just occurred, then they should take care of them fairly easily. I just think Tech will mail this game in. They pretty much know that the ball's in the air at 10 a.m. on New Year's Day morning for them (Cotton Bowl).
That is the EXACT WORDING, TO A TEE, that was said following the Texas Tech win over Oklahoma State....THE SAME EXACT WORDING. Fellas, if you think a football team can simply bottle up that same offense, AT HOME, and take it on the road to Boone Pickens Stadium, You got another thing coming. You haven't watched enough college football if you think that same offense will be showing up, on the road, in Bedlam, on Saturday night in Stillwater. No way. This type of game is what Boone Pickens pays Gundy all those million's of dollars for. As much as they want to beat Texas, if they beat OU, His job is safe for years and years. Be careful where you decide to throw your money away. Or not, better yet keep betting on OU so I can get Ok State at +9 and the ML at +350!
This Is Why "The Public" Loses These Types Of Games
They go strictly by what they saw last wk. Not taking into consideration the age and emotional maturity of these kids. This a natural "let down" spot, one of the keys when looking for an upset. Pokes @ home, +7-, big rivalry, VERY good team, etc, all could lead to SU W. LW was LW, OU was in the same spot OSU is in this wk, except of course they were favs., which didn't matter much. I'm playing OSU small $$, but hope Sooners get to play Fla. in the NC game. BOL GS:toast:
They go strictly by what they saw last wk. Not taking into consideration the age and emotional maturity of these kids. This a natural "let down" spot, one of the keys when looking for an upset. Pokes @ home, +7-, big rivalry, VERY good team, etc, all could lead to SU W. LW was LW, OU was in the same spot OSU is in this wk, except of course they were favs., which didn't matter much. I'm playing OSU small $$, but hope Sooners get to play Fla. in the NC game. BOL GS:toast:
jb, it sounds like you're treading very carefully with your Baylor bet, which is wise if you're set on betting the Bears. I think you're vastly underestimating both Leach's tendency to be a bully -- we've seen time and time again how he loves to run up the score against a weak sister when he has the chance -- and his ability to get his team to rebound from a tough spot. The Raiders have suffered emotional losses before (see both 2006 and 2007 games against Texas) and been way down in the very middle of games (see their 2006 and 2007 bowl appearances), but he's gotten his players to respond.
The Raiders may very well be beat up, but they're a far better team at 75 percent than Baylor is at 100. Closing out the regular season at home and with a long, healing layoff before a bowl, Leach will have no reason to call off the dogs at all in this game. I don't expect it will ever be close.
I took the full-game bet Sunday night and I'm almsot certainly going to take Tech 1H when that line is out as well (I expect it will be about -12.5). There's a fair chance I may go for the trifecta and take the Tech TT Over if it's even halfway non-outrageous.
The Raiders may very well be beat up, but they're a far better team at 75 percent than Baylor is at 100. Closing out the regular season at home and with a long, healing layoff before a bowl, Leach will have no reason to call off the dogs at all in this game. I don't expect it will ever be close.
I took the full-game bet Sunday night and I'm almsot certainly going to take Tech 1H when that line is out as well (I expect it will be about -12.5). There's a fair chance I may go for the trifecta and take the Tech TT Over if it's even halfway non-outrageous.
