anyone have this? I hope it's on THE ohio state
Still 74-56-2 overall since July 1, 2008
Yes, I 2009 ended with a whimper ... but I'm ringing in 2010 with a BANG!
NEW YEAR'S DAY RELEASE:
50 DIME
NEW YEAR'S DAY
BOWL GAME OF THE YEAR
Ohio State vs. Oregon
7-3 with 50 Dime releases since December 2008!
5-1 last 6 years with my New Year's Day Bowl Game of the Year!
Still 74-56-2 overall since July 1, 2008
(+366.75 Dimes)
Hollywood Sports
Game: LSU at Penn State
Prediction: LSU
The 10-2 Nittany Lions were considered for a BCS bowl bid but eventually had to settle for the Capital One Bowl. They may be a little disappointed to have not have received that opportunity. However, the fact remains that this Penn State club has zero wins against a top-25 team this season. They do have four wins against teams that are playing in bowl games: Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Temple. However, those teams do not really strike fear in the hearts of their opponents. Tellingly, in Penn State's two losses to Ohio State and Iowa, they were outscored by a 45-17 combined margin while managing 254 average of offense in those games. Against elite programs, Penn State may not have the players to keep up -- particularly in the respective fights at the line of scrimmage.
Enter LSU. While the Tigers struggled at times this season with injuries at running back and suspect quarterback play, LSU is loaded with talent between the hedges. They played Alabama and Florida very tough despite losing both games. They took a 15-10 lead into the 4th quarter at Alabama before the Tide scored 14 unanswered points to pull that game out. Against the Gators, the Tigers were in a 10-3 dogfight midway through the 4th quarter before Florida knocked in a field goal to win 13-3. LSU is not as good as those two teams but this team will definitely improve with the month of preparation they had for this bowl game. Coach Les Miles takes very seriously the opportunity to make significant strides with his team during this time off. He is 4-0 in bowl games at LSU with an average winning margin of just over four-touchdowns. We look for Miles to have addressed his running back problems. The top-three running backs on the depth chart were lost to injury this season. And while there was hope that Charles Scott would be able to return for this game, he is now listed as doubtful with his collarbone. But Miles has had plenty of time to make adjustments and there are options on the roster who played in these three players absence. In particular, look for kick return specialist, Trindon Holliday, to become even more involved with the month of practice time. He may very well be the fastest player in college football. QB Jordan Jefferson improved his play as the season went on. In his last five games, he threw 9 TD passes to just three interceptions. The sophomore should definitely be even better with another month of practice time with his coaches. Miles will have this team ready and will want to use this game as a bridge for next season. Said Miles about his bowl success at LSU: I don't know that there's any magic to it in any way ... I just think our guys get to the back end of the season and recognize the opportunity to play a quality opponent and win a (bowl game).
Penn State quarterback, Daryll Clark, often wilts in the pressure of big games (as he did against Ohio State and Iowa). He threw ten interceptions this season and has thrown seven interceptions in his four career losses at Penn State. LSU has an outstanding defense as they rank 12th in the nation by holding their opponents to just 16 PPG. Penn State also has a nice defense that ranks 4th in the country in scoring as they hold their opponents to just 11.8 PPG. The Nittany Lions rank 8th in the nation in defensive yardage allowed as they held their opponents to just 277.1 total YPG. But these stats were against mostly Big 10 teams and, head-to-head, the SEC remains the more challenging conference. Penn State typically plays a weak non-conference schedule which is probably a by-product of their previous days as an independent outside the Big 10. But this lack of a challenging schedule is telling. The Nittany Lions have failed to cover in their last four non-conference games while LSU has covered 15 of their last 21 games played outside of the SEC -- producing our specific 19-6 ATS combined winning angle. The rigors of SEC play seem to better prepare LSU when they then go outside the conference to compete. Lastly, Penn State managed to average 7.76 yards per play in their 42-14 win over Michigan State -- but this places them in a empirical play-against angle that has been 77% effective over the last ten seasons. Teams that average 390-440 YPG (Penn State averages 412.5) coming off a game where they totaled more than 7.25 yards per play, who now play a team that averages 280-330 YPG (LSU totals 309.8 YPG), have then gone on to fail to cover the spread in 37 of 48 situations. LSU will raise their level of play once again for this bowl game against an overrated Penn State team. 25 Star College Football Game of the Year on the LSU Tigers plus the points over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Game: LSU at Penn State
Prediction: LSU
The 10-2 Nittany Lions were considered for a BCS bowl bid but eventually had to settle for the Capital One Bowl. They may be a little disappointed to have not have received that opportunity. However, the fact remains that this Penn State club has zero wins against a top-25 team this season. They do have four wins against teams that are playing in bowl games: Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Temple. However, those teams do not really strike fear in the hearts of their opponents. Tellingly, in Penn State's two losses to Ohio State and Iowa, they were outscored by a 45-17 combined margin while managing 254 average of offense in those games. Against elite programs, Penn State may not have the players to keep up -- particularly in the respective fights at the line of scrimmage.
Enter LSU. While the Tigers struggled at times this season with injuries at running back and suspect quarterback play, LSU is loaded with talent between the hedges. They played Alabama and Florida very tough despite losing both games. They took a 15-10 lead into the 4th quarter at Alabama before the Tide scored 14 unanswered points to pull that game out. Against the Gators, the Tigers were in a 10-3 dogfight midway through the 4th quarter before Florida knocked in a field goal to win 13-3. LSU is not as good as those two teams but this team will definitely improve with the month of preparation they had for this bowl game. Coach Les Miles takes very seriously the opportunity to make significant strides with his team during this time off. He is 4-0 in bowl games at LSU with an average winning margin of just over four-touchdowns. We look for Miles to have addressed his running back problems. The top-three running backs on the depth chart were lost to injury this season. And while there was hope that Charles Scott would be able to return for this game, he is now listed as doubtful with his collarbone. But Miles has had plenty of time to make adjustments and there are options on the roster who played in these three players absence. In particular, look for kick return specialist, Trindon Holliday, to become even more involved with the month of practice time. He may very well be the fastest player in college football. QB Jordan Jefferson improved his play as the season went on. In his last five games, he threw 9 TD passes to just three interceptions. The sophomore should definitely be even better with another month of practice time with his coaches. Miles will have this team ready and will want to use this game as a bridge for next season. Said Miles about his bowl success at LSU: I don't know that there's any magic to it in any way ... I just think our guys get to the back end of the season and recognize the opportunity to play a quality opponent and win a (bowl game).
Penn State quarterback, Daryll Clark, often wilts in the pressure of big games (as he did against Ohio State and Iowa). He threw ten interceptions this season and has thrown seven interceptions in his four career losses at Penn State. LSU has an outstanding defense as they rank 12th in the nation by holding their opponents to just 16 PPG. Penn State also has a nice defense that ranks 4th in the country in scoring as they hold their opponents to just 11.8 PPG. The Nittany Lions rank 8th in the nation in defensive yardage allowed as they held their opponents to just 277.1 total YPG. But these stats were against mostly Big 10 teams and, head-to-head, the SEC remains the more challenging conference. Penn State typically plays a weak non-conference schedule which is probably a by-product of their previous days as an independent outside the Big 10. But this lack of a challenging schedule is telling. The Nittany Lions have failed to cover in their last four non-conference games while LSU has covered 15 of their last 21 games played outside of the SEC -- producing our specific 19-6 ATS combined winning angle. The rigors of SEC play seem to better prepare LSU when they then go outside the conference to compete. Lastly, Penn State managed to average 7.76 yards per play in their 42-14 win over Michigan State -- but this places them in a empirical play-against angle that has been 77% effective over the last ten seasons. Teams that average 390-440 YPG (Penn State averages 412.5) coming off a game where they totaled more than 7.25 yards per play, who now play a team that averages 280-330 YPG (LSU totals 309.8 YPG), have then gone on to fail to cover the spread in 37 of 48 situations. LSU will raise their level of play once again for this bowl game against an overrated Penn State team. 25 Star College Football Game of the Year on the LSU Tigers plus the points over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
