[Cougar Bait]

Thoughts on early lines?

[IrishTim]

Perhaps not surprising I like ND. USC/OSU is stay away game in my opinion.

[hova24e]

change Purdue to Purwho

[VegasDave]

Damn, is that coincidence? In my early leans thread these were the 3 games I said I was most interested in the spread for.

USC -6, like it
Notre Dame -4.5, love it
Oregon -9.5, ehh, I was hoping it'd be lower.

[Cougar Bait]

Damn, is that coincidence? In my early leans thread these were the 3 games I said I was most interested in the spread for.

USC -6, like it
Notre Dame -4.5, love it
Oregon -9.5, ehh, I was hoping it'd be lower.

Agree...can Oregon stop Purdue though? Also, I seem to remember Oregon coming to Purdue last year, getting shit on for 3 quarters, then coming all the way back to win at the very end...could be revenge factor here...at least enough to stay close?

[VegasDave]

Agree...can Oregon stop Purdue though? Also, I seem to remember Oregon coming to Purdue last year, getting shit on for 3 quarters, then coming all the way back to win at the very end...could be revenge factor here...at least enough to stay close?

Yeah, really can't wait to see the total, though it will likely be unplayable in the high 60s...

I really hoped books would be too hard on Oregon and make them a, say, 6 point favorite. Now I'm not so sure.

The D-Line against Boise looked bad. Really bad.

Definitely gotta do a little homework on this one.

[Cougar Bait]

Yeah, really can't wait to see the total, though it will likely be unplayable in the high 60s...

I really hoped books would be too hard on Oregon and make them a, say, 6 point favorite. Now I'm not so sure.

The D-Line against Boise looked bad. Really bad.

Definitely gotta do a little homework on this one.

There should be plenty of scoring...Boldin ran for 230+ and Toledo moved the ball all day on Purdue...As the total is concerned the only scary thing is that the ground game is both teams' strength...I wasn't impressed by either defense though so we'll have to wait and see what kind of number we get considering Oregon barely scored at all.

[daneblazer]

UGA -8

I don't have a farm but if I did I'd bet it on South Carolina and the under

[daneblazer]

North Carolina, USC, Houston, Miss St are my knee jerk first sight picks

[bypp]

I like notre dame but I feel that both weis and rodriguez are looking to prove something... Is nd that much better than Michigan?

[VegasDave]

I like notre dame but I feel that both weis and rodriguez are looking to prove something... Is nd that much better than Michigan?

I honestly hate Notre Dame, and think they are consistently one of the most overrated teams in the country year in and year out, and it bugs the hell out of me.

So when I heard Lou Holtz moronically say they'd be playing for a national title, I made it my goal to break that team down and find its weaknesses.

And they aren't that glaring. The running game could be better, the O-Line could be better, but this team has a stout defense and what should be an outstanding passing game.

Shutting out Nevada was IMPRESSIVE. That team can score.

I have to do a bit more number crunching, but I'm thinking double digit Irish victory.

[sportsguy04]

Ill take USC at -6 for the MAX! Only reason this line is so low is because its being played a OSU. I think USC wins this by 10+. I'd probably only take them up to about -7 though just to be safe.

[FrozenMAN]

i really like North Texas +3 ALOT and the ragin cajuns +7 over kansas state

[The General]

Forced today, I would take the points in all of them.

[Richkas]

Didnt bookmaker/cris originate the line at -4.5 on USC?

[IrishTim]

I honestly hate Notre Dame, and think they are consistently one of the most overrated teams in the country year in and year out, and it bugs the hell out of me.

So when I heard Lou Holtz moronically say they'd be playing for a national title, I made it my goal to break that team down and find its weaknesses.

And they aren't that glaring. The running game could be better, the O-Line could be better, but this team has a stout defense and what should be an outstanding passing game.

Shutting out Nevada was IMPRESSIVE. That team can score.

I have to do a bit more number crunching, but I'm thinking double digit Irish victory.

The shutout was somewhat lucky with the fumble and missed field goal deep in ND territory but the defense still played fast and athletic which is something I haven't seen. Tenuta called a brilliant game and they should have had at least 2-3 more sacks if Sergio or B Smith could tackle the QB, but he was pretty elusive. The only thing that scared me was how easily Nevada ran it up the middle. They better lock up the interior D Line before Michigan.

[rake922]

OSU is easy money...

[paco]

Buckeyrs mL and spread. Barkley wont handle the pressure in Columbus

[Famou$ $wag]

Right now WSEX has toledo +999 vs. colorado....im all over the rockets

[twentyonekid]

purdue isn't playing some weak team like toledo this week,and after that poor showing i see oregon coming out focused to play this week.remember purdue is breaking in a lot of new people and at skill positions and i believe oregon will expose those areas this week

[MartinBlank]

Charlie Weis has pulled the "look here while I am over here" bit.

While ND was sucking badly the last 2 years, somehow Weis managed to recruit some of the very best talent in the country. Michael Floyd, Rudolph, Te'o, Blanton, Filer, Flemming, Stockton, Watt---those guys were offered by just about every major program and were ranked either 1 or 2 at their respective positions sans Stockton. But my point remains...they have stockpiled the talent, and Charlie Weis may be soon finding himself pulling a Bobby Bowden---which is win with talent despite his coaching.

The other stroke of either luck or genius was Tenuta. How Weis managed to convince Tenuta to come on board after ND went 3-9 is surprising, and why no other team locked up Tenuta is even more confusing. So ND lucked into Tenuta and this is the first year he is calling the defense.

I think ND rolls Michigan by 10-14 points. I really don't think it will be that close.

The October game of ND-USC is the game I think is going to be fun to watch.

[DeluxeLiner]

I can't help but want to pound USC and Notre Dame this week. Ohio State had issues with Navy's rb and o-line, wait till you see USC's group of future Sunday players. And regarding Notre Dame, they have been amassing talent and Michigan is still a mess. Michigan will be good again eventually but there haven't been enough recruiting classes to implement coaches system effectivly yet.

[Cougar Bait]

purdue isn't playing some weak team like toledo this week,and after that poor showing i see oregon coming out focused to play this week.remember purdue is breaking in a lot of new people and at skill positions and i believe oregon will expose those areas this week

Here's what I am looking at. Blount is out. That is big. We all saw Oregon try to pass the ball. That was laughable. And Purdue's big weakness is stopping the pass. Toledo had 493 total yards, 423 in the air. Let's keep in mind the amount of seniors and returning starters on that team too. Not to mention they beat Michigan on the road last year. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Toledo beats Colorado next week in their home opener. Buffaloes looked pathetic. Bolden ran for 234 years. Is that what you mean by "breaking in new players?" He had the 3rd most rushing yards in school history in his first start. That is impressive. Regardless of the defense. Plus Elliott is a senior at QB. There are still question marks at WR for sure...but I think it will be closer than most think. Not saying Purdue wins outright, but the way they lost last year at the very end to this same Ducks team, I wouldn't be surprised.

[Flight]

Hi Cougar, I am on board with all three of these picks.

Purdue +11.5 (moving fast)
USC -6.5 (already -7 at some books)
Notre Dame -4.5

[Cougar Bait]

Hi Cougar, I am on board with all three of these picks.

Purdue +11.5 (moving fast)
USC -6.5 (already -7 at some books)
Notre Dame -4.5

Purdue line is getting hammered right now. Early money is all over Oregon. I can only assume this will even out if the line keeps going up, right now 67% of the money on the Ducks. About the same % on USC too but that line hasn't moved too much. I think these are three of the more interesting games to watch this week. I'll wait a bit before I make any plays. GL Flight

[stats13]

i wouldnt put money on that herkyjerky oregon qb ever again. what the hell is wrong with that guy, he's such a spaz. never seen anyone play qb like that

[LT Profits]

USC at less than -7 is the bet if the year so far (OK, the best bet from the first 2 weeks...LOL)

[Cougar Bait]

USC at less than -7 is the bet if the year so far (OK, the best bet from the first 2 weeks...LOL)

USC wins by double digits if Ohio State can't shut down the run. What's your take on a final score LT?

[LT Profits]

USC 30, Ohio State 17

[RPP]

I love USC in this game. They always play well in the big games while OSU has a knack for choking. Also OSU looked pretty bad against Navy IMO.

[brooks85]

Im going to laugh at all the money people lose on USC next weekend.

[Cougar Bait]

Im going to laugh at all the money people lose on USC next weekend.

Brooks, what do you see this line finishing at? Do you see an outright win by OSU?

[wacked]

I predicted the line would be -8.5 before it came out. USC just reloads every year while OSU struggles to keep up. Speed is where it's at and OSU has never had it.

[Cougar Bait]

I predicted the line would be -8.5 before it came out. USC just reloads every year while OSU struggles to keep up. Speed is where it's at and OSU has never had it.

Yeah, I had it at USC -7.5...so I was happy to see -6...looks like it'll keep climbing though

[brooks85]

well, honestly im a buckeye fan and I was on USC huge last year and it was a painful win. I was buckeyes against Texas, spread and ml. I have no doubt USC can win this game and I think people are reading way too much into the navy game.

Its just that buckeye effect. They have choked a lot in big games recently, even if the line was usc -10 for next weekend people would still pound it. New team tho and QB thats not 6months out of highschool this time around. Last year we didnt have beanie, which was huge loss, and we ran this BS 2 qb gameplan, horrible idea.

Barkely had a rough start againt SAN JOSE... I gotta think its going be even tougher in the shoe. I think OSU has the edge in this game IF tressel opens up the playbook, he is wayyy too conservative with TP at QB.