Its good to be back

Well, this year's opening weekend may not have been as exciting as last year's, but it is still nice to have the season finally underway. It was also good to see some teams from non-BCS conferences flex their muscles (read East Carolina, Arkansas State). Congratulations to the Campbell University football team who played their first game since my father was born. The Camels lost 12-6 to Birmingham Southern in front of a sold-out crowd.

VEGAS, BABY:

On the handicapping front, my weekend was pretty similar to the ho-hum games that were played on the field. I finished up 42-39 overall- 1 game over .500 ATS and 2 games over for Totals. We'll look to improve on that mark this coming week now that we've had a look at most of the teams. One other note on the handicapping, if I may- I get so sick of all of these handicapping services that brag non-stop about their records in Thursday night non-conference games played on the East Coast in September. Do they honestly think they have a gift for picking these games more accurately than other games?? Like its as if they factor in that the game is being played on a Thursday night? Or was it the fact that the game is in September that swayed their pick from one team to another? All I can picture is some asshole sitting at a desk trying to pick a winner for the NC State/South Carolina game, when all of a sudden a lightbulb goes off and he remembers that this game is a non-conference matchup on the East Coast, so surely the Gamecocks will cover. And that's why you should use his services. Gimme a fuckin' break asshole. Just man-up and tell us that you called that game correctly, but also tell us that you blew the Stanford/Oregon State game the same night (for the record I did not hit on either of these games- just an example). There, I had to get that off my chest before we get into a season's worth of handicapping and you guys think I'm going to give you the ol' "I was 10-0 ATS in Saturday games involving teams using a 4-3 defense" routine.

ORANGE UPDATE:

Syracuse opened their season with another hope-stealing defeat, this time at the hands of Northwestern. The Orange are now 0-4 in openers under Greg Robinson, and have been offensively inept thus far. Unfortunately I was only able to watch the last quarter of the game as the Wilcats put the game away, but by looking at the box score it did not sound like a fun game to watch if you are an Orange fan.

Next up is Akron at 3:30 Saturday. The Orange are 4 point favorites.

LOCAL FORECAST:

The Ivy League teams remained idle this week, as did UNH, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart.

The Northeastern Huskies took a beating during their road trip to Muncie to take on Ball State. They have a week off before back-to-back away games at Georgia Southern and Syracuse.

This week's Nut Kick Game (NKG) featured a close win from Rhode Island over Jersey-based Monmouth, 27-24. This one burned particularly bad because I was unable to attend due to work, but was within a few miles, or a drunken walk of the stadium. Burn #2 came when my colleague Ray showed up for a day at the beach wearing a shirt that just said "Jersey," which stung on its own, but then it reminded me of the Monmouth game I had missed, so it peppered me again.

Central Connecticut State topped Bryant, who is transitioning to FCS level football. I have yet to take in a game at Bryant but you can consider it on my to-do list. Rounding out the local action was UMASS, who started their season strong with a 28-16 win over Albany. Look for the Minutemen to win the A-10 this year and make another playoff appearance.

WEEKNIGHT PICKS:

I like Vanderbilt as 10-point home 'dogs against South Carolina. The 'Cocks put up some late scores against NC State that made the game look like more of a blowout than it really was, and Vanderbilt will not let SC come to Nashville and dominate on both sides of the ball. The Commodores won last year's meeting, so look for a motivated SC team seeking revenge. Should be a close game- I like Vandy to win outright by a field goal or less.

With no offense to Towson, Navy will have its first real test under first year Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo on Friday night as they travel to Muncie (2 Muncie mentions in the same blog?) to face a Ball State team that is coming off of a bowl season. Uncle Sam wants YOU to take Navy +7.5.

That's all for now.

Beav