• Home
• RPJ Intro
• Live Odds
• Matchups

Taylor Mays

NCAA Football Preview Spectacular - Celebrating 140 years of College Football

Our most favorite time of year is finally upon us…NCAA FOOTBALL. There really is nothing better. The purpose of this post will be to share our thoughts, ideas, predictions, etc… in 140 different ways as we celebrate 140 years of NCAA Football. Print now because this is some great work bathroom reading. We promise this will occupy your dump time for at least 10-15 minutes.

We want to thank all of our loyal readers and welcome any new readers. If you are not familiar with us, here is the scoop. Every single bet we post on this blog, we bet with our own money. We are not here to screw around or lose money. We want to win every bet we place and we want YOU to win every bet you place alongside us. When we list the lines alongside our picks, these are the lines we placed our bets at. NO EXCEPTIONS. Also, we are always here for our readers. You can email us at rpjsyndicate@gmail.com if you want to remain private or you can post to our Facebook page by searching within Facebook for RPJ Betting Syndicate.  Also, our website has some great analysis tools that we have access through our partnership with Bodog. We have live lines as well as matchup analysis tools. These are free for you to check out anytime. Let us know if you want us to Twitter. We think the jury is still out on whether or not Twitter is relevant but we are open to suggestions.

If you like what you see, like our picks and like our free analysis tools, we would appreciate it if you signed up through our website to use Bodog as your betting vehicle of choice. We love Bodog and have never had any issues getting our money out. The same can not be said for BetUs, Sportbook and other sites so bettor be warned!!!

Long known as one of the best online sportsbooks, Bodog does it all:

It’s easy to bet on every game – they have every major sport & league covered, their software’s a cinch to learn and they have some nice extras, like live betting and tons of fantasy leagues. This is a big part of why they’re always ranked so highly at sportsbook review sites.

Useful help is always available – if you ever have to call customer service, they’ll handle your problem quickly and without any hassles.

Your money and your information are safe – they have a perfect security, privacy & payout record since they started up in 1994.

Bodog has its head office, and is licensed in, the Caribbean nation of Antigua. The Bodog group of companies (www.bodog.com) offer a host of entertainment services, including online gambling, which includes Poker, Casino and a suite of other world-class products.

Bodog is operated in North America under License by Morris Mohawk Gaming Group.

In honor of 2009 being the 140th College football season, we are going to make 140 observations, predictions, bets, historical references, Notre Dame jokes, USC homer statements, etc…

2009 NCAA Football Season Predictions, Analysis, Trends and Observations

140 - The number of pounds that Charlie Weis’s left man boob weighs.

139 - Adding the numbers equals 13….will be the minimum amount of points Ohio State will lose by to USC on September 12. Yep, you heard it hear first… USC wins by at least two TDs at Columbus.

138 - The number of rushes it took LeGarrette Blount, RB Oregon, to reach 1,008 yards rushing last season. Good for a 7.3 yard average per rush. We are looking for big things out of the Oregon backfield this season. Early season test at Boise State.

137 -  1+3+7=11…USC averaged 86,793 in attendance last year for 11th in the country. We road tripped for the OSU game last year. Let us tell you, USC knows how to party for big games! Great fans. Best Buy had a tent. Their home schedule is weak this year, so the key to their national championship dreams will come down to their road performance with big games in Columbus, South Bend, Berkley and Eugene. Look for USC to be in very close games. Jump on the lines accordingly. We’ll be watching!!

136 - The number of wins Bill Snyder had as a coach of Kansas State. Sorry Bill, you are old and well past your prime. You will be lucky to have 140 career K State wins by the end of the year.

135 - San Jose State Coach Dick Tomey’s career losses. Dick is actually the 7th winningest active coach right now with a record of 181-135-7. Dick opens the season at USC and at home against Utah. Those 135 career losses will start climbing pretty fast in 2009.

134 - The yards passing per game USC’s D gave up last year. Tops in the nation. Next closest was TCU at 170 tards/game. It will be interesting to see how USC’s D holds up this year. They lost a ton of starters over the offseason. We’ll see how the “rebuilding” goes..the last time this happened was 2007 and they did just fine. See you in Columbus on 9/12!!!!

133 - The number of points scored in 2008 by Missouri Kicker Jeff Wolfert. You know you care about that.

132 - The yards rushing per game Buffalo gained (actually 132.71. Big things are expected out of the Bulls this year. We loved rooting for them last year and will do this same in 2009. Go Bulls!!!! On a sad note, Senior RB James Starks is injured and will miss his senior season.

131 - The number of points TCU’s defense gave up last year, which was good for #2 in the country. Keep reading and you will see the #1 team and their sub-100 point season.

130 - The number of pounds of food Mark Mangino eats every day for breakfast. We love us some Coach Mangino. Kansas is the 4th or 5th best team in the Big 12 but the Conference is stacked. We hope Mangino and Reesing can pull off a big time upset.

129 - Amount of seasons before Michigan suffered its first 9 loss season. It took Bo Schembechler 7 seasons to lose 9 games. Rich Rodriguez did go 9-4 his second year at West Virginia and that followed a 3-8 debut for the Mounties. Notre Dame in week 2 will be a good indication and a home revenge game. Michigan returns 16 starters from last year and 11 on Offense.

128 - The number of pounds of undigested lard that were sucked out of Charlie Weis’s belly during his botched tummy tuck surgery. We hope the Heart Attack Grill was able to buy some of the lard on the cheap.

127 - Yards per game improvement by Nebraska on defense last season. Their rush defense was the most improved in the nation. Bo Pelini showed he can coach but will he be able to improve on a 9-4 record?

126 - NC State rushing yards per game in 2008. This team was a cover machine last season at 9-2-1. One of the best teams to bet on in the country. Big opening game against Spurrier’s Cocks in week 1 and a revenge game at home.

125 - North Carolina rushing yards per game in 2008. Is this the year Butch Davis’ team breaks out. We are not so sure. He recruits well but he still needs to get past Va. Tech and a nasty, improving Georgia Tech team.

124 - Colorado rushing yards per game. Will the Hawkins father son duo make some noise this year or will the powers that be in the Big 12…Texas and Oklahoma State eat Buffalo burger this season? We think the later.

123 - 1+2+3 = 6 and there were 6 turnovers in the Boise State vs. Oregon game last season. 4 by Oregon and 2 by Boise State. We do not see Masoli throwing three picks in this game. This is one of our two prime time games for opening weekend. Stay tuned for our week 1 predictions.

122 - The number of tackles for loss generated by Oregon for tops in the nation. This team is legit and has a very solid chance of winning the PAC-10. We love or Trojans, but it will be a tall order beating this team in Eugene. If they beat SC, they have to be considered for the national championship game.

121 - Cincinnati rushing yards per game in 2008. Senior QB Tony Pike is back in 2009 and these city boys put a scare or two into somebody each year. We will know this team early as they open at Rutgers on 9/7/2009 and then head to Oregon State on 9/19/2009. A win at either place will be impressive.

120 - Central Florida’s offensive ranking last season. 120 out of 120. What does this distinction look like you ask? 229.5 yards of total offense per game, 113 yards rushing with a 3.0 yards per carry mark, 116 yards passing per game and 16.6 points per game. On the bright side, they really have no place to go but up.

119 - 1+1+9 = 11 and Tulsa had 11 wins last season, which was the first time a Conference USA team had 11 wins since 2004. The biggest change this offense will incur is under center, as David Johnson is now gone after accounting for 49 touchdowns in 2008. Jacob Bower, last year’s backup, has the edge in the quarterback race, but he is being pushed by Texas transfer G.J. Kinne, and incoming freshman Shavodrick Beaver. The player that emerges with the job will get a terrific opportunity to build a name for himself behind this powerful attack.

118 - Tulane’s average yards rushing per game. How about some Conference USA love? Back to back C-USA news items. Gotta love it!

117 - Kansas State’s Defensive ranking last season. Bill Snyder is a hero but will he leave town as a goat this time around. This is asking for a lot.

116 - Amount of offensive yards Washington State gained against USC last season. Keep reading…Notre Dame did even worse.

115 - Tennessee’s Offensive ranking last year. That was 115 out of 119. An improvement in this number will show Vols fans that Kiffin can coach. We know Monte can but the jury is still out on Lane.

114 - 114 fans showed up to Temple’s Fourth Annual Fan Fest on August 26. No we were not there, we just heard it was definitely 114 fans.

113 -Mississippi State’s offensive ranking last season. Man that SEC is stacked from top to bottom with zero easy games ever. Yeah right!!!!

112 - Centuries that must pass before Notre Dame wins another national title. God told us. Lou Holtz is on crack with his Florida/ND BCS title game prediction this season. How do we bet against this? Holtz should back himself as a prop bet.

111 - Add a 5 to 111 and you get 5,111 passing yards for Graham Harrell last season; the first back to back 5,000 seasons in NCAA history. Texas Tech had a story book season last year and Coach Leach finds new QBs for his system every year. The Red Raiders will not sneak up on anybody this season but they still have talent and might be able to pull off some major upsets. We will find out pretty quickly how good this team is after they travel to Austin on 9/19.

110 - The number of career wins for Nick Saban. He has a career record of 110-50-1, 5th best winning % among active coaches. Saban has talent at BAMA this season but they spanking Utah gave them could provide one long, nasty hangover. Huge first game against Virginia Tech will be telling. Also, keep in mind that Saban has never won ten games back to back. Now combine that with breaking in a new QB and revamped OL and we see trouble ahead.

109 - The amount of yards per game LSU’s defense deteriorated last season. We knew they had QB issues but the Tigers D was terrible. Maybe Les Miles should have taken the Michigan job after all. Lots to work on in Baton Rouge.

108 - Miami (Ohio) average yards rushing per game in 2008. Check out this fantastic team marketing….Fans looking for premium savings and ideal seat location get the best of both worlds by purchasing RedHawk season tickets. Season tickets–including the game against Kentucky– are only $120. Prices are even more affordably priced for Miami faculty and staff ($105), senior citizens ($110), and youth under 18 ($100). What a bargain!!!

107 - 107,000 seats. The size of Michigan’s Ann Arbor football stadium. Hopefully they get to see more than 4 wins this season.

106 -Kentucky’s offensive ranking last season. We are seeing a trend here. Why is the SEC the best conference in the country when 5 teams finished worse than 100 in total offense last season.

105 - Number of yards USC Freshman De’Von Flournoy had in their last scrimmage. 105 yards on three catches with 1 TD. This is not one of USC’s 5 star recruits but this kid is tearing up camp and has been even more impressive than Barkley. Put Flourney and RoJo on the field at the same time and zero secondaries will be able to cover these guys. USC rebuilding, yeah right!

104 - Auburn’s Offensive ranking from 2008. We know Gene Chizik has his hands full. Chizik was only 5-19 at Iowa State. Welcome to the SEC Gene!!!

103 - Wake Forest’s offensive ranking in 2008. This stat was shocking but I guess really shows how great their defense was last season. Wake will test itself early as it opens at home against Baylor and Stanford. Two teams on the rise and looking to prove themselves. We will probably stay clear of this team early until we get to see what they have under the hood.

102 - Amount of points Conference USA’s leading scorer scored last season. Any guess as to who it was? RB Bryce Beall of Houston.

101 - Duke’s offensive ranking in 2008. Dukie fans were actually impressed with 4 wins last season under Coach Cutcliffe. At some programs, a four-win season would be considered mediocre or disappointing. But at Duke, the accomplishment earned first-year head coach David Cutcliffe third place in the ACC Coach of the Year voting and helped trigger a change in perception of the Blue Devils. Although Duke fans may be happy, we are not sure where Duke will show improvement this season. A tough ACC schedule (Duke was 1-7 last season in the ACC) and a road game at Kansas might make 4-8 a pipe dream this season.

100 - Yards per game drop in Arizona State’s offense on a per game basis last year. The Sun Devils had a 6 game losing streak at home last season. We think it is time for ASU to send Erickson packing.

99 - Ralph Friedgen has dropped nearly 100 pounds since October with an improved diet and exercise. Kudos to you Coach. Maybe Charlie Weis can learn something from you. Hard work and exercise set a better example then stomach stapling surgery you lazy fat oaf!!!

98 - The number of Georgia Bulldog wins the last ten years, which is good for best in the SEC. Where is their national title? It certainly will not come this year when Oklahoma State shows this SEC team who is boss this season.

97 - The number of starts by Notre Dame’s Offensive Line. This just shows that experience does not always matter cause Notre Dame still stinks.

96 - 9+6=15 and 15 is Aaron Corp’s jersey number. USC needs this guy under center, not Barkley if they want to make it to another BCS title game. Barkley might be the QB of the future but Corp is the QB of now.

95 - Average yards passing per game for Georgia Tech last year. One of only 4 teams under 100 yards per game. No surprise that Army, Navy and Air Force were the other 3.

94 - Number of times we laughed looking at the following picture….

93 - The number of points USC’s defense gave up last year. Sick!!! All the sports banter going across the airwaves now is calling this USC D suspect because of how many starters it lost at the end of the year. Coach Carroll faced a similar ”rebuilding” in 2007. Didn’t seem to bother him or the team one bit. OSU will not score more than 14 points on September 12.

92 - 92,000 seats at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

91 - Amount of yards Notre Dame gained against USC’s defense last year. And people actually think Weis is an offensive genius.

90 - The number of times Jimmy Clausen will be sacked in his career at Notre Dame.

89 - The number of days it took us to write this blog post. Just kidding but not by too much!

88 - Texas A&M rushing yards per game in 2008. We thought Mike Sherman would run first, pass second last season but we were wrong. He had Javorskie Lane, the 300 pound RB and he could still not move the pile. Sherman just names Jerrod Johnson his starting QB but we do not see how there will be much to smile about. By the end of last season, the Aggies had fallen to the bottom of the Big 12 South. They want to make certain that last-place finish was just an aberration, not a reflection of a sagging program. Mike Sherman has already addressed locker room issues that divided last year’s team. This year’s group seems to have bought in. That’s only part of any possible turnaround story. Despite a solid recruiting class, the Aggies are young, lack depth at key positions and may find it difficult to improve last season’s 4-8 record. More competitiveness against Texas and Oklahoma (or even Baylor) would be a sign of progress.

87 - Amount of rushing yards per game USC’s defense gave up last year.

86 -Number of career receptions for Ole Miss hybrid player Dexter McCluster. Dexter is a physical specimen and Ole Miss is going to try and put the ball in his hands 20 times a game. The 5-foot-8 McCluster played at 162 pounds last season, but he’s up to 170 pounds entering this season. He’s incredibly strong for his size and bench-presses 340 pounds and squats more than 400 pounds. This guy is going to be fun to watch.

85 - 85,000 seats at Nebraksa’s Memorial Stadium.

84 - Receptions by Eric Decker, WR Minnesota, for tops in the Big-10 last season. Minnesota WR, Eric Decker returns for his senior season. Gopher fans get to enjoy Mr. Decker in their new stadium this season, TCF Bank Stadium, which looks awesome. We will be there when USC comes to town in a few years.

83 - The number of wins by Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel over the last 8 seasons. Optimism is high in Columbus with Pryor under center but this team only returns 38 lettermen, 11 starters and 4 on offense. If OSU can get past USC on 9/12 the might roll undefeated into Happy Valley on 11/7. Hopefully we do not get to witness another Big 10 team in the national title game this decade. We know that end result.

82 - Number of wins USC has over the last 7 seasons to go along with 7 Pac-10 titles, two national championships and end of season top 5 rankings. USC’s dominance has inspired dismissive references to the conference as the “Pac-1″ and the “Lack-Nine” among fans from other regions. A lot of experts are predicting this is the season USC drops a notch. It will all come down to A) Aaron Corp being healthy or B) Matt Barkley’s ability to play college ball. If A is the case then Trojan fans have nothing to worry about. B is the X factor.

81 - Seconds of fame for the Florida State girls. Slightly more than a minute but less than 2.

80 - The number of STDs that were passed in this picture…

79 - Passing yards by Cal QB Nate Longshore against USC last season. Well Nate has moved on and Jeff “Turd Sandwich” Tedford is backing Kevin Riley. Keep in mind, Kevin Riley was 4 for 16 for 59 yards 0 TDs and 1 INT last season against USC. Cal really needs a QB to show up this year if they want to compete in the Pac-10. Jahvid Best is the man but when you can put 8 in the box, he is shut down. We love and hate betting for or against Jeff Tedford’s Bears. He usually burns us and 21 points against Maryland in game #1 is a big number to overcome. We will probably be on the CAL sidelines until we can figure out what this team is really about.

78 - Florida gators defense… out of 78 starts at the three LB positions the last two years, every start was made by a LB that returns this season. The Gators depth and experience on Defense will be sick this season.

77 - Reason #77 to love USC TRojans…

76 - Nick Howell, OT USC Trojans. Just one of 8 linemen with experience that will protect Corp or Barkley. This is why USC is still ranked in the pre-season top 5 with an inexperienced QB. Offensive line depth is the key to early season trouble games like 9/12 in The Shoe.

75 - This is the 75th anniversary of the Heisman trophy. Will Bradford or Tebow match Archie Griffin as the only two time winner or will Colt McCoy or a darkhouse candidate make a splash like Houston’s Case Keenum. Last year Keenum passed for 5,020 yards, 44 TDs with only 11 picks. Houston and the OVER anyone?

74 - Dan LeFevour’s career passing TDs. Our man crush gets to continue for one more season. The Fever has a brutal early schedule but he should be able to get his points. We love you DAN!!! His 11,702 total yards are the most among any active player, and if he averages 300 yards of offense a game this season (his career average), he’ll end his college tenure ranked third in FBS history in total offense.

73 - USC’s margin of victory of Notre Dame the last two seasons. Thats right folks. The combined score was 76-3. It won’t get any better this year. Claussen cursed himself when he said he would beat USC and the curse lives on.

72 - Combined bowl wins for Middle Tennessee State’s coaching staff. Where else can you get a stat on Middle Tennessee State? If you are not impressed with this then you do not deserve to read on.

71 - The ranking for sacks allowed/game for Texas. They allowed 2 sacks per game and are at the bottom of the pack for D1 teams. It didn’t seem to bother them too much last year-they arguably should have been playing Florida in the title game last year. However, this stat is telling because it may be a sign of trouble for Colt McCoy. They need to impove on this to keep Colt healthy and their teams hopes alive.

70 - Colt McCoy’s career completion percentage. Colt will be this seasons Tim Tebow, meaning he will be the most motivated man in the land. We expect big things from Colt. Potential Heisman winner and BCS title game participant.

69 - Use your imagination…

68 - Butch Lewis, OT USC. Another one of the experienced bunch that the Trojans will march out this season.

67 - You are more than halfway through our reasons and we are running out of reasons.

66 - After USC plays San Jose State in their opener, 66 is the number of games USC’s new linebackers will have played at USC. That is right, Chris Galippo, Michael Morgan and Malcolm Smith have played in 63 games at USC. So even though USC lost 4 LBs to the FIRST ROUND of the NFL draft, their replacements have serious experience.

65 - Todd Reesing TDs the last two seasons. Todd is 20-6 as a starter and Kansas may be 6-0 when Oklahoma comes to town on 10/24.

64 - RPJ Betting Syndicate’s career winning percentage before we started publishing this blog. Blog was a curse but it is fun. Not like we need reasons to watch and bet on NCAA football and stare at hot arse every week.

63 - Not since 1946 (63 years ago) has the top 3 Heisman vote getters returned to play the next season.

62 - 62 minus 1 = 61 and that is Troy’s pre-season USA Today rank. They received 1 vote.

61 - The number of yards New Mexico State improved on defense last season and this is before new Coach DeWayne Walker arrived on campus. Walker can really coach a defense and look for him to turn this program around quickly and launch himself to a better program. They could even be 6-0 or 5-1.

60 - Jimmy Clausen’s completion percentage last season; 60.9% to be exact. As a sophomore last year, Clausen had the third-most prolific passing season in school history. He completed 268 of 440 passes (60.9 percent) for 3,172 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. He had the second-best sophomore season by a quarterback in school history, behind only Brady Quinn. Optimism is high in South Bend with 4 seniors on the OL and 10 offensive starters back.

59 - Boise State is 40-17-2 against the spread in their last 59 home games. The Oregon/Boise State game on September 3 is going to be a battle.

58 - Number of first place votes Florida received in the pre-season AP poll. 58 out of 60 for a record 96.7%. The previous record holder was USC who received 62 out of 65 votes in 2007. USC did not play for the national title that year. Only ten teams that were ranked the pre-season #1 have won the national title. USC was the last team to do it in 2004.

57 -The number of TDs Matt Barkley, USC QB, threw in high school. With Aaron Corp injured and Mitch Mustain sucking, the Trojans season could come down to an 18 year old freshman. This story is worth watching. Will Barkley be able to win at Ohio State, Cal, Notre Dame and Oregon? Not likely.

56 - Tennessee is ranked 56th in the USA Today pre-season poll.

55 - Navy is ranked 55th in the USA Today pre-season poll.

54 - Number of teams that received votes in the AP Pre-season Top 25 poll. Nearly half of the FBS population (54 of 120) received at least one 25th-place vote. The biggest surprise? Colorado, a legit Big 12 North dark horse, got no votes, as in one fewer than Troy.

53 - Navy has 53 wins against the spread in their last 75 road games.

52 - Personal fouls committed last year by Syracuse QB, Greg Paulus as a PG for Duke baseketball. Huh? Yes, you read that right. Syracuse’s starting QB this year played for the Blue Devils for 4 seasons. We know Coach Doug MArrone is excited to be at Cuse but c’mon now, a PG at QB? This will end terribly wrong.

51 -Amount of votes Rutgers received in the USA Today top 25 pre-season poll. One thing to remember, Rutgers returns their entire starting offensive line from last season. Rutgers opens at home against Cincy and this will be a big test. Cincy is tough and is changing their D from a 4-3 to a 3-4 so they might not be in game shape on the defensive side of the ball. If Rutgers wins they will be on their way to an easy 3-0 start before traveling to Maryland.

50 -Zero Big 12 teams finished in the top 50 in total defense last year and 9 finished worse than 78. If the Big 12 really wants to pass the SEC in national prominence the conference needs a handful of teams to play D.

49 - Washington Huskies defensive 3rd down percentage was 49 last season. The Huskies brough in Steve Sarkisian and hope a healthy Jake Locker can turn things around. These guys were 0-12 last season and 1-11 ATS. Not much to smile about. The Huskies do start with three home games but they are against LSU, Idaho and The Trojans. They then go to Stanford and Notre Dame and we think Irish eyes will be smiling. Sark has to work miracles to get this team moving in the right direction this season.

48 - Wake Forest is the 48th ranked team in the USA Today preseason poll.

47 - The total number of sacks garnered by VaTech’s D for 2nd in the country behind only GaTech (who knew!?!?!?). VaTech always overacheives and may have the country’s best head coach. He does more with so little than anyone in the country. HUGE opener against Bama. We think they have a very legit shot of beating the Tide outright. We are watahing this line like crazy.

46 - The Central Michigan Chippewas are 30-13-3 against the spread in their last 46 games.

45 - Mark Mangino, Kansas coaches career wins (45-41) and ATS wins (45-35) record. Kansas returns 15 starters and 42 lettermen. Legit Big 12 North title contenders. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!

44 - The number of seasons Joe Pa and Bobby Bowden have coached.

43 - Stanford defensive 3rd down conversion percentage in 2008. Jim Harbaugh had his team close to a bowl berth last season. The Cardinals definitely play hard but they do not have the talent to stack up against USC, Oregon and CAL. Their first 5 games in 2009 are favorable so this team might gain confidence with games @ Washington State, @ Wake Forest, and home against San Jose State, Washington and UCLA. 5-0 is possible and 4-1 is a definite possibility.

42 - Home wins Iowa has the last 8 years. Hawkeyes are 42-9 over this span. Too bad they have Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State all on the road this year. Schedule is likely to impede their Big-10 championship aspirations.

41 - Average yards rushing for SMU last year, which was the lowest in the nation by almost 30 yards per game. SMU averaged a staggering 2.29 yards per rush. Also, 41 inches is Taylor Mays’ vertical leap.

40 - This is to pay tribute to one of college football’s and our country’s all time greats, Mr. Pat Tillman. He wore #40 for the Arizona Cardinals (#42 for ASU) and he gave his life for our country. Thanks, Pat.

39 - Amount of points Miami scored against Florida State last season in a 39-41 loss. Miami has some insane talent on defense but they open their 2009 schedule at Florida State, Georgia Tech, at Va Tech and against Oklahoma. This team might easily be the best 0-4 team ever. These 4 teams won 40 games last year. Randy Shannon might not be able to improve much on his 12-13 career record with this kind of scheduling.

38 - The number of TDs for Oklahoma State players Zac Robinson, Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter. This Oklahoma State team is explosive with explosive probably being an understatement. Georgia rolls into Stillwater on 9/5 and the Big 12/SEC conference debate will be settled in week 1. All three of the Cowboys’ losses last season were to teams ranked 1, 2 or 3. With their core coming back this season, the Cowboys will be a tough matchup for any team this season.

37 - Number of wins by former Missouri QB Chase Daniel over the last 4 years. Chase is gone and the team only returns 9 starters. Coach Gary Pinkel has 22 wins the last two seasons, which ranks third to USC and Okahoma but we think Illinois will expose this team in week 1.

36 -Last season, 5 of Jeff Demps’s 7 rushing TDs were for longer than 36 yards. His lone reception was 61 yards. Demps is actually faster than Percy Harvin and Percy had a run of 15 TDs in 15 games. Demps might be too small to really carry the load but he will always be a factor when he steps on the field.

35 -The minutes per game TCU had the ball (34.55.62 to be exact) for tops in the nation. Solid numbers. They play outstanding D. They won $ for us quite a bit last year. We will be watching them again this year. Go Horned Frogs!!!!!

34 - The national ranking for tunrovers forced by Bama. They forced 24 turnovers for a .31 turnover ratio. That is freakin’ terrible!!! We think Bama is in the top 5 for most overhyped teams going into the season. We’ve heard a ton of talk about the Tide having the best D in the country. Eventhough they have a cakewalk for a schedule, don’t believe the hype!!!

33 - Michigan’s bowl streak that ended last season.

32 - The number of wins Texas has since winning the national championship 4 years ago. Texas has not even played for a Big 12 title during this time.

31 - The amount of points Houston gave up on defense per game last season. The defense this year might play 6 freshmen. Remember folks….Houston and the OVER, Houston and the OVER, Houston and the OVER. Say it three times before you go to bed every night. Also, Washington State’s average margin of defeat last season. Can you say Coach on the hot seat? We can!

30 - The age of Clemson’s Offensive Coordinator, Billy Napier. Dabo Swinney will have his hands full this year. Clemson will disappoint again. Phrase of the piece = Have his hands full. Full of what we wonder?

29 - “I’ve never seen so much optimism,” said columnist Rick Cleveland, a Mississippi native who has covered sports at the Jackson Clarion-Ledger for 29 years. It has been 46 years since Ole Miss won the SEC.  To put things into perspective. 46 years ago there were zero African american players in the SEC and Steve Spurrier was a freshman.

28 - The number of football national championship Princeton has won, the all-time leader.

27 - Stan Parrish’s current winless streak as a head coach. Stan was Kansas State’s coach before Bill Snyder and now takes over a Ball State team that was 12-2 last season. How the hell did this guy get a job? Probably because Muncie, IN could never be confused with San Diego or any SEC city.

26 - Road wins by TCU over the last 6 season, which is better than both Florida and Oklahoma. TCU even beat Oklahoma on the road in 2005. TCU has 5 ten win seasons the last 7 seasons and they are 30-2 in games when they hold opponents under 333 yards. Both losses were to Utah.

25 - Damion Fletcher, Southern Miss RB. Best RB you have never heard of. Has career stats of 4,287 yards and 36 touchdowns. If he repeats his three year average he will go down stat wise as one of the 5 best RBs of all time.

24 - Number of seasons Nevada Coach Chris Ault has patrolled the sidelines for the Wolf Pack. He is 193-84-1 over his career and returns 14 starters for his 25th season. Ault is the 6th active winningest coach in the country. The Wolf Pack open at Notre Dame in what could be an awesome week 1 upset. We can dream.

23 - Notre Dame’s pre-season AP rank. We think AP voters are literally on crack. Don’t do meth!

22 - Tribute to Runny’s favorite player of all time…Emmitt Smith, RB Florida Gators.

21 - The number of losses Charlie Weis has in 4 years as head coach of Notre Dame. More than 5 per season. The number of losses Ty Willingham had as head coach of ND was 15 after three seasons. Charlie is no better than Ty and of course he is ten thousand times fatter.

20 - Days until Week 1 of the NFL season is over. We bet NFL games too so get ready for a busy weekend.

19 - The 19th day of September is the day Lane Kiffin brings his Vols to the Swamp. Look for Urban Meyer to not only pummel the Vols but to run up the score as much as possible. Remember, Kiffin accused Meyer of recruiting violations this year. We know what Meyer will do when disrespected. Just ask Georgia.

18 - The number of starters Paul Johnson’s Georgia Tech team returns this season. GT was 9-4 last season and was blown out by LSU in their bowl game. However, Paul Johnson’s triple option offense showed off in some impressive games and we look for them to improve on last year’s season in 2009. GT we are watching you.

17 - Iowa State’s current road losing streak. The longest in the nation. Kent State on 9/19 is the first opportunity to bust the streak. Also, the number of games the Pac-10 and SEC have played against each other since 2000 and the Pac-10 LEADS the series 10 to 7. Interesting that the SEC’s label as the best conference in football is 3 games under .500 versus the Pac-1, oops, Pac-10.

16 -Jarrett Brown, QB West Virginia. Will Brown be able to fill in for Pat White? Brown was White’s understudy for the last three years so he has learned from one of the best. Brown is 6′4″ and 223 pounds and wants to be the man in Morgantown. Big East is weak this year so maybe Brown can pull a Tee Martin and replace a legend and carry WVU to the title game.

15 - Tim Tebow. As much as we hate the Gators and Tim Tebow, you can not overlook them. Tebow has not lost since his Ole Miss debacle last season and his immortal words are now permanently displayed at the Swamp. Tim can elevate his elite NCAA status to legendary status with another BCS title and/or Heisman. SEC fans look out.

14 - Boise State’s pre-season AP rank. This is the highest ranking by a non-BCS team this year.

13 - We are superstitious and will not mention any teams or players at this spot.

12 - Colt McCoy. The man who beat Oklahoma and did not play Florida for the national title. McCoy spent last season playing second fiddle in the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Sam Bradford. We have a feeling that this is Colt’s year. Top to bottom we think Texas is a better team (remember last season) and Colt has extra motivation. If they run the table with their schedule, we think they are better than Florida and will beat them in the BCS final.

11 - The number of years the BCS has been in existence. This system needs to be changed ASAP. Fans want a playoff, the players want a playoff and we say lets start with an 8 team playoff. Enough of this crap.

10 - The number of seniors on Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina team. Steve is 7-11 since 2007 and hired 6 new coaches for this season. South Carolina plays 8 teams that went to bowl games this season. They don’t make Steve Spurrier teams like they used to. The SEC caught up to Steve really fast.

9 - Number of TDs thrown by UCLA QBs last season. And Neuheisel thinks a redshirt QB will fix his offense. The joke will be on him!

8 - The number of starters Penn State returns to a team that went to the Rose Bowl. Big Ten is wide open this year. Ohio State will be down, Penn State will be down, Michigan is still down. There are lots of opportunities for a surprise Big Ten winner. Iowa and Illinois have the early edge for dark horse contender.

7 - Notre Dame has lost 7 in a row to USC. That’s the longest losing streak for ND against anyone since losing eight straight vs. Michigan State from 1955-63. You know our opinion on ND this season.

6 - The number of secondary NCAA violations committed by Vols Coach Lane Kiffin. All this before the season even started. Welcome to the SEC Kiffin. You thought working for Al Davis was hard, try playing in the SEC and in front of 100,000 fans. Will Kiffin be able to turn it around or will he continue the mediocrity?

5 - The amount of teams the Big 12 put in the top 25 in the final AP poll. SEC only had 4. The SEC’s hype as the most dominant conference in the nation was challenged last year and will be challenged again this year.

4 - The amount of offensive linemen that started for Oklahoma last year that are no longer on the team. Oklahoma is the “bettor beware” team of 2009. Almost every single poll has Oklahoma in the top 3. Remember Georgia last year? The “so-called” experts picked Georgia #1 in many polls and we know the story. The reason? Changes in the O-line. Last year Georgia had an inexperienced starting OL and this year Oklahoma only returns one starter on their OL. That is right. Oklahoma is replacing 4 OL starters. Top that off with the departure of two starting WRs from last year and you can see where this is going. Oklahoma will definitely be a favorite pick for a lot of bettors but we are saying be very, very careful. Texas will take this team out and we are expecting Oklahoma to finish the season with 3-4 losses. The Sooners are vulnerable. On a side note, Penn State graduated 3 Big Ten starting OL and Oregon lost its All American Center and starting left tackle. This cases are not as extreme as Oklahoma but they are worth mentioning.

3 - The SEC has won three straight NCAA titles. Not since the AP started polling in 1936, has one conference won the title 4 years in a row.

2 - Taylor Mays’ number. The best college football player to step on the field this season. 6′3″ 230 pounds and a near 4.2 40 time. INSANE!!!! Look for Mays to run the defense and play closer to the line this year. 4 LBs went to the pros last year and 2009 is the year of Mays! Dark horse Heisman candidate if he can make some big plays and score TDs on returns. Also, the folks in Columbus are talking about Pryor’s supposed 4.3 40 yard time. Well guess who is the one player that ran Pryor down from behind last year? Mr. Mays!

1 -Texas will be the #1 team in the country when all games are played this season.

We hope we provided you with some good bathroom reading. Stay tuned for our week 1 predictions. Gotta love this time of year!!!

Flash Flash and Runny

2008 Week 1: Weekend NCAA Football Picks: WE ARE BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!!!

We are back with our picks for the rest of the weekend and are more excited than ever. All of our picks for this weekend are one unit bets. We do not like to get ahead of ourselves to start the season. The key to any successful gambling venture is bankroll protection. We do not see a Miss St./LSU scenario or USC/Arkansas like we did the last three years. The odds makers are tightening up the ship and we will wait patiently for them to mess up and for our models to identify blatant money making opportunities. Stay patient, manage your bankroll smartly and get ready to pounce when we tell you to.

As any of our readers know, typically we only post picks that we (Flash and Runny) absolutely agree on 100%. No exceptions. Even when we have guest appearences from our degenerates, like Maury the Wig, who posts picks, we must agree with those picks to post. We haggle with each other over nearly every game to get to the games we feel are our locks. We do this because we firmly believe that competion and street fighting leads to the best results. So, when we make an RPJ pick you can rest assured that it is a pick that has been discussed, and dicussed and discussed until we are both bloody.

That said, we are adding a new wrinkle to our game. This year, in addition to the RPJ picks we will post, we will also show you other picks that each of us feel are locks, but did not survive the Flash-Runny battle royale. Our reason for doing this is the same….competion breeds excellence. We are only about winning. Winning big and decimating our competitors (i.e. Vegas) Ragnar Lodbrok-style. We fight so much for our picks that we even want to beat each other!!

On with the picks…..

WEEK 1 PICKS continued

Saturday, August 30, 2008

RPJ PICKS

USC at Virginia (+19.5) - Virginia is a mess. This is not the same team as last year. The QB is gone from the team and their best defensive player is playing on Sundays. For UVA, Last year was the year of the right bounces and winning every close game. This year is not going to be fun for Virginia as Clemson and Wake are solid and Miami, UNC and FSU are all better. USC did not impress in their opener last year against Idaho and the Trojans tend to start the season slowly. Also, Sanchez was injured during the first week of camp and is just back to practice.

However, this week, Sanchez looks great and we believe USC has the best defense in the country. Take into consideration that USC is the only prgram in D-1 that practices its starting offense against its starting defense. This means USC will be ready to pound UVA on both sides of the ball. The best defense USC’s offense will see all year is its own. Only way to really highlight USC’s defense is to showcase one of their leaders…Rey Maualuga. Rey might actually kill somebody on the field this year by hitting them into the third sphere of hell.

and of course you can not ignore Taylor Mays….

These boys can lay some lumber. Some ATS stats:

Trojans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on grass.
Trojans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Trojans are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 non-conference games.

Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in August.
Cavaliers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 non-conference games.

We do not think UVA’s August record will matter and see USC absolutely pounding the run all day. USC wins big and probably by at least 4 TDs because the Cavs will not be able to score. Remember the USC/Arkansas scores.

Alabama at (neutral site) Clemson (-4.5) - This is probably the most interesting game of the first weekend. All of the pressure is on Clemson. They are picked by the “experts” to win the ACC, to play in a BCS bowl game and are favored to win this game. If this game were in Death Valley it would be a different story but it is not. The Tide and Saban are coming off a disappointing 7-6 season and are looking to make a statement early. We all know Saban will turn this team around, just give him 2 more recruiting classes as good as his class this past year and SEC foes should look out. Tommy Bowden is a big choke artist and will be fired if he does not meet and/or exceed the lofty pre-season expectations. Does this look like a coach that can lead your team to the promised land?

We do not trust him to wipe his own ass and his roids are clearly flaring up in this pic.

Alabama has beaten Clemson 11 straight times, but the last meeting was in 1975. Saban is the better coach and will have a month to prepare for Clemson and that will be a huge advantage. The ATS numbers are bad for both teams:

Crimson Tide are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Crimson Tide are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games overall.

Tigers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games.
Tigers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. SEC.

The ATS point that sticks out the most is Clemson versus the SEC. Coaching and location, two underrated handicapping points, will dictate this game. Alabama (+4.5) will cover and do not be surprised if they pull the upset.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

RPJ PICK

Colorado at (neutral site) Colorado State (+11) - We already pointed out in our Vegas preview piece that the Big 12 has the most elite talent at QB in the country and Colorado is part of that picture. QB Cody Hawkins looks good running the new spread offense at Colorado and he was challenged by his backups in camp. The competition has been healthy and will only make Cody better. He is a scrapper and the Buffs were scrappy last year. They beat Oklahoma and Texas Tech so they have the confidence that they can beat anybody anywhere. Always remember one thing….the reason you have heard of Boise State is because of Colorado’s coach, Dan Hawkins. Hawkins put Boise State on the map and then was hired away to restore Colorado’s program. This team is young and is starting to get the talent needed to compete with every team in the Big 12. A little birdy told us that when Hawkins showed up in 2006 he did not think the team possessed one legit D-1 athlete. Taking that into consideration we think he has done a great job. The Buffs went 2-10 in 2006 and 6-7 in 2007. We think they will improve and end the year with a winning record. We have one reason to shit on Colorado State and it comes from this press conference. Please click here to laugh at these tools.

Here is the injured star of Colorado State….

Any D-1 coach that opens a press conference during game week and talks about his kicker is an idiot. It is clear this clown has never coached D-1 before. Colorado is going to drop huge Buffalo turds all over this team. Plus, Colorado has probably the best freshman running back in the country in Darrell Scott. This kid can straight bowl over defenses. He will be an immediate starter. He probably get 150 yards in his debut.

Well these ATS numbers are a mess:

Buffaloes are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
Buffaloes are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 vs. MWC.
Buffaloes are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games on grass.

Rams are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on grass.
Rams are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

Road team is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.
Underdog is 10-2 ATS in their last 12 meetings.

The Buffalos are legit this year. No way Colorado State keeps it close, even in a rivalry game. Team Hawkins is too damn good. Take the Buffs (-11) to the bank!!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

RPJ Pick

Tennessee at UCLA (+7.5) - Last year Tennessee traveled to play Cal and was thrashed. Of course that Tennessee team was good enough to play in the SEC championship game. What a freakin joke. The team that plays in the SEC championship can not even beat a team in the bottom half of the Pac-10. Where was the media to talk about that one? This year The Vols travel to play a UCLA team that is nowhere close to Cal’s talent level from last year. UCLA has a new coach, a new offense and injuries to their 1st and 2nd string QBs. Their new coach is also trying to make himself a public figure with ridiculous ads in the local LA papers. He needs to focus on recruiting and boosting the talent on his roster. Go bet on some more March Madness pools Rick.

Is UCLA serious with that crap?!?!?! Worse ad ever. The USC band has more 5 star recruits than UCLA has had in the past 10 years combined. Tennessee is the superior team top to bottom and this game does not really need any detail. The line should be in the double digits and we are jumping on it under 10. The ATS numbers:

Volunteers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
Volunteers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games on grass.
Volunteers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
Volunteers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games in September.

Bruins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass.
Bruins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
Bruins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. SEC.
Bruins are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 home games.
Bruins are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 games in September.

Don’t buy UCLA’s ATS numbers. UCLA is not good and simply does not have the talent to match up with Tennessee. The Vols win this one by more than 10 and if they do not then the SEC is SOFT as hell this year.

We are introducing a new feature this year. Flash Flash and Runny work well together because we only pick games where every single one of our bet criteria are met. This is why we might only focus on 3-8 games each week. It simply means our models do not mesh up. This year we are going to publish our individual picks outside of RPJ Syndicate’s picks. We are not going to give you detailed reasons for our explanations but we are going to track our individual metrics outside of The Syndicate so you can see more picks.

Flash Flash Picks

Illinois (+8.5) at (neutral site but not really) Missouri - One of the best QBs in the nation, Daniel, playing at their home away from home in the Loo. Love Maclin too. Illinois will not be as good as last year minus Mendenhall. Missouri easily wins by more than 10.

Oklahoma St. at Washington St. (+7.5) - Both teams will score but Washington State’s defense is more inept that Oklahoma State’s is and that will be enough for the Cowboys to win by more than 10. Loving Ok. St. in this one.

RUNNY Picks

Bowling Green at Pitt (-13) - Some analysts have picked Bowling Green to win the MAC. They averaged 30.2 points and 402.5 yeards per game last year. Plus, they return their leading QB. However, I just don’t see them competing in the up-and-coming MAC. The architect behind thier offense, O-Coordinator Mick McCall, left to take the same position at Northwestern. Also, their o-line has three new starters. Pitt’s D will eat this up. Pitt has one of the best front 7 in NCAA. Also, Pitt’s D was ranked #5 in total D last year and they return 6 starters. Their D is extrememly deep. Throw in LeSean McCoy and this will be a beatdown. McCoy may drop 200 on them. Take Pitt (-13) all the way to the bank!!!!

Utah (+3.5) @ Michigan - Rich Rodriguez’s Ann Arbor and much anticipated Michigan blue. No doubt he is a phenomenal coach and can get as much out of his players as anyone. I’m a huge fan. However, he can only do so much in so little time. He is implementing his spread offense in a team that just does not have the personnel yet. Rodriguez knows this, and I’m sure he will do the best he can with what he has. Michigan does have a stacked D and return 8 starters, including everyone on their line. They will definitely be the positive in this game for the maize and blue. However, they will be going against a team that runs the spread offense, too. A team that has been doing it much longer and has many more suitable players. QB Brian Johnson is back and finally healthy. This kid has serious wheels and can sling it. To back him up, Sophmore Corbin Louks can come in for a spell much like Tebow did his freshman year. They return their starting RB and a JuCo transfer in Matt Asiata who can run all day. They can guide this offense against Michigan’s D enough to keep this close. It will be the Utes D that stiffles Michigan’s new offense enough to keep it close. Don’t be surprised if the Utes go into Ann Arbor and silence the world’s quietest 100,000+ fans. Take the Utes +3.5. Don’t forget….Ann Arbor is a whore!!!

Enjoy the picks!!!

Flash Flash and Runny

Stay tuned for NFL picks next week. Feel free to post anything you want on this blog or to email us at rpjsyndicate@gmail.com. We are here for our readers and want you to make as much money as possible this season.

Copyright RPJ Betting Syndicate | Theme by DailyBlogTips