Stone Cold Locks
By Bob Gaughan
2024 record 7-4
2023 Record 82-71-3
2022 Record 68-41-2
2021 record 62-49
2020 record 52-52-4
2019 Record 62-41-2
2018 Record 72-50-3
Total: 403-307-14=56%
Mr. Over/Under:Bills -4.5 over Jacksonville
Week 2 in the NFL was certainly filled with upsets. It was also filled with injuries especially to Buffalo (linebacker) & Miami (quarterback). While Miami has a 3,000-mile trip to Seattle this week, the Bills come home against Jacksonville with 10-days to rest and prepare. Bill’s coach McDermott is 1-3 against the Jags, including last year’s embarrassing loss in London. Now these teams face each other with opposite records. The Bills 2-0, the Jag’s 0-2. While the Bills
have scored over 30-points in each game this year, the most the Jags have scored is 17. Jacksonville is desperate for a win, which could mean careless turnovers, if they fall behind. Although I wish the spread was 4, I’ll take the Bills -4.5 (as of Thursday) at home on Monday Night Football.
Man in Stripes: Baltimore Even Vs Dallas
Well I went down with John Harbaugh and the Ravens last week. This might be their season. 0-3 means 90% of the time you are out of the playoffs.. Cowboys got issues, defense looked horrible last week, pressure mounting in Big D. I will go with the more desperate team playing for their season in a pick em game.. Make sure they play the full 60 this week. Ravens over Dallas. Good luck everyone
Mono: Coastal Carolina +3.5 over Virginia
In Italy on our honeymoon. Bob initially said he’ll get in touch in a few weeks when I return and had the Saints not covered last week, I may have taken him up on the offer. As fate would have it, the Saints took care of business and I find myself with a little bit of free time so let’s try and get hot here in September! We head to a Saturday afternoon showdown and back the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina +3.5 hosting Virginia. If you’ve followed us for a few years, you’ll recall the surprise Coastal Carolina teams of the past. Grayson McCall and company. Before Vegas and the public took note, we were able to take advantage of some backwards lines and make some good money on them. We did so with Malik Willis during his Liberty years as well. I think this line presents the same opportunity. Coastal is off to a fast start, albeit against not so great competition. These guys run the ball and don’t mind doing so for all 4 quarters. QB Ethan Vasko can run for 150 and throw for 200. He is your classic dual threat QB who has similarities to McCall from years past. Virginia on the other hand has to be sick of Tony Elliot. Hats off to him for how he handled some tough off the field situations. When you consider this teams play on the field though, it’s time for him to go. His record is 8-17 as the HC and last week, they blew a halftime lead at home against Maryland, giving up 20 points in the second half while failing to score a single point. The week before, they squeaked out a win against a bad Wake Forest team. Their defense is porous and susceptible to giving up huge plays. Their offense can move the ball, but their QB Colandrea is turnover prone and I think it comes back to bite him here. Coastal will move the ball as they please, whether on the ground or through the air and their defense will make a couple of plays when needed. As much as I like Coastal here, this is a play against Virginia and the current state of the program. A loss here could warm up Elliot’s seat in a hurry and maybe that explains the line. Maybe the guys get up for this one and save his job? Probably not. I don’t think this team is good and Coastal has thrived in this spot for years. As we know, home dogs bark. Take Coastal and the points for safety, but don’t be surprised if they pull off the win. Ciao!
Brutal: BYU +7.5 over Kansas State
1.) In 1890 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints denounced the practice of polygamy so Utah could become a state six years later in 1896.
2.) In 1978 the Church (unofficially) revoked their longstanding ban on non-whites becoming members or ministers of the church and also their ban on interracial marriage amongst members.
3.) In 2023, Brigham Young officially joined the Big 12 Conference after many years as an independent and other short-term conference affiliations with several different conferences.
In the first two cases, the action did not wipeout the previous beliefs and to this day the LDS church struggles with outlying views that cloak themselves as sacred traditional beliefs. In the third case, the Cougars from Provo, Utah are embarking on a mission for recognition, respect and success that might pave the way for another National Championship (In 1984 the non-affiliated Cougars went 13-0 behind QB Robbie Bosco and won an upset National Championship by beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl ). A successful football program may pave the way to even more tolerance than other church elder designations partly because BYU is led by the first and only Tongan head coach in college football, Kalani Sitake. He has been the head coach since 2015. Big wins with a coach of color go a long way to enlightening the hopelessly indoctrinated and the mindlessly non-curious.
Both Kansas State and BYU are 3-0, but BYU has looked a little more consistent. The Wildcats from the Little Apple were always one of our favorite underdogs during the several tenures of underrated head coach Bill Snyder. But Bill is 84, game planning bingo cards in the retirement home and not coming down the tunnel this Saturday. Current head coach Chris Klieman who has been at the helm since 2019 after a hugely successful run at FCS North Dakota is an excellent coach. The #13 Wildcats have defeated FCS 1-AA UT Martinsville, 41-6, then a tough win on the road, 34-27 over Tulane and then a deceiving 31-7 win over Arizona where the game was a stalemate till the fourth quarter.
BYU is also undefeated, but they beat big fave SMU 18-15 and went into Casper, Wyoming and bulldogged the Cowboys into a 20 point loss. This is the Big XII opener for the Cougars, and Lavell Edwards Stadium will be rocking at altitude. Getting 7.5 points at home is too enticing.
Bob: Rutgers +4 over Virginia Tech
There are two teams in the Big 10 that I bet over the season win total. One was Indiana and the other is Rutgers. Last week I bet and won on Indiana and this week I think Rutgers will do the trick. This is Greg Schiano’s best team since returning to the program. Last year he gave them their first winning record since 2014. It’s a typical Schiano team with a strong running game a good defense. Rutgers may have the best running back in the conference in Kyle Monangai. Monangai has already ran for 373 yards in two games. This is a good match-up for Rutgers because Virginia Tech has given up an average of 190 yards on the ground in their first three games. Rutgers is all so coming off of the bye and have an extra week of rest. I saw Virginia Tech this year in their loss against Vanderbilt. I wasn’t impressed. Rutgers avoids the five best teams in the Big 10 so this might be one of the tougher games on their schedule. I expect them to rise to the occasion on the road. This should be a very close game that could go either so I love getting more than a field goal.
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