Author: thependulumswings staff

Putting the Eye Test to the Test.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

LSU. Ohio State.  Clemson.  Oklahoma.

Did the College Football Playoff Committee get it right?  The consensus by far is that the 13 member panel did.  More often than not, they do.

More often than not, the top four teams separate themselves once the regular season and the conference championships are played.  It seems so this year as well.

So, this year the committee chose the obvious because the obvious presented itself given the outcomes on the field of play.  But, in the weeks leading up to, and the one before the final weekend, the committee seeded the top 15 teams based on results, their own eye test, injuries, and an assumption here or there.

Would an old school BCS computer model have done the same?  Would Vegas choose the same?  We don’t know, but we wonder if both would have had nos. 4 through, say 12 ranked differently.

Two weeks ago THE was the “more complete team.”  Two weeks later “LSU has been playing better and getting healthier on D,” committee leader Rob Mullen said.  Seems like an eye test to us.

We wonder how Utah entered this weekend ranked #5 without a win over a single ranked team and one loss.  Baylor was in the same boat and ranked below them.  The difference?  Baylor lead Oklahoma 28-3 a month ago before surrendering 34-31.  Utah lost to USC 30-27.  USC was unranked.  Oklahoma is in the final four.  Eye test anyone?  Oregon’s win showed us that Utah was no where near the top 5.  If Baylor beat Oklahoma and Utah won would Baylor have jumped Utah?  If Oklahoma beat Baylor and Utah beat Oregon would Oklahoma have jumped Utah? Maybe.  Oregon finished ahead of Baylor, so we doubt the Bears would have.

We wonder how a three loss Wisconsin team (losers to Illinois and THE in the regular season, and THE in the conf championship) was and is ranked 8th while several two loss teams, most notably Alabama (ranked 13th after falling one spot without playing last weekend) are ranked well below.  Alabama lost by five to LSU and three on a boinked off of the upright field goal to Auburn.  Ah, the committee all but said “the loss of the QB (Tua T) hurt Bama a bit.”  Bama scored 41 v #1 LSU and 45 v #12 Auburn.  The O wasn’t Bama’s problem before nor after the injury.  The D was.  Eye test anyone?

We could go on, and on.  But the point is, why do we have humans deciding this?  Haven’t advanced metrics, models, AI, and computers passed up the human eye in determining who is who?  The BCS computer model was devised to do just that.  But humans decided that the computer model didn’t pass their eye test.  The very thing that model was designed to do- take away the eye test, got taken away by the eye test.

If you support a chip in the nose of the football to determine down and distance and fumble or not, why not a tech help for the committee?  If you yell at the screen watching umps miss balls for strikes and strikes for balls v. the superimposed zone on the screen why not a tech help to the committee?  We could go on and on.

The committee got the final four right because the teams separated perfectly on the final weekend.  If it came down differently and went to an eye test, would the outcome have been different?  And, would it have been correct?

Vegas would favor several lower ranked teams in the final 15, and in some cases by double digits, over several higher ranked teams.  The NFL would take Alabama’s starting 22 over any other roster in the NCAA, yet the committee sees them as the 13th best.

For now everyone is happy, except fans of THE.  Their eye test sees scarlet and gray as a clear no. 1 over purple and the yellow that LSU calls gold.

And, that makes the point.  The computer doesn’t see color.

 

 

 

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week 15

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

And here come the NCAA Conference Championship games.  Whew.  That was quick.  Anyone having withdrawals before it’s even over?

After a week in NOLA Abby is having a few withdrawals of her own of a different kind.  But, the elixir proved to be mixed just like a fine hand crafted cocktail. It got the job done.

Her back to back weeks of picks from the road make you want one more round in the worst way.  Week 13’s won/loss record was 5-1, while week 14 was 4-1.  That brings her season long record to a fine 39-34. Woof. The way more important bones wagered took home ten of eleven then seven of eight.  Therefore, Abby has taken 78 of them from Vegas while only paying 55.  That is a degenerate gambler good win percentage of 58.6%  Woof!  Woof!  Meanwhile the hunch bet split the last two weeks and stands on all four legs at 10-5.  Woof!  Woof!  Woof!

Enough with the barking already.  It’s time to earn some more pats on the head.

Oregon + 7 v Utah –  The Utes are the best team no one has seen this year.  Oregon is the first ranked team, when the game is played, the Utes will play this year.  Utes win, Ducks cover.  One bone.

Baylor v Oklahoma -9 – The Bears are the second best team no one has seen play this year.  They led Oklahoma by 25 at one point in their first meeting.  Not this time. The Sooners make a statement by hanging half a hundo on Baylor to give the Playoff Committee something to think about.  Two Bones.

UAB +7 1/2 v FAU – Is Lane Kiffin’s honeymoon in south Florida over?  Rumors swirl about new girlfriends (head coaching jobs at Arkansas) every year about this time.  UAB dances with the one they brought and wins straight up.  One bone.

Georgia v LSU over 54 1/2 – Most of the talk pregame is about how good Georgia’s D is.  The rest of the talk is about how Georgia is either hurt or suspended at the skill positions.  It’s a zig when others zag.  Expect Georgia to put up 20 plus and LSU to put up 30 plus, just enough to cover on a fast track in the Mercedes Benz Georgia Dome.  Two bones.

Cincinnati v Memphis under 57 1/2 –  These two met last week and scored 58 total points.  Meeting in back to back weeks we like the under as Abby assumes (you know what happens when you assume?) the two D’s will learn from the film more than the two O’s will change what they do.  One bone.

We make no hunch bet this week.  But we do have a hunch.  On a hunch expect Oklahoma (if Georgia loses) to jump Utah and gain the #4 seed.

Woof, again!

P.S.  Abby howls at the moon in amazement at how the playoff committee ranks Alabama as low as they do.

 

Disappointment From Coast to Coast, Part Three

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA Football regular season ink is dry, and the dye is cast.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

In part two we selected Florida St. from the ACC.  As an intro as to why we wrote the following. Usually in year two of a new coaching staff’s run the ascent begins.  After all, you have two years of your own recruits.  You may have run off a few that you don’t want.  The transfer portal can accelerate your personnel transformation.  You have instilled the weight and nutritional training that you want to shape your team.  Your culture is, or better be, in place.  Your staff has had two springs and two falls to “coach em up.”  If it’s a big time program money/budgets are generous to accomplish all of the above.

We sense a pattern.  Today we examine the BIG 12.

 

BIG 12

Most Disappointing

Much like Willie Taggert at Florida St., year two for Tom Herman and company at the University of Texas was a disappointment.  Though, year two at Texas wasn’t a disaster like it was in Seminole country.  But, shouldn’t the flagship school in the third largest state in the union be better, even much better?  Texas finished 7-5 overall.  Their 5-4 in conference record was equal to three other schools and “good enough” to tie for third best in the BIG 12.  Who had the same in conference record?  Oklahoma St., Kansas St., and Iowa St. did.  See what we mean?  “Good enough” isn’t good enough.

The standard for years in the ACC has been Clemson.  Florida St. aspires to get back to that.  The standard for many, many years in the Big 12 has been Oklahoma.  It should be Texas and Oklahoma, but it isn’t.  Aspirational means you aren’t there.

But shouldn’t it take more than a couple of years to turn around a Texas program that suffered from past years of poor recruiting and poor coaching/management?  Ask Baylor.  In the same conference, with much the same schedule, Baylor went from 1-11 to 11-1 in those same two years.  Oh, and Baylor popped Texas 24-10 along the way in doing so.

Tom Herman was a (or the) hot name in coaching two years ago as he used LSU to get more money out of UT.  Now he needs to earn it.  Texas beat no one on their schedule this year that Vegas viewed as the favorite in the game.  All of this occurred after a ten win season in 2018 and with a returning, accomplished QB. That’s underachieving.  That’s disappointing.

Herman just fired his OC and DC.  Wasn’t Herman the offensive guru at THE OSU and Houston?  If so, what happened at UT?  If not, did he make a hiring mistake or three along the way?  It says here that he only has 12 more regular season games to figure that out.  There’s another team in Texas that UT doesn’t like getting more pub than them.  It’s Texas A&M.  They have a year two coach in Jimbo Fisher.  If ole Jimbo outshines Tom Herman in year three, Texas will headbutt Herman much like Herman did a helmeted player in game 12 last week.

The University of Texas is the runaway winner as the most disappointing team in the BIG 12.

Also Considered

TCU went 3-6 in conference and 5-7 overall this year.  Gary Patterson is 118-65 overall in 18 seasons leading the Horned Frogs.

TCU needed to replace a some talent from 2018 (particularly on D), some of which now plays on Sunday.  They also needed a new QB.  But a program run for 18 years by the same leader clearly needs to plan against and prepare for just that.

TCU’s bar is lower than Texas’ bar.  However,  Patterson himself has raised it.  Gary Patterson is 118-65 overall in 18 seasons leading the Horned Frogs.  In 2017, TCU and Coach Patterson reached their tenth 11-win season since Patterson began coaching for the program. That is the fourth most 11 win seasons since 2001 in all of college football.

In 2018 the program finished 7-6.  Therefore, the 5-7 campaign this year is underwhelming, and now qualifies as a three year slide.

 

Another Different Disappointment From Coast to Coast.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

On January 19 of this year Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California joined the 2020 presidential contest with her goal to win the Democratic Party nomination.

“The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values,” she said in the video. “That’s why I’m running for president of the United States.”

She announced on 1/19 as it was also the day our nation honored the late Dr. Martin Luther King, a timing that she said was “very important” to her.  Amid that context, however, Harris played down the role of race.  “When people wake up in the middle of the night, whether it be a mom in Compton or a mom in Kentucky, she’s waking up having the same concerns,” Harris said.

So with that Harris set up shop on the corner of First and Main St.  She brought her chair, table, and game to attract Americans far and wide and hold their interest.  A high single digit percentage stopped by as she broke out the shells and arranged them just so.

Debate one in June almost came and went quietly until Harris pounced on a “sleepy” Joe Biden late in the evening.   Harris, a black former prosecutor, leaped into the cross-talk with a request to speak “on the issue of race.” She then trained her attention on Mr. Biden, and after making clear that she did not believe he was a racist, proceeded to sharply criticize him for having made “very hurtful” comments about having worked with two segregationist senators.  Harris then also recalled Mr. Biden’s opposition to school busing in the 1970’s and opened up about her own history. “There was a little girl in California who was a part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day,” she said. “And that little girl was me.”  Her desire to downplay the role of race pivoted.

And after that more folks, reaching into the mid teens percentage wise, showed up as she moved the shells randomly to stump the crowd and stump on the campaign trail.  Attention heightened.

Debate two brought Tulsi Gabbard’s attack of Harris’ record as DA of California. Gabbard singled out Harris’ stance on the death penalty, accusing her of keeping “innocent people” on death row and saying she “blocked evidence” that could have helped them. The tense exchange illuminated a complicated piece of Harris’s record as a prosecutor that has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle, with some targeting her refusal to seek the death penalty in the killing of a police officer, and others attacking her decision to defend California’s death penalty from a statewide legal challenge.

And after that less folks, now slumping back into the mid single digits, showed up as she begged folks to keep their eye on the most important shell-the only one with anything hidden underneath.

In an effort to remain viable in the race Harris pivoted again.   She re re reformed her Medicare for all stance a third time.  She promised teacher pay raises.  She promised a middle class tax cut.  She even offered to kiss all of the babies, that’s assuming they made it through the “women’s wellness” needs.  And, she put all of this under one shell, or so she said.

But, her presence sunk further.  Fewer and fewer were interested in the shell game.  Her poll numbers sunk to less than 3% of likely Democratic voters.  So, Harris spoke to what she viewed as her main electability problem last week.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris described electability as the “elephant in the room” of her campaign and wondered aloud whether America is ready for a woman of color to be commander in chief.  “Essentially, is America ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president of the United States?” Harris said in an interview with Axios on HBO. “There is a lack of ability or a difficulty in imagining that someone whom we have never seen can do a job that has been done 45 times by someone who is not that person.”

So, Harris perhaps forgot about one Barrack Obama.  She accused her own party of racism.  That’s what “lack of ability or a difficulty in imagining” means.  This is the same party that successfully saw Barrack Obama ascend from virtually nowhere to serve two terms as President #44.  This is the same party that saw approximately 94% of all African Americans vote for Obama in 2008 and again in 2012. This is the same party that shows Joe Biden polling far, far better with African Americans in absolute numbers and percentages than Harris or Cory Booker in 2019.  Was this party not racist when Harris was polling into the mid teens and running third or fourth, but is now?

Hmm.  Her January downplay of race as relevant in this nomination process now seems so long ago and so hollow.

So, yesterday Kamala Harris did the wise thing.  She announced that her run for 2020 was over.

She folded her chair, folded her table, and packed away her shells.  It turns out that once America focused on that elusive, ever moving, one shell of three, all that was under it was a card.  A race card.  She played it.  Then she folded.

 

 

Disappointment From Coast to Coast, Part Two

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA Football regular season ink is dry, and the dye is mostly cast.

For many teams the season’s promise was bright as summer turned to fall.  Now, as fall turns to winter, that promise has turned darker than late afternoon post the change in daylight savings time.  You set you clocks back while some team’s performance set their programs back.

So who are they?  Who are those teams that fell significantly short of meeting the expectations of their followers?  Disappointment can and does come from a few angles.  The program’s history builds in annual minimum standards.  A new, and maybe highly paid, coach can further that.  A good recruiting year or three can further that.  Some teams are bad but somewhat expected.  Some are disappointing and somewhat unexpected.

In part one we selected Washington out of the PAC 12 as the most disappointing.  Evidently, head coach Chris Petersen was disappointed as well.  He stepped down yesterday citing a need to “recharge.”  Today we continue with part two of our series scanning each of the Power 5 conferences to select the most disappointing performance.

 

ACC

Most Disappointing

Usually in year two of a new coaching staff’s run the ascent begins.  After all, you have two years of your own recruits.  You may have run off a few that you don’t want.  The transfer portal can accelerate your personnel transformation.  You have instilled the weight and nutritional training that you want to shape your team.  Your culture is, or better be, in place.  Your staff has had two springs and two falls to “coach em up.”  If it’s a big time program money/budgets are generous to accomplish all of the above.

“Usually” is the key word.  For Florida St. the 2018 and first half of the 2019 season was all the boosters, alumni, AD, and school administration needed to see “usually” would not turn into their reality.  Willie Taggert, nine games into year two and 21 games in in total was fired.  Several losses in 2019 were downright embarrassing.  A season opening home loss to Boise St. was followed by a one point win over Louisiana Monroe.  Clemson and Miami both worked FSU over.   Discipline lacked and class attendance declined. And, then it was over.

Taggert, 43, had ascended rapidly in the head coaching world.  Western Kentucky’s success lead to USF’s turnaround which led to a major jump to the helm at Oregon.  One year in at Oregon, Taggert jumped ship to coach the Seminoles.

Florida St. missed the bowl season in 2018 (the first time since 1981), and won six and lost six in 2019.  That’s only good enough for a tie for fourth in the Atlantic side of the ACC. They also will be buying out Coach Taggert for a smooth 20 million per the contract that he didn’t finally sign, but will expect to collect from.  Taggert finished 9-12 in his 1 3/4 years there. His ACC record was a miserable 6-9 in a conference that isn’t from top to bottom that feared.  The team was 4-5 when he was let go.

Clemson is the standard that FSU aspires to compete with.  When you finish behind Louisville and Wake Forest, and tied with Boston College, Clemson is more than a few hydration bottles ahead of you.

Florida St. is easily the most disappointing team in the ACC.

Also Considered

FSU took the prize and second place wasn’t close.  However, the continued noise emanating from South Beach isn’t due to partying about the Miami Hurricanes football team.  They finished 6-6 as well.  They began 2018 ranked 3rd in the U.S.  They end 2019 as an afterthought in the ACC.  A parade of coaches have come and gone since that program has been relevant on the national stage.

Syracuse, finishing 5-7, also underwhelmed.  The Orangemen were upstarts for two straight years registering some nice upsets along the way.  This year was a step backwards.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You deserve your nuggets today.  Last week the BBR Staff and it’s degenerate gambler and mascot Abby were on assignment in the greater south Louisiana area.  They covered LSU and the New Orleans Saints live.   They also covered bets.  But most of all, they watched more than wrote.  It’s now  time to write more on Al Gore’s internet with pearls of wisdom in the form of Ten Piece Nuggets below.  Crunch away.

  1.  The new AP College Top 25 is out.  We know, we know, the playoff rankings are more important.  But, you cannot wait till Wednesday AM for nuggets, you need them now.  It feels like the top 3 have separated themselves a bit.  LSU, THE Ohio State U, and Clemson are undefeated, ranked 1,2, and 3 and headed to their respective conference championship games as moderate to big favorites.  LSU hammered Texas A&M and dumbfounded Jimbo Fisher.  THE rolled over Michigan and dumbfounded Jim Harbaugh.  Clemson worked South Carolina and dumbfounded Will Muschamp.
  2. THE is #1 in the playoff ranks and did nothing to lose any ground.  The chase for the fourth spot is currently where the action is.  Georgia currently holds the #4 spot.  But, but, but.  Nipping on the heels of the Bulldogs are one loss Utah, one loss Oklahoma, and one loss Baylor.
  3. One loss #5 Utah meets two loss and #13 ranked Oregon in the PAC 12 championship this weekend.  Is a win and a Ga. loss enough to get them to the final four?  Sure.   But what if they do so, Ga. losses, and one loss #6 Oklahoma dispatches #8 Baylor?  What if Baylor dispatches Oklahoma?
  4. And, what if Ga beats LSU?  Does LSU hold onto the fourth spot as the best one loss team?  BBR thinks the following.  If Ga wins they are in.  IF Ga. loses they are out.  If Ga losses, a Utes win gets them in.  A Ga loss and a Ute loss opens the door wide for the Big 12 winner (Baylor/Okla) to charge through.
  5. Of course a THE loss or a Clemson loss creates additional chaos.  The early Vegas look at that possibility is out.  Vegas seems to think that isn’t possible.  THE is favored by a bullish 17 over # 10 Wisconsin in the BIG 10 Championship Game.  Clemson is favored by a whopping 28 over Virginia in the ACC Championship Game.
  6. LSU opened a 5 point favorite over Georgia, but as of this AM it’s climbed to 7.  Utah is the 6 1/2 point choice over Oregon.  Oklahoma is a 9 point pick over Baylor.
  7. Alabama, the every year participant since the new four team playoff format began, will have to watch the proceedings this year.  A young, injured, and leaky defense gave up 48 to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. And as a tying field goal bounced off of the left upright with two minutes to go, Bama’s playoff chances got bounced as well.
    )

    It was very un Saban like finish to a very un Saban like year.  He yelled at everyone all game.  Of course, he does that regardless of the score and the opponent.  Bama dropped to #9 with it’s second SEC loss .  Auburn moved up from #16 to #11 with the win.

  8.  Minnesota hosted game day Saturday morning.   Everyone wanted to “Row the Boat.”  Of course the snow and cold might have iced over any lake if they tried.  They then went out in said cold and snow and tried to beat Wisconsin.  Winner goes to the BIG 10 Championship Game.  Loser is out in the cold.  Whisky took care of their business dispatching the upstart Golden Gophers 38-17.  Minnie was ranked as high as #7 two weeks back.  They fell to #15.  It’s going to be another cold winter in Minnie.
  9. Some coaches were out in the cold before their season ended.  Some more were out as soon as their seasons ended this Saturday.  Barry Odom had four years to turn around Mizzo in the SEC East.  He didn’t.  Charlie Strong didn’t give any life to USF and was terminated.   BC parted ways with Steve Addazio after seven years.  Frank Wilson succeeded Larry Coker at UTSA but did not succeed in three seasons.
  10. And, finally, Matt Luke got booted from Ole Miss after his kicker booted an extra point try wide in a one point Egg Bowl loss to in state rival Moo St.   If you haven’t seen why the extra point attempt was from farther than usual, you can here.  If you scroll down the Russian announcers add their two rubles as well.  And it’s well worth it.  At press time there was no word on if Adam Schiff wants to subpoena them to testify in the impeachment inquiry.

You’ve had 4 days off.  Get back to it already.

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Fourteen

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Shame on Abby.  She brought her PC on the road but forgot the power cord.  The battery is low,  The picks, briefly, are below.

Virginia Tech -3 v Virginia  –  Va Tech continues to late in season impress.  One bone.

Texas -9 v. Texas Tech – Texas has to beat some one soon and soundly don’t they?  One bone.

THE -8 v. Michigan –  Ohio St. is better, period.  One bone.

Wisconsin -2 v. Minnesota – Whisky is better, period.  Three bones.

Oregon St. +20 1/2 v. Oregon – Oregon is better, period.  But, the Beavers will keep it closer than three touchdowns.  Two bones.

Texas A&M and LSU combined to score 146 points in seven overtimes last year.  The over and under total this year is 64 1/2.  Take the under on a hunch.

Gobble Gobble and Woof!

 

Ten Piece Nuggets- NCAA Football

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The latest AP Top 25 Poll is out.  But, it almost could be reprinted from last week.  There was very little change except one significant one.  Onto the Ten Piece Nuggets which we will keep pretty lean today.  Thanksgiving and stuffed turkey is near.

  1.  Three of the top five won by convincingly beating  significantly inferior opponents.  Two won against good opponents.  Penn St. came to Columbus, Ohio as did College Game Day.  THE OSU helped Penn St back in, but won 28-17.   Texas A&M came to Athens, GA.  It was mostly rock em sock em defense as Georgia prevailed 19-13.
  2.  LSU’s win over Ar-Kansas and Georgia’s win over A&M set up a # 1 v. #5 SEC Championship game in two weeks.  Of course they must take care of business this week for it to be a 1v 5 matchup.  LSU hosts the Aggies while Georgia stays in state busing down to Georgia Tech.  The Tigers are favored by 17 while Georgia is favored by 28.
  3.  THE clinched the East BIG 10 Division and awaits the winner of the showdown this week in Madison, WI.  The Badgers host the Golden Gophers.   The winner of that contest wins the West BIG 10 Division.  It’s rivalry week across the fruited plains.  Ohio St has a date with Michigan.  Badgers, Gophers, Wolverines, and Buckeyes are three bad animals and one poisonous nut.  Whatever.
  4.  Alabama sits at #5 while Utah moved up one to #6.  We suspect that the playoff committee will slot them that way as well.  They both have to win out and have a watchful eye on the traffic above.  Alabama struggled (ahem) to get by Western Carolina 66-3.  The Iron Bowl v hated Auburn awaits.  In a betting line that is sure to raise a few eyebrows Bama is only a 3 1/2 point road favorite.  Does a Bama win combined with a Georgia loss put the Crimson Tide back in the final four?  Probably.
  5. Utah hosts Colorado and the Buffaloes stand in the way of a trip to the PAC 12 Championship game for Utah.  USC is done at 8-4 but only two of those losses are v PAC 12 opponents and they handed the Utes their only loss.  So, Utah must herd the Buffaloes to advance.  And, if they did, and knocked off two loss Oregon is that enough to jump Alabama into fourth should one of those above stumble?
  6. It would give Utah a one more win and only one loss resume v Bama’s resume.  Bama needs to beat Auburn of course or the point is moot.  Utah is a big 29 point favorite over Colorado.
  7.  Fear the Fork!  Oregon must not have feared it.  They went into Tempe with the same road to the playoffs hopes as described above for Utah.  They left Tempe with their second loss in hand.  The Sun Devils prevailed 31-28.  The Ducks lost more than a few feathers dropping from 6th all of the way down to 14th.  Rivalry week sends the Oregon St. Beavers to Eugene as 18 point underdogs.  At this point the Ducks can only win the rivalry game and play spoiler v. Utah in the conference championship game.
  8.  Minnesota climbed back into the top 10 at #9.  What does a win at Wisconsin, then a BIG 10 Championship game win over THE, combined with a Utah loss, and a Georgia loss do for them?  Probably nothing.  But, impossible is nothing.
  9.  Virginia Tech is playing solid late season football.  The Pittsburgh Panthers were shut out by the Hokies 28-0 on Saturday.  The Hokies entered the poll last week at #25 and moved up two to #23 this week.  In October and November Tech has six victories and a one point loss to Notre Dame to show for it’s efforts.  A season opening loss to woeful Boston College is way back in the rear view window now.  Tech is a team that you don’t want to draw in the bowl pairings.
  10. Texas was smarter than everyone else they told us when they spurned overtures from the SEC when rival A&M joined.  Texas was smarter than everyone else they told us when the hired Tom Herman.  Tom Herman must be smarting after his pregame no helmet on headbutt of a player with a helmet on attempted to motivate the Longhorns v. Baylor.  Baylor won 24-10.  Texas hosts Texas Tech this weekend.  They need the win to insure a winning season as they stand currently at 6-5.  The Longhorns are a nine point favorite in a game that will be lost among other rivalry week games that are relevant and actually are rivalries.

Turkey is good.  Nuggets are better!

 

Abby Takes Down Vegas, Year Two, Week Thirteen

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

College football rolls into lucky week 13.

Abby wasn’t only lucky last week, she was good.  Four wins v two losses makes her season long record 30-32.  Where the money is though is in the bones.  Hitting her best bet (Georgia over Auburn) for four bones helped her widen the winnings on the year to 61 bones won v 53 bones lost.  The hunch took another punch however, but  still stands tall at 9 wins and 4 set backs.

In honor of week 13 we offer 11 bones to win 13 for you to chew on.

Oklahoma St. -6 1/2 v. West Virginia – The Cowboys have won three in a row including solid victories over Iowa St. and TCU.  WVA is  a tough place to play, but Abby thinks that Okla St. gits er dun on offense.   One bone.

Illinois +15 v Iowa and Northwestern +13 1/2 v Minnesota –  This is Abby’s two dog parlay special of the week.  Illinois will score just enough to cover against an Iowa team that plays strong D at home.  NW is a my dog Spot bet.  What’s that?  Abby’s getting big dog points and likes the fact that NW is at home and facing a Golden Gopher team who’s bubble burst a bit last week.  One bone to win three bones.

Texas A&M +13 v Georgia – The Aggies have no signature wins this year.  The need to beat either Georgia or LSU in the last two to finish 8-4.  Georgia played a rough defensive game v. Auburn last week.  Can the Aggies pull off a stunner?  South Carolina did between these same hedges a month ago.  Maybe not, but 13 is this week’s lucky number.  Three bones.

Kansas St. +2 1/2 v Texas Tech – This line seems odd.  Shouldn’t K St. be favored?  Undeterred she’s taking the slight road dog.   Texas Tech has played better of late, but it says here that K St. is smarting after a loss to West Virginia and wins straight up.  Two bones.

Tennessee +3 1/2 v Missouri –  This one is scary but Abby wants to believe her eyes.   Her vision tells her that Tennessee is playing much better of late while Missouri has cratered.  Take Tennessee and watch for a possible straight up win.  Two bones.

Oregon St. + 10 1/2 v Washington St. –  Only Oregon and Utah have slowed the suddenly prolific Oregon St offense.  Washington St doesn’t have a prolific defense.  It’s back to back road game for the Beavers, but Abby sees an undermanned, but determined team that will keep this high scoring affair close.  Two bones.

That’s six road teams and six dogs out of seven games above.  On a hunch take THE as the big favorite home team minus 18 versus Penn St.

Woof!

 

 

 

A Different Disappointment From Coast to Coast

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday we began our NCAA football series examining disappointments from coast to coast.  Overnight our Washington Bureau won over our editor.  Because of that, today we put our series on hold to bring you a different disappointment from coast to coast.  It’s time to check in on the US House Intelligence (misnomer) Committee Impeachment Inquiry hearings that’s put our nation on hold.

We know.  We know.  It’s hard to digest.  That’s why we’ll feed our observations to you in our Ten Piece Nuggets format.  It’s easier to swallow this way.

  1. If you haven’t watched any or much of this charade, good for you.  In a word it’s been incredibly “boring.”
  2. How boring is it?  We are glad you asked.  It’s so boring that CBS yesterday made the programming decision to cut from the live broadcast of witness testimony to bring you their regularly scheduled soap opera programming.  It’s all about ratings in TV land you know.  CBS must have figured that you have had enough of the soap opera on Capital Hill.
  3. CBS might also have been short staffed to execute the programming any way.  When last we checked in on the network they were doing a fast and furious job of finding the “no Epstein video leaker” and firing her even though she wasn’t the most wanted “no Epstein video leaker.”  They fired the wrong person as you likely heard.
  4. Probably approaching 50% of America despises Chairman Adam Schiff.  The Republicans are doing their own fast and furious search for the Washington whistle blower. But, we give Schiff a lot of credit.  Staring in his own soap called #SchiffShow, ole Adam has stared straight into the cameras and proclaimed that he has no idea who that person is.  Funny thing is yesterday when Devin Nunez, playing bad cop, wandered into questioning that got a little to close to one particular Intelligence Department ole Adam stopped the questioning for fear of the whistle blower’s identity being revealed.
  5. The witness before the committee at that moment was one Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, who played, at least in his mind, a key role in all matters Ukrainian.  Vindman quickly corrected Nunez when addressed as Mr. Vindman.  When asked later why the sensitivity to wanting to be addressed as Lt. Colonel not Mr. Vindman stated that while dressed in a freshly pressed, full military uniform that it was proper.  Vindman said he didn’t know who the whistle blower was either.  However, he essentially took the fifth around this line of questioning. Therefore, this linked Vindman as the source to the whistle blowers second hand reproted concerns.  The casting department was concerned with this sensitivity on stage, but wardrobe was “oh so proud.”
  6. Does every single congressman or congresswoman have to thank every single government worker for their service every single time they begin their five minutes of time allotted to them?  Of course they do, it’s a show you know.  And this show yesterday stretched all of the way into east coast prime time.  Get ready for more as seven witnesses have come before the committee and there are expected to be seven to ten more before the final curtain is closed.  Thank you for your service.
  7. The pursuit of Donald J. Trump began with Russian collusion three years ago.  Until this week it centered on quid pro quo in his dealings with Ukraine and specifically in the now infamous “perfect phone call” and transcripts of the same.  But the Democrats stopped with the “quid pro quo” and renamed the episode “bribery” just this week.  It’s smart on their part as the word bribery is more easily understood by the masses that watch too many soaps to begin with.  The thinking goes like this “Russian Collusion” sounds like “abortion,” while “quid pro quo” sounds like “a woman’s right to choose” while “bribery” sounds like “woman’s wellness.”  Feel better?  Maybe not, but it’s something that focus groups said is an easier sell.
  8.  So did Trump cross the line on the line when he asked for a corrupt company and one of it’s board members (some dude named Hunter Biden) to be investigated by the new regime in Ukraine?  Add to that the withholding of foreign aid, though no one has testified that the two were “give to get,” at least not yet.  Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, might do just that this AM.  Will anyone be watching?  America has to go to work this morning.  Congress should take note.
  9. We ask again, will anyone be watching?  And if they do, will anyone watching not have already made up their mind on whether they think Trump is guilty?  Or, asked differently, will anyone who is watching hasn’t made up their minds on his fate?  Will any member of the House vote differently for or against impeachment than when they voted for or against initiating the impeachment inquiry?  Maybe a few of the Democrats who won a seat in congress from a Trump carried district will.  It’s cover for the next time they run.  Otherwise, it’s a rerun shown from a slightly different camera angle.  Isn’t it?
  10.  It’s hard for America to find a new star when all they see are reruns.  America elected the star of the hit show “The Apprentice” to be it’s President three years ago.  At the end of each show, the now President fired someone.  The House would like the Senate to fire the now President. They want a new star for the 2020 season. The plot is easy to follow.  It’s just the acting that is so bad.

But on with the show we must go.  And, tomorrow on with the NCAA football disappointments we go.  We must have picked the University of Washington for a reason.  Because from Washington the state to Washington the District of Columbia this has been a disappointment from coast to coast.