Shhhhhh. Gary “The Gut” Goombah has been in hiding since Sunday. After yet another poor week of predictions, I (the “Dutch Lion”) had to track down Gary. He was/is hiding in a cave in a remote mountain area outside of a desolate village. Why you might ask? Gary is scared. He’s frightened of the brass knuckles that he may face if he SHOWS his face near unpleasant, losing, threatening gamblers. That’s why he met with me secretly to give me his picks for this weekend’s games in hopes of getting back on track. I know what you’re thinking. Why didn’t Gary just lock his door and make a phone call? I can’t answer that one. However, he mumbled something about the FBI and getting bugged and tracked and “The Following”. It was all too much for me to dive into. I mean, I’m busy man……writing and working and placing wagers. It’s so much stuff during Autumn, ya know!
Anyway, on behalf of Gary, let me recap his picks from Week 7:
Week 7 NCAA Selections
Oklahoma St. Cowboys (-7) over Texas Longhorns – Oklahoma St. won by 3 in Overtime, 13-10. In my opinion, the Cowboys kept Texas in the game by not passing more. Mason Rudolph throws a nice spiral. So let him throw it Coach Gundy! They had about a 50/50 split. Rudolph completed 25 for 38 for 282 passing yards. The team ran it 51 for 146 yards (2.9 avg). IF they let Rudolph pass it more, the Cowboys would’ve covered. Nonetheless, LOSS.
Michigan Wolverines (+9) over Penn St. Nittany Lions – The White Out in Happy Valley, along with a supremely talented team in Penn St., were too much for Michigan. To top it off, Penn St. was looking for revenge after getting blown out at Michigan last year 49-10. This year: PSU 42-13. Wo! Talk about payback. Gary “The Gut” was just plain wrong on this selection, and he knows it. He told me himself, in the cave. LOSS
West Virginia Mountaineers (-9) over Baylor Bears – This is where Gary’s frustration boiled over! WVU had a 38-13 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter! That’s 25 points if you’re counting at home. 23 points later for Baylor and the Mountaineers escaped with a 38-36 two point win. Victory? Gary “The Gut” is bitter about this one. LOSS
Syracuse Orangemen (+17) over Miami Hurricanes – Gary “felt strongly” about this pick last week. His “Gut” was correct! Miami won a close game 27-19. That’s only 8 points which means Gary “The Gut” would not be shutout! WIN!
Week 7 NFL Selection
Carolina Panthers (-3) over Chicago Bears – Gary liked the “Dutch Lion’s” prediction of Panthers 21 Bears 13, so he too picked the Panthers to cover those measly 3 points. As it turned out, the Bears scored two times on defense and won 17-3 in an upset at Soldier Field. Another LOSS made it quite an upsetting week for “The Gut”. Hence, the hiding in a remote cave.
Season Record
- Week 1 : 3-0-1
- Week 2 : 1-3
- Week 3 : 3-1
- Week 4 : 3-1
- Week 5 : 0-4
- Week 6 : 1-3-1
- Week 7 : 1-4
- Season Totals: 12-16-2
Week 8 NCAA Selections
Nebraska Cornhuskers (+5) over Purdue Boilermakers – When the initial spread came out I was dumbstruck, and quite frankly, offended. Purdue was favored by 6.5 points. As usual, the spread changes throughout the week as the gamblers change the line. As of Friday’s Chicago Tribune, the point spread is now down to 5 points. Gary “The Gut” feels better about Nebraska than these goofy casinos. What a lack of respect for the Big Red!?! Nebraska is 3-4 after two tough, bad losses to Wisconsin and Ohio St. but who doesn’t get blown out by Ohio St.? Rutgers lost to Ohio St. 56-0 and then beat Purdue (also 3-4) last week 14-12. Nebraska beat Rutgers 27-17. So I guess I’m a little confused. Sure it’s a B1G night game in West Lafayette, IN but Nebraska had a bye week to get reorganized, healthy, and motivated to finish these last five games on the schedule. This young team is growing and we expect a much better effort on Saturday night. PICK NEBRASKA with a solid straight up win!
Washington Huskies (-17.5) over UCLA – Like Nebraska, Washington is coming off of a bye week which gave them a chance to get healthy and fix some of their early season problems that appeared in the loss at Arizona St. Now they’re back home in beautiful Husky Stadium, facing a team in UCLA that plays little to no defense. Remember that time Gary picked UCLA to win by more than 3 at Memphis. Final score: Memphis won 48-45. Watch for Jake Browning and his Huskies teammates to roll up the score on the Bruins as they take out their frustrations from their loss at ASU. PICK WASHINGTON!
Georgia Bulldogs (-13.5) over Florida – The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party brings an undefeated Georgia team into the game for the first time since 2005. Georgia is also coming off of a bye week (see a theme here?) Problem is, Florida also just had a bye week. OK, so what’s the “Gut” thinking on this one? Well, he’s thinking Georgia is just plain better than Florida, by a lot. UGA is 7-0 and awesome. Florida is 3-3 and stinky. They’ve lost two in a row, to Texas A&M and LSU. Can the Bulldogs cover by two touchdowns? Yes they can. PICK GEORGIA!
TCU Horned Frogs (-5.5) over Iowa St. Cyclones – Iowa St. is playing some good ball. They’re ranked for the first time since 2005. Meanwhile, TCU is 7-0 and ranked 4th in the nation. They won’t overlook this ISU team, even though the game is at Ames, Iowa. Five and a half points should be easy for this high-powered TCU offense to cover. Gary told me something about “overcoming adversity and being motivated by revenge” but it was all a bit hazy as the “Dutch Lion” was a bit foggy and groggy himself, you know, from the bag over the head and the strange car ride and the pills. You know, just another day in paradise. Anyway, PICK TCU to cover 5.5 measly points and don’t hold it against Mr. Goombah. He was frightened. I did warn Gary and his henchmen that this would likely be my last visit to the cave so he better get his game on and pick some winners. Besides, I miss our parties in his lavish mansion of days gone by.
Gary “The Gut” is gonna stick with just 4 selections this week. He wasn’t wowed by anything else on the slate so let’s hope for a perfect 4-0 week! Let’s get back to the lavish grounds of his grade A, choice cut estate. See you all next week!
Dutch Lion Sports 