OMG! This is gonna be huge. It’s gonna be a “Big’un”. Is that how you spell “big’un”? I’m not sure. Better ask your bookie. That’s right folks, it’s college football’s Conference Championship Week and Gary has plenty of sound advice for your betting needs. Do you wanna win big wads of cash? Do you wanna make it rain? Then follow the “Gut’s” advice, but first let’s recap Week 12:
Week 12 NCAA Football Selections:
- Using the point spreads in Friday’s Chicago Tribune, Gary had 7 picks against the spread (ATS) last week. Horseshoes are lucky, right? What if they are blue? Here were Gary’s “Lucky 7” for Rivalry Week:
Illinois Fighting Illini (+16.5) over Northwestern Wildcats – “The Gut” said: PICK ILL-INI !!! RESULT: He was wrong. Northwestern hung a big whuppin’ on the Illini. Final score: Northwestern won by 35 points, 42-7. LOSS!
Michigan Wolverines (+11.5) over Ohio St. Buckeyes – “The Gut” thinks the Wolves might win straight up. He LOVES getting 11.5 points at home. PICK Michigan! RESULT: Michigan led 14-0 at one point but eventually lost by 11 points, 31-20. The hook was responsible for an all-important winner. WIN!!!
Kansas Jayhawks (+41) over Oklahoma St. Cowboys – 41 points is just too many. PICK Kansas. Rock Chalk Jayhawk! RESULT: Oklahoma St. won 58-17, exactly 41 points. How does Vegas do it!?! DRAW!!
Boise St. Broncos (-7) over Fresno St. Bulldogs – “The Gut” LOVES Boise! PICK Boise St.! RESULT: Fresno St. won straight up 28-17. LOSS!
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-2) over Stanford Cardinal – PICK ND! RESULT: Notre Dame led 20-17 after 3 quarters. Then they imploded. Final Score: Stanford 38-20. LOSS!!
Georgia Bulldogs (-11) over Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Gary, the “Blue Horseshoe” LOVES Anacott Steel (Georgia)! PICK UGA! RESULT: Georgia ROLLED with the “Blue Horseshoe” Special, winning 38-7. Humongous WIN!!!!!!!
UPSET SPECIAL OF THE SEASON! Auburn Tigers (+4.5) over Alabama Crimson Tide – Gary sees red flags galore. Now they have to face an actual good team on the road. PICK AUBURN! WAR EAGLE! Result: Gary “The Gut” called this one. Not only did Auburn win ATS, but they won S/U by 12 points, 26-14. GIGANTIC WIN for Gary!!!
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
- Week 8 : 3-1
- Week 9 : 2-2
- Week 10 : 2-2
- Week 11 : 4-3
- Week 12 : 3-3-1
- Season Totals: 26-27-3
NCAA Conference Championship Weekend Selections (all point spreads taken from Friday’s Chicago Tribune)
PAC-12 Championship : #10 USC Trojans (-4) over #12 Stanford Cardinal – For the 2nd week in a row, “The Gut” is hating on Stanford (9-3). Outside of RB Bryce Love, Stanford just doesn’t have enough weapons to keep up with the talented Southern Cal (10-2) offense starring Sam Darnold, Ronald “RoJo II” Jones, and Tyler Vaughns. USC won the first game 42-24. Gary says, “PICK USC” again!
AAC Championship : #20 Memphis Tigers (+7.5) over #14 UCF Knights – UCF (11-0) destroyed Memphis 40-13 in their previous meeting on September 30. However, since then Memphis (10-1) hasn’t lost a game and has put up over 50 points four times, including 70 points twice. As Paris Hilton would say, “That’s hot”. We expect Memphis to be motivated by revenge. We expect them to make adjustments. Meanwhile, UCF may be distracted by all the talk of their HC Scott Frost moving on for a new job. Reportedly, some assistant coaches have already begun cleaning out their offices and finalizing paperwork. One word: Distraction. PICK Memphis.
Big 12 Championship : #3 Oklahoma Sooners (-7) over #11 TCU Horned Frogs – In yet another rematch, we have OU (11-1) having to defeat TCU (10-2) again for a CFP Playoff spot. Gary and I were both surprised to see this point spread so low. One touchdown? That sounds too easy for the high-powered Sooners led by superstar QB Baker Mayfield despite the fact TCU’s defense is solid. PICK Oklahoma!
SEC Championship : #6 Georgia Bulldogs (+2) over #2 Auburn Tigers – This was the game I was waiting for all season. Only we thought it was gonna be invincible Alabama against the upstart UGA Bulldogs (11-1). Turned out ‘Bama wasn’t invincible after all. A few weeks ago Auburn (10-2) ripped Georgia, ending their undefeated season. This time, Georgia gets revenge. They will make the adjustments while they don’t have to deal with an insane Jordan-Hare Stadium. This game is at the neutral site Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. “The Gut” and I both agree to lay down big money and PICK GEORGIA huge!
Mountain West Championship : Boise St. Broncos (-9.5) over Fresno St. Bulldogs – Wait a second…..did we not just pick this same result a week ago? (Checking records….) Yeah we did! Guess what? Fresno St. won 28-17 at Fresno, CA. You win some, you lose some. PICK Boise St. again, this time because they’re playing on the blue smurf turf in Boise, Idaho. Boise will get revenge, this time on their home field in a more meaningful game. The more you analyze in hindsight, you had to question Gary’s insight into last week’s game. Why? Because it was a meaningless game. Oh well, don’t tell Gary I said this but he’s not perfect. PICK BOISE!
ACC Championship : #1 Clemson Tigers (-9) over #7 Miami Hurricanes – Many of you know about the ‘Canes (10-1) and their turnover chain. That is very impressive. However, now they face the top-ranked team in all the land, the defending National Champion Clemson Tigers (11-1). You know what they say about defending champs? They say they never give up easy. You know why? Just remember what Houston Rockets HC Rudy Tomjanovich said back in 1995 in that gravelly voice of his, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a Champion”. The Gut says, “PICK CLEMSON”!
B1G Championship : #8 Ohio St. (-5) over #4 Wisconsin Badgers – If you’ve read any of the previous Gary “The Gut” columns, you know what he thinks of the stinking Badgers. Finally, finally we have a tough game for Wisky (12-0). This time they need to beat the Ohio State University (10-2) in Lucas Oil Stadium for a shot at all the marbles in the CFP Playoff. Will QB J.T. Barrett play for OSU? Will Alex Hornibrook throw more costly interceptions? The answer is probably yes to both questions. Remember 59-0 in 2014? It will probably take a repeat performance from Ohio St. to give them a chance at making the CFP. Wisconsin’s defense is too good for that to happen. “The Gut” is thinking something like Ohio St. 27 Wisconsin 17. PICK Ohio St.
That’s it for Gary “The Gut” until Bowl season. Look for his Bowl Edition Special coming up later in December. Meanwhile, in between jetting off to faraway lands, he’ll be decorating (actually hiring an interior designer) his lavish mansion with all the Christmas wreaths and trees that money (gambling winnings) can buy. Until then, good luck and always remember, “Go with your Gut!”
Dutch Lion Sports 