Gary “The Gut” Goombah 2021.12

Gary “The Gut” Goombah 2021.12

Hopefully you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday filled with turkey, stuffing, and gambling. Gary “The Gut” had a great time raking in cash (and raking leaves on his large estate). Plus, we had a guest picker last week. Let’s see how they did and what they have up their sleeves for college Championship Weekend.

Recap of NCAA Week 13:

• The Game: Michigan Wolverines (+8) over Ohio St. Buckeyes – WON! “The Gut” called it. He’s happy for Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines fans, almost as much as he’s happy for his own pocketbook. Michigan won straight up by 15 points, 42-27. Jay picks Ohio St. – Lost.
• Bedlam: Oklahoma St. Cowboys (-4) over Oklahoma Sooners – Push. The Cowboys won at home over the Sooners by four points, 37-33. Jay picks Oklahoma State also – Push.
• North Carolina Tar Heels (+6) over N.C. State Wolfpack – WON! North Carolina held on to only lose by four points, 34-30. Jay picks N.C. State (-6) – Lost.
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-19) over Stanford Cardinal – WON! ND won 45-14 in a beatdown of Stanford. Jay picks Stanford – Lost.
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-4.5) over Boston College – WON! Wake Forest handled BC 41-10. Jay picks Wake Forest also – WON!
• Texas A&M Aggies (-6.5) over LSU Tigers – Lost, LSU beat the Aggies by three points, 27-24. Jay picks LSU – WON!
• Kentucky Wildcats (+3) over Louisville Cardinals – WON! Kentucky won by 31 points, 52-21. Jay also picks Kentucky – WON!

Recap of NFL Week 12

• Gary’s Thanksgiving Special “Lock of the Week”: Dallas Cowboys (-7.5) over Las Vegas Raiders – Lost, Las Vegas pulled out a three point win in overtime. Jay also picks Dallas – Lost.
• Tennessee Titans (+6.5) over New England Patriots – Lost, New England stayed on a major roll, blowing out Tennessee 36-13. Jay also picks Tennessee – Lost.
• Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) over Cleveland Browns – WON! Baltimore won by six points, 16-10 in a defensive slugfest on Sunday Night. Jay also picks Baltimore – WON!

Overall Standings Thru 11 Weeks:

GARY “THE GUT”

• NCAA: 5-1-1 for the week, 40-36-4 for the season (4-2 on Gary’s “Lock of the Week”)
• NFL: 1-2 for the week, 15-14-2 for the season (2-3 on Gary’s “Lock of the Week”)
• Overall: 6-3-1 for the week, 55-50-6 for the season (6-5 on Gary’s “Lock of the Week”)

BRO-IN-LAW JAY

• NCAA: 3-3-1 for the week, 9-3-1 for the season
• NFL: 1-2 for the week, 3-4 for the season
• Overall: 4-5-1 for the week, 12-7-1 for the season

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Gary “The Gut” Goombah’s Championship Weekend Selections

This weekend is college football’s Conference Championship weekend. Therefore, “Bro-in-law” Jay and Gary are going to stick with the college gridiron and simply pick all ten championship matchups. No NFL picks this week. As usual, these selections are all against-the-spread (ATS).

NCAA Championship Week Selections

Friday, December 3

Conference USA (CUSA) Conference Championship: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (-2.5) vs UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) Roadrunners

• Gary “The Gut” picks: UTSA – Gary is surprised that Western Kentucky is favored in this matchup. They are just 8-4 while Texas-San Antonio is 11-1. PICK: UTSA
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: UTSA

Pacific-12 (PAC-12) Conference Championship: #10 Oregon Ducks vs #17 Utah Utes (-2.5)

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Oregon – PICK Oregon in an upset. When they last played on November 20 at Utah, the Utes dominated 38-7. We don’t see that happening again, much less Utah beating them twice in one season. This game will be played in Las Vegas.
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Oregon

Saturday, December 4

Mid-American (MAC) Conference Championship: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Kent State Golden Flashes (-3.5)

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Kent State – This should be a high-scoring game, as both teams allow more than 35 points per game. The difference should be Kent State’s passing offense. They threw for 241 ypg with QB Dustin Crum, helping the Golden Flashes score over 33 points per game. Meanwhile, NIU only scored about 30 ppg. So there’s our three point difference. We’ll take the offense here.
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Northern Illinois

Big 12 Conference Championship: #5 Oklahoma St. Cowboys (-4.5) vs #9 Baylor Bears

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Oklahoma St. – Both of these Big 12 teams have underrated defenses, in a conference not known (ever) for defense. Quietly, OK State’s defense allows only 16.4 ppg! Baylor is no slouch either, allowing only 19.4 ppg. Those numbers are surprising but indicative of why these two squads advanced to this Championship matchup over the usual powerhouse programs like Oklahoma and Texas.
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Oklahoma St.

Mountain West Conference Championship: #19 San Diego State Aztecs (-6.5) vs Utah State Aggies

• Gary “The Gut” picks: San Diego State – SDSU has had a great season, going 11-1. Their one loss was to Fresno St. 30-20 on Halloween weekend. Utah State went 9-3. As for common opponents, they both beat many of the same teams but one difference was their matchup with Mountain West bully Boise State. While Utah St. lost 27-3 to the Broncos, SDSU beat Boise 27-16. Edge: SDSU
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Utah State

Sun Belt (SBC) Conference Championship: Appalachian State Mountaineers (-2.5) vs #24 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Appalachian State – For this one, “The Gut” used SportsBettingDime.com’s website to get further insight. App State is 8-4 ATS on the year, while Louisiana is just 5-7. Both teams allow about 18-19 points per game, but App State scores 35.8 ppg to just 31.3 ppg for Louisiana. That 4.5 point edge is enough for Gary to bet big money on the Mountaineers in the Sun Belt Championship.
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Louisiana

Southeastern (SEC) Conference Championship: #1 Georgia Bulldogs (-6.5) vs #3 Alabama Crimson Tide

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Georgia – This is the game we’ve all been waiting for. Gary and “Dutch Lion” have been so high on Georgia all year and it’s no time to duck and cover, just because ‘Bama comes along. This is Coach Kirby Smart’s chance to get over the demon known as the Tide. Not only will Georgia win S/U, but they’ll cover the touchdown point spread. In fact, they’re going to plow Alabama all the way back to their homeland. It will be like a reverse of Sherman’s March. Look it up…. and then PICK: Georgia
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Alabama

American Athletic (AAC) Conference Championship: #4 Cincinnati Bearcats (-10.5) vs #21 Houston Cougars

• Gary “The Gut” picks: This is an underrated matchup on Championship Saturday. Everyone will be tuned in to see if Cincinnati can complete their undefeated season and encroach on the Power 5’s Playoff tournament otherwise known as the CFP. However, don’t forget about this Houston squad. They are 11-1. They’ve won eleven in a row since their opening 38-21 loss to Texas Tech. Coach Dana Holgorsen is having a breakout third season in charge of the Cougars. Don’t discount their momentum and the idea that they are playing with a different motivation that Cincinnati, who are playing to “hold on” to their spot in the CFP. Bottom line, “The Gut” thinks Cincinnati will hang on to win S/U, but not enough ATS. PICK: Houston
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Cincinnati

Big Ten (B1G) Conference Championship: #2 Michigan Wolverines (-10.5) vs #13 Iowa Hawkeyes

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Michigan – The Wolverines are on a roll. Iowa stinks. Are they the worst 10-2 team of all time? They should have lost at Nebraska by several touchdowns, but somehow found their way to a victory when the Huskers self-imploded as usual. Iowa only beat Northwestern 17-12, a team that Nebraska beat 56-7. Michigan also beat Northwestern 33-7. Michigan will dominate Iowa. ‘Nuff said.
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Michigan

Atlantic Coast (ACC) Conference Championship: #15 Pitt Panthers (-3.5) vs #16 Wake Forest Demon Deacons

• Gary “The Gut” picks: Wake Forest. Gary says, “I’m on the Tobacco Road train. First stop, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Why stop now?” It would be interesting to go back and review how many times Gary took the Demon Deacons on the season. It seemed like every week. “Grace! Get on that” and get us some data.
• “Bro-in-law” Jay picks: Pitt

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Enjoy the games this weekend. We’ll be back with our College Bowl Betting Special in a few weeks.