Gary “The Gut” Goombah – Week 2, 2026
Gary had a strong opening week of gambling in 2026. Can he do it again in Week 2?
This week brings a new challenge as the NFL kicks off. As mentioned last week in our opening column for the season, Gary and I are not compelled to bet on a certain number of games per week this year. Instead, it’s about making the wise choice. It’s about finding winners. If there is only one game to pick per week, then that’s what Gary will do. He’s out to WIN.
Let’s recap Gary’s opening winners before we get to his selections for Week 2.
Week 1 Recap
North Texas Mean Green (+40.5) over Indiana Hoosiers – Final Score: Indiana won by only 36 points, 52-16. Result: WON!
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Keydets (+55.5) over Virginia Tech Hokies – Gary really thought 55.5 points was too large. Well….. he was wrong. VTech won handily over VMI by 70 points, 73-3. When I tuned it for awhile, I couldn’t believe how BAD VMI really was. They looked like a high school team, a BAD high school team. Result: Lost
Baylor Bears (+7.5) over Auburn Tigers – Final Score: Auburn won 17-16 on the last play of the game. It was an excellent ballgame. Down six points on the final drive, Baylor went for two after scoring a touchdown. Did you see this? The Baylor tight end caught the conversion, tried to back up into the endzone, and was nailed on the one-foot line. Auburn escaped. Result: WON!
Houston Cougars (-20.5) over Oregon St. Beavers – Final Score: Houston won by only 13 points, 33-20. Result: Lost
Tulsa (+13.5) over Oklahoma St. Cowboys – Gary is proud of this pick. Tulsa not only grabbed the points, but they ran with them, all the way to a straight up victory. ATS win, S/U win. Final Score: Tulsa won 24-10. Result: WON!
Week 1 Results: 3-2 (60%)
Season Results: 3-2 (60%)
If Gary keeps this up, he’ll be very happy with a 60% win rate for the year.
Gary “The Gut” Goombah’s Week 2 Selections
NCAA Selections – all odds taken from Saturday’s Daily Herald
Oregon Ducks (-23.5) over Oklahoma St. Cowboys – Like last week, Gary isn’t loving the generous point spread given to the new-look Cowboys from OSU. The Ducks struggled a bit last week in their opener over Boise St., but Gary expects them to be focused on the road in Stillwater. PICK: Oregon
Alabama Crimson Tide (-10.5) over Kentucky Wildcats
Army Black Knights (-3.5) over USF Bulls
Navy Midshipmen (-4.5) over Florida Atlantic Owls – Gary is going with both Army and Navy this week. Hail to the armed services on this 9/11 weekend!
Arizona Wildcats (+7.5) over BYU Cougars
UCLA Bruins (-12.5) over San Diego St. Aztecs
Gary’s Lucky NFL Selections
LOCK OF THE WEEK! – Detroit Lions (-7) over New Orleans Saints – After a disappointing year last season, Detroit will be better this year. Considering the Saints are probably one of the worst teams in the league, how is this point spread only 7 points? Gary loves this matchup. In fact, let’s make it a Lock of the Week! PICK: Detroit
Chicago Bears (-3) over Carolina Panthers
Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5) over Atlanta Falcons – This spread was only 3 points until it was revealed that Atlanta starting QB Tua Tagovailoa was injured, thus throwing backup Cooper Rush to the wolves. We envision T.J. Watt sacking Rush a couple of times, and what if Rush gets hurt? Then Atlanta will be down to their 3rd QB already. Even with the larger spread, Gary likes the Steelers. PICK: Pittsburgh
Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5) over Washington Commanders – The Eagles will be on a mission this year, finally moving on from the A.J. Brown drama. Now that he’s gone, they’ll likely be better.
Dallas Cowboys (-3) over New York Giants – Dallas is a really strong looking unit. I believe in head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Gary is riding the favorites this week. He picked five of six NCAA faves, and then all five NFL picks are favorites as well. Good luck to everybody on this glorious weekend. We’ll be back to recap our results next week. And remember…
“Whether rich or poor, thou shalt gamble more” – Gary “The Gut” Goombah’s mantra
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