The Sports Headquarters

It’s Friday night, and the feeling’s right. The party’s here on the West side. I let Montell Jordan right the opening lines to this week’s Sexy Six. I’ll take back over now. I’m K.M., and I got little use for an opening this week. These games are epically sexy, but you, you already know that. You want to watch these top college football games. Also, you NEED to bet on them. Action this good needs some “action”, if you know what I mean, and if you don’t, I mean betting cash, baby. So here’s how we see these top games going, and who I am betting on, and who Bryan would bet on. It’s that simple. Get excited for some awesome football action, bet on some games, and enjoy. DO IT NOW.

Why listen to us? On the season to date, I am 29-18-1 vs. the number, and 33-15 straight up. That reason enough? How about the fact Bryan is 30-18 straight up, 25-22-1 against the number, 8-3-1 ATS over the last two weeks? Like that fact? Want more? Our Hot Hook Ups, when we agree on a betting side, they are 15-9-1 against the number this year, for another highly profitable venture. Want even more still? Then close your browser window. That’s plenty. You’re just being a jerk now.

Argue if you want, agree if you feel us, ignore at your own peril, it’s the sexiest damn sexy six that ever sexed. Oh hell yea…

The Backyard Brawl: West Virgina at Pittsburgh (-3)

Bryan: In a huge game that has potential BCS spot implications, the Pitt Panthers look to defend their home turf against a West Virginia team who has bounced back nicely after starting 1-2 in the Big East. Neither team is that strong offensively and rely heavily on their RB’s, West Virginia with Noel Devine, Pitt with Dion Lewis and Ray Graham. Honestly, neither team has done anything all year to be that relevant and Im not going to pretend like I care a ton about this game. But its a Big Game and we try to be fair to all the conferences here at The Sports Headquarters so we had to throw this game in. Im not going to pretend either to know a lot about either team. I’ve seen 2 minutes of Pitt all year and the only times I’ve seen WVU, they’ve disappointed. Should be a close, low scoring game and for no reason other than preference and belief, I’m taking the Moutaineers with the points to escape with a win which ironically would give Uconn control of its own destiny in the Big East.

Prediction: West Virginia 23 Pitt 17

K.M.: Pitt is not exactly a team I would consider impressive. I saw them vs. my Hurricanes, they wanted little to do with us. Meanwhile, WVU, last I remember, has Noel Devine and a terrible coach. I, too, don’t exactly stay up late to watch Big East games. However it’s unfair to pretend that bad coaching is exclusive to the WVU side. The Wann-stache once hung a lobster trap in the Dolphins locker room. Apparently this was supposed to remind his team they had a “trap” game coming up. This is the kind of high level physiological brilliance that your team deserves when they hire Dave Wannstedt. Most weeks, such bush league nonsense probably works in the Big East. Not against the one team in this conference that really recruits, though. Take the ‘Neers, they got the best offensive weapon IMO, and each of these teams love winning the Backyard Brawl on the other’s home turf.

Prediction: WVU 21 Pitt 14

Hot Hook-Up: WVU with the points

The Iron Bowl: #2 Auburn at #11 Alabama (-4.5)

K.M.: Iron bowl! Iron bowl! I am jacked! Everybody knows exactly what way I’m going on this one. I’ve been pro-Bama and anti-Auburn all year. The debate over what team gets to be #2 after Auburn falls is going to be magical. We are about to enter one of the greatest weeks to be a sports pundit ever. There is going to be so much hot air blown out of people after this game. I’m sure everyone from the President to Beano Cook will weigh in on who they want to be in the national title game. Bama is going to win this game because Bama has the superior coaching, the superior athletes, the home field, the better team, and less pressure. Are those enough reasons for Bama to take this one? No? Ok. Bama has so much on offense, that I don’t even think the Auburn D-Line, it’s one actual strength on D, can handle stopping that Bama ground game on a consistent basis. We all know Auburn can’t stop the pass. And Nick Saban has nearly a full year of film on what Newton is doing now, you know he’s got some tendencies down and some counters in place. I like the intellectual advantage of Alabama in this one as much as I like the fact they got the better stable of horses.

Prediction: Alabama 35, Auburn 24

Bryan: Game of the year probably. With all the hoopla around Cam Newton and the potential national title implications, there is no bigger game this weekend or probably this year to this point. Auburn wins and they keep their title hopes alive. They lose and in all likelihood we’re looking at a Non-AQ school going to the title game. Every team with a glimpse of a national title hope will be in front of their TV sets tomorrow watching this game. I’ve been saying for months I like Alabama to win this game. In Bryant-Denny where they’ve won 20 straight, still to me one of the best teams in CFB, big playmakers on offense against a suspect Auburn D who hasn’t stopped anyone, and a great coach who I think will neutralize Cam Newton enough, I like the Tide in this one. The question for me will be does Bama look to beat Auburn through the air with Julio Jones, Auburn’s weakness, or will they stick to their strength and try to run the ball against a decent Auburn front. If the Tide can get the Tigers in 3rd and Longs and make Newton have to throw the ball to beat them, I think this game could be won pretty easily. If you don’t have a legit reason to not watch this game tomorrow then your a damn fool if you miss it. This is what the Sexy Six is all about. So lay the points with the Tide here and get ready for mayhem against the ESPN networks debating which team should move into Auburn’s spot right now in the National Title race.

Prediction: Alabama 30 Auburn 21

Hot Hook-Up: Alabama laying the points

#21 Arizona at #1 Oregon (-19.5)

Bryan: Im off Arizona. I was on them for a while and they’ve yet to give me any reason to like them here. The Ducks have had two weeks to prepare for this game and its at home. The last home game of the year. Why would you like Arizona here? People keep saying “O, its Oregon, they’re due for a letdown like always”. Thats the thing. They JUST HAD their letdown against Cal and escaped it. That was the game they were suppose to choke away. The Ducks are going to play for the BCS title. Im convinced of this. Arizona’s defense has been overrated all year. The Ducks will win this game comfortably. There’s really not a whole lot else I need to say about this game. So the only question here is whether you take the points or lay them. 3 TD’s is a lot to lay, but Oregon’s already beaten Stanford by 3 scores and Arizona’s already managed to lose by 3 scores to Stanford. So its not out of the question. Nick Foles should be back to near 100% though and I know Arizona can score on a average Oregon defense. So while I like Oregon, I can’t like them enough to lay 20 points. Give me Arizona to cover, Oregon to win.

Prediction: Oregon 48 Arizona 35

K.M.: I like the Wildcats here to make it close. I think they got a shot to win. I mean if you ask me “Who is the most likely to win”, I’m not going to pretend Arizona is the answer. That’s just stupid. But there is no reason that Oregon should respect Arizona right now. They have been playing terrible. But Arizona is one of those teams that has some talent, just rarely puts it together. Perhaps a little disrespect is just what the doctor ordered? Hey, I’ve seen stranger. On paper, this game ha very little to talk about. Oregon is good. Oregon is better then the area of the game Arizona is good at. Oregon should win. And they probably should. But stupid stuff happens at the end of every season. I think I’m going to back off the outright upset call, I’ve heard a lot about Chip Kelly and how well he keeps his teams focused, and for some reason I’m going to buy into it. But just enough to avoid the upset, because I still think Arizona shows up with a great game out of nowhere and gives Oregon hell.

Prediction: Oregon 36, Arizona 31

Hot Hook-Up: Arizona with the points

#3 Boise St. @ #19 Nevada (+14.5)

K.M.: OOOOOO THIS IS THE BIG GAME FOR BOISE! CAN THEY BEAT NEVADA? Wait, what? Nevada is your big game? What the hell has happened to college football that some team going to Nevada has national title implications? This is just stupid. You want to know what I know about Nevada? I know they only got one loss, and their QB, who’s name I have no interest in misspelling for you right now, likes to both throw and run. Awesome. Also, Boise kills every WAC team by like 100 points. That is documented fact. Stop believing in Nevada. Watch this game with your head on a pillow, see who turns out the lights first, your brain as you fall asleep or Boise. IT’S FOR SCIENCE.

Prediction: Boise St. 41, Nevada 21

Bryan: Stop it. Im talking to all of you people saying “maybe Nevada stuns them”. No. I’ve seen this story too many times with Nevada in recent years. “Look at Colin Kaepernick and the numbers he puts up.” Yea, but he never does it against Boise. Boise always beats Nevada. Every year it seems at the end of the year people are saying Nevada could spoil Boise. I stopped believing in this a while ago. I don’t want to see it but Boise is going to win again and go unbeaten. If Auburn slips up, they will probably play for the national title and it will be one of the most unfortunate things that I’ve had to watch in CFB in a while. Boise offensively is just too strong for any WAC team to hold down. They will put up points in bunches in this one, and Nevada, a team who wants to beat you running the ball will be forced to throw from behind and will make mistakes that prove costly. Its a good football team in Nevada, but when good teams play great teams, I like the great teams. Give me the Broncos and I’ll confidently lay those points.

Prediction: Boise St. 38 Nevada 20

Hot Hook-Up: Boise St. laying the points

The Bedlam Series: #13 Oklahoma at #9 Oklahoma St. (-2.5)

Bryan: This is a really tough game to pick. I’ve been going back and forth on this one for quite some time and if you were gambling, I’d probably stay away from this game. Oklahoma St. hasn’t won since 2002 but this is the best Cowboys team they’ve had in years and Oklahoma I don’t think is as great as they have been. Landry Jones has been scorching hot lately, and they got over their road woes last week at Baylor which gives me a little more confidence. The offensive talent on both teams is silly between the QB’s: Weeden and Jones, RB’s: Hunter and Murray, and WR’s: Blackmon and Broyles. Neither defense has been very good all year so points should be plentiful and the team who has the ball last just might win. I want to take the Cowboys here. I really do. But I’ve always been a firm believer in history. I think its a good thing to follow and though unlike in the pro’s where players stay the same, I do know its a different group of Sooners and Cowboys, but until I see it, I just don’t believe Oklahoma St. will win this game. The winner will go to the Big 12 title game regardless of any 3-team tiebreaker the analysts will tell you about. Winner of this game will be highest in the BCS. As I said before, I wouldn’t play this game if I were gambling, but we don’t write this to help those who won’t bet it, we write it to help those who will so if your one of those people, my recommendation is take the Sooners and the 2.5 to win both SU and against the spread.

Prediction: Oklahoma 45 Oklahoma St. 41

K.M.: This is a very hard one to pick, that 2.5 points makes it seem like they are begging you to take the Cowboys at home in this one. “Have no fear K.M., just take the Cowbowys. Look, you don’t even have to lay a field goal with the better team at home! It’s easy money!”. It’s one of two things: It’s either that Vegas thinks that OSU is likely to lose and wants to encourage the OSU bets, or it’s the fact that people will just think that Oklahoma has to somehow win the Big 12 because either OU or Texas always wins it, so the line is low. I went to my information sites and checked this game out, and the public is rather split on it. So I can somewhat rule out the first one, which means to me that people probably just can’t fathom OSU actually having success in the Big 12 so the line is low. I like that kind of spot!

On the field, we all know who I like in this one. Listen, the running back battle in this game is going to be fantastic. DeMarco Murray and Kendall Hunter are two superb running backs who will be very important to their team’s success. But sadly I don’t like Landry Jones all that much, so OU’s offensive weapons end there. Granted, a top notch RB on the road is a nice tool to get an upset with, but OSU puts up points in bunches, and OU isn’t going to match them on the ground alone. Sure, OU will pass just fine, but not on the OSU level, and that is where this tight game will be won.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 30

Battle for the Golden Boot: #5 LSU at #12 Arkansas (-3.5)

Bryan: Another great rivalry game this weekend, both teams are very high on my list of teams. I would support LSU in the title game over Boise is Auburn goes down and LSU wins here. I would support an Arkansas BCS spot at-large if they win here. Like the OU-OSU game, I think this game is a toss-up. Been on the same side since last week, no flip-flopping on it, but Im not confident at all in my pick. And that pick is for the Arkansas Razorbacks. I think Arkansas will be able to put up points on an LSU defense that while stout is vulnerable as Mississippi showed last Saturday. Arkansas’ defense is far from intimidating, but I still think LSU in the passing game isn’t a major threat and if Arkansas can just slow the Tigers run game, they can put their defense in positions to succeed. Arkansas is a tough place to play and they went toe to toe with both Bama and Auburn in their two losses. This is another game that Im not sure will ever be separated by more than 7-10 points, and if they played 100 times, I’d bet each team 50 times. I can’t be definitive on my pick. But Im going to take Arkansas SU to win, but give me the points because I think LSU is too good to lose by a TD.

Prediction: Arkansas 27 LSU 24

K.M.; In 2007, Arkansas went into Baton Rouge and won a 3 OT thriller, ending The Hat’s national title chances. The Hat and LSU ended up winning the national title. How? Hell if I know. I remember exactly how, and it doesn’t make sense to type out exactly what happened, honestly. Little about LSU makes any sense. But one thing makes great sense, this game is going to pit the phenomenal defense of LSU against one of the sharpest passing attacks in college football. The passing game is such a weapon in college football, elite teams either are spreading it out and throwing it all over the place or running the spread these days. Arkansas is good at the first one. Meanwhile LSU’s offense is trick plays and plays from some playbook Les Miles found in a 1964 time capsule. I expect to see a ton of the former, though. In a game that is going to be tight and require some serious gambling, look for The Hat to gamble like the world is going to end tomorrow, since his season does all but end after this one, going into a wait and see mode. And the confidence LSU has in being able to pull a play out of nowhere when they need it, coupled with their explosive special teams and what should be a favorable matchup for their offense, I was never not picking the Tigers. Everyone knows that.

Prediction: LSU 28, Arkansas 17

Hot Hook Up: LSU with the points