With Texas A&M having to back out of the Gator Bowl due to multiple positive Covid cases, The Gator Bowl has now extended an invitation to Rutgers to face Wake Forest. Below are the new PiRate Ratings spreads for that game. Let’s hope this is the only game affected.
| Home | Visitor | PiRate | Mean | Bias |
| Wake Forest | Rutgers | 19.1 | 17.4 | 19.1 |
Welcome to all the newcomers to the PiRate Ratings site for the 2021-2022 football season. Saturday, we have the fortune of having a dress rehearsal for the college football season. Nine FBS teams will be in action, as one FBS team plays an FCS opponent.
The PiRate Ratings enjoy issuing picks against the spread or money line on Thursdays each week until January. Because we are most concerned with Money Line Parlays, there are only five options to combine games this week, and many of the books do not issue a line for FBS vs. FCS games. So, in a quest to obtain the best odds, there really are just four games.
This presents multiple issues that basically make it close to impossible to issue a real wager, because the options don’t fit our paradigm. Let’s take a look.
First, before we get started, you must know and understand one thing. We offer these selections purely for the fun of it. It is math and not gambling to us. We NEVER bet on sports. We play with a pretend bankroll that never runs out. We wager the same amount of fake currency on every selection–$100. It could just as easily be $5, $10, $1000, $5000, whatever, but $100 is an easy number and typical of many wagers in real life.
Second, we urge you with everything we can say about it to NOT use this weekly feature as betting advice, unless you have legitimate advice or are a professional, and then this becomes a secondary reference.
Third, we hunt around for the best possible odds on our pretend wagers. You may or may not be able to find the same odds we do, because you would have to search at the exact same time we do. Because, we are not limited to just the legal books available to us in our state of Tennessee, where betting is legal, we might pick a parlay based on a sports book that is only for people in Nevada, or New Jersey, or even off shore.
Okay, now that you know the ground rules, here is our specialty–Money Line Parlays. The money line is different from the spread of a game, but the number is the equivalent of a spread. If a team is favored by 7 points, their money line is going to be roughly -330, and if a team is a 7-point underdog, their money line is going to be roughly +250.
How does a Money Line work? If the line is a negative number, if you wager the amount of the negative number and win, you will receive $100 plus the amount you wagered. So, if you wager on a team at -300, and you bet $300, if the bet wins, you will get back $400 (your investment money plus $100). If you lose, you are out the $300. On the other hand, if the line is a positive number, you can win that amount of money with a $100 wager. So, if the line on a team is +300, you can wager $100, and if the team wins, you receive $400 (your investment money plus $300).
In Money Line wagers, all that matters is that the team you picked wins the game, be it by 1 point or 63 points. Obviously, if Alabama is playing Mercer, the odds are going to be such that to win $100, you will have to put up maybe $100,000. So, if you bet $100 on Alabama at -100000, when Alabama wins, you receive $100.01. Would you risk $100,000 to win one penny?
When you wager on more than one money line to win as one bet, this is called a parlay. Let’s say that you like Mississippi State to beat Arkansas and Oklahoma State to beat Texas Tech. Mississippi State’s money line number is -275. Oklahoma State’s money line number is -250. By combining these two wagers into one bet, with $100 riding on the outcome, instead of attempting to win a little more than $36 on MSU and $40 on OSU, by combining the two games into a parlay, you stand to win almost $91 if both teams win. If you bet them individually, you would only win $76, so by combining the two, you win $15 more. Of course, if one team wins and the other loses, your losses would be less by playing the games separately.
The question you most likely wanted to ask while reading the above paragraph is, “Why risk playing two separate games that both teams you selected must win and still not get even money?” Did you ask it? The answer to that question is, “You are correct; why wager $100 to just win $91 and then have to be right twice to cash it?” You can bet a regular game against the spread and get 11-10 odds, just a fraction better than the odds of the parlay above.
The ultimate answer is that we are only looking for parlays that pay better than even money. We really don’t want to play any parlays at less than +120 odds, where we would win $6 for every $5 wagered.
The next question you might have is, “Isn’t finding two teams to win and pay off at +120 going to require me to bet an underdog to win outright?”
Our answer to you is, “Yes, but we don’t look for many two-team money line parlays. Let’s take a look at another example with three teams.
Let’s say that we believe that Washington will beat Oregon State, and the money line is -260.
We also believe that Army will beat Temple, and the money line is -240.
And, we believe that Wisconsin will beat Purdue, and the money line is -250.
If you wager $100 on these three teams to win, and all three teams win, your payout is just under $175 plus the $100 you wagered for almost $275 ($274.62 to be exact.)
Let’s take a look at 5 wagers, where we win two and lose three at these odds
We bet $500 at $100 for 5 wagers.
On the two winning wagers, we receive $275 * 2 or $550.
Invest $500 and win $550 by being right 40% of the time. In one week, we have made a 10% return on an investment. What investment on the Stock Market makes a 10% gain in one week after you have paid the commissions on the trip?
Ah, but here’s the rub: how often can you wager on 5 money line parlays that average +175 and win 40% of the parlays? Most people fall into this trap and only win about one of five of these parlays. At 20% success, you lose $225 a week for a 45% loss. Now, where can you loses 45% in the stock market in one week? We put our real money in high-cap value stocks with durable competitive advantages, long histories of consistent increases in earnings, and long histories of consistent dividend payouts. The pretend money is just fine for football wagering.
By now, you want to know who we are picking in Week 0 of the college football season. Maybe, you have figured it out already. We don’t have any official picks this week, because there are not enough games to come up with a parlay better than +120.
Here is a practice parlay that is not an official pick, but shown here to show you what we mean.
The three games involved are: Nebraska versus Illinois, UCLA versus Hawaii, and UTEP versus New Mexico St.
Let’s say that we think Illinois will upset the Cornhuskers, UCLA will take care of Hawaii, and UTEP will win the big rivalry game.
Here are the three Money Lines for these three games.
Illinois +215 vs. Nebraska
UCLA -875 vs. Hawaii
UTEP -390 vs. New Mexico St.
This parlay calculates to +341. If we wager $100 on this game, and Illinois, UCLA, and UTEP all win, we receive $441 in our account (The $100 we wagered plus the $341 on the win).
Why isn’t this an official pick? We believe that Illinois might have been an excellent pick against the spread when the Illinois-Nebraska game spread opened at -9 1/2. But, it has come down to -6 1/2 as of this writing. Sharp money was wagers on Illinois +9 1/2, and also on Nebraska -6 1/2. A three-point middling is too good to be true. Playing both sides, the Sharps only need to have the game win both sides one out of every 19 times (5.26%) to make a profit. The spreads of 7, 8, and 9 account for 10.8% of all FBS college football games. That’s double the amount needed to make a profit. The key is the Sharps can find these spreads when they open. Also, playing the opening lines is the most effective way to win for a Sharp.
The UTEP-New Mexico State game is the biggest issue in this parlay. One axiom that older Sharps believe in is not to rely on a losing program to have to win for you to win. The Miners are probably a 3-9 team, which is almost a good year for this program. The Aggies are really weak and should be an underdog in every game, but this is their big rival, maybe bigger than playing New Mexico. The I-10 rivalry frequently is a tossup game.
Two out of three of these games are iffy. The chances that Illinois pulls off the upset of Nebraska are not good enough to have faith in this parlay winning. Scott Frost is in deep cow poo if the Cornhuskers don’t win at least six games and earn a bowl bid, and losing to the weakest Big Ten team will turn the heater on in his heated seat. This will be Bret Bielema’s first game as Illinois head coach, and he brought in an offensive coordinator that runs a system totally different from what the Illini ran under Lovie Smith. Expect growing pains.
We hope this gets you pumped for next week, when there will be more than enough games to play some parlays.
Week 13 begins the final stretch in the NFL, as the 32 teams are all on the same closing schedule with 12 games played and four to go. The Flex Scheduling has kicked in, and it becomes time to look at tiebreakers with competing teams.
If you want to take a look at the lengthy tiebreaker rules, you can find them at the NFL’s webpage at http://www.nfl.com/standings/tiebreakingprocedures.
Here is a look at who would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.
| AFC | |
| 1 | Oakland |
| 2 | New England |
| 3 | Baltimore |
| 4 | Houston |
| 5 | Kansas City |
| 6 | Denver |
| NFC | |
| 1 | Dallas |
| 2 | Seattle |
| 3 | Detroit |
| 4 | Atlanta |
| 5 | N.Y. Giants |
| 6 | Tampa Bay |
Of course, the season does not end today, and our new projections show some changes in the rankings above, especially in the AFC West, where Oakland faces a difficult closing stretch, and Kansas City has a somewhat easier road in the final four games.
Our Projected Playoffs
| AFC Seeding | |
| 1 | New England |
| 2 | Kansas City |
| 3 | Pittsburgh |
| 4 | Indianapolis |
| 5 | Oakland |
| 6 | Denver |
| NFC Seeding | |
| 1 | Dallas |
| 2 | Seattle |
| 3 | Detroit |
| 4 | Tampa Bay |
| 5 | N.Y. Giants |
| 6 | Washington |
And, our projected playoff outcomes for this week
| Wildcard Round | |||
| Pittsburgh over Denver | |||
| Oakland over Indianapolis | |||
| Detroit over Washington | |||
| N. Y. Giants over Tampa Bay | |||
| Divisional Round | |||
| New England over Oakland | |||
| Kansas City over Pittsburgh | |||
| Dallas over N. Y. Giants | |||
| Seattle over Detroit | |||
| Conference Championship | |||
| Kansas City over New England | |||
| Seattle over Dallas | |||
| Super Bowl 51 | |||
| Seattle over Kansas City |
This Week’s PiRate Ratings
| A F C | ||||||
| East | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| New England | 109.1 | 107.9 | 110.0 | 109.0 | 67 | 42 |
| Buffalo | 102.1 | 102.3 | 102.4 | 102.3 | 63 | 39 |
| Miami | 97.0 | 97.4 | 97.1 | 97.1 | 59 | 38 |
| N. Y. Jets | 95.6 | 94.5 | 96.0 | 95.4 | 57 | 38 |
| North | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Pittsburgh | 104.8 | 104.4 | 105.4 | 104.9 | 63 | 42 |
| Cincinnati | 101.5 | 101.2 | 101.7 | 101.5 | 60 | 42 |
| Baltimore | 100.8 | 101.8 | 100.6 | 101.1 | 61 | 40 |
| Cleveland | 87.7 | 88.6 | 87.4 | 87.9 | 55 | 33 |
| South | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Indianapolis | 98.4 | 99.9 | 98.0 | 98.8 | 62 | 37 |
| Tennessee | 97.8 | 98.9 | 97.5 | 98.1 | 61 | 37 |
| Houston | 97.0 | 97.8 | 96.3 | 97.0 | 61 | 36 |
| Jacksonville | 93.1 | 94.5 | 92.7 | 93.4 | 58 | 35 |
| West | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Denver | 105.6 | 104.5 | 105.2 | 105.1 | 63 | 42 |
| Kansas City | 104.0 | 103.8 | 104.5 | 104.1 | 64 | 40 |
| Oakland | 102.3 | 102.8 | 103.1 | 102.7 | 67 | 36 |
| San Diego | 99.3 | 100.1 | 99.1 | 99.5 | 64 | 36 |
| N F C | ||||||
| East | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Dallas | 104.9 | 104.2 | 105.5 | 104.9 | 63 | 42 |
| Washington | 101.6 | 101.3 | 101.6 | 101.5 | 63 | 39 |
| Philadelphia | 100.0 | 98.8 | 99.5 | 99.4 | 60 | 39 |
| N.Y. Giants | 99.2 | 98.8 | 99.3 | 99.1 | 62 | 37 |
| North | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Minnesota | 102.4 | 101.7 | 102.2 | 102.1 | 59 | 43 |
| Detroit | 101.4 | 101.1 | 101.3 | 101.3 | 62 | 39 |
| Green Bay | 99.8 | 99.6 | 99.7 | 99.7 | 64 | 36 |
| Chicago | 93.7 | 92.7 | 93.5 | 93.3 | 56 | 37 |
| South | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Atlanta | 104.7 | 105.4 | 104.7 | 104.9 | 70 | 35 |
| Tampa Bay | 101.5 | 101.6 | 101.6 | 101.6 | 63 | 39 |
| Carolina | 101.1 | 101.1 | 101.1 | 101.1 | 60 | 41 |
| New Orleans | 100.1 | 100.9 | 100.3 | 100.4 | 67 | 33 |
| West | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Seattle | 108.3 | 106.1 | 108.8 | 107.7 | 63 | 45 |
| Arizona | 102.7 | 101.6 | 102.7 | 102.3 | 63 | 39 |
| Los Angeles | 96.5 | 97.3 | 96.1 | 96.7 | 55 | 42 |
| San Francisco | 88.5 | 89.5 | 87.9 | 88.6 | 54 | 35 |
This Week’s NBA Spreads
| Home | Visitor | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Totals |
| Kansas City | Oakland | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 57 |
| Buffalo | Pittsburgh | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.5 | 46 |
| Carolina | San Diego | 4.8 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 45 |
| Cleveland | Cincinnati | -11.8 | -10.6 | -12.3 | 41 |
| Detroit | Chicago | 10.2 | 10.9 | 10.3 | 40 |
| Indianapolis | Houston | 4.4 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 51 |
| Jacksonville | Minnesota | -6.3 | -4.2 | -6.5 | 38 |
| Miami | Arizona | -2.7 | -1.2 | -2.6 | 47 |
| Philadelphia | Washington | 0.4 | -0.5 | -0.1 | 47 |
| Tampa Bay | New Orleans | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 59 |
| Tennessee | Denver | -4.8 | -2.6 | -4.7 | 47 |
| San Francisco | New York Jets | -4.1 | -2.0 | -5.1 | 38 |
| Green Bay | Seattle | -5.5 | -3.5 | -6.1 | 48 |
| Los Angeles | Atlanta | -5.2 | -5.1 | -5.6 | 48 |
| New York Giants | Dallas | -2.7 | -2.4 | -3.2 | 48 |
| New England | Baltimore | 10.3 | 9.1 | 12.4 | 48 |
Quarterback Issues Abound
It is almost inevitable that in today’s philosophy of passing the ball more than running, and with a 16- game schedule, that quarterback injuries would increase from the prior generation of NFL Football.
Certain teams lack pass blockers sufficient to deter the superior pass rushers of today’s game, and all sorts of inventive disguising of pass rush have contributed as much if not more to the troubles.
Just two weeks into the 2016 NFL season, two teams are already on quarterback number three, and others have gone to quarterback number two.
In Cleveland, where the Browns were weak enough before losing Robert Griffin, III and Josh McCown, rookie Cody Kessler will get the start this week at Miami. Adam Gase’s defense is not the issue in Dolphinland. Expect Kessler to be running for his life early and often.
New England is down to quarterback number three only due to Tom Brady’d suspension. If the Pats can sneak through two weeks with Jacoby Brissett, then the king can return. And, if something should happen to Brissett Thursday night against Houston, we may see wide receiver Julian Edelman move to quarterback. Edelman has beaten Buffalo and Miami while playing quarterback, but that was when he was at Kent State, and the two teams were the Buffalo Bulls and Miami of Ohio Redhawks.
Jay Cutler’s thumb injury could be reason for John Fox to go with Brian Hoyer. The Bears, already struggling on offense, may have a difficult time matching the Rams for points in the near future.
Then there is the case of a possible Wally Pipp injury. When Tony Romo went down in Dallas, rookie Dak Prescott entered and drew comparisons to Roger Staubach. Staubach once came in as a replacement to Craig Morton. It took a little shuffling, but Morton soon became a bench-warmer before becoming a New York Giant and Denver Bronco. Staubach led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl Championships and two others, where Dallas came very close to winning.
And, there is Sam Bradford in Minnesota. This Vikings team may have to totally change the way it plays now with Adrian Peterson out for a lengthy time and maybe the season. Bradford showed signs of returning to form in the Sunday night win over Green Bay. The Vikings have been down this road before. After the Joe Kapp, Dave Osborn, Bill Brown days of plodding offense, and the two-year babysitting of the job by Gary Cuozzo, Fran Tarkenton came back to Bloomington after a five-year sojourn in the Big Apple, and he teamed up with John Gilliam and Jim Lash, while the Purple People Eaters’ defense continued to dominate, leading the Vikings to the Super Bowl three times in four seasons. Might this be the year the Vikings make it back? The NFC looks like a wide-open race this year.
Two Weeks Are Not A Trend, But
Through two weeks of the season, the average score of an NFL game comes to less than 42 points per game, or less than 21 points per team. The Los Angeles Rams have three field goals in two games. The Seattle Seahawks have three field goals and a touchdown in two games, and that one TD came with 30 seconds remaining at home against Miami. Is it because the Dolphins and Rams have great defenses that Seattle is averaging just 7.5 points per game? Are the 49ers and Seahawks so strong defensively that LA averages just 4.5 points per game?
San Francisco gave up close to 50 to Carolina last week. The problem at the L.A. Coliseum is an archaic offense that Jeff Fisher refuses to alter. He is a Mike Ditka disciple, but he needs to realize that the 1985 Bears are not coming through the Coliseum locker room doors. He does not have Eddie George in his backfield, even though Todd Gurley is talented.
Sports metric experts have shown that the key to winning in the NFL is being able to pass the ball and being able to stop the pass. Running stats are padded by winning teams because they usually run the ball to eat the clock when they lead in the last 20 minutes of games, and the losing team abandons the run to try to catch up. Fisher is basically the Gene Mauch of football. Mauch took a lot of excellent baseball teams and guided them to respectable 90-win seasons, while the talent on hand was good enough to win 100 games.
Fisher isn’t alone. Mike Mularkey and Rex Ryan think you can be the 1985 Bears or even 1963 Bears and win the Super Bowl. It is true that Denver won last year without a dominating passing game, but they did not have a dominating running game. They dominated by stopping the pass and by getting just enough passing yards to win. Even a damaged Peyton Manning was good enough to accumulate necessary passing yards. The Broncos did not run early and often. They did not run on first down, run on second down and then pass conservatively on third down. The metrics actually show that passing on first and second down and on third and less than five is the better percentage play, while running becomes the better option only on third and six to 12 yards. And, for that matter, going for it on fourth down and less than 4 when outside your own 30 yard line is the better statistical move (as is going for it on 4th and less than 4 when in field goal range).
Certainly, going against the traditional methods will occasionally cost a team a win, but in rebuttal, going against tradition will allow teams to win games they would have lost by using the old playbook tendencies. And, the ignorant media will run a coach out of town on a rail for going against tradition and losing while never complimenting the coach that bucks the system and wins. Hey, they are in the business, because they didn’t do so well in math class.
This Week’s Ratings
| Current NFL PiRate Ratings | ||||||
| A F C | ||||||
| East | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| N. Y. Jets | 103.9 | 101.6 | 105.1 | 103.5 | 62 | 42 |
| New England | 101.4 | 99.3 | 101.8 | 100.8 | 60 | 41 |
| Buffalo | 98.6 | 99.5 | 98.7 | 98.9 | 59 | 40 |
| Miami | 96.1 | 96.9 | 96.1 | 96.3 | 58 | 38 |
| North | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Cincinnati | 106.9 | 106.3 | 107.8 | 107.0 | 64 | 43 |
| Pittsburgh | 105.9 | 105.5 | 107.2 | 106.2 | 65 | 41 |
| Baltimore | 98.7 | 100.9 | 98.4 | 99.3 | 61 | 38 |
| Cleveland | 89.9 | 90.9 | 89.3 | 90.0 | 57 | 33 |
| South | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Houston | 101.8 | 103.0 | 102.1 | 102.3 | 64 | 38 |
| Indianapolis | 97.1 | 98.9 | 96.0 | 97.3 | 61 | 36 |
| Jacksonville | 95.1 | 96.9 | 94.4 | 95.5 | 58 | 38 |
| Tennessee | 93.9 | 95.9 | 93.4 | 94.4 | 54 | 40 |
| West | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Denver | 106.4 | 103.1 | 106.5 | 105.3 | 62 | 43 |
| Kansas City | 101.8 | 101.5 | 102.5 | 101.9 | 63 | 39 |
| San Diego | 99.9 | 100.9 | 99.7 | 100.2 | 64 | 36 |
| Oakland | 97.7 | 98.4 | 97.6 | 97.9 | 63 | 35 |
| N F C | ||||||
| East | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Philadelphia | 101.0 | 98.0 | 100.4 | 99.8 | 62 | 38 |
| N.Y. Giants | 99.0 | 98.3 | 98.7 | 98.7 | 62 | 37 |
| Washington | 97.3 | 98.1 | 97.0 | 97.5 | 61 | 37 |
| Dallas | 94.6 | 94.9 | 94.1 | 94.5 | 56 | 39 |
| North | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Green Bay | 104.4 | 103.7 | 104.4 | 104.2 | 64 | 40 |
| Minnesota | 102.9 | 101.9 | 103.4 | 102.7 | 60 | 43 |
| Detroit | 99.2 | 99.0 | 98.8 | 99.0 | 62 | 37 |
| Chicago | 95.4 | 93.3 | 95.1 | 94.6 | 56 | 39 |
| South | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Carolina | 109.4 | 108.2 | 110.3 | 109.3 | 65 | 44 |
| New Orleans | 99.1 | 101.5 | 98.4 | 99.7 | 64 | 36 |
| Atlanta | 96.9 | 99.8 | 96.8 | 97.8 | 62 | 36 |
| Tampa Bay | 95.9 | 96.8 | 95.1 | 95.9 | 59 | 37 |
| West | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Avg | Off | Def |
| Arizona | 110.0 | 107.5 | 110.9 | 109.5 | 69 | 41 |
| Seattle | 106.4 | 103.3 | 107.1 | 105.6 | 63 | 43 |
| Los Angeles | 97.9 | 99.4 | 97.4 | 98.3 | 56 | 42 |
| San Francisco | 95.6 | 96.8 | 95.7 | 96.0 | 56 | 40 |
This Week’s PiRate Spreads
| Home | Visitor | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Score |
| New England | Houston | 2.6 | -0.7 | 2.7 | 23-21 |
| Buffalo | Arizona | -7.9 | -4.5 | -8.7 | 20-27 |
| Carolina | Minnesota | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.9 | 24-14 |
| Cincinnati | Denver | 3.5 | 6.2 | 4.3 | 21-16 |
| Green Bay | Detroit | 7.7 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 28-20 |
| Jacksonville | Baltimore | -0.6 | -1.0 | -1.0 | 20-21 |
| Miami | Cleveland | 9.2 | 9.0 | 9.8 | 26-17 |
| New York Giants | Washington | 4.2 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 27-23 |
| Tennessee | Oakland | -0.8 | 0.5 | -1.2 | 20-21 |
| Seattle | San Francisco | 13.8 | 9.5 | 14.4 | 23-10 |
| Tampa Bay | Los Angeles | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 17-16 |
| Indianapolis | San Diego | 0.2 | 1.0 | -0.7 | 28-27 |
| Kansas City | New York Jets | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 24-23 |
| Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | -2.9 | -5.5 | -4.8 | 23-27 |
| Dallas | Chicago | 2.2 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 20-17 |
| New Orleans | Atlanta | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 31-26 |
It’s time to stuff your wallet with money. And, how best may we recommend that your wallet gets stuffed? Keep it there and do not use all these picks to lose it all. There are retailers anxiously waiting to remove all that cash you have saved in the last 52 weeks, so waste it on that cheap drone toy that will be broken by January 10.
We have opened the vault and come forward with the most selections of the season for this week’s slate. Rivalry games, games that are must win contests for bowl eligibility, and teams that are reversing earlier trends lead our selections this week. A season high six money line parlays anchor 13 straight picks. Enjoy, but only to look at them. Don’t be like a certain reader here from the Las Vegas area that informed us three weeks ago that SHE played every money line parlay selection we issued and won a few hundred dollars after losing every week prior during this season by using other information. Yes, she won some money that week, but if she followed our advice the following week, she gave a chunk back to Vegas.
Which brings us to another point: for some reason, women seem to be following this blog more than men, or at least, they contact us more than the guys. As some of you know, this site is run by a majority of the fairer sex. Our founder is the only male contributing here.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our American followers. Happy Autumn/Spring to all our followers on the other side of the pond and on the lower side of the Earth.
| 11/27/2015 | |||
| Home | Visitor | Line | Our Pick |
| Buffalo | Massachusetts | 6.5 | Buffalo |
| Georgia St. | Troy | 1 | Georgia St. |
| Tulane | Tulsa | -6.5 | Tulsa |
| San Jose St. | Boise St. | -7.5 | San Jose St. |
| Kentucky | Louisville | -4.5 | Kentucky |
| Michigan St. | Penn St. | 11 | Penn St. |
| Purdue | Indiana | -6.5 | Indiana |
| Illinois (@Chi.) | Northwestern | -3.5 | Northwestern |
| Stanford | Notre Dame | 3.5 | Stanford |
| Detroit | Philadelphia | 2 | Detroit |
| Dallas | Carolina | 1 | Carolina |
| Green Bay | Chicago | 9 | Chicago |
| Houston | New Orleans | 3 | Houston |
| Money Line Parlay | 3 Teams at 7-5 | $245 payout on $100 | |
| Favorite | Underdog | Must Win | |
| Pittsburgh | Miami (Fla) | Pittsburgh | |
| Buffalo | Massachusetts | Buffalo | |
| Akron | Kent St. | Akron | |
| Money Line Parlay | 4 Teams at 13-10 | $230 payout on $100 | |
| Favorite | Underdog | Must Win | |
| Toledo | Western Michigan | Toledo | |
| Tulsa | Tulane | Tulsa | |
| West Virginia | Iowa St. | West Virginia | |
| Tennessee | Vanderbilt | Tennessee | |
| Money Line Parlay | 4 Teams at 7-3 | $325 payout on $100 | |
| Favorite | Underdog | Must Win | |
| Utah | Colorado | Utah | |
| Florida St. | Florida | Florida St. | |
| Georgia | Georgia Tech | Georgia | |
| Clemson | South Carolina | Clemson | |
| Money Line Parlay | 4 Teams at 3-2 | $256 payout on $100 | |
| Favorite | Underdog | Must Win | |
| LSU | Texas A&M | LSU | |
| Alabama | Auburn | Alabama | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma St. | Oklahoma | |
| San Diego St. | Nevada | San Diego St. | |
| Money Line Parlay | 3 Teams at 8-3 | $358 payout on $100 | |
| Favorite | Underdog | Must Win | |
| Houston | New Orleans | Houston | |
| Kansas City | Buffalo | Kansas City | |
| New York Jets | Miami | New York Jets | |
| Money Line Parlay | 3 Teams at 13-10 | $233 payout on $100 | |
| Favorite | Underdog | Must Win | |
| Cincinnati | St. Louis | Cincinnati | |
| Arizona | San Francisco | Arizona | |
| New England | Denver | New England |
The Pi-Rate Ratings 