Weekly Recap & Picks: The Ducks Deliver Bucky’s Birthday Present

I’d like to take a minute at the top to wish a happy belated birthday to my partner, opponent, and fellow Chimp Line gladiator, Uncle Bucky, who, on Tuesday, celebrated another year of knowing more about sports than I do. And it’s a good thing he is so wise in the ways, for it was at his side that I learned a large part of whatever I know about these silly games in which I spend so damned much of my life engulfed. For that, I will be forever grateful. Here’s to many more years of battling the Chimp Line, Bucky! Now, on to the sports talk.

This past week is always a bittersweet one for me. Conference championship weekend usually brings a slate of games that are of higher quality and importance than an average Saturday (sweet!), but it is also the last real college football Saturday of the year. Bowl games are great, but on the rest of the calendar, only New Year’s Day can get close to the quantity of college football I’ve become accustomed to over the course of the fall (not so sweet).

It’s made even less sweet this year, as I realize that I’m now hovering around the Chimp Line and will be playing with far fewer opportunities to make up ground and beat the juice this football season. The week started off with a bang for BTJ, with Oregon cashing a +210 moneyline upset of Utah. But favorites held the line in every other college contest I’d picked (thanks a lot, Baylor). I fared about the same in the NFL, with Denver hitting a half unit play at +360 and the Rams slaughtering Seattle to bring home a unit at even money, but all the other dogs losing out.

That put me at -1.1 units on the weekend. But like Uncle Bucky always says, the futures taketh away, and the futures giveth. So it was, that after having to pay the piper on some disastrous NCAAF regular season wins futures, my LSU SEC champions future paid out at +1300 on 1/4 units. That was more than enough to cover a bunch of other 1/4 unit fliers that didn’t pay and bring my weekly total down to -0.1 units.

Bucky fared better, going .500 on picking winners, but ending up 0.59 units on the week on the strength of a 2 unit play on Oregon’s spread. I feel like he should lose two units for laying 9 with the Texans and having them lose by 14, but I’ll let it slide. That result inches him further from the Chimp Line and closer to breakeven.

So, the wisened old handicapper has put just a little more distance between himself and me, the guy who thinks he can build a system to beat the books. This week’s picks are a little different, in that I like the value on the board for a lot of the bowl games and making those picks now. Bucky is going to make them as they come up each week, so he’s only picking NFL this week. On to the picks!

Bucky’s NFL Picks:

Team	Opponent	Bet	Odds	Site	Units Wagered
Eagles	Redskins	-4.5	-103	BetOnline	1
Chiefs	Broncos	-9.5	-109	GTBets	1
Packers	Bears	-4.5	-104	GTBets	1
Bills	Steelers	2	-104	GTBets	1

My NCAAF Bowl Picks:

Team	Opponent	Bet	Odds	Site	Units Wagered
Charlotte	Buffalo	ML	205	GTBets	1
Kent State	Utah State	ML	225	GTBets	1
FAU	SMU	ML	150	Betnow	1
FIU	Ark State	ML	125	Betnow	1
Boise State	Washington	ML	155	Betnow	1
UAB	Appy State	ML	635	GTBets	0.5
Marshall	CFU	ML	685	GTBets	0.5
Notre Dame	Iowa State	ML	110	GTBets	2
Memphis	PSU	ML	220	Betnow	1
Oklahoma	LSU	ML	410	GTBets	0.5
W. Michigan	W. Kentucky	ML	150	Betnow	1
Illinois	California	ML	225	GTBets	1
Virgina	Florida	ML	475	BetOnline	0.5
Kansas State	Navy	ML	115	Bovada	1
Texas	Utah	ML	245	GTbets	1
Michigan	Alabama	ML	230	Betnow	1
Boston College	Cincy	ML	230	GTBets	1
Nevada	Ohio	ML	250	Bovada	1
So. Miss.	Tulane	ML	240	GTBets	1
Miami OH	UL Laffayette	ML	445	GTBets	0.5

My NFL Picks:

Team	Opponent	Bet	Odds	Site	Units Wagered
Bengals	Patriots	ML	365	Mybookie	0.5
Panthers	Seahwaks	ML	226	Betnow	1
Falcons	49ers	ML	430	GTBets	0.5
Colts	Saints	ML	337	Betnow	0.5

That’s all for this week. Until next time, stay sharp.