All in all, last weekend wasn’t one to write home about for the Average Joe, at least as far as the success of my bets goes. I was under .500 overall, but the pain of losing was tempered by a rare treat – betting against my team and winning both the bet and the game. I got to watch Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt 26-23 in overtime after trailing by as much as 23-10 late in the third quarter. It was a stirring comeback, helped by improved play on the field by the Rebels as well as some patented Vanderbilt ineptitude. Making the game even sweeter, though, was the fact that my bet on Vandy +7 was never really in doubt. I don’t know what I did to deserve that from the football gods, but I’ll take it every time.
Of course, my excitement about that cover was immediately tempered as I watched my wager on North Carolina St. fall apart in a sea of turnovers. I mean, Ohio State has a great defense, but having five turnovers is just absurd. NC State is supposed to be a very talented team with great weapons on offense. If they held on to the ball, maybe that would surface, but a great opportunity on national TV was wasted by the Wolfpack. Check this out: Ohio State managed only 137 yards of total offense and six first downs, but the Buckeyes managed a 22-14 win behind five field goals from Mike Nugent. Four of the Buckeye scoring drives covered 10 yards or less.
NC State may as well have forfeited if they were just going to give it away anyway. Ohio State is good, and good teams make their own fortune, but this is just out of hand. After back-to-back escapes, the Buckeyes have got to be running low in the karma department. Or maybe Jim Tressel has entered into a pact with the devil. Who knows?
Last week also happened to be kicker redemption week in the SEC. Tennessee’s James Wilhoit kicked a game-winning 50-yarder to beat Florida 30-28 mere moments after missing an extra point that would have tied the game. Auburn’s John Vaughn got a second chance to make the winning extra point to beat LSU 10-9 after the Bayou Bengals got called for a penalty on Vaughn’s missed PAT. And Ole Miss’s Jonathan Nichols, the reigning Lou Groza Award winner, got to kick a winning field goal in overtime after he missed a 50-yarder in the last minute that could have sealed the game in regulation. That’s a lot of delirium-inducing, feel-good clutch kicking going on Down South.
And now on to the NFL. How about that smoking Dolphin offense? Aren’t those guys fun to watch? Seriously, Miami is abysmal at moving the ball. You know things are bad when you bench your season starter, Jay Fiedler, in lieu of AJ Feely, who is quickly making a habit of throwing at least one Pick 6 per game. When you know it’s likely that your quarterback is going to spot the other team a free touchdown and you still don’t have a better option, you’ve got big problems.
Tampa Bay isn’t far behind, either. Brad Johnson was pulled in favor of Chris Simms against the Seahawks last week, and the Bucs managed only six points. This despite the fact that the refs were practically dragging Tampa Bay downfield on the final drive of the game, when the Bucs could have won with a touchdown. Tampa Bay got two roughing the passer calls and a pass interference call that nullified an interception, all within about seven plays. If you’re not good enough to capitalize at home when the refs seem determined to hook you up, you’ve also got big problems.
But they’re not the only teams that will shock you with incompetence this year. The season is young, and there will be many more jawdropping acts of awfulness to come. Good luck and happy betting.
