Coach Sark and the Longhorns are the new number one team in all the land while Georgia, who struggled mightily against a live Kentucky underdog, slips to number 2. Tennessee is being overhyped as a strong contender despite not playing much of anyone and Florida State is still struggling and desperately looking for their first win.
Meanwhile, UNLV continues it's improbable winning streak now boasting a win over 2 Big XII teams, with a beatable Syracuse of the ACC still on the horizon and Colorado actually looked competent against the Rams of Colorado State.
On the betting front, I had something happen last week that has not happened in a while. I went 5-0 for the week raising my season bet tally to 12-3. Of course this happens when I abandon the weekly five. Whatever, I'm winning and I'm up 10.4 units so I'm happy.
About the Longhorns. I've said before that top 25 rankings at this point in the season are brunch for the debate shows. That's it, that's all they are. Sure, some schools can make them into some milestones (for example, UNLV being ranked 25 in the Coaches Poll is the first time the school has been ranked in it's history) but for the most part they're just to allow the screaming heads an opportunity to scream at each other. Is Texas the number 1 team in all the land? Well, we probably still don't know. They have looked the most impressive on a week to week basis so far, but outside of Michigan (who I still don't think is any good this year) they haven't exactly played a murderer's row of opponents. Let's let some more games play out before we say that "Texas is back baby". They might be, but we've seen this happen early in the season before only to realize that they're not. I still am keeping the Bulldogs number 1 in my power rankings but Texas is gaining ground.
Looking ahead. If you're going to be partially distracted on Saturday this week seems to be a prime time to do so. There are not any games that I look at which make my teeth sweat with anticipation. That being said sometimes weeks that don't look too strong on paper tend to provide some of the better games of the season. In the early window I think Houston @ Cincinnati has potential, as does Kansas @ West Virginia. The 2nd window feels a little sparse but Utah @ Oklahoma State has some serious potential as a defensive gem and TCU @ SMU could be a rivalry sizzler (see what I did there?)
From a betting perspective I have another five teams that my numbers REALLY like.
Kansas (+111) to pull the mild ML upset over West Virginia.
Central Michigan (-6.5) to win big over Ball State.
California (+106) to win over poor Florida State
Utah @ Oklahoma State (u51.5) to be a defensive battle (even IF Cam Rising plays)
NC State (+20.5) @ Clemson to keep it close against a Clemson offense that is not good.
As the usual caveat, I took most of these bets on either Sunday or Monday when the lines opened, so you might not be able to get the numbers above if you tried. But I'm happy with what I have.
Finally, for those of you who don't know, probably because you're not following me on X, Mrs. TPM and I are doing the Great College Football Country Cooking Challenge this year. The rules are simple: Mrs. TPM picks a country off of the big-assed map that we have on our living room wall. My job is to create a (gluten-free, because Mrs. TPM is Celiac) menu based on dishes from that country, or inspired by their cuisine. So far, we've done the following:
1. Italy - Italian sausage/pesto flatbreads, charcuterie plate and pasta with marinara sauce.
2. Texas (because it's a country y'all) - Jalapeno poppers, smoked Spare Ribs and BBQ sides.
3. Mexico - Queso Blanco and Chorizo tacos with Mexican rice and beans.
This week she's chosen Cuba.
My menu is going to be gluten-free Cuban sandwiches and Ropa Viejas with rice for dinner. My struggle is, obviously, the Cuban sandwiches because there's really no gluten-free Cuban roll. So I'm going to have to figure that one out.
Good luck to you this weekend no matter who you root for.
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