Friday, October 31, 2008

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

I just want to take a quick moment- before heading to Philadelphia for the Phillies parade- to put my pick out there for Tulane at LSU tomorrow.

Obviously, this rivalry has fallen on hard times. And unlike games of recent vintage, this LSU team is good- but not awesome. Particularly on defense, they have some question marks. And this perhaps is the reason why the Tigers are only -25 over Tulane, as opposed to last year’s whopping 40- in this spot.

Those 40-ish point lines are indicative of a psychology experiment- just how bad a beating does the superior team which to administer? This line suggests that this game figures to be more competitive- and one needs to apply some sort of football based rational to the question at hand.

It isn’t hopeful. LSU seems a little more vulnerable on defense- but with the top back and receiver out, Toledo doing his customary horrid job in preparing the quarterback(s) to play, I’m not sure Tulane can take advantage. Honestly, Bob, we’re eighteen games into your regime, when can we expect you to identify the best quarterback on the roster, then play and develop him?

Frankly, Tulane has gotten a lot of respect from Vegas this month. This line is fourteen better points than last year game with LSU despite Tulane being demonstratively worse. Twenty point faves over Army? Favored over Rice?

I just don’t get it. Basically, the Wave got blown out at home last week by Rice with a semi-settled quarterback situation and their top running back available. That is the very definition of bad. The Green Wave stinks and don’t seem real into playing for their coach right now. So why should they hang in there on the road here? Really, this feels like an outright lay-up. I’ll take LSU to really hammer a Tulane team that has shown little interest in playing two of the last three tilts- and try to run the ATS mark to 6-2 by giving Tulane the 25.

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