Chapter 12

Over the weeks I have praised Dwayne Haskins, quarterback for The Ohio State Buckeyes. Many NFL draft experts overlook Haskins, touting Justin Herbert as the #1 quarterback prospect in this draft. They group Haskins in the second tier with Will Grier of West Virginia, Daniel Jones of Duke, and Drew Lock of Missouri. Some don’t even mention Haskins and bring up other college eligible quarterbacks! This baffles me, leaves me confused and more passionate for the player. Dwayne Haskins deserves to be in the same breathe as Herbert, as a potential #1 overall pick this April.

And don’t get me started on the Heisman race this year … Tua Tagovailoa is having a historic season and the media practically gave him the Heisman award in September. What has Haskins done? In his first full season he only broke the Big Ten record for most touchdowns thrown (42), and most passing yards (4003). He has two, maybe three more games left to add to these numbers. Tua has 36 passing touchdowns for 3189 yards. “But Tua is sooooo much more accurate.” Eh, it’s a lot closer than you think. Tua completes 70.3% of his passes while Haskins completes 68.9%. Don’t get me wrong, Tua has been outstanding, but put some respect on Haskins name, this dude is neck-and-neck for the Heisman race. Just ask Penn State fans. I’m sure they remember their “White-Out game” going up 12 points with 8 minutes left, just for Haskins to orchestrate two drives and lead his team to victory with a score of 27-26. Or ask Michigan fans who I was told had the best defense in college this season. Haskins only threw for 396 yards and SIX touchdowns.

Dwayne Haskins isn’t a “can’t miss” prospect; he is still developing from only playing one season in college. It is rumored he will enter this year’s NFL draft and he will more than likely be a top-10 draft pick. He has his flaws, mainly the deep ball accuracy. But he drives the ball with good velocity, has great short and intermediate accuracy, and is a leader. You can tell he captures his teammate’s attention. To me, he is very similar to Matt Ryan. The two are built very similar. They are not runners, but move around the pocket so swiftly. They will spread the ball around and could win you any game. Thinking about it, the media doesn’t give Matt Ryan the respect he deserves either!

**Recap of Chapter 11**

Bears -3 at Lions – HIT! Bears 23 Lions 16
Cowboys vs. Redskins Under 41 – Miss. Cowboys 31 Redskins 23
Falcons +13 at Saints – Miss. Saints 31 Falcons 17 #OnePointMiss
#13 West Virginia vs. #6 Oklahoma Over 84 – HIT! Oklahoma 59 WVU 56
#16 Washington +3 at #8 Washington State – HIT! Washington 28 WSU 15
#10 Ohio State +4 vs. #4 Michigan – HIT! Ohio State 62 Michigan 31 #BOOM
Last week 4-2. YTD 40-42-1
NCAAF 22-24 NFL 14-12-1 Basketball 3-4

WOO!! 3-0 in NCAAF and all three were ranked matchups! What a week!

**CBB Team to Watch**

College of Charleston vs. Charlotte – **Line not given at 12pm on Friday, November 30** This game tips off at 4pm on Saturday. Charleston is for real, and they will give a team a scare in March. They have two ballers averaging 20 points a game – their point guard Grant Riller and forward Jarrell Brantley. Last season, this team, which was still led by Riller and Brantley, was a #13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They lost to #4 Auburn 62-58. This season they return a lot of that talent. They should roll all over Charlotte. Teams like Charleston will slip up a few games through the season, but they come in hot winning three in a row, one of those being a 77-74 win against Memphis. Keep an eye on Charleston this year.

**Saturday Slate**

#14 Texas vs. #5 Oklahoma Over 77.5 – The Red River Showdown returns in the BIG 12 Championship. They met October 6th where Texas won 48-45! I expect a different winner this week, but I don’t expect them to play defense again. Oklahoma’s offense is lethal, and their defense is the complete opposite, maybe one of the worst in the nation. That doesn’t stop Oklahoma from losing though, as their loss to Texas was their only defeat. Oklahoma needs to light up the scoreboard to impress the committee to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. Texas will try and spoil their rival’s dreams putting up a great fight. Coach Herman is one of the best coaches in the nation, and he is under a lot of heat for some allegations at his time at Ohio State. He will want to win this one badly to lift him up after people are trying to tarnish his name. At the end of the day, I expect points and Kyler Murray to lead Oklahoma to victory.
Oklahoma 45 Texas 38 (83 total)

#4 Georgia +13.5 vs. #1 Alabama – **Professor Pick’em Special** The Professor, who I’ve shouted out in chapters 5 and 8 got me on this one! No team has lost to Alabama by less than 22 points … Yes, this team is HISTORIC. Alabama will be going (winning) the playoffs this season, win or lose on Saturday. Georgia needs to win to get in. Their season is on the line and will need to defeat Goliath. While Coach Saban won’t let his team take Georgia lightly, I still wonder if some of Alabama’s minds will slightly wander. This game means so much more to Georgia, who lost to Alabama last year in the Championship game. Georgia’s defense is not at last year’s level, so I do not think they will end up winning, but I think they will compete. This could be Tua’s Heisman moment.
Alabama 37 Georgia 27

#22 Boise State -2.5 vs. #25 Fresno State – This conference championship game is a rematch from November 9th, where Boise State won 24-17. Unlike many conference championship games, Boise State gets to host this game instead of it being at a neutral site. This is a HUGE advantage to me. Boise State does not lose on the Blue turf. In fact, in the last ten seasons, they have six loses at home. Fresno State is a great team, but they will have to be perfect to win Saturday night. Boise State has a balanced offense, led by senior quarterback Brett Rypien. He spreads the ball around to multiple receivers and hands it off to their stellar running back, Alex Mattison. The offense will be too much for Fresno to handle.
Boise State 28 Fresno State 24.

**Sunday Funday**

Colts -4 at Jaguars – As a Jaguars fan, this is depressing to write. But, also VERY confusing. Blake Bortles has been benched. Leonard Fournette is suspended, and Jalen Ramsey is doubtful for Sunday. The Jaguars are only four point home underdogs? The Colts are one of the hottest teams in the NFL and America is being constantly reminded that Andrew Luck is one of the best quarterbacks out there. It seems so long ago that we wondered if he would recover from his shoulder injury. In the past eight weeks, he has at least 3 touchdown passes in each! He doesn’t have the greatest supporting cast, you could argue it is below average, but Luck makes it work. The Jaguars are bound to show up, because they should be a TEN point underdog, maybe even more. Serious question, with no Fournette, and let’s assume Ramsey can’t suit up, could Bama beat these Jags?!
Colts 31 Jaguars 17

Broncos -5 at Bengals – The Bengals looked so promising a month ago. It seemed like they were destined to go to the playoffs, then they lost three straight and their quarterback (Dalton) and receiver (Green) go down with injuries. Green is a pro, he is a class act and a dominant football player. He will try and suit up Sunday, and will never quit on his team. Dalton’s season is over though as he went to IR. The Broncos are riding high defeating the Steelers and Chargers, two playoff teams, in their last two. They seemed to figure things out on offense, like getting running back Phillip Lindsay more involved. I expect the Broncos to keep galloping to success.
Broncos 30 Bengals 23

Seahawks -9.5 vs. 49ers – The 49ers are tied for the worst this season against the spread at 3-8. After defeating the Raiders (yeah that game where I took the Raiders in my survivor pool as noted in chapter 8) they returned back to Earth looking sloppy and outmatched. To be fair, they have had plenty of injuries including stud QB Jimmy Garoppolo. The Seahawks are one of the surprise teams this season in the NFL. Their defense is very poor and they lack playmakers on offense, but they have Russell Wilson, who if you combine leadership is a top three quarterback in the league. He makes plays when it’s needed, running for his life and finding the open receiver. The Seahawks are currently the 7 seed (6 teams make the playoffs each conference) so I don’t see how they could come out flat. They will continue their winning streak in dominating fashion.
Seahawks 30 49ers 17

Thank you,
Goose