Episode Four

Recap
Clemson -7 at Wake – Miss. Clemson 51 Wake 45
USF +14.5 at Louisville – Miss. Louisville 41 USF 3
Dolphins +6 at Bills – HIT! Dolphins 21 Bills 19
Commanders +6 vs Eagles – Miss. Eagles 24 Commanders 8
2022 NCAAF 2-3
2022 NFL 3-1
2018-22 207-186-8

Ah! That wasn’t pretty. I had the Dolphins to win outright in my predictions but the other three plays were losers!

Houston -2.5 vs Tulane o/u 55.5
The Play: Houston -2.5
Houston is 2-2 with loses at Texas Tech and vs Kansas. Texas Tech just beat Texas and Kansas is 4-0 so those aren’t bad losses in my eyes. They still have a high powered offense that I don’t think Tulane can match up with. If you take out Tulane’s D1-AA win vs Alcorn, their QB is averaging 195 yards on 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and one of those games is against UMess which he didn’t dominate. Tulane has a win at Kansas State but they forced KState to 7 punts which is hard to replicate vs Houston. Their defense played amazing there but then they give up 27 to Southern Miss in a loss. If you figure Tulane is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes you have a below average offense with an average defense. Houston did not get the start they wanted in the OOC but they are 0-0 in the American and their quest to win the American hasn’t altered. I’m not buying Tulane, and I’ll stick with Houston is a top-three AAC team.
Houston 31 Tulane 20

Vikings -2.5 vs Saints o/u 43.5
The Play: Under 43
The Saints were many people’s Darkhorse to come out of the NFC, including mine. The season is far from over, and the Saints should still be in the mix, but their offense is very out of sorts. Alvin Kamara is missing Drew Brees and Sean Payton, because he currently isn’t being targeted in the pass game like he should. Jameis has a messed up back and is turning the ball over at almost two interceptions per game. At least the Saints still have a good defense. Marshon Lattimore will be a key piece for this game to go under. Justin Jefferson has been quiet the last two games and this week he’ll get a hard matchup with Lattimore. It’ll require Kirk Cousins to get him the ball. Cousins is one of the best 1pm quarterbacks in the whole league, I stand by that. For whatever reason he is flat out bad outside of 1pm, usually in primetime. To his credit, in 2016 he threw for 450 yards in London, but I’ll take my chances against a flat Cousins outside of 1pm. Lastly, Dalvin Cook looks like he’ll play but his shoulder is acting up … again. There’s been times he had his best games while battling injuries, but betting is an educated guess and the pieces are saying this should be a low scorer.
Saints 20 Vikings 17

Ravens +3 vs Bills o/u 51.5
The Play: Ravens +3
Sheesh – my second week in a row going against the Bills and it pains me to type it. The Bills aren’t in peak form yet which there’s nothing wrong about. They have a CVS receipt on their injury report including All Pro’s Tre White and Micah Hyde in the secondary. They have a week apart of games but just got physically and mentally exhausted in their crushing loss to the Dolphins. Enter Lamar Action MVP Jackson who is going to have an Aaron Judge-esce year. The Ravens are clicking especially on offense. Mark Andrews is a weapon and a half, JK Dobbins is returning and Justice Hill is running north and south. If there’s a banged up secondary and a banged up defensive line for the Bills how are they supposed to contain Jackson? The weather is in favor of Buffalo in my opinion, which is a concern, because the wind and rain can neutralize speed, but the Ravens want to run it. The Bills refuse to run it so Allen will have to conquer the elements with little help from Devin Singletary. I just hope Lamar isn’t slipping, that’s my main concern. Still, I’m taking form and the Ravens offense is playing elite.
Ravens 27 Bills 25

Thank you,
Goose