August 30, 2012

Today continues our comprehensive college football preview series in The Playhouse.

Disclaimer: It's not comprehensive in the sense that we cover every team, or even every conference. The use of the term 'comprehensive' is more abstract and interpretive. Living in the Northwest, we are able to do that. Also, it should be noted that the series won't actually be much of a preview. If we are being really honest, it's more 'random thoughts we have jotted down over the last month' than a so-called 'preview.'


Joe Berger's Playhouse 2012 College Football Preview, Part II: Season over/under picks (numbers provided by 5Dimes; totals do not include conference championship games or bowls)

• Utah, over 7.5 (-190) -- The Utes return 16 starters and do not play Oregon or Stanford out of the Pac-12 North. It's a heavy price, but we are paying it. This is our strongest play.
• NC State, over 7.5 (+125) -- QB Mike Glennon is perhaps the best player in America that no one cares about, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 31 TDs. The Wolfpack very quietly went 8-5 last season.
• Notre Dame, under 7.5 (+115) -- The Irish might be better than they were last season, but no one will know because of their schedule, which is brutal. Michigan, Michigan St., Stanford, Oklahoma and USC all figure to be ranked when Notre Dame plays them, and Purdue, BC and BYU won't exactly be pushovers, either. Clearly, there's not enough criminals on the roster to successfully navigate that schedule.
• Purdue, over 6.5 (+145) -- The Boilermakers have a very manageable non-conference schedule, with their game at Notre Dame Sept 8 setting up to be a tone setter. Worse case scenario, they should be 3-1 going into Big Ten play. While Purdue has a tough stretch in October that includes consecutive games against Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State, they finish with five very winnable games  
• Washington State, under 5.5 (-130) -- After playing Colorado on Sept 22, the Cougars are likely to be dogs in their final eight games. The expectations based on Mike Leach's arrival are ridiculous, and this total is absurdly high. They will be lucky to win four games.

Super Play of the Day

Vandy +7