Here we are at Post 2 of The Slate. The past two days in college football were filled with nothing but shock and awe. The MACtion did not disappoint. There were many MAC-like issues and plays that prove time and time again why it is one of the most interesting conferences to watch. I will go over all the faults in next week’s MAC post. There was enough that happened, where it deserves to have its own blog post. Now that the MACtion for the week is over, it’s time to start getting more serious in these matchups. There are four games today and Friday. Boise St. and Colorado State will play tonight while the other three will all be played tomorrow night.

Before jumping into picks on this post, let’s recap the picks on the last post. I gave a total 8 picks for the 6 games. Tuesday night did not go as planned. I broke even on the night going 2-2. Who would have known Ohio was going to miss three field goals under 35 yards and Buffalo & Miami Ohio would fail going for it on 4th down four times in the redzone. It also did not help my Buffalo Miami Over when the starting QB for the Redhawks got injured. Those are not excuses, they are simply facts. I was fortunate to make it up to you last night going 4-0 on the night. Last night showed more of the MAC I knew and loved. Ultimately my picks went 6-2 putting you up four units if you put a unit per pick. So if you doubted my knowledge and decided to fade my picks, congratulations! Your stupidity has lost you money. Hopefully you have learned your lesson moving forward. I am here FOR THE PEOPLE. I just want to help everyone make money together and beat up the bookie. Responsibly of course! Now let’s move on to the main reason you are reading these posts.

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Colorado State @ Boise State (-14) O/U 61

There are many factors that go into this pick. Boise has had three different QBs under center in their first three games. It is still up in the air who will be the starter for tonight’s game. It could be the week 1 starter Hank Bachmeier, week 2 and 3 starter Jack Sears, or the Freshman Cade Fennegan. Hank Bachmeier played lights out against Utah State in the season opener. He went 20/28 for 268 yards and 3 TD’s in the Boise 42-13 win. Going into week two, Bachmeier parties too hard and gets put on the Covid list forcing the USC transfer Jack Sears to take over as the starter. Sears went 17/20 for 280 yards and 3 TDs against Air force. So statistically the top two options are fairly even, and I am sure Coach Harsin would be comfortable with either of them getting the start. Where they may have issues though, is if neither Bachmeier or Sears are able to play. They would have to put all the pressure on the Freshman. Fennegan had a tough start with his call to action. It wasn’t until the 4th quarter until he started to get the hang of it. The sad truth behind it was, BYU had already started putting in their second string players at that point. To put you in the position that Boise is in at the moment, let me make a scenario for you.

You are at the pong table without a partner, looking across the table to see respectable opponents. They are not Brad and Chad good, but about Blake and Preston good. So you look around the room and see three options to be your partner. The first option is the experienced vet who you ran the table with all last year, but they are coming off the flu which could have diminished their coordination skills. Second you have the transfer. You played well with them the weekend before, but out of frustration mid game they decided to punch a hole in the wall. Which caused serious damage to their throwing hand. Lastly you see the pledge, wide-eyed hoping for a chance at redemption. You let him finish the game with you last weekend, but they missed every cup and eventually had to sit under the table until the next game ended. You have to think quickly or you will be kicked off the table. Time is up, who are you picking?

That is the current dilemma in Boise. Colorado State isn’t the powerhouse that BYU is, but they are still a respectable team. For my pick it all comes down to who the starter will be. If Bachmeier or Sears get the start I feel more comfortable with Boise by two touchdowns. If Fennegan gets the start I may consider taking Colorado state with the points. If Fennegan is announced the started sooner than later, the line may move enough for just picking Boise money line may not be crazy odds. I do think Boise will win this game, it’s just that 14 is a lot of points for a third string freshman. This also may be a good game to Tease. Bring the spread down to about 7 points and bring the Over down to 54.

Moving onto Friday’s games.

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FAU (-9) at FIU O/U 41

Out of the games on Friday, this will be the one you don’t watch. Does anyone even still care about FAU since Lane Kiffin left? The answer to that question is obviously no. Lane Kiffin and his terrible commercials are the only thing that put FAU on the map. Even without the Lane Train the Owls are 3-1 on the season. FIU on the other hand, welp… not good. They are 0-3. The Panthers lost to an FCS school to start the season. Even last year against my Wildcats of New Hampshire they struggled. I see FIU as a glorified FCS team who got moved up to the big show. If FIU was a freshman. They would be that kid who was kinda cool in high school, and thinks that their high school status is all they need to get into Greek life. Come rush week, they would be the kid who made it out to every fraternity hoping that at least one would give a bid. And they may have come close a couple times. At least came down to a vote for the fraternities without houses, but still no bid. I believe that is a fitting comparison.

Against #22 Liberty, FIU only lost by 2 points. In all honestly that must have been a huge moral victory for them. And we all know those players are telling all the girls on campus how close they were to beating a top 25 team, instead of telling them that they are projected to go 1-7 this year. So with all of that being said it is hard to pick this game with a two score spread. FAU only has only one win over two scores out of their three. Granted teams like Western Kentucky are much better competition. Also WKU has an added bonus that their mascot looks like a Giant walking herpe. But, I do think this game will be close with this spread. If I have to pick I would take FAU, but I am not completely sold. I hate to give two teaser picks back to back but FAU -2 and Under 49 does give the balls a little tingle.

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Iowa (-3.5) @ Minnesota O/U 59

This game is very difficult to pick. Both teams looked like absolute frauds the first two weeks of the season. Both going 0-2 losing to normally subpar teams. Iowa lost close to Purdue and Northwestern, then turned around and dismantled Michigan State by 42. Minnesota on the other hand lost big to a young Michigan team, followed by a OT loss to Maryland. Then last week they put up a 41-14 win over Lovie Smith and his Illinois team. In my opinion if PJ Fleck doesn’t figure his issues out quick he may become a Flat Earther and row his damn boat right off the face of the earth. However, this game could honestly go either way. It is going to be below freezing tonight in Minnesota, which could be a major factor in the game. I want to pick Iowa because they have a better defense, but playing football in below freezing weather is a whole different skill set. And it is a skill set that Minnesota very much has. Usually cold Big Ten games become old fashion smash mouth football. There will be a heavy run game and a lack of deep passes. With all of that in mind. I am thinking Iowa will skate away with this close win. I may even buy the half point to make it an even 3pt spread.

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East Carolina @ Cincinnati (-27.5) O/U 56.5

Cincinnati is hotter than your butt hole after eating a bunch of ghost peppers at 6-0. The East Carolina Pirates are 1-5 coming into this game. It is equivalent to when the biggest senior in the fraternity comes home drunk from the bars and challenges the 5,3 sophomore GPA booster in the house to a fight. That senior will win 99/100 times, in a significant fashion. That is what spreads are for. 27.5 is a massive spread. East Carolina may be 1-5, but are still 2-2 against the spread. Although Cinci has beaten their last three opponents by 28 or more. Cincinnati is 5-1 against the spread. With their only loss coming in week one. They had to cover 41 points and only won by 35 against Austin Peay. The weather is going to be a calm cool 50 degrees in Cinci tonight. That is what I needed to see to push me over the edge to take Cinci with the points here.

Now it is time for the Henny Lock. I know what the people who took it last time are thinking. “Henny, your locks are 0-1. The over in buffalo Miami missed by 4 points you puppet”. If you watched that game, you know exactly how frustrated I was with it. Both teams have a terrible pass defense and it took a whole half to figure it out. I don’t even cover the MAC full time and I knew that going into the game. Once the second half started so did the +50 yard passing plays. It just wasn’t enough to hit the over. I thought we had a shot when the back up for Miami Ohio was driving with all his QB runs. In my head I was screaming “BACK DOOR COVER BABY” and “Thank the lord for Garbage time MACtion”. But then, my luck came back to bite me in the butt. Miami ended up turning over the ball to Buffalo to end the game.

Anyways, here is my redemption of a Henny Lock. The Henny Lock of the post is the Under 59 points in the Iowa vs Minnesota game. As I stated above, it should be cold smash mouth football which will eat up a lot of clock. My final score prediction on this game is Iowa to win 27-23.

Henny Lock of the post: Under 59 Iowa/Minnesota.

Look out for the rest of the weekends slate either Friday night or Saturday morning.