NFL Picks & College Pick's by Football Forecasters

Update 10/09/02 This week we poured through a longer list than normal of potentials before settling on our key selections. It looks like it may be a dangerous weekend. Penn State initially looks attractive, but a little digging has caused us to side with Michigan as an "Also Like". We're going with 4% of bankroll on all our picks, with 1% on a 3 team ticket of key selections (Two A plays plus Denver).

Well it looks like there are already at least 2 "BigAl's" in the handicapping world. So I'm going to change the nickname of my long time friend, John Allen Glover, who continues to outgrow me as life rolls on. I'm going to go with JAG, his initials. The other BigAl's are probably bigger anyway; Besides Al's wife is threatening to put him on a tofu diet and make him join a health club, in which case I likely wouldn't be able to poke fun at him anymore (I wonder if they make tofu beer?). When Al finally learns how to upload this page he can change his nickname if he desires, but I think he'll grow into it... or should I say out of it.

Update 10/06/02 Well the West Virginia pick on Saturday was a real dog - Don't like it when we miss a call that bad. Maryland was able to get off some big plays against them in the first quarter and that turned the momentum for good. However we did well enough with our other plays to end up in the black for the weekend...again :) Saturday our dog picks went 3 for 4 with two outright upsets - Buffalo missed a cover by that much (1 point). On Sunday San Fran dominated the struggling Rams and Indy looked good, but Cincy got the backdoor cover after an untimely Indy turnover. I think this Sunday was the first time we have ever not picked a dog in the NFL...good thing too, cause the ones we were looking at stunk.

Next Weekend: We have several picks that we're looking at in the NCAA ranks which look very promising, but only one where we were in a hurry to jump on it before it moved up - we found Purdue (@Illinois) at an even FG and jumped on it for 4%. This may very well be our A play pick for the week. Purdue could very easily have won against a good Iowa squad this week, and Illinois is no Iowa. We know many of you check in on Monday so we wanted to get that one out there right away. Others we're looking at are: Boise St & Ohio St. Monday Night we like Green Bay - but not enough to invest in it ("you've got to know when to hold em...."). Don't see anything in the Pro's that grabs our attention early. We'll update again no later than Thursday morning. We're rolling on to the bankroll double, and it looks like we're getting there early this year. Peace

MISSION STATEMENT: We give our NFL football picks against the Vegas line, and College football picks against Vegas odds every week. Be aware that this is a dynamic site, we actively upgrade/downgrade the selections through out the week. Check in by the middle of the week for a listing of games we have selected, AND be sure to check in before game time, as very often one or both of us will zone in on a play the day before kick-off. We'll make 1-15 combined College and Pro football picks a week. We do not promise to pick 100% winners. However, historically we will pick a majority of winners over the course of the year. Expectations are too pick a simple majority, a 54-66% winning ratio is a realistic goal. You will serve as our sports monitor, all of our picks will be stored on a weekly basis in the "Past Picks" link at the bottom of this page. A free Message Board is provided specifically to insure our credibility - if you have a question about a pick, post it on the board (or e-mail us). This page is a no-nonsense banner free site. We don't recommend a service or affiliate with casinos--it's just us baby.

Two seasons ago I received an e-mail saying he "needed a winner", asking on a scale of 1-10 "how strong" our A+ play was this week. I replied that it's wrong about 30% of the time--so it must be a "7". Unfortunately that weeks play was in the 30% category. Folks there's no such thing as a lock--if you need one then you're in the wrong place and playing the wrong game. I strongly recommend a short read on Money Management linked via "Vegas Tips" at the bottom of this page.

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NFL & NCAA Opinions Free, courtesy of Footballforecasters. Strictly for entertainment and discussion purposes only :)

Team	W/L	comments
So Mississippi	L	*Late Update 10/12/02* Maximus from the message board said he liked the Golden Eagles this week. After crunching the numbers on this contest and analyzing the unit to unit matchups, we concluded Max was onto something good here. South Florida, who we were on hard and often last season, doesn't seem to be clicking like they did last year. While Southern Miss is on our preseason "play on" list. The Eagles are off a bye, and have a strong defense, especially in the secondary. This nullifies the strength of the Bulls offense, which is the long ball. The price is just under a FG and we're laying the small number and siding with the visitor to win by 10.
@New Mexico St	L	The young Aggie's have been respectable against the likes of Georgia, Cal and S Carolina, putting points up against all three. They soundly defeated arch rival New Mexico. On the other hand the Rajun Cajuns have struggled against superior opponents, and have had a difficult time putting points on the board - they just aren't executing. We'll lay em and call for a 20 point Aggie victory in their Sun Belt conference Homecoming game.
Purdue	L	Posted 10/06/02 Illinois is struggling, while the young Purdue squad has been in every game they've played. They should outscore the Illini by 17, even on the road, and even if they go with their dynamic young back-up QB. The Boilermakers have suffered special teams break downs in all of their losses. The Illini don't have the athletes to take advantage.

Team	W/L	comments
@Ohio State	W	Posted 10/07/02 The Spartans just don't match up well to the Buckeyes. OSU enjoys two strength on weakness (SOW) advantages: SJSU can't stop the run (Despite winning, UTEP ran all over them!) and OSU has one of the better rushing attacks in the game. SJSU has a great set of speedy receivers that take advantage of mismatches against teams within their own conference, but OSU has a big league secondary, which should negate the Spartans best offensive weapon.
Boise St	W	JAG's Pounder Posted 10/07/02 The high flying Bronco's are going to roll on a very week Tulsa squad. We'd have given 5 TD's but Vegas is only asking for 4. Al say's the Bronco's will put up over 50 on Tulsa.
EMU (+)	L	Posted 10/07/02 Ohio U favored by double digits? You gotta be kidding me. I know it's Eastern Michigan and the Eagles are young, but they've been going toe to toe with foes of a similar ilk. The Bobcats are struggling mightily just to maintain their dignity. This one ought to be competitive.
@Kansas (+)	L	We've been burned by Colorado when taking them as a large favorite. We know Kansas is not very good. But they have a history of playing the Buffaloes tough in Lawrence, even pulling off the improbable upset as large dogs. In addition Colorado may have been distracted in practice this week after learning of their programs NCAA sanctions. We're taking the generous points
Arkansas (+)	W	We're going with the high flying Razorbacks again this week and feel they may pull off the outright upset. Not concerned about the long OT last week - these guys are young.
Houston (+)	L	The Cougars are playing much better ball than the Blazers right now. They will not only cover the small number, there passing offense will keep them in contention to win the game.
Arkansas St (+)	L	What you say...? Ole Miss is coming off a fortuitous upset victory over Florida and have Alabama on deck. The Indians are playing scrappy ball of late, in addition they're familiar with Mississippi and have covered 3 straight. We'll take the points and call for "only" a 21 point Rebel victory.

ALSO LIKES: Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas St, UL Monroe, NC State, Duke, New Mexico, Michigan, Michigan St, California, Virginia Tech

Team	W/L	Comments
San Francisco	W	Monday Night Jim Mora Jr. is the DC for San Fran, he defends the WCO better than anyone in the league. We think that will be the difference in this division game. San Fran is deep in the secondary and Dilfer just doesn't have the targets at receiver he needs to run this offense effectively. The only good game Seattle RB Alexander has had was against the leagues worst rushing defense (Minnesota). On the other side of the ball Frisco has a solid O-line and should be able to establish themselves against the Seahawks. We found this at an even FG, and like it for 4% at that price.
Oakland	L	Posted 10/07/02 Those problems on the O-line are still there in StLouie. At this time Buffalo is a better team than the Rams, and you saw what the Raiders did at Ralph Wilson stadium. Right now OC, and WCO guru Marc Trestman has Oakland firing on all cylinders offensively. It won't matter if Garner misses the game, back up Terry Kirby understands the WCO very well. The Raiders have one of the best and most underrated offensive lines in the NFL. Don't foresee a letdown factor here as Oakland doesn't want to fall behind Denver in the race for the division lead, which may come down to a tiebreaker with Denver -who have already defeated the Rams.
@Houston (+)	W	*Updated 10/12/02* Buffalo is playing well. However we're not sure how they'll react as a large road favorite. The Texans have a talented secondary and should tighten up against the pass playing in front of their home crowd. We'll take the generous points as we see what shapes up to be a competitive game here.
Kansas City (+)	W	We have respect for San Diego's Tomlinson, it's too bad he doesn't have a decent O-line to run behind; If he did the Chargers could be a playoff team. As it is they will continue to perform well against non division foes while getting spanked within their own division. KC could win the game outright and we're getting a FG to make it a sweet play.
@Denver	L	The Bronco's have the beef up front to stop the bread & butter of Norv Turner's offense, the power running game. Look for Ricky Williams to fumble at least once in what we expect will be a long day for him.

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2002 Year To Date Statistical record (ATS)

2002	WON	LOST	PCT%
A+ Play	3	2	60%
A Plays	7	4	64%
B Plays	36	21	63%
Total	46	27	63%