I am not a religious man. I am a man of science and reason. However, even the most sensible and rational men among us can be brought to his knees by the tortures of gambling. I am indubitably at the end of my rope and when the boat starts sinking, all you have left to do is pray. While I seemed to have plugged the leak in the bow with the college picks, a new leak has sprung in the stern on pros once again like a sick game of whack-a-mole. At this point I have little to no confidence in my strategies and am giving myself to the mercy of the gambling gods. Josh has bested me yet again and regained the lead, putting my back on the wall. It will require a heroic stand – winning 3 of the remaining 4 weeks to escape defeat. While Gus flounders in desperation the added pressure of a Chalupa Batmans v OJ’s Parole Board playoff game looms over the weekend as well. While I do like my chances in the latter affair after a solid Thursday night performance from the Chicago boys, the prospect of being knocked out and destined to a weekend of indentured servitude weighs on me like a ton of bricks. While some may fold under the pressure, I welcome it, because pressure is what turns coal into a diamond.
JOSH CHALLENGES:
ATL +7 vs NO
In a regrettable move, I decided to play the full slate of Thanksgiving games last week. I struggled most with the choice of the final game of the day in Atlanta. I ultimately decided to take the touchdown being given to the home team who had shown recent improvement, winning 2 of its last 3. Unfortunately Julio Jones was a late scratch, doing no favors to my position. The Falcons showed some life early on, answering the Saints 7-0 lead with a touchdown of their own, however Koo’s extra point was no good (which I immediately feared would come back to bite me). Atlanta wouldn’t make any offensive noise from this point until late in the 4th quarter where they found themselves in a 17 point hole. A Russel Gage touchdown catch would bring the Falcons within 11 who decided to go then use the analytics approach and go for two. This was a critical moment for the cover as it took the push off the table with 3:26 left to play. On a goal line reach Calvin Ridley was denied the score, leaving the Saints up by 11. Down by two scores the Falcons would go onside kick and in what has become an impossible task, and they recovered! But wait! A questionable flag was thrown for offsides, negating the recovery. Atlanta would have to attempt it again and by what can only be considered a minor miracle, they recovered again! This was like nothing I have ever seen before under the restrictive new kicking rules, breathing new life into the cover. However as I mentioned just before, the missed two point conversion meant that an Atlanta field goal would not reach the cover and barring broken coverage, a touchdown would be very difficult to come by. As expected, Atlanta would settle for a field goal, making it an 8 point game with under two minutes remaining. They’d be faced with yet another onside kick to stay alive. After essentially recovering two already on the previous kickoff, a third would be asking for lightning to strike the same place twice on a sunny day. Well that’s exactly what happened! An absolutely astonishing turn of events would leave the Falcons with a chance to tie the game. Much to my dismay, the clock would strike midnight and this carriage turned back into a pumpkin with the Falcons unable to keep the miracle alive. Saints hold on 26-18.
7-6 Josh.
WEEK 13/14 RESULTS:
College picks – [4-1]
Ohio State -9 @ Michigan
56-27 Ohio State – WIN
Oregon State +19 vs Oregon
24-10 Oregon – WIN
LSU -17 vs Texas A&M
50-7 LSU – WIN
UNDER 47.5 Wisconsin @ Minnesota
38-17 Wisconsin – LOSS
Auburn +3.5 vs Alabama
48-45 Auburn – WIN
Pro picks – [1-4]
CHI -2.5 @ DET
24-20 CHI – WIN
DAL -7 vs BUF
26-15 BUF – LOSS
ATL +7 vs NO
26-18 NO – LOSS
OVER 41.5 NYJ @ CIN
22-6 CIN – LOSS
IND -2.5 vs TEN
31-17 TEN – LOSS
Overall Week – [5-5]
Season Record – [64-66]
Total Record – [106-99]
*DISCLAIMER: GUSTER’S GUARANTEES IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY WAGERS LOST IN RELATION TO ANY SUGGESTIONS MADE DURING THIS SEGMENT*
Week 15 NCAAF Picks
Oregon +7 vs Utah
Baylor +9 vs Oklahoma
UNDER 57 Louisiana vs Appalachian State
Central Michigan -6.5 vs Miami (OH)
Cincinnati +9.5 vs Memphis
Week 14 NFL Picks
BAL -6 @ BUF
CLE -7 vs CIN
DEN +9 @ HOU
GB -12.5 vs WAS
KC +3.5 @ NE
PICKS TRACKER
| NCAAF | NFL | Week | Season | Total | ||||||||
| Post # | Year | Week | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | L |
| 1 | 2018 | 6,7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | 2018 | 7,8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 6 |
| 3 | 2018 | 8,9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 18 | 12 |
| 4 | 2018 | 9,10 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 16 | 24 | 16 |
| 5 | 2018 | 10,11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 19 | 26 | 19 |
| 6 | 2018 | 11,12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 23 | 32 | 23 |
| 7 | 2018 | 12,13 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 38 | 27 | 38 | 27 |
| 8 | 2018 | 13,14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 33 | 42 | 33 |
| 9 | 2019 | 1,2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 49 | 36 |
| 10 | 2019 | 2,3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 57 | 38 |
| 11 | 2019 | 3,4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 8 | 64 | 41 |
| 12 | 2019 | 4,5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 14 | 68 | 47 |
| 13 | 2019 | 5,6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 34 | 16 | 76 | 49 |
| 14 | 2019 | 6,7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 22 | 80 | 55 |
| 15 | 2019 | 7,8 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 40 | 30 | 82 | 63 |
| 16 | 2019 | 8,9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 43 | 37 | 85 | 70 |
| 17 | 2019 | 9,10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 48 | 42 | 90 | 75 |
| 18 | 2019 | 10,11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 53 | 47 | 95 | 80 |
| 19 | 2019 | 11,12 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 56 | 54 | 98 | 87 |
| 20 | 2019 | 12,13 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 59 | 61 | 101 | 94 |
| 21 | 2019 | 13,14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 64 | 66 | 106 | 99 |
CHALLENGE TRACKER
| NCAAF | NFL | Picks | Weeks | |||||
| Week | Gus | Josh | Gus | Josh | Gus | Josh | Gus | Josh |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 7 |
Wasted Talent 