Welcome to Week 9 where it appears Iowa's offensive stink is starting to wear off on our picks. We have struggled the last two weeks, having back-to-back losing weeks for the first time in Spread Awareness history (we think…maybe…)
The positives of last week were few and far between, but shout-out to us for successfully picking Rutgers for the first time ever. Many people are saying that pick should count as 10 wins and we don’t disagree.
Anyway, because our picks were so bad the last two weeks, Spread Awareness has decided to let our founder's 12-year-old son write about a few games. It's okay, he played football for two years and his team won the city championship. TOTALLY qualified to pick winners and in no way is he only being allowed to do this because he is related to the Spread Awareness team. I am offended you would even think that.
Alright, well here is a new Taylor Swift song that might be describing the Ferentz family. Specifically, this line: "I'll stare directly in the sun but never in the mirror."
Yeah, Taylor gets it.
BIG TEN GAMES OF THE WEEK OF THE CENTURY
Iowa -11.5 @ Northwestern (2:30 PM CST, ESPN2)
Pat Fitzgerald hasn’t done a whole lot right with Northwestern this year, but he absolutely nailed this suggestion:
Fitz on this week's game with Iowa: "I requested to the Big Ten that we played this game at 6 a.m."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) October 24, 2022
It is something the Big Ten should really consider because if they let this game be shown on national television in the afternoon there is a decent chance the Big Ten’s new media contract will be ripped up and thrown in the dumpster because these two teams are bound to set the game of football back hundreds of years.
You thought Iowa vs Illinois was ugly? There is a very real chance this game is worse. The total for this game opened at 31.5 and I laughed because that seemed way too high.
The Iowa-Northwestern over/under is an insanely low 31.5, yet the last 5 totals in the teams meetings are 27 (OT), 24, 20, 41, 29 and Iowas offense is now historically bad.
— Chad Leistikow (@ChadLeistikow) October 23, 2022
Well, that didn’t last long, as the total quickly went to 35.5 and now most books have it at 37.5. BOOOO! This game needs SOMETHING to make it interesting and I was really looking forward to betting the lowest under in the history of football.
We could sit here and repeat the same stuff about how the Iowa offense is garbage, but I am not going to do that. It is tiresome, boring, and makes me want to puke. Instead, I’ll just mention that jNWU hasn’t won a game on American soil in over a year and are right up there with Iowa as one of the worst offensive teams in the country.
This game is going to be awful. Why is Iowa an 11.5-point favorite? No one knows, but the chances of them covering are slim and zero unless the defense scores all of the points. Northwestern has lost four games by one score this year and only lost to Penn State by 10. They have also won their last three games at Kinnick Stadium. Assuming the Hawkeyes didn't find their offense this week, I don't expect them to cover.
PICK: Northwestern +11.5, UNDER 37.5
#2 Ohio State -15.5 @ #13 Penn State (11:00 AM CST, FOX)
12-Year-Old Take: Ohio State vs Penn State? Broooooo, this game should be DOPE. Or not. Sick. Is the Penn State crowd going to wear all white again? Totally chill with that. Ohio State is like, really good. I saw a TikTok where one of their players had VERSACE cleats and that is so sick. I would wear Versace cleats but my lame dad said I had to keep playing football if I wanted new cleats. Friggin' rude, man.
Ohio State is going to win this game by a lot because VERSACE VERSACE VERSACE (that is a rap song, for all you BOOMERS).
PICK: OHIO STATE -15.5
Rutgers +14.5 @ Minnesota (1:30 PM CST, BTN)
12-YEAR-OLD TAKE: Minnesota is where I went fishing one time. We caught a Muskee and I made a TikTok about it. Got tons of views, thinking about quitting school and just doing TikTok full time but my LAME dad said I need to get an education. When we were there some bald guy was running next to the river yelling ROW THE BOAT at us nonstop. It was weird because like, we had an engine.
I don’t know what a RUTGER is, but I heard my dad yell at the TV once and say “WHAT ARE YOU DOING RUTGER, DO YOU NOT WANT MY SON TO GO TO COLLEGE?” He seemed totally unchill about them, so I think they are totally CAP. No way they win.
PICK: Minnesota -14.5, OVER 40.5
#17 Illinois -7.5 @ Nebraska (2:30 PM CST, ABC)
12-YEAR-OLD TAKE: I am from Nebraska. I don’t really like corn. Gets stuck in my teeth which isn’t fun. My dentist said I might need braces which I think means I could never eat corn again. I actually watched a Husker game this year, they lost, everyone at school was sad and I was just like YOOOO, WE DEM HAWKEYES but then someone told me Iowa didn’t score a touchdown and I was like TRUE TRUE.
Scott Frost got fired, but I heard how much money he got to get fired and I wish I could get fired. I would buy a Lamborghini and Tokyo Drift around the stadium all day. Seems way more fun than having old people complain about you while they wait in line at the grocery store.
PICK: Illinois -7.5
Michigan Sate +22.5 @ #4 Michigan (6:30 PM CST, ABC)
12-YEAR-OLD TAKE: This is lame, I don’t want to do this anymooraaaAWH, OMG, TIME TO BEREAL! CAN’T TALK RIGHT NOW, SoRrY! Maybe see you guys next week!
OK, well I guess the Spread Awareness staff is taking this the rest of the way. That really went off the rails quickly. I'd fire that kid but he is my son and that would make his mom mad and it would turn into a whole big thing so it's best that we just keep him around. Sorry.
Michigan State has beaten Michigan two years in a row. They have won 10 out of the last 14 match-ups, and the games in this rivalry are always close, so why in the world wouldn’t you throw a little money down on them to cover a 22.5-point spread??
Why not? Easy! Michigan State is bad, and Michigan is very good. Earlier this year, we stupidly took Oklahoma to cover against Texas because we figured it was a rivalry game and the Red River Shootout is always a close game. We were DEAD WRONG. Texas murdered OU and that same game is going to play out here. Michigan is a machine and Michigan State and its soft defense aren’t stopping them.
PICK: Michigan -22.5
TOP 25 GAMES OF THE WEEK OF THE CENTURY
Syracuse -2.5 vs Notre Dame: Tough loss for the Cuse against Clemson last week, but they should be able to bounce back against a Notre Dame team that somehow lost to Stanford and Marshall this year.
#9 Oklahoma State +1.5 @ #22 Kansas State: Probably no Adrian Martinez for Kansas State so they might be in trouble. That felt weird to type. Oklahoma State should roll in this one.
#20 Cincinnati +1.5 @ UCF: I don’t love picking against UCF when they are playing in the Bounce House (maybe my favorite stadium nickname in college football), but I just don’t think UCF is very good. Bearcats win their 7th in a row.
#3 Tennessee -12.5 vs #19 Kentucky: Feels like '98!
YTD Record
- Overall: 61-57-1
- ATS: 48-42-1
- O/U: 13-15
