LesMiles.Net Trailer - Alabama Game

Football Pick'em Week 8

Ol coach had a tough week last Saturday with covering the spread. Vegas has really tightened up on us. We finished 6 - 9 for the first losing week in a while and our current year to date totals are 56 - 49.

HOME TEAMS

1.    Texas Tech by 6.5 over WEST VIRGINIA

2.    South Carolina by 7.5 over TENNESSEE

3.    Wisconsin by 10.5 over ILLINOIS

4.    Washington by 2.5 over ARIZONA STATE

5.    OREGON by 37.5 over Washington State

6.    Oregon State by 10.5 over CALIFORNIA

7.    ALABAMA by 28.5 over Arkansas

8.    LSU by 7.5 over OLE MISS

9.    BAYLOR by 31.5 over Iowa State

10.  OHIO STATE by 17.5 over Iowa

These are my take the points specials;

11.  VANDY getting 8.5 from Georgia

12.  UCLA getting 4.5 from STANFORD

13.  CLEMSON getting 2.5 from FSU

14.  Auburn getting 13.5 from TEXAS A&M

15.  HOUSTON getting 9.5 from BYU

There you have it, good luck and as always "MAY THE SPREAD BE WITH YOU".

Football Pick'em Week 7

I had my first losing week in two years last week going 7 - 8. This brings the year to date total to 50 - 40 through 6 weeks. The spread gets tougher to beat every year about this time. Vegas has really homed in on the games. But I am committed to giving my clients the best possible information. So here we go.

HOME TEAM

1.    Nebraska by 14.5 over PURDUE

2.    TEXAS TECH by 14.5 over Iowa State

3.    Missouri getting 8.5 from GEORGIA

4.    CLEMSON by 24.5 over Boston College

5.    Baylor by 17.5 over KANSAS STATE

6.    LSU by 7.5 over Florida

7.    Oregon by 13.5 over WASHINGTON

8.    Texas A & M by 6.5 over OLE MISS

9.    UCLA by 24.5 over California

10.  WASHINGTON STATE by 1.5 over Oregon State

For the riskier play

11.  South Carolina by 5.5 over ARKANSAS

12.  Northwestern getting 10.5 from WISCONSIN

13.  Michigan by 2.5 over PENN STATE

The upset specials this week are

14.  Indiana getting 9.5 from MICHIGAN STATE

15.  KENTUCKY getting 27.5 from Alabama

As always may the spread be with you.

Football Pick'em

We had a winning week again for week #5 going 9 - 6 ATS but only 5 - 5 on my top ten. This makes our year to date total 43 - 32 or 11 games to the good. Coach has gone back to the drawing board to refine the strategy for success. The staff of researchers came up with the following;

1. We are 11 - 1 in the SEC, 7 - 2 in the BIG 12, and 8 - 1 in the PAC 12.
2. We are better in the early games and next best in the night games.
3. We are not good in the BIG10 and ACC.

So with that said here we go for this week.

HOME TEAM

1.    Texas Tech by 14.5 over KANSAS

2.    Georgia by 10.5 over TENNESSEE

3.    Oregon by 38.5 over COLORADO

4.    LSU by 9.5 over MISSISSIPPI STATE

5.    Arizona State by 5.5 over NOTRE DAME

6.    STANFORD by 6.5 over Washington

7.    OKLAHOMA by 10.5 over TCU

8.    FLORIDA by 10.5 over Arkansas

9.    BAYLOR by 27.5 over West Virginia

10.  Louisville by 33.5 over TEMPLE

Something a little more risky;

11.  VANDY by 2.5 over Missouri

12.  AUBURN getting 2.5 from Ole Miss

13.  Washington State by 3.5 over CALIFORNIA

My upset specials this week are

14.  NORTHWESTERN getting 5.5 from Ohio State

15.  Minnesota getting 20.5 from MICHIGAN

Good luck sports fans and as always "May the Spread be With You".

Football Pick'em

I knew last week was going to be a tough week picking against the spread (ATS) but 6 - 9, now that is ridiculous. I am committed to get back on my game to make you a winner so hang in there with me and my crack staff of researchers. The year to date totals are 34 - 26 which is still on the positive side and that is not all bad. Here we go with week 5;

HOME TEAM

1.     GEORGIA TECH by 7.5 over Virginia Tech

2.     PITTSBURGH by 6.5 over Virgina

3.     BALL STATE by 2.5 over Toledo

4.     Florida State by 21.5 over BOSTON COLLEGE

5.     MINNESOTA getting 0.5 from Iowa

6.     WASHINGTON by 8.5 over Arizona

7.     Texas A & M by 10.5 over ARKANSAS

8.     Wyoming by 11.5 over TEXAS STATE

9.     MISSOURI by 21.5 over Arkansas State

10.   OREGON by 36.5 over California

OH but wait there is more;

11.   GEORGIA by 2.5 over LSU

12.   Oklahoma by 3.5 over NOTRE DAME

13.   Connecticut by 2.5 over BUFFALO

And for the upsets of the week

14.  WEST VIRGINA getting 18.5 from Oklahoma State

15.   Wake Forest getting 28.5 from CLEMSON

Okay sports fans, do what you gotta do. And always, may the spread be with you.

Coach

New LSU video!

Football Pick'em

Last week was not our best. Vegas is definitely homing in on the spreads making it tough on the crack staff of prognosticators working with coach. Last week's results were a profitable 8 - 7 but we broke even on the top ten at 5 - 5. Season to date results are 28 - 17 or 62%.

Let's get to the meat for this week. Here are week 4's Coach's Locks;

HOME TEAM

1.    BAYLOR by 28.5 over UL Monroe

2.    GA TECH by 5.5 over No. Carolina

3.    Kansas St getting 4.5 from TEXAS

4.    Wyoming by 3.5 over AIR FORCE

5.    Missouri by 3.5 over INDIANA

6.    Rice getting 2.5 from HOUSTON

7.    NOTRE DAME by 6.5 over Michigan State

8.    Arkansas getting 1.5 from RUTGERS

9.    Clemson by 13.5 over NO CAROLINA STATE

10.  LSU by 17.5 over Auburn

For those with a riskier appetite, try these;

11.  VIRGINIA TECH by 9.5 over Marshall

12.  FLORIDA ATL getting 4.5 from Middle Tenn

13.  LOUISVILLE by 41.5 over Florida Intl

My upset specials this week are;

14.  Colorado St getting 39.5 from ALABAMA ( Bama still wins)

15.  Idaho getting 31.5 from WASH STATE (take the points)

Well there they are, my best research says this is gonna be a good week so play heavy and go for the gold. Good luck and my the spread be with you.

Coach

What did we learn Week 3

Johnny Football, you can love him or hate him, he is a dynamic player that will lead his team to wins. The only real problem is the offense can not keep up with the woefully inadequate defense at Texas A & M. A broadcaster on the Rice game proclaimed that TAMU was an SEC caliber defense, not even close. I will grant you that Alabama is good but do we really know. They themselves left a lot of plays on the field. Never the less, both teams will be in the hunt for the chance to represent the SEC West division in Atlanta.

Here we go with some observations;

1.   Coaches hot seat list;

          Bo Pelini was hired to resurrect the "Black Shirts" at Nebraska - failed so far.

          Dan Mullen is losing the recruiting battle to in-state rival Ole Miss. MSU will be looking soon.

          Lane Kiffen will only survive until USC can restock the shelves from probation (2yr max)

          Mack Brown - if he were a roast, you'd stick a fork in him at Texas.

2.    Nick Saban's next job, Texas! Can you imagine how he could lock up the talent rich state and build another dynasty.

3.    Senior QB's make all of the difference in an offense's production. Just look around the programs that are lighting up the scoreboard and in most of them there is a seasoned veteran.

4.    Auburn is better but there is night and day difference between Auburn and any of the top tier teams in the SEC. LSU, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas A & M all have strong enough defenses and balanced offenses that do not need to scheme you to be successful.

5.    Want to talk about a fast paced offense, Arizona St ran 52 plays in the first half Saturday night. I think they finished near 100. But because of this helter-skelter approach they often times look undisciplined and random. It must have worked, they won the game over Wisconsin.

Football Pick'em

Coach got surprised on a few games last week; Cincinnati, Texas, Florida and South Carolina. Florida was a real let down losing to an ACC team but when you turn the ball over 6 times you just don't score points. Texas is a disaster and now Cincy is without their QB and probably won't show up on my radar again this year.

The totals for last week was a respectable 9 - 6 ATS. I was 8 - 2 on the top ten but only 1 - 4 on the streches and upsets. This brings my two week season total to 20 - 10. Sounds profitable to me.

HOME TEAMS IN BOLD

Now for this weeks locks.

1.   Bowling Green getting 2.5 from INDIANA

2.   UCLA getting 4.5 from NEBRASKA

3.   OKLAHOMA by 24.5 over Tulsa

4.   Louisville by 13.5 over KENTUCKY

5.   FLORIDA STATE by 31.5 over Nevada

6.   Northern Illinios by 27.5 over IDAHO

7.   PENN STATE by 4.5 over Central Florida

8.   MIDDLE TENN by 6.5 over Memphis

9.   Wisconsin getting 5.5 from ARIZONA ST

10. Ball State by 2.5 over NORTH TEXAS

A little bit riskier plays are;

11. AUBURN by 6.5 over Miss State

12. Maryland by 7.5 over CONNECTICUT

13. SOUTH FLORIDA by 12.5 over Florida Atlantic

The upset specials are not really upsets but these two games will not cover the spread.

14. Notre Dame by 20.5 over PURDUE (TAKE THE POINTS)

15. LSU by 36.5 over Kent St ( TAKE THE POINTS)

Well folks there they are. May the spread be with you.

Coach

What Did We Learn in Week 2

Sorry sports fans and coach followers, I am running a day late with some updates due to coach being a little under the weather. This is gonna be a brief one so here we go.

1.   The 4M's are really lighting up the scoreboard; Manziel, McCarron (giving the benefit of the doubt), Mettenberger, and Murray. Who says the SEC doesn't play offense and quarterback.

2.   A few weeks down the line the Ga vs LSU shootout could be really entertaining, maybe even better than this weekend's ALA vs TAMU game. Right now I give LSU a slight advantage because of John Chavis on the LSU defense.

3.   Did anyone really think Notre Dame would be real this year?

4.   Add Mack Brown to the coaches hot seat. Stick a fork in him.

5.   The talking heads gave Miami way too much credit in the win over Florida (really a loss by Fla) in proclaiming they are real and the ACC can compete.

6.   Is it just me or are there a lot of points being scored early in the season. Usually the defenses are ahead of the offenses and rule the day. Not so right now so I can only imagine what weeks 7 - 14 will look like for games.

7.   Ball State is a rock solid spread covering machine. Go with it.


See you next week on Tuesday for another edition of "What Did We Learn".

Coach

Why college polls need rules and regulations. Or better yet, do away with them completely.

This is an example of a real AP Poll ballot from @DougLesmerises: Link: http://t.co/K94YxTF53p Pic: pic.twitter.com/r0toVDWAG3
— The SEC Logo (@SEC_Logo) September 9, 2013

The above is a tweet I came across via The SEC Logo (@SEC_Logo).  Yes, that is an actual vote cast by an AP member for the ranking of college football teams.  I personally have no problem with this ranking, as long as it is viewed from the perspective of who is playing the "best" football as of right now and not a prediction of who will win the BCS title.  I can agree that Clemson has played some really good football the first two weekends.  They beat a Georgia team that looked really good against South Carolina.  Alabama did not look all that impressive against Virginia Tech.  Hell, I would suggest that Alabama be ranked behind Oregon, Georgia, and Louisville if we are basing it purely on quality of football played this season to date.  However, that is my main point. What are these polls actually based on?  In a vast majority of the votes, Alabama is ranked #1 overall.  And rightly so, given it's from the perspective of the reigning champ hasn't been beaten yet.  And therein lies the problem.  Too many people cast votes based on such a wide variety of criteria. With the millions upon millions of dollars that are up for grabs, ultimately based on these types of votes, there needs to be more rules in place to set guidelines on voting criteria.  Even with the playoffs coming to college football next season, the AP and USA Today polls can still play a major role in influencing the selection committee.  Can you imagine the backlash the selection committee would receive if they were to by pass a unanimous #4 ranked team in both AP and USA Today polls for any other team?  I don't even want to imagine what would happen if a by-passed team were ranked higher than #4.  Riots may break out across the country.

All in all, I think the point I'm trying to make is that the NCAA would be wise to make some sort of official statement in the off season declaring these polls invalid and of no importance in selecting playoff teams.  And they should make that statement multiple times.  OR....   they could attempt to impose rules and/or guidelines in voting for AP and USA Today members.  But in my opinion, trying to tell the media what to do is like trying to tell a spoiled child no.  So the former of the two ideas is probably the best course of action.

In the end, transparency in selection criteria will do the selection committee wonders in the eye of the public.  If the teams and the public know what it takes to make the playoffs ahead of time, then that will greatly minimize the controversy come selection time.

Football Pick'em

Coach's Locks Week 2

 

 

After a solid week ATS going 11 - 4, not to mention picking two upsets and three of the 4 loses were because of spreads, I am ready to shine the light on 15 new winners. So without further delay here we go.

 

Home team is BOLD.

 

1.     Duke by 5.5 over MEMPHIS (my favorite)

 

2.     INDIANA by 13.5 over Navy

 

3.     NORTHWESTERN by 12.5 over Syracuse

 

4.     MICHIGAN by 3.5 over Notre Dame (almost my favorite)

 

5.     OHIO by 5.5 over North Texas

 

6.     Oregon by 21.5 over VIRGINIA

 

7.    BAYLOR by 27.5 over Buffalo

 

8.    LSU by 34.5 over UAB

 

9.    Florida by 3.5 over MIAMI

 

10.  KANSAS ST. by 9.5 over UL Lafayette

 

Three stretches against the spread are;

 

11.   Cincinnati by 7.5 over ILLINOIS

 

12.   Western Kentucky getting 13.5 from TENNESSEE (UT will win)

 

13.   Texas by 7.5 over BYU

 

The two upset specials are;

 

14.   South Alabama getting 6.5 from TULANE

 

15.   So. Carolina getting 3.5 from GEORGIA

 

There are the winners for this week. If you know someone that could use a little help with their picks, tell'em about my posts. I hit over 63% last year and I am off to a good start again this year. As always, may the spread be with you.

 

Coach

What did we learn week 1

The results are in from the first set of locks against the spread. We finished 11 - 4 missing out on spreads on the Ohio St, Nebraska, and Troy games while missing the winner of the Boise St game. Bottom line you had a profitable weekend if you followed the coach's picks.

There were a few surprises, some pleasant some not, that should out for me. First the BIG10 might be the weakest conference out there. The shining star OSU gave up 20 to Buffalo, Purdue got crushed, Illini and Iowa got upset and they did not play any real marquee games.

Here we go with the snippets;

1. Clemson and Tahj Boyd are for real. Sammy Watkins is a beast. The thing that will keep them from winning it all is the lack of a solid defense.

2. Ohio Sate is not number 2 in fact may not be in the top ten.

3. Texas A & M does not play SEC style defense regardless of how many times the talking heads say they do.

4. When was the last time Alabama had less total yards in a game than Zach Mettenberger had passing alone (251)? That was the worst offensive line performance in a decade for them. Not to worry, they will improve.

5. Boise State's run is over. They will not be part of the BCS Championship landscape again. Or the playoff system either.

6. Three coaches that will be on the hot seat, if not already, Dan Mullen at Miss St, Lane Kiffen at USC, and Bo Pelini at Neb. Those were horribly unprepared teams this weekend.

7. TCU, while a loser to LSU, will challenge for the BIG 12 title this year.

8. Johnny Football is a spoiled child.

9. Jameis Winston is going to give the defenses in the ACC fits. I sure he will have his moments where he will play like a freshman but he will also look great at times (probably more of great than not).

10. The final BCS championship may not involve a SEC team. This could be the year that there are multiple undefeated teams and sure looks like the SEC will not have one of them. This would be a travesty if the conference were not allowed to defend it's crown in the final year before the playoff starts.

Of course as always this is just one man's opinion but I always tell'em like I see'em. Be sure to check back Thursday for the week 2 locks. Until then, may the spread be with you.

Coach

Coach

ESPN's latest SEC power rankings released

"Don't sleep on these Tigers. They're undervalued, but were very impressive in their 37-27 victory over a ranked TCU team in their own backyard." - Edward Aschoff

LSU is the biggest winner in the latest power ranking poll from ESPN. They climbed 3 spots up to number 3 for the week.  Looking forward to seeing where the Tigers will be ranked in the AP and USA Today polls for this week.

What a great opening weekend for college football!

And we still have one more game to go tonight! However, I don't plan on it being much of a game. I think FSU throttles Pitt. But the rest of the weekend included lots of upsets by FCS schools amongst some major games pitting top ranked teams against one another. The UGA vs Clemson game was a great one. Although it's too bad UGA ended up losing one of their top WR to a knee injury (while celebrating a teammates TD none the less). Overall, the SEC went 9-3 in non-conference games over the weekend. A strong showing by the conference. In contrast the Big12 went 6-2 with the biggest upset coming in the North Dakota St vs Kansas St game. How does the co-defending Big12 champion let NDSU win? And Bob Stoops thinks the SEC is just top heavy and not that strong. If the SEC is top heavy then the Big12 is certainly bottom heavy.

Remember to check back in tomorrow for our full weekly recap of the weekends action, to include a breakdown of Coach's Locks of Week 1.

This just in....

ESPN's Dari Nowkah (@ESPNDari on Twitter) released his CFB top 5

Here is @ESPNDari's CFB Top 5: 1) Alabama 2) Oregon 3) Clemson 4) South Carolina 5) LSU
— The SEC Logo (@SEC_Logo) September 2, 2013

Football Pick'em

Coach's Locks of the Week

Week #1 2013

 

I am back gang for another spread busting year. Your coach is going to give you the inside scoop to make you a winner against the spread for college football games around the country each and every Saturday. Without much further fanfare, here are your picks this week.

 

HOME Team is in bold.

 

 

Ole Miss by 3.5 over Vandy

 

Ohio St. by 35.5 over Buffalo

 

Alabama by 19.5 over Virginia Tech in Atlanta

 

Oklahoma by 23.5 over UL Monroe

 

Troy by 4.5 over UAB

 

Nebraska by 27.5 over Wyoming

 

LSU by 4.5 over TCU in Arlington Cowboy Stadium

 

Northwestern by 5.5 over California

 

Louisville by 20.5 over Ohio

 

Florida St by 10.5 over Pitt

 

Now if you don't like these, try the almost sure locks from coach's corner.

 

Minnesota by 14.5 over UNLV

 

Boise St getting 3.5 from Washington

 

Texas A & M by 26.5 over Rice

 

For the riskier player looking to double up with an upset try;

 

Clemson getting 1.5 from Georgia

 

Washington St getting 15.5 from Auburn

 

 

Well there it is folks, good luck playing this week. Be sure to check us out on Tuesdays for our year to date results in the "What did we learn over the weekend" post.

 



Saturday is almost here!

I can't wait for game time!

The Florida Gulf Coast bandwagon is taking off

Is anyone else jumping on this bandwagon? I love how this team plays. They play loose and aggressive. They play as though they know they are the underdogs and they aren't even supposed to be in the tourney at all. This makes them all the more dangerous. All the big name teams have played in high pressure games/situations before, they know what the pressure of the spotlight can do. FGCU however doesn't know what pressure is; all they seem to know is get the ball and score. And score they do. They score with a flair and tenacity I've never seen. Granted I don't watch a lot of basketball, but this team is an endless highlight reel of monster dunks and clutch shooting and big steals. FGCU dropped 81 on a good defensive team in San Diego State, all I could think is 81 isn't enough I want more. This is the first and most likely only time I will root against my SEC roots in an out of conference match up. Go Eagles!

LSU Baseball Is Off To A Great Start!

The LSU baseball team is off to a hot start with a 18-2 record. Only losses on the season are a Sunday loss to MSU (after winning the first two of the series) and a home loss to BYU back on Feb 23rd.  Upcoming games for the Tigers include a game tonight at 6:30 pm local against Northwestern St. and a weekend conference series against Auburn. The games this weekend will be played at home for LSU in Alex Box Stadium.

Here are a couple good write ups about last weekends series win for the Tigers. Here and here.

Alex Box Stadium at night.

Good articles on college football

These are some articles pertaining to college football that I found interesting.

Impact of stats on college football playoff selection committee
       This one provides an interesting view of what stats and how these stats will be used in the selection process for the upcoming college football playoffs. Personally, I feel that there should definitely be more transparency in the selection process. Tell everyone the exact criteria that will be used in selecting teams. Also, the selection committee members should be ready to explain and justify their picks to the nation.  I would also like to see a margin of victory alongside strength of schedule as statistical components to aid in the selection process.


     Speaking of statistics, here is an article about big plays and how often they lead to points on the board. The numbers aren't all that surprising, but it is nice to have a more precise percentage to spout in those intense football discussions we all get in to.


     Hope you enjoy the reading material and feel free to leave some comments.

March Madness Brackets

Got a pool on Yahoo started for anyone who would like to join.  The link is here. Best of luck to everyone!

(Password is password)

LSU v MSU baseball game 2 thread.

LSU v MSU game 2 thread


This thread is taking place in the Google+ community for LSU Baseball that I created. Join up and hang out, talk some college baseball.

Edit:  Ryan Eades gets the win and is now 4-0 on the year. Katz solo shot, Bregman three-run bomb and Jones's pair of doubles lead LSU to 7-3 win!

2013 LSU Tigers

The 2013 Tiger football team will not look all that different from the 2012 team.

When I heard that 10 tigers were declaring early for the NFL draft, my first reaction was one of great concern. How could Les Miles possible replace some many outstanding players. Then I thought, how many seniors did we lose as well? Were we even going to have the full allotment of 85 scholarship athletes since we could only sign 29 new ones (back counting 4 to last year)?

After taking a look at the roster from this past season and with a little analysis, here is what I found;

Total players - 111

Seniors - 10     (3 starters, 4 players, 1 kicker, 1 left team, 1 walk on)

Juniors - 33     (9 leaving early, 7 starters, 13 players, 1 transferred in, 1 transferred out)

Sophm - 29     (1 leave early, 5 starters, 11 players, 2 ineligible, 1 transfer out)

RSFrsh- 9       (2 starters, 3 players)

Fresh - 30      (5 starters, 10 players)

The sophomores, red-shirt freshmen and true freshmen saw a lot of playing time during the season and on top of that they are very good players. I say this based on the fact that 12 of the first 22 were in this group. Compare that against the fact that we had 9 Juniors and 1 Sophomore good enough to leave early for the NFL draft, I think that says quite a bit about the quality of the depth we have to work with.

    

These two guys are only going to get better.

What else can we say about this true freshman?








The offensive line is going to be better if for no other reason that there should not be nearly as much turmoil as last year. I have a lot of confidence in Elliot Porter to take over at center. Turner and Alexander on the right side will be beasts. Williford is coming back along with Collins. Yes we will have to secure the left side but don't be surprised to see La'el Collins move into that spot.

Then to top it all off, this is the best recruiting class Miles has put together. there are some real studs to work with and possible a few more (Kemdiche and Foster) that could be coming.

Bottom line is I believe we will obviously miss the old faces we saw but there will also be a lot of familiar faces on the field for the tigers next year and we are going to win a lot of games. So stay positive Tiger Fans, the future truly very bright.

Coach

Pay for Play

Well it looks like the pay day is right around the corner for college football players. A report says that the governing body wants the schools to provide a stipend to each student-athlete of $2,000. That sounds innocent enough on the surface but let's be honest, how many schools can really afford that kind of money for all of the athletes (men and women) across the board?

Consider the MAC member Northern Illinois, their average attendance for football was a little over 15,000 per game. Assume a ticket price of $50, that comes to $750,000 per game. Now compare that to Alabama which averages 100,000 per game at home with a ticket price of $60+ or $6 million per game. In fact teams like Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and LSU that all average over 90,000 per game will even make it tough for Ole Miss, Vandy, and Kentucky to compete financially with the big boys if you pull $2,000 per athlete out of their budgets. A conservative estimate for the number of athletes at a given school is probably 300. So that is a $600,000 expense just for the stipends.

So where does the money come from for facilities improvement, recruiting budgets, coaches salaries, etc. With Title IX the way it is, you must provide the same level of support across the spectrum of athletes. Now don't get me wrong, I love the idea. Maybe this will keep some the less financially fortunate athletes from being lead astray by boosters as well avoid future legal issues. But it concerns me about opening the door to more corruption once dollars start flowing toward the athletes.

This is a slippery slope that I hope can be successfully traversed.

Let me know what you think and if you have a suggestion to make this work.