Game Day Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is one of my favorite cities to visit. It's a nice town and plenty to do especially downtown. Of course on this trip I didn't step outside the hotel.

I like to do a blog post when I arrive in a new destination but you can thank the Yankees for keepig the computer dark. Pittsburgh is a great town to visit, but of course my plans were shelved when I couldn't take my eyes off the Yankee game. I don't get Joe Girardi, he fouled up the bullpen like you couldn't believe. He got only 1 2/3 innings out of Joba, Coke and Hughes. That's just a waste of resources. Then brining in Rivera down 2-1 in the eighth? My god. The Yankees manager (sound like the Boss there) needs to relax and play the game.

Anyhow, this is a football blog and the more I think about it I like UConn's chances more today. The lines are all over the place. The Huskies opened +10 and now are down to around 6.5 to 6. That's a lot of money coming in on the Huskies early in the week.  Arbitrage opportunity here if you got in at +10.

Why do I like the Huskies? Well, I don't think they are the favroites but they are a live underdog. I just like the way they match up against Pittsburgh. The Huskies can control the clock and as long as they manage the game they are going to be in it.

The Huskies have been superior to every team it has played this year. For 15 of 16 quarters they were the best team on the field. The key is turnovers. I like UConn's chances if the they don't turn it over and blow up (which they do at times).

This is an elimination game in the Big East. The conference has a problem because with only 7 games it is very dificult to make up a game. When you beat a team in conference the tiebreaker edge is so great that it's nearly impossible to make the game up.

Example: if UConn loses, to get to a BCS game, the Huskies can only slip up a max of one more time and go 5-2. And, for that to happen, PIttsburgh would have to go 3-3 over the remainder of its schedule.

I would say 6-1 wins the Big East this year, that's the only way. Several teams at 5-2 just doesn't seem likely. Someone is going to separate, and it starts today at Heniz Field.

That's what makes the USF-Cincinnati game next Thursday so important. There are so few games, there is little margin for error in conference. A 10 game conference schedule would be much more forgiving.  You lose you may never make it back into contention.

I will set the scene when I get to Heinz Field in a couple of hours.