NCAA Labor Day Special: The Moral High Ground

Today is Labor Day, so we’re not going to put too much work into explaining why we like the Tennessee football Volunteers today against the UCLA football Bruins tonight at the Rose Bowl, or even putting too much thought into the pick at all. In fact, the rules of Labor Day forbid us from doing so. But, as this is, after all, America, and there is a big time college football game on today, the rules of Labor Day also mandate that we choose a side. This is one of the few opportunities where the Sports Wagering Gods permit us to shoot from the hip.

So we see this 7.5 point spread in favor of Tennessee and think, by all visible objective criteria, this line looks too low. Tennessee is one of the best teams in the Nation’s best conference. They return all five of their offensive linemen, and will be playing against UCLA’s third string quarterback. UCLA is a decent team in a much weaker conference that has been getting killed in the recruiting wars in recent years by cross-town rival USC. Moreover, UCLA will be testing a new system tonight run by their new coach and offensive coordinator. Tennessee -7.5 looks so easy (90% of the sportsbook.com players agree) that we’re inclined to call this a sucker bet and go the other way by taking UCLA and the points.

After reading this remarkable must-read Seattle Times report on what went down on Neuheisel's watch in Washington, we’ll risk walking into a potential sucker bet-buzzsaw to take the moral high ground this Labor Day. The moral high ground: What could be more American? The Pick: Tennessee -7.5 over UCLA.


Update: UCLA wins by 3 in overtime. Apparently God hates rape victims. Now that we have a better idea of just what a cold, cold world it is, we will redouble our efforts and try to get back on the winning track next weekend. Consider last weekend to be the first pancake that gets thrown out.