It’s not been much of a secret, the TCR staff in YBYA have been struggling this year, but last week may have been a turning point. 6 of our 7 contestants were in the positives and finally making progress towards break-even.

But as you can see, 6 is not 7. One of us did awful, and his name is Thumpasaurus.

Thump started off great in YBYA. He held the lead for the first five weeks and built a sizeable lead after two really good weeks. But he regressed to the mean. Scratch that. Thump fell straight into the core of the Earth. Thumpasaurus went 1-5 in his picks losing $200 in the process. He was in second place. He is now in dead last.

I wrote in the secondary headline after Thump’s great start “All Hail King Thumpasaurus”. Well, the king is now dead.

Enough of that, let’s picks some damn games.

Here’s a reminder of the rules before we get to this week’s gambling picks:

• Each participant will bet on every Big Ten game being played that weekend, and they can bet either the point spread or the over/under
• The participant will assign an amount to their bet, which can be either $25, $50 or $100. Each participant is allowed only one $100 bet per week. Everybody starts with a $0 balance, and balances can be negative
• Standings are by money with overall picks record serving as the tiebreaker.

Minnesota (+30) @ #3 Ohio State, O/U 59

Birkhead: $50 Over 59

Repplinger: $50 Over 59

Jabs: $50 Over 59

O’Neall: $25 Ohio State (-30)

Huisinga: $25 Ohio State (-30)

Thumpasaurus: $30 Minnesota (+30)

Schaer: $25 Over 59

Birkhead: This is one of the major problems with college football. This game is dumb. We all know Ohio State is going to win, and it won’t be a competitive game in the fourth quarter. The only question is if Ohio State will “struggle” and only win by 21 instead of 35.

Rutgers (+25.5) @ Maryland, O/U 52

Birkhead: $25 Rutgers (+25.5)

Repplinger: $50 Rutgers (+25.5)

Jabs: $50 Over 52

O’Neall: $50 Maryland (-25.5)

Huisinga: $50 Rutgers (+25.5)

Thumpasaurus: $25 Under 52

Schaer: $25 Maryland (-25.5)

Birkhead: The Terps have been putting up some points this year with a Top 5 offense in terms of IsoPPP (Isolated Points per play, i.e. explosiveness). But, Maryland’s offense is 121st in the nation in success rate on offense. Getting explosive plays is great, but not sustainable with such a poor success rate. I think it catches up to Maryland and they struggle a bit, but still win by two or three scores b/c it is Rutger.

Iowa @ Indiana (+5.5), O/U 53

Birkhead: $25 Iowa (-5.5)

Repplinger: $50 Over 53

Jabs: $50 IU (-5.5)

O’Neall: $25 IU (+5.5)

Huisinga: $25 Iowa (-5.5)

Thumpasaurus: $50 Over 53

Schaer: $25 Iowa (-5.5)

Jabs - If we got bonus points for picking upsets I would pick Indiana to win outright. Iowa is, well, Iowa is Ferentz-ing all over themselves.

Nebraska (+4) @ Northwestern, O/U 59

Birkhead: $50 Northwestern (-4)

Repplinger: $100 Northwestern (-4)

Jabs: $50 Northwestern (-4)

O’Neall: $25 Northwestern (-4)

Huisinga: $50 Northwestern (-4)

Thumpasaurus: $50 Northwestern (-4)

Schaer: $50 Northwestern (-4)

Repplinger - Only because this game is AT Northwestern means the Wildcats are bound to cover this with ease. Nebraska just ain’t right this season.

Michigan State (+14) @ #8 Penn State, O/U 54

Birkhead: $100 Over 54

Repplinger: $50 Penn State (-14)

Jabs: $25 Over 54

O’Neall: $50 Over 54

Huisinga: $25 Over 54

Thumpasaurus: $100 Penn State (-14)

Schaer: $5 Over 54

Birkhead - Two overrated defenses with offenses that can score.

Thumpasaurus - Penn State is much better than MSU and is also pissed

Purdue @ Illinois (+10.5), O/U 62

Birkhead: $50 Purdue (-10.5)

Repplinger: $50 Purdue (-10.5)

Jabs: $100 Illinois (-10.5)

O’Neall: $100 Over 62

Huisinga: $100 Illinois (-10.5)

Thumpasaurus: $50 Over 62

Schaer: $50 Over 62

O’Neall: In most scenarios i see Purdue putting up at least 40. Two weak defenses? Over please.

#15 Wisconsin (+7.5) @ #12 Michigan, O/U 48

Birkhead: $25 Wisconsin (+7.5)

Repplinger: $50 Over 48

Jabs: $50 Michigan (-7.5)

O’Neall: $50 Wisconsin (+7.5)

Huisinga: $50 Wisconsin (+7.5)

Thumpasaurus: $25 Under 48

Schaer: $25 Under 48

Birkhead: In a close game with two really good defenses, I’m going to take the points and not even think about it, especially since Wisconsin has the best player in the game.

Money on the line this week

Birkhead: $325

Repplinger: $400

Jabs: $375

O’Neall: $325

Huisinga: $325

Thumpasaurus: $350

Schaer: $225 (Editor’s note: whimp)

Standings

1. Birkhead -$225 (27-28), Last week $25 (3-3)
2. O’Neall -$250 (25-30), Last week $150 (4-2)
3. Huisinga -$250 (25-30), Last week $175 (4-2)
4. Schaer -$275 (24-31), Last week $25 (3-3)
5. Repplinger -$300 (23-32), Last week $75 (4-2)
6. Jabs -$425 (22-33), Last Week $200 (5-1)
7. Thumpasaurus -$475 (24-31), Last week -$200 (1-5)

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