The Clutchness of the Gambling Gods II.

Every week, I try a 12-team progressive parlay of college football games. They only allow you to take point spreads- you can't bet on a team to win straight up or take a over/under total. The payout is a bit smaller if you hit it (900-1 as opposed to 1800-1) but they do reward you if you lose up to 3 games. If you lose 1, then it's a 80-1 payout; 2 losses= 10-1 payout; 3 losses= 3-1 payout.

This past week I did the following:

Progressive Parlay (12 Teams) 11/12/08 23:01 ET
bet 6.00 to win 5,400.00 Result: Loss

BuffaloU 43
Akron 40
BuffaloU +3.5

Wyoming 14
UNLV 22
UNLV -7

Indiana 7
PennSt 38
Indiana +36

OhioSt 30
Illinois 20
OhioSt -9.5

MinnesotaU 32
Wisconsin 35
MinnesotaU +14

NorthCarolina 15
Maryland 17
Maryland +3

Missouri 52
IowaSt 20
IowaSt +27.5

Connecticut 39
Syracuse 16
Connecticut -10

MississippiSt 7
Alabama 32
MississippiSt +21.5

Troy 31
LSU 40
Troy +18.5

Tulsa 30
HoustonU 70
Tulsa -4.5

OklahomaSt 30
Colorado 17
OklahomaSt -17

This is a classic example as to why the more games you select; even though the payouts significantly increase, the more volatile your situation becomes. You do get aided at times by the Gods, but they'll come right back with something to truly piss you off.

1) In the Buffalo-Akron game; Akron scored with 23 seconds left in the game to tie it...and once a game goes into overtime, there's no guessing what could happen. Buffalo would win straight up in the 4th OT after Akron fumbled on their first possession of that period.

2) In the Wyoming-UNLV game; UNLV had to score 13 points in the 4th quarter to barely cover. Had they just won by 7, in a progressive parlay it counts as a loss.

3) In the Indiana-Penn State game; it did help that the weather was shitty and Penn State fumbled at the Indiana 1 on one of their possessions where it appeared for sure they were gonna score. It was 10-7 PSU at halftime and they did explode in the 2nd half but fortunately for me I had enough cushion there.

4) In the Ohio State-Illinois game; I was fortunate that even though Illinois was movin the ball on OSU, they would self-destruct. OSU's blocked punt for a saftey turned out to be tremendous as well, and thankfully Illinois didn't try going for 2 when they scored a garbage TD in the last minute of the game.

5) In the Minnesota-Wisconsin game; it was the first real game of the day that I didn't really have to worry. Minnesota went up 21-7 but then self-destructed. There was some worry when Wisconsin was up 35-24 late in the game, but when Minnesota scored and made their 2 point conversion; all was well again.

6) In the North Carolina-Maryland game; even though that was one boring as hell game, the line was hella low so any big play that happened could have been a make-or-break play. The fact there was almost no scoring for the longest time I wasn't too concerned but of course when UNC was driving late, I was hopin to God they wouldn't score a TD, a FG would have been fine bc UNC would have won by 1; and I had 3 points to work with. Maryland recorded the late INT to preserve the win.

So now I'm 6-0 and on my way to history but now the tables are about to turn...

7) In the Missouri-Iowa State game; Mizzou was in control the entire game and as they should have been. Iowa State kept it close in the covering category...but ultimately I was fucked by three things. a) Iowa State couldn't stop Mizzou's offense for the life of them. b) Mizzou had an interception return for a TD which made it 21-0 early. c) Iowa State down 45-20 and still covering, was inside the Mizzou 5 but once again another interception put a stop to that. Mizzou's psychotic offense would drive down the field to score, and Iowa State had another possession but not enough time to drive down and score.

8) In the Connecticut-Syracuse game; there was concern...for a half. Then it was UConn=complete domination since Syracuse has no offense.

Now we're 7-1...at least 2 more victories and bam. Not so fast though.

9) In the Mississippi State-Alabama game; Alabama blocked a punt for a safety and then took a 5-0 lead...but Miss State did score to take a 7-5 lead. Alabama would take a 12-7 lead into halftime and I was doing OK. In the beginning stages of the 3rd quarter however, Miss State had to punt...and it was returned for a touchdown. Even though that only made it 19-7 at that point, I just felt that the air had been sucked out of Miss State and it would be domination for Alabama from that point onward. Miss State did barely miss out on covering but good God their offense sucks.

10) In the Troy-LSU game; I was stunned when Troy just jumped on LSU like that, taking a 24-3 lead into halftime and 31-3 through most of the 3rd quarter. Finally LSU rose to life but by then having essentially a 46 point cushion to work with, I was good.

So we're 8-2. It's time for the show....

11) In the Tulsa-Houston game; my God did I get ambushed. You'd figure it'd be Houston that would have the difficulty keeping up with the Tulsa Show...but Tulsa kept fuckin up, while Houston was nearly flawless in their execution...no comment.

8-3 now. And now for the nail in the coffin...

12) In the Oklahoma State-Colorado game; of course OK State would win. But when you are forced to settle for three FGs of 25 yards or less, and you allow Colorado to convert a 4th and 10 on your 29 (a TD pass to cut a 20-3 deficit to 20-10); you do shake your head and think about what might have been. A 13 point win should have easily have been at least a 24 point win.

So there you have it. I beared witness there's only one Gambling God.

And so on.