#CheddarBay Week 8: FSU -3 at Clemson.

* THIS WEEKS LINES ARE LINKED HERE.
* THIS WEEK’S ALL PLAY IS FSU -3 AT CLEMSON (8PM SATURDAY, ABC).
* IPAD/MOBILEDEVICE USERS:  THE STANDINGS ARE LINKED HERE.
* DOUBLE CHECK MY ENTRY OF YOUR PICKS ON THIS SPREADSHEET.

Winston or Beasley, who you got?

Nice little matchup shaping up Saturday night in South Carolina.  Say what you want about the NCAA but they do a decent job presenting their stats.  I decided to check Clemson and FSU out and it turns they’re pretty even.  (Stats are fun when you’re not ruled by them.)

Clemson (national rankings)

• #1 3rd down defense (23.7%);
• #14 Pass Completion Pct. (69.0%);
• #10 First Down Defense
• #4 (Least) Passes had intercepted (2)
• #9 Interceptions (10)
• #10 Passing Offense (342 YPG)
• #18 (Least) Passing yards allowed (187 YPG)
• #4 Red zone defense
• #10 Scoring defense (16.2)
• #17 Scoring offense (40.8)
• #1 Sacks (4.0)
• #8 Passing Efficiency
• #1 Tackles for loss (10.2 per game)
• #13 Total offense (515 YPG)
• #4 Turnover margin (+1.5)
• #2 Sacks, Vic Beasley

FSU

• #5 Pass Completion Pct. (70.4%)
• #2 First Down Defense
• #1 (Least) Fumbles lost (1)
• #4 (Least) Passes had intercepted (2)
• #2 (Least) Passing yards allowed (149 YPG)
• #6 Yards per completion (16.04)
• #4 Red zone offense
• #17 Rush offense (228 YPG)
• #3 Scoring defense (12.0)
• #3 Scoring offense (53.6)
• #2 Passing Efficiency
• #4 Total offense (549 YPG)
• #1 (Least) turnovers lost (3)
• #2 Passing Efficiency, Jameis Winston

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Skanky Fish picks via @ClevTA

@ClevTA’s Skanky Fish Picks.

17-7-2 year to date, 2-1-1 last week.  As Kanick pointed out last night, La Laff would’ve fit the profile and won outright as a 3 pt dog.

NCAAF:

1. UCONN +13.5 v Cincy (Line opened Cincy -16, now -13.5. 69% of public on CIN) Pick: UCONN
2. CMU -15.5 v N Ill (Line opened N Ill -17, now -15.5. 66% of public on N Ill) Pick: CMU

NFL:

1. NYJ +4 v NE (Line opened -6, now -4. 76% of public on NE) Pick: NYJ
2. TENN +4 v SF (Line opened SF -6, now -4. 71% of public on SF) Pick: TENN

Seems about time to take this seriously…

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Thank you Brandon Marshall.

Acceptable.

Big ups to Brandon Marshall for using his platform to ‘raise awareness’ on a subject whose awareness actually needs raising:  Mental Health.  In case you missed it, Marshall (diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder) was fined $10,500 by the NFL for wearing green shoes last Thursday night.

Marshall had said before last Thursday’s game he was wearing the shoes to attract attention to Mental Health Awareness Week.  Marshall has been treated for a personality disorder in the past.

Marshall posted the league letter informing him of the fine on Twitter and wrote:  “Football is my platform not my purpose.  This fine is nothing compared to the conversation started & awareness raised.”

Marshall said he had planned to match any fine with a donation to his foundation, which supports mental health awareness.  He said he also plans to auction off the shoes and donate the proceeds to charity.

Unacceptable.

We’ve long viewed the NFL/BreastCancer/Komen month to be way over the top and thought that there are other charities/causes equally if not more deserving of the NFL’s help except that then it would actually be driven by the altruism it talks to rather than the more probable cynical outreach for larger audience share in that other gender demographic.

Here’s Brandon Marshall’s Foundation’s website.

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In other news …
It’s Acto’s world and we’re just living in it.

Nice work by HitTheHorns last week on his Lobsterfest.

And your Cheddar commissioner apologizes for not engaging more in the thread and twitter lately, just a little busy and — I have to share this — I have got a some kind of allergic reaction (confirmed, Poison Sumac) thing going where my face looks like Ali’s after the Holmes fight.  Damnedest thing, remarkably hideous, Elephant Man stuff.

Ok Cheddars let’s get back on track this week.