Mark's Jessup Lockdown

You know what they say in Maryland - Go big or go home! OK, nobody in Maryland has ever said that phrase. We say things like, "What a nice lawn." and "Have you been to Towson lately? It's totally different. They have a Panera!"

But regardless, I'm going big today and calling a lock of the week on the game of the century.
I gave Nate the money line to take Ohio State and I'm backing it up today. I'm calling for USC to more than cover the 11.5 point spread on TOSU. Look for Tressell to try and come out with a conservative game plan today due to the injury to Wells and the fact that he flew across the country to play the #1 team. He's going to want to eat the clock and take the crowd out of it. But USC will quickly score and things will get out of control before he can adjust to it. Give me the home team that had extra time to prepare and doesn't have the injury to its star player in a big game like this.

Under (37.5) Baltimore @ Houston
Talk about game of the century! I know calling for the under to hit on a Baltimore v. Houston game isn't exactly the boldest of predictions. But if this game actually gets played, look for a tepid crowd and an unenthusiastic performance from both teams. This game will be as lively as those carrots that have been sitting in the bottom of my fridge for months. The Houston players will be tired physically and mentally and Baltimore - well they'll be Baltimore. I look for a little bit of a let down performance coming off of the opening week. The game will be played just as if it's only being aired in two markets - which it is. Baltimore 13 Houston 6.

Maryland (+14.5) vs. Cal
This is, for all intents and purposes, Maryland's season today. Not that they're going anywhere if they win, but they've been planning this game for years. For some reason, they consider it a coup to get Cal on their schedule. Look for Maryland to take advantage of a Cal team that is three hours behind them and score some unlikely points. Cal will prevail, but Maryland will tease its fans with a surprising performance. The Fridge has a few tricks in his arsenal that he's been saving for today.