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Welcome to Against All Odds: NCAA/NFL Picks Week 4! From the opening weekend of the NCAA football season through Super Bowl LII, Mike Drakulich (PSN), the man behind Pittsburgh SportsNation, takes on his father, Michael J. Drakulich (MJD), in picking NCAA and NFL games against the Vegas spread.
Mike Drakulich covers both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt Panthers during the season for NGSCSports.com!
To appease the taste buds of Pittsburgh’s local coverage area, Pitt, Penn State, and West Virginia, when they are playing, will always be on the docket among the NCAA games chosen, as will the Pittsburgh Steelers for NFL games.
Once Bowl Season arrives, we’ll bring you EVERY Bowl Game and then continue throughout the conclusion of the NFL Playoffs.
Itchy vs Scratchy. Black Spy vs White Spy. Cheers vs Gary’s Old Towne Tavern. History is full of rivalries, but none are better than father vs son! Who will rise above the other this season and become the 2018-19 Against All Odds Champion?
Time flies when you’re having fun! Here we are, it’s already Week 4 in this year’s edition of Against All Odds. For the year, both my dad and I have identical 7-8 records, so we both are looking to improve on that less than appealing winning percentage so far.
This week we bring you five games, one of which will be played on Friday night, as Penn State visits Illinois, so if you’re not out catching a local high school game, there is your entertainment for the night… other than say watching Live PD, which returns from 9pm-Midnight after a three week hiatus on A&E. I’m guessing that is what I’ll be doing…
Lines as of 9/20/2018
NCAA Football
Friday, September 21st
#10 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (2-1), 9:00 pm | Line: Penn State -28.5
Pick- PSN: Illinois | MJD: Penn State
Penn State takes it’s show on the road to Illinois as 28.5 point favorites. This is the lone game this week in which my dad and I differ on. He believes James Franklin and company will continue to dominate and run up their scores, but as for me, I’ll be more than impressed if the Lions can find a way to defeat another Big Ten team on their home field by more than four touchdowns.
Guess we’ll see…
Saturday, September 22nd
Pitt Panthers (2-1) at North Carolina Tar Heels (0-2), 12:20 pm | Line: Pitt -3.5
Pick- PSN: Pitt | MJD: Pitt
Pitt heads to Chapel Hill where the 0-2 Tar Heels await. Pitt has lost their last five games to UNC in the most maddening ways possible. The gig is up this time, however, as I expect Pitt to play a full 60 minutes offensively, and bury the Heels by more than two touchdowns. The Panthers are better, top to bottom.
Kansas State Wildcats (2-1) at #12 West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0), 3:30 pm | Line: WVU -15.5
Pick- PSN: WVU | MJD: WVU
The Mountaineers have been really impressive so far, and now have a chance to keep the momentum going at home vs the Wildcats. 15.5 points is up there, but with the way WVU is rolling, I’ll take my chances.
NFL
Sunday, September 23rd
LA Chargers (1-1) at LA Rams (2-0), 4:05 pm | Line: LA Rams -7.5
Pick- PSN: LA Rams | MJD: LA Rams
The Battle of Los Angeles… if anyone comes to watch. The question in this game will be what Chargers team shows up to play. Regardless, I can’t help but love how well the Rams are playing, so a ten point victory or more shouldn’t be a problem in this one.
Monday, September 24th
Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0), 8:15 pm | Line: Even
Pick- PSN: Pittsburgh | MJD: Pittsburgh
It’s been awhile since the Pittsburgh Steelers started off a season without winning one of their first three games. The offense is more than capable of putting up 30+ points per game, but the defense has been horrid in the last five quarters of play, whereas the Bucs being a resurgent Ryan Fitzpatrick, have been lights out offensively.
It was reported that Mike Tomlin had a come to Jesus talk with his players this week, of which both Tomlin and team leaders should be eager to see the results thereof… the blown coverages by the defense, including Artie Burns living up to his last name, as well as the endless penalties have to end if Pittsburgh expects to right the ship and get it moving in the right direction again.
The Steelers are scary good under the lights, so that, combined with the law of averages, point to the Steelers laying a thumping to Tampa in the warm Florida air Monday night.
Pick Results
PSN: Last Week: 3-2 | Overall: 7-8 — .466
MJD: Last Week: 4-1 | Overall: 7-8 — .466
2017 Champion: PSN
2016 Champion: MJD
2015 Champion: MJD
2014 Champion: PSN
2013 Champion: PSN
Author Profile
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From Midland, "The Basketball Capital of Pennsylvania", located 35 miles NW of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. This former steel town was home to storied athletes such as Dave Alston, Norm Van Lier, Simmie Hill, and the legendary 1965 Midland High School Basketball Team.
There's nowhere on earth that is more dedicated to its sports teams like Western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh. The passion and pride of Pittsburgh's fan base is second to no one. From the NFL, NHL, MLB, NCAA football and basketball, to W.P.I.A.L. high school sports, "The City of Champions" has it all!
As Editor of Pittsburgh SportsNation, Mike Drakulich provides top notch opinions and coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pitt Panthers football & basketball, Robert Morris Colonials basketball, and Duquesne Dukes basketball, as well as all sports teams that represent Western Pennsylvania, including WPIAL High School Football.
For a refreshing view of sports, mixed with humor and uncensored opinions, check out Pittsburgh SportsNation today on Facebook, Twitter @PghSportsNation and videos with over 1,000,000 views on YouTube!
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