STONE COLD LOCKS WEEK 10

Stone Cold Locks 

By Bob Gaughan

2026 Record 22-21-1

2025 record 56-55

2024 record 67-44-1

2023 Record 82-71-3

2022 Record 68-41-2

2021 record 62-49

2020 record  52-52-4

2019 Record  62-41-2

2018 Record 72-50-3

Total: 543-424-16=56%

 MR. OVER/UNDER: Rams -9 over Cardinals

Happy belated Veterans Day and thank you to all those who have and are serving.

The trade deadline ended Tuesday. Minnesota got a new Quarterback and Buffalo got a Hooker. Speaking of quarterbacks, the number one pick in this year’s draft is now the starter for the Raiders.  The Cardinals will also start a rookie QB. Interesting fact about the Raiders, they have now tied a NFL record, allowing the opponent 30 or more points for six consecutive games. And how about those Chargers?  They not only haven’t won a game, they have yet to cover a spread. Now they head east to play the Ravens, who have only covered twice this year. The Eagles have only covered once so far.  Let’s give the Packers a little credit, as they have covered five straight weeks in a row.

The Rams were picked by many as a Super Bowl favorite this year. Then they stunk up the place in Australia and lost back-to-back games against the Bills and Cardinals. Now they head to Arizona in what you might call a revenge game. Arizona is starting rookie QB Carson Beck. Although the Rams have had injury problems, they might have the league’s best running duo with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.  Arizona struggles against the run and has yet to win or cover the spread at home this season. Rarely do I like taking a team that’s giving away more than a TD, but Rams QB Stafford is an MVP and Beck is making his NFL debut. The Rams want this game badly and I expect Beck to have a tough outing. Take the Rams -9.

Man in Stripes: BC +30.5 @ Notre Dame

Been a rough year, last week , just needed a 4th down stop one time by the  Saints over Shadeur Sanders in OT..Didnt get it, and we dust ourselves off again!!! We go to probably the BIGGEST LETDOWN spot in college football this year.. The Fighting Irish come off an emotional, physical game in beating #1 Miami last Saturday, with the field storming and everything, to save their the playoff hopes.. Now, here comes  4-5 Boston College, who have outscored their opponents  overall this season. Even though, the Irish have won 10 in a row in this series , only 1 has been by over 30 points!!! Both teams play in the bottom third in the FBS in plays per games, slow pace.. Look for the Irish to nurse this one, get in, get out.. They win by more than 20, just not more than 30!!!We turn it around this week!! And also a RIP to the great Dan Hicks.. The most underrated ,versatile sports announcer ever!!! 

MONO: Wake Forest and SMU over 59.5

Let’s get the train back on the tracks here. Jumping on my first total of the year in a gigantic ACC showdown. The Demon Deac’s travel to Dallas to take on SMU. Winner of this will be in the mix to play Miami in the conference title game. This one opened at 61.5 and has dropped  two points to 59.5. I lean towards the over here. First things first, the weather should not be a factor. 68 and overcast will not take points off the board. Both of these offenses are loaded, averaging over 300 passing yards per game and both teams averaging over 35 points per game. Both defensive units have been solid as well, but I think they’re vulnerable against good offenses. When Wake played a healthy Miami team, they surrendered 33. SMU gave up 41 to Louisville and 28 last week to VA Tech. An early kick with these type of postseason implications, I think this one might start out a little slow, but after that first touchdown, I expect the floodgates to open and both offenses to show out a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if both teams get to 35+. This is a sneaky good game this weekend in another pretty stacked card. Perfect way to kick off the day. Take the over and enjoy the show. 

Brutal:  113th Grey CUP: EDMONTON ELKS +3.5 OVER MONTREAL ALOUETTES

 The Grey Cup started in 1909, and only World War I and the Co-Vid pandemic have ever prevented it from being played,

  Last week we rode Montreal to a Stone Cold Lock win over Winnipeg in the CFL Eastern Final; it was not easy.  Montreal came out strong, but in the second half they stalled as the veteran Winnipeg Blue Bombers made some half-time adjustments and almost pulled off the upset.  In Edmonton, the Elks, completely insulted that they were a dog at home to British Columbia, played a complete game and defeated the Lions 28-16.  The Elks have missed the playoffs more than any other team this century, and that is a tough pill for the proud franchise with the second most championships all time (14) in the CFL.  QB Cody Fajardo ( Nevada ) has never looked better for the Elks and the defense is peaking.  The two teams split the season series, with each home team winning.  

   Guess what Buffalo fans, Josh Allen is not the only winning QB to come out of the University of Wyoming!  Another Cowboy was CFL Hall of Famer Tom Wilkinson who came out of Laramie to win 5 Grey Cups for Edmonton!  We are taking the legendary team that also gave us CFL HOF specialist KR-PR Henry Gizmo Williams ( at 5.5", 160 pounds coming out of East Carolina University he was judged too small to play in the NFL, but he still holds almost all the CFL records for return men ), CFL Hall of Famer, 1950's RB Normie Kwong ( first Chinese Canadian or American to play professional football ), and the great NFL-CFL Hall of Famer, QB Warren Moon ( University of Washington) who due to racism had to play six seasons in the CFL ( he won an astonishing 5 Grey Cups ) before the NFL would give him a chance.  His combined stats from both leagues would have put him at #1 in all major quarterback categories in the NFL when he retired in 2000.  

  We have the team with more motivation, the better intangibles, coming off the better performance last week in the Conference Finals, playing in their home province with 75% of the fans and getting 3.5 points.  We are hovering around 70% with the Grey Cup winner in the history of Stone Cold Locks, so let us hope we hold serve.

Bob: Cincinnati -3.5 over Pittsburgh

We head to the Sunday night game for our lock this week.  This is a revenge game for the Bengals after losing earlier this year to the Steelers 30-27 in the Steel City.  The Steelers played their A+ game the first time around.  The Steelers scored eight more points than their average and gained 100 yards above their average. Joe Burrow fumbled late to give the Steelers the victory.  The Bengals offense has been on a heater recently.  The last four weeks they have scored 31, 35, 43 and 36 points.  They’ve been all victories as the Bengals have won four straight.  Strategically the Steelers run zone coverage 84 percent of the time.  Joe Burrow eats zone coverage up. Burrow completes 74.7% of the time vs zone coverage. First place in the NFC North is up for grabs and although the Bengals are coming back from a game in Madrid I think they get the job done at home against an inferior opponent.