Dick’s Picks: Illinois vs. Kansas

Photo from KU Football

Hi Friends,

Hoping I can add a little something to Brian and friend’s blog with #DicksPicks.

No, Brian did not go out and get some smut blogger.

Instead he found a 5’9” Irish kid at his local watering hole that loves college football as much as he does, but happens to be a degenerate.

College Football is my best sport from a gambling perspective and I have a little newsletter that I send out to all my buddies/group chats when I have picks so they can tail or fade accordingly.

I’m all about transparency, so I will keep running records as I go from day to day, week to week and for the different sports.

I will start with CFB & NFL.

Every bet that I put on here I bet myself so I'm not one of those frauds that give picks but don’t take it themselves.

Looking to give a little more depth to my picks and maybe help some people pick up some bar tabs along the way.

Again, if I suck I'll still post so you can fade and if I’m hot you can tail. I’ll post my action network account below so you can follow my picks as I get them.

Illinois vs Kansas, Kansas -3, O/U 56.5 7:30PM ESPN2

For me the handicap is simple. Kansas gets their QB back, Jalon Daniels, who was great last year and should only be better and the Illinois defense is not the same as last year.

They have a stud at DT, Jer’Zhan Newton, but they lose a ton from the secondary including two corners picked up in the draft. They gave up 29 to an OK Toledo offense last week.

And for the Illinois offense, the Kansas D was dreadful at stopping the run last year in their last 6 almost giving up 300 yards per game on the ground. Kansas D should be a little improved but Brett Bielema wants to ground and pound and I think there will be some success there.

I’m gonna take the over here but like any good bet if you can't see the other side then you haven't done your research. Two things that may not allow us to get this to the cash may be a slow start with Jalon Daniels not playing in week 1 and the potential for Illinois to be an absolute snail, milk clock and limit the possession Kansas gets.

But I’m confident Kansas’s unique offense will be able to scheme up stuff and the defenses won’t get the stops we need to keep this under the total.

Also, Kansas is wearing some SWEET Black UNIs tonight so we are all in for that getting us over the total.

As the great Deion Sanders says, look good, feel good, feel good, play good, play good, pay good.

Bet 1:Kansas/Illinois O 56.5 -110 Bet to Win 1u (Would bet up to 58.5)

Bet 2: Kansas TT O 29.5 -130 Bet to Win .5u (Would bet up to 30.5)

Note: If I don’t put something in parenthesis it's from an offshore book, in the future I will put (DK- DraftKings), (FD-FanDuel), etc next to picks to signify where I got them from. Kansas TT number may be gone but still like it at 30.5 & 56.5 is widely available. I always say shop around for the best number, if you want to have a couple books you use that always help but I understand wanting to stick to one book and potentially get some free plays. Stats for the year so far are below.

CFB Record: 20-26-1 -7.25u (Not a great start)

NFL Record: 1-0 +1u

Last Week 16-18 -4.17u (WOOF)

This Week 2-1-1 +1u

Yesterday 1-0-1 +1 (Lions/Chiefs U 53 Win, Louisville/Murray State O 56 Push)

Follow me on ActionNetwork at Dicks_Picks for the picks when I put them up.

For those that don’t know about action network it's a great resource to track your picks and get insights on games from their experts, some are better than others, and how the betting market is reacting with pro money and what are public bets and things of that nature.

Cheers.

- Nick Leone