The Loop

Our sure-thing, stone-cold lock, college football/golf cross-sport parlay of the week: Making money on The Mullet

Normally, this is where I make excuses for my pick from last week. "One leg of the parlay hit!" I shout. "The other unfairly lost!" I whine. This will NOT be the case this week. Both picks lost in epically bad fashion. Matthew Fitzpatrick to finish top 10? He finished 75th, which was second-to-last for those keeping score at home. Speaking of keeping score, Northwestern lost 20-0, and I had them +8. Scoring points might have helped, but what do I know? That's what you get for betting on NW. Freaking NERDS.

We're on to the next, on to the next, on to the next one like Jay-Z this week, folks (good lord, that was bad). Can the magic of a mullet finally get me in the winner's circle? Time will tell. To the pick!

1089833654

Jonathan Bachman

PGA Tour: Charles Howell III to finish top 20 at the WGC-HSBC Champions

AND

CFB: Oklahoma State Cowboys (-3) vs. TCU Horned Frogs

Parlay odds: +301 (a $10 bet would win you $30.11, returning $40.11)

As we stated in our always excellent and in-depth PGA Tour betting preview, which features picks from some of the best experts in the game (and me), betting Charles Howell III to finish top 10 is the safest bet in sports. That makes betting him top 20 REALLY safe. In four starts this season he's finished in the top 20 three times, including twice in the top 10. He's played the WGC-HSBC Champions only once, in 2017, and he finished T-15. I fully expect the human ATM machine to post a T-12 this week and keep it moving.

That brings us to CH3's alma mater, Oklahoma State, led by the one and only Mike (The Mullet) Gundy. If you've bet on the Pokes this year, whether that be on the spread or the over/under, you've no doubt experienced some serious frustration. They went into Texas and hung in to the end, then got embarrassed two weeks later by a mediocre Texas Tech team. Two weeks later, coming off a bye, the whole world was on the Cowboys to upset Baylor at home. They ended up losing by 18 points. Last week, as a 10-point dog at Iowa State, they won outright. It's been a wild ride, to say the least.

This week they return to Stillwater, where they are a three-point favorite over TCU, another middling Big 12 team coming off an emotional victory over Texas. Tough spot for the Horned Frogs, who have a true freshman quarterback in Max Duggan who is bound to do some true freshman things in a hostile environment on Saturday. OSU is 16-7 at home since the beginning of 2016, and I like them to get 10 games over .500 on that mark with a touchdown or more victory on Saturday. Surely, The Mullet and his high-powered offense won't let us down.