The J-Dub Gambling Challenge 2021: Week 3 – The “Between The Hedges” Edition

One of the longest standing traditions in college football are the hedges surrounding the field at the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium. They’ve been there ever since the venue opened in 1929, the sole exception being in 1996 when the hedges had to be removed so Sanford Stadium could host soccer matches during that year’s Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Hedges are an even longer-standing tradition in the world of gambling. A “hedge” is a bet placed on a different line or with another book to offset another play. Think of it and an “insurance policy” on a bet you in which you may not have complete confidence.

Well, that’s exactly what happened last week. Early in any season, one is never really certain as to the actual acuity of any given team; that uncertainty is only magnified following the stadium-sized petri dish which was 2020. In other words, the J-Dub Gambling Challenge featured a host of hedge plays in Week 2, and they are what kept would could have been a scorched-earth wildfire contained to a minor trash-can blaze. Oddly enough, the hedge-loving Georgia Bulldogs played a role in this thanks to the die-job the Clemson Tigers laid at their feet.

The problem with any insurance policy is you have to pay the premiums. In this case, even if I protected some bets, I still have to cough up “the juice.” That played a major role in the J-Dub Gambling Challenge Bankroll taking a net loss of $268 to stand at $4,960 on the season. Thankfully, the only thing that matters is a new week brings new chances to gamble.

After all, isn’t that why we are all here?

LEGAL DISCLAIMER (mandated by our very own Small Town Pizza Lawyer):

Thanks to the Supreme Court, gambling is no longer illegal at Bushwood, sir. However, the Supreme Court can’t really help me unless one of them is willing to keep Mrs. J-Dub from braining me with a cast-iron skillet if she found out how many dimes I’m dropping on college football.

That means that as far as she knows, all wagers are mythical in nature and this is in no way, shape, or form a gambling advice column. In other words, if you lose your own “real” money, that’s nobody’s fault but yours, so don’t yell at me when we meet at the plasma center on Monday.

If you think you have a gambling problem, go find the 800 number on your own. I’m not a goddamn public service announcement.

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The Standard Plays

• Kansas at Coastal Carolina (-27.5) O/U 53.5 $50 Kansas
• Illinois at Virginia (-13) O/U 52.5 $50 Virginia
• Oregon at Ohio State (-11.5) O/U 56.5 $75 Ohio State, $75 Over
• Rutgers (-2) at Syracuse O/U 54.5 $75 Syracuse
• California at Texas Christian (-9) O/U 46.5 $50 California
• Iowa at Iowa State (-5) O/U 48.5 $100 Iowa
• Texas (-4.5) at Arkansas O/U 58.5 $50 Arkansas
• Missouri at Kentucky (-3) O/U 54.5 $100 Kentucky
• Utah (-6) at Brigham Young O/U 49.5 $75 Brigham Young
• Hawaii at Oregon State (-11) O/U 67.5 $100 Under

The Almost Always Punitive Purdue Bet

Since I live in the heart of Big Ten country, almost literally in the shadow of Ross-Ade stadium, those around me who know I’m a gambler will invariably ask me about the Boilermakers, so I might as well bet on them…

Purdue (-33.5) at Connecticut O/U 59.5 $50 Connecticut, $50 Under

The Dubsism College Football Heavyweight Champ Bet:

We went back to the very first college football game in 1869, and the premise is simple…you’re the champ until somebody beats you. The current champion is the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Mercer at Alabama OFF

J-Dub’s Payday of the Week:

It’s like the game says…the idea is to hang on to your cash. That means this is the “big play” of the week; the one that should make today “Payday.”

Western Kentucky at Army (-4) O/U 56.5 $250 Army

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