Big Cat flips to Houston +6.5 in Pick Em Week 8

The Week 8 episode, called Banana Ball Bosco, came out earlier in the week. By Saturday morning, a few hours before kickoff, Big Cat was still changing his card.

Barstool Pick Em

@Barstoolpickem

Adds + Flip for @BarstoolBigCat Minnesota +7.5 UCF +7 Houston/Utah Over 57.5 SDSU/Colorado State Over 59.5 Flip to Houston +6.5

That's 2 dogs, 2 overs and a flip. The 2 overs are both high totals: Houston-Utah at 57.5 and San Diego State-Colorado State at 59.5. The flip is the one people will talk about. Big Cat moved to the Houston side of the same game he'd already taken the over on. He's betting it's a shootout with the Cougars keeping it within a touchdown, which is about the most Big Cat way to play a late Pac-12-time kickoff in Salt Lake City.

It's not an easy spot. Utah came into Saturday 5-1 against the spread, allowing 14.8 points a game, 7th best in the country. Houston was 3-4 ATS but scoring 39.3 a game, which helps explain the over. Kickoff is 10:15 PM ET on ESPN at Rice-Eccles Stadium, so this bet will be keeping people up late on the East Coast.

Big Cat isn't alone on Houston, either. On Friday, the eve of the game, the case for the Cougars was getting made on Warren Sharp's show, which called this one maybe the biggest playoff elimination game of the week in the Big 12.

Warren Sharp

@UC5Me5Jw0nSj1qF6ZfibrFMw

“Utah is laying six and a half points. I'm leaning towards taking those points with Houston.”

0:46

The argument for Houston was about stakes as much as the number. Both teams are good enough to win the Big 12, and the loser probably needs a lot of help just to reach the title game in a league that likely gets only 1 playoff bid. A desperate road dog getting nearly a touchdown is exactly what Pick Em lives on.

Barstool Gambling

@stoolgambling

Banana Ball Bosco | Pick Em - Week 8 t.co/2cHPWUgLXG

The episode itself is the usual Week 8 lineup: Portnoy, Big Cat and Rico Bosco going through the college football slate, plus Nicky Smokes as a guest. Saturday's adds are the bit that comes after the show. Now it comes down to whether Minnesota and UCF cover their 7s and Houston keeps it within 6.5 out in Utah. If Big Cat wins the late flip he'll talk about it all week, and if he loses it on a backdoor Utah cover at midnight Eastern you'll be hearing about that too.