There are some things in life that are over-rated, and some things that are not.  Expensive sun glasses are over-rated.  I don't think I've had the same pair of sun glasses for more than a year, and even that is pushing it.  Three months is my average, then they either get lost or broken.  A $100 pair of Ray Bans is going to block the sun the same as a $10 pair of Wal-Mart shades, and they'll get lost just as easily.  The only upside is that you can say that the glasses are expensive, so you're basically paying for a lot of hype.

If you want somethingthat is under-rated, take a look at spray on wrinkle release.  It's not in the same class as the sun glasses, but it's probably a top 5 invention if you ask me.  My freshman year in college my mom bought me an iron and a bottle of wrinkle release.  To this day I have never used that iron.  Why iron when you can spray your clothes, stretch the area, and you're done?

In life you've got plenty of things that people want, and each of them has a different level of importance.  I'm willing to bet more people are saying "I want a pair of Ray Bans" rather than "I want a bottle of spray on wrinkle release."  The important thing to consider when going for the things you want is, how much will this benefit you?  The Ray Bans are a slight upgrade over the alternative.  The spray is a less attractive option, doesn't make you look cool, but you save a ton of time and hassle from ironing.

The same applies for sports betting information.  There are over-rated things, and there are under-rated things to consider when capping a game. First you've got your "This team is 6-0 following a home loss the week before they take on a top 25 opponent" information.  I've always thought this was the Ray Bans of betting.  It sounds cool to say, and it looks flashy, but this information doesn't really do you much good.  You ask yourself "Why does this team do so well coming off a home loss against a top 25 team" and the only answer you can get is "Coincidence."

Then you've got your "Team A ranks first in rushing the ball, while Team B is one of the worst teams at stopping the run."  This is the spray on ironing information.  It's out there, it saves time, it works like a charm, but if you give people the choice between Ray Bans and the spray, they're going to take the Ray Bans in most cases.

When you ask yourself why this is good information, the answer is simple.  "One team is great at rushing, and their opponent can't stop the run."  There's no mystery surrounding this amazing stat.  It is self explanitory.  That's why I've always been a stats guy, and never a fan of "Team A is 11-1 following a game where they were beat by 20 or more points."  I guess if they allowed 19 points they would have been screwed the following week, but 20 is that magic number that makes them unbeatable the following week.

I've been working on an NCAA system based on stats, and I'd say the system is in development still, but I'm willing to share some of the picks so you can track the progress.  Note that the last two weeks didn't have any system picks.  Consider the last two weeks my "Daunte Culpepper/Josh McCown" weeks, and now I'm throwing JaMarcus Russell in there to see what I've got.

I would like to point out that with this system I will not be revealing anything about the system for a few reasons.  One is that it is in development, so changes could be made.  Two is that I get tired of explaining the system, and I don't want to do this with another system.  I'll be here to give picks away if you like the system, don't worry.  I'm not going anywhere.  I'm also not planning on selling anything, so don't worry about that either.

The first week I am planning on taking mainly the underdogs, with a few of the favorites that I like and that Accuscore agrees with.  Here are the plays:

Ohio +22
Notre Dame +8
Washington +3.5
LA Tech +33.5
Ball State +7
East Carolina +1
Tulane +15
Kentucky +5
Nebraska +9.5
UTEP +5.5
Wyoming +12
Tulsa +6.5
New Mexico +10
San Jose State +7.5

The favorites (Not strong bets, using them for tracking purposes): 

LSU -40
UConn -29
Arizona State -28.5
Cincinnati -7.5
Missouri -20.5
UCLA -15
Miami -32
Florida -7
Florida State -4.5
Penn State -34
Oklahoma -45.5
Texas A&M -23

26 plays in all for this week, although if you ask me, I'd say the underdogs are the stronger plays at the moment, since I have those teams picked as favorites.  As for the favorites, I'm tracking these picks to see what trends emerge.  I wouldn't bet them, although I may cherry pick a few of them, such as Florida, LSU, and Penn State.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow!  I'm pretty excited to see what my rookie can do.