A sucker bet and -- SAY WHAT??

The people that set the wagering "lines" for sports games should have known better. Any idiot could see they got it horribly wrong.

That would be Indiana getting a whopping 28 1/2 points in the recently concluded game against Michigan. When yours truly saw that particular line, it jumped out at me and said -- here's some easy money.

Now, I'm not much of a wagering man any more, though I used to be. Won a few, lost a few. Goes with the territory. But this was too good to pass up. Michigan beating Indiana by over 4 touchdowns? Not a chance.

Let me list the reasons why.

1). Michigan, playing at home against a blah team, was likely taking this game as a lay-up, and already looking forward to their big showdown with Ohio State next Saturday. An underwhelming performance could almost be expected.

2). Sure, UM is ranked #4 in the country and has a shot at the national playoffs if they stay clean their next two games. But Indiana's not that bad.

3). In recent times, the Hoosiers have a history of playing the Wolverines tough. True, UM always seems to win the games, but they've been close, typically within the 6-8 point range. A far cry from 28 1/2. That's a whole lot of points.

So I jumped on it. Gimme Indiana and the points. Easiest C-note I've made in a long time.

Elsewhere, massive stupidity was on full display.

In the Michigan State/Nebraska game, the Huskers had beaten the Sparties in a snowstorm in Lincoln. All that remained was for their quarterback to "take a knee" as the remaining seconds wound down off the clock.

So why -- tell me WHY -- was the Nebraska QB taking snaps in the shotgun formation instead of under center? Say what? The latter is a failsafe play, but the former has risk involved. And sure enough, it almost happened. See the center's snap go way high. The QB had to leap for it to snag it down. If they fumble there, and MSU recovers, they get another shot at pulling out the game.

What kind of idiot coaching was this on the part of Nebraska? Didn't their QB know how to take a snap under center?  The most basic of quarterbacking basics? No wonder the Huskers stink at football any more.

Speaking of Michigan looking forward to their big showdown next week -- the Buckeyes almost got caught napping as well.

We all remember not long ago Ohio State got absolutely trashed at lowly Purdue. Good-bye any national championship aspirations.

But there they were at lowly Maryland, another Big 10 bottom feeder. And they almost got beat. Probably SHOULD have got beat.

It took the Buckeyes going into overtime to finally overcome the Terrapins. And their defense was shredded throughout. It seems as if ever since Nick Bosa, younger brother of Joey, walked away mid-season -- heretofore unheard of -- to prepare for the NFL draft -- the wheel have come off the once mighty Buckeyes. Can one defensive lineman really have that much of an impact? Or have they been over-rated all along?

Beats me. But if they've still "got game", you can bet it will all come out against Michigan when they show up in the Horseshoe next Saturday.

Should be a dandy.

Huh. Wonder what the spread will be on that game?

But I think that's where I came in. And no, I won't be placing a wager on that one. I'll take my Franklin this week and be happy.

Like the Outlaw Josey Wales once famously said -- A man's got to know his limitations.