The morning line: Billings, Day 3

Highlights

  • Austin Meier leads by a point over Marco Eguche, and both have rarely ridden bulls in Round 3.

In This Article

BILLINGS, Mont. - Five men are 2-for-2 at the Stanley Tools and Security Invitational, making Round 3 critical for any others looking to work their way into the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.

Event Leaders:

Austin Meier on S3 Unser Racing Bull:
L.J. Jenkins had this bull in the 15/15 round Friday night, and he didn't seem very tough, but that was the first time anyone had made the whistle on him in a year, and only the third time he'd been ridden in 37 career outs. If Unser has the same trip he had with Jenkins, he should be no problem for Meier, but the fact that riders are 3-for-37 on him suggests he may have something he didn't show Friday night.

Marco Eguche on K157 Firestorm:
Firestorm was ridden by Meier in Albuquerque, N.M., for 85.25 points. He has been around for a few years, and although he doesn't get a lot of outs, he hasn't been ridden more than twice in a season. In his career he's been better to right-handed riders.

Meier Firestorm

Austin Meier rode Firestorm in Albuquerque, N.M., for 85.25 points in 2012.

Aaron Roy on 73 Buck Wild:
This is one of my favorite bulls on tour. He's very difficult to get out of the chute on, but he is absolutely spectacular to watch. He was ridden here last year by Colby Yates for 88.25 points. He appeared in Detroit earlier this season, but Silvano Alves was unable to get out on him, and was awarded a re-ride. If Roy can get to the whistle on this bull, he should place high if not win the round outright.

Guilherme Marchi on 976 Nitro Circus:
This bull is unridden, but hasn't had a long career. Nathan Schaper had him in Round 1 here, and Marchi must have liked the looks of him there.

Ben Jones on 642 Pimp Daddy:
Pimp Daddy has been ridden twice in only five career outs - Stormy Wing was 86 points on him in Hartford, Conn., last October. He appeared in Detroit this season, where he bucked off Roy.

Kody Lostroh on 629 Magic:
This is a rematch from Albuquerque, where Lostroh was 86.5 points. Overall, this bull is ridden fairly often, and the top riders get by him most of the time.

Billy Robinson on 6 Bandero:
Riders are 4-for-7 on Bandero for his career, and he hasn't faced a lefty he didn't like. Odds are Robinson will get another score here.

Caleb Sanderson on 766 Tick:
This bull is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut here. Tick is a Canadian Bull, and has competed mostly in PBR Canada events. Last August, Cody Moore was 91 points on Tick in Lashburn, Saskatchewan.

Fabiano Vieira on 705 Shaky Waters:
This is a pretty safe pick for Vieira. Shaky Waters has been ridden in two of three outs this season, and Renato Nunes was 87 points on him in New York.

Robson Palermo on -215 Amy's Pet:
Palermo was 88.75 points on this bull, and then passed on him in the draft round in Des Moines, Iowa, as did a lot of other riders with high draft picks. This is the second consecutive time he's fallen this far in the draft. There may be something riders don't love about him, but it's hard not to like him. He's very rideable, and on paper is one of the best bulls available in any long round.

Amy's Pet vs. Jordan Hupp, Portland, Ore., 2012.

WATCH ROUND 3 AND THE BUILT FORD TOUGH CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND tonight at 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.

(Slade Long, PBR Web developer and statistician, has been crunching the numbers on bucking bulls for 13 years. In addition to his regular "Morning Line" series, published just prior to every Built Ford Tough Series performance, Long co-hosts "In the Bull Pen with Cody Lambert," a podcast recorded every Thursday prior to each BFTS event.)

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