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[College Football] Week Seven. Chaos Reigns!
Syphyre
A Dangerous PastimeRegistered User regular
A Dangerous PastimeRegistered User regular
Because the season starts in less than three weeks, it's time to present:
Image shamelessly stolen from the internet somewhere.
SE++ College Football Pick'em
Run by: Syphyre
Image shamelessly stolen from the internet somewhere.
SE++ College Football Pick'em
Run by: Syphyre
Why is this happening?
Because we love college football! The games, the players, the drama, the schools, the colors, the pageantry, the trash-talking! And because we loathe Bama/The Irish/SEC/Ohio State/Maryland Uniforms.
Good reason! Give me the basic rundown.
There are 15 weeks of college football (sorry Army/Navy), and thus there will be 15 weeks of pick'em. Each week there will be 11 games selected as that week's pick'ems. One of those eleven games will be chosen as "Game of the Week".
Picks will be straight up W/L. Each person playing will post their picks for all 11 games in this thread. After the weekend is over, I will check everyone's picks and calculate their points. Every correct pick gets one point. A correct pick for the Game of the Week will get 2 points. Therefore, the maximum number of points one could earn in a week is 12.
A running total of all points throughout the season will be kept. The persons with the highest point totals as the end of the season will win stuff.
How are you selecting the games?
The games will ultimately be chosen by me, though I am always open to suggestions from the thread. As mentioned, the pick'em will be based on straight Win/Loss, not point spread or over/under. The reason behind this is because I want to select interesting games. I have no interest in guessing if Ohio State beats Buffalo by 21 or 30, however I am very interested in the outcome of Georgia vs Clemson.
To keep things interesting, I will do my absolute best to ensure each of the 6 BCS conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC, and the AAC (formerly Big East)) get at least one game per week. I will also make a solid attempt to include a game that does not feature one of those 6 conferences. I will also do my best to hit each of the BCS conferences at least once for Game of the Week.
Sounds good. How does this actually work?
Each week, Sunday evening or Monday morning, I will post a list of the 11 games selected that week. Simply post, in this thread, your picks for each of those games. Please only post once; you may edit your picks as much as you want until 8am Central Time on Saturday. At that time, I will consider picks closed, and grab entries as they are. If there is a Thursday night game included, picks will be due 8am on Thursday.
Anyone can play. There is no signup sheet. Just post your picks on a weekly basis and I will do all the work of keeping track of the games and the points for each person. Weekly results and total point summaries will be posted each week, and kept in the OP. Lurkers and regulars alike are welcome to play!
You mentioned "win stuff"?
Yes! At the end of the regular season, I will reward those with the most accumulated points.
First Place: $50 of Steam credit.
Second Place: $25 of Steam credit.
Third Place: $5 of Steam credit.
Last Place: We all laugh at you.
Everyone who plays at least 13 of 15 weeks will get a little something (TBD, it depends on how many people play.)
And yes, I will play too.
Well lets start!
I will post the first set of picks by Monday morning, August 26. Till then, enjoy the tales of pre-season workouts and scrimmages!
Pick'em Information
Weekly Results
Week 1 Games
Week 2 Games
Week 3 Games
Week 4 Games
Week 5 Games
Week 7 Games
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This, plus the fact that ND was able to get into the NCG as a #1 or #2 before the revised playoff format, avoiding the arguement that ND couldn't get in until the #3 or #4 spot allow more teams in the picture.
Also, re: Maryland leaving I think paying $50 million is very excessive to leave. A couple of notes I found interesting from reading an article about it is that the exit fee amount is roughly the operating budget of the ACC (for all the sports, I'm guessing) and Maryland along with Florida State were opposed to the increase when it was enabled during around the Notre Dame deal. I guess the lawsuit is there to make sure Maryland pays something for wanting to leave; probably like $30-40 million.
Re: championship. No matter what you think of the SEC or Notre Dame, it's going to be one of the most watched in a while.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Not.
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Sad to see, really.
THE TEAMS: The Stanford Cardinal, representing the Pac 12 North Division, will take on the UCLA Bruins, representing the Pac 12 South Division.
LOCATION: Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California.
It will probably be this full for the game, something that does not happen often.
WHEN: Friday, November 30th
WHERE: Fox
TOTAL NUMBER OF MEDIA MEMBERS WHO PREDICTED THIS MATCHUP: 0
TOTAL NUMBER OF MEDIA MEMBERS WHO PICKED EITHER UCLA OR STANFORD TO WIN THE PAC 12: 0
HOW DID WE GET HERE, STANFORD EDITION: Two things happened for Stanford this year; the defense went from great to legendary, and they found their QB of the future in Kevin Hogan.
Going into this season, the only certainty Stanford had was that their defense was going to be great. The offense had some tools (Stephan Taylor, Zach Ertz, a solid O-line) but had a huge question at QB, where redshirt junior Josh Nunes had won the job coming out of fall camp to replace #1 draft pick Andrew Luck. Nunes played good but not great, such as in an (at the time) upset of USC, and in particular was unimpressive during a baffling loss to Washington and a controversial loss to Notre Dame. After beating Cal and holding on against Washington State, coach David Shaw decided to let the 2nd string QB, the highly-recruited Kevin Hogan, take some snaps against Colorado. Hogan was just as accurate as Nunes, but brought an extra dimension of mobility that helped him take the starting job. Hogan made his first start at home against a highly-regarded Oregon State team with one of the best defenses in the Pac 12, and did just enough to win that game.
The big test, however, was the next week, where Hogan would have to go on the road against Oregon. In the inhospitable environment of Oregon, Hogan acted the part of field general, while the Stanford defense went legendary, holding Doak Walker Award finalist Kenjon Barner to under 100 yards rushing to help the Cardinal win 17-14 in OT, finally solving their Oregon problem. Of course, Stanford still had to travel and play UCLA the next week in order to clinch the North division. UCLA, who had already clinched the South division the week prior, came out lethargic, and Stanford took advantage and cruised to a 35-17 victory and a Pac 12 North title.
Stanford, you are terrifying and bizarre and we love you for it.
HOW DID WE GET HERE, UCLA EDITION: Remember how we all watched the Pac 12 Title game last year, and I kept mentioning that UCLA had a lot of talent but little coaching? Enter Jim Mora Jr.
The younger Mora instilled a level of toughness unknown to UCLA football for years, holding training camp in the unforgiving San Bernadino Valley. Redshirt freshman Brett Hundley emerged as a clear leader at the QB position, a spot that UCLA has sorely been lacking for years (the last good UCLA quarterback? Drew Olsen. Before that? Cade McNown. It's been pretty bad). The preseason training paid off, as UCLA knocked off potential Big 12 Champion Nebraska at home early. However, the inconsistent play that has plagued UCLA teams of the past reared its head, as UCLA lost a sleeper to Oregon State, blew the lid off of Colorado, and had their baffling loss of the season to Cal. But after that loss, UCLA did something that hasn't happened in a long time - they dug deep and became a good team. The loss to Cal was followed up by 5 straight wins, culminating with the Bruins taking out 10 years of frustration and beating USC to clinch the Pac 12 South.
So beautiful.
SO WHO DO WE ROOT FOR?: Well, it depends on who you're a fan of. The Big 12 will be rooting for UCLA for a simple reason: UCLA is currently #16 in the BCS. If they can hold on and win, that would prevent Kent State from creeping into the top 16 and gaining an automatic BCS bid, which would most-likely mean Oklahoma would not get a bid, and the Big 12 would lose a ton of money. As a reminder, Kent State only has one loss on the season, but that one loss was to Kentucky and it wasn't even close. Fans of competitive BCS games will also be rooting for UCLA for the same reason.
As for everyone else, it really doesn't matter. Both UCLA and Stanford haven't played in the Rose Bowl for over a decade, and the loser is basically guaranteed a spot in the Alamo Bowl. Nebraska fans may want another crack at the 2012 Bruins, because the 2013 Bruins look like a potential preseason top 15 team. Florida fans will probably be rooting for Stanford, because they would most-likely take on Kent State if the Golden Flashes were to make the BCS. Although, given their recent track record against non-BCS teams, taking on an Oklahoma might be a better prospect for the Gators.
BUT SERIOUSLY WHO SHOULD WE ROOT FOR?: UCLA, obviously.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Also Kent State still has to get through Nothern Illinois, another MAC team with one loss. To its credit, at least they only lost to Iowa by 1 point, instead of getting massacred by Kentucky. Again, I can not emphasize this enough.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
If anyone else wants to go all out on a championship game, feel free!
Edit: I screwed up the spelling of your name, sorry Nirya!
Mora won't admit it, and he shouldn't, but there was a lot of conservative play-calling in that game. Expect UCLA to come out guns-blazing in the Championship.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
I really want to do one for all the games because I have nothing to do these next couple days.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
forget about the Rose Bowl. The Buffalo Wild Wings bowl is where it's at.
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Or perhaps a trip to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl?
The Best Bowl
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
I'd love to see UM play on the blue turf.
UM vs BSU. Make it happen, athletic directors.
Oh wait, right.
Dammit.
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Sounds like someone needs to attend the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese FIGHT HUNGER BOWL.
Also, I just saw that Saban quote. Haha oh my god.
I was working through how the conferences are looking under various scenarios (ACC folds, Big 12 folds, etc) and realized if I worked for Wake Forest, Duke, UConn, Cincinnati, Iowa State, or the Kansas Schools, I'd be terrified of the 16 team leagues.
Someone is getting left without a dance partner and it'll probably come from that list.
You should totally do this...I'm afraid of how depressing your conclusions will be though.
maaaaaaaaaaybe at winning the Pizza Bowl.
It's just games.
THE TEAMS: The Wisconsin Badgers, winners of the Sanctions Leaders Division, will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers, from the Legends Division.
LOCATION: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
It's appropriate that both teams would meet in a giant barn.
WHEN: Saturday, December 1
WHERE: FOX
AMOUNT OF UNSOLD TICKETS FOR THIS GAME:A lot. Jim Delany is showing us the downside to neutral site games.
HOW DID WE GET HERE, WISCONSIN EDITION: In a word, sanctions. Wisconsin ended up placing third in its division, but because Ohio State and Penn State are currently under postseason sanctions, Wisconsin gets the ticket to Indianapolis.
To be honest, Wisconsin isn't a bad team, per say. Three of their 5 losses this year come in overtime (two of which were against Ohio State and Penn State), while their other two losses were on the road against Oregon State (a good team) and Nebraska (a good team). The big issue for Wisconsin this year has been getting anything going on offense against good defenses. Oregon State held Wisconsin to 7 points, a game in which star running back Montee Ball was held to 79 APY, including 61 yards on the ground. In a nutshell, as Montee Ball has gone, so has Wisconsin. In the loss to Nebraska, ball was again kept to under 100 yards rushing, but did get 3 TDs in goal-line situations. The Wisconsin offense has seemed to figure things out as the season progressed, spurned on by a QB switch from latest Maryland-to-Wisconsin transfer Danny O'Brien to Joel Stave. However, Stave went down with an injury against Michigan State, so senior Curt Phillips has stepped up and done an admirable job in relief.
Bucky Badger knows what's up.
HOW DID WE GET HERE, NEBRASKA EDITION: Here is what the preseason talk around Nebraska said: "If Taylor Martinez is better, then this team has a shot to be great." Suffice to say, Martinez has been pretty spectacular this season.
Martinez has shown to be a much more accurate passer, which has been attributed to an offseason working on his throwing motion. However, the season almost came crashing down after an early season loss to eventual Pac 12 South Champion UCLA, in which the historically stout Blackshirt defense showed that it was not what it used to be. Bo Pelini, who is basically the B1G version of Mark Richt, had to get his defense in order, and the Blackshirts rose to the occasion. Martinez himself showed flashes of greatness in some impressive late-game comebacks, orchestrating a 17 point comeback against Wisconsin, a 12 point comeback against Northwestern, and a 10 point comeback against Michigan State that Spartan fans are still complaining about. The Nebraska defense has also come around, finishing the regular season ranked #15 in total defense, #31 in scoring defense, and #23 in third-down defense.
Dude is just so happy!
WILL THE GAME BE COMPETITIVE? I'VE HEARD WISCONSIN IS INVOLVED: Recent history says yes. Nebraska won at home 30-27 early in the season after Taylor Martinez led a 17-point comeback. Some Nebraska fans will point out that the game probably shouldn't have been that close, as they had two fumbles that helped Wisconsin out, and that the Nebraska offense outgained Wisconsin by a lot. Don't listen to them. Wisconsin finds itself with te ability to fall backwards into the Rose Bowl, and that can make decent teams play above their heads (see UCLA last year against Oregon).
SO WHO SHOULD WE ROOT FOR? If you're a fan of the B1G, probably Nebraska. A Wisconsin win throws the Big 10 for a loop, as suddenly everyone gets moved down a slot in the bowl pecking order. That might help national perception, but better teams will be playing in worse bowls, and if there's one thing the Big 10 has a ton of, it's pride. And bad teams. We're so sorry Geebs.
However, UCLA and Stanford fans may be rooting for Wisconsin for a different reason: revenge. UCLA last played in the Rose Bowl in 1999, in a loss to Wisconsin. Stanford's last appearance was a year later in 2000, which was a loss to Wisconsin. These two schools have long memories, and would probably love to get a win back from the Badgers. Of course, UCLA would also love to play Nebraska just to continue their weird brand of dominance over historically good teams.
BUT SERIOUSLY WHO SHOULD WE ROOT FOR? Probably Nebraska, as their fans seem like good people.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227