SE++/D&D College Football Pick'emRun by: SyphyreWho do we hate?Shamelessly stolen from Reddit
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/The Tigers/Anything West Coast/<insert offensive/defensive coordinator name here>. But we all can agree that we love Mike Leach. No? Ok, anyways...
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
might be straight up W/L, they
might be against the spread (ATS). This is a change from last year, because there were some games that were kinda boring to pick W/L, but would have been more interesting ATS. Reading skills are required, but to keep it simple I will clearly group the teams. 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. I am always open to suggestions from the thread (RME will likely tell me to insert UCF every single week). I want to make sure I select interesting games, but I want the contest to be interesting to y'all too. Despite my changing some picks to ATS, I will still notchoose games that no one cares about, since no one really cares that Kansas State whips Liberty (who?).
To keep things interesting, I will do my absolute best to ensure each of the "Power 5" conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC) get at least one game per week. I promise to give the AAC and the rest of the conferences love too. I will make a solid attempt each week to include a game that you wouldn't usually be interested in. I will also do my best to hit each of the larger conferences at least once for Game of the Week
Sounds good. How does this actually work?
Each week, by Monday Evening, 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 before the game starts on Thursday evening.
To post your picks, just cut/paste my convenient cut/paste list, and remove the team you don't want, or bold the team you do, just somehow let me know which team you pick. Why are we doing it in the thread and not in a yahoo or other sports area? It keeps a little more personal, and you don't have to worry about logging into another place, needing reminders, etc. If you're in the thread, you're reminded very easily. I think it actually makes things easier on y'all (harder on me, but I have fun doing this!)
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: $20 of Steam credit.
Third Place: I send you a random $5 game on Steam.
Last Place: We all laugh at you.
To encourage playing each week, there will be a lottery prize at the end. Your name will be entered as many weeks as you played, so if you play all 15 weeks, you get 15 chances. Winner of the lottery gets Steam Credit. Probably $20. Also, I'm somewhat flexible. If you win and you'd rather have PSN credit or something, I can handle that.
Finally, yes, I will play too. I was perfectly average last year in my picks, so its quite provable that I don't know any more about this game than anyone else.
Link to the Google Docs Spreadsheet
Posts
The theme in week 1 is...it's the start of the season! There are games from Wednesday through Monday, so we're going to pick at least one game on each of those days. Enjoy, and lets have fun.
GET YOUR PICKS IN BY WEDNESDAY MORNING
Abilene Christian at Georgia State - Wed, Aug 27, 7:00 PM ET
Spread: Georgia State -5.5
The very first FBS game of the season is a former FCS team (Georgia State) vs a FCS team. I really can't recommend watching or listening to this game unless you're a CFB fanatic but as the first official game of the season, I can't leave it out. All I have to say is that Georgia State could be stomped by several teams that are still in the FCS. ACU isn't exactly a powerhouse though. Welcome to the 2014 College Football Season.
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina - Thu, Aug 28, 6:00 PM ET
Spread: South Carolina -10.5
This is more like it. Welcome to the 2014 College Football Season, featuring the SEC! This game is going to be a tale of strengths and weaknesses. A&M lost Mr Football, however this is a Kevin Sumlin team that has recruited like mad, and the offense should be as potent as ever. Receivers, running backs, and the O-line are all strengths. The defense is still very young, very suspect. For the other team, South Carolina may have lost Clowney, but their defense is still as potent as ever. South Carolina's offense isn't up to par with their defense, but it's likely to be more than enough to run over the still-young Aggie defense.
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss - Thu, Aug 28, 8:00 PM ET
Spread: Mississippi -9
Welp, someone finally managed to take Chris Petersen away from the Boise State. The new head coach there is Bryan Harsin, who used to be Boise's offensive coordinator, jumped to Texas, ended up as HC at Arkansas State for one year, and got hired back at Boise. He'll probably do fine. Will he replicate Petersen's success, which went a bit sour last year? There's no doubt that Boise State is still at the top of the Mountain West, but how will they do against Ole Miss? The head coach at Ole Miss is one Hugh Freeze, who also was HC at Arkansas State for one year. (trivia: Guz Mazlahn was also HC at Arkansas State for one year. What are they putting in their water?) Ole Miss has done fine, but they've been perfectly completely average in the SEC West, in the SEC in general. A win over Boise would be a fine start to the year, unless Boise completely goes south the rest of the season.
Rutgers at Washington State - Thu, Aug 28, 10:00 PM ET
Spread: Washington State -8
Mike Leach has done wonders at Wazzu, basically picking up where he left off at Texas Tech. His offense is pass and point happy, and his defense isn't that great. The problem, however, is consistancy. While they beat USC, and almost knocked off Auburn last year, there were a couple of serious beatdowns. This is now Leach's 3rd year, and this will be a good test to see how much his players and system have improved. Rutgers, on the other hand, has been regressing steadily. Several years ago they were at the top of their game, and have slowly gone downhill since. They move to the Big Ten this year to play with the bigger boys, but their recruiting hasn't been great, and they're not in the top tier. I highly suspect Wazzu is going to beat the crap out of them.
Penn State at UCF - Sat, Aug 30, 8:30 AM ET
Spread: Penn State -1
This is going to be the first game on Saturday, for a really weird reason. It's being played in Ireland, which most of you know already, hence the super early start time. Penn State has a new head coach in James Franklin who did amazing things at Vanderbilt. Everyone in Happy Valley is hoping his success there transfers to Penn State. A lot of his recruits certainly did. On the other side is UCF, easily the best team in the AAC. There was some luck last year to get their 12-1 record, and Blake Bortles is gone, but that shouldn't be much of a problem for this team. UCF's pass defense could be really really good.
Appalachian State at Michigan - Sat, Aug 30, 12:00 PM ET
Spread: Michigan -35
Welcome to the FBS Appalachian State! Michigan, don't screw this up again.
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia - Sat, Aug 30, 5:30 PM ET
Spread: Georgia -9
In 2013, Georgia had crazy identity problems. Some weeks they played insanely great, other weeks barely tottered along. They get the potential to make a big statement with a win against Clemson. They need to get past the Tiger's defensive line first, which is easily in the top 3 lines in the nation. Florida state may be the cream de la cream of the ACC, but Clemson is in the number 2 spot, and the rest of the ACC is far behind them both. The big knock against Clemson is that it's O-line isn't fantastic, and Georgia may be able to exploit it. I still think that -9 line is too big. As much talent as both teams return, they both are missing some names on either side of the field, so we'll see who got more practice in before the game.
#1 Florida State at Oklahoma State - Sat, Aug 30, 8:00 PM ET
Spread: Florida State -17.5
The reigning national champion. They return their heisman winning, crab leg eating quarterback. They lost almost no players to graduation/the draft. There's a damn good reason they're the current favorite for winning it all again this year. OkState will be one of the best teams in the Big 12, right behind OU and Baylor (that still sounds weird...). Their offense will be fine, but there are going to be some problems on the defensive side of things for OkState this year. If they tighten up, there will be some good battles in the Big 12, but will they hang with Florida State?
#14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU - Sat, Aug 30, 9:00 PM ET
Spread: LSU -4.5
Who can't wait to see what the Mad Hatter Les Miles does this year? LSU keeps having players go early to the draft. LSU doesn't care. Les Miles has a huge stock of huge players and he never misses them. That said, LSU is relatively young on the offensive side of the ball this year. Young QB, young receivers, but still a good O-line. The defense should keep on ticking just like it has for years, I doubt there's anything to fear there. Wisconsin should be the best team in the Big Ten West, but that's seriously not saying much at the moment. All the power is over on the east side, unless Nebraska or Iowa suddenly perk up. Anyways, despite a great rushing game, Wisconsin struggled to score at times last year. This might be a problem against the LSU defense, or it could just be growing pains from a first year head coach. We shall see. Wisconsin still doesn't have much of a passing game, and their defense should be good enough to contain LSU. LSU's defense will probably win the game, but lets play it out!
Utah State at Tennessee - Sun, Aug 31, 7:00 PM ET
Spread: Tennessee -7
Utah State improved dramatically in the past few years. Though the head coach that did it left last year, Matt Wells acquitted himself well in 2013, even though they lost their QB and main running back to injury. Their defense is good, their offense is questionable, and this will be a great test to see how they will do. Tennessee is a lower level program in the SEC right now. They've been recruiting well enough, but they haven't had fantastic success like other programs have had. A recruiting class ranked #7(!) last year gives them plenty of great players, but young. They still need more time.
Miami (FL) at Louisville - Mon, Sep 1, 8:00 PM ET
Spread: Louisville -2.5
Louisville brought back one of the most controversial coaches in college football: Bobby Petrino. Charlie Strong left for the challenge of coaching Texas and now he's back. Despite what some people think about him, he can win. Petrino is a good coach, though some people debate his morals. The cupboard is not bare for Petrino, despite losing Bridgewater to the draft. They also moved to the ACC this year. Upgrade! Maybe. Their first game is against Miami, who is still struggling its way back to the powerhouse it wants to be. Al Golden showed flashes of a great team in 2013, but then it fell flat on its face several times. It's really hard to make a read on Miami, and how much they will improve this year.
PLEASE NOTE: There are two categories of picks. The ATS games, and the W/L games. For W/L games, simply pick the team you think will win the game. For ATS, Pick the favored team if you think they will cover the spread. Pick the other team if you do not think they will cover the spread. For example, if you don't think Michigan will score 35 more points than Appalachian State, then pick App State. If you're not familar with ATS, ask in the thread!
Week 1 Easy Copy/Paste List
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
Thank you again, @Syphyre !
XBox LIVE: Bogestrom | Destiny
PSN: Bogestrom
STAAAAAAAAATE
I'M STILL REALISTIC THOUGH
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
Wouldn't be shocked if App State covers though. I have no idea if we can block anyone.
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
Yeaaaaaah
Against the Spread. So if you think App State loses by less than 35, you bold them.
Also, Duke Johnson is back for Miami.
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
That field? They call it "The Inferno."
Oh and Colin Cowherd is calling the game, he's an EWU alum.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
In that case, go Sam Houston State.
Well... not every week.
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Yes that's right, this game is still going. (30 seconds left in 4th Q)
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35) - 35 is a lot of points.
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State - FSU is still really good.
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5) - No idea.
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5) - This seems like the kind of game USCe will lose, but...
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9) - The talent differential here is huge, and we'll see if BSU's new coach can keep it up.
Rutgers at Washington State (-8) - Wazzu has to start winning at some point, right?
Penn State (-1) at UCF - UCF losing Bortles and Storm Johnson might be a bit too much.
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9) - THWG, even if I also hate Clemson.
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5) - Who knows. Should be an interesting game.
Utah State at Tennessee (-7) - Chuckie Keaton!
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5) - Duke Johnson is really good, you guys.
That was difficult to watch, I agree.
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
E/Z Copy and Paste
Week 01
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
Week 1 Easy Copy/Paste List
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)[/quote]
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
Lotta folks betting against Chuckie Keeton smh
ATS GAMES
Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)
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Appalachian State at Michigan (-35)
#1 Florida State (-17.5) at Oklahoma State
W/L GAMES
Abilene Christian at Georgia State (-5.5)
#21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina (-10.5)
Boise State at #18 Ole Miss (-9)
Rutgers at Washington State (-8)
Penn State (-1) at UCF
#16 Clemson at #12 Georgia (-9)
GOTW: #14 Wisconsin at #13 LSU (-4.5)
Utah State at Tennessee (-7)
Miami (FL) at Louisville (-2.5)