As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
[College Football] Bielema -> Arkansas! Wait, What?
enlightenedbum
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Fearless Predictions:
enlightenedbum:
vs. Alabama (Arlington, Texas): Ouch type loss. Alabama's OL controls the game, they win... 35-17 (this is possibly optimistic); win chance 15%
vs. Air Force: Option causes some trouble, points are allowed. AF doesn't have the athletes for Denard though, 49-20 win; win chance 99%
vs. UMass: BLOODSPORT, 52-3 (extensive PT for Devin Gardner in the second half); win change 100%
@ Notre Dame: weird things happen in South Bend, so even though I think we're way better, 31-27 final; win chance 70%
@ Purdue: I think they're my Big Ten sleeper. Return a ton of starters, weren't half bad last year. Not fast enough on defense though, 34-23 final; win chance 85%
vs. Illinois: I think they'll be a disaster despite massive coaching upgrade. 42-10, win chance 95%
vs. MSU: the natural order of things starts to reassert itself. 27-14; win chance 100% (GUARANTEEING VICTORY)
@ Nebraska: Hell if I know. We pantsed them last year so I'll expect them to be fired up. I'll say 34-31 (OT), Nebraska; win chance 50%
@ Minnesota: BLOODSPORT, part 2, 52-7; win chance 100%
vs. Northwestern: they're usually pesky and Fitzgerald is a good coach. Home game though, let's say 31-17; win chance 80%
vs. Iowa: by this point, Kirk Ferentz will be playing RB, nullifying our weakness at DT. 34-17; win chance 80%
@ OSU: So while I think they'll be good, I think the hype train is a little too high on them. Urban is saying some of the things I recall hearing from Rodriguez in the summer of '08 about how they're not at all prepared. Maybe his meaning is what we hoped Rodriguez's was and it's underselling his own team, but I'm a little skeptical. Still, it's Columbus, and we haven't won there in... a distressingly long time (2000, I think?). I'm calling this a toss up and giving M a homer victory, 28-27; win chance 50%
Big Ten Championship vs. Wisconsin: too big and physical up front for a now experienced but still lacking in depth front four for Michigan. Denard makes things exciting, but Wisconsin gets the Rose Bowl berth in a 30-24 victory.
Bowl: Citrus vs. UGA (win) or BCS At-Large
Oh right:
Big Ten POY: Denard
Big Ten OPOY: Also Denard, duh
Big Ten DPOY: John Simon, OSU
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Danny Hope, Purdue (as I said, I think they're the sleeper)
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: ??? (PLEASE BE ONDRE PIPKINS)
Big Ten: Wisconsin over Michigan, as previously stated. The West comes down to Michigan/MSU, which is in Ann Arbor, and the East goes to Wisconsin by default. Michigan's interior d line is not great, but fortunately only a couple teams are well built to exploit it. Wisconsin is one of them.
Big 12: Red River Shootout winner. I'll go with Texas.
ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: Who cares? Is TCU in the conference this year? If so, them.
Pac 12: Meeeeeeh USC I guess.
SEC: Alabama over Georgia. BOOOOO
BCS Games:
(At large bids: LSU, Michigan, FSU, Oregon)
Title game: Alabama over Virginia Tech
Rose Bowl: Wisconsin over USC
Sugar Bowl: LSU over Big East Champion (ouch)
Fiesta Bowl: Michigan over Texas
Orange Bowl: Oregon over Florida State
Heisman finalists:
Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
Matt Barkley, QB, USC
Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech - winner
Whoever gets the majority of Alabama's carries, RB, Alabama
Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
vs. Air Force: Option causes some trouble, points are allowed. AF doesn't have the athletes for Denard though, 49-20 win; win chance 99%
vs. UMass: BLOODSPORT, 52-3 (extensive PT for Devin Gardner in the second half); win change 100%
@ Notre Dame: weird things happen in South Bend, so even though I think we're way better, 31-27 final; win chance 70%
@ Purdue: I think they're my Big Ten sleeper. Return a ton of starters, weren't half bad last year. Not fast enough on defense though, 34-23 final; win chance 85%
vs. Illinois: I think they'll be a disaster despite massive coaching upgrade. 42-10, win chance 95%
vs. MSU: the natural order of things starts to reassert itself. 27-14; win chance 100% (GUARANTEEING VICTORY)
@ Nebraska: Hell if I know. We pantsed them last year so I'll expect them to be fired up. I'll say 34-31 (OT), Nebraska; win chance 50%
@ Minnesota: BLOODSPORT, part 2, 52-7; win chance 100%
vs. Northwestern: they're usually pesky and Fitzgerald is a good coach. Home game though, let's say 31-17; win chance 80%
vs. Iowa: by this point, Kirk Ferentz will be playing RB, nullifying our weakness at DT. 34-17; win chance 80%
@ OSU: So while I think they'll be good, I think the hype train is a little too high on them. Urban is saying some of the things I recall hearing from Rodriguez in the summer of '08 about how they're not at all prepared. Maybe his meaning is what we hoped Rodriguez's was and it's underselling his own team, but I'm a little skeptical. Still, it's Columbus, and we haven't won there in... a distressingly long time (2000, I think?). I'm calling this a toss up and giving M a homer victory, 28-27; win chance 50%
Big Ten Championship vs. Wisconsin: too big and physical up front for a now experienced but still lacking in depth front four for Michigan. Denard makes things exciting, but Wisconsin gets the Rose Bowl berth in a 30-24 victory.
Bowl: Citrus vs. UGA (win) or BCS At-Large
Oh right:
Big Ten POY: Denard
Big Ten OPOY: Also Denard, duh
Big Ten DPOY: John Simon, OSU
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Danny Hope, Purdue (as I said, I think they're the sleeper)
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: ??? (PLEASE BE ONDRE PIPKINS)
Big Ten: Wisconsin over Michigan, as previously stated. The West comes down to Michigan/MSU, which is in Ann Arbor, and the East goes to Wisconsin by default. Michigan's interior d line is not great, but fortunately only a couple teams are well built to exploit it. Wisconsin is one of them.
Big 12: Red River Shootout winner. I'll go with Texas.
ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: Who cares? Is TCU in the conference this year? If so, them.
Pac 12: Meeeeeeh USC I guess.
SEC: Alabama over Georgia. BOOOOO
BCS Games:
(At large bids: LSU, Michigan, FSU, Oregon)
Title game: Alabama over Virginia Tech
Rose Bowl: Wisconsin over USC
Sugar Bowl: LSU over Big East Champion (ouch)
Fiesta Bowl: Michigan over Texas
Orange Bowl: Oregon over Florida State
Heisman finalists:
Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
Matt Barkley, QB, USC
Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech - winner
Whoever gets the majority of Alabama's carries, RB, Alabama
Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
mrt144:
OSU
Miami (OH) Win
UCF Win
Cal Win
UAB Win
MSU Win
Nebraska Win
Indiana Win
Purdue Win
Penn State Win
Illini Win
Wisconsin Loss
Michigan Win
Miami (OH) Win
UCF Win
Cal Win
UAB Win
MSU Win
Nebraska Win
Indiana Win
Purdue Win
Penn State Win
Illini Win
Wisconsin Loss
Michigan Win
Vishnub
BOLD Predictions
Further predictions are based on the following premises. Actually bold predictions are in bold.
1) UGA figures out a running back in fairly short order, we have five of them, surely at least one is good.
2) UGA's O-line struggles against good teams, too little experience up front, Murray's numbers suffer as a result.
3) UGA therefore ends up good, but not great this year
UGA vs XX
Buffalo - Win, snoozer
Missouri - Win, better game, close-ish. Missouri's first SEC game, they're not ready to play for realz
FAU - win, snoozer
Vandy - win, somewhere between snoozer and a game
Tennessee - Win, good game
South Carolina - Win, very good game. Same as last year, national hopes depend on this game, SEC championship spot is clinched here, but not necessarily lost.
Kentucky - Win, kind of like vandy, sort of a game
Florida - Win, UF still doesn't have a QB, and I don't think they've figured it out yet.
Ole Miss - Win, snoozer
Auburn - Win, good game, this one is likely to be close
Georgia Southern - win, yawn
GA Tech - Win, but again a good game
SEC Championship - loss to LSU/Bama again.
Puts us in an at large bid for some bowl, probably against a b1g team, which we should win, because the b1g sucks. It would be cool to play Oregon or USC though. Or a Boise rematch.
We're also likely to drop at least one game we shouldn't have, probably the UT, USC or UF game, which would be a bummer, but because of the easy schedule, we still win SEC East.
So yes, I predicted an undefeated regular season, a championship loss, and a bowl win. Honestly, that schedule is some kind of prank on all the other SEC east teams. We miss LSU, Bama, and Arkansas AGAIN.
Further predictions are based on the following premises. Actually bold predictions are in bold.
1) UGA figures out a running back in fairly short order, we have five of them, surely at least one is good.
2) UGA's O-line struggles against good teams, too little experience up front, Murray's numbers suffer as a result.
3) UGA therefore ends up good, but not great this year
UGA vs XX
Buffalo - Win, snoozer
Missouri - Win, better game, close-ish. Missouri's first SEC game, they're not ready to play for realz
FAU - win, snoozer
Vandy - win, somewhere between snoozer and a game
Tennessee - Win, good game
South Carolina - Win, very good game. Same as last year, national hopes depend on this game, SEC championship spot is clinched here, but not necessarily lost.
Kentucky - Win, kind of like vandy, sort of a game
Florida - Win, UF still doesn't have a QB, and I don't think they've figured it out yet.
Ole Miss - Win, snoozer
Auburn - Win, good game, this one is likely to be close
Georgia Southern - win, yawn
GA Tech - Win, but again a good game
SEC Championship - loss to LSU/Bama again.
Puts us in an at large bid for some bowl, probably against a b1g team, which we should win, because the b1g sucks. It would be cool to play Oregon or USC though. Or a Boise rematch.
We're also likely to drop at least one game we shouldn't have, probably the UT, USC or UF game, which would be a bummer, but because of the easy schedule, we still win SEC East.
So yes, I predicted an undefeated regular season, a championship loss, and a bowl win. Honestly, that schedule is some kind of prank on all the other SEC east teams. We miss LSU, Bama, and Arkansas AGAIN.
Assuran:
Fearless prediction:
Someone not in the SEC wins the National Title for the first time in forever. If pressed, I will swallow hard and nominate USC.
Ohio State goes 9-3 (losing to Bucky, MSU, and 1 upset). Urban and the defense is good, but we don't have playmakers on offense other than Braxton right now.
South Carolina wins the SEC upsetting Alabama in the SEC Title game.
Florida State wins the ACC.
Wisconsin wins the Big 10.
Lets say the Sooners win the Big 12.
I threw a dart at the Big East and it decided South Florida would win.
USC wins the Pac 12.
Someone not in the SEC wins the National Title for the first time in forever. If pressed, I will swallow hard and nominate USC.
Ohio State goes 9-3 (losing to Bucky, MSU, and 1 upset). Urban and the defense is good, but we don't have playmakers on offense other than Braxton right now.
South Carolina wins the SEC upsetting Alabama in the SEC Title game.
Florida State wins the ACC.
Wisconsin wins the Big 10.
Lets say the Sooners win the Big 12.
I threw a dart at the Big East and it decided South Florida would win.
USC wins the Pac 12.
fortis
I'm not making detailed predictions about my school Akron because we might as well not have a football team. 1 win again in a game where the other team hands it to us.
I think Ohio State goes 9-3 losing to Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Michigan. The first two, I think are guaranteed losses, the last is a tossup only cause it's a rivalry and in Columbus this year. Also it has the "we can't go to a bowl so we'll play spoiler" angle.
Virginia Tech wins the ACC.
Oklahoma wins the Big 12.
Louisville in the Big East.
Wisconsin in the Big 10.
USC wins the Pac 12.
LSU wins the SEC.
LSU over USC for the championship.
I think Ohio State goes 9-3 losing to Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Michigan. The first two, I think are guaranteed losses, the last is a tossup only cause it's a rivalry and in Columbus this year. Also it has the "we can't go to a bowl so we'll play spoiler" angle.
Virginia Tech wins the ACC.
Oklahoma wins the Big 12.
Louisville in the Big East.
Wisconsin in the Big 10.
USC wins the Pac 12.
LSU wins the SEC.
LSU over USC for the championship.
JihadJesus
Alright, UW...
SDSU - Yawn. Win.
@LSU - Oh, the humanity! Obvious loss. Seriously interested to watch our offense here, though remembering how they killed a very good WVU offense...
Portland St - Let's see how good our backup QB is for a few snaps. Win.
Stanford - toss up. Their line will still be gelling which is their only real huge strength (and will be afain by next year/end if season), and with a new QB I can see us pulling it off. I'll say 40/60 win/loss.
@Oregon - law of averages says we win one eventually God dammit. Long odds this time, but we're getting closer and it should actually be a game this time. Loss.
USC - I'm not sold on USC, but I don't see our defense improving enough to win. Loss.
Arizona - Win.
Oregon St - damn well should be a win, but they're ALWAYS prepared and seem to have our number. I expect to win this game though, we just have a better roster top to bottom. Win.
Cal - Win. The opposite of OSU in that they match up well with us, but I'll believe they can beat us when they actually fucking do, I don't think Sark has lost to them yet and he won't before they find a real QB. Win.
Utah - Loss if their only actual QB is healthy.
WSU - toss up. Rivalry, and I'll believe our secondary can deal witha quick passing attack the day I see them do it and not one second before.
Jesus, that five week stretch with LSU/Stanford/Oregon/USC is brutal. That's got the potential to be tough on the psyche of a young team.
SDSU - Yawn. Win.
@LSU - Oh, the humanity! Obvious loss. Seriously interested to watch our offense here, though remembering how they killed a very good WVU offense...
Portland St - Let's see how good our backup QB is for a few snaps. Win.
Stanford - toss up. Their line will still be gelling which is their only real huge strength (and will be afain by next year/end if season), and with a new QB I can see us pulling it off. I'll say 40/60 win/loss.
@Oregon - law of averages says we win one eventually God dammit. Long odds this time, but we're getting closer and it should actually be a game this time. Loss.
USC - I'm not sold on USC, but I don't see our defense improving enough to win. Loss.
Arizona - Win.
Oregon St - damn well should be a win, but they're ALWAYS prepared and seem to have our number. I expect to win this game though, we just have a better roster top to bottom. Win.
Cal - Win. The opposite of OSU in that they match up well with us, but I'll believe they can beat us when they actually fucking do, I don't think Sark has lost to them yet and he won't before they find a real QB. Win.
Utah - Loss if their only actual QB is healthy.
WSU - toss up. Rivalry, and I'll believe our secondary can deal witha quick passing attack the day I see them do it and not one second before.
Jesus, that five week stretch with LSU/Stanford/Oregon/USC is brutal. That's got the potential to be tough on the psyche of a young team.
devCharles
Florida predictions are tough because we have no idea what's going on with the QB situation under the new offensive coordinator. I'm predicting improvement, but nothing too crazy.
Bowling Green: Win.
Texas A&M: Win. I just don't think they'll be very good this coming year. Sumlin needs more time.
Tennessee: Win. Defense is too good, and it comes down to FGs. Fortunately we have a good kicker and they have a crappy one.
Kentucky: Win.
LSU: By this time, Florida is probably ridiculously overranked (like 11th or something) due to having cleaned through the top 4. They keep it closer than last year, but it's still a comfortable win by LSU. Loss.
Vanderbilt: Win. Close but still gets pulled of. They'll probably upset a few people this year, and I hope it's not us.
South Carolina: Even split here. South Carolina and Florida last year was trainwreck. USC under Spurrier is so variable that it could go either way. For now, I'm going with a win because it's at home, and the QB situation might be settled or getting better.
UGA: I'd say this one will be pretty close too. If we beat South Carolina, I think we might lose here. If we lose to South Carolina, we might win. Both are toss ups.
Mizzou: Win. They're still rebuilding.
Louisiana (not LSU): Slaughterhouse. Win.
Jacksonville State: Probably a win after the first half being somewhat in question because Jacksonville State loves to do that to division 1 teams.
FSU: Toss up. John Brantley's self destruction last year makes me feel like that was a beatable FSU team. The same can be said about this year's FSU team most likely. Their offensive has to improve substantially for me to really think much more of them. All the same, I'm going to go with a loss.
9-3. Potential sneak into the SECCG to get beaten by Bama or LSU.
Bowling Green: Win.
Texas A&M: Win. I just don't think they'll be very good this coming year. Sumlin needs more time.
Tennessee: Win. Defense is too good, and it comes down to FGs. Fortunately we have a good kicker and they have a crappy one.
Kentucky: Win.
LSU: By this time, Florida is probably ridiculously overranked (like 11th or something) due to having cleaned through the top 4. They keep it closer than last year, but it's still a comfortable win by LSU. Loss.
Vanderbilt: Win. Close but still gets pulled of. They'll probably upset a few people this year, and I hope it's not us.
South Carolina: Even split here. South Carolina and Florida last year was trainwreck. USC under Spurrier is so variable that it could go either way. For now, I'm going with a win because it's at home, and the QB situation might be settled or getting better.
UGA: I'd say this one will be pretty close too. If we beat South Carolina, I think we might lose here. If we lose to South Carolina, we might win. Both are toss ups.
Mizzou: Win. They're still rebuilding.
Louisiana (not LSU): Slaughterhouse. Win.
Jacksonville State: Probably a win after the first half being somewhat in question because Jacksonville State loves to do that to division 1 teams.
FSU: Toss up. John Brantley's self destruction last year makes me feel like that was a beatable FSU team. The same can be said about this year's FSU team most likely. Their offensive has to improve substantially for me to really think much more of them. All the same, I'm going to go with a loss.
9-3. Potential sneak into the SECCG to get beaten by Bama or LSU.
Bobble
Ugh, this won't be pretty. I'll start with Nebraska because when I get to Duke it's more for laughs anyway.
Nebraska
Non conference (Southern Miss, @UCLA, Arkansas State, Idaho State) 4-0, though I'm concerned about UCLA. It's on the road and they might be energized with the new coach and all that jazz.
Wisconsin- Steamrolled in a loss
@ Ohio State- Urban gets his boys up for a home game, Braxton Miller runs wild. Loss.
Bye- Local newspapers run extensive coverage on Pelini's historical weakness to mobile QBs. Loss
@ Northwestern- I'm calling it a win because losing to Northwestern in consecutive years is not a reality that I wish to be a part of.
Michigan- Loss. Did you see the game last year?
@ Michigan State- Sparty was coming off of their huge, emotional win over Wisconsin last year and stumbled in Lincoln. Calling this a win, but I'm nervous.
Penn State- a home win!
Minnesota- Is Gray still there? *checks* shit. Win, but Pelini's lost an inexplicable home game every year, and this is the obvious candidate for 2012.
@ Iowa- win because I'm counting on the team to build some momentum after that rough early schedule.
Bowl- Hell if I know. Used to think this coaching staff prepared well for bowl games, but the last two have been just awful. Loss, concluding another season at 9-4.
and for Duke, my dear alma mater, I'll say they finally put it together this year and win 6, including a mild scare of Stanford in Palo Alto (but not a win). Don't laugh, it could totally happen.
Nebraska
Non conference (Southern Miss, @UCLA, Arkansas State, Idaho State) 4-0, though I'm concerned about UCLA. It's on the road and they might be energized with the new coach and all that jazz.
Wisconsin- Steamrolled in a loss
@ Ohio State- Urban gets his boys up for a home game, Braxton Miller runs wild. Loss.
Bye- Local newspapers run extensive coverage on Pelini's historical weakness to mobile QBs. Loss
@ Northwestern- I'm calling it a win because losing to Northwestern in consecutive years is not a reality that I wish to be a part of.
Michigan- Loss. Did you see the game last year?
@ Michigan State- Sparty was coming off of their huge, emotional win over Wisconsin last year and stumbled in Lincoln. Calling this a win, but I'm nervous.
Penn State- a home win!
Minnesota- Is Gray still there? *checks* shit. Win, but Pelini's lost an inexplicable home game every year, and this is the obvious candidate for 2012.
@ Iowa- win because I'm counting on the team to build some momentum after that rough early schedule.
Bowl- Hell if I know. Used to think this coaching staff prepared well for bowl games, but the last two have been just awful. Loss, concluding another season at 9-4.
and for Duke, my dear alma mater, I'll say they finally put it together this year and win 6, including a mild scare of Stanford in Palo Alto (but not a win). Don't laugh, it could totally happen.
Dark White
Looks like I'll need to give the ACC some representation in this thread (things aren't going to go well).
VT
Georgia Tech (Monday game) - Win
Austin Peay - Win
@ Pittsburgh - Win
Bowling Green - Win
vs. Cinci (in D.C.) - Win
@ UNC - Win
Duke - Win (VT WILL drop one of these first seven games, but no idea who it will be)
@ Clemson - Loss
@ Miami - Loss
Florida St. (Thurs.) - Win
@ Boston College - Win
UVA - Win
Lose to FSU in ACC Championship
Win over Florida in Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Cincinatti wins Big East
Michigan wins B1G
USC wins Pac 12
Oklahoma wins Big 12
LSU wins SEC
Notre Dame finishes 7-6 (and finishes the AP poll at #17)
USC over LSU in the National Championship
VT
Georgia Tech (Monday game) - Win
Austin Peay - Win
@ Pittsburgh - Win
Bowling Green - Win
vs. Cinci (in D.C.) - Win
@ UNC - Win
Duke - Win (VT WILL drop one of these first seven games, but no idea who it will be)
@ Clemson - Loss
@ Miami - Loss
Florida St. (Thurs.) - Win
@ Boston College - Win
UVA - Win
Lose to FSU in ACC Championship
Win over Florida in Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Cincinatti wins Big East
Michigan wins B1G
USC wins Pac 12
Oklahoma wins Big 12
LSU wins SEC
Notre Dame finishes 7-6 (and finishes the AP poll at #17)
USC over LSU in the National Championship
SquirrelMob
Boise St. -> Win. It'll be a shootout, with numerous offensive miscues for both teams, but MSU will win, albeit by a smaller margin than the fanbase would like.
@CMU -> Win. CMU's not nearly as good as it was just a few years ago, and the defense smothers their game. Lots of field goals in this one.
Notre Dame -> Win. Another close game, but the turnover bug strikes ND, as the MSU offense starts to click more efficiently, and the D lives up to expectations.
EMU -> Win.
OSU -> Win. A very close game that goes to overtime and is decided by MSU's defense and kicking.
@Indiana -> Win. Too close for comfort, but the second half gets things back in shape.
Iowa -> Win. Mid-October bad weather strikes, and Iowa's RB curse keeps them from doing anything.
@UMich -> Win. Very close game, but a fired up D steps up to make up for offensive blunders. Fans expect a shoot-out, and instead receive a strangely ground-and-pound game. Pundits stop talking about Denard as a Heisman candidate again.
@Wisconsin -> Loss. Camp Randall is unforgiving, Montee Ball has a great game, and pundits call our defense overrated for the rest of the season.
Nebraska -> Win. Fired up after a loss, the entire team plays well and the D-Line eats Martinez alive.
Northwestern -> Win. November weather kicks in, and Bell posts a career day.
@Minnesota -> Win. While the Gophers improve over their previous season, they've still got room to improve.
Big Ten Championship vs. Wisconsin -> Win. Another incredibly close game, but the D puts the brakes on Ball while Andrew Maxwell has his best game of the season.
Outside of the B1G:
SEC: South Carolina ends up champion after clawing through the SEC East and upsetting a 1-loss Alabama in the championship.
Pac 12: USC crushes an upstart Washington squad in the championship game.
ACC: Virginia Tech rolls through the conference.
Big 12: TCU wins the conference in the last week following a meltdown by Oklahoma and Charlie Weis proving, yet again, he's not head coach material at Kansas.
Big East: Haha. The teams all bumble over one another and Pitt wins the title to rub salt in the re-alignment wound.
All this leads to a poll and BCS meltdown heading into bowl announcement, with a ton of teams at 1 loss, and teams that are probably better at 2 losses. Everyone agrees, finally, that a playoff structure will be for the best.
@CMU -> Win. CMU's not nearly as good as it was just a few years ago, and the defense smothers their game. Lots of field goals in this one.
Notre Dame -> Win. Another close game, but the turnover bug strikes ND, as the MSU offense starts to click more efficiently, and the D lives up to expectations.
EMU -> Win.
OSU -> Win. A very close game that goes to overtime and is decided by MSU's defense and kicking.
@Indiana -> Win. Too close for comfort, but the second half gets things back in shape.
Iowa -> Win. Mid-October bad weather strikes, and Iowa's RB curse keeps them from doing anything.
@UMich -> Win. Very close game, but a fired up D steps up to make up for offensive blunders. Fans expect a shoot-out, and instead receive a strangely ground-and-pound game. Pundits stop talking about Denard as a Heisman candidate again.
@Wisconsin -> Loss. Camp Randall is unforgiving, Montee Ball has a great game, and pundits call our defense overrated for the rest of the season.
Nebraska -> Win. Fired up after a loss, the entire team plays well and the D-Line eats Martinez alive.
Northwestern -> Win. November weather kicks in, and Bell posts a career day.
@Minnesota -> Win. While the Gophers improve over their previous season, they've still got room to improve.
Big Ten Championship vs. Wisconsin -> Win. Another incredibly close game, but the D puts the brakes on Ball while Andrew Maxwell has his best game of the season.
Outside of the B1G:
SEC: South Carolina ends up champion after clawing through the SEC East and upsetting a 1-loss Alabama in the championship.
Pac 12: USC crushes an upstart Washington squad in the championship game.
ACC: Virginia Tech rolls through the conference.
Big 12: TCU wins the conference in the last week following a meltdown by Oklahoma and Charlie Weis proving, yet again, he's not head coach material at Kansas.
Big East: Haha. The teams all bumble over one another and Pitt wins the title to rub salt in the re-alignment wound.
All this leads to a poll and BCS meltdown heading into bowl announcement, with a ton of teams at 1 loss, and teams that are probably better at 2 losses. Everyone agrees, finally, that a playoff structure will be for the best.
SarcasmoBlaster
Conference Champs:
SEC: Alabama
Pac-12: USC
ACC: Virginia Tech (I'd love to pick FSU here, but the Seminoles have blown it in recent years when expectations are high)
Big-12: Texas (Mostly because I'm not really feeling the rest of the conference. I think both Ok and Ok St will be down from last year, and I don't think UVW or TCU will come out of the gate and win the conference. That leaves Texas.)
Big 10: Uhh, MSU? (I'm admittedly not a Big 10 guy at all, so I have no feel for this conference.)
Big East: Let's go with USF. Why not.
SEC: Alabama
Pac-12: USC
ACC: Virginia Tech (I'd love to pick FSU here, but the Seminoles have blown it in recent years when expectations are high)
Big-12: Texas (Mostly because I'm not really feeling the rest of the conference. I think both Ok and Ok St will be down from last year, and I don't think UVW or TCU will come out of the gate and win the conference. That leaves Texas.)
Big 10: Uhh, MSU? (I'm admittedly not a Big 10 guy at all, so I have no feel for this conference.)
Big East: Let's go with USF. Why not.
a5ehren
Woo fearless/bold prediction time:
@VT - Loss since I don't think we have anyone that can tackle Logan Thomas (dude is large).
Presbyterian - Win
UVA - Win
Miami (FL) - Loss?
MTSU - Win
@Clemson - Loss, but close. Can we talk about how much "designated" cross-division rivalries suck?
BC - Win
BYU - Win
@Maryland - Win
@UNC - Loss
Duke - Win
@UGA - Loss
We'll probably pull the usual upset or two, but also lose a game we should win (this always seem to be UVA for some reason). 7-5 would be a discouraging season, so I'm hoping for 8-4. Maybe a Music City Bowl berth against...Miss State?, which would be a pretty good game I think.
Conference winners:
ACC: Clemson. Not buying the VT/FSU hype trains.
Big East: Louisville? No idea
B1G: Wisconsin
Big 12: Oklahoma
Pac 12: Oregon
SEC: Alabama
National Championship: Alabama beats Wisconsin in a game that gives old sportswriters boners and puts the blogosphere to sleep by halftime.
@VT - Loss since I don't think we have anyone that can tackle Logan Thomas (dude is large).
Presbyterian - Win
UVA - Win
Miami (FL) - Loss?
MTSU - Win
@Clemson - Loss, but close. Can we talk about how much "designated" cross-division rivalries suck?
BC - Win
BYU - Win
@Maryland - Win
@UNC - Loss
Duke - Win
@UGA - Loss
We'll probably pull the usual upset or two, but also lose a game we should win (this always seem to be UVA for some reason). 7-5 would be a discouraging season, so I'm hoping for 8-4. Maybe a Music City Bowl berth against...Miss State?, which would be a pretty good game I think.
Conference winners:
ACC: Clemson. Not buying the VT/FSU hype trains.
Big East: Louisville? No idea
B1G: Wisconsin
Big 12: Oklahoma
Pac 12: Oregon
SEC: Alabama
National Championship: Alabama beats Wisconsin in a game that gives old sportswriters boners and puts the blogosphere to sleep by halftime.
OSUJumpMan
I'll do quite a few predictions this year. Some more bold than others.
First the alma mater (Ohio State):
vs. Miami (OH) - easy win
vs. UCF - comfortable, but not easy win
vs. Cal - uncomfortable for a half, then cruising in the 2nd half to win by two touchdowns
vs. UAB - slightly overhung after the Cal game, slightly looking ahead to MSU, win but by far fewer points than we ought to
at MSU - UAB proves to be a bad warm-up and a bad omen, nobody quite gets their shit together and we lose by a touchdown
vs. Nebraska - some vengeance gets delivered after falling apart in the 4th quarter last year, win but it ain't easy
at Indiana - beating Indiana in football is tradition (for most B1G teams), and the tradition continues, win
vs. Purdue - a god-damn missed extra point is all anyone in Columbus will talk about this entire week and Purdue gets completely pasted, win
at Penn State - the game is in Happy Valley, so normally tradition dictates it's the Nittany Lions turn to win, but their plan to throw tradition out the window bites them in the ass here, win
vs. Illinois - the bee in our bonnet. Nobody understands quite how, but Tim Beckman pulls a win out of his ass in this embarrassing loss.
at Wisconsin - the bye week and the sting of the Illini coalesce into a glorious win against the over-confident Badgers
vs. michigan - the Buckeyes take this opportunity to push the wolverines out of the title game, win
10-2 (6-2) no championship game, no bowl game this year
Now the graduate school (Northern Illinois) and this is honestly little better than a stab in the dark:
vs. Iowa - while Iowa is usually good for a loss that shouldn't be, I don't think this is it, Huskies lose but a solid game
vs. Tennessee-Martin - ESPN assures me that this IS a football team and given that level of information, Huskies win
at Army - Army football is still kind of awful and a ground-war seems like the kind of game NIU wants early on, Huskies win
vs. Kansas - it's always hard going up against a decided schematic advantage, but without any talent, Huskies win
vs. Central Michigan - this feels like it'll probably be some hot MACtion with 70+ total points, Huskies win
at Ball State - Cardinals are much improved and pull off what is largely considered an upset, Huskies lose
vs. Buffalo - they've reverted to being pretty awful post-Turner Gil, Huskies win
at Akron - BYE WEEK
at Western Michigan - even more MACtion, 85+ total points, Huskies win
vs. UMass - Marshall/UCF/Temple/UMass is a MAC team? Welcome to the league, please accept your complimentary win over Akron, Huskies win easily
vs. Toledo - this game is so MACtion-y they even put it on Wednesday night just so nobody would miss it. Pretty much a coin flip and it feels like NIU warrants another loss somewhere along the way, so why not here?
at Eastern Michigan - EMU is getting better, but still not probably good enough to achieve victory, Huskies win
9-3 (6-2) not enough to go to the MAC Championship, but enough to get into a bowl game that only the die-hards watch.
CONFERENCES!
ACC - VATech over FSU because nobody else in the ACC wants it (except Paul Johnson, but I don't think he's got the horses this year).
Big 12 - Addition of WVU and TCU make this a very interesting race with 5 legitimate threats to win, but Texas uses it's non-conference cake walk to iron out the kinks and edge everyone else out.
Big East - Just kidding!
BigTen - MSU finally assumes the mantle (with a little help) as they beat Wiscy in the title game because, seriously, who else is it going to be from Leaders??
Pac-12 - hard to be bold with a pick of Oregon over USC in the title game . . . except that the winner will not be in the championship game.
SEC - Georgia gets mean (and fat on cake) this year. They also win the SEC title over LSU because Les Miles givith and Les Miles taketh away.
National Championship - VATech has the record to get in (but not the resume, cause that schedule is SOFT) and subsequently lose to Sparty whereby their fans become COMPLETELY insufferable (because they're not used to success, you see). BOLD.
First the alma mater (Ohio State):
vs. Miami (OH) - easy win
vs. UCF - comfortable, but not easy win
vs. Cal - uncomfortable for a half, then cruising in the 2nd half to win by two touchdowns
vs. UAB - slightly overhung after the Cal game, slightly looking ahead to MSU, win but by far fewer points than we ought to
at MSU - UAB proves to be a bad warm-up and a bad omen, nobody quite gets their shit together and we lose by a touchdown
vs. Nebraska - some vengeance gets delivered after falling apart in the 4th quarter last year, win but it ain't easy
at Indiana - beating Indiana in football is tradition (for most B1G teams), and the tradition continues, win
vs. Purdue - a god-damn missed extra point is all anyone in Columbus will talk about this entire week and Purdue gets completely pasted, win
at Penn State - the game is in Happy Valley, so normally tradition dictates it's the Nittany Lions turn to win, but their plan to throw tradition out the window bites them in the ass here, win
vs. Illinois - the bee in our bonnet. Nobody understands quite how, but Tim Beckman pulls a win out of his ass in this embarrassing loss.
at Wisconsin - the bye week and the sting of the Illini coalesce into a glorious win against the over-confident Badgers
vs. michigan - the Buckeyes take this opportunity to push the wolverines out of the title game, win
10-2 (6-2) no championship game, no bowl game this year
Now the graduate school (Northern Illinois) and this is honestly little better than a stab in the dark:
vs. Iowa - while Iowa is usually good for a loss that shouldn't be, I don't think this is it, Huskies lose but a solid game
vs. Tennessee-Martin - ESPN assures me that this IS a football team and given that level of information, Huskies win
at Army - Army football is still kind of awful and a ground-war seems like the kind of game NIU wants early on, Huskies win
vs. Kansas - it's always hard going up against a decided schematic advantage, but without any talent, Huskies win
vs. Central Michigan - this feels like it'll probably be some hot MACtion with 70+ total points, Huskies win
at Ball State - Cardinals are much improved and pull off what is largely considered an upset, Huskies lose
vs. Buffalo - they've reverted to being pretty awful post-Turner Gil, Huskies win
at Akron - BYE WEEK
at Western Michigan - even more MACtion, 85+ total points, Huskies win
vs. UMass - Marshall/UCF/Temple/UMass is a MAC team? Welcome to the league, please accept your complimentary win over Akron, Huskies win easily
vs. Toledo - this game is so MACtion-y they even put it on Wednesday night just so nobody would miss it. Pretty much a coin flip and it feels like NIU warrants another loss somewhere along the way, so why not here?
at Eastern Michigan - EMU is getting better, but still not probably good enough to achieve victory, Huskies win
9-3 (6-2) not enough to go to the MAC Championship, but enough to get into a bowl game that only the die-hards watch.
CONFERENCES!
ACC - VATech over FSU because nobody else in the ACC wants it (except Paul Johnson, but I don't think he's got the horses this year).
Big 12 - Addition of WVU and TCU make this a very interesting race with 5 legitimate threats to win, but Texas uses it's non-conference cake walk to iron out the kinks and edge everyone else out.
Big East - Just kidding!
BigTen - MSU finally assumes the mantle (with a little help) as they beat Wiscy in the title game because, seriously, who else is it going to be from Leaders??
Pac-12 - hard to be bold with a pick of Oregon over USC in the title game . . . except that the winner will not be in the championship game.
SEC - Georgia gets mean (and fat on cake) this year. They also win the SEC title over LSU because Les Miles givith and Les Miles taketh away.
National Championship - VATech has the record to get in (but not the resume, cause that schedule is SOFT) and subsequently lose to Sparty whereby their fans become COMPLETELY insufferable (because they're not used to success, you see). BOLD.
JaysonFour (WOO MAC FANS!)
Bold prediction time!
Let's see... for Western Michigan, we have:
Illinois: Why do we keep getting fed to Big Ten teams? Do they honestly think we have another chance at a November Nightmare? We lose this one.
Eastern Illinois: This is as big of a cupcake as we're going to get all season. Win this one, quite easily.
Minnesota: Crap Big Ten team against pretty good MAC team. I think we can win this one.
Connecticut: Should be able to win this one, too.
Toledo: Barring them really fucking up, I think this one might be a loss. Seems like Toledo's becoming the next MAC powerhouse.
Massachusetts: This should be an easy win.
Ball State: Pretty sure we can win here.
Kent State: Same here. Win this one.
Northern Illinois: I have to admit, if there's a team the Bronco fans hate as much as Central, it's the Huskies. I think it'll be close, but we come up short again.
Central Michigan: We can win this one. There are fans here who don't consider it a winning season unless we beat the snot out of the Chippewas. Let's make it two-for-two, we keep the Cannon.
Buffalo: Oh, is that who that was? We trample them- I think they're the new Eastern Michigan, honestly.
Eastern Michigan: I think we finally beat them, myself.
That's... a nine-win season, and a 5-2 conference record. Gut says Toledo and Northern Illinois for the conference, but the Broncos play a bowl game somewhere.
Let's see... for Western Michigan, we have:
Illinois: Why do we keep getting fed to Big Ten teams? Do they honestly think we have another chance at a November Nightmare? We lose this one.
Eastern Illinois: This is as big of a cupcake as we're going to get all season. Win this one, quite easily.
Minnesota: Crap Big Ten team against pretty good MAC team. I think we can win this one.
Connecticut: Should be able to win this one, too.
Toledo: Barring them really fucking up, I think this one might be a loss. Seems like Toledo's becoming the next MAC powerhouse.
Massachusetts: This should be an easy win.
Ball State: Pretty sure we can win here.
Kent State: Same here. Win this one.
Northern Illinois: I have to admit, if there's a team the Bronco fans hate as much as Central, it's the Huskies. I think it'll be close, but we come up short again.
Central Michigan: We can win this one. There are fans here who don't consider it a winning season unless we beat the snot out of the Chippewas. Let's make it two-for-two, we keep the Cannon.
Buffalo: Oh, is that who that was? We trample them- I think they're the new Eastern Michigan, honestly.
Eastern Michigan: I think we finally beat them, myself.
That's... a nine-win season, and a 5-2 conference record. Gut says Toledo and Northern Illinois for the conference, but the Broncos play a bowl game somewhere.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
enlightenedbum on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
Also, I don't remember your predictions Munkus. They might have been too obtuse for the format I wanted to go with originally and then forgotten when I scrapped that to cut and paste.
33 - 24 THE Ohio State University.
Excluding golf and track, A&M's mens sports hasn't won a national title in any major sport since 1939. That's a long time to be shitty, and an even longer time to unjustifiably think you're good at anything.
Atomic: Baseball this past decade as well as Basketball has been good for A&M. No, no national championships, but that's not a requirement for being good, otherwise everyone would say the Utah Jazz with Stockton and Malone sucked for years. (hint: they were a very good team)
2009-2010: Texas A&M, 6th
2010-2011: Texas A&M, 8th
That's pretty good.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Damn, Azusa Pacific, let someone else have a turn.
Apparently this happened in a year that Trinity did not get in the top 5.
Pssh.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Yes, their women's soccer has been phenomenal.
Okay...?
Stanford hasn't been at the top for 20 years straight because of their football team.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
But we're talking about football. We're talking about a team that started the year at #9 and barely finished bowl-eligible. We're talking about a school who has a literal mission statement in their songs about only defeating one other school.
Combine that with their storied history of neocon values and overt racism, I'm not entirely sure why anyone would rush to their defense. If one of the greatest coaches in history thought your school was full of a bunch of egomaniacal jackanapes, there's probably a strong case for that to be made.
Bottom line, Aggies love their traditions fiercely. But throwing an attitude of cliquishness and superiority into that mix never looks good, and looks so much worse when you're not exactly known for being all that good at anything.
Fixed that for you.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
God dammit.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
And you can't have one without the other...