2012 – Page 8 – Cole's Gameday Blog

Beano Cook Picks

Posted on November 5, 2012 by gamedaycole

For those of you who are regular followers of this blog (i.e. probably nobody) you may notice a new addition to the all time rankings on the Hall of Champions page. With the recent passing of Beano Cook, I decided to bring him into the rankings as a tribute to the man. For those of you who don’t know, Beano Cook was one of the original hosts of College Gameday when they launched their studio show in 1987. This was definitely before I was aware of college football, and I know him more from his work on ESPNU podcasts with Ivan Maisel and showing up to do a weekly segment on the Herd. I was always amused by this grumpy old man and thought it was funny how out of touch with pop culture he was on some subjects and how up to date he was on others. From everything I’ve read about his time on Gameday, he was sort of the celebrated clownish ringleader figure in those early years that Lee Corso has become today (which we all love). When Beano passed away, I started a top secret project to bring Beano Cook to my rankings since I run a College Gameday blog and he was one of the originals on the show. I went dug through the darkest corners of ESPN.com’s podcast center and listened to every ESPNU and Herd podcast I could featuring Beano Cook to get his picks from years past. This took us all the way back to 2005 and brought us all the way up to the early 2012 season wtih his Penn State predictions for this year. Along with that, we also got plenty of picks from his co-host Ivan Maisel so we have also welcomed him to the rankings. I wish I could find more picks from Beano Cook, especially going back to his days on College Gameday, but for the time being this will be his all time record.

Date	Right	Wrong
10/8/2005
Penn St over Ohio St	1	0
10/15/2005
ND over USC	0	1
10/22/2005
Bama over Tennessee	1	0
LSU over Auburn	1	0
Texas over TTU	1	0
11/5/2005
VaTech over Miami	0	1
11/12/2005
Bama over LSU	0	1
Florida over S.Carolina	0	1
Georgia over Auburn	0	1
11/19/2005
Michigan over Ohio St	0	1
12/3/2005
UCLA over USC	0	1
9/30/2006
Iowa over Ohio St	0	1
11/2/2006
Louisville over WVU	1	0
11/4/2006
Miami over VaTech	0	1
TAMU over OU	0	1
Cal over UCLA	1	0
11/18/2006
Ohio St over Michigan	1	0
USC over Cal	1	0
ND over Army	1	0
2006-2007 Bowl Season
Florida over Ohio St	1	0
2007-2008 Bowl sEason
OU over WVU	0	1
LSU over Ohio St	1	0
Georgia over Hawaii	1	0
Texas over Ariz St	1	0
TAMU over Penn St	0	1
Bama over Colorado	1	0
Tennessee over Wisconsin	1	0
Florida over Michigan	0	1
USC over Illinois	1	0
Kansas over VaTech	1	0
10/4/2008
Wisconsin over Ohio St	0	1
10/11/2008
UNC over ND	1	0
10/18/2008
Mich St over Ohio St	0	1
10/25/2008
Penn St over Ohio St	1	0
Texas over Okla St	1	0
11/8/2008
LSU over Bama	0	1
12/6/2008
USC over UCLA	1	0
2008-09 Bowl Season
OU over Florida	0	1
9/5/2009
Minnesota over Syracuse	1	0
9/12/2009
Ohio St over USC	0	1
Notre Dame over Michigan	0	1
9/19/2009
Florida over Tennessee	1	0
Arkansas over Georgia	0	1
9/26/2009
Oregon over Cal	1	0
10/3/2009
UCLA over Stanford	0	1
10/10/2009
LSU over Florida	0	1
Bama over Ole Miss	1	0
Iowa over Michigan	1	0
Ohio St over Wisconsin	1	0
Washington over Arizona	1	0
10/17/2009
ND over USC	0	1
Texas over OU	1	0
Wisconsin over Iowa	0	1
Maryland over UVA	0	1
10/24/2009
Mich St over Iowa	0	1
10/31/2009
Oregon over USC	1	0
Florida over Georgia	1	0
11/7/2009
ND over Navy	0	1
11/14/2009
Pitt over ND	1	0
11/21/2009
Arizona over Oregon	0	1
11/26/2009
Texas over TAMU	1	0
11/28/2009
OU over Okla St	1	0
S.Carolina over Clemson	1	0
12/3/2009
Oregon over Oreg St	1	0
12/5/2009
Florida over Bama	0	1
12/27/2009
Clemson over Kentucky	1	0
1/7/2010
Bama over Texas	1	0
9/4/2010
Michigan over Uconn	1	0
9/11/2010
Stanford over UCLA	1	0
9/18/2010
Washington over Nebraska	0	1
9/25/2010
Arkansas over Bama	0	1
10/20/2010
Iowa over Penn St	1	0
OU over Texas	1	0
10/9/2010
Michigan over Mich St	0	1
10/15/2010
Colorado over Baylor	0	1
10/23/2010
Notre Dame over Navy	0	1
Bama over Tennessee	1	0
10/30/2010
Oregon over USC	1	0
Auburn over Ole Miss	1	0
Iowa over Mich St	1	0
Florida over Georgia	1	0
11/6/2010
Texas Tech over Mizzou	1	0
11/12/2010
Notre Dame over Utah	1	0
11/20/2010
Colorado over Kstate	1	0
11/27/2010
Clemson over S.Carolina	0	1
9/3/2011
Georgia over Boise St	0	1
9/10/2011
Bama over Penn St	1	0
9/17/2011
Nevada over SJSU	1	0
9/24/2011
Georgia over Ole Miss	1	0
10/1/2011
UNC over ECU	1	0
10/8/2011
OU over Texas	1	0
10/15/2011
Miss St over S.Carolina	0	1
10/22/2011
NC St over Virginia	1	0
10/29/2011
Miss St over Kentucky	1	0
11/5/2011
LSU over Bama	1	0
11/12/2011
Penn St over Nebraska	0	1
11/19/2011
Tennessee over Vanderbilt	1	0
11/26/2011
Virginia over VaTech	0	1
12/3/2011
Okla St over OU	1	0
2011-12 BCS Championship
Bama over LSU	1	0
Week 1 (9/1/2012)
Penn St over Ohio	0	1
Week 2 (9/8/2012)
Penn St over Virginia	0	1
Week 3 (9/15/2012)
Penn St over Navy	1	0
Week 4 (9/22/2012)
Penn St over Temple	1	0

60.58%	63	41

Week 10 2012: Results are in!

Posted on November 5, 2012 by gamedaycole

It was a fantastic Saturday of football this week, as I’m sure you know. Four big games that all had big potential and all delivered spectacularly. Our experts did pretty well this week, with several of them going undefeated this week. There were lots of stickers and gold stars issued this week while grading picks. That being said, things were VERY close to turning out very differently. If LSU or Notre Dame didn’t completely collapse, or if Oregon had been slowed down just a bit by USC, or if several other close games turned out differently we would be looking at results like last week. Anyways, star performances this week go to Mike Bellotti at 9-1, Tom Luginbill at 6-0, Colin Cowherd at 6-1, and Kirk Herbstreit at 11-2. Our celebrity guest Lolo Jones did a mediocre 6-4 to nobody’s surprise. Losers this week include BCS guru Brad Edwards at 3-5, Todd McShay at 3-3 (who missed a DOUBLE upset special), and Jason Sehorn at 8-5. I’d also like to say Matt Stinchcomb WELCOME TO THE .500 CLUB! He went 4-0 to break 50% finally. Dropped from the rankings this week is Brock Huard because he only has ten games in my record and never shows up to pick anything. Brock, you have been Matt-Millened. Check below for the full results and find your favorite or most hated personality.

Update: I somehow managed to completely miss this week’s big winner. Lee Corso blew the roof off this thing going 14-0 including the Whittier over Occidental pick. Coach still has it going on for sure.

Mike Bellotti: 9-1
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Bama over LSU
WRONG WVU over TCU
RIGHT Michigan over Minnesota
RIGHT Florida over Mizzou
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St

Matt Stinchcomb: 5-0
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Bama over LSU

Tom Luginbill: 6-0
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT Utah over Wash St
RIGHT Florida over Mizzou

Charles Arbuckle: 4-0
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Clemson over Duke

Jason Sehorn: 8-5
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT OU over Iowa St
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG Tulsa over Arkansas
RIGHT GaTech over Maryland
WRONG WVU over TCU
WRONG TTU over Texas
WRONG Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
WRONG Arizona over UCLA
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT KState over Okla St

Iowa Nice Guy:
WRONG Iowa over Indiana
RIGHT Bama over LSU
WRONG Iowa St over OU
WRONG Michigan St over Nebraska

Colin Cowherd: 5-1
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Notre Dame over Pitt
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Florida over Mizzou
WRONG TTU over Texas

Pat Forde: 19-8
RIGHT Washington over Cal
RIGHT Clemson over Duke
WRONG NC St over Virginia
WRONG WVU over TCU
RIGHT Stanford over Colorado
WRONG Iowa St over OU
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Indiana over Iowa
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
WRONG Minnesota over Michigan
RIGHT Ohio St over Illinois
WRONG Purdue over Penn St
RIGHT LaTech over UTSA
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT UCLA over Arizona
RIGHT Florida over Mizzou
RIGHT Georgia over Ole Miss
WRONG Tulsa over Arkansas
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT Cinci over Syracuse
RIGHT Louisville over Temple
RIGHT ND over Pitt
WRONG Boise St over SDSU
RIGHT UCF over SMU

Mark Schlabach: 0-1
WRONG Arizona over UCLA

Michael Smith: 4-0
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT KState over Okla St

Bill Plaschke: 0-1
WRONG USC over Oregon

Bob Ryan: 2-0
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT Kstate over Okla St

Woody Paige: 1-1
RIGHT Oregon over USC
WRONG LSU over Bama

Robert Smith: 7-3
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
WRONG WVU over TCU
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
WRONG Arizona over UCLA
RIGHT Washington over Cal

Christian Fauria: 6-4
WRONG LSU over Bama
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
WRONG WVU over TCU
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
RIGHT UCLA over Arizona
WRONG Purdue over Penn St

Mark May: 3-2
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT Oregon over USC
WRONG Okla St over KState
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT Notre Dame over Pitt

Lou Holtz: 3-1
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT KState over Okla St
WRONG USC over Oregon
RIGHT Notre Dame over Pitt

Brian Griese: 3-1
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT KState over Okla St
WRONG TTU over Texas

Ryen Russillo: 1-1
RIGHT Oregon over USC
WRONG WVU over TCU

Skip Bayless: 1-0
RIGHT Bama over LSU

Dari Nowkhah: 10-3
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT OU over Iowa St
WRONG Tulsa over Arkansas
RIGHT GaTech over Maryland
WRONG WVU over TCU
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
RIGHT UCLA over Arizona
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT KState over Okla St

Mel Kiper Jr.: 2-1
WRONG LSU over Bama
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St

Todd McShay: 3-3
WRONG Miss St over TAMU
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Bama over LSU
WRONG Arizona over UCLA*
WRONG Ariz St over Oregon St*

Trevor Matich: 7-1
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT Georgia over Ole Miss
RIGHT ND over Pitt

Brad Edwards: 3-5
WRONG Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT ND over Pitt
WRONG Boise St over SDSU
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT Oregon over USC
WRONG Kentucky over Vanderbilt

David Pollack: 3-3
RIGHT Oregon over USC
WRONG Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
WRONG Okla St over KState
RIGHT Bama over LSU

Desmond Howard: 7-3
WRONG Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Bama over LSU
RIGHT Whittier over Occidental
RIGHT ND over Pitt
WRONG Arizona over UCLA
RIGHT Georgia over Ole Miss

Kirk Herbstreit: 11-2
RIGHT Whittier over Occidental
RIGHT OU over Iowa St
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT Oregon over USC
WRONG Arizona over UCLA
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Georgia over Ole Miss
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
RIGHT Michigan over Minnesota
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
RIGHT Bama over LSU

Lee Corso: 14-0
RIGHT Whittier over Occidental
RIGHT Texas over TTU
RIGHT ND over Pitt
RIGHT UCLA over Arizona
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Georgia over Ole Miss
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT OU over Iowa St
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
RIGHT Michigan over Minnesota
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
RIGHT Bama over LSU (headgear pick)

Lolo Jones: 6-4
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT KState over Okla St
WRONG Iowa St over OU
WRONG Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
RIGHT Michigan over Minnesota
RIGHT Oregon overe USC
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
WRONG LSU over Bama

Jennifer’s Picks: 11-3
RIGHT ND over Pitt
WRONG Boise St over SDSU
RIGHT Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Georgia over Ole Miss
RIGHT TAMU over Miss St
WRONG TTU over Texas
RIGHT KState over Okla St
RIGHT OU over Iowa St
RIGHT Penn St over Purdue
RIGHT Michigan over Minnesota
RIGHT Oregon over USC
RIGHT Oregon St over Ariz St
RIGHT Clemson over Duke
WRONG LSU over Bama (upset special)

Week 10 2012: Gameday review #saturdayselections

Posted on November 3, 2012 by gamedaycole

Its about noon here and we are in the middle of the morning slate of games, and that means we’ve put another edition of College Gameday in the record books. Today the show was broadcasting live from Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the huge matchup between #1 Alabama and #5 LSU. While LSU has a ridiculous winning record at home (something like 36-1 in their last 37, forgive me if I’m wrong), it is the Alabama Crimson Tide who are about an 8 point favorite going on the road. We opened this morning with Chris Fowler welcoming us to the show and doing some quick clerical duty running down the day’s schedule before handing off the hosting duties to Samantha Steele. Samantha Steele tweeted this morning that she went to Chik-fil-a and witnessed a toddler fight in the playplace as well as a girl fight in the bathroom regarding Alabama. Sounds about right for Baton Rouge. Today her outfit was another FABULOUS one according to Jennifer. She said she would like to have this shirt. However, one must bring up the question: WHY ARE YOU WEARING WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY? I MEAN COME ON, IS THIS AMATEUR HOUR?

samsteelewk102 — Week 10: Samantha Steele

This morning we got a good bit of BCS Guru Brad Edwards breaking down potential scenarios based on future wins and losses. He did a segment on both the early hour on ESPNU as well as the main show on ESPN later on. He seemed to think that aside from Alabama, Kansas State is in the drivers’ seat as far as making the championship game (should everyone in the running win out). The Big 12 is #1 in the computer rankings, so the KState strength of schedule is giving them the edge. Notre Dame may have a pretty good resume on paper, but most of their tough games are behind them. Oregon’s strength of schedule is peaking at the right time, but with Oregon State and USC losing, the Ducks winning out might not be enough to jump an undefeated Kansas State. We are assuming a lot here. Can’t wait to see how it ends up.

We got a replay of the De’anthony Thomas/Black Mamba/Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion piece from about a month ago as filler material this morning. Snoop discovered Thomas at one of his football league games and gave him a nickname: The Black Mamba. The best morning segment today for me was when David Pollack and Samantha Steele were joined by GIGANTIC HUMAN BEING TREVOR MATICH. They were breaking down matchups between the defensive line and offensive line in todays’ games. David Pollack looked terrified pretending to go up against someone the size of Trevor Matich. Keep in mind that in the picture below David Pollack is 6’2”.

trevormatich2 — Trevor Matich: Large human being

Coming back from commercial we got some great video of local Louisiana residents doing whatever boat things they do in the swamp. You can tell I know what I’m talking about here. The highlight of this quick segment was footage of someone who they said was a former Louisiana Tech quarterback from a while back. Seems about right.

To close out the first hour on ESPNU, we got some picks from Desmond Howard and David Pollack. They both went with Bama over LSU to some nice booing from the crowd. You can generally tell how live the crowd is each week based on how much they boo these two. As the main show kicked off on ESPN, Fowler and the crew sent Samantha Steele to the bus and David Pollack to use the internet and tweet at the rubes. This week Pollack arrived to the internet in the Batmobile. I wish it had been the 1960s Batmobile.

pollacinternetwk102 — Pollack likes Batman, likes internet

Early on in the show we got a breakdown of the big game today: the Battle for Myron Claxton’s shoes. They just couldn’t wait til the end of the show to break down the Occidental/Whittier matchup, and neither could I. The predictions were unanimous with Corso, Herbie and Des all picking Whitter over Occidental. I think that’s a solid pick. Before we get to the signs of the day, I do have to ask the question: Where were the Alabama fans? Every time they showed the crowd it seemed like a sea of yellow and purple. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention, but I wonder what the crowd will look like for the game tonight. Anyways, the highlights of the signage today include the LSU “If we lose do we get a re-do?” sign, the “Miles eats grass taller than Saban” sign, and the “Saban is a Keebler elf” sign. Today’s runner up was the “Alabama claims Lance Armstrong’s Titles” sign. This might have won, except that it was too late. Texas A&M already claimed those titles.

signofthedaywk10b2 — Sorry, A&M already claimed the titles

Today’s official sign of the day has to be the following, presented without comment once again.

We got another piece of beatnik poetry from Tom Rinaldi quiet-talking about the deeper meanings of a loss. He asked coaches about how they handle losses and how they eulogize them in the locker room after the game. They said lots of things about not taking it out on the players, about moving forward, appreciating the wins, and how it can be like a death. Tom Rinaldi summed it up by saying losing is worse than death because it happens more than once. Alright then.

rinaldi-beatnik — Beatnik Tom Rinaldi performing live

We also got a piece by Gene W. about Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. Apparently he grew up wanting to go to USC, but that didn’t work out. Instead, Chip Kelly offered him a scholarship to Oregon before Mariota ever even started a game. His response to Chip’s offer was “are you sure?” I’m not sure that is the response I would give to such an offer. We also got a Bald Man on Campus with Scott Van Pelt featuring AJ McCarron. Apparently when he was young he made a list of things he wanted to be as a grown up, including football player, fireman, and car man (whatever that is). The highlight of this segment was that McCarron said that when Nick Saban comes down on you hard “you feel as small as him”. Lol.

samlolo — Sam Steele & Lolo Jones just because

But let’s get serious. Its time to get down to the business at hand. It is time for picks. The experts are leaning 20 to 3 in favor of Alabama over LSU as of mid-day today. The full slate of picks can be found HERE for your reference. Today’s special guest celebrity is former LSU track star Lolo Jones who was brought in to see if she could top Ryan Lochte’s performance. She had some delightful insight including saying she could beat Denard Robinson in a foot race. Since Denard Robinson is out with an injury today, that’ll go nicely with the rest of her sprinting challenges to injured football players. I mean, she already knows she could easily beat Eric Legrand. Anyways, she had little to contribute to the football discussion other than picking Kansas State over Oklahoma State because they wear purple like LSU. Des and Dave both went with Alabama, and Herbie joined them riding the Crimson Tide. Would coach Corso go with the home crowd favorite in LSU, or the actual favorite Alabama? He had Sweet Home Alabama pumped through the speakers as he went back and forth egging on the crowd. He finally chose Alabama over LSU to an overwhelming boo. As he donned the headgear, Herbie wasn’t quite as scared as he was of live animals, but he continues to be awkward each week leaning away from Corso. Another great Gameday. Enjoy your Saturday.