October 2014 – Page 5 – Cole's Gameday Blog

Week 7 2014: Weekday picks are coming in! #saturdayselections

Posted on October 9, 2014 by gamedaycole

Another Thursday means it is time for more picks on this weekend’s upcoming games. The early picks are starting to trickle in and we will be updating as more and more come in, so check back often for the latest updates.

Disclaimer: Weekday picks may vary by Saturday. Use at your own risk.

Edit: The slate of picks is going to be light this week. Cole’s Gameday Blog has taken our show on the road this weekend, so resources are limited. Next week we will be back in full force.

Lou Holtz:
Oregon over UCLA
Baylor over TCU
Auburn over Miss St
Ole Miss oveor TAMU

Colin Cowherd:
OU over Texas 36-20
Georgia over Mizzou 24-23
Duke over GaTech 28-27
Auburn over Miss St 33-30
Baylor over TCU 40-27
ND over UNC 33-20
Mich St over Purdue 42-13
Oregon over UCLA 38-37
Alabama over Arkansas 27-20
TAMU over Ole Miss 28-23
Arizona over USC 27-26

Phil Steele:
Stanford over Wash St
NW over Minnesota
Marshall over MTSU
Georgia over Mizzou 27-24
Ole Miss over TAMU 34-31
Auburn over Miss St 34-27
Ole Miss over TAMU 34-31
Baylor over TCU 34-31
UCLA over Oregon 37-34
FSU over Syracuse 38-10
Arizona over USC 31-28
Alabama over Arkansas 37-20
UTSA over FIU 27-10
Utah St over AF 27-24
Florida over LSU 23-20

Mike Bellotti:
FSU over Syracuse
Georgia over mizzou
Ole Miss over TAMU
Bama over Arkansas
Auburn over Miss St
Baylor over TCU
Oregon over UCLA
USC over Arizona

Charles Arbuckle:
Auburn over Miss St
Ole Miss over TAMU
Arizona over USC
Baylor over TCU
UCLA over Oregon

Ryen Russillo:
USC over Arizona
Oregon over UCLA

Jason Sehorn:
FSU over Syracuse
Auburn over Miss St
TAMU over Ole Miss
USC over Arizona
~~Arizona over USC~~ (yesterday)
TCU over Baylor
Mizzou over Georgia
Oregon over UCLA

Jon Berger:
Mizzou over Georgia
Auburn over Miss St
Ole Miss over TAMU
TCU over Baylor
UCLA over Oregon

Danny Kanell:
Auburn over Miss St
Baylor over TCU

Joey Galloway :
Auburn over miss st
TCU over Baylor
Tamu over Bama
Oregon over ucla

Tim Cowlishaw:
Auburn over Miss St

Bill Plaschke:
Auburn over Miss St

Trevor Matich:
TCU over Baylor
TAMU over Ole Miss
Miss St over Auburn
Arizona over USC
Mizzou over Georgia

Robert Smith:
TCU over Baylor
Ole Miss over TAMU
USC over Arizona
Auburn over Miss St 31-28
OU over Texas
ND over UNC
Alabama over Arkansas
UCLA over Oregon

Skip Bayless:
Miss St over Auburn 31-30
Ole Miss over TAMU 28-20
TCU over Baylor 33-27
Alabama over Arkansas

Stephen A. Smith:
Miss St over Auburn 33-28
Ole Miss over TAMU 31-23
TCU over Baylor
Alabama over Arkansas

Todd McShay:
Auburn over Miss St
Ole Miss over TAMU
Baylor over TCU

Chris Fallica:
TCU over Baylor 27-24
Miss St over Auburn 30-24
Ole Miss over TAMU 33-31
FSU over Syracuse 37-20
UCLA over Oregon 38-28
Washington over Cal
Arizona over USC

Pat Forde:
Stanford over Wash St
Clemson over Louisville
GaTech over Duke
Miami Fl over Cinci
FSU over Syracuse
Okla St over Kansas
Mizzou over Georgia*
OU over Texas
NW over Minnesota
Mich St over Purdue
Wisconsin over Illinois
Arizona over USC
Washington over Cal
Oregon over UCLA
LSU over Florida
Alabama over Arkansas
Miss St over Auburn
Baylor over TCU
TAMU over Ole Miss
WVU over TTU
ND over UNC
ECU over USF

*Pat Forde picked Mizzou over Georgia as his upset pick of the week, but picked Georgia over Mizzou in his Yahoo Pick’em. We are going with the upset pick of the week because it was actual video evidence of himself picking Mizzou. Take it or leave it.

Week 6 2014: Results are in, picks are graded, possibly NSFW #SaturdaySelections

Posted on October 5, 2014 by gamedaycole

Boy oh boy. We had an interesting day yesterday in college football. You probably heard about it. People often like to tell me how easy it is to pick winners straight up in this game, but I haven’t heard from any of those experts today. The results from this week are pretty bad and pretty weird. Winners this week are few and far between. They include Desmond Howard (8-5), David Pollack (6-3), Tim Tebow (4-2) and Phil Steele (10-6). However, this week’s undisputed champion is Katy Perry for some reason, who came in at 7-2. She nailed both the Miss St and Ole Miss upsets, as well as the Notre Dame win over Stanford. I am not sure that we have had an undisputed weekly winner from the celebrity guest realm since I started tracking this nonsense, so congratulations to Katy Perry I guess.

Losers this week can be found by opening any phone book and pointing to a random name. However, more specifically, our big losers this week include Kirk Herbstreit (3-10), Dari Nowkhah (0-4), Mel Kiper Jr. (1-3), Brett McMurphy (1-3), Robert Smith (2-4), Mark May (1-4), Danny Kanell (1-4), Trevor Matich (1-3), Brad Edwards (1-3), with many others slightly under .500 this week. We will split the official loss this week between Herbie and Dari I guess.

Other notes from this week: You already know our special guest celebrity was Katy Perry, who despite having no valuable input on any of her picks, went 7-2 on the week. Lee Corso lost his headgear pick this week, going with Alabama over Ole Miss, dropping him to 6-1 on the season. Tim Tebow only went 4-2 this week, bringing him to a lousy 22-3 record on the year. Jennifer managed to end up on the winning side this week, going 7-5, but the real exciting news is that she hit on a double upset special picking Ole Miss over TCU to win their games. There were ridiculous victory dances performed in our living room as one would expect. Charley the Cat got her pick right this week, and I have never seen her more confident in a pick when digging into her blue Ole Miss bowl yesterday morning. That brings her to 5-1 on the year. The “Desmond Howard Michigan Pick of the Week” did not pay off this week, with Rutgers taking down the Wolverines. That brings him to 12-14 all time. Darius Rucker made a surprise appearance on ESPNU’s The Edge this week, and since he is a former Gameday picker, I included his 0-2 record in the official stat sheet. Butch Davis showed up randomly this week to make three picks (1-2) for the first time in over two years, so welcome back Butch.

Other than that, there’s lots of picks below, so check them out to see how your favorite (or most hated) personality did this week. Chances are, it wasn’t good.

Lee Corso: 6-8
RIGHT Rutgers over Michigan
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Wisconsin over NW
WRONG Navy over AF
WRONG Stanford over ND
WRONG UCLA over Utah
WRONG USC over Ariz St
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Florida over Tennessee
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss (headgear pick)

Kirk Herbstreit: 3-10
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
WRONG Michigan over Rutgers
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
WRONG Wisconsin over NW
WRONG Navy over AF
WRONG Stanford over ND
WRONG UCLA over Utah
WRONG USC over Ariz St
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG OU over TCU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss

Desmond Howard: 8-5
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
WRONG Wisconsin over NW
RIGHT AF over Navy
RIGHT ND over Stanford
WRONG UCLA over Utah
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
RIGHT TCU over OU
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Michigan over Rutgers
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss

Katy Perry: 7-2
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT Rutgers over Michigan
RIGHT ND over Stanford
RIGHT Ole Miss over Alabama

Darius Rucker: 0-2
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss

Jennifer’s Picks: 7-5
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
WRONG UCLA over Utah
WRONG USC over Ariz St
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT Rutgers over Michigan
WRONG Stanford over ND
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Ole Miss over Alabama (upset special)
RIGHT TCU over OU (upset special)

David Pollack: 6-3
RIGHT FSU over Wake Forest
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT ND over Stanford
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG Michigan over Rutgers
RIGHT Florida over Tennessee

Phil Steele: 10-6
WRONG Oregon over Arizona
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Bama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Marshall over Old Dominion
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
RIGHT Auburn over LSU (best bet of the week)
RIGHT Notre Dame over Stanford
RIGHT FSU over Wake Forest
WRONG USC over Ariz St
RIGHT Georgia over Vanderbilt
WRONG WKU over UAB
WRONG Cal over Wash St (upset special)
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
RIGHT ECU over SMU

Tim Tebow: 4-2
RIGHT Georgia over Vanderbilt
WRONG S.Carolina over Kentucky
RIGHT Florida over Tennessee
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU

Marcus Spears: 3-3
RIGHT Georgia over Vanderbilt
WRONG S.Carolina over Kentucky
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU

Paul Finebaum: 3-3
RIGHT Georgia over Vanderbilt
WRONG S.Carolina over Kentucky
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU

Dari Nowkhah: 0-4
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG OU over TCU
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame

Mel Kiper Jr.: 1-3
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame

Greg McElroy: 2-3
WRONG Bama over Ole Miss
WRONG OU over TCU
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Notre Dame over Stanford
RIGHT Auburn over LSU

Booger McFarland: 1-2
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Auburn over LSU

Chris Fallica: 3-3
RIGHT ND over Stanford
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG UNC over VaTech
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT NW over Wisconsin
RIGHT Clemson over NC St

Brett McMurphy: 1-3
WRONG Wisconsin over NW
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG OU over TCU

Kevin Carter: 6-6
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Florida over Tennessee
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
WRONG Michigan over Rutgers
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame
WRONG USC over Ariz St
WRONG Miami Fl over GaTech
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Baylor over Texas

Colin Cowherd: 6-4
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
RIGHT ND over Stanford
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT KState over TTU
WRONG USC over Ariz St
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska

Scott Van Pelt: 2-1
RIGHT TCU over OU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Auburn over LSU

Ryen Russillo: 2-3
WRONG Tennessee over Florida
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU

JA Adande: 1-0
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU

Jackie MacMullen: 0-1
WRONG TAMU over Miss St

Charles Arbuckle: 3-4
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Clemson over NC St
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Stanford over ND
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska

Jon Berger: 3-3
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
RIGHT ND over Stanford
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska

Robert Smith: 2-4
WRONG Bama over Ole Miss
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska

Brian Griese: 2-3
WRONG Bama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Mich st over Nebraska

Heather Dinich: 0-1
WRONG Oregon over Arizona

Lou Holtz: 2-3
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Nebraska over Mich St
RIGHT Notre Dame over Stanford

Mark May: 1-4
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Bama over Ole Miss
WRONG LSU over Auburn
WRONG Stanford over ND
WRONG Nebraska over Mich St

Brad Edwards: 1-3
WRONG OU over TCU
WRONG Bama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Stanford over ND

Trevor Matich: 1-3
WRONG OU over TCU
WRONG Bama over Ole MIss
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
WRONG Stanford over ND

Danny Kanell: 1-4
WRONG BYU over Utah St
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
WRONG Tennessee over Florida

Joey Galloway: 0-1
WRONG OU over Baylor

Jason Sehorn: 1-0
RIGHT FSU over Wake Forest

Mike Bellotti: 3-4
RIGHT FSU over Wake Forest
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
WRONG TAMU over Miss St
WRONG Stanford over ND
WRONG OU over TCU

Butch Davis: 1-2
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame

Pat Forde: 16-9
RIGHT Louisville over Syracuse
WRONG BYU over Utah St
RIGHT Clemson over NC St
RIGHT FSU over Wake Forest
WRONG Miami Fl over GaTech
RIGHT Ohio St over Maryland
RIGHT VaTech uver UNC
RIGHT UVA over Pitt
RIGHT KState over TTU
RIGHT Okla St over Iowa St
RIGHT Purdue over Illinois
RIGHT Mich St over Nebraska
WRONG Wisconsin over NW
WRONG USC over Ariz St
WRONG UCLA over Utah
RIGHT Georgia over Vanderbilt
WRONG S.Carolina over Kentucky
RIGHT Florida over Tennessee
RIGHT Auburn over LSU
WRONG Alabama over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over TAMU
RIGHT Baylor over Texas
WRONG OU over TCU
RIGHT ECU over SMU
WRONG Stanford over Notre Dame

Week 6 2014: College Gameday Review #SaturdaySelections #GetUp4Gameday

Posted on October 4, 2014 by gamedaycole

I have always found it strange that of all the places College Gameday has visited throughout the years, they never managed to make it to The Grove in Oxford, Mississippi. Surely if someone had asked you (and you aren’t an Ole Miss follower) you would have guessed that they would have visited what some have called the Holy Grail of tailgating sites at SOME point in 2+ decades, but for some reason it never happened. Until today.

The show today was broadcasting live from the Grove, for the big matchup between Ole Miss and Alabama. As the show opened, we viewed shots of various tailgating scenes in the Grove, and we saw what I would describe as many large bottles of wine, champagne, beer, and various cocktails which make up the breakfast of any champions. The Gameday crew opened up the show looking incredibly sharp this morning, sporting nice southern suits and bow-ties. While they were all looking sharp, I thought we could expect a much stronger performance from Desmond’s suit game this morning.

While we are on the talk of fashion, let’s go straight to the “Sam Ponder Outfit Review of the Week featuring @GamedayJen”. Jennifer said “The jacket is nice, the skirt is bright and eye catching, the shoes (not pictured) went well with it, and her hair always looks good”. I think Sam Ponder may have a secret admirer.

The sign game this week was pretty good. Signs of note included one of Kirk Herbstreit’s face pasted on Colonel Reb (which I couldn’t get a clear shot of), “Welcome to the Grove. Please don’t poison our trees”, “Welcome people of Wal-Mart”, “If you can read this sign you’er clearly not a Bama fan”, but we had several winners this week.

After a commercial break, we were brought back to a Tom Rinaldi piece on Dak Prescott, Mississippi State QB, and how his tough upbringing has taught him to have a true work ethic. His mother Peggy was a single mother raising three young boys, and she taught them to work hard in life not through words but through actions as she worked so hard to support her children. Even with her work schedule of so many hours to keep food on the table, she never missed one of their football games. Dan Mullen told the story of his recruiting trip to see Dak, and how Peggy was very tough and demanding, but in a nice way. She told him that if Dak comes to Mississippi State, that she wants a coach who is going to make sure her son goes to class every day and gets good grades above anything else. Soon after deciding on Mississippi State, Peggy was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and fought through a harsh battle hoping for a miracle. However, last November, Dak was called into the coaches’ office after a loss to South Carolina and told that his mother had passed away. After sitting out for a month with a hurt shoulder, his return saw him lead the Bulldogs to a victory over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. Inspiring stuff from Tom Rinaldi as usual.

In today’s overly casual roundtable segment (where they leave the desk and go sit in chairs ten feet away to discuss more football), Chris Fowler started off firing shots at Desmond and his love of Michigan. Fowler was holding a classy red solo cup having a drink, and told Desmond to take it because “you’ll need it… we’re talking Michigan”. The guys debated the Michigan situation with Brady Hoke, and more opinions were heard, but the highlight was Desmond staying true to his Michigan blood and being an apologist for Brady Hoke.

Gene W. had a piece on Ameer Abdullah. The gist of this segment was that Abdullah listens to John Mayer, he is small, he is good (Cris Carter said the most NFL-ready player since Randy Moss), and he is going to finish his degree in December. Good kid.

This week instead of a Tom Rinaldi Beatnik Poetry piece, we had the story of ESPN writer Wright Thompson and his family’s Ole Miss season tickets entitled “Section O, row 61”. He still holds the season tickets for the seats his father purchased some 40 years ago after painstaking research in the stadium to find the ultimate location. Lots of cool old footage from SEC games of the past.

Tom Rinaldi was back again later with a piece on Amari Cooper, who grew up in poverty in Coconut Grove, Florida. He was the son of a single mother with four brothers, and they were raised with a strong work ethic which drove him to the heights he has seen this year. Surely I’m not the only one who saw parallels to his earlier piece on Dak Prescott, as well as countless previous pieces about student athlete X overcoming poverty to become a star.

Other random thoughts and notes from today’s edition included a Cooper Manning sighting on the Grove, footage of Hugh Freeze dancing with his players, and today’s chef of the day, John Currence.

One other item I’d like everyone to keep an eye on is the continued momentum gains we are seeing from Tom Rinaldi. He no longer just does Beatnik Poetry and an occasional tear jerking segment. Now he is doing multiple segments, interviewing coaches, and taking us to and from commercial breaks occasionally. I have no real evidence to support this theory, but I think we may be seeing Tom Rinaldi being primed to fill Chris Fowler’s spot someday if Fowler ever decides to retire from his duties to focus on his duties as the new Brent Musberger, or covering big time tennis tournaments. Just keep an eye on this and we may revisit this in a few years.

Today’s show was a very football-centric show with so many great games on the schedule. There was no Babi-Mac, no George Whitfield filling a generic segment, no Bald Man on Campus, and surprisingly no Jameis Winston arrest stories this week. There was a brief discussion of the “SEC Swoop”, or as some prefer to call it, “Bama Bangs, as well as the fashion of today’s pageantry in the Grove. If you are unfamiliar with the SEC Swoop or Bama Bangs, it is basically the Justin Bieber starter kit you see below.

Now, I am certainly one who supports goofy tailgating attire to show your school spirit and celebrate the day, but being a man with little-to-no fashion sense, I have to speak up about the over-use of boat shoes in such a setting. I have three questions I would ask myself before wearing boat shoes out anywhere (if I owned any): Are you on a boat? Are you about to be on a boat? Were you just on a boat? If the answer is no to all three questions, let’s ease up on the boat shoes guys.

Alright enough fashion advice from someone with no fashion sense. Let’s get down to the business at hand, which is the picks. The boys on the show were once again going rapid fire with the picks today, which is incredibly exciting if you like hearing picks or if you run a blog dedicated to tracking picks. In “TODAY’S MICHIGAN PICK OF THE DAY FEATURING DESMOND HOWARD”, we saw Desmond Howard once again pick Michigan to overcome that 3 point spread against Rutgers, and go into New Jersey today to pick up a big(?) win over Rutgers. After last week’s pick, he is now 12-13 all time picking Michigan. I guess you have to keep taking shots at this point if you’re Desmond Howard. Anyways, this week’s special guest celebrity picker was Katy Perry, who is apparently a HUGE Ole Miss fan despite not going there and never having been to a college football game in her life as well as having no real connections to the school. She was escorted to the desk by roughly 20 state troopers, bringing Hot Toddys for the Gameday boys at the desk while wearing what can only be described as a chicken feather pink/purple football jersey. She proceeded to drunkenly pick games, ask if TCU/OU was “the game with the Cocks”, produce an oversized novelty pencil to point in Lee Corso’s face, throw corn dogs at the camera to indicate she likes Auburn over LSU, and pick Ole Miss to win today. She was asked if she was in talks to perform at the Superbowl, to which she replied that she may be in talks, but would never pay the NFL for that opportunity, so “the ball is in their field now”. Alright then. Desmond and Kirk both picked Alabama, as well as David Pollack. Charley the Cat went with the upset of Ole Miss over Alabama. Lee Corso’s big headgear pick saw him choose Alabama over Ole Miss, as he donned the elephant headgear. We closed the show as drunk Katy Perry pulled it off his head and threw it on the ground before throwing more corn dogs at the camera. A truly cringe-worthy guest picker. Enjoy your day and have a happy football!

Oh and don’t forget….