Week 1 2016: College football weekday picks! #CFB #CFBPlayoff

It is once again time to get weekly picks going for this season.  Preseason picks are in the books, and we will be revisiting those in a few months, so in the meantime week 1 picks are starting to come in.  We will be updating this post for the next few days with more weekday picks, and as always we will be back Saturday morning for all of those delicious Saturday morning picks from College Gameday, SEC Nation, Dari & Mel, and whoever else shows up.

UPDATED 9/3

Andrea Adelson:
Miami FL over FAMU
Clemson over Auburn
FSU over Ole Miss
UNC over UGA
GT over BC
Louisville over Charlotte
Wake Forest over Tulane
NC St over W&M
Syracuse over Colgate
VT over Liberty
Pitt over Villanova
UVA over Richmond
Duke over UNC Central
Miami FL over FAMU

Charles Arbuckle:
Houston over OU
UCLA over TAMU
Alabama over USC
Clemson over Auburn
Texas over ND
LSU over Wisconsin
FSU over Ole Miss
UNC over Georgia

Mike Bellotti:
Texas over Notre Dame

Lee Corso:
NDSU over Charleston So.
BC over GT

Stanford Steve Coughlin: (Behind the Bets Podcast 8/31)
LSU over Wisconsin
LSU vs Wisconsin over 44.5
OU over Houston
OU vs Houston over 68
OU-11.5 vs Houston (if he had to pick a side)
TAMU-3 vs UCLA
TAMU over UCLA
Notre Dame over Texas
ND vs Texas Under 60
Fordham+26.5 vs Navy
CSU ML vs Colorado
FSU over Ole Miss

Colin Cowherd:
Alabama over USC 31-13
Stanford over KState (closer than 15)
OU over Houston (close)
LSU over Wisconsin
UCLA over TAMU
UNC over Georgia
Clemson over Auburn
Notre Dame over Texas
Ole Miss over FSU

Heather Dinich:
FSU over Ole Miss

Chris Doering:
Mizzou over WVU 31-30
LSU over Wisconsin 27-10
TAMU over UCLA 33-31
Georgia over UNC 34-20
Clemson over Auburn 31-23
Alabama over USC 35-9

Dusty Dvoracek:
Stanford over KState
Notre Dame over Texas
OU over Houston
LSU over Wisconsin
USC+11 vs Alabama
LSU-10.5 vs Wisconsin
UCLA+3 vs TAMU
Texas+3.5 vs ND
OU-11.5 vs Houston

Brad Edwards:
Texas over Notre Dame

Chris “The Bear” Fallica: (Behind the Bets Podcast 8/31)
LSU over Wisconsin 33-17
LSU vs Wisconsin over 44.5
OU over Houston
OU-11.5 vs Houston
UCLA over TAMU
Tx St+21 vs Ohio
UNC over UGA
UNC ML vs UGA

Paul Finebaum: Predicted no upsets in top 10
ND over Texas (CFB Live 8/19)
Alabama over USC
Clemson over Auburn
OU over Houston
LSU over Wisconsin
Ohio St over BGSU
Michigan over Hawaii
Stanford over KState
Tennessee over App St
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina

Pat Forde:
FSU over Ole Miss
UNC over Georgia
Colorado over CSU
Mich St over Furman
Stanford over KState
Baylor over NW St
Georgia over UNC
Virginia over Richmond
GT over BC
WVU over Mizzou
Iowa St over N Iowa
Okla St over SE Louisiana
Iowa over Mia (OH)
Michigan over Hawaii
Ohio St over BGSU
LSU over Wisconsin
Boise St over UL-Lafayette
BYU over Arizona
Oregon over UCD
Washington over Rutgers
Wash St over EWU
Florida over Mass
S.Miss over Kentucky
Alabama over USC
Arkansas over LaTech
Clemson over Auburn
Houston over OU
UCLA over TAMU
TCU over S. Dakota St
NIU over Wyoming
SMU over UNT
Notre Dame over Texas

Joey Galloway:
Clemson over Auburn
Georgia over UNC
OU over Houston
LSU over Wisconsin
Alabama over USC
FSU over Ole Miss
Colorado over CSU

Kirk Herbstreit:
UNC over Georgia (Twitter 8/25)
NDSU over Charleston So.

Desmond Howard:
NDSU over Charleston So.

Jennifer’s Picks:
NDSU over Charleston So.

Danny Kanell:
Michigan over Hawaii
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
Alabama over USC
OU over Houston
UNC over Georgia
LSU over Wiscsonsin
Ole Miss over FSU
OU-11.5 vs Houston
UCLA+3 vs TAMU
Wisconsin+11 vs LSU
UNC+3 vs Geoergia
USC+11.5 vs Alabama
Auburn+7.5 vs Clemson

Joel Klatt:
Colorado over CSU

Greg McElroy:
Texas over ND (CFB Live 8/19)
Alabama over USC
Arkansas over LT
Clemson over Auburn
UNC over Georgia
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
Tennessee over App St

Booger McFarland:
LSU over Wisconsin 31-13
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
Alabama over USC 24-3
Clemson over Auburn 45-21
Georgia over UNC 17-14
Ole Miss over FSU
Mizzou over WVU 21-17
TAMU over UCLA 35-28

Brett McMurphy:
Alabama over USC
Clemson over Auburn

Todd McShay:
Texas over Notre Dame

Dari Nowkhah:
FSU over Ole Miss

David Pollack:
NDSU over Charleston So.
LSU over Wisconsin

Jordan Rodgers:
Florida over UMass
Kentucky over S.Miss
FSU over Ole Miss
WVU over Mizzou
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina

Ryen Russillo:
OU over Houston
TAMU over UCLA
Clemson over Auburn
OU-11.5 vs Houston
TAMU-3 vs UCLA
Wisconsin+11 vs LSU
UNC+3 vs Georgia
USC+11.5 vs Alabama
Clemson-7.5 vs Auburn

Mark Schlabach:
SDSU over New Hampshire

Jason Sehorn:
OU over Houston
Georgia over UNC
Alabama over USC
Texas over ND
FSU over Ole Miss

Robert Smith:
Stanford over KState

Marcus Spears:
Florida over UMass
Georgia over UNC
LSU over Wisconsin
Miss St over S.Alabama
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
Tennessee over App St

Phil Steele:
Texas over Notre Dame
Cal over Hawaii 46-26 (High scoring game of the week)
Alabama over USC (by two touchdowns)
LSU over Wisconsin (by two touchdowns)
OU over Houston
Georgia over UNC
Clemson over Auburn
UCLA over TAMU
FSU over Ole Miss
Michigan over Hawaii

Matt Stinchcomb:
WVU over Mizzou
Tennessee over App St
Vanderbilt over S.Carolina

Clint Stoerner:
Alabama over USC
Arkansas over LT
Clemson over Auburn
Kentucky over S.Miss
FSU over Ole Miss
Miss St over S.Alabama

Tim Tebow:
S.Carolina over Vanderbilt
Tennessee over App St

Scott Van Pelt:
W.Michigan+5 vs NW
Auburn+7.5 vs Clemson
Houston+11.5 vs OU
SJSU+5 vs Tulsa
Texas+3.5 vs ND

Dave Wannstedt:
Stanford over KState

 

 

 

2015-16 Preseason predictions reviewed #cfb

Now is the time for us all to reflect back to the 2015 preseason where we can all look at our bold predictions (and yes, MANY were bold) and laugh at ourselves for thinking that we knew anything about anything when it came to predicting the 2015 season.

For starters, pretty much nobody was even close on any predictions for the playoff and/or championship. The best anyone did was Tom Luginbill, who correctly predicted two of the four teams in the playoff (Alabama and OU). Other than that, most people didn’t even get one team right.

On Heisman predictions, nobody even had Derrick Henry on their radar, so let’s move on.

Brad Edwards knocked the ball out of the park, going 7-2 on the season totals bets. Really impressive stuff. Chris Fallica also had a winning record at 9-7 on the totals.

Things are graded pretty arbitrarily below and not included in our official record, but we can still have some fun with it. Looking back, most people below tried to get pretty cute with their preseason picks (myself included), and cute usually doesn’t end up winning. Take a look below, have some laughs, and enjoy.

Lee Corso: Not even close, 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG SEC to have 2 teams or 0 teams in playoff
WRONG Notre Dame 8 wins
WRONG FSU over VaTech in ACC Championship
WRONG Baylor to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10
WRONG Oregon to win Pac-12
WRONG LSU to win SEC
WRONG Leonard Fournette to win Heisman
0/4 Final Four:  Ohio St over Oregon, LSU over Baylor
WRONG LSU over Ohio St for Championship

Kirk Herbstreit: 2 right predictions, 1 partial, 1/4 playoff teams
PARTIAL CREDIT Arizona St over Stanford in Pac-12 Championship
WRONG LSU over Tennessee in SEC Championship
RIGHT Notre Dame to go 10-2 (Twitter 8/24)
WRONG Ezekiel Elliott to win Heisman (8/26 Twitter)
WRONG Michigan 8 wins at most
WRONG GaTech over FSU to win ACC
RIGHT OU to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10 over Wisconsin
1/4 Ohio St vs. OU, Ariz St vs. LSU
WRONG Ohio St vs. LSU
WRONG Ohio St to win Championship

Desmond Howard: 2 right, 1/4 playoff teams
Recycled his Brady Hoke hiring speech for Jim Harbaugh
WRONG Notre Dame 9 wins
WRONG VaTech to win ACC
WRONG TCU to win Big 12
RIGHT Michigan State to win Big 10
RIGHT Stanford to win Pac-12
WRONG TAMU to win SEC
0/4 Final Four: TCU, Mich St, Stanford, TAMU
WRONG Stanford wins championship

Jennifer’s Picks: 1 right, 0/4 playoff teams
RIGHT Clemson to win ACC
WRONG TCU to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10 (but watch out for Michigan St!)
WRONG Arizona St to win Pac-12
WRONG Auburn to win SEC
WRONG SEC Champion to have 2 losses
0/4 Final Four: (1) Ohio St vs. (4) Mich St, (2) TCU vs. (3) Ariz St
WRONG TCU over Ohio St for Championship

Cole’s Picks: Couldn’t have been more wrong, 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG GaTech to win ACC
WRONG Auburn to win SEC
WRONG Texas to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10
WRONG Oregon to win Pac-12
0/4 Final Four: Oregon, Auburn, Ohio St, Texas
WRONG Oregon over Texas, Auburn over Ohio St
WRONG Oregon over Auburn for Championship

Charles Arbuckle: 2 right predictions, 1 partial
RIGHT Duke under 9 wins
WRONG FSU wins ACC
WRONG No ACC in playoff
RIGHT Stanford over 9 wins
WRONG UCLA over USC
PARTIAL Stanford over UCLA in Pac-12 championship (wrong LA team)

Mike Bellotti: 1 right prediction, 1/4 playoff teams, 1/5 Heisman favorites
RIGHT Duke under 9 wins
WRONG FSU wins ACC
WRONG No ACC in playoff
WRONG Stanford under 9 wins
WRONG USC to win Pac-12
1/4 Final Four: (1) Ohio St, (2) TCU, (3) Alabama, (4) USC
1/5 Heisman Favorites: (1) Trevone Boykin, (2) Ezekiel Elliott, (3) Deshaun Watson, (4) Nick Chubb, (5) Cody Kessler

Kevin Carter: 1 right
RIGHT OU at least 9 wins
WRONG Baylor wins Big 12
WRONG Auburn best chance for SEC to make playoff

Stanford Steve Coughlin: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: Winner of USC/UCLA, Ohio St, Auburn, FSU

Colin Cowherd preseason over/unders: 1 right, 1 push
WRONG ND at 9 wins or less, trap bet
PUSH Arkansas over 8 wins
WRONG Michigan under 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9 wins
RIGHT Nebraska under 8 wins

Ed Cunningham: 1 right
RIGHT Notre Dame over 9 wins
WRONG Texas under 7 wins

Rece Davis: 1 right
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9.5 wins

Heather Dinich: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: Auburn, Ohio St, TCU, USC

Chris Doering:
WRONG Miss St to go 6-6

Brad Edwards: 7 right
WRONG Vanderbilt under 3.5 wins (best bet)
RIGHT Tennessee over 8 wins (best bet)
RIGHT S. Carolina under 6.5 wins (best bet)
WRONG Arkansas 8-4
WRONG Auburn over 8 wins
RIGHT Georgia over 8 wins
RIGHT Kentucky under 5.5 wins
RIGHT LSU over 8.5 wins
RIGHT Ohio St over 11.5 wins
RIGHT FSU over 9.5 wins
WRONG Okla St to win Big 12

Chris Fallica: 9-7 on totals, 0/4 playoff teams
PUSH TAMU over 8 wins (best bet)
RIGHT Florida over 7 wins (best bet)
WRONG Alabama under 9.5 wins (best bet)
WRONG Arkansas 8-4
WRONG Auburn over 8 wins
RIGHT Georgia over 8 wins
WRONG Kentucky over 5.5 wins
WRONG LSU under 8.5 wins
RIGHT Ole Miss over 8.5 wins
RIGHT Miss St over 7 wins
WRONG Mizzou over 7.5 wins
RIGHT Ohio St over 11.5 wins
RIGHT FSU over 9.5 wins
RIGHT OU over 8.5 wins
WRONG Clemson under 9.5 wins
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
RIGHT USC under 9.5 wins
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St, UCLA, TAMU, Louisville

Paul Finebaum: 1/4 playoff teams
RIGHT One team possible to make playoff from SEC: Winner of Iron Bowl
WRONG TAMU to go 9-3

Pat Forde: 1/4 Playoff teams
1/4 Final Four:  Ohio St, TCU, Alabama, UCLA

Joey Galloway: 2 right predictions
WRONG Ohio St undefeated
WRONG USC/UCLA meet undefeated
WRONG Michigan at 7 wins
WRONG Notre Dame under 9.5 wins
RIGHT OU over 8.5 wins
WRONG Clemson under 9.5 wins
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9.5 wins

Mike Greenberg final four: 0/4 playoff teams (only picked three)
WRONG Ohio St
WRONG TCU
WRONG Georgia

Mike Golic final four: 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG Ohio St
WRONG TCU
WRONG LSU
WRONG Stanford

Danny Kanell: 3 right, 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG Notre Dame 9 wins
WRONG Texas over 7 wins
WRONG Ohio St to go undefeated
WRONG Michigan at 8 wins
RIGHT OU over 8.5 wins
RIGHT Clemson over 9.5 wins
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9.5 wins
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St, UCLA, Baylor, Georgia

Tom Luginbill: 2/4 playoff teams
RIGHT Alabama best chance for SEC to make playoff
2/4 Final Four: (1) Ohio St, (2) OU, (3) Alabama, (4) USC

Trevor Matich: 1/4 playoff teams
1/4 Final Four: Ohio St, Oregon, Alabama, Baylor
WRONG Baylor to win championship
WRONG Seth Russell for Heisman

Greg McElroy: 1/4 playoff teams
WRONG Kentucky to go 6-6
WRONG S.Carolina to go 6-6
WRONG Miss St to go 6-6
WRONG Mizzou to 9-3
WRONG Tennessee to go 10-2
1/4 Four teams possible to make playoff from SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas

Ryan McGee: WRONG
WRONG SEC West winner has two losses

Brett McMurphy: WRONG
WRONG USC to make playoff

Todd McShay: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: LSU, TCU, Oregon, Ohio St
WRONG Oregon over Ohio St in championship
WRONG Trevone Boykin for Heisman

Jesse Palmer:
WRONG Tennessee to win SEC East

Ryen Russillo: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St, USC, TCU, Auburn

Robert Smith: WRONG
WRONG Auburn to make playoff

Clint Stoerner:
WRONG Arkansas to go 9-3

Jason Sehorn: 1 right
RIGHT 10 wins for OU
WRONG TCU to win Big 12

Robert Smith: Oops
WRONG SEC to miss playoff

Phil Steele: 3 right, 1/4 playoff teams
WRONG Utah St 9 wins in regular season
WRONG Boise St to top the “Group of 5” in bowls
1/4 Final Four: Ohio St, Alabama, TCU, USC
WRONG Cody Kessler to win Heisman
RIGHT Miami Fl over 7 wins
WRONG VaTech over 8 wins
RIGHT LSU over 8.5 wins
RIGHT LSU starts 8-0 (we are crediting the McNeese St win)

Marcus Spears:
1/4 Four teams possible to make playoff from SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU

Matt Stichcomb:
WRONG Kentucky to go 9-3

Clint Stoerner:
WRONG Mizzou to go 8-4

Scott Van Pelt: 0/4 playoff teams
Ohio St
TCU
Mich St
USC

Dari Nowkhah Playoff Predictions: 0/4 playoff teams
(1) Ohio st over (4) Auburn
(2) TCU over (3) Stanford,
(2) TCU over (1) Ohio st 27-23
Georgia to win SEC East, not make playoff

Dari Nowkhah Heisman predictions: WRONG
1. Trevone Boykin
2. Nick Chubb
3. Cody Kessler

Dari Nowkhah Big 10 Predictions: WRONG
Ohio St to win Big 10
Michigan as sleeper
Minnesota overrated
Ezekiel Elliott Player of the Year

Dari Nowkhah SEC Predictions: WRONG
Auburn to win SEC
Arkansas as sleeper at 10 wins
Alabama overrated
Nick Chubb as player of the year

Dari Nowkhah ACC Predictions: WRONG
FSU to win ACC
UNC as sleeper
Louisville overrated
Justin Thomas as player of the year

Dari Nowkhah Big 12 Predictions: WRONG
TCU to win Big 12
KState as sleeper
Nobody is overrated
Trevone Boykin as player of the year

Dari Nowkhah Pac-12 Predictions: RIGHT (on the champion)
Stanford to win Pac-12
Utah as sleeper
Oregon overrated
Cody Kessler player of the year
Boise St undefeated

Mel Kiper Jr. Playoff Predictions: 0/4 playoff teams
(2) TCU over (3) USC
(4) Auburn over (1) Ohio St
(2) TCU over (4) Auburn

Mel Kiper Jr. Heisman Predictions: WRONG
1. Trevone Boykin
2. Ezekiel Elliott
3. Jeremy Johnson

Mel Kiper Jr. Big 10 Predictions: WRONG
Ohio St to win Big 10
Michigan as sleeper
Minnesota overrated
Ezekiel Elliott player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. SEC Predictions: WRONG
Auburn to win SEC
Tennessee as sleeper
S. Carolina overrated
Nick Chubb player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. ACC Predictions: WRONG
FSU to win ACC
UNC as sleeper
Miami (Fl) overrated
Deshaun Watson player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. Big 12 Predictions: WRONG
TCU to win Big 12
Oklahoma St as sleeper
KState overrated
Trevone Boykin as player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. PAC-12 Predictions: WRONG
USC to win Pac-12
Arizona St as sleeper
UCLA overrated
Cody Kessler player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. miscellaneous predictions:
Boise St to lose 1 or 2 games

2015-16 Season results and champion Phil Steele! #cfb

The 2015-16 season of college football brought excitement and many hours wasted in front of the television, and it is with great sadness that we now enter the offseason.  However, that also means that it is time to crown the 2015-16 GAMEDAYCOLE.COM SEASON CHAMPION!!!  Competition was fierce this year, with 4,271 picks tracked this year and an average correct pick rate of 70.03% on the season.  We had 33 competitors eligible for this year’s championship, and it is without further adieu that I present to you our 2015-16 season champion, Mr. Phil Steele!

Phil Steele: 2015-16 Champion
Phil Steele: 2015-16 Champion

Mr. Steele finished off this season with a record of 597-174 straight up and 121-105-2 against the spread, which comes out to 77.03% straight up and 53.54% against the spread.  I don’t know what his secret is to picking games.  Maybe it is his computer.  Maybe it is the mustache.  Maybe it is the fact that he hasn’t slept since June due to football.  Whatever it is, it works.  Congratulations Phil.  You can now add this to your long and impressive resume, and no doubt impress acquaintances at cocktail parties with this accolade.

There are plenty of other notes to get to for this season’s wrap up.  As you may notice, Greg McElroy topped the straight up percentages on the year at 84.54% with a record of 82-15 on the year.  While this is impressive and deserving of congratulations, he was hurt by the limited number of games he picked, and the fact that his picks are almost entirely SEC conference picks.  Phil Steele had a much larger body of work, and combined with his win rate against the spread that was enough to vault him over McElroy on the season.  Next year we will probably have a separate award for the experts focusing on a single conference, but it is too late to be starting that nonsense right now.

Lee Corso’s headgear picks on the year were his worst year on record.  He went 6-12 on the year in the headgear picks due to some tough breaks and close losses on underdogs.  Charley the Cat had a season on par with Coach Corso, and ended up squeezing out a 7-11 season to beat Corso on the year picking games.  Gameday Jen had her best season on record, going 153-59 (72.17%) on the year, so watch out Phil; she is coming for you!  Maybe next year we’ll have her pick against the spread and make us some money.  Our Gameday guest celebrities had an abysmal year at 56.39% picking games straight up this year.  Maybe you shouldn’t be trusting Rick Ross, the Philly Phanatic, or Eric Church for your betting advice after all.

You can see the full rankings below to see how everyone else did on the year.  We will be putting together a recap of preseason predictions this week to see how great everyone’s preseason picks surely went, so keep an eye out for that and much more to come.

Straight Up SU % ATS ATS %
Greg McElroy 82-15 84.54%
Phil Steele 597-174 77.03% 121-105-2 53.54%
Paul Finebaum 78-27 74.29%
Pat Forde 256-89 73.99%
Andrea Adelson 84-30 73.68%
Booger McFarland 80-32 72.73%
Tim Tebow 45-17 72.58%
Trevor Matich 68-26 72.34% 14-21-1 40.00%
Jennifer 153-59 72.17%
Jason Sehorn 82-33 71.30%
Kirk Herbstreit 120-49 71.01%
Marcus Spears 55-23 70.51%
Brad Edwards 89-38 70.08% 22-20-1 52.38%
Colin Cowherd 73-32 69.52%
David Pollack 71-32 68.93%
Joey Galloway 93-43 68.38%
Robert Smith 49-23 68.06% 10-17-0 37.04%
Mark May 23-11 67.65%
Kevin Carter 38-19 66.67%
Jon Berger 32-16 66.67%
Todd McShay 33-17 66.00%
Danny Kanell 88-47 65.19% 20-23-0 46.51%
Desmond Howard 111-60 64.91%
Chris Fallica 77-42 64.71% 71-67-3 51.45%
Lee Corso 101-56 64.33%
Ryen Russillo 46-27 63.01% 23-19-0 54.76%
Scott Van Pelt 5-3 62.50% 34-35 49.28%
Joel Klatt 105-64 62.13%
Celebrity Guests 75-58 56.39%
Dari Nowhkah 46-36 56.10% 10-8-0 55.56%
Lou Holtz 13-11 54.17%
Stanford Steve Coughlin 42-37 53.16% 40-44-3 48.19%
Season Average 2925-1250 70.06% 365-359-10 50.41%