champion – Cole's Gameday Blog

2025-26 Season: College football analyst final grades!

Posted on January 23, 2026January 23, 2026 by gamedaycole

The 2025-26 college football season is in the books and the picks from our analysts are graded. Below you will find the season standings for picking games straight-up. As is tradition, I arbitrarily select a yearly champion based on vibes.

First and foremost, I’d like to recognize Lee Corso for going 6-0 on his last and only appearance this season in week 1, including a win with his final headgear selection. Congratulations to Lee Corso on a wonderful career spanning the decades.

Without further ado, I have selected the impressive college football writer and podcast superstar Tom Fornelli as this year’s champion. Tom went 254-75 picking games for a 77.2% win rate. I selected Tom because he has the best performance compared to his sample size of selections. Congratulations to Tom Fornelli on a great season picking games.

Others receiving votes including Phil Steele, Stanford Steve, David Hale and Danny Kanell. Congratulations to all of you for great seasons.

Check out the full slate of results below to see how your favorite (or most hated) personality did this season.

Name	Pct	Win	Loss
Lee_Corso	100	6	0
Todd_McShay	100	4	0
Ryen_Russillo	100	2	0
Corso_Headgear	100	1	0
Tom_Luginbill	100	1	0
Mark_Richt	100	1	0
Phil_Steele	81.63	40	9
Steve_Coughlin	79.03	49	13
David_Hale	78.3	83	23
Danny_Kanell	78.26	126	35
Tom_Fornelli	77.2	254	75
Paul_Finebaum	77.19	44	13
Chip_Patterson	75.93	246	78
Ross_Dellenger	75	3	1
Tim_Tebow	74.58	44	15
Shehan_Jeyarajah	74.29	234	81
Andy_Staples	73.91	68	24
Richard_Johnson	73.44	235	85
Chris_Fallica	73.17	30	11
Roman_Harper	71.67	43	17
Greg_McElroy	70.15	94	40
JD_Pickell	69.52	73	32
Josh_Pate	68.82	64	29
Pat_Forde	68.48	63	29
Jimbo_Fisher	68.29	28	13
Dusty_Dvoracek	68.25	43	20
Andrea_Adelson	68.14	77	36
Jordan_Rodgers	67.92	36	17
Dan_Wetzel	67.57	25	12
Pat_McAfee	65.67	88	46
Rece_Davis	65.31	64	34
Kirk_Herbstreit	63.79	74	42
Ralph_Russo	63.08	41	24
Nick_Saban	62.96	85	50
Joel_Klatt	62.79	54	32
Jennifer	62.71	111	66
Matt_Leinart	62.5	5	3
David_Pollack	60.14	83	55
Desmond_Howard	60	81	54
Celebrity_Guest	59.83	70	47
Aaron_Taylor	59.23	77	53
Brett_McMurphy	59.09	13	9
Eric_Mac_Lain	58.54	24	17
Rick_Neuheisel	58.27	74	53
Stewart_Mandel	57.81	37	27
Pete_Thamel	57.61	53	39
Bruce_Feldman	57.53	42	31
EJ_Manuel	57.5	23	17
Ryan_McGee	57.14	4	3
Randy_Cross	57.03	73	55
Brian_Jones	56.49	74	57
Brady_Quinn	55.56	5	4
Scott_Van_Pelt	50	5	5
Urban_Meyer	50	4	4
Colin_Cowherd	42.86	6	8
Mark_Ingram	37.5	3	5
Joey_Galloway	33.33	1	2
Chris_Low	25	1	3
Booger_McFarland	0	0	1
Average	67.93	3292	1554

2020-21 College Football picks are graded, results are in, and champions are crowned!

Posted on January 13, 2021 by gamedaycole

With the 2020-21 College Football Championship complete, our COVID football season is in the books. The picks have been graded. Now we have arrived at a day which is tradition like none other. This is the day where I have a couple of bourbons, look at the results and arbitrarily pick a winner based on undefined and vague criteria.

Without further adieu, I present to you our 2020-21 Season Champions!

Coming in at 39-23 against the spread, an impressive 62.9%, Brady Quinn is your yearly champion! He picked games on a new “Win with Quinn” segment on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, as well as dropping picks for you on CBSSportsHQ.com. Congratulations Brady Quinn on your incredible year!

Coming in at 95-30 picking games straight up on Twitter, David Hale is our yearly champion for picking straight up winners. Others may have had a higher percentage, but he had the highest percentage of pickers with 100+ picks and that’s my trivial criteria this year.

Coming in at 25.42% ROI, up 7.88 units (if all plays were single units), and picking 31 games, Danny Kanell is your first ever GamedayCole.com Money Line yearly champion.

Congratulations to all competitors and I hope to see you all back next year.

2020-21 ATS results:

Name	Pct	Win	Loss	Tie
Tim.Brando.ATS	100	1	0	0
David.Pollack.ATS	66.67	10	5	0
Brady.Quinn.ATS	62.9	39	23	0
Preston.Johnson.ATS	60.48	37	24	1
Doug.Kezirian.ATS	58.62	34	24	0
Trevor.Matich.ATS	58.33	7	5	0
Matt.Youmans.ATS	57.94	36	26	1
Barton.Simmons.ATS	57.5	69	51	0
Scott.Spreitzer.ATS	57.5	23	17	0
Todd.Fuhrman.ATS	57.45	53	39	2
David.Hale.ATS	56.25	71	55	2
Jesse.Palmer.ATS	55.77	14	11	1
Steve.Coughlin.ATS	55.66	29	23	1
Pete.Thamel.ATS	55.22	63	51	1
Mark.May.ATS	54.86	39	32	1
Joey.Galloway.ATS	53.85	14	12	0
Pat.McAfee.ATS	53.85	14	12	0
Dusty.Dvoracek.ATS	53.68	36	31	1
Pat.Forde.ATS	53.42	62	54	1
Lee.Corso.ATS	53.33	8	7	0
Rece.Davis.ATS	53.33	8	7	0
Danny.Kanell.ATS	52.96	71	63	1
Dan.Katz.ATS	52.5	165	149	6
Wes.Reynolds.ATS	51.43	36	34	0
Tom.Fornelli.ATS	51.22	62	59	2
Bruce.Feldman.ATS	50.36	68	67	2
Emory.Hunt.ATS	50	64	64	1
Adam.Kramer.ATS	50	53	53	0
Chip.Patterson.ATS	50	64	64	0
Scott.Van.Pelt.ATS	50	27	27	1
Dave.Portnoy.ATS	49.8	122	123	8
Rico.Bosco.ATS	49.75	99	100	2
Norm.Hitzges.ATS	49.67	74	75	2
Chris.Fallica.ATS	49.38	39	40	2
Stewart.Mandel.ATS	49.37	77	79	2
Dan.Wetzel.ATS	48.23	54	58	1
Bill.Connelly.ATS	47.83	22	24	0
Desmond.Howard.ATS	46.67	7	8	0
Barrett.Sallee.ATS	45.8	103	122	1
Tony.Barnhart.ATS	45.74	43	51	0
Jim.Donnan.ATS	44.44	4	5	0
Phil.Steele.ATS	43.38	29	38	1
Clay.Travis.ATS	41.42	54	77	3
Kirk.Herbstreit.ATS	40	6	9	0
FPI.ATS	40	6	9	0
Rufus.Peabody.ATS	37.5	7	12	1
Joe.Fortenbaugh.ATS	37.04	19	33	2
Colin.Cowherd.ATS	33.33	1	2	0

2020-21 Straight up results:

Name	Pct	Win	Loss
Colin.Cowherd	100	1	0
Paul.Finebaum	100	1	0
Rod.Gilmore	100	3	0
Brett.McMurphy	100	1	0
Todd.McShay	100	1	0
Woody.Paige	100	1	0
Andy.Staples	100	1	0
Scott.Van.Pelt	100	5	0
Danny.Kanell	82.19	60	13
Urban.Meyer	81.25	13	3
Lou.Holtz	80.56	58	14
Mark.May	79.17	57	15
Dusty.Dvoracek	78.95	30	8
Joel.Klatt	78.95	15	4
Jordan.Rodgers	78.57	44	12
Jon.Berger	78.46	51	14
Phil.Steele	77.27	34	10
Jesse.Palmer	76.67	23	7
Tim.Tebow	76.12	51	16
Joey.Galloway	76	19	6
David.Hale	76	95	30
Corso.Headgear	75	12	4
Heather.Dinich	75	3	1
Tom.Luginbill	75	3	1
Booger.McFarland	75	3	1
Steve.Coughlin	74.51	38	13
EJ.Manuel	73.81	62	22
Roman.Harper	73.33	44	16
Pete.Thamel	72.97	54	20
Eric.Mac.Lain	71.08	59	24
Reggie.Bush	70.59	12	5
Greg.McElroy	69.23	18	8
Desmond.Howard	69.18	110	49
Pat.Forde	69.01	147	66
Chris.Fallica	68.89	31	14
Gene.Chizik	68.75	11	5
Brady.Quinn	68.42	26	12
Dan.Wetzel	68.18	60	28
Bruce.Feldman	68.12	94	44
Lee.Corso	67.53	104	50
Andrea.Adelson	65.38	51	27
David.Pollack	65	104	56
Aaron.Taylor	64.96	89	48
Celebrity.Guest	64.83	94	51
Mark.Richt	64.29	54	30
Randy.Cross	64.23	88	49
Adam.Rittenberg	64	16	9
Stewart.Mandel	63.52	101	58
Jennifer	62.7	116	69
Chris.Doering	62.5	10	6
Rick.Neuheisel	60.28	85	56
Kevin.Carter	60	9	6
Matt.Leinart	60	9	6
Kirk.Herbstreit	58.9	86	60
Brian.Jones	58.57	82	58
Emmanuel.Acho	50	1	1
Trevor.Matich	50	11	11
Houston.Nutt	50	8	8
Kevin.Blackistone	0	0	1
Tim.Cowlishaw	0	0	1
Mike.Golic	0	0	1
Mike.Greenberg	0	0	1
Matt.Stinchcomb	0	0	1
Average	68.24	2469	1149

2020-21 Money Line results:

Name	ROI.Pct	Units.Up.Down	N.Picks
Rico.Bosco.ML	390	3.9	1
Preston.Johnson.ML	267	13.35	5
Dave.Portnoy.ML	242.5	4.85	2
Dan.Katz.ML	112	1.12	1
Steve.Coughlin.ML	45.87	1.38	3
Danny.Kanell.ML	25.42	7.88	31
Chris.Fallica.ML	22.93	9.4	41
Tom.Fornelli.ML	18.48	4.62	25
Jon.Berger.ML	14.24	2.42	17
Emory.Hunt.ML	-4.17	-0.25	6
Chip.Patterson.ML	-8.45	-1.86	22
Barton.Simmons.ML	-27.32	-7.65	28
Joe.Fortenbaugh.ML	-40	-1.6	4
Todd.Fuhrman.ML	-100	-1	1
Doug.Kezirian.ML	-100	-5	5

2018-19 College Football Season: Picks are graded. Final results are in; yearly champion is crowned!

Posted on January 8, 2019 by gamedaycole

We have been working tirelessly behind the scenes with our team of scientists, mathematicians, and the boys down in the lab. The numbers have been crunched and the results are in for your 2018-19 college football season. Without further delay, we are proud to announce Stanford Steve Coughlin as our 2018-19 college football picking champion. Steve Coughlin put forth a 65-22 record picking games straight up on his ESPN Chalk column, which is a nice 74.71% picking record. However, Stanford Steve blew the doors off the competition 57-29-1 AGAINST THE SPREAD which is 66.09%. If you followed his picks and invested in them you are probably a millionaire reading this website from your new beachfront property. This is an all-time great performance, so if you see Steve please buy him a drink for me.

Everyone else with more than 10 games picked is below, so enjoy the full 2018-19 grades below.

Straight up records:

	percent.correct	n.correct	n.wrong
Jordan.Rodgers	85%	17	3
Brett.McMurphy	80.65%	25	6
Kevin.Carter	80%	8	2
Matt.Leinart	76.47%	13	4
Paul.Finebaum	75.86%	88	28
Tim.Tebow	75%	51	17
Steve.Coughlin	74.71%	65	22
Chris.Doering	74.60%	47	16
Joey.Galloway	74.36%	29	10
Colin.Cowherd	74.07%	20	7
Rece.Davis	73.33%	11	4
Les.Miles	73.33%	33	12
Lou.Holtz	72.86%	102	38
Heather.Dinich	71.67%	43	17
Jennifer	71.16%	190	77
Phil.Steele	70.87%	163	67
Andrea.Adelson	70.81%	114	47
Marcus.Spears	69.74%	53	23
David.Pollack	69.64%	39	17
Tim.Cowlishaw	69.23%	27	12
Jake.Trotter	68.57%	48	22
Joel.Klatt	67.35%	33	16
Rick.Neuheisel	67.16%	45	22
Jonathan.Vilma	66.67%	12	6
Dusty.Dvoracek	66.04%	35	18
Mark.Schlabach	65.96%	62	32
Lee.Corso	65.91%	145	75
Dari.Nowkhah	65.22%	15	8
Greg.McElroy	65%	39	21
Jesse.Palmer	64.86%	24	13
Chris.Fallica	64.80%	81	44
Corso.Headgear	64.71%	11	6
Trevor.Matich	64.71%	11	6
Dave.Wannstedt	64.29%	9	5
Pat.Forde	64.06%	82	46
Kirk.Herbstreit	64.02%	137	77
Houston.Nutt	64%	16	9
Chris.Low	63.64%	35	20
Celebrity.Guest	63.41%	130	75
Pete.Thamel	62.63%	62	37
Brian.Jones	62.03%	49	30
Aaron.Taylor	61.43%	43	27
Randy.Cross	61.33%	46	29
Desmond.Howard	61.18%	145	92
Andy.Staples	61.06%	127	81
Bruce.Feldman	60.30%	120	79
Robert.Smith	60%	9	6
Ryan.McGee	60%	36	24
Mark.May	59.44%	85	58
Adam.Rittenberg	59.18%	58	40
Emmanuel.Acho	58.82%	10	7
Ivan.Maisel	58.33%	35	25
Stewart.Mandel	56.16%	114	89
Danny.Kanell	53.85%	21	18
Gene.Chizik	50%	6	6
Dan.Orlovsky	29.41%	5	12

ATS Records:

	% Correct	n.correct	n.wrong	n.tie
steve.coughlin.ats	66.09%	57	29	1
dusty.dvoracek.ats	62.65%	52	31	0
brett.mcmurphy.ats	60.19%	32	21	1
phil.steele.ats	58.78%	129	90	3
rufus.peabody.ats	58.55%	44	31	1
kirk.herbstreit.ats	57.69%	7	5	1
danny.kanell.ats	56.33%	43	33	3
doug.kezirian.ats	56.10%	23	18	0
adam.kramer.ats	55.56%	49	39	2
jeff.ma.ats	55.07%	38	31	0
todd.fuhrman.ats	54.95%	60	49	2
rico.bosco.ats	54.69%	69	57	2
dave.portnoy.ats	54.59%	110	91	6
scott.spreitzer.ats	54.55%	42	35	0
rece.davis.ats	53.85%	7	6	0
chris.fallica.ats	52.27%	57	52	1
lee.corso.ats	50%	6	6	1
scott.van.pelt.ats	49.17%	58	60	2
dan.katz.ats	48.22%	80	86	3
dari.nowkhah.ats	46.67%	7	8	0
stewart.mandel.ats	45.99%	73	86	3
pat.forde.ats	44.26%	53	67	2
tim.cowlishaw.ats	43.38%	28	37	3
pete.thamel.ats	42.21%	51	70	1
bruce.feldman.ats	41.46%	64	91	3
jake.trotter.ats	41.18%	7	10	0
desmond.howard.ats	37.50%	4	7	1