Week 7 2015: College picks are graded; results are in! #cfb #cfbpicks

Week 7 was hyped as a big weekend in college football, and I would say it lived up to every bit of the hype and more.  We saw close games between ranked teams and one of the craziest finishes we’ve seen in the history of the sports.  Last week we had many close games which all fell the right way for our panel of expert predictors and prognosticators.  This week many of those close games fell the opposite way, and results this week were the roughest of this season.

Winners this week included solid performances from David Pollack (5-0), Tim Tebow (4-0), Paul Finebaum (5-1), Greg McElroy (4-0), Pat Forde (18-7), and Danny Kanell (10-3).  I enjoy kicking Mark May in the nuts as much as anyone, but he went 3-1 on the week so I give credit where it is due.  Ryen Russillo went 7-1 on the week, including a 3-0 performance against the spread as well.  However, our undisputed winner on the week was none other than Phil Steele at 12-1-1 (and 3-0-1 against the spread!).  He was the only one of our experts to somehow successfully navigate the Stanford-Alabama-Michigan State-LSU-Notre Dame-Oregon terrain.  When people tell me it is easy to pick straight up winners in this game, I ask them to look at a week like this.  Congratulations Phil; we are sending the trophy your way for this week.

Losers this week included Chris Fallica (6-11, 3-7 ATS), Scott Van Pelt (2-3 ATS), and Brad Edwards (3-4, 1-2 ATS), but unfortunately our official loss will go to Dari Nowkah, who went 0-5 on the week and 0-3 against the spread.  His five picks were bundled up together on three games total, so that’s tough to overcome when things go wrong.  Sorry Dari; better luck next week.

Our special guest celebrity Steve Spurrier went 4-6 on the week.  That’s a tough start to a career picking games for someone that we may be seeing on ESPN or Gameday more often in the future.  Jennifer had a tough week, but still booked a winner at 7-5 including an upset special going with Michigan State over Michigan in the Big House.  Lee Corso got his headgear pick wrong, continuing a pretty rough year for headgear picks.  Charley the cat also lost another one, so Charley and Corso stay even this week at 2-5 on the headgear games.

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

Lee Corso: 5-5
WRONG Michigan over Mich St (headgear pick)
WRONG Washington over Oregon (by 12)
WRONG Ariz St over Utah
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC (by 4)
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
WRONG VaTech over Miami Fl
RIGHT Iowa over NW
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT FSU over Louisville (by 1)

Kirk Herbstreit: 8-5
RIGHT LSU over Florida
WRONG Boise St over Utah St
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
RIGHT OU over KState
RIGHT Washington over Oregon
WRONG Ariz St over Utah
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
WRONG Syracuse of UVA
WRONG NW over Iowa
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
RIGHT FSU over Louisville
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan

Desmond Howard: 7-5
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
RIGHT OU over KState
RIGHT LSU over Florida
WRONG Washington over Oregon
RIGHT Utah over Ariz St
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
WRONG Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
RIGHT Iowa over NW
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
WRONG TAMU over Alabama
RIGHT FSU over Louisville
WRONG Michigan over Mich St

Steve Spurrier: 4-6
WRONG NW over Iowa
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
WRONG Florida over LSU
WRONG TAMU over Alabama
RIGHT S.Carolina over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
RIGHT Utah over Ariz St
WRONG Washington over Oregon
RIGHT FSU over Louisville
WRONG Michigan over Mich St

Rece Davis: 0-1
WRONG Ariz St over Utah

David Pollack: 5-0
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
RIGHT OU over KState

Jennifer’s Picks (Shoutout to Sheryl!): 7-5
WRONG Boise St over Utah St
RIGHT Utah over Ariz St
WRONG Washington over Oregon
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
WRONG NW over Iowa
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
RIGHT LSU over Florida
WRONG TAMU over Alabama
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
RIGHT FSU over Louisville
RIGHT Clemson over BC
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan (upset special)

Chris “The Bear” Fallica: 6-11 (3-7 ATS)
WRONG Michigan over Mich St 27-24
RIGHT Michigan vs Mich St Over 40
RIGHT Florida+9.5 vs LSU
RIGHT LSU over Florida 20-17
WRONG TAMU over Alabama 31-24
WRONG TAMU+4.5 vs Alabama
WRONG TAMU+4 vs Alabama (Bear’s Bank)
WRONG Louisville+7 vs FSU
RIGHT FSU over Louisville 23-21
WRONG UCLA+6.5 vs Stanford
WRONG UCLA over Stanford 30-28
RIGHT Utah over Arizona St 34-31
WRONG Ariz St+6.5 vs Utah
WRONG USC over Notre Dame 27-24
WRONG USC+6.5 vs Notre Dame
WRONG USC+4.5 vs Notre Dame (Bear’s Bank)
RIGHT Miami Fl-3.5 vs VaTech (Bear’s Bank)

Scott Van Pelt WINNERS!: 2-3 ATS
WRONG Ariz St+5.5 vs Utah
WRONG USC+5 vs Notre Dame
RIGHT Memphis+10 vs Ole Miss
WRONG Iowa St+20.5 vs TCU
RIGHT Colorado+7.5 vs Arizona

Phil Steele: 12-1-1 (3-0-1 ATS)
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Stanford over UCLA
WRONG NW over Iowa
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
RIGHT TCU over Iowa St
RIGHT Utah over Ariz St
RIGHT Oregon+3 vs Washington
PUSH LSU-7 vs Florida
RIGHT Mich St+7 vs Michigan
RIGHT Alabama-3 vs TAMU (Double play)

Dari Nowkhah: 0-5 (0-3 ATS)
WRONG Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
WRONG Vanderbilt+2.5 vs S.Carolina
WRONG Louisville over FSU
WRONG Louisville+7.5 vs FSU
WRONG TAMU+4.5 vs Bama

Tim Tebow: 4-0
RIGHT S.Carolina over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU

Marcus Spears: 3-1
WRONG Vanderbilt over S.Carolina
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU

Paul Finebaum: 5-1
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT S.Carolina over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou
RIGHT LSU over Florida

Greg McElroy: 4-0
RIGHT S.Carolina over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU

Mike Bellotti: 0-1
WRONG Michigan over Mich St

Mark May: 3-1
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT LSU over Florida
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St

Jon Berger: 1-1
WRONG KState over OU
RIGHT Baylor over WVU

Mack Brown: 2-1
WRONG TAMU over Alabama
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan

Kevin Carter: 1-0
RIGHT UNC over Wake Forest

Stanford Steve Coughlin: 5-5 (2-3 ATS)
RIGHT Mich St+7 vs Michigan
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan 27-24
RIGHT Florida+9.5 vs LSU
RIGHT LSU over Florida 20-11
WRONG TAMU+4.5 vs Alabama
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU 24-21
WRONG Louisville+7 vs FSU
WRONG Louisville over FSU 23-20
WRONG GaTech-3 vs Pitt
WRONG GaTech over Pitt 31-20

Colin Cowherd: 4-4
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
WRONG NW over Iowa
WRONG Michigan over Mich St (by 7)
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG USC over Notre Dame
WRONG Ariz St over Utah

Heather Dinich: 0-2
WRONG NW over Iowa
WRONG Michigan over Mich St

Chris Doering: 3-3
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis 71-45
RIGHT Miss St over LaTech 34-24
WRONG Vanderbilt over S.Carolina 24-20
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou 31-10
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU 38-30
WRONG Florida over LSU 23-21

Brad Edwards: 3-4 (1-2 ATS)
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
WRONG Florida vs LSU under 43.5
WRONG Temple-20.5 vs UCF
WRONG Temple over UCF
RIGHT Wash St-7 vs Oreg St
RIGHT Wash St over Oreg St

Pat Forde: 18-7
WRONG Boise St over Utah St
RIGHT BYU over Cinci
RIGHT Houston over Tulane
RIGHT Clemson over BC
RIGHT FSU over Louisville
WRONG GaTech over Pitt
RIGHT UVA over Syracuse
RIGHT Miami Fl over VaTech
RIGHT TCU over Iowa St
RIGHT OU over KState
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
WRONG Minnesota over Nebraska
RIGHT Iowa over NW
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Wisconsin over Purdue
RIGHT Toledo over E.Michigan
WRONG Washington over Oregon
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT Utah over Ariz St
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
WRONG UConn over USF

Joey Galloway: 7-4
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG UCLA over Stanford
WRONG Kentucky over Auburn
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Iowa over NW
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
WRONG Ariz St over Utah

Lou Holtz: 2-1
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT LSU over Florida

Danny Kanell: 10-3
RIGHT Houston over Tulane
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Mich St+7.5 vs Michigan
RIGHT Iowa over NW 10-7
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT FSU over Louisville (by 14)
RIGHT Florida+7.5 vs LSU
WRONG Florida over LSU
RIGHT Alabama-4 vs TAMU
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT Auburn over Kentucky
WRONG Ariz St over Utah

Trevor Matich: 8-4 (1-2 ATS)
RIGHT Auburn over Kentucky
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Iowa over NW
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Baylor over WVU
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
WRONG Ohio St vs Penn St under 47
RIGHT Notre Dame-5.5 vs USC
WRONG Michigan-7 vs Mich St

Booger McFarland: 5-2
WRONG Vanderbilt over S.Carolina 21-17
RIGHT Georgia over Mizzou 24-13
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis 35-24
RIGHT LSU over Florida 28-24
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU 27-14
RIGHT Miss St over LaTech 31-27
RIGHT Notre Dame over USC

Brent Musberger: 1-0
RIGHT LSU over Florida

Ryen Russillo: 7-1 (3-0 ATS)
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Mich St+7.5 vs Michigan
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Florida+7.5 vs LSU
RIGHT LSU over Florida
RIGHT Alabama-4 vs TAMU
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
WRONG Kentucky over Auburn

Woody Paige: 0-1
WRONG Michigan over Mich St

Mark Schlabach: 1-1
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT LSU over Florida

Jason Sehorn: 5-4
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG USC over Notre Dame
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
WRONG Florida over LSU
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT Iowa over NW
RIGHT FSU over Louisville
RIGHT OU over KState
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis

Robert Smith: 2-2
RIGHT LSU over Florida
WRONG Michigan over Mich St
RIGHT Alabama over TAMU
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis

Clint Stoerner: 0-2
WRONG Ole Miss over Memphis
WRONG Florida over LSU

Andre Ware: 1-0
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St

Week 2 2015: Saturday morning college picks! #cfb

Saturday morning picks are going to be delayed today due to some business which needs to be handled this morning, but we have already gotten off to a good start on this Saturday morning and we will be back later with all of the usual Saturday morning picks!

Lee Corso:
Oregon over Mich St (headgear pick)
OU over Tennessee
LSU over Miss St
S.Carolina over Kentucky
Fresno St+31.5 vs Ole Miss
Ohio St-41 vs Hawaii
Alabama-35 vs MTSU
Michigan over Oregon St
BYU over Boise St

Draymond Green:
Ohio St-41 vs Hawaii
Alabama-35 vs MTSU
Oregon St over Michigan
LSU over Miss St
S.Carolina over Kentucky
OU over Tennessee
Boise St over BYU
Mich St over Oregon

Kirk Herbstreit:
BYU over Boise St
Texas over Rice
OU over Tennessee
LSU over Miss St
Kentucky over S.Carolina
Ohio St-41 vs Hawaii
Alabama-35 vs MTSU
Michigan over Oregon St

Desmond Howard:
BYU over Boise St
Texas over Rice
Notre Dame over UVA
LSU over Miss St
Ole Miss over Fresno St
S.Carolina over Kentucky
Ohio St-41 over Hawaii
MTSU+35 vs Alabama
Michigan over Oregon St
OU over Tennessee
Mich St over Oregon

David Pollack:
OU over Tennessee
LSU over Miss St
Mich St over Oregon
Michigan over Oregon St
BYU over Boise St
Texas over Rice
Notre Dame over UVA

Jennifer’s Picks:
Boise St over BYU
Texas over Rice
Ohio St over Hawaii
Alabama over MTSU
Michigan over Oregon St
LSU over Miss St
S.Carolina over Kentucky
Tennessee over OU (upset special)
Mich St over Oregon

Trevor Matich:
OU over Tennessee
LSU over Miss St
Mich St over Oregon
Michigan over Oregon St

Paul Finebaum:
LSU over Miss St
Tennessee over OU
TAMU over Ball St
Mich St over Oregon
Georgia over Vanderbilt
S.Carolina over Kentucky

Tim Tebow:
Georgia over Vanderbilt
S.Carolina over Kentucky
Tennessee over OU
LSU over Miss St

Marcus Spears:
Georgia over Vanderbilt (close)
S.Carolina over Kentucky
Tennessee over OU

LSU over Miss St

Greg McElroy:
Georgia over Vanderbilt
S.Carolina over Kentucky (close)
OU over Tennessee
Alabama over MTSU
LSU over Miss St
Mizzou over Ark St

Chris Fallica:
Mich St-3.5 vs Oregon
Mich St over Oregon 34-27
OU-1 over Tennessee
OU over Tennessee 38-24
Miss St+4 vs LSU
Miss St over LSU 20-17
UVA+11.5 vs Notre Dame (Bear’s Bank)
UVA over ND 27-24
Ole Miss-30 over Fresno St (Bear’s Bank)
Ole Miss over Fresno St 44-10

Dari Nowkhah:
Boise St over BYU
OU over Tennessee 41-28
Mich St over Oregon 34-31

Cole’s Wholesale Picks:
1 Ohio St over Hawaii
2 Alabama over MTSU
3 TCU over SFA
4 Baylor over Lamar
6 Auburn over Jacksonville St
7 Oregon over 5 Mich St
8 USC over Idaho
9 Notre Dame over UVA
10 Georgia over Vanderbilt
11 FSU over USF
12 Clemson over App St
13 UCLA over UNLV
15 GaTech over Tulane
16 TAMU over Ball St
17 Ole Miss over Fresno St
18 Arkansas over Toledo
20 Boise St over BYU
21 Mizzou over Ark St
22 Arizona over Nevada
23 Tennessee over 19 OU
24 Utah over Utah St
25 Miss St over 14 LSU

Week 11 2014: College Gameday review #cfb #saturdayselections #getup4gameday

The picks are in; the morning games are coming to a close; the afternoon games are about to kick off; it is time for this week’s College Gameday review.  Before we get started, I wanted to share for the record that the new woman shredding on the guitar in the new Gameday intro this year is Lzzy Hale from the band Halestorm.  Lots of interest each week in who she is is or why she is our Gameday intro, and since I don’t think I ever addressed this issue I thought I would do that right now.

Lzzy Hale, comin' to your citaaay
Lzzy Hale, comin’ to your citaaay

Anyways.  This week’s edition came to us live from East Lansing, Michigan for the biggest Big 10 matchup of the year, Michigan State vs. Ohio State.  It was a chilly morning in East Lansing with the balmy weather somewhere around 37 degrees for the show.  It should be noted that Desmond Howard was apparently broadcasting from somewhere in the Arctic circle this morning, or he was at least dressed for it.

Desmond Howard: Prepared for winter
Desmond Howard: Prepared for winter

37 degrees out in the wind is pretty chilly, but I’d like to compare it to what Kirk Herbstreit was wearing this morning:

Herbie with purple lapel rose
Herbie with purple lapel rose

One man wears a normal business suit, and another man is bundled up to explore the North pole.  Was it never cold up there at Michigan when Desmond was busy winning Heismans?  Anyways, another item we need to discuss is Kirk’s lapel rose this morning.  This appears to be a recent trend in weeks where the Gameday crew (and SEC network crew) are sporting lapel roses.  I’m not sure what to make of this, but lots of people are apparently interested, so let’s keep an eye out for Kirk’s lapel rose each week.

While we are on the topic of fashion, let’s review Gameday’s fashion version of the odd couple.  Samantha Ponder was sporting a nice winter outfit this morning which Jennifer was a big fan of.  She loved the jacket, loved the colors, and loved the details on the jacket.  Jennifer said she loves “how sassy Samantha Ponder dresses” in the winter.  She got two thumbs up from Jennifer this week.  Someone who did not get two thumbs up was “Quarterback Guru to the Stars” George Whitfield.  He appeared to be making progress with the matching colors this morning, but was still sporting a tiny coat with a teenie tiny lapel rose.  If he was wearing “those damn brown shoes” as Jennifer calls them, at least they matched this week.  Let’s keep making progress George!

Week 11: Sam Ponder & George Whitfield
Week 11: Sam Ponder & George Whitfield

We had two special feature stories this week, the first of which featured the only appearance of one Tom Rinaldi this week.  It was a rehashing of a 2012 feature on Clemson wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez.  Rodriguez served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and while in Afghanistan made a promise to a fellow soldier named Kevin Thompson that if he ever made it out of there alive he would play D1 college football somewhere.  After a battle in which 8 soldiers were killed, including Thompson, Rodriguez was awarded a purple heart and bronze star.  He returned home and put together a recruiting video with a friend and posted it to the internet.  It caught the eye of Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, who saw an incredible work ethic and desire to play, which was punctuated by the fact that Rodriguez was not asking for a scholarship; only a chance to walk on.  Since then, Rodriguez has played in 37 games straight.  A great quote from Daniel to top it all off:  “What do you do after your dream comes true?  Go and live another dream”.  The segment can be found here:  http://goo.gl/sH9lis

The second feature of the day was presented by Gene W. and was a piece about Arizona State running back D.J. Foster.  Foster’s backstory (like most Gene W. and Rinaldi pieces) is a great story of overcoming adversity.  Foster lost his 19 year old sister at the age of 15, one week before his first ever varsity high school football game.  He made it a point to not give up on living his life, and on the very first play of his varsity career returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.  When it came time to pick a college, he committed to stay close to home and attend Arizona State university, where he has kept the team on the national radar ever since.  The touching finale was the story of the five year anniversary of his sister’s death, when Foster and his father met on the Arizona State practice field to release a bundle of balloons with his sister’s picture attached.  They did this not to mourn her loss, but to celebrate her life.

Now that the touching stories are finished, let’s get to some wacky signs we saw this week in East Lansing.  Strong work this week included “IS THIS THE NICKELBACK CONCERT?”, a bunch of Urban Meyer/Oscar Meyer weiner references, “Urban Meyer doesn’t wet his toothbrush”, and “RUSH HOUR 3 WAS OK”.  This week’s inappropriate winners are the following:

Dantonio makes my nipples hard
Dantonio makes my nipples hard
Urban Meyer stole Tim Tebow's virginity
Urban Meyer stole Tim Tebow’s virginity

And of course…

URBAN MEYER POOPS AT PARTIES
URBAN MEYER POOPS AT PARTIES

Nice work fellas.

When it came time to get down to the business of picking games, Desmond Howard could do nothing right for this Michigan State crowd, as I’m sure you can imagine.  He did manage to get back on track with the “OFFICIAL DESMOND HOWARD MICHIGAN PICK OF THE WEEK”, picking Michigan to take down Northwestern.  The counter is reset this week, so our running count of Michigan picks is back at 1.

Our special guest celebrity this week was Alice Cooper, of rock and roll music fame.  He is from Michigan I guess.  He was very casual and non-chalant with his picks, and didn’t get too technical with his picks.  I feel like the overly technical celebrity pickers tend to underperform, while Katy Perry wins the week for some reason.  Mr. Cooper of course went with Michigan State over Ohio State, to the delight of the crowd, so his casual selections may be a good sign for Sparty.  Desmond and David Pollack both went with Michigan State as well, while Kirk had another no-pick since he is calling the game.  Coach Corso reminisced over his first ever official headgear pick, when he put on the Brutus the Buckeye headgear back in 1996.  This got the crowd fired up, but he quickly changed his tone, as he ripped off his overcoat to reveal green armor, and his assistants put on a gigantic Spartan headgear and set of fake hands for him.  Charley the Cat went with Ohio State, and may be due for a win, so this should be a good matchup between the two.

Courtesy of College Gameday twitter
Courtesy of College Gameday twitter
Charley picks Ohio State!
Charley picks Ohio State!