Week 3 2015: College Gameday review! #cfb

After a hiatus last week due to some extracurricular activities last Saturday, the Officially Unofficial College Gameday Review is back for week 3!  Today’s College Gameday was broadcasting to your television live in color from Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the big matchup between Alabama and Ole Miss.

Let’s dive right into this week’s sign game.  The SEC has historically been a strong conference for Gameday signage, and today was no letdown.  Highlights this week include “WE WANT JACKSONVILLE STATE”, “Chad Kelly shaves his arms”, and “Make sure you’re on the potty before you go hotty toddy”.  My favorites this week were the following:

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Lulz

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I’m not really sure why

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This guy has it going on

Send this man Bitcoin!
Send this man Bitcoin!
The Sam Ponder outfit of the week was a unique one for sure.  She said she was already reconsidering her choice about fifteen minutes into the show today because a fan yelled out “NICE SCRUBS SAM!”  Jennifer said its a good color on her, but not her favorite.

Sam Ponder: Week 3
Sam Ponder: Week 3
George Whitfield was back this week to break down some QBs for us.  The only takeaways I had from this were his dedication to wearing tiny rosettes on his suits, and not understanding why every one of these segments is now done while walking the Gameday site.  I guess they just want you to know how casual they are during this segment.  NOTICE THE CASUALNESS!

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Kirk, David and Desmond in particular engaged in a somewhat controversial discussion about Florida head coach Jim McElwain’s sideline behavior last week with Kelvin Taylor.  While all agreed that it was excessive, David was the the reasonable voice saying that he was yelled at plenty during his career and didn’t think it was deserving of suspension or discipline.  Desmond Howard was highly criticized on the internets for seemingly trying to work up a situation where both himself and ESPN can take a strong moral stand against this type of behavior.  I may have not played a down of football past the 8th grade, but I find it hard to believe that Desmond never took a tongue lashing from a coach.  While most of the heat was targeted at Desmond in particular, I have a bone to pick with Kirk Herbstreit over his comments on the topic.  During his own lecture, he said that coaches like Bear Bryant, Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes would never have gone as far as Jim McElwain did last week.  I’m no expert on Woody Hayes (or any other subject for that matter), but I would think if you are trying to contrast Jim McElwain with a legendary level-headed coach, you might not choose one that ended his own career by punching a student athlete during a game.

.There was a segment highlighting the quick rise of BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum.  This is a 22 year old true freshman who was the MVP of the Elite 11 QB camp (over one Jameis Winston), but went on his Mormon Mission spending two years away from his family, friends, and game of football before returning to pull out two miracles this year at the end of games.  Will he make it three in a row?  We certainly hope so.

Tom Rinaldi did a Tom Rinaldi piece on former Nebraska running back and current Kern Valley State Prison inmate Lawrence Phillips.  I know Rinaldi loves putting together stories to touch your heart, whether it is a tragic fall from grace or a story of overcoming adversity.  I felt this one fell a little flat, considering it was pretty much the story of a truly great athlete who had a hobbies including domestic violence, assault, vandalism, and most recently being charged with murder while incarcerated.  Normally Rinaldi’s stories of falls from grace have a redeeming quality at the end, but I wasn’t feeling it for this one.  Sorry Tom.

On the other hand, we had a more inspiring story of Laquon Treadwell’s return after disaster last season.  You may remember him as the Ole Miss wide receiver who seemingly scored the winning touchdown in a showdown between #3 Ole Miss and #4 Auburn last season.  Upon further review, it couldn’t have been farther from the truth.  It was ruled he fumbled at the 1-yard-line while being taken down into the endzone, while simultaneously dislocating his ankle and breaking his leg, which also brought an end to a magical Ole Miss undefeated season.  He is back after a tough rehab regimen.  Check out the full piece here.

Our new favorite segment on Gameday is called #YOUHADONEJOB and it features Sam Ponder and David Pollack playing the most ridiculous clips from the football week along with said hashtag.  Really funny stuff, so just watch the video here.

Nick Saban visited the set for an interview at the Gameday desk.  He talked about generic coaching things in vague terms, so the highlight was his response to which coach he would want to team up with during a tag team brawl.  He said Urban Meyer due to his success in coaching, but Kirk said Charlie Strong would be his leading contender.  Anyways…

When it came time to get down to business and start picking some games, this week’s “Bear’s Bank” picks were Purdue+6.5, UCLA-16.5 and Ole Miss+7.  Go call your bookie and then come back to finish this.  This week’s special celebrity guest picker was country music bro Eric Church.  While I have no knowledge of his music or talent, he was one of the most well-informed guest pickers we’ve ever seen on Gameday.  He was dropping so much knowledge on the Gameday boys that Corso eventually had to quit explaining his picks and just give us the winner.  As they went into a no-huddle-offense to finish on time, Herbie broke down the game since he is calling it and can’t pick the game, while Desmond and Eric both took Alabama.  Corso asked if he could borrow Church’s acoustic guitar, which Church handed over, and he started “playing” Sweet Home Alabama before donning the Alabama headgear once again.  Charley the Cat took Ole Miss in an upset, so this is quite a showdown we will see between Coach Corso and our cat tonight.  Enjoy your day folks.

Corso picks the Tide!
Corso picks the Tide!

Charley picks Ole Miss!
Charley picks Ole Miss!

Week 3 2015: Saturday morning college picks! #cfb

Aaaaaand we’re back!  Picks and predictions are coming in fast and furious this morning as we play catchup from last night, and we will have all of your Saturday favorites including the SEC Nation crew, Dari & Mel, the Gameday boys and Lee Corso’s headgear pick.  So check back often to see the latest updates from your favorite (or most hated) personality!

Lee Corso:
Temple over UMass
NDSU over North Dakota
GaTech over Notre Dame
LSU over Auburn
Miami Fl over Nebraska
USC over Stanford
Cal over Texas
UNC over Illinois
NW over Duke
Penn St over Rutgers
Kentucky over Florida
UCLA over BYU
Alabama over Ole Miss (Headgear pick)

Kirk Herbstreit:
Temple over UMass
LSU over Auburn
NDSU over North Dakota
Georgia over S.Carolina
Kentucky over Florida
UCLA over BYU
GaTech over Notre Dame
Miami Fl over Nebraska
USC over Stanford
Cal over Texas
UNC over Illinois
NW over Duke
Penn St over Rutgers

Desmond Howard:
Temple over UMass
NDSU over North Dakota
Georgia over S.Carolina
Kentucky over Florida
UCLA over BYU
GaTech over Notre Dame
LSU over Auburn
Miami Fl over Nebraska
Cal over Texas
UNC over Illinois
Duke over NW
Penn St over Rutgers
Stanford over USC
Alabama over Ole Miss

Eric Church:
UNC over Illinois
NW over Duke
Penn St over Rutgers
Cal over Texas
LSU over Auburn
Kentucky over Florida
GaTech over Notre Dame
Nebraska over Miami Fl
USC over Stanford
UCLA over BYU
Alabama over Ole Miss

David Pollack:
Alabama over Ole Miss
Georgia over S.Carolina
Florida over Kentucky
UCLA over BYU
Auburn over LSU

Jennifer’s Picks:
Clemson over Louisville
Temple over UMass
Georgia over S.Carolina
GaTech over Notre Dame
LSU over Auburn
TAMU over Nevada
Miami Fl over Nebraska
USC over Stanford
Cal over Texas
UCLA over BYU (BYU to cover)
Florida over Kentucky
UNC over Illinois
NW over Duke
Penn St over Rutgers
Ole Miss over Alabama (upset special)

Chris Fallica:
Notre Dame+2.5 vs GaTech
Notre Dame over GaTech 27-24
Stanford+10 vs USC
USC over Stanford 20-17
Ole Miss over Alabama 24-17
Ole Miss+7 vs Alabama
LSU over Auburn 31-17
LSU-7.5 vs Auburn
UCLA over BYU 41-17
UCLA-16.5 vs BYU
Purdue+6.5 vs VaTech (Bear’s Bank)
VaTech over Purdue 24-23
Louisville over Clemson 31-23
Louisville+6.5 vs Clemson
Colorado over CSU

Mel Kiper Jr.:
UCLA over BYU
LSU over Auburn

Booger McFarland:
Arkansas over TTU 35-31
Florida over Kentucky 27-17
Georgia over S.Carolina 42-13
LSU over Auburn 24-17
Alabama over Ole Miss 28-27
Miss St over NW St
Vanderbilt over Austin Peay
Tennessee over W.Carolina

Dari Nowkhah:
Kentucky over Florida
GaTech over Notre Dame
GaTech-3.5 vs Notre Dame
LSU over Auburn
Alabama over Ole Miss
UCLA over BYU
USC over Stanford
Cal over Texas
Illinois over UNC

Jason Sehorn:
Ohio St over NIU
Alabama over Ole Miss
LSU over Alabama
GaTech over Notre Dame
USC over Stanford
UCLA over BYU
Miami Fl over Nebraska
Kentucky over Florida
Cal over Texas

Phil Steele:
Alabama over Ole Miss 28-17
Illinois+9.5 vs UNC
UCLA over BYU 38-20
USC over Stanford 32-14
Florida over Kentucky (by 3)
Notre Dame over GaTech 31-27
LSU over Auburn 31-21
Clemson over Louisville (by 3)
Cal over Texas
Ohio St over NIU 52-10
Okla St over UTSA 44-10
Mich St over AF 41-21
Oregon over Georgia St 52-17
Cinci over Miami OH 44-16 (best bet)
BGSU over Memphis 43-42
Mizzou over UConn 27-10
Colorado over CSU 32-24
FAU over Buffalo 37-33
Miami Fl over Nebraska 31-20 (best bet)

Tim Tebow:
Florida over Kentucky
Georgia over S.Carolina
Alabama over Ole Miss
LSU over Auburn

Marcus Spears:
Florida over Kentucky
Georgia over S.Carolina
Alabama over Ole Miss
LSU over Auburn

Greg McElroy:
Florida over Kentucky
Georgia over S.Carolina
Alabama over Ole Miss
Mizzou over UConn
Miss St over NW St
LSU over Auburn

Paul Finebaum:
Florida over Kentucky
GaTech over Notre Dame
TAMU over Nevada
Georgia over S.Carolina
Alabama over Ole Miss
LSU over Auburn

Brett McMurphy:
Fresno St+14 vs Utah

Mark May:
Notre Dame over GaTech
LSU over Auburn
USC over Stanford
Alabama over Ole Miss

Mack Brown:
Notre Dame over GaTech
LSU over Auburn
USC over Stanford
Alabama over Ole Miss

Cole’s Exclusive Insider Top 25 Picks:
1 Ohio St over NIU
2 Alabama over Ole Miss
3 TCU over SMU
4 Mich St over AF
6 USC over Stanford
7 Georgia over S.Carolina
8 Notre Dame over GaTech
9 FSU over Boston College
10 UCLA over 19 BYU
11 Clemson over Louisville
12 Oregon over Georgia St
16 OU over Tulsa
17 TAMU over Nevada
18 Auburn over 13 LSU
20 Arizona over N.Arizona
21 Utah over Fresno St
UConn over 22 Mizzou
23 NW over Duke
24 Wisconsin over Troy
25 Okla St over UTSA

Week 9 2014: Picks are graded, results are in! #cfb #saturdayselections

Week 9 brought us some great performances both on the field and off of it.  LSU with another 4th quarter comeback against a top 3 opponent; TCU dropping 82 on a poor Texas Tech team; Utah winning a thriller against USC.  We had some true winners amongst our panel of expert prognosticators this week, and somehow also managed the worst performance we’ve seen since the legendary 0-9 week put up by Robert Smith in Week 8 of 2013.  Let’s dive right in

Winners this week were too many to point out, so the following will be highlighted: Lee Corso (9-2), David Pollack (5-1), Marcus Spears (5-0), Kevin Carter (10-3), Colin Cowherd (9-2), and Trevor Matich (5-1).  This week’s co-champions would have to be Desmond Howard, at an impressive 10-1 (thanks to that no-pick on the Michigan game) and celebrity guest picker Jase Robertson, who went a perfect 9-0 on the week.

We only had two real losers this week, the first of which is Mel Kiper Jr. at 1-3.  The second loser this week, who went on Gameday and absolutely squatted over the desk to relieve himself during the pick segment, is special guest celebrity picker Willie Robertson, who put up an impressive 1-8 record this week.  He went with the upset in every single game, and only managed to get the LSU pick right.  Pretty impressive actually.  Combined with his appearance last year (6-4), this brings Willie to 7-12 all time in the rankings.

Coach Corso nailed another headgear pick this week, going with LSU over Ole Miss.  He is on a warpath this year with the headgear picks sitting at 9-1 on the season.  Jennifer continues to put up the big numbers at 8-3 this week, although she missed the upset special of Washington over Arizona State.  Charley the Cat continues her downfall, losing the Ole Miss pick.  Our last note includes the re-emergence of Kirk Herbstreit with an 8-3 record this week, after several devastating weeks recently.

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

Lee Corso: 9-2
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Utah over USC
WRONG Washington over Ariz St
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss (headgear pick)

Kirk Herbstreit: 8-3
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
RIGHT TCU over TTU
RIGHT Harvard over Princeton
WRONG Texas over KState
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee

Desmond Hoard: 10-1
RIGHT TCU over TTU
RIGHT Harvard over Princeton
RIGHT Utah over USC
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss

Willie Robertson: 1-8
WRONG Kentucky over Miss St
WRONG Tennessee over Alabama
WRONG Penn St over Ohio St
WRONG Texas over KState
WRONG Okla St over WVU
WRONG USC over Utah
WRONG Washington over Ariz St
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss

Jase Robertson: 9-0
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Ohio S tover Penn St
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
RIGHT Utah over USC
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington
RIGHT Arizona over Wash St
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss

Jennifer’s Picks: 8-3
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Utah over USC
WRONG Washington over Ariz St (upset special)
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Alabama over Tenessee
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina

David Pollack: 5-1
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Utah over USC
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
RIGHT TCU over TTU
RIGHT Harvard over Princeton

Dari Nowkhah: 2-2
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Utah over USC
WRONG Wash St over Arizona

Mel Kiper Jr.: 1-3
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
WRONG USC over Utah
WRONG Wash St over Arizona

Greg McElroy: 3-2
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Arizona over Wash St

Tim Tebow: 4-1
RIGHT Mizzou over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky

Marcus Spears: 5-0
RIGHT Mizzou over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky

Paul Finebaum: 4-1
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Mizzou over Vanderbilt
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU

Brett McMurphy: 4-1
WRONG Pitt over GaTech
RIGHT CSU over Wyoming
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Memphis over SMU
RIGHT Arkansas over UAB

Phil Steele: 14-5
RIGHT Marshall over FAU
RIGHT UL-Lafayette over Ark St
RIGHT Oregon over Cal
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Arizona over Wash St (upset special)
RIGHT Clemson over Syracuse
WRONG UL-Monroe over Texas St
RIGHT W.Michigan over Ohio
WRONG Washington over Ariz St
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Nebraska over Rutgers
WRONG Minnesota over Illinois

Kevin Carter: 10-3
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT WVU over KState
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington
RIGHT TCU over TTU
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT Clemson over Syracuse

Charley the Cat: 0-1
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU

Colin Cowherd: 9-2
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT UCLA over Colorado
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Utah over USC
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington

Lou Holtz: 4-1
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
WRONG S.Carolina over Auburn
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Utah over USC

Mark May: 3-2
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG USC over Utah

Chris Fallica: 4-3
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG USC over Utah
WRONG Wash St over Arizona
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT UCLA over Colorado
RIGHT Harvard over Princeton

Booger McFarland: 2-1
WRONG S.Carolina over Auburn
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT LSU over Ole Miss

Trevor Matich: 5-1
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Utah over USC
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan

Brad Edwards: 2-2
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington

Todd McShay: 1-1
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky

Ryen Russillo: 1-1
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Oregon over Cal

Jon Berger: 3-2
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St

Jason Sehorn: 5-2
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Ariz St over Washington

Brian Griese: 3-1
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Utah over USC
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU

Robert Smith: 2-2
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
WRONG USC over Utah
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Kstate over Texas

Mike Bellotti: 2-1
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Utah over USC
RIGHT Oregon over Cal

Tim Cowlishaw: 1-0
RIGHT KState over Texas

Charles Arbuckle: 2-0
RIGHT Marshall over FAU
RIGHT Clemson over Syracuse

Pat Forde: 22-5
WRONG Ole Miss over LSU
RIGHT Utah over USC
WRONG Washington over Ariz St
RIGHT Ohio St over Penn St
RIGHT Mich St over Michigan
WRONG UVA over UNC
WRONG Pitt over GaTech
RIGHT WVU over Okla St
RIGHT Arizona over Wash St
WRONG Minnesota over Illinois
RIGHT Miss St over Kentucky
RIGHT Mizzou over Vanderbilt
RIGHT Oregon over Cal
RIGHT Cinci over USF
RIGHT Boise St over BYU
RIGHT S.Alabama over Troy
RIGHT Clemson over Syracuse
RIGHT UCLA over Colorado
RIGHT KState over Texas
RIGHT Nebraska over Rutgers
RIGHT Wisconsin over Maryland
RIGHT Stanford over Oreg St
RIGHT Alabama over Tennessee
RIGHT Auburn over S.Carolina
RIGHT TCU over TTU
RIGHT Marshall over FAU
RIGHT Georgia Southern over Georgia St