Cole's Gameday Blog

Tracking college football picks and predictions for YOU

Tag: tom fornelli

Week 1 2026: CFB LOCKS from the Cover 3 Podcast!

Posted on by gamedaycole

Here are your week 1 LOCKS from the Cover 3 Podcast. Be sure to check out the full video for great analysis and commentary.

ATS picks:

PickName
SMU-3 vs Florida State (-110)Bud Elliott
Notre Dame vs Wisconsin 1H Under 24.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Ole Miss vs Louisville Under 55.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Duke vs Tulane Under 51.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Georgia-47 vs Tennessee State (-110)Bud Elliott
Indiana 1H TT over 27.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Clemson TT under 20.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Boise State 1H TT under 6.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
UTEP 1H TT under 1.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Miami (FL) 1H-13.5 vs Stanford (-110)Bud Elliott
Notre Dame-20 vs Wisconsin (-110)Chip Patterson
Alabama vs East Carolina 1H Under 28.5 (-110)Chip Patterson
California+2 vs UCLA (-110)Chip Patterson
Boston College+7.5 vs Cincinnati (-110)Chip Patterson
Colorado State vs Wyoming Under 46.5 (-110)Chip Patterson
Indiana 4Q-7.5 vs North Texas (-110)Chip Patterson
Boise State TT under 13.5 (-110)Chip Patterson
Michigan State vs Toledo Under 47.5 (-110)Chip Patterson
Georgia Tech 1H-3.5 vs Colorado (-110)Chip Patterson
Wisconsin 1H+11.5 vs Notre Dame (-110)Danny Kanell
Louisville+7 vs Ole Miss (-110)Danny Kanell
Auburn-7 vs Baylor (-110)Danny Kanell
LSU vs Clemson Under 50.5 (-110)Danny Kanell
Michigan-27.5 vs Western Michigan (-110)Danny Kanell
Boise State TT under 13.5 (-110)Danny Kanell
Stanford vs Miami (FL) Over 47.5 (-110)Danny Kanell
Georgia Tech vs Colorado 1H Under 26.5 (-110)Danny Kanell
Notre Dame vs Wisconsin Under 47.5 (-110)Tom Fornelli
Louisville+7 vs Ole Miss (-110)Tom Fornelli
Auburn vs Baylor Under 59 (-110)Tom Fornelli
Cincinnati vs Boston College Under 50.5 (-110)Tom Fornelli
Indiana-40.5 vs North Texas (-110)Tom Fornelli
LSU-10 vs Clemson (-110)Tom Fornelli
Ball State+51 vs Ohio State (-110)Tom Fornelli
South Carolina-35.5 vs Kent State (-110)Tom Fornelli
Tennessee-46.5 vs Furman (-110)Tom Fornelli

Money line sprinkles:

PicksName
Baylor +250 vs AuburnBud_Elliott_ML
Wyoming +165 vs Colorado StateBud_Elliott_ML
Liberty +190 vs James MadisonBud_Elliott_ML
FIU +506 vs South FloridaBud_Elliott_ML
California +115 vs UCLAChip_Patterson_ML
Tulsa +460 vs Oklahoma StateChip_Patterson_ML
Toledo +350 vs Michigan StateChip_Patterson_ML
Florida State +140 vs SMUDanny_Kanell_ML
California +115 vs UCLADanny_Kanell_ML
Clemson +325 vs LSUDanny_Kanell_ML
FIU +506 vs South FloridaDanny_Kanell_ML
California +115 vs UCLATom_Fornelli_ML
South Dakota State +475 vs NorthwesternTom_Fornelli_ML
Continue Reading

Week 0 2026: CFB LOCKS from the Cover 3 Podcast!

Posted on by gamedaycole

Welcome back to college football season. Our very first post of the year is from the LOCKS episode of the Cover 3 podcast. Be sure to check out the full video or podcast for all of the analysis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhgxVGYo6Cc

ATS picks:

PickName
TCU vs North Carolina 1H Under 23.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Virginia vs NC State Under 53.5 (-110)Bud Elliott
Eastern Michigan-9.5 vs Sacramento State (-110)Chip Patterson
Florida State-30.5 vs New Mexico State (-110)Chip Patterson
North Carolina 1H+6.5 vs TCU (-110)Chip Patterson
Virginia vs NC State 1H Under 27.5 (-110)Chip Patterson
Florida State-30.5 vs New Mexico State (-110)Danny Kanell
Jacksonville State+7.5 vs North Dakota State (-110)Danny Kanell
Southern Cal-38.5 vs San Jose State (-110)Danny Kanell
Hawaii+3.5 vs Stanford (-110)Danny Kanell
TCU vs North Carolina Under 47.5 (-110)Danny Kanell
UNLV-4.5 vs Memphis (-110)Danny Kanell
NC State+4.5 vs Virginia (-110)Danny Kanell
North Dakota State 1H-3.5 vs Jacksonville State (-110)Tom Fornelli
TCU vs North Carolina Under 47.5 (-110)Tom Fornelli
Virginia vs NC State Under 53.5 (-110)Tom Fornelli

Money line sprinkles:

PicksName
Memphis +167 vs UNLVBud_Elliott_ML
North Carolina +295 vs TCUChip_Patterson_ML
NC State +165 vs VirginiaDanny_Kanell_ML
Memphis +167 vs UNLVTom_Fornelli_ML
Continue Reading

2025-26 Season: College football analyst final grades!

Posted on 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.

NamePctWinLoss
Lee_Corso10060
Todd_McShay10040
Ryen_Russillo10020
Corso_Headgear10010
Tom_Luginbill10010
Mark_Richt10010
Phil_Steele81.63409
Steve_Coughlin79.034913
David_Hale78.38323
Danny_Kanell78.2612635
Tom_Fornelli77.225475
Paul_Finebaum77.194413
Chip_Patterson75.9324678
Ross_Dellenger7531
Tim_Tebow74.584415
Shehan_Jeyarajah74.2923481
Andy_Staples73.916824
Richard_Johnson73.4423585
Chris_Fallica73.173011
Roman_Harper71.674317
Greg_McElroy70.159440
JD_Pickell69.527332
Josh_Pate68.826429
Pat_Forde68.486329
Jimbo_Fisher68.292813
Dusty_Dvoracek68.254320
Andrea_Adelson68.147736
Jordan_Rodgers67.923617
Dan_Wetzel67.572512
Pat_McAfee65.678846
Rece_Davis65.316434
Kirk_Herbstreit63.797442
Ralph_Russo63.084124
Nick_Saban62.968550
Joel_Klatt62.795432
Jennifer62.7111166
Matt_Leinart62.553
David_Pollack60.148355
Desmond_Howard608154
Celebrity_Guest59.837047
Aaron_Taylor59.237753
Brett_McMurphy59.09139
Eric_Mac_Lain58.542417
Rick_Neuheisel58.277453
Stewart_Mandel57.813727
Pete_Thamel57.615339
Bruce_Feldman57.534231
EJ_Manuel57.52317
Ryan_McGee57.1443
Randy_Cross57.037355
Brian_Jones56.497457
Brady_Quinn55.5654
Scott_Van_Pelt5055
Urban_Meyer5044
Colin_Cowherd42.8668
Mark_Ingram37.535
Joey_Galloway33.3312
Chris_Low2513
Booger_McFarland001
Average67.9332921554
Continue Reading