College football

[Vrede too]

Go:

#20 Wisconsin -7 vs @Northwestern.
Wisconsin QB out for concussion. Vegas now says Wisconsin -3.5. I'm switching my pick to Northwestern +7 and will hope that Wisconsin still wins but by less than 7.

Too bad about the WI loss, but that sure worked out for me pool-wise. Look who is still in first place in the Big Ten West Division!

I start 1-2, four players are 3-0.

[O Really]

The world gets crazier every day. Sometimes it's good to find something normal.
UNC 21 - Other Team 31.
Ah, all is not chaos in the world.

[Vrede too]

The world gets crazier every day. Sometimes it's good to find something normal.
UNC 21 - Other Team 31.
Ah, all is not chaos in the world.

Oops, forgot to mourn App St getting killed by GA Southern on Thursday night. Speaking of "crazier every day":
Maryland 63, Illinois 33. Maryland is tied with Michigan State and PSU for the Big Ten East Division third place.

Speaking of "normal":

@UCLA +10.5 vs #23 Utah. Nope.
@Northwestern +7 vs #20 Wisconsin. Yep.
#18 Iowa +6.5 vs @#17 Penn St. Crap, PSU won, Iowa beating the spread by 0.5 ain’t much consolation.
#9 Florida +7 vs @#7 Georgia. Knock it out of the top 10. Playoffs? Not even close.
#21 South Florida +7.5 vs @Houston. 8-0! Crushed, undefeated no more.
@Missouri -7.5 vs #12 Kentucky. Maybe Vegas is correct. Ouch, Missouri lost by 1.
#15 Washington -12 vs @California. Very slim hope for the playoffs.
@Syracuse +2.5 vs #22 N.C. State.
#14 Washington St. +3 vs @#24 Stanford. Slim hope for the playoffs.
@Mississippi St -2.5 vs #16 Texas A&M . Maybe Vegas is correct.
#6 Texas -3.5 vs @Oklahoma St.
#19 Oregon -9.5 vs @Arizona.

4 players are tied for the 6-2 lead. 7 games left and I can’t make any money at 2-6. Thank goodness for the 1-7 player.

[Vrede too]

Go:

#15 Washington -12 vs @California. Very slim hope for the playoffs. The Huskies sure collapsed lately.
@Syracuse +2.5 vs #22 N.C. State. Yep, good-bye top 25.
#14 Washington St. +3 vs @#24 Stanford. Slim hope for the playoffs. Cougars in a shootout! The PAC 10’s last hope.
@Mississippi St -2.5 vs #16 Texas A&M . Maybe Vegas is correct. Nope.
#6 Texas -3.5 vs @Oklahoma St. Nope, good-bye top 10.
#19 Oregon -9.5 vs @Arizona.

I'm 4-10 , will tie for last if Arizona, which is leading by 15, beats the spread.

[Vrede too]

Yep, I'm tied for 13th out of 18 for season points, 8th for money won back.

Unranked Oklahoma St's win over #6Texas is the biggest upset of the day. #s 6, 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25 all lost. Only #17 PSU and #23 Utah escaped the death zone. Should be several new teams ranked.
Utah could even jump to all the way to #14 after beating a weak UCLA.
#17 PSU at least to #13, perhaps higher?
#14 Washington St closing in on the top 10?
#12 KY lose ground?
#8 OK to #7?
#7 GA to #6 or even higher?

[billy.pilgrim]

Never ever pulled for clemson
but Jordan Leggett played rec league basketball on same team as my son for several years

really good kid from a good family

I gotta pull for Jordan

The big kids would let little Thomas play before practice started, then he had to sit quietly with his dad and me.


http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=25098247

[Vrede too]

10/28 AP Rankings

Go:

#25 App St. No votes.
Maryland 63, Illinois 33. Maryland is tied with Michigan State and PSU for the Big Ten East Division third place. No votes.
#20 Wisconsin. Not ranked.
#9 Florida. Dropped to #13.
#21 South Florida. Not ranked.
#15 Washington. Not ranked.
#6 Texas. Dropped to #15.
#19 Oregon. Not ranked.

Unranked (and still unranked) Oklahoma St's win over #6 Texas is the biggest upset of the day. #s 6, 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25 all lost. Only #17 PSU and #23 Utah escaped the death zone. Should be several new teams ranked. 7 of them! Pretty rare, I'll bet.
Utah could even jump to all the way to #14 after beating a weak UCLA. #16.
#17 PSU at least to #13, perhaps higher? #14.
#14 Washington St closing in on the top 10? #10!
#12 KY lose ground? #11. :gthumb:
#8 OK to #7? #7.
#7 GA to #6 or even higher? #6.

#1 Alabama has beaten #25 Texas A&M, NO other ranked teams. Go LSU on Saturday!
#2 Clemson barely beat #22 Syracuse and barely beat #25 Texas A&M. It plays #24 Boston College on 11/10. Go Eagles!
#3 Notre Dame has beaten #5 Michigan. Seems superior to Alabama and Clemson to me. Barely unranked and surging Northwestern may test it on Saturday. Go Irish!
7-1 #5 Michigan and 7-1 #7 Oklahoma have not beaten any currently ranked teams. Why are they better than 7-0 #9 UCF?

[Vrede too]

Playoff Selection Committee Poll, first week

3 LSU (7-1)
4 Notre Dame (8-0)

Really?
Notre Dame has beaten #5 Michigan.
LSU has beaten #6 GA and lost to #11 FL.

8 Washington State (7-1)
Sweet. Are the playoffs a possibility?

12 UCF (7-0)
Ugh.

Go (rankings are AP):

Pittsburgh +7.5 vs @#23 Virginia. Knock it out of the top 25.
#22 Syracuse -5 vs @Wake Forest.
@Auburn -3.5 vs #25 Texas A&M. Knock it out of the top 25. It was Auburn -6, hmmm.
#19 Iowa +3 vs @Purdue.
@#11 Kentucky +9 vs #6 Georgia. Knock it out of the top 10.
@#15 Texas -2 vs #12 West Virginia.
#24 Boston Coll -2 vs @Virginia Tech.
@#5 Michigan -10 vs #14 Penn St. #4 when AL or LSU loses?
@Arizona St +7.5 vs #16 Utah. Knock it out of the top 25.
@#13 Florida -6 vs Missouri.
@Northwestern +9 vs #3 Notre Dame. I don't hate Notre Dame, but with Michigan and Washington State at the doorstep . . .
@#4 LSU +14.5 vs #1 Alabama. I can dream.
@#10 Washington St -10 vs California.

[Vrede too]

That was a fun game. Now 21-0, 21 games with over 30 points scored and Bowl victor UCF was favored by 10 over 5-3 Temple. UCF won by 12. What #5 team will it trounce this Bowl season?

[Vrede too]

Not getting beaten up by UCF in a Bowl is an extra incentive for Power 5 teams to get in the playoffs. This is why playoff wannabes aren’t tripping over themselves to schedule UCF in their nonconference games - fear. We really need at least an 8-team playoff, it would be hard to keep an undefeated UCF out of the playoffs then.

Go (rankings are AP):

Pittsburgh +7.5 vs @#23 Virginia. Knock it out of the top 25.

Poor VA, 1st time in the top 25 for years, lasted 1 week. Pitt at least temporarily leads the ACC Coastal Division, could end up being the last hope to knock Clemson out of the playoffs if it beats Virginia Tech next week.

I'm glad the people of Pittsburgh have something to cheer.

[Vrede too]

I think I'll take my victory lap now, might not last.

Only 3 out of 18 of us picked 2-6 NE to beat the 17.5 point spread vs @#8 OH St, not even out traitorous NE fan. Early in the 3rd: NE 21, OSU 16.

[Vrede too]

OSU 36, NEB 31, I'll take it. OSU is vulnerable.

Go (rankings are AP):

Pittsburgh +7.5 vs @#23 Virginia. Knock it out of the top 25. Yep.
#22 Syracuse -5 vs @Wake Forest. Yep.
@Auburn -3.5 vs #25 Texas A&M. Knock it out of the top 25. It was Auburn -6, hmmm.
TAMU led from early in the 2nd quarter until the end of the 4th. Auburn closed with a TD with 5:14 left, scored another TD with 1:41 left. Crucial EP hits the upright, and is good! Auburn not only wins but also beat the spread by 0.5!!! Congrats, billy.pilgrim.

I start 4-1, in a 4-way tie for 1st.

[billy.pilgrim]

I wasn't trying to rub it in, Fitzgerald earned recognition regardless of opponent.

Yep, Stanford got crushed by Utah. I finished 9-11, 3-way tie for 8th. My season record is still tied for 15th out of 18.

Turns out there was an "eruption" of "mayhem" yesterday. Tally in just 20 games:

Top 10 teams that lost, 3 - #5 LSU, #7 Oklahoma, #8 Auburn.
Unbeaten teams that lost, 3 - #5 LSU, #7 Oklahoma, #13 Kentucky.
Other ranked teams that lost, 4 - #14 Stanford, #20 Michigan St, #24 Virginia Tech, #25 Oklahoma St.
Ranked teams that lost to an unranked team, 5 - #8 Auburn, #13 Kentucky, #14 Stanford, #20 Michigan St, #25 Oklahoma St.
Top 25 games decided by 8 points or less, 8.
Top 25 games decided by within 5 points of the spread or less, 9.

rub away - it is what it is - my team sucks but so does lsu and miss state and pretty much every other team in the sec west other than bammer and they aren't up to their usual standard.

I know that I complain a lot about the refs. I also complain a lot about the dems getting beat by the republicans because it isn't always a fair fight - that's because the rules seem to be different. I don't complain about other sports, but Auburn just doesn't get a normal set of breaks. And I'm not the only one, muschamp lost his job over being outraged at the no calls against bammer a few years ago.
we seem to be an easy target or something.

sec refs have been caught before trying to set up the confrence championship with undefeated teams - an entire crew was suspended for a few games - should have been fired.

no doubt that State has a good running 230 pound, 6'5' qb who can't throw, but it helps when holding and chop blocks don't get called and imaginary touchdowns are awarded.

we held them on 3rd and 4th and goal. both times the touchdown was awarded. the 1st was reversed and the review let the 4th and goal stand.

he almost made it, but he didn't




Boobee also had some limited playing time. he extended the ball as he dove over the goal line, was hit and lost the ball two feet into the end zone but for some reason I can't begin to comprehend, the touchdown didn't count and State was given the ball on the 20.

he's holding the ball with both hands

https://deadspin.com/espn-apologizes-to ... 1830202349

James Carville said, “I would trust the Saudi government more than I’d trust the SEC."


I agree

[Vrede too]

Go (rankings are AP):

#19 Iowa +3 vs @Purdue.
It would have been nice for Iowa to win, but I’ll take the red zone stand forcing a FG to maintain the spread win by 1.
@#11 Kentucky +9 vs #6 Georgia. Knock it out of the top 10.
I hate to see a GA win, but a KY loss doesn’t crush me.
@#15 Texas -2 vs #12 West Virginia.
TX wins by 7 with 2:34 left, sweet! WV gets a TD and 2 point conversion with 16 seconds left for the win, sour.
#24 Boston Coll -2 vs @Virginia Tech. Yep.
@#5 Michigan -10 vs #14 Penn St. #4 when AL or LSU loses?
Wow. Okay, NOW I will accept that Michigan has proved itself, something I’m glad for.
@Arizona St +7.5 vs #16 Utah. Knock it out of the top 25. Yep.
@#13 Florida -6 vs Missouri. Ugh.

I'm 8-4, in a 4-way tie for 1st.

[Vrede too]

Maryland got crushed by sucky Michigan State 24-3.
App St crushed Cstl Carolina 23-7.
Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 38-28.

Go (rankings are AP):

@Northwestern +9 vs #3 Notre Dame. I don't hate Notre Dame, but with Michigan and Washington State at the doorstep . . .
With 2:45 left in the game ND beat the spread vs NW, by 1! Arrrggghhh.
@#4 LSU +14.5 vs #1 Alabama. I can dream.
Ugh. AL's probably unbeatable.

Texas Tech with a backup QB could have beaten #7 Oklahoma, came up short, darn, but did beat the 13.5 point spread, 46-51! Great game. Before this game I had a 0-5 run . I can tie for 2nd in theory, but UNLV is letting me down at the moment.

Edit:
Yep, Fresno St > UNLV knocks me out of the money. I finish 10-10, the 2 winners are 12-8. I've dropped to a tie for season 12th.
WA St didn't beat the spread, but the win over Cal keeps it in the playoff hunt. Did anyone predict before the season that it would be the Pac 12's only hope?

[Vrede too]

New AP Rankings

Michigan to #4, the ‘Who Will Alabama Crush First?’ slot.

I still question Oklahoma’s AP #6 ranking. It’s only beaten #23 Iowa State, barely won vs. unranked Army and Texas Tech, and lost to #15 6-3 Texas.

WA St stays at #10, UCF - where O Really is - drops to #11. Playoffs are looking unlikely for either.

AP #s 4, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 23 and 25 all lost. This is why Syracuse (7-2), Syracuse! jumped all the way from #22 to #13.

Utah, Virginia and Texas A&M lose their rankings, nice.
Houston lost its ranking, I don't care.
Iowa lost its ranking, darn.
5 "new" teams are ranked, including #20 Washington, cool.

Auburn is in 27th place. Liberty should assure it a Bowl, but it's also got #5 GA (WDE!) and AL (yeah, right) yet to play.

Why are other undefeated teams - UCF, CO ... not ranked at the same level as these posers besides Ohio State and Notre Dame?

Go:

...
Undefeated (5-0) #19 Colorado +7.5 vs @USC.

Beginning with USC, Colorado is now 5-4, even losing to 2-7 Oregon State. Next up #10 WA St.
http://scores.nbcsports.com/cfb/teamsta ... &team=0018
Go Cougars!

[Vrede too]

Playoff Selection Committee Poll
I'll only argue still that #6 Oklahoma is "wrong" based on what we've seen.
I like that it's #8 Washington State and don't like that it's #12 UCF, but comparing most 1 and 2 loss teams gets too complicated for me to even try.
It's #24 Auburn and #25 Washington.

Go (AP Rankings):

@Boise St +3 vs #16 Fresno St. It's complicated, but this is more about eventually hurting #14 UT St in the Mountain West Conference standings than it is about hurting Fresno St.
TCU (ugh) +12 vs #7 West Virginia. Knock it out of the top 10.
@#24 Michigan St. +3.5 vs #8 Ohio St. Knock it out of the top 10.
Wisconsin +9 vs @#21 Penn St. Knock it out of the top 25.
@#19 Florida -6.5 vs South Carolina.
@#11 UCF -25.5 vs Navy. Sink 'em.
#10 Washington St -6 vs @Colorado.
@Tennessee +6 vs #12 Kentucky.
Auburn +14 vs @#5 Georgia. Knock it out of the top 10.
@Arkansas + 13.5 vs #9 LSU. Knock it out of the top 10.
#15 Texas -2 vs @Texas Tech.

[Vrede too]

Pool friend and Iowa alum to all of us:

If I've learned anything from our dear POTUS, it's the importance of getting ahead of the story. Any rumors you hear about Jeff Session's replacement being associated with the Hawkeyes is fake news. I suspected that (Vrede too) might try to make some claim like this. Don't believe him. He is clearly the enemy of the pooleople.

My reply all:

Too late, I've already altered Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker's Wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_W ... #Education
Notice that I not only made him an alum but also added in:
"Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team"
Hmmm, tight end bending over for POSPOTUS - nah, too easy.

I also changed my pool handle to 'Enemy of the Pooleople'.

[Vrede too]

Go (AP Rankings):

@Boise St +3 vs #16 Fresno St. It's complicated, but this is more about eventually hurting #14 UT St in the Mountain West Conference standings than it is about hurting Fresno St.

Sweet, BSU came back to win 24-17 after being down 3-17 in the third. It's QB is Brett Rypien, nephew of QB Mark Rypien who won the SB with D.C. in 1991, the last year the team was any good. 3 division championships since don't really count for much. I remember liking Mark, but that he didn't really have the air of greatness that other D.C. QBs had.

Anyhow, Brett:
Wiki - Washington state stud in high school, senior this year, has won 2 out of 3 Bowls, I'll bet he's drafted.
Stats - QB Rating 150.4 career, 159.3 this year before this game.
This game - QB Rating 165.2.

I also successfully bet on @#13 Syracuse to crush Louisville. 10 out of the 18 of us start 2-0, 2 start 0-2.

[Vrede too]

Go (AP Rankings):

TCU (ugh) +12 vs #7 West Virginia. Knock it out of the top 10. Not even close, serves me right.
@#24 Michigan St. +3.5 vs #8 Ohio St. Knock it out of the top 10. Terrible 4th quarter for MSU.
Wisconsin +9 vs @#21 Penn St. Knock it out of the top 25. Missed the spread by 3.
@#19 Florida -6.5 vs South Carolina. Came back to win, but missed the spread by 2.5.
@#11 UCF -25.5 vs Navy. Sink 'em. Too bad that UCF didn’t beat the spread but still, 22-0 now, 22 games with over 30 points scored. Wow.

I go 0-5 in the early Sat. games, 2-5 now. 3 players are 6-1, 1 player is 1-6.