College Football Is Great Isn’t It?
Written by Wendi
Last year, Texas put a beatdown on Oklahoma 49-0. Last year, they were without Dillon Gabriel due to a concussion. With Gabriel healthy, will this year be any different? The answer is a simple YES. By all accounts, Texas should have probably won the game. But in Texas fashion, the turnovers, the meltdown on defense on the last drive which enabled Oklahoma to score with mere seconds left in the game, is what cost the Longhorns the game. By now, we should all expect Texas to do this. After so many years playing this good ol’ game of pick’ems, we should know by now-NEVER BET ON TEXAS. I will touch base back on this later in the article. <horns down>
The LSU-Missouri game was a thriller which also came down to the wire. LSU scored late in the game to take the lead but left a couple of minutes on the clock. With under a minute left and Missouri backed up in the own territory, the unthinkable happens and Missouri throws a pick six to seal the win for LSU. But Missouri would go undeterred and was determined to keep fighting. After a good kickoff return, they make it into field goal range only to miss it. LSU wins 49-39.
It took awhile, but Bama finally got going against Texas A&M on the road. After being down at halftime 17-10, Alabama was able to outscore the Aggies 16-3 in the second half and give the Aggies their second loss of the season. And in case you missed the wild ending of the other team (Miami) that beat the Aggies earlier in the season, I will give you the run down. After the score being 3-0 at the half with Miami winning over Georgia Tech, both offenses finally started rolling in the second half. With Georgia Tech out of timeouts and just over a minute left in the game, all Miami had to do was kneel the ball. But Miami wanted to be cute and keep running the ball and Miami fumbled. Two plays later, Georgia Tech scored with one second left on the clock to win 23-20. That is on the coaches.
Kentucky proved to be a fraud and got steamrolled in Georgia 51-13. Kentucky’s fate was almost certain within the first quarter of the game. Nothing to see here folks, move along. The Pac 12 is starting to beat up on each other. Washington State lost to UCLA 25-17. Despite the score, the game should not have been that close. The Cougars had 4 costly turnovers and UCLA had more than double total yardage than the Cougs. Maybe the Pac 12 isn’t as good as we thought?
Without the starting quarterback for Kansas, it didn’t even matter. It was all Kansas with the beatdown of UCF 51-22. Did I mention that Gus Malzahn just got a nice contract extension? A lot of UCF Fans are not happy since they have dropped the last three games with last week’s game giving up a 4 touchdown lead in the Baylor loss. Elsewhere in the Big 12, there was a matchup between Texas Tech and Baylor. It was all Red Raiders from start to finish with a final score of 39-14.
After two back to back emotional games, with one losing to Ohio State at the last second, can Notre Dame handle another undefeated team and win on the road at Louisville. With a total of (5) turnovers for Notre Dame, that answer would be a "NO”. Louisville’s defense was on fire the whole night which sparked the offense in the third quarter to start pulling away 33-20. And with that, went any hope to make it to the playoffs for the Crying Fighting Irish.
Undefeated and 24th ranked Fresno State traveled to Laramie, WY to take on the Cowboys. The Cowboys took control early on in the game and was 24-7 at the half. The Bulldogs would not give up the fight and kept Wyoming scoreless in the second half as they scored 12 points of their own. However, there simply just wasn’t enough gas left in the tank which meant lots of you lost out on some high points.
FUN FACT: It took 3OT for USC to put away the Arizona Wildcats. 43-41. Yikes.
On to the Pick'em’s…
The weekly scoreboard lit of like a Christmas tree with all of that red and green. It was a rough week for a lot of us but there is still yet to be a person score in the teens.
First off, let me say this- I know I say this every year and I would have hoped by now, people would heed my advice. STOP GOING HIGH ON TEXAS!!! This game should only be worth 3 or less points so for any of you that went more than that, shame on you. You know better. With Noah going 9 on Texas, he checked himself out of first place. Him picking Rutgers over Wisconsin did him no favors either.
With Noah’s fall, it gave me a breathable nine-point lead over second place. Now if I can maintain the lead and maybe stretch the lead a little further, I will be in prime position to take first place for this whole thing. Wishful thinking on my part.
David went to bed pouting late Saturday as he took a slide from second to fifth place. David, with your spreadsheet that you use for your "data”, you might as well scrap it and start a new strategy because what you are doing, is not working. Someone should probably do a welfare check on Gretchen and the kids.
With Cindy’s abysmal week, she was able to FINALLY get out of 8th place but dropped to 9th place. Now mom is cursed with that spot. Any bets on how long mom will stay in 8th place? Can she beat Cindy with 5 weeks in a row? Any takers?
Marc clawed his way out of last. Uh, let me rephrase. Sean took Marc‘s place for last. Sean, since you are playing cook at work and have some free time on your hands, maybe you should do some research on some teams. That may change the trajectory of your picks instead of just throwing up numbers and playing the guessing game. I heard even Megan is embarrassed for you right now.
Mike made his move up to second place and apparently got his "wittle” feelings hurt because no one waved. I hope you use that same courtesy when you fall and others pass you up. But as history has told us in the past, Mike just can’t seem to stay in the top (minus the Bowl games last year). Maybe this year will be different, but I doubt it.
Late Saturday night, a text went out from Mike tagging Stemple about winning the weekly prize money. I am sure when Stemple saw that, he quickly went on to the website only to realize he was not going to win a single penny, but in fact he was going to finish tied for last. Poor Stemple. Mike, please pay attention next time.
Sam and Megan didn’t move in the rankings. Well technically they did since there are no ties but stayed the same on the list. Will the kids finally drop towards the bottom once and for all, or will there be several adults below them come the final week which brings up a good question. Here’s a thought for next year… if a kid beats you, maybe your entry fee should be more?
Most points for the week: In a very challenging week, Adam snagged 41 points. This is now his second time winning $10. Can we get some new winners please?
Least points for the week: It is no surprise to see that Stemple and Sean are here but Cindy? They each tied at 22 for the day. But the good news is, Cindy is now out of the cursed 8th place but slid into 9th.
Best pick of the week: Adam, Mike and Noah picking UCLA over Washington State allowed Mike and Adam to gain on first place. But it did keep Noah out of last for the week.
Worst pick of the week: I won’t name names or point fingers but anyone who went higher than 3 on Texas.
Here are the rankings:
1.Wendi - 242 points
2. Mike -233 points
3. Noah - 231 points
4. Adam - 229 points
5. David - 224 points
6.Megan - 221 points
7. Sam - 214 points
8. Evelyn - 199 points
9. Cindy – 192 points
8.Marc - 190 points
9.Stemple - 188 points
10. Sean - 184 points
Good luck this week! There is a 58-point difference from first to last.
