Saturday, Sept. 5 Navy at Ohio State Picking Ohio State. (This game should be surprisingly close. OSU won't be as prepared as they should be.)
Akron at Penn State Picking Penn State.
Kentucky at Miami (OH) Kentucky.
Western Kentucky at Tennessee Picking Tennessee. (I'll be watching this and the OSU game, if they're both available.)
Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech Picking GT. Might be close at the beginning, but 3rd Quarter, GT will take over.
San Jose State at USC Picking USC. Duh
Georgia at Oklahoma State Picking Georgia. Should be close, and I could easily get this pick wrong. One of the week's biggest games.
Nevada at Notre Dame Picking Nevada. My first serious upset pick, just because I'm not a fan of Notre Dame. Anyone watching this on probably is for the laughs, over the above match
Jackson State at Mississippi State Picking Miss. State.
Missouri vs. Illinois I'd say Missouri. I have a foul taste in my mouth from Ron Zook.
Charleston Southern at Florida Florida, of course.
Brigham Young vs. Oklahoma Picking BYU. Why? OU has a few problems to work out, and BYU's biggest weak point is depth charts. The game's at a neutral location, and depth doesn't matter so much in the season's first game.
Florida Atlantic at Nebraska Picking Florida Atlantic. Yup, another upset. Every year FAU brings some good times pretty close to the wire. This typically happens at the end of the season, though. Should be a surprisingly close game, nonetheless. Sorry, DrewMG.
Louisiana Tech at Auburn Auburn
Missouri State at Arkansas Arkansas
Wofford at South Florida South Florida. I'm a closet USF fan, just because I want USF and UF to start some sort of rivalry.
Western Carolina at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt, every year, plays with huge amounts of heart. They play their hardest, game in and game out. I was glad to see them win their bowl last year, and W. Carolina should be a good start to repeat this.
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech Alabama Two top-ten teams playing in a neutral site. On paper, it should be a close, exciting game. Then, when you look at VT's record in this type of game, this type of match-up, it's pitiful. For the past few years, I've found VT to be appalling overrated. If they win this game, perhaps even play it close, I'll concede I was wrong.
Maryland at California California. If this game had been in Maryland, my pick would be different. California is supposed to be a challenger in the Pac-10 this year. Maryland is another school with a surprising amount of grit, similar to Vanderbilt.
LSU at Washington LSU
Week 1's Game of the Week Georgia at Oklahoma State. If any game this week has a chance to be interesting, without my bias making it so, it's this one. A lot of people are looking toward Alabama and VT, but this game is two good teams from two good conferences, playing with a lot of spirit. Being at Oklahoma State, a lot of people would push towards them, but it should hopefully be a fight down to the end. Keep an eye on this game, if you want to watch something entertaining.
Week 2
Thursday, Sept. 10 Clemson at Georgia Tech Clemson. Talk about a tough choice. If you ignore the rankings, which, in most cases mean very little at this point, and you don't know much about either team this year, it's a difficult decision. Clemson beat Middle Tennessee State by... a whopping 23 points. GT beat Jacksonville State, the team of former LSU QB Ryan Perrilloux by 20. One problem, though... this star QB was suspended for the opener. Factor that in, and you're left wondering how JS put up 17 points on what should be a strong(ish) ACC BCS team. I'm giving the edge to Clemson solely for this. Clemson's defense, despite giving up 14 to a similar level of talent, played a complete team. I didn't watch either game, and I'm not informed. That score is pretty much all that I'm going on. Should be fun!
Friday, Sept. 11 Colorado at Toledo Colorado.
Saturday, Sept. 12
Syracuse at Penn State Penn State, close game.
North Carolina at Connecticut Connecticut, slight upset.
Stanford at Wake Forest Stanford. This is a game between two bad teams. Wake Forest lost to Baylor last week, I believe.
Troy at Florida Florida.
Notre Dame at Michigan Michigan. Dozens of ND fans across the nation will cry, Lou Holtz still believes they'll win the title this year.
UCLA at Tennessee Tennessee, could grow to be an interesting game. Might not.
Jacksonville State at Florida State FSU Watch this game if you can, or at least keep an eye on it. Ryan Perrilloux is back, and JSU did pretty well against Georgia Tech in week one. FSU had a tough game, a short week to prepare, and it could be an upset.
Florida International at Alabama Alabama, no contest.
Vanderbilt at LSU LSU. Vanderbilt leads at the half, very close, until 4th Quarter.
South Carolina at Georgia South Carolina. Should be a funny game to watch, Georgia might not be very motivated.
Bowling Green at Missouri Bowling Green. Big upset pick. No one expects this. To me, blowing out Illinois means nothing.
Mississippi State at Auburn Auburn. Should be close
USC at Ohio State Ohio State. Game is no contest. Shocks the nation. ESPN won't stop talking about it, etc, etc.
Utah at San Jose State San Jose State. Another big upset.
Thursday, Sept. 17 Georgia Tech @ Miami Miami. Could be close, probably not, Miami's excited, ready to win. GT, despite upsetting me last week, won out of Clemson's helplessness, IMO.
Saturday, Sept. 19
Tennessee at Florida Florida
USC at Washington Washington. I think I just like to choose upsets, you know? But Washington played LSU well, and LSU wasn't even the team they knew. Could be interesting. USC is probably also a little beat up after last week's tough game.
Tulsa at Oklahoma Oklahoma. They should win this one, but crazier things have happened.
Nebraska at Virginia Tech ...Virginia Tech. It's hard to say that, truthfully, I do because VT held it close for most of the Alabama game, and it's at home. Could be close, if Nebraska does remotely well, even without winning, it could mean a lot for the program, and they need that.
Utah at Oregon Oregon. They got embarrassed by Boise, so what could lift their spirits by beating another BCS-quality mid-major?
Michigan State at Notre Dame Michigan State. Notre Dame started out this year with far too much credit.
Florida State at Brigham Young FSU. This could be interesting. It's hard to say who I want to lose more, just because it's lose/lose when a BCS team plays a mid-major in a BCS bowl, no matter what the mid-major is ranked.
Mississippi State at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt. Their first SEC win of the season.
Georgia at Arkansas Georgia. A tough one to call, but I think after last week, GA's been revitalized, in a sense.
West Virginia at Auburn Auburn. Hard to imagine a season where neither of these teams are ranked. Auburn pulls off the victory thanks to the home field.
Texas Tech at Texas Texas Tech. Why not? I like to pick upsets, right?
Thursday, Sept. 24
Ole Miss at South Carolina Ole Miss, they'll want to prove themselves in their first serious game, just enough.
Saturday, Sept. 26
Arkansas at Alabama Alabama
California at Oregon Oregon
Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech Miami. VT's probably far too tired for this game, Miami should win handily.
Illinois at Ohio State OSU. I want to pick Illinois because I don't like OSU, but Zook's just a terrible coach.
TCU at Clemson Clemson. Despite how inept Clemson's been, it's a home game for them, which should help.
Florida at Kentucky Florida. Should be a tough game, and a real test for Florida, for two reasons combined: First road game + several sick players. Sickness affected the game against Tennessee last week, and now Tebow and more players have come down with what might be a swine flu.
Arizona State at Georgia Georgia, could be fun to watch
Ohio at Tennessee Tennessee
Iowa at Penn State Penn State. People think Iowa can win this game. I think Iowa's a let-down team that's favored too much. I think Penn State's almost the same, though, so I made a tough choice here. I'd like to see Iowa win it, though.
Vanderbilt at Rice Vanderbilt
Washington at Stanford Suddenly this game is interesting. Washington wins here, but gets "drunk from the victories" and loses next week.
Texas Tech at Houston Texas Tech. Houston played well against a team that slept in the first half with Oklahoma State, but they won't be underestimated again.
Thursday, Oct. 1st Colorado at West Virginia WVU. It's at home, and that's the main reason why I choose 'em.
Saturday, Oct. 3rd
Michigan at Michigan State MSU. Personally, I don't think either team is great, but Michigan will start to give me confidence in them if they win here.
Alabama at Kentucky Alabama. Not a hard choice. Who knows, maybe Kentucky will fight back in this one?
LSU at Georgia LSU. One of the day's biggest games. Personally, I think LSU has been holding back. I saw some of their game against Mississippi State, and they honestly didn't look as bad as people made them out to be. MSU is a tough team to play in their house, so I'll cut LSU some slack. Georgia has just been playing far too inconsistent for me to pick them, but they could easily upset and surprise.
Washington at Notre Dame Notre Dame. I'd love to be wrong on this one.
Florida State at Boston College Florida State. I believe this is ESPN's pick for gameday. I also believe ESPN does some stupid things sometimes. Florida State wins because Boston College doesn't utilize Florida State's Kryptonite this year: Playing on Bobby Bowden Field.
Mississippi at Vanderbilt Vandy. Just because I want to.
Georgia Tech at Mississippi State MSU. Didn't Decoyman say something about not picking against your own conference? Also, I still think GT is pathetic.
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas Arkansas. They've played pretty well this year, so I don't see why they'd lose here.
Auburn at Tennessee Tennessee. Just because Tennessee needs the win, and Auburn's biggest wins have been due to the other team's helplessness.
USC at California USC. I can't say Oregon? How about UCLA? Washington? No? USC should have an easy time here. California won't perform up to par, still down from last week's game.
Oklahoma at Miami (FL) Miami. This is a tough pick. I chose Miami last week, and regretted it. I probably will again. I pick Miami simply because they're at home and I think Oklahoma's been running on borrowed time without Bradford. I'll be impressed with either team that wins, though, because they're two good teams (I think OU is normally better), that should play well.
Washington State at Oregon WSU. Oregon will some how look inept, for a laugh, I think.
Thursday, Oct. 8th
Nebraska at Missouri Nebraska I think Missouri's overrated, and at this point, Nebraska is underrated. Which means I believe Nebraska should win handily.
Wednesday, Oct. 14th
Boise State at Tulsa Tulsa. Because I really really want Boise State to lose, due to their simple schedule. This is pretty much the last "tough" game on their schedule.
Thursday, Oct. 15th
Cincinnati at South Florida USF. I think USF has been pretty good so far this year, and they've got spirit. Yes they do.
Picking record: 51 of 79
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 04, 2009, 08:16:59 AM
I am very ready for this season. As a Gator fan, I know you are too.
Have fun gloating this year. You know, the last time you Gators had a whiz kid at QB, my Huskers schooled him 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl... just sayin... :)
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on September 04, 2009, 02:27:53 PM
I've decided to give this thread a "Pick 'em" vibe. I'm going to be picking which team I think will win out of the games I'm watching or at least interested in. I'll probably update the day after each gameday with the actual victorious team, and update my record as well.
And actually, the last time we had a whiz kid at QB, we won the title... After he had prior experience competing for a title :p
Despite our three National Championship wins, we've never won the title with an undefeated season, and while I'm not trying to assume that we'll automatically be in the championship game, I hope that if we do make it there, we won't have to do it with any losses, to finally have an undefeated season.
Anyways, feel free to offer your predictions on games, but don't just go after ones that look one-sided. I'm not going to dictate the games everyone picks, because something I find interesting might not be so interesting to you, but hopefully I'll list all the big ones!
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 04, 2009, 03:09:20 PM
Well if you pick the SEC, I'll pick the Big 12. Then we have the two best conferences covered. (Sorry, tOSU fans).
Here's my picks for the Big 12 this weekend:
Baylor 10 at Wake Forest 21 Colorado 17 at Colorado State 10 Northern Colorado 10 at Kansas 49 Massachusetts 7 at Kansas State 34 Illinois 28 vs. Missouri 24 Florida Atlantic 21 at Nebraska 35 BYU 17 vs. Oklahoma 56 Georgia 42 at Oklahoma State 38 UL Monroe 0 at Texas 63 New Mexico 14 at Texas A&M 21 North Dakota 10 at Texas Tech 28
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on September 04, 2009, 03:20:48 PM
Ah, someone's going for scores, too? I was going to pick all the SEC, but also include anything I'd think interesting. I'm not going to say scores I expect, though, since I'm not going for anything in Vegas. You'll see some crossover picks, for example, BYU/Oklahoma is on my mental list, and maybe Illinios and Missouri.
I think Oklahoma's going to struggle with their opener, though. BYU isn't as good as they are, but since it's opening week, they'll be starting fresh, and depth will mean less than it normally does. I'd estimate a closer game than you have, and probably a 1/3 chance OU could lose, even.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 04, 2009, 03:33:21 PM
Last year's OU Offense was really great (aside from the Bowl game, which it started to look average, THANKS A LOT) so I really don't think they'll have too many problems. Sam Bradford is a real stud.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on September 04, 2009, 04:45:14 PM
Sure, they've got a "great" offense, but didn't they lose a couple of their starting offensive line, and didn't another leading member of it just get injured?
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 04, 2009, 04:49:01 PM
Perhaps, but OU has been fantastic for going on 8 years now. I have no reason to believe that this year they'll suddenly have depth problems on the O-Line. OU will do what great programs do: reload.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 05, 2009, 12:18:27 AM
I like college football but don't follow it too closely outside of my teams. In that category, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the 9th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are going to manage to squeak out a victory over the Akron Zips.
Also, with my luck the Mercyhurst Lakers are going to lose every game (or at least every home game) except when they play Gannon.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on September 05, 2009, 06:27:01 AM
For me, insanolord, it's funny how at the end of the season, things connect in an amazing way, so nearly every game with several schools matters more than you'd think. That's part of why I love it. I don't follow stats or starters, I like more to get a feeling of a team's vibe. How they act and feel as a unit, so a lot of my predictions are based on how much heart, grit, spirit, or whatever you'd like to call it that the team has, while factoring injuries, sometimes. First week predictions are tough, since I've got nothing to really go off of, but still, things should be close, in some ways, to last year.
It would be nice to see Nebraska step back to the level of importance they had in the 90's, or at least become a major player in the Big 12. Most teams can practically walk through the North division with a stroke of luck, and the conference needs an exciting championship, IMO. I could definitely see the game against FAU to be an eye-opener, if the team has some real spirit. The way I see it, FAU could have the lead coming out of the half, so if Nebraska manages their way out of there, I'll be keeping my eyes open for them.
Other than that, another big game is Ohio State and Navy: Navy's a different team. They don't play ball like the Big Ten, they run the triple option. When I look at OSU, I see a team that likes it when other teams play on their level. If you play OSU the way OSU plays football, they'll win. Now, OSU is adapting, with the recruits they've picked up, with Terrelle Pryor, and other things, really, they could be an entirely different team, but if they haven't made some serious changes in attitude and preparation, this game could be closer than expected, or carried away by Navy.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 05, 2009, 06:52:37 AM
For me, insanolord, it's funny how at the end of the season, things connect in an amazing way, so nearly every game with several schools matters more than you'd think. That's part of why I love it. I don't follow stats or starters, I like more to get a feeling of a team's vibe. How they act and feel as a unit, so a lot of my predictions are based on how much heart, grit, spirit, or whatever you'd like to call it that the team has, while factoring injuries, sometimes. First week predictions are tough, since I've got nothing to really go off of, but still, things should be close, in some ways, to last year.
It would be nice to see Nebraska step back to the level of importance they had in the 90's, or at least become a major player in the Big 12. Most teams can practically walk through the North division with a stroke of luck, and the conference needs an exciting championship, IMO. I could definitely see the game against FAU to be an eye-opener, if the team has some real spirit. The way I see it, FAU could have the lead coming out of the half, so if Nebraska manages their way out of there, I'll be keeping my eyes open for them.
Other than that, another big game is Ohio State and Navy: Navy's a different team. They don't play ball like the Big Ten, they run the triple option. When I look at OSU, I see a team that likes it when other teams play on their level. If you play OSU the way OSU plays football, they'll win. Now, OSU is adapting, with the recruits they've picked up, with Terrelle Pryor, and other things, really, they could be an entirely different team, but if they haven't made some serious changes in attitude and preparation, this game could be closer than expected, or carried away by Navy.
I get all that, I've just never been able to analyze college football the way I can analyze pro football or baseball. I still love to watch it and all the drama that surrounds it, I just have to rely on the analysis of others.
Later today I'm going to my first college football game for the college I'm attending, which, even though it's just Division II, I'm thinking will have a special feeling to it.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 05, 2009, 10:46:55 AM
It's GAMEDAY.
GO BIG RED.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 06, 2009, 01:41:59 PM
I admit defeat on my BYU-OU pick, nice call thatlongnamedguy.
Nebraska ROLLED yesterday on Florida Atlantic 49-3, but there are bigger names coming up like (surprisingly) Baylor. Also, V-Tech who looked mortal against Alabama.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on September 10, 2009, 06:31:26 PM
Oops, I really messed up with Notre Dame and Nebraska, talk about well underestimating what their performances would be. Nebraska especially surprised me. I didn't watch the game, so I can't say about how they appeared, but that's a dominating score, much stronger than I thought.
My game of the week was surprisingly one-sided, with Georgia unable to produce very much. I really only got to watch most of the first quarter, though, because I left for the Gator's game, and missed the rest. From their first possession, I thought Georgia would do a lot better.
Ohio State really pulled off a close game against Navy, something I predicted. Navy almost brought the game into extra innings, too!
USC beat up on San Jose State... which was exactly what anyone with common sense should have expected. But... after it, ESPN seemed like it proved USC would be a top-notch team this year, once more. Doesn't it seem like beating a weak team by a lot is very little for perennial BCS conference champs to be excited about? If you had been having a few bad years, sure, it's a big deal, but in the big picture, you know it just means your team knows how to play.
Virginia Tech held Alabama's offense for the bulk of the game, really. I'm shocked. As far as the ACC goes, VT is the real deal.
Speaking of the ACC, I didn't get the prediction up, but I was going to pick FSU over Miami on Monday night. Miami's offense showed they could push through a long game, and looked a bit more experienced than I expected. VT, Miami, and FSU are likely actually the ACC's teams to watch, if they can remain consistent. Boston College or Nortch Carolina could wind up as players in the conference, but I even doubt that.
Anyways, enough of last week, time to talk this coming one! There's an underwhelming game today of which I wrote up my thoughts in the OP. Should be a close game, though, since both teams are likely of similar skill.
Then, we've got a few "big ones" with OSU hosting USC. This game should shock some people. Overwhelmingly, you'll see the serious picks go for USC, and why shouldn't they? The school offers a complete package year in and out, and never truly has to rebuild, since the soak up virtually all of the West Coast's talent. Then, you'll see people who have been forced to counter-pick OSU, and grudgingly say things like "It's a home game for OSU, and The Shoe is a tough place to play in." That'll be how you pick out those people who's employer has forced them to support the other school to foster discussion and take up network time...
...Then, you'll catch a few observant folks who'll notice something: OSU rarely ever faces a scary game like that Navy one, where they have to fight all four quarters against an opponent supposedly not fit to beat them. My question: Could this be a wake-up call, one they haven't had in years? We've seen OSU lose games before by big margins. We've seen them defeat a mediocre Big Ten team time after time, struggling through the game, but running off at the end. We've seen it all, and we've seen them get sloppy and lazy, like they did in the middle of the Navy game, which allowed Navy to lunge back and provide a late-game thrill. But for once, they survived a close game without losing. It's at the front of their minds. They don't want to play sloppy and let the other team have anything, I wouldn't think. Maybe, just maybe, they've realized that to win football, to do well, it doesn't depend on your name, it depends on your talent, heart, and energy. So, I'll be predicting a surprisingly dominant OSU win for this game, by about two touchdowns or so.
I'll write some later about Michigan and Notre Dame. It's a pity this game is turning out so much media attention, both teams have to earn a little more for me to really pay attention any further than a write-up and pick.
Edit: Sheesh... This Clemson/GT game is getting ridiculous. I wouldn't say I was way off with my assessment of GT, but Clemson is just doing everything wrong, and letting Georgia Tech run all over them. 21-0 in the first quarter?! And every touchdown was earned via a huge Clemson mistake, really.
2x Edit: Not very many picks this time, I didn't see too many games I was interested in.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on September 17, 2009, 06:11:44 PM
Well, I'm double posting, so screw you whomever would care.
This time I was 7 of 14 on Saturday. Not good, not bad. Most of my big upset picks were pretty good though. Even if I was wrong, it would be a very close game. OSU showed up to win, but their play calling seriously lost them the game. FSU struggled seriously against JSU, something I think few others would have guessed. Vanderbilt gave LSU a hard time, etc, etc. I'm not doing too bad by my personal measuring stick.
This marks the beginning of Florida's SEC season, with a grudge against Tennessee's head coach for a few remarks he's made about Florida and Urban Meyer, so it should be fun to watch just for that.
Nebraska's season is about to heat up, isn't it, Drew_MG/Andy?
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 18, 2009, 09:28:52 AM
There's a pretty common sentiment floating around Huskerland that this game will be a measuring stick for Nebraska, but I'm not so sure I agree. I unfortunately see little chance that NU walks away from Blacksburg with a win, but to me the real measuring stick isn't in these high profile games - yet. Before Nebraska can beat a team like VT or Oklahoma, it has to first win all of the games it's supposed to win. Namely, the Big XII North. Until Nebraska can consistently beat teams in it's division, it's going to be hard to take these "measuring stick" games seriously.
But that said, if NU beats VT, I'm going to lose my mind and run through the streets screaming. Especially since I'll be back in Lincoln for a wedding this Saturday. (yes, DURING THE GAME. ugh.)
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on September 19, 2009, 07:00:46 PM
If anyone asks, I'm about to drive off a bridge.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on September 19, 2009, 07:04:36 PM
Woohoo for the Huskies.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on October 01, 2009, 06:55:09 PM
I swear I searched for this before I made a new topic. :o
I'm in a bit of a withdrawal this week because of the bye for my Huskers. Will be checking in periodically on Colorado, though, to see if the implosion will continue. That's been kind of a let-down, honestly. I want the teams in the conference to be strong... it makes us look better when we beat them. ;)
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on October 01, 2009, 07:23:50 PM
Well well well... Someone joins the party late, and tries to make another thread about it. I don't even know who's playing tonight, so I better hurry up and make my prediction!
Edit: Wow, that was a rough week last week, for me. Had I chosen even more games I was interested in, I would have done worse than my 6-of-12 record for it. Things of note:
I identified that Oregon would take down California, but missed Washington's loss to Stanford.
In the ACC, FSU lost a game I thought they couldn't lose, at home, to boot. USF's quarterback, Matt Grothe, considered to be the chief reason of the team's notoriety in the past three years, was injured and couldn't play. Somehow, FSU allowed 17, and only managed 7, despite a great, quality win the week before.
Also, Virginia Tech, a team that's been pretty solid against top competition this year really let loose on Miami. Despite opening against Alabama and playing a solid, tough Nebraska, the team headed into the game without a bye week. I thought they'd be too worn down to handle Miami, but I was mistaken. Instead, Virginia Tech woke up, even though they weren't napping, and looked the best they had all season long. In comparison, a decent Miami team looked sloppy and unprepared, like they were already worn out. Perhaps they are a bit too young to play at a high level week in and week out, but even had Miami brought their A-game, I'm pretty sure VT would have won.
Beyond that, Tebow's hurt! A concussion! Just like Conan O'Brien, too. The hope is that he'll finish healing up quickly, that Brantley gets great experience with the 1st string, and that no matter what, we beat LSU next week. It'll be a tough game, there's no doubt that LSU isn't going to be gunning for us.
Also: Iowa beat Penn State! One of my roommates is a closet Iowa fan, because there's a ton of his family up there. We laughed a bit about how Iowa is probably the only team out of all 120 that could start the season ranked, win their first three games, and then wind up unranked. Alas, that's what happened, and then the Hawkeyes went into Penn State for a win! I was surprised, it wasn't an upset I picked, but I know Penn State likes to drop a game or two when they face the other top competition in the Big Ten, so it was bound to happen at some point.
Also, Houston surprised me, but I've got to see 'em win more. When I watched Texas Tech at Texas, I didn't know that players had the flu at Texas, so I was surprised at how well TT matched up. Now that I know that's part of the reason, well, I still would have picked Texas Tech to win, but I wouldn't have been so certain of it.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on October 01, 2009, 07:46:41 PM
Well, Colorado vs. West Virginia just started... I honestly don't know who to pick on this one.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on October 02, 2009, 01:38:06 PM
Never pick against your own conference.
Unless Missouri or Colorado are playing.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on October 08, 2009, 10:42:08 AM
Nebraska @ Mizzou tonight, on ESPN. Huskers are favored by 3 or 4 points.
Gonna be a sloppy, relatively low-scoring game, thanks to some bad weather that's scheduled to hit tonight... That in mind, I'm going to predict a score:
Huskers 24 Tigers 13
knock on wood
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on October 09, 2009, 12:34:56 AM
Wow, that was something else there. 27 points in the fourth quarter, and none before that. A lot of people forget this game has four quarters, good thing Nebraska didn't ;)
My idiot, non-gamer roommate was laughing at Nebraska for scoring that last touchdown with a minute left. You know, when Nebraska was up by eight points, exactly one score w/ a two-point conversion, while Missouri had three time-outs. I'm not clear on why. I don't see how any intelligent fan could say running in the football when you're preventing a tie is running up the score at all, and I personally don't have any issue in running up the score in college football, where there isn't a play-off.
Really, though, it was a good game. Nebraska did well to hold Missouri's offense as well as they did, and Missouri never quite let up.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on October 09, 2009, 12:24:03 PM
Okay, some 12 hours after the final whistle I'm finally coming down off of this football high.
This is the most fun I've had as a Husker fan in a long time - dare I say since Frank Solich was coach. Congrats to the Huskers on a tough, tough win. The Nebraska defense is probably the best it's been since the mid 90s, and that's an insane thought.
SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH for HEISMAN
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on October 10, 2009, 10:31:57 PM
I missed out on all my picks for the day. Yup. All of 'em.
Why?
Blame Universal Studios and my father's love and lust for theme parks. Seriously. We went for Halloween Horror Nights, and then to ride the new roller coaster today. The end result? HHN is the same old thing it's been every year for the past several years, and he doesn't want to stand in line to ride the coaster, which wasn't currently operating with an "Express Pass" system, so you couldn't ride it if you wouldn't wait two hours. Personally, I think it was a wasted trip compared to a wasted day of NCAA Football. :(
But, I'm watching the UF - LSU game today, which is nerve-wracking, if you remember 2007's battle in Death Valley. We're winning, but by one touchdown. It's pretty close, but the Gators are about to get the ball again. (Hopefully)
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on October 12, 2009, 07:14:36 PM
Okay, some 12 hours after the final whistle I'm finally coming down off of this football high.
This is the most fun I've had as a Husker fan in a long time - dare I say since Frank Solich was coach. Congrats to the Huskers on a tough, tough win. The Nebraska defense is probably the best it's been since the mid 90s, and that's an insane thought.
SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH for HEISMAN
Ahaha, I'm still up there! Just hope the players came down faster... they've got a tough one later this week against a vulnerable but unpredictable Texas Tech team. Unfinished business and all that after the tough OT loss to them last year. I think we'll take 'em down, but they're so explosive, it's crazy: >700 yards of offense against K-State last weekend, including nearly 500 yards passing... by the backup QB. Get your heads in the game and buy into what the coaches are saying, Husker players: "the most important game on the schedule is the next one."
Congrats, thatguy: your Gators got another hard-fought victory against a tough LSU team... nice win for you guys. Those defensive battles are always tense, edge-of-your-seat affairs. Wish I could've watched it, but had a wedding to go to that night.
This week, I'm looking forward to Oklahoma–Texas, as are many, I'm sure. Oklahoma's having a bit of a down year, partially due to losing Bradford a few weeks back, but I feel like they're ready to surge. Texas has fared much better in the non-conference part of the schedule, but hasn't really been tested yet. Who'll step up? Will Bradford shake off the rust and lead his team to an upset? Will McCoy respond to his team falling in the polls, despite being undefeated, and use it to further state his case for a Heisman? It's a tough one to call, but I'm gonna go with Oklahoma here this time. A wounded animal is a dangerous animal, and you could say the Sooners are wounded after a less-than-stellar start to their season.
Just a few days to go...
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on October 12, 2009, 07:48:22 PM
Didn't two Texas RBs get injured in the Colorado game? They definitely had to have played sloppy to be down in the first half, but it's a four quarter game, and Texas is one of those teams that excel at playing well towards the end of the game this year.
Anyways, I'll be thinking Oklahoma for that game, but it'll be one I'll watch if I'm not at the Arkansas-Florida game at the same time. Should be fun.
The worst part about the Gator game was that there were several points where we could have pulled a bit ahead, but we made careless errors, like missing a close-range field goal and throwing a pick to a receiver that didn't see the ball was heading his way. That's how we lost to Ole Miss last year, and after it, we played mostly error-free football. I think if Florida cleans up their game, and stops making this kind of mistake, we'd see a team more than worthy of carrying the #1 ranking. Right now, though, Alabama is certainly playing better football, from what I've seen.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on October 14, 2009, 03:20:24 PM
I think anyone that counts Oklahoma out is in for a surprise. That said, I think that Texas looks like the better team this year, and I expect them to win by 1-2 TDs.
As for NU-TT, this one scares me. It's the only game this year I'll be able to attend, so I'm really really hoping for a Husker victory, but TT looked mighty fine against K-State last weekend.
Early prediction, Nebraska: 24, Texas Tech: 21
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on October 14, 2009, 08:18:48 PM
Whee! I want Boise State to lose :D
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on November 09, 2009, 11:09:41 AM
Wow, what a weekend for football. Nebraska is finally starting to get these signature Pelini wins, but man the offense stinks. Like, maybe the worst offense in the Big XII. Maybe by a large margin.
But where one sinks, the other floats. I haven't ever seen a Nebraska defense I've been this proud of. I'd put the NU defense up against any offense in the country right now.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on November 09, 2009, 02:48:13 PM
You might have noticed, I stopped making predictions. I just decided not to, I didn't particularly care enough.
At this point, we've got... six undefeated teams left, and two are mid-majors. Watching Boise State play leaves me wondering if they might lose an upcoming game, just from a loss of intensity, at least on defense. Cincinnati also seems like a team that could lose one. TCU has a few tough games coming up, IIRC. Florida and Alabama have to play each other. Texas still could be upset in one of a few games.
Should be interesting to see how these teams finish out the season.
Also, the ACC is very weird, as usual as of late. If the average strength was just a little bit higher, they could easily become a very dominant conference again.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on November 10, 2009, 04:26:24 PM
I <3 the Husker Blackshirts. That win over Oklahoma on Saturday was just gutty and grueling and intense.
The attitude on D is just awesome. The offense is struggling? They cough up the ball eight times (EIGHT!!!) in the ISU game and we lose by 2 points. What does Suh say? "The defense didn't play hard enough. We should've held them to less points." He didn't blame the offense or point fingers or anything. That made me really happy to hear that. The D is putting the team on its back, and for now, they're strong enough to carry them. "Here you go, offense. We got the ball back for you at the opponents' 1-yard line. Punch it in."
Hopefully in the meantime, the offense will find their rhythm, because we can't win the super-tough games with just a really great defense. We need to be able to put some points on the board on offense at some point.
You might have noticed, I stopped making predictions. I just decided not to, I didn't particularly care enough.
I care enough to make predictions for the Huskers... couldn't be bothered with doing that for all the big weekly games! :P Speaking of, I'm going to throw this out there:
Nebraska: 24 Kansas: 10
You should at least predict the Florida game, thatguy. :)
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on November 10, 2009, 05:01:53 PM
Florida wins. All of 'em.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on November 10, 2009, 05:19:12 PM
Well, that's easy to say, as Florida has been looking pretty dang good.
But how about scores, man, scores! :P
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on November 13, 2009, 10:56:55 AM
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this week, with a healthy Roy Helu Jr and Cody Green at QB, the Husker offense finds its footing with a 31-17 win over the Jayhawks.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on November 14, 2009, 04:06:19 AM
Anyone catch that WVU-Cincinnati game?
WVU was down a touch down with about six minutes in the 4th, and had a 4 and 8 on the 20-something yardline. Rather than kick, they went for it.
Then, Cincinnati scored a field goal, and WVU came back with a touchdown. They tried an onsides kick, didn't get it, and lost.
That had to have been the worst playcalling decision I've seen for a situation like that. Cincinnati would have likely wound up in a tie, or even losing, had they just kicked the field goal instead.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on November 18, 2009, 11:55:00 AM
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this week, with a healthy Roy Helu Jr and Cody Green at QB, the Husker offense finds its footing with a 31-17 win over the Jayhawks.
:o All but Cody Green at QB. Crazy. I was off by 7 points both ways (24-10).
That had to have been the worst playcalling decision I've seen for a situation like that. Cincinnati would have likely wound up in a tie, or even losing, had they just kicked the field goal instead.
Wow. I always heard, take the points when you can get 'em. So yeah, sounds like a pretty bad decision. Of course, if he makes it, the coach is a genius... Same deal with ol' Bill and the Patriots in that loss against the Colts this week.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on November 18, 2009, 04:42:42 PM
Sometimes it's like that, sometimes it isn't.
The thing is, in this scenario, looking at following possibilities, there wasn't any logic in it, and the risk, with the 4th and 8, just didn't add up. I'm all for taking a calculated risk and going for short 4th downs, or calling a special play in special scenarios, or even not special scenarios, but they've got to be plays with a glimmer of a chance to work, and with a glimmer of reasoning behind them. In very few cases when a risky play does work, you wonder why it was done, yet this was one of them. No matter what happened, given the scenario, it still made no sense!
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on November 19, 2009, 09:08:41 AM
So I was playing a game of NCAA Football 10 last night, and I wanted to run something by (the two of) you all (who read this thread).
Tied 7-7 in the second quarter against a vastly inferior opponent, I was struggling mightily on defense. Idaho was driving on me at will and had needed only about 5 or 6 plays to get into my red zone.
On 3rd and 8, they ran up the gut for 6 yards, making it 4th and 2. There was a holding call, however, knocking them back to 3rd and 14.
The question is this: do you decline the penalty, effectively giving the opponent 3 free points? Or do you knock them back 10 yards, but give them another chance to get a 1st down, possibly leading to 7 points, knowing that your defense is on it's heels?
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on November 19, 2009, 09:13:25 AM
Also, I think Nebraska wins a close one this weekend, to the tune of 28-24.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on November 19, 2009, 10:32:51 AM
Depends on the yardlines there were on. My gut says that if it let them into field goal range, and the penalty moved them back, to take the penalty. It's awfully tough to get a 14 on a third down.
That said, in a real game, that seems like 4th and 2 is four down territory, and if it is, and they're so successful on offense, you'd need to take the penalty, anyways. Had you known for certain that they'd kick a field goal, that's one thing, but you didn't. 4th and 2s in the red zone are awfully scary for a defense performing poorly, and a 3rd and 14 feels a lot better.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on November 30, 2009, 12:11:21 AM
Grr, I had a nice and pretty post all typed up here, clicked submit, and the forums went down for a super update.
Anyways, there's six undefeateds, with a chance for five to escape next week and enter bowl season, which is just incredible.
As a Gator fan, I'm rooting for Nebraska, particularly Nebraska's defense, so Colt McCoy doesn't look so good. Of course, I want Tebow to win the Heisman.
That is an ugly sum-up of my beautiful, lost-forever post.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on November 30, 2009, 08:37:36 AM
In 2005, Texas beat Colorado 70 - 3 in the Big XII Championship. Nebraska won't lose that badly, but it might not be pretty. I'd love to see Nebraska's defense hold firm, and if they play as well as they did against Oklahoma, Missouri, and V-Tech, then they have a chance at pulling off the upset. Unfortunately, Texas is better than Texas Tech, and Texas Tech smoked us in Lincoln.
If Nebraska plays their best game, and Texas plays an average game: NU 17, UT 10 If Nebraska plays their best game, and Texas plays their best game: NU 10, UT 14 If Nebraska plays an average game, and Texas plays their best game: NU 10, UT 35 If Nebraska plays an average game, and Texas plays an average game: NU 10, UT 21
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: Stogi on December 04, 2009, 01:35:11 AM
GO OREGON
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on December 05, 2009, 10:27:59 PM
Well, the Gators lost, and likely will play in the Sugar Bowl now, which isn't a bad thing.
To be honest, I'm not that upset about the loss, because, at least offensively, we made the same mistakes all in the game we did all year long. We've had issues with dropped passes all year long, and would have saved several drives, except our receivers just couldn't catch the ball on important plays, and it's plagued us the whole season. Alabama's a great team, so there's not much shame in a loss to them.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: decoyman on December 07, 2009, 01:30:16 PM
Ya got your wish, Stogi! At least one of the four people in this thread is happy.
Yeah, it was a tough loss for the Huskers Saturday night, but I couldn't be happier with how our defense played throughout the game. Watching Suh & Friends™ toss Texas's Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback around like a ragdoll all game was very, very impressive. And fun. That guy has been nothing but bad news for Nebraska since he broke our hearts with his first fourth-quarter comeback against us as a freshman in 2006.
If Suh doesn't get an invitation to the Heisman Ceremony, which is supposed to celebrate the "most dominant player in college football" (not the most dominant offensive player), it'd be a crime, and they should redefine it to say it's just for offensive players.
In closing, a letter to Santa Clause:
What up, Santa!
How've you and Mrs. Clause been? Hopefully good! Anyways, I know you're a busy guy this time of year, so enough with the pleasantries.
I know it's been awhile since I've written, but I had a special request this year.
All I want for Christmas is an average, serviceable, boring ol' Husker offense. It doesn't need to be flashy or put up obscene numbers, but it'd be VERY nice if it could get 10 yards when, for example, a super-awesome punt return sets them up at the opponent's 10-yard line. If you could deliver this to the Husker locker room by Christmas, I'd sure be happy. And they'd be able to take the new offense out for a spin against Arizona a few days later!
Will leave some carrots for your reindeer, and some celery for you. No offense, but you should really watch your weight, and celery is a negative calory food from what I hear!
Thanks, Santa – you're awesome.
Your friend, Aaron
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: that Baby guy on December 07, 2009, 02:08:11 PM
...Don't look now, but currently Suh is in an insignificant lead on the Heisman ballots. I'm rooting for him now, he played great. He or Ingram deserve it, IMO.
Title: Re: NCAA Football '09
Post by: Stogi on December 07, 2009, 04:16:30 PM
Sports having been going great for me this year. Saints are doing really well. Oregon made it through. Celtics are looking good. Purdue basketball is the best it's been in a while and my Arsenal Gunners are whoopin' some ass in the UEFA cup.
