Top 25 - Michigan Wolverines

INTER - Louisville Cardinals

INTRA - Miami Hurricanes

Random - Penn State Nittany Lions

BTS - NO

FCS - Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles

Not sure if any of these games have been played yet...

WEEK 14

Top 25 - Ohio State Buckeyes - Going with the only state that is high in the middle and round on both ends.

INTER - Kentucky Wildcats - Cats eat Birds.

INTRA - Miami Hurricanes - Cats don't do so well in the rain.

Random - Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Can't believe I'm picking Rutgers over PSU.

BTS - Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Stanford Cardinal (Notre Dame by 32.5) NO - Cardinal ekes by with 29 point loss.

FCS - North Dakota Fighting Hawks - Bird Fight! Going with the team that has "Fighting" in it's name.

BONUS PICK!!!

Commonwealth Cup - The Hoos of C'ville stomp the Pigeons of B-burg.

UVA vs Va Tech

My good buddy Jack is a big Tech fan. He actually graduated when it was still referred to as Virginia Polytechnic Institute. My guy swears that the Cavs are going to win. As for me, I won't believe it until the clock hits zeroes and we have at least one more point than the Hokes. UVA has won 2 out of the past 25 and in a lot of those games they had the better team but lost anyway. Since Tech isn't going to a Bowl this is their Bowl. They'll be playing hard and it will be up to UVA to not get overconfident and relax.

Hoping for a good, relaxing game.

Wheeeh!!! Now on to Duke who we just crushed a few weeks ago.

Top 25 - Ohio State wins (Howie and Chip got this)

INTER - Louisville wins (Chip and I got this)

INTRA - Miami wins (we all got this)

Random - Penn State wins (Chip and I got this)

BTS - Notre Dame only wins by 29 (we all got this)

FCS - North Dakota Fighting Hawks win (Howie and Chip got this)



jbeeman85 - 550 points (510 + 40)
bluedevil2002 - 550 points (490 + 60)
MoonKnight1 - 440 points (400 + 40)

WEEK 15

Top 25 - Indiana Hoosiers vs Ohio State Buckeyes (in Indianapolis)

INTER - No game this week

INTRA - Georgia Bulldogs vs Alabama Crimson Tide (in Atlanta)

Random - Miami (OH) Redhawks vs Western Michigan Broncos (in Detroit)

BTS - Brigham Young Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (in Arlington) (TX Tech by 12.5)

FCS - Rhode Island Rams @ UC Davis Aggies (FCS Round 2)

Top 25 - Ohio State Buckeyes


INTRA - Alabama Crimson Tide

Random - Western Michigan Broncos

BTS - YES

FCS - UC Davis Aggies

Ya got one, but don't mess up our cup!

Top 25 - Ohio State Buckeyes
How completely pointless is this game? #1 vs #2, yet both teams will probably stay in those positions (or flip) going into the CFP.
They gotta fix the conference championships.

INTRA - Georgia Bulldogs

Random - Miami (OH) Redhawks

BTS - Brigham Young Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (in Arlington) (TX Tech by 12.5) NO

FCS - Rhode Island Rams

We'll take good care of it. Maybe even let you have it back in 10-20 years.

Don't know if any of these have played yet. I was not healthy yesterday. Slept for 13 hours but feeling much better!

WEEK 15

Top 25 - Indiana Hoosiers - Tough picking against Ohio but I don't want to get on the wrong side of Tamwood. Here's the thing. Curt Cignetti is a hell of a coach. That's it.

INTER - No game this week - I'm picking Anytown U. to beat North Southwestern Tech.

INTRA - Georgia Bulldogs - I know Bama has owned the Dawgs in recent years but things change. Go Georgia.

Random - Miami (OH) Redhawks - Always though it was funny that there is a Miami in Ohio. Sorta like the Paris in Texas.

BTS - Brigham Young Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (in Arlington) (TX Tech by 12.5) - NO - BYU got thrashed last time but I think it will be closer this time around.

FCS - Rhode Island Rams - Graduated college in Rhode Island so gotta go Rams!

BONUS PICK - ACC Championship Game - The University of Virginia defeats the Blue Devils of Duke to claim their first ever title without having to share it with anyone else.

If uva won that game, they'd have to share the trophy with the zebras and replay crew. They were trying their best to give it to uva in the last two minutes.

Now for 12 hours of debates about Notre Dame and Miami, because the committee can't be bothered to take head-to-head into account unless teams are arbitrarily placed next to each other.

Actually, ESPN will be debating long into the afternoon, but no one's gonna care come 1 pm.

Hard to believe Notre Dame got left out for a team from a scrub conference

Top 25 - Indiana wins (Howie got this)

INTRA - Bulldogs win (Howie and Chip got this)

Random - Broncos win (I got this)

BTS - Tech wins by 27 (I got this)

FCS - UC Davis wins (I got this)



jbeeman85 - 580 points (550 + 30)
bluedevil2002 - 560 points (550 + 10)
MoonKnight1 - 460 points (440 + 20)

WEEK 16

Army Black Knights vs Navy Midshipmen (in Baltimore)

FCS - South Dakota Coyotes @ Montana Grizzlies (Quarterfinals)

I will list the Playoff games plus a selection of Bowl games. Picks for games are not due until just before kickoff for each game:

Playoffs Round 1

December 19
Oklahoma Sooners @ Alabama Crimson Tide

December 20
Miami Hurricanes @ Texas A&M Aggies

Tulane Green Wave @ Ole Miss Rebels

James Madison Dukes @ Oregon Ducks


Bowl Games

December 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, SC)
Kennesaw State Owls vs Western Michigan State Broncos (C-USA Champ vs MAC Champ)

Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, FL)
Memphis Tigers vs North Carolina State Wolfpack

December 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, ID)
Washington State Cougars vs Utah State Aggies (what a nice location to be awarded with)

December 24
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI)
California Golden Rebels vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (this is more like it for location)

December 27
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, NY)
Penn State Nittany Lions vs Clemson Tigers (probably be a matchup of 4th stringers with all the selfish opt outs here)

Wasabi Fenway Bowl (Boston, MA)
Connecticut Huskies vs Army Black Knights

Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, FL)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs Brigham Young Cougars (the Bowl Notre Dame "too good" to play in)

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (Tucson, AZ)
Miami (OH) Red Hawks vs Fresno State Bulldogs (these sponsors are crazy)

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)
Virginia Cavaliers vs Missouri Tigers (really thought my Vols would end up here)

Kinder's Texas Bowl (Houston, TX)
Louisiana State Tigers vs Houston Tigers (I got a new team to hate as I continue to ride the Anti-Lane Train)

December 29
JLAB Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, AL)
Georgia Southern Eagles vs Appalachian State Mountaineers (the game no one wanted to play in apparently)

December 30
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN)
Tennessee Volunteers vs Illinois Fighting Illini (only one I will watch all the way through)

Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)
Southern California Trojans vs Texas Christian Horned Frogs

December 31
ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, FL)
Iowa Hawkeyes vs Vanderbilt Commodores

Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)
Michigan Wolverines vs Texas Longhorns

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Utah Utes

Navy Midshipmen

FCS - Montana Grizzlies

Playoffs Round 1

December 19
Alabama Crimson Tide

December 20
Texas A&M Aggies

Ole Miss Rebels

Oregon Ducks


Bowl Games

December 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, SC)
Kennesaw State Owls

Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, FL)
Memphis Tigers

December 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, ID)
Utah State Aggies

December 24
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI)
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

December 27
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, NY)
Clemson Tigers

Wasabi Fenway Bowl (Boston, MA)
Army Black Knights

Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, FL)
Brigham Young Cougars

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (Tucson, AZ)
Miami (OH) Red Hawks

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)
Virginia Cavaliers

Kinder's Texas Bowl (Houston, TX)
Houston Tigers

December 29
JLAB Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, AL)
Georgia Southern Eagles

December 30
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN)
Tennessee Volunteers

Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)
Texas Christian Horned Frogs

December 31
ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, FL)
Iowa Hawkeyes

Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)
Michigan Wolverines

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)
Nebraska Cornhuskers

Few thoughts.

I still don't like Tony Elliott. He had 11 wins in his first 3 seasons (first season tragically cut short but probably would have lost the 2 missing games anyway) and had 10 this year. Still 7 games under .500. Never sniffed a Bowl Game until this year when some anonymous donors threw bags of cash at them to purchase some good players. * Crapped the bed against Duke last week with the chance to make history and be the first Cavalier team to ever have sole possession of first place in the ACC. The bogus call in OT when they called some stupid flea flicker trick play right after their super hot QB had just marched them down the field in a minute and a half to score the game tying TD to send it into overtime in the first place enraged me. Coaches outsmarting themselves pisses me off.

*This is more of a NCAA problem than a UVA problem. College football (and basketball) have now turned into NFL, Jr and NBA, Jr. There is no longer School Pride it's who is going to pay me the most to attend your university. The NCAA has a huge problem and it's only getting worse.

About Notre Dame. I find it hilarious that they of all teams are complaining about not getting special privilege. What a joke! They could be 3-9 and would whine about not getting in. "We're The Fighting Irish, we deserve to be in!" . Put a sock in your pie hole! My advice to you - win more games or join a Conference.

Miami. Honestly I don't have a problem with them getting in the Playoff but I kind of wish that they were left out. Not because I don't like them (I don't) but because it would teach the ACC and Jim Phillips a lesson. Do. Better. The tiebreaker rules that allowed Duke in to the championship game are ludicrous. I'll be honest, I was actually happy that UVA got Duke but in hindsight I think it would have been better if they got Miami or SMU instead. Might have taken them more seriously. If the ACC did not have a single team in there would have been some soul searching. Should be anyway.

So Jeremy, I have been wondering what you think about Lame Kiffen now? Dude cracks me up. Last week when he said he didn't know how much he was getting paid by LSU I laughed my tail off! Then him trying to think he could coach his old team while simultaneously being the coach of an in Conference rival was stunningly dumb and funny. Kinda like that time when Al Davis fired him from the Raiders with a power point presentation and the other time when USC fired him on the airport runway before the team plane left. Hope LSU enjoys the next 3-4 years before he peaces out to some new paycheck.

Well, since UVA did what they usually do at least it opened the door for James Madison. Happy that a Virginia team made it. One of my brothers graduated from there so I can root for them. I know that the entire world is convinced that Oregon will trample them but I wouldn't be so certain. JMU only lost once. Sure their opponents weren't the most accomplished but they only lost once. But, Oregon was ranked #1 in the CFP last year and got smoked. Not saying that it's going to happen (or am I) but I would not be shocked to see an upset here.

Oh wow, look at that! Brent Pry is coming back to Va Tech as DC coordinator. Is it just me or is that weird?

Quick thought: Does anyone still doubt Curt Cignetti? Not me.

To some extent. However, right after PSU fired James Franklin, I guessed that Pry's next job would be as his DC at his next school. At the time, I had no idea that VT was a possibility for that. So you have to figure that the only reason Franklin had for not hiring Pry would be that it would look weird.

Apparently, Franklin's best years were with coaches that he knew. Whenever he was asked/forced to hire from outside, it didn't go as well. At least that's what I've been getting from the message boards.

As for the Miami/Notre Dame thing....

Miami should have been ranked ahead of Notre Dame all along. So I think the committee made the right call at the end, but it (banned) me off that they screwed up the rest of the rankings. I strongly believe that the relative rankings for teams not playing in conference championships should be locked in going into that weekend. But I was also kind of hoping that the ACC would get left out completely, as that's the harsh reality that the conference leadership needs to make any sort of progress.

They continue to make very weak rules, schedules, and tiebreakers, assuming that they're just going to end up with exactly two strong teams (and only two) at the end of the season and it will all work itself out. They refuse to entertain the worst case scenarios (such as a 7-5 Duke winning the conference), even though everybody outside of that office knows that the worst case scenario is much more likely to happen.

The funny part is that they keep doing all of this to improve their odds for the CFP, and yet every single move they make ends up hurting them even more.

I was fully expecting to be fully annoyed by whatever BS point Joey Galloway was going to make during the selection show. (I usually like Joey, but sometimes he really digs in on certain points that usually miss the mark and does all sorts of mental gymnastics to justify it.) Imagine my surprise when he actually fully agreed with me that Miami should not have been able to jump Notre Dame with neither played a game.

And then you have people crying because BYU was punished for losing their title game, but Alabama wasn't. And I don't really care much for those arguments.
First, let me preface this by saying that I feel like once you get the playoff teams set, the rankings don't matter. So, if you determine that a team isn't making the tournament, it doesn't matter if they're ranked #11, 21, 25, or not at all.
Since we knew that two of the conference champs would be outside of the top ten, that meant that #10 was the cutoff for at-large teams to get into the tournament. BYU was #11 going into the weekend, which was outside of the range. Their only chance at getting in was winning the Big 12 title (which would give them the auto-bid, negating whatever their actual rank was). By losing, it didn't matter if they stayed or fell in the rankings, they were out anyway.
Meanwhile, Alabama was already in range at #9. Should they have dropped after losing? Probably, but how far can you drop them when the only other team close to them in the rankings that actually played also lost? And really, it only mattered if you felt strong enough to drop them two spots and out of range.

Oh, and did you hear the part where starting next year, if Notre Dame is ranked anywhere in the top 12, they're automatically in the CFP.

A few stories out there trying to say that so many teams are declining bowl invitations, and that's another story that's a bit disingenuous. Obviously, the whiny irish of ND dropped out of a bowl, and so did two Big 12 teams. But those were the only bowl eligible teams that declined. Then the bowls started going down the list of 5-7 teams to fill those now-empty slots, and several of them declined, because they had already started their offseason plans. That's why it looks like 8-10 teams refused a bowl, when it was really only 3.