I thought the Alabama game last night was BEAUTIFUL! Wow, Saban getting his hat handed to him AT HOME. This is exactly why teams schedule "cupcakes" early in the season. That being said, IF Alabama runs the table the rest of the way, they can chalk it up as an early September loss and maybe still get into the playoff.

Or they could have say, two losses and Saban will cry that Alabama should be in the playoff.

Posted by: @sang

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Interesting first week - we were all pretty close - should be a fun year - or, for DanB - 1/2 a year ...  

I've been playing these pick 'em pools (both pro and college) for a long time and I can't remember a worse day than I had yesterday. Not only this one but my one for $$$ which is more important. I think I went 10-16 in that. Some were close exciting games, which is good but not when you have the $$$ on the line!

I had hoped that Alabama had found a way to shore-up last year's porous offensive line.  Last night, they evoked imagery of a screen door on a submarine.  Can't blame everything on Milroe.  I sure miss Bryce!  Should be an interesting season for Nick. RTR.

All 5 guys in the pool are neck and neck. And while only two weeks in, nobody has forgotten to put their picks in yet!  

Here is about as much as I can offer for any of the major college football games.

I haven't been very involved watching either Ohio State or Notre Dame, but I was thinking a little about this last night. Thinking that last year Notre Dame defense did as good of a job, maybe the best job vs Ohio State than anyone did last year. I know it was game 1 which helps that fact, but still, ND D was very successful last year vs them and that was a better Ohio State offense. Personnel-wise, I don't know how this ND D stacks up vs the 2022 unit. Point is, ND defensively should do quite well, especially now seeing that Ohio State 2023 offense game 1 and game 2 was not where it needs to be. Think that is a fair statement. I have no idea how well they played last week although I see what WKU final score was. So I'm picturing OSU 2023 O week 1 and week 2 and the ND D vs them from the 2022 game. I would like Notre Dame just with those things in mind. Now add the fact that Hartman is the QB for ND it should put them in position to be successful in this game.  Ohio State being road favored in this game seems off.

GO BRUINS!  BEAT THE UTES!

@stratdal 

I watched some of that game. It was kind of a snoozer, but many of the games were yesterday. UCLA (and Utah actually) couldn't get their offenses going.

Had a pretty good day with my picks, I went 21 and 5. But these are straight up. 

Sacramento State and Idaho was really good.  Two of the best teams in the country went down to the very end. 

Chattanooga really took it to Samford, just as Western Carolina had done a couple weeks ago.  Samford may have one of the top QBs in the country, but that team is broken.

Eastern Illinois All Conference kicker pulled a groin in week 1 pregame warmups and hasn't kicked at all in a game this year.  Until yesterday when they called him cold off the bench to kick a game winning 56 yarder!  That was pretty cool.

Lafayette is having a nice turnaround season, 3-1 with their only loss to Duke.  They have pulled 3 upsets with the latest being over CAA's Monmouth.  Lafayette is in the Patriot Leauge, Patriot League teams aren't supposed to beat CAA teams.

Montana fans already had the pitchforks out for Bobby Hauck, after disappointing last year, with the in-state Bobcats surging and now struggling with Butler and Dll power Ferris State last week, they go and lose at NAU who isn't good. 

Gut wrenching back-to-back losses for SEMO.  Thav have trailed those games for a grand total of :11 and lost both after turning the ball over late by their two best players in successive weeks.

Big win by Delaware over UNH. 

Rhode Island and Mercer prove again, they just aren't good enough to be taken seriously.

Eastern Washington is having a resurgent season vs a really tough schedule.  They upset UC Davis last night and actually they have won I think 12 in a row now vs Davis? 

Lots of good Big Sky games yesterday.  Just about the entire MVFC was on bye, they get into conference play next week.

Kudos to WA St coach for calling out Lee Corso for dismissing a PAC12 game as the "No One Watches Bowl". Just a shitty, unnecessary thing to say. The networks helped destroy these college athletic conferences, pretty lame for a never-was-been college coach to shit on college kids.

https://www.si.com/college/2023/09/24/washington-state-jake-dickert-slams-espn-lee-corso

Posted by: @porkchopbob

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Kudos to WA St coach for calling out Lee Corso for dismissing a PAC12 game as the "No One Watches Bowl". Just a shitty, unnecessary thing to say. The networks helped destroy these college athletic conferences, pretty lame for a never-was-been college coach to shit on college kids.

https://www.si.com/college/2023/09/24/washington-state-jake-dickert-slams-espn-lee-corso

Thanks, I did not hear that and would've probably missed it.  Good for Dickert for speaking up and calling out stuff like that.

The Washington/Oregon game yesterday was a great one. Definitely the highlight of the weekend. USC looked horrible. Two top ten teams lost so there will be some shuffling. 

Are all the guys in the pick 'em pool through the midway point just ready to concede me as the winner?  

We're not worried, you'll forget to do picks at some point ... 😀 ,  Dan B is due to forget soon ... 

I think I would do better if I made my picks for the week and then switched them all ...  

@sang 

A buddy of mine did this several years ago in an N.F.L. pick 'em league. Didn't help. I tried a variant of it. That didn't work either.

Just got home to watch the Iowa-Nebraska game. I saw a fumble on a punt, a blocked field goal attempt, and a total of 87 yards of offense after the first quarter. Nobody scored.

The over/under on the game? 25.5.

Well, the under came in. 23 points. First time a line has been that low since at least 2000 from what I saw.

Scott went 0 and 9 in yesterday's picks. I've never seen such a miraculous day. Obviously, he just clicked on the wrong side of the picks.  

Former FSU QB, Danny Kannel says that, "Georgia is gonna boat race Alabama (next weekend)".  I was expecting a football game.

What does, "boat race" mean in this context?

Good ? Rusty, that’s a new one on me too 

Rusty, it means Georgia will beat Alabama badly, the game won't be close. Whether that's actually going to happen might be another thing.

The thing I am curious about is if the season ends and there are FOUR undefeated teams and one gets left out (think Florida State). Who goes in with one loss?

Glad I'm not making that decision!

@rusty 

All valid points. The cupcake thing is silly BUT they do get some game experience. Michigan has done that for a few years or so recently and they did it a long time ago as well. In the 90s you could get into a game in September for $5. It does help to hold 100,000 + people in there.

Regarding the early season win vs. loss, it was always better to lose a game earlier rather than later. The thought being it didn't look as bad I guess. In college hoops that thought is still very much in play. 

I have seen all of these experts throw out possible scenarios and of course, there are a myriad of possibilities. You won't like this one but what if no SEC team makes it? I don't think Georgia's record over the past two years should matter at all. One and two years ago. You might need to explain the logic of that one to me.

Here's a poser for you: right now Ohio St is ranked number two, AHEAD of two undefeated teams. Is that fair? Florida State isn't in as a number five? Is that fair because their QB is out?

If Michigan and Ohio State end up two and three does the committee want to see them play in the first playoff game? Or would it make better theater if they were to play in the last game?

Hell, Washington is getting 9.5 points against a team they already beat.

These things typically play out and I think this Saturday it will be the same. 

Those were my darts!  

Have never heard that term b4 - spank/smoke/wax/dust/crush em etc, sure….…

but boat race em, no, but am unfamiliar with many college football terms expressed here in Lee’s post - cupcake, poser, darts, those sorts of things

thought “boat race em” might’ve been a reference to a close game between 2 teams w/a Lot of speed - boat races have a lot of speed, those boats are as souped up & built for speed as NAS-CARs

was also thinking he might’ve meant sailboat race, referring to 2 slow teams

I have locked up the pool for this year. Sang is fighting as hard as he can to stay out of the cellar.

Congratulations Lee!  You've won 2 of the last 3 years.  Hope everyone is doing well.

The sun was in my eyes ...  

Okay Meeechigan, time to win a National Championship!  

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39289344/qb-casey-thompson-commits-oklahoma-4th-school-7-years

Former Texas, Nebraska and FAU quarterback Casey Thompson committed Thursday to Oklahoma, where he will play his seventh season in college football.

@porkchopbob 

Perfect line. I think Bluto had a similar one in "Animal House".

I saw that on the sports ticker last night. Pretty amazing IMO.

Hey, he can buy beer for his teammates.  

As I pay back my student loans, I'm trying to imagine going to college expecting to make $13m. That's quite a scholarship.

I have no idea how this case will end up, but college football is slowly eating itself.

"University of Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday accusing University of Florida head football coach William “Billy” Napier and others of fraud and failing to pay a purportedly promised $13.85 million name, image and likeness (NIL) agreement."

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/22/sport/jaden-rashada-sue-william-napier-georgia-florida-spt-intl/index.html

I wonder if (some of) his UGA teammates get NIL from their mugshots?  😉

If he decides he don't like Georgia (3rd stop/signing of his "career" if you count Florida) he can hit the transfer portal in like, mid-play!