great, i haven't looked at yours yet either.

and i just saw that erik ainge has a broken pinkie and the game will be at Berkley.

anyone who still wants to play, come on!

I do want this to be fairly friendly, Jack, so someone who notices this later can still play with us. just not sure how to do that. I'll think about it.

Ok, I'll give it a shot. I'm not going to pick a winner in the CSU/CU game because I hate "betting" on a game I have a vested interest in. That said, I think you know where my loyalties lie. My winners are in bold.

#2 LSU @ Mississippi State

Friday, August 31st:

Washington @ Syracuse

Saturday, September 1st:


Marshall @ Miami (FL)

Virginia @ Wyoming

#14 UCLA @ Stanford

Georgia Tech @ Notre Dame

Wake Forest @ Boston College

Ole Miss @ Memphis

Oklahoma State @ #13 Georgia

#15 Tennessee @ #12 California

Monday, September 3rd:

Florida State @ Clemson

yay another player.
thanks PRG

and from now on let's use colored bold pick for winners (predicting the score is not necessary).

I am not positive about these picks but I like them. Interesting week, I suspect a few upsets here and there, winners in bold:

LSU @ Mississippi State
LSU might just be the best team in the country.

Washington @ Syracuse
Close one here but Washington is not too good on the road.

Colorado State @ Colorado
Marshall @ Miami (FL)
Virginia @ Wyoming
Minor upset here in clash of big conference vs. small conference, doesn't count here because Cavs are not too good.
#14 UCLA @ Stanford
Georgia Tech @ Notre Dame
I've never liked Notre Dame at home in the early part of the year (examples: last year with Penn St. and Mich. St.) Look for GT to avenge that tough loss last year.
Wake Forest @ Boston College
Good game here, I think the Deacons should be better this year.
Ole Miss @ Memphis
Oklahoma State @ #13 Georgia
Upset here, tough road game for the Cowboys but I think they can do it.
15 Tennessee @ #12 California
The best game of the week. Always tough for a school to travel to the west coast during any part of the year.

Florida State @ Clemson
Minor upset here as well, FSU should be better this year but I like the Tigers in Death Valley.

quote:

I do want this to be fairly friendly, Jack, so someone who notices this later can still play with us. just not sure how to do that. I'll think about it.

Yeah, I was thinking about this too. I figure anyone can join in at anytime. So if someone checks this out tomorrow, they would essentially 11 picks to choose instead of 12, if they get the rest of their picks in before kickoff of the Washington/Syracuse game. Also, just in case some of us take a week off or some newcomer comes in during week 2 or 3, we'll make the grand prize eligible to anyone with a minimum of 100 picks-- I figure there will at least be 10 games per week so that should give us a nice little buffer. Does that sound fair? I wish there was some way to sticky a thread to show everyone's current win-loss percentage.

LSU is pretty much rolling. I'll be honest, I've been watching the James Blake match at the US Open a little more closely, but LSU's offense has not impressed me. Their defense, that's another story. Hats off to Miss State's defense too. They were a lot better than people expected in the first half.

i thought the exact same thing about LSU jack. offense only did anything when Flynn ran. any actual plays were poorly executed or mabye MSU really does have a good d. I thought that MSU's offensive game plan was pretty weak. Croom really shouldn't have let their qb throw so much. wasn't there 5 interceptions?

LSU's D is awesomely fast and plays pretty smart. florida didn't have the most efficient offense either last year so who knows?

and i like your plan Jack. let's stick with that.

Well heading into Saturday, two of us are 2 for 2. Friar, I finally checked out your picks. You nearly nailed the LSU-MS score! Nicely done. I think the Washington-Cuse game was a bit of a surprise, as we both thought it would be closer and PRG and FKA both picked the loser. It wasn't even close (42-12).

Yeah I muffed that pick. I sure did think the game was going to be much closer than it was, looks like maybe Washington will be pretty good this year. That's the problem though, did you guys think Washington was that good or is Syracuse just that bad?

Well anyways, good luck to everyone--including you Jack --on today's games.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
Yeah I muffed that pick. I sure did think the game was going to be much closer than it was, looks like maybe Washington will be pretty good this year. That's the problem though, did you guys think Washington was that good or is Syracuse just that bad?

Well anyways, good luck to everyone--including you Jack --on today's games.

Again, I've been more interested in the US Open, so I didn't get to watch the game. I checked in periodically to get the score, so I don't have a real good feel for how either team did in that game-- other than the score. Appreciate the well wishes FKA, and right back at ya.

OMFG! Appy State beat Michigan? I didn't even consider this game when I made the picks for this week.

can't believe it!
biggest upset ever!
Division I AA!
Amazing!
Wow!

Wow! What a great day. First Michigan goes down (my dad went to State so I will be disowned if I ever root for Michigan), then the Cal-Tenn game was just phenomenal. I don't think I sat down once. God so many bone crunching hits! So much back and forth offense. Two good teams going at it. It is too bad someone had to lose.

Anyones opinion changing of the Pac10, yet?

PRG got his money's worth for the CU-CSU game. it was a fantastic last few minutes.

GT and UGA also pulled off pretty impressive wins over Notre Dame and Oklahoma State, respectively. Auburn looked pretty ugly against K State and I'm beginning to think the Sec is overrated (DJK ) . This opening weekend was pretty fun. And we still have Clemson-FSU on Monday.

Next weekend is really interesting too. UGA-South Carolina, LSU-VT, Miam-Oklahoma and a few others I can't recall at the moment.

If hadn't been worried about the Kharma Police, I would be perfect heading into Monday. That was a great game, and no, I'm still convinced that the SEC is better than the PAC 10. I mean Tennessee is picked to end up third (or even fourth!) in the SEC EAST and the Vols gave them a terrific run for their money. I think Cal will have an outstanding season and they definitely had the best team on the field. I'm a little sad about the Vols. My consolation prize? Clay Bucholtz!

Hey Max Jack, I agree with you I still think the SEC is better than the Pac10 but I don't think the gap is a wide a most people believe. It seems no one outside of the West Coast gives the Pac10 any credit when they actually are a pretty darn good conference. Even Wazzo picked to finish just ahead of Standford didn't embarrass themselves against the Badgers. Yeah they got smacked but I thought they played admirably. I think I am turning into a Pac10 homer.... Oh well they are fun to watch.

You're right, that was an extremely well-coached team and it was fun to watch. The PAC 10 certainly has some speed.

Yeah both teams showed some impressive talent. I think that tiny little Javid Best or what ever his name is, is going to be a terror come next season. Man that guy can move.

Heading into Monday here are the standings of our little competition:

The Friar - 10 for 11

Max Jack - 10 for 11

PRG - 8 for 11

FKA - 8 for 11

(DJK where are your picks??)

Luckily, The Friar and I picked opposite teams in the Bowden Bowl, so there will be an outright winner come Monday night.

Sorry Max Jack, This is going to be my last free Saturday for a while and then when you figure in the lack of funds for cable or the Big Ten Network, I won't be able to see very many games so I won't get a feel for how good the teams actually are. Therefore I am going to leave it upto you guys to play because I won't be able to follow this season as closely as I have been able to in the past. I will still chirp in periodically, if that is okay with you guys?

I totally would have picked Applachian State today though.