By Wally
A veeeeeeeerrrrrrrry casual Friday indeed. Last day of work before a two week break …. yaaaaaaaaahooooooooooo! Okay … sorry … a little premature excitement at the prospect of not having to be in the “oriface” for several days. Like the players above, I’m feeling a little combative and restless today … I’m ready for the bowl games to start THIS WEEKEND … and so they shall. But because the vast majority of these games are essentially meaningless, we’re going to give them “meaning”. Gosh darn it, they’re gonna count! How’s that, you say? It’s easy. All you have to do is participate in the PPP … that’s the PEERLESS PROGNOSTICATORS POOL !!!
Here’s how it works: I list all the bowl games in essentially chronological order (below) and you simply respond by picking a winner for each one. I’ll keep track of it all during the bowl season, will send out periodic mid-term standings, and when it’s all over, I’ll declare the winners of the gold, silver and bronze helmet stickers. Here’s what the gold sticker will look like:
Hey … a Notre Dame helmet … imagine that! There is one catch to make it a bit more interesting. Each game will be given a point value. Aha … that’s right … all bowl games are not created equal. Just like their payouts! Let’s suffice it to say that generally the later the game is played, the more it’s worth. I will indicate next to each game the points at stake. Okay … here we go:
Dec 18 :
BYU vs UTEP (1 pt)
Northern Illinois vs Fresno State (1 pt)
Ohio vs Troy (1 pt)
Dec 21:
So. Miss vs Louisville (2)
Dec 22:
#19 Utah vs #10 Boise State (2)
Dec 23:
Navy vs San Diego State (2)
Dec 24:
#19 Hawaii vs Tulsa (2)
Dec 26:
Florida Int’l vs Toledo (2)
Dec 27:
Air Force vs Georgia Tech (3)
Dec 28:
#22 West Virginia vs NC State (3)
#14 Mizzou vs Iowa (3)
Dec 29:
East Carolina vs Maryland (3)
Illinois vs Baylor (3)
#16 Oklahoma State vs Arizone (4)
Dec 30:
Army vs SMU (4)
Kansas State vs Syracuse (4)
North Carolina vs Tennessee (4)
#17 Nebraska vs Washington (4)
Dec 31:
South Florida vs Clemson (5)
Notre Dame vs Miami (5)
Central Florida vs Georgia (5)
#19 SCarolina vs #23 Florida State (5)
Jan 1 (Happy New Year!!!):
Northwestern vs Texas Tech (6)
#15 Alabama vs #7 Michigan State (6)
Florida vs Penn State (6)
#21 Miss State vs Michigan (6)
#4 Wisconsin vs #3 TCU (7)
#25 UConn vs #9 Oklahoma (7)
#5 Stanford vs #12 Virginia Tech (7)
Jan 4:
#6 Ohio State vs #8 Arkansas (7)
Jan 6:
Middle Tenn vs Miami (OH) (2)
Jan 7:
#11 LSU vs #18 Texas A&M (7)
Jan 8:
Pitt vs Kentucky (3)
Jan 9:
#13 Nevada vs Boston college (3)
**** Jan 10 BCS Championship ******
#2 Oregon vs #1 Auburn (10)
So there you have it … all the bowl games mean something now! Bragging rights on Pickin Splinters are at stake! Okay … just reply below with all your picks before the games start Saturday. If you respond later than that, you can still play, but you will forfeit any games that have already been played. Not a big problem since the early games are only worth a point or two. But don’t delay … get those PPP picks in now!
HAPPY WEEKEND & SEASON’S GREETINGS TO ALL!
I’ll be first…
BYU
Northern Illinois
Ohio
So. Miss.
Boise St.
Navy +2.5
Hawaii
Toledo
Georgia Tech +2.5
West Virginia
Iowa
Maryland
Illinois +2
Oklahoma State
SMU
‘Cuse
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Alabama
Florida
Michigan +5
TCU
Oklahoma
Va. Tech +3
Ohio St.
Miami (OH)
LSU
Pitt.
Nevada
Auburn
After making my picks, I looked up the betting lines and I picked all favorites except the ones that I indicated with the points. There are about 5 pick’ems and I was happy with my original choices. Good luck to all. Also, I didn’t realize how many incredibly horrible/boring bowl games there seems to be. They let anyone in a bowl game. Sorry, just my opinion. I’m sure many others would disagree. Either way, there are my picks. Have fun. Thanks for doing that Wally.
Since there are games tomorrow, I suggest a 12/18 @ 2pm deadline.
Nice job batting lead-off, Dan. Well done. When I get some time later today, I’ll do mine and send ’em. I’m sure by then, we’ll have several other entries.
Yes … this is probably the only way to make the bowl season even approach “exciting” and that’s an overstatement.
That works, Chas, but people can enter after that deadline. However, they will forfeit any games started by the time their entry is submitted. Make sense?
I want to encourage participation and I know I didn’t give much notice on this.
Excellent idea Wally. That way, there’s really no deadline, just an incentive, and the games you miss out on if you’re late are the lower valued ones anyway.
Good idea Wally.
BYU
Fresno
Troy
S Miss
Boise
Navy
Hawaii
Fl Int’l
AF
W Va
Iowa
E Car
Baylor
Ok St
SMU
SU
Tenn
Neb
S Fla
ND
UGA
S Car
N’western
Ala
PSU
Miss St
TCU (my greatest struggle – may be my heart – worst draw TCU could get)
Okla
Stan
Ark
Mia, OH
LSU
Pitt
Nev
Aub (but I wanted to say OR)
Dan, I think you forgot to pick the bowl after SU’s game (Tenn is in it).
I’ll play, but all my picks are totally random, so if I do win a sticker (and I’ve got my fingers crossed) it will be totally luck based. I was going to pick based on mascots, but that would have taken too much time for me.
UTEP
Fresno State
Ohio
So. Miss
Boise State
Navy
Tulsa
Toledo
Georgia Tech
West Virginia
Iowa
East Carolina
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Army
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
SCarolina
Northwestern
Alabama
Penn State
Michigan
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Miami (OH)
LSU
Pitt
Nevada
Oregon
Dan … UNC or Tenn? … you missed that one.
Sorry…my bad…
Tennessee please…
BYU
Northern Illinois
Troy
So. Miss
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Mizzou
East Carolina
Baylor
OK State
SMU
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Alabama
Florida
Miss State
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Miami (OH)
LSU
Kentucky
Nevada
Auburn
Bill, I was watching an episode of Cheers not long ago and Diane won the weekly NFL pool by going with mascots. Maybe you should take the time!!!!
Aunt Bea will make a blueberry pie for the winner. Fresh from Mayberry. Mmmm….mmmm….good.
Crossword Pete, I knew I remembered that form someplace, thanks for the memories. Maybe I’ll take some time and go over the mascots this weekend. But how to choose? Maybe by the order of the food chain? Like Hawk beats Mouse, that kind of thing? So much to think of. . .
BYU
Northern Illinois
Troy
So. Miss
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Iowa
Maryland
Baylor
OK State
SMU
Syracuse
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
Florida State
Texas Tech
Alabama
Florida
Miss State
TCU
Oklahoma
Stanford
Arkansas
Miami (OH)
LSU
Kentucky
Nevada
Oregon
I find it a bit odd that Miami is favored by 3 over ND. They’re in turmoil, finished on a low note. ND finished with momentum. I woulda flipped that and maybe favor the Irish by 4 or 5. Anyone else surprised by that?
Here goes…
BYU
Fresno St.
Ohio
Southern Miss.
Boise St.
San Diego St.
Hawaii
Florida Int’l
Air Force
West Virginia
Iowa
Maryland
Illinois
Oklahoma St.
SMU
Kansas St.
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Alabama
Penn State
Mississippi St.
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Miami (OH)
Texas A&M
Kentucky
Nevada
Auburn
Should be interesting.
Wannabe’s Pick:
BYU
Northern Illinois
Ohio
Louisville
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Florida Int’l
Georgia Tech
NC State
Mizzou
Maryland
Baylor
Oklahoma State
SMU
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
South Florida
Notre Dame
Georgia
SCarolina
Texas Tech
Alabama
Penn State
Michigan
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Arkansas
Miami (OH)
Texas A&M
Pitt
Nevada
Oregon
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all
Thanks to Crossword Pete for giving me a heads up
BYU
Fresno St
Troy
Louisville
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Toledo :
Georgia Tech
NC State
Mizzou
East Carolina
Baylor
Oklahoma State
SMU
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
South Florida
Notre Dame
Georgia
SCarolina
Texas Tech
#15 Alabama
Florida
Michigan
#3 TCU
#9 Oklahoma
#5 Stanford
#8 Arkansas
Middle Tenn
#11 LSU
Kentucky
#13 Nevada
#1 Auburn
Here’s mine … about a 50/50 split of head picks with heart picks.
UTEP
Fresno
Ohio
Lou’ville
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
FIU
Ga Tech
WVU
Mizzou
E. Carolina
Baylor
OK State
SMU
K-State
Tenn
Nebraska
USF
Notre Dame
Georgia
Florida State
Northwestern
Bama
Florida
Miss State
TCU
Oklahoma
Virginia Tech
Arkansas
MTSU
A&M
Kentucky
Nevada
Oregon
Mark, welcome to The Pine, as we call the site. I hope the rest of our NCAA group follows your “command” and your lead. For other post-ers, Mark is an ND friend of my son’s.
As of 11:55am Central, we have 9 entries (below). Conspicuous in their absence: Casey, Boog, Crash. There’s still time, guys (1pm central), and you can enter tomorrow but will just forfeit 3 points from today’s games.
Dan, Rey, Pete, Bill, Chas, Mark (Pete), Wally, Smitty, Wannabe
Abbey … where’s your Dad!!!
Wally, your head and heart have BOTH been doing a good job on other Fridays, although I do question MTSU pick!
Mark … a big “Domer welcome” from me, too. (Class ’86). I’m an old-timer … just not as old as Pete … nor as wise. 😉
UTEP
Fresno
Ohio
Louisville
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
FIU
Georgia Tech
WVU
Missouri
E. Carolina
Baylor
OK State
SMU
K-State
Tenn
Nebraska
USF
Notre Dame
Georgia
Florida State
Northwestern
Alabama
Florida
Miss State
TCU
Oklahoma
Virginia Tech
Arkansas
MTSU
Texas A&M
Kentucky
Nevada
Oregon
He lives! Just under the wire.
Gee Casey … either we think exactly alike (doubtful), or you used my exact picks. Can’t we just be different on one???
BYU
Northern Illinois
Troy
So. Miss
Boise State
San Diego State
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Iowa
East Carolina
Baylor
Oklahoma State
SMU
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
South Florida
Notre Dame
Georgia
SCarolina
Texas Tech
Alabama
Florida
Miss State
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Middle Tenn
LSU
Pitt
Nevada
Auburn
Another Sneaky Pete recruit here. Thanks to the Kansas USC basketball game pushing this kickoff out, I’m claiming my picks are in just under the wire.
You’re good, AC. No worries and welcome to the Pine.
AC picking Iowa and ND. I’m soooo surprised. Glad to have you buddy. Now that my daughter and family have moved to Sioux Falls we pass through Iowa City all the time. So, do 50% of the cars have personalized license plates saying something about the Hawkeyes?
Crossword Pete, not Sneaky Pete – my bad. To many Pete’s running around.
There are indeed a large number of personalized Hawkeye plates around here. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of football suspensions too. We’ll see how the Hawkeyes do with only a true freshman running back and without their coked up leading receiver. I think I could probably be second string running back at this point because I’m not sure that there are any backups.
The only game that really matters:
Miami
BEATND
Just getting the remaining two in for today and sending the rest out later…
NIU
Ohio
Crash, you should put that on your license plate. You’ll never get a speeding ticket because police will be thinking you’re not very swift. I forget…what bowl is USuC in this year? Only two ND opponents did not make bowls this year. One was Purdue. Who was the other one?
hahahahahaha
Domers,
You played 3 ligitimate teams this season !
Lost to Michigan ? The “Skunkbears” ?
Lost to Michigan St. on a fake field goal ! The only people that didn’t know that was going to happen were the Irish !
Got crushed by Stanford !
Where I come from 7-5 is a horrific season !
In Southbend it’s jubilation !
Convicts beat the Catholics on New Years Eve.
I thought the Convicts weren’t allowed to be in a bowl game for the next 3 years! Or do I have the wrong Convicts??? My bad.
Helmet Sticker Casey !
That was a great hahahahahahaha !
We did indeed get crushed by Stanford. It was nice to have played at least 1 legitimate Pac 10 contender this year! Where I come from an ND win on Thanksgiving weekend in California is reason for jubilation, overall record aside!
Touche’ Pete !
You can still get in Crash. Heck … I’ve already lost the first two games. Ah … what’s 2 points anyway???
I’ll see your two points and here you go,
Troy
Louville
Boise St.
SDSU
Tulsa
FIU
Georgia Tech
West Virgini
Hawkeyes
Maryland
Baylor
Okie State
SMU
The Cuse
Rocky Top
Nebraska
Clemson
The “Convicts” (BEATND)
Georgia
USC Gamecocks that is
Texas Tech
Sparty
Joe Pa
Mississippi State
Bucky Badger
Oklahoma
The Tree er Cardinal er Stanford
Thee Ohio State University
The Other Miami (OH)
Gig Em’ Aggies (Can’t stand Les Miles)
Kentucky
Nevada
Auburn
Crash, despite your misplaced loyalties, your picks still say you are an astute fan of CFB. Good luck. Glad there was a USC for you to pick.
Here’s the first update on scores after first 3 games:
Rey, Smitty and AC were a perfect 3 for 3 and hence have 3 points. The rest of us have something less. And some of us … ahem … are shut out at this point. Yours truly, Casey (that’s what ya get for copyin’), and Bill.
No worries, though, as the pressure will mount as the points at stake rise throughout these weeks. We have 13 participants and 145 possible points.
Still need to receive Pete Jr’s remaining picks. He’s picked only 2 games and is already ahead of me. Sheesh!
Okay … Have fun an let’s be careful out there. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Thanks Pete…However “astute” is probably a little strong…I’ll take it though 🙂
Sadly, Wally, had I made any effort outside of guessing the winners, the results would have been the same. My only hope now is to go winless – there’s a sticker for that, right?
I guarantee you won’t go winless, Bill.
Crossword Pete set me
Here are my picks:
Southern Miss
Boise
San Diego St
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Missouri
Maryland
Illinois
Oklahoma State
SMU
Kansas State
UNC
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
Florida State
Texas Tech
Penn State
Michigan State
Mississippi State
TCU
Oklahoma
Standford
Ohio State
Miami (Ohio)
LSU
Pitt
Nevada
Oregon
You’re in, Joe. Welcome to the Pine! Good news … even though you missed the first 3 games, you’re not in last place by yourself 🙂
Geee … I wish Pete would send all these folks when we’re having a fundraiser or something 🙂 Ha!
Hey Joe, glad to have you on the Pine. Joe is attending a Catholic school NOT called Notre Dame. He’s a tennis player at LeMoyne in Syracuse. BTW fellow benchwarmers, Joe is a high school friend of Doug Potter (who did our BE BB posts last year) and Greg Kincaid (who did our Big 10 FB posts last year).
Wally, I keep missing those fundraisers. All I ever see us doing on the Pine are Fun-raisers!