Cole's College Gameday Picks Blog

2011-12 Season Wrap-up

ctrayne — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:31:57 +0000

Its been a fantastic season here at Cole’s Gameday Blog. The boys down in the lab have been working overtime running the numbers and the results are in. Your 2011-2012 Gameday blog champion is Jesse Palmer coming in at 83.7% correct picks on the year with a record of 36-7. Congratulations to Jesse Palmer. Below is one shot from the photo-shoot where we awarded him his College Gameday championship belt.

Jesse Palmer: Gameday Champion

In addition, we would like to hand out a few post-season awards to noteworthy members of the college football community.

The Dirk Nowitzki of Defensive Ends: Bjorn Werner. Brent Musberger labeled Werner this in Week 3. I’m still not sure what it means, but he sure as hell deserves this award.

Coach Who Didn’t Give a Crap the Most: Dabo Swinney. He said it regarding Auburn’s pace of play, but pretty much the whole season he didn’t give a crap, and led Clemson to its best year in decades.

Best Name of the Year: Munchie Legeaux, Quarterback from Cincinatti. Self explanatory.

Most Italian Name in College Football: Tino Sunseri, Quarterback from Pitt. Following in his father’s footsteps (Sal Sunseri).

Best Andre 3000 Look-alike: Robert Griffin III. This only came into play near the very end of the year, but some of us at Cole’s Gameday Blog have been saying it from the beginning.

The Joe Avezzano Award (coordinator who gets 300% more TV time than his head coach): Phil Bennett. Brother of our highschool’s football coach, Jim Bennett, Phil could be seen roughly 20 feet out in front of Art Briles on the field any time there was a cut to the sideline during a Baylor game. Typically he was wearing a bright yellow shirt, while his coach stood in the background unassumingly.

Worst football year for a state: Florida. Lol.

Thanks for tuning in. We’ll be updating the site occasionally during the offseason, but starting next fall we will be back in full swing.

2011-12 Bowl Season Results

ctrayne — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:42:28 +0000

Alright ladies and gents, with all precincts reporting and all picks tallied, the results are in. It is official. Your 2011-12 Bowl Pick’em champion is one Tony Reali of Around the Horn fame. His 25-10 record was the tops of anyone who picked more than two games. Congratulations to Tony Reali for all of his hard work. I know that hair doesn’t grease itself up every day.

Tony Reali: Bowl pick'em Champion

The final results are listed below. For championship contention I require our experts to more than just a few games, so coming up behind Tony Reali is Bill Plaschke, with Robert Smith taking the bronze medal. Todd McShay was last year’s winner going 20-11, so this is a much stronger year with several experts, including my girlfriend, putting up 20+ correct picks. And of course, we have to shame some of this year’s losers. Tim Cowlishaw brought up the rear this year, and Mike Greenberg is our only other expert who did the full bowl pick’em slate to have a losing record. Also of note, the entire Gameday crew posted losing records (oops). I’ll be updating pages over the next few days if you need to see everyone’s full results. I’ll also be back to post my post-season awards once they are completed.

P.S. Yours truly went 23-12 on picks. Just incase you were wondering.

Trevor Matich: 2-0, 100%
Chris Fowler: 1-0, 100%
Tony Reali: 25-10, 71.43%
Tom Luginbill: 5-2, 71.43%
Bill Plaschke: 24-11, 68.57%
Jesse Palmer: 2-1, 66.67%
Robert Smith: 23-13, 65.71%
Mike Bellotti: 20-11, 64.52%
Jennifer: 22-13, 62.86%
Colin Cowherd: 22-13, 62.86%
Pat Forde: 22-13, 62.86%
Ed Cunningham: 19-14, 57.58%
Ryen Russillo: 20-15, 57.14%
Todd McShay: 20-15, 57.14%
Mike Golic: 20-15, 57.14%
Skip Bayless: 19-15, 55.88%
David Pollack: 18-15, 54.55%
Kevin Blackistone: 19-16, 54.29%
Scott Van Pelt: 19-16, 54.29%
Michael Smith: 18-17, 51.43%
Danny Kanell: 3-3, 50%
Jason Sehorn: 1-1, 50%
Charlie Arbuckle: 1-1, 50%
Turner Gil: 1-1, 50%
Mike Greenberg: 17-18, 48.57%
Lee Corso: 4-5, 44.44%
Tim Cowlishaw: 15-20, 42.86%
Desmond Howard: 3-5, 37.5%
Kirk Herbstreit: 2-5, 28.57%
Mark Schlabach: 0-1, 0%
Rod Gilmore: 0-1, 0%
JA Adande: 0-1, 0%
Woody Paige: 0-1, 0%
Matt Stinchcomb: 0-2, 0%

BCS Championship extravaganza

ctrayne — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:51:35 +0000

Ladies and gents, the day has finally come. THE GAME OF THE CENTURY…. AGAIN! Tonight, we will see perhaps one of the greatest teams we’ve seen in college football history in LSU, who is undefeated, won the toughest conference in the nation, and has the most impressive resume of anyone in the country after beating 8 ranked opponents this season. We will also see Alabama, the team that proves that every week is not a playoff in the BCS, that only played 4 ranked opponents, that didn’t win this game the first time at home, the team that didn’t play in their conference championship (much less win it), and the greatest defense of all time that gave up 21 to FCS Georgia Southern. In honor of this occasion, I am posting our BCS Championship rundown with everyone’s championship picks that I have so far, and more as they roll in tonight so stay tuned. Currently we’re at 23 to 11 in favor of LSU from our panel of experts.

Lee Corso: LSU

Desmond Howard really likes LSU

Desmond Howard: LSU

Dr. Lou and Mark May pick Bama

Lou Holtz and Mark May: Both pick Alabama

Skip Bayless: "LSU over Alabama"

Skip Bayless: LSU

Todd McShay picks LSU

Todd McShay: LSU

Colin Cowherd: Alabama

David Pollack: Alabama

Jesse Palmer: Alabama

Tom Luginbill: Alabama

Trevor Matich: Alabama

Scott Van Pelt: LSU

Ryen Russillo: LSU

Mike Golic: LSU

Mike Greenberg: LSU

Woody Paige: LSU

JA Adande: LSU

Tim Cowlishaw: LSU

Tony Reali: LSU

Michael Smith: LSU

Kevin Blackistone: LSU

Bill Plaschke: LSU

Mark Schlabach: LSU

Pat Forde: LSU

Robert Smith: Bama over LSU

Ed Cunningham: Alabama

Coach Mike Bellotti: LSU

Rod Gilmore: LSU

Danny Kanell: LSU

Matt Stinchcomb: LSU

Charlie Arbuckle: LSU

Jason Sehorn: Alabama

Turner Gil: LSU

Rocky the Octopus: Alabama

Jennifer’s Pick: Alabama

Bowl Season 2011-12: A few more

ctrayne — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:39:38 +0000

Here’s a couple more experts with a couple more picks for Bowl Season. Tomorrow when bowl season starts, I’ll be able to see a lot more people’s picks on ESPN’s Bowl Mania page, but unfortunately those don’t go public until the games are live. That’s too bad for all of you who wanted to see all of Scott Van Pelt’s picks so you could copy them on your own pick’em group, but I’ll be back to post the picks and track them nonetheless. Happy bowl season.Clemson over WVU

Tom Luginbill:
Michigan over VaTech
Oregon over Wisconsin
Okla St over Stanford
Bama over LSU

Danny Kanell:
Clemson over WVU
Michigan over VaTech
Wisconsin over Oregon
Okla St over Stanford
Bama over LSU

Jennifer’s Picks:
UVA
Clemson
Arkansas
SDSU
Mich St
W.Mich
FIU
Temple
GaTech
Houston
OU
Mizzou
ND
Lville
Baylor
BYU
Texas
S.Miss
Ohio St
UCLA
Michigan
S.Carolina
Miss St
Rutgers
Vanderbilt
Oregon
Pitt
AF
NW
Okla St
Ohio
Bama
Boise St
TCU
NIU

Bowl Season: 2011 Misc. picks

ctrayne — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:58:50 +0000

Here’s some random picks from various personalities I gathered up so far.

Mike Greenberg (via Facebook app):
LSU
Wisconsin
Stanford
Michigan
WVU
Temple
Ohio
SDSU
FIU
TCU
Boise St
Nevada
Mizzou
Purdue
Lville
Toledo
Texas
ND
Baylor
BYU
Iowa St
Miss St
OU
NW
GaTech
Illinos
Vanderbilt
Virginia
Penn St
Florida
Nebraska
Mich St
KState
Pitt
Ark St

Mike Golic (via Facebook app):
LSU
Wisconsin
Stanford
Michigan
Clemson
Temple
Utah St
SDSU
Marshall
TCU
Boise St
S.Miss
Mizzou
W.Mich
Lville
Toledo
Texas
ND
Baylor
BYU
Rutgers
Wake Forest
OU
TAMU
Georgia
Illinois
Vanderbilt
Auburn
Penn St
Florida
S.Car
Georgia
Arkansas
Pitt
NW

Ed Cunningham (w/ confidence points):
1. S.Carolina over Nebraska
2. Florida over Ohio St
3. Clemson over WVU
4. FSU over Notre Dame
5. Bama over LSU
6. Georgia over Mich St
7. VaTech over Michigan
8. Arkansas over KState
9. OU over Iowa
10. UVA over Auburn
24. Texas over CAL
26. Baylor over Washington
29. Penn St oveR Houston
30. Oregon over Wisconsin
34. Okla St over Stanford
35. Boise St over Ariz St

Robert Smith (w/ confidence points):

1. Bama over LSU
2. Michigan over VaTech
3. Okla St over Stanford
4. Ohio St over Florida
5. S.Carolina over Nebraska
8. Auburn over UVA
7. Penn St over Houston
6. Georgia over Mich St
12. Texas over Cal
19. Clemson over WVU
20. Oregon over Stanford
23. FSU over Notre Dame
31. Arkansas over KState
32. OU over Iowa
33. Baylor over Washington
34. Boise St over Ariz St
35. TAMU over NW

Matt Stinchcomb:
LSU over Bama
Clemson over WVU

Danny Kannell:
Bama over LSU
KState over Arkansas

Tom Luginbill:
W.Mich over Purdue
Arkansas over KState

Charlie Arbuckle:
Michigan over VaTech
LSU over Bama

Jason Sehorn:
Wisconsin over Oregon
Bama over LSU

Turner Gil:
Okla St over Stanford
LSU over Bama

Mark Schlabach:
LSU over Bama

Jesse Palmer:
Boise St over Ariz St

Bowl Season: Skip Bayless 2011 picks

ctrayne — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:54:08 +0000

Here’s Skip Bayless’ bowl picks according to the Facebook pickem app. Do what you will with them.

LSU
Oregon
Okla St
VaTech
Clemson
Temple
Utah St
SDSU
FIU
TCU
Boise St
S.Miss
Mizzou
Purdue
NC St
AF
Texas
ND
Baylor
BYU
Iowa St
Miss St
OU
TAMU
Georgia
Illinois
Vandy
Virginia
Ohio St
S.Car
Mich St
KState
Pitt
NW

Bowl Season: Colin Cowherd 2011 picks

ctrayne — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:52:06 +0000

Here’s Colin Cowherd’s picks for Bowl season 2011-12. I picked them up on Facebook’s bowl picking app. I’m not sure if they are actually from him or if its some ESPN intern posting them on his behalf, but for all of the picks I pull from Facebook I pretty much say that if they didn’t want those picks associated with their name then they shouldn’t have joined that bowl picking app anyways. Enjoy.

Michigan over VaTech
Oregon over Wisconsin
Bama over LSU
Stanford over Okla St
Clemson over WVU
Temple over Wyoming
Utah St over Ohio
SDSU over Lafayette
Marshall over FIU
TCU over LaTech
Boise St over Ariz St
Nevada over S.Miss
UNC over Mizzou
Purdue over W.Mich
NC St over Lville
Toledo over AF
Texas over Cal
FSU over ND
Baylor over Washington
Tulsa over BYU
Iowa St over Rutgers
Miss St over Wake Forest
OU over Iowa
TAMU over NW
GaTech over Utah
UCLA over Illinois
Vandy over Cinci
Auburn over UVA
Penn St over Houston
Florida over Ohio St
S.Car over Nebraska
Georgia over Mich St
Arkansas over KState
Pitt over SMU
NIU over Ark St

Bowl Season: Pat Forde’s picks

ctrayne — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:43:27 +0000

Here’s all of Pat Forde’s picks from his Forde Yard Dash this week. You can find the full article at the bottom of this post.

Temple of Wyoming
Utah St over Ohio
SDSU over Lafayette
FIU over Marshall
TCU over LaTech
Boise St over Ariz St
Nevada over S.Miss
Mizzou over UNC
Purdue over W.Mich
Lville over NC St
Toledo over AF
Texas over Cal
FSU over ND
Baylor over Washington
BYU over Tulsa
Iowa St over Rutgers
Miss St over Wake Forest
OU over Iowa
NW over TAMU
Utah over GaTech
UCLA over Illinois
UVA over Auburn
Houston over Penn St
Georgia over Mich St
S.Carolina over Nebraska
Florida over Ohio St
Oregon over Wisconsin
Okla St over Stanford
Michigan over VaTech
WVU over Clemson
Arkansas over KState
SMU over Pitt
NIU over Ark St
LSU over Bama

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=pf-forde_yard_dash_bowls_121411

Bowl Season: Todd McShay’s official picks

ctrayne — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:54:06 +0000

Here’s Todd McShay’s official bowl picks from the ESPN Bowl Mania special. I also included his confidence (35 being the most confidence). Use this wisely.

Todd McShay's Official Picks

1. NIU over Arkansas St
2. Ohio St over Florida
3. UCLA over Illinois
4. Penn St over Houston
5. Auburn over UVA
6. Mizzou over UNC
7. OU over Iowa
8. Notre Dame over FSU
9. Lville over NC St
10. Georgia Tech over Utah
11. Temple over Wyoming
12. FIU over Marshall
13. Purdue over W.Michigan
15. LSU over Bama
14. Georgia over Mich St
16. BYU over Tulsa
17. Baylor over Washington
18. Ohio over Utah St
19. Stanford over Okla St
20. Michigan over VaTech
21. S.Carolina over Nebraska
22. MissSt over Wake Forest
23. Rutgers over Iowa St
24. Vanderbilt over Cinci
25. Texas over Cal
26. S.Miss over Nevada
27. Oregon over Wisconsin
28. Pitt over SMU
29. AF over Toledo
30. NW over A&M
31. SDSU over Lafayette
32. Clemson over WVU
33. Arkansas over KState
34. TCU over LaTech
35. Boise St over Ariz St

2011 Regular Season Standings

ctrayne — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:56:54 +0000

Well after 14 weeks we are through the regular season and I thought I’d stop by and post a quick update with the 2011 standings. Lee Corso is the only expert to top the century mark with 100 correct picks on the year. On a comical note, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit are right behind him with 91 and 90 correct picks respectively… except that Herby has twice as many wrong picks. Ooops. David Pollack had a solid regular season on his first year on Gameday. Jesse Palmer went a sharp 39-7 on the year. Matt Stinchcomb decided to pick upsets the entire year and is the only one aside from the Schwab that I tracked with a losing record on the season. The Celebrity Guests were pretty mediocre this year. In past years they’ve been pretty sharp (or whoever tells them who to pick is pretty sharp) but they went 62-42. And of course my girlfriend Jennifer was neck and neck with both David Pollack and Skip Bayless. Not bad Jennifer.

BUT HOLD ON. We can have big shakeups in bowl season. I’ll be updating as the picks roll in. Don’t be surprised to see me post an expert picking Team A over Team B, and then see me post a week later with the reverse, because everyone flip flops during bowl season as things develop. However I’ll still post it as I see it, and as always, the last decision they make is the one going in the official record.

Lee Corso: 100-65
Kirk Herbstreit: 90-61
Desmond Howard: 91-35
Lou Holtz: 56-27
Mark May: 52-29
David Pollack: 82-41
Robert Smith: 42-28
Jesse Palmer: 39-7
Pat Forde: 31-14
Trevor Matich: 4-2
Skip Bayless: 83-45
Todd McShay: 25-12
Colin Cowherd: 51-33
Tom Luginbill: 67-31
Mike Bellotti: 25-8
Charlie Arbuckle: 7-2
Matt Stinchcomb: 6-11
Danny Kanell: 21-8
Jason Sehorn: 12-12
Howie Schwab: 14-17
Michael Smith: 2-2
Woody Paige: 7-4
Tim Cowlishaw: 7-2
Kevin Blackistone: 3-3
Mark Schlabach: 5-4
Matt Millen: 6-1
Bob Davie: 3-4
Brock Huard: 6-3
Chris Fowler: 3-1
Randy Shannon: 1-3
Bill Plaschke: 1-3
Jennifer: 83-44
Celebrity Guests Overall: 62-42