Are you ready for some football?! We're only two weeks away from the kickoffs of the GaTech v. BYU, Maryland @ N. IL, Utah State @ Utah and Miami @ LaTech games, leading into a Labor Weekend of terrific matchups.

I'm pleased to coordinate this contest again this year -- we had a great time last year. Come one, come all!

The rules:

1. Pick the winners in EACH game.

2. Predict how many points the team you pick to win the designated Game of the Week will win by. This will be used for tiebreak purposes. This week it is the USC @ Auburn game.

3. The first pick is needed by the kickoff of the first game: 8/28 Thursday's MD @ N. Illinois. You can get the rest of them to me by noon (ET) on Saturday, 8/30.

4. Picks MUST be submitted either via the Private Message function or E-mail. My email address is dcbucky2000@hotmail.com -- please do not post your picks here. Include your Outsports nickname with your picks.

Thursday, August 28
1. Georgia Tech at BYU -- the ACC features top-notch teams in FSU, UVA, NCState and MD -- just how far down does the talent trickle?

2. Maryland at Northern Illinois -- this normally wouldn't make the cut .. but ... the Terps just got placed on NCAA probation, will be without star RB Perry and will be playing on the road (do the Terps even know where De Kalb is wink ?). Plus will the Terps have their eye distracted on the upcoming second week game vs. FSU? Is that enough to help the Huskies pull off an upset?

Saturday, August 30
3. Washington at Ohio State -- The defending national champs, with or without Maurice Clarett, open against a tough team, led by outsports fave Cody Pickett, with a new coach.

4. Oklahoma State at Nebraska -- can the Huskers get out of their funk? -- is OSU still on a roll? (they won 6 of their last 7 games last season) -- the heat is on -- tough to open a season with a conference game ...
Last season: OSU 24 - Nebraska 21

5. Georgia at Clemson -- Again, how far down does the ACC talent trickle -- but the better question -- how long will the Bowden Boy last in Death Valley? -- beating the SEC champs will help.
Last season: Georgia 31 - Clemson 28.

6. Colorado State vs. Colorado (in Denver) -- Another outsports fave, Jeremy Bloom takes to the field -- this time against the state rival Rams, led by sr. QB Bradlee Van Pelt.
Last season: CO State 19 - Colorado 14.

7. Missouri vs. Illinois (in St. Louis) -- A braggin' rights border battle -- Pundits say Missouri's a dark horse in the Big 12, while the 5-7 Illini hope to improve in the Big Ten.
Last season: Missouri 33 - Illinois 20.

8. Wisconsin at West Virginia -- two teams with a lot to prove. The Badgers come with some great offensive talent, but an inconsistent new starting QB. The 'neers return some good players from a team that finished second in the Big East.
Last season: UW 34 - WVU 17.

9. Fresno State at Tennessee -- the Bulldogs chewed their way onto the national scene by playing (and mostly winning) a tough non-conf. schedule the last few years. It doesn't get any tougher than in Knoxville. Casey Clausen is back to lead the Vols.

10. USC at Auburn -- TIEBREAKER -- predict by how many points the victor will win. Auburn, picked by the Sporting News as the national champs, hosts USC -- minus Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer.
Last season: USC 24 - Auburn 17.

For you cut-and-pasters, here's the list again:
1. Georgia Tech at BYU
2. Maryland at Northern Illinois
3. Washington at Ohio State
4. Oklahoma State at Nebraska
5. Georgia at Clemson
6. Colorado State vs. Colorado (in Denver)
7. Missouri vs. Illinois (in St. Louis)
8. Wisconsin at West Virginia
9. Fresno State at Tennessee
10. USC at Auburn -- TIEBREAKER

[ August 22, 2003, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

so what's the prize for the winner? wink

The prize? now that totally depends ... if it's you, theodoresdaddy, it depends on just what your Mountaineers do to my Badgers on the 30th!

Just kiddin' -- I'm afraid the contest is only for the power and the glory!

btw -- my bf and I have our tickets to the game over in Morgantown. We'll be part of a small, but vocal, DC Wisconsin Alumni club taking the bus up to WVU -- cheering our Badgers on. [no time for tailgate beforehand -- we'll grill our brats afterwards.] Can't wait! I hear it's a great, but fierce, place to experience college football.

I'll make that pick official. Wisconsin over West Virginia. More to follow ...

that is one pick I will agree with, but I think, and hope, that the game will be close.

Our defensive and offensive lines are a bit suspect.

Just bumping this up. We already have our first contestant -- keep 'em coming!

I'm gonna be out for a few days, so will be unable to acknowledge receiving your PMs and emails until later next week (I'll be blissfully unattached to any PCs or other electronic devices)

I am in! It is much easier when my Texas A&M Aggies are not included (no emotional attachment)!

Or you all could just join the Yahoo fantasy group

The Yahoo group is in addition to this one. Yahoo will pick its own games, but here we get DCBucky's personal choices. Therefore the two games will be different.

Do both, like me.

Jim

Absolutely! Join both pick'em contests (I'm gonna join the Yahoo one too) -- you can hedge your bets on one and go wild on the other.

So far we have entries from:

MSUBobcat
Cattledog
jerseyguy
azairforce
theodoresdaddy

Keep 'em coming in -- kickoff for the first game is one week from today!!

The first CFB game of the year is tomorrow!! It's finally here! -- California vs. Kansas State (in Kansas City).

It's not in the pick'em contest (since K-State should gut the Golden Bears) -- but the excitement is building towards next Thursday's and Saturday's games!

Join this pick'em (or one of the others that are out there).

Picks received from:

AU Tiger in LA
MiamiDr

More picks in from:

ugadawgs89
Itsplaytym
GarnettGoldPride
im4psu

Picks received from:

EricinSoCal
Stickney
meric
breesboy
GatorJamie
Hwkpride

Keep 'em coming!

Picks today from:

NorCalHusker
ATL Jock
inmatman

I'll post my predictions later.

With picks in from MBMSLJOCK, Go Monica, bobby78751, pat125, BikeJocks and gamecock, we already have 29 players (more than last year) Excellent! Keep 'em coming in ... need your GaTech v. BYU and MD @ N. IL picks in by this evening's kickoffs.

Here's the breakdown of our picks thus far:

15-14
Colorado over Colorado State
BYU over Georgia Tech

17-12
Illinois over Missouri

19-10
Nebraska over Oklahoma State

23-6
Wisconsin over West Virginia
Auburn over USC

26-3
Ohio State over Washington
Georgia over Clemson
Maryland over Northern Illinois

27-2
Tennessee over Fresno State

... and my picks for the record
BYU
Northern Illinois (my upset of the week)
Ohio State
Nebraska
Uga
Colorado
Missouri
ON WISCONSIN!
Tennessee
Auburn by 6

[ August 28, 2003, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

Northern Illinois over Maryland? And you are running this pick 'em contest? For shame!

Fear the Badger.

Picks received from:

MarinerDuckBoy
Charlie in the Trees

Even more entries, these from Aubie in Bham, George_vikingfan and Palladio.

Here's the revised breakdown of our picks thus far:

16-16
Georgia Tech and BYU

17-15
Colorado State over Colorado
Illinois over Missouri

21-11
Nebraska over Oklahoma State

24-8
Wisconsin over West Virginia

25-7
Auburn over USC

27-5
Georgia over Clemson

28-4
Ohio State over Washington

29-3
Maryland over Northern Illinois

30-2
Tennessee over Fresno State

Hey all you Auburn fans - you're going to be hearing a LOT of USC's two fight-song thingies (regardless of whether they're wining or if they bring a band) that are almost annoying as that stupid tomahawk chop or Rocky Flop. To ease the pain, you may want to know some lyrics:

It's...the only song you know...
It's boring and it's slow...
We wish that you would go...

Pour over ice, shake, and serve with bourbon and Diet Coke...

War Eagle - hope we see you in Atlanta in December!

GATORJamie

GJ, I hope to see you in Atlanta in December as well. If we all play our cards right, we will definitely be meeting.

All I can say is there are 86,000 Tigers ready for the condoms from SoCal.

Really, I think it's going to be a wonderful atmosphere. I think the people from SoCal will find the Aubs to be a lot of fun and I hope each of them has a great experience in our Village.

But, Bucky, come on, Northern Illinois?

I'm sticking to my story! Northern Illinois is tied with the Terps in the 3rd Q. As I edit this -- now in the 4th Q ...

btw, we have more entries:

RJ in Huntington
Beachjock73
PCC
JeffSSFL

[ August 28, 2003, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

Great upset pick with N. Illinois. What a game to start off the first full weekend of football!

OK -- I took my ribbing -- so now I can dish it out!

FINAL: Northern Illinois 20 - Maryland 13

well, NIU strikes the first upset of the year, good call on it Bucky

Now what do you have to say, Cattledog?

Jim
(who should've gone with his instincts and picked that upset, right DCBucky? You know I thought about it.)

Fear the Badger and the MAC! Go Golden Knights!

[ August 28, 2003, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: BikeJocks ]

I humbly am eating my crow! Way to go guys who believed in Northern Illinois. With the smell of upsets in the air, let us hope that my Texas A&M Aggies can get past Arkansas State (whatever their mascot is).

[ August 29, 2003, 04:47 AM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

Let's not forget that two other outsporters picked the Northern Illinois upset. Good job!

The MAC always seems to pull off an upset every season (or a very near upset, as in the case of the Cincinnati - Ohio State game last year).

It will be interesting to see if Friedgen can get the Terps back on track next week -- really tough game down in Tallahassee.

I am bowing to DCBucky. How could I have doubted you. All hail Bucky

Couldn't watch a lot of the game last night but from what I saw, Northern Illinois looked good and Maryland looked flat.

There was blatant pass interference on the last play of the NI-MD game.

Congrats to those who picked UNI over the Terps. I didn't think they had 2 upsets in a row over ACC teams in 'em. That'll teach me.

I thought interference could have been called on the last play too. It also looked like the ref reached for the flag, couldn't get it out right away, then gave up when he saw the pass was intercepted.

The ball was also kicked and (properly) I've heard no one complain about that. Where are all the people who complained about Nebraska's kicked ball against Mizzou in '97?!? That was a proper no-call too but I still hear people talk about how that kicked ball was "illegal."

Football is back!

Time to take out the trash or talk the trash ....

Maryland needs to fire their AD for this scheduling mess in football with UM playing at NIU. By playing someone like NIU, UAB, UCF, La Tech, ULM, ULL, or SH-T at their places, you don't gain anything by winning and lose a lot in prestige especially in poll rankings. Don't give me this "budget constraint due to Title IX" bs for bringing in more dollars to your athletic budget in guarantees and tv revenues. In the end run, it does not work out. In 1997, UM got the clock cleaned by ECU in Raleigh.

Gator Jamie .... Are you already making plans for the gators at the Chick-A-Fill Peach Bowl with the remark about the War Chickens in December. Next week, your crocs will be dinner for the hostile nighttime, alcohol fueled crowd at the OB. I will be cheering for the Canes as I am going down to Banana Republic of South Florida for the Big Game. My family is going to have a "Big Blowout" tailgate party with gator (i.e. croc) meat killed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Last time in 1987 when your team last played UM in the OB, I remember all the trash talking about Kerwin, Heismann Trophy and the Bell Tolls but the final score was UM 31 Pegues 4.

Go Canes! Go To H-ll gator!

F Y I ... UM as in University of Miami played East Carolina in Raleigh due to destruction by a real hurricane in Greenville, NC.

On the other UM, it is Maryland who AD is not very bright.

Go Canes & Noles!

J T,

So you're saying that mid-major fans shouldn't get the chance to see a major conference team at their home stadium? And if you are lucky enough to become even just an occasional Top 25 team from a major conference, you should only play non-conference road games against other major conference teams?

Sounds like you're proposing that the major conferences expand the elitist philosophy of the BCS to include regular season scheduling.

Don't worry, I'm not accusing you of snobbery, but why shouldn't UMD play at NIU? It's a non-conference game so it won't affect their chances of getting into BCS, and if they can't beat NIU to begin with, they won't have a chance to win it all anyway.

Also, in the late 90's (when this game would have been scheduled) NIU had records of 1-10, 0-11, 2-9 and 5-6 - so UMD figured they would be facing a patsy. Oh how teams can change in college football.

Jim

If I was a college athletic director at a powerhouse Division 1-A university, I will not schedule to play at NIU, Cincinnati, Louisville (i.e. FSU's loss on a horrible Thursday night last year), UCF, and other schools. Today, Bama, Michigan State, Michigan, and others are scheduling MAC's teams at their places. You have everything to lose and nothing to gain by playing at one of those schools. Let them schedule William & Mary, ECU, or UNLV as a home opponent.

MarinerDuckBoy wins Week One with a 9-1 record (and the tiebreaker). Congratulations!

Here are the results:

9-1
MarinerDuckBoy
DCBucky

7-3
Beachjock73
bobby78751
EricinSoCal
Hwkpride
im4psu
Palladio
PCC
Theodoresdaddy

6-4
azairforce
BikeJocks
breesboy
Cattledog
Gamecock
GatorJamie
Go Monica
itsplaytym
jerseyguy
meric
MSUBobcat
NorCalHusker
pat125
ugadawgs89

5-5
ATL Jock
inmatman
JeffSSFL
MiamiDr

4-6
AU Tiger in LA
Charlie in the Trees
GarnetGoldPride
George_vikingfan
MBMslJock
RJ in Huntington
Stickney

3-7
Aubie in Bham

Woo Hoo! Color me surprised!

Had I gone with my gut, I would've gone 10-0. I changed my N. Illinois pick to Maryland at the last second.

Congratulations to DC Bucky and Mariners Duck Boy for winning in the first week. Good Job!

Congrats DCBucky, MarinerDuckBoy

Now, after FIVE straight (well, consecutive) days of college football (yes, I watched both CUSA games yesterday) I am SERIOUSLY jonesing - bring on this weekend's picks so I can have something to do with my free time!

Jim

The biggest flop of the preseason polls...is it Auburn or Maryland? I, too, am waiting for the next poll. Hey, DCBucky, is there going to be a running total, too?

[ September 02, 2003, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: bobby78751 ]

Biggest flop is Auburn. At least Maryland played their game.

Jim

My vote is for Maryland. As a team that is and expects to be a consistent contender for a BCS bowl bid, that's the kind of game they must be able to win. The fact they didn't is an embarrassment.

USC is probably going to be a lot better than advertised.

DCBucky - Congrats!

Aubie (all of you Aubies) - Dude. frown

Congrats Bucky and Duck Boy!!
This week is mine : ) good luck to everyone, good to have college football back huh !!!!

I feel snubbed frown

Aubie has been licking his wounds and hasn't really been into it this week. I haven't even watched sports center...it just hurt too badly.

Hopefully, I'll get a little bit of excitement back in order to make my predictions this week.



Hats off to USC, they gave us an old fashioned, behind the barn tailwhipping.

Thanks for your sympathy GJ

(((((Aubies everywhere, esp. in Bham)))))

If it makes you feel any better, please take consolation in knowing that: (1) the general consensus is not that Auburn was that bad, but that the U. of Spoiled Chirren is that good; (2) the loss will help your strength-of-schedule ratings; (3) one word: nonconference, and (4) it's early in the season. Perhaps yr guys believed too much of the good preseason press. If so, better to learn their lesson now and get on with the show.

On to Atlanta.

And yes, my West Coast Quackmeister, great job on winnin the pick 'em!

gj

Been there, done that, have the emotional scars. I feel your pain. Just be glad it wasn't a loss to your rival in a national championship game.

Jim

(((((Jim))))) When we eventually meet, first drink's on me.

[ September 04, 2003, 01:06 PM: Message edited by: GatorJamie ]

I will remember that!

Jim