2022 College Football Discussion & Pick'em Thread

[GeorgiaModerate]

My picks this week look like the Hindenburg. But I’m always happy to see Alabama lose.

[GeorgiaModerate]

WEEK 10 RESULTS

On a day of upsets, Illiniwek took first with a strong 17-8, two games ahead of Dereich and Donerail (the D-line?).  Full results:

17 Illiniwek
15 Dereich, Donerail
14 ExtremeR, Terry
13 Harry, ultraviolet
12 GeorgiaModerate, JGibson
11 Grumps, NY Express

There were four unanimous picks:

Tulane-Tulsa
Purdue-Iowa (wrong)
Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech (wrong)
San Diego State-UNLV

And also four games with a single dissenter:

Texas A&M-Florida (dissenter was right)
Oklahoma-Baylor (dissenter was right)
Georgia-Tennessee
Louisville-James Madison

The overall standings had a shakeup at the top as I flamed out and Illiniwek vaulted into first, with Dereich three games behind.  Year to date (250 games):

165 Illiniwek
162 Dereich
161 GeorgiaModerate
158 Harry, Terry
156 Donerail
155 ExtremeRepublican
147 Grumps
143 JGibson
140 NY Express
117 CalamityBlue
116 ultraviolet
86 Thomas D
37 Ishan
35 Storr
12 Orwell

[GeorgiaModerate]

Hugh Freeze should lobby to become an SEC coach by getting Liberty an invite to the conference. They could be a real CFP contender if they got invited.

I think UCF would be ahead of Liberty, and at least one more Texas school (probably Baylor or Texas Tech) would be ahead of UCF, and some two-school combination of North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and NC State would be ahead of the Texas schools if the SEC were to expand again.

I think the ideal SEC expansion would be North Carolina, Duke, Clemson. Clemson for the football eyeballs, North Carolina and Duke to lock up North Carolina, and provide Basketball competition for Kentucky (who needs the in-conference competition).

I don't think having enough in-conference competition is an issue for Kentucky.

2021-2022 SEC basketball standings (top 5):

1. Auburn
2. Tennessee
3. Kentucky
4. Arkansas
5. Texas A&M

2020-2021:

1. Alabama
2. Arkansas
3. LSU
4. Tennessee
5. Florida
   :
8. Kentucky

2019-2020:

1. Kentucky
2. Auburn
3. LSU
4. Mississippi State
5. Florida

2018-2019:

1. LSU
2. Kentucky
3. Tennessee
4. Auburn
5. South Carolina

2017-2018:

1. Auburn
2. Tennessee
3. Florida
4. Kentucky
5. Missouri

[GeorgiaModerate]

I'm too distracted by the election this week to put a lot of thought into this, so I'm just winging these picks:

#10 LSU @ Arkansas
Purdue @ #16 Illinois
Oklahoma @ West Virginia
Pittsburgh @ Virginia
James Madison @ Old Dominion
Louisville @ #4 Clemson
#6 Alabama @ #11 Ole Miss
Iowa State @ #18 Oklahoma State
#25 UCF @ #19 Tulane
Arizona State @ Washington State
Army @ Troy
Wisconsin @ Iowa
Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech
Appalachian State @ Marshall
North Texas @ UAB
South Carolina @ Florida
Washington @ #8 Oregon
#13 Kansas State @ Baylor
Kansas @ Texas Tech
Wyoming @ Colorado State
#7 TCU @ #24 Texas
#17 North Carolina @ #21 Wake Forest
Texas A&M @ Auburn
Florida State @ #20 Syracuse
San Jose State @ San Diego State

[GeorgiaModerate]

Virginia's first two passes of the game resulted in pick-sixes.  I wonder if that's ever happened before.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Vanderbilt has just knocked off Kentucky on the road, 24-21.  Congrats to ER.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Liberty comes crashing back to Earth with a loss to UConn, 36-33.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Donerail is an impressive 14-2 so far, followed by four people (ER, Storr, ultraviolet, and me) at 12-4.

[GeorgiaModerate]

UCLA loses to Arizona...

I've given up trying to understand the Pac-12.

[GeorgiaModerate]

WEEK 11 RESULTS

There's another new winner this week as Storr finished strong to take first with 19-6, two games ahead of Donerail, ER, and me.  Full results:

19 Storr
17 Donerail, ExtremeRepublican, GeorgiaModerate
16 Harry
15 Illiniwek, ultraviolet
14 Grumps
13 Dereich, JGibson, Terry
11 NY Express

There were three unanimous picks:

Illinois-Purdue (wrong)
Clemson-Louisville
Washington State-Arizona State

And four games with a single dissenter:

Pitt-Virginia
Troy-Army
UAB-North Texas
Oregon-Washington (dissenter was right)

Overall, I moved into second place and gained a couple games on Illiniwek, who still leads by two.  Year to date (275 games):

180 Illiniwek   
178 GeorgiaModerate   
175 Dereich   
174 Harry   
173 Donerail   
172 ExtremeRepublican   
171 Terry   
161 Grumps   
156 JGibson   
151 NY Express   
131 ultraviolet   
117 CalamityBlue   
86 Thomas D   
54 Storr   
37 Ishan   
12 Orwell   

[GeorgiaModerate]

538's playoff predictor has six teams with a realistic chance (> 40%) to make the playoff, followed by a big dropoff to a group of three with 10-15% chances.

88% Georgia
66% Ohio State
50% TCU
47% Tennessee
44% Clemson
41% Michigan
14% LSU
13% USC
10% North Carolina

[GeorgiaModerate]

Coastal Carolina (Coastal Carolina really should be the top Group of Five team in the playoff rankings. It's just their absurdly weak schedule holding them back)

If they played a better schedule they might well have a worse record.

Also, you're missing a game.

[GeorgiaModerate]

I'll take Marshall over Georgia Southern (that's the one I'm missing, right?).

Yes, it was.

[GeorgiaModerate]

San Jose State @ Utah State 9:45 PM EST FS1

No pick.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The Coastal Carolina at Virginia game has been canceled following the shootings involving the UVa football team.  The pick'em will have 24 games this week.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#4 TCU @ Baylor – OK, TCU, I believe.
Virginia Tech @ Liberty
Duke @ Pittsburgh
#19 Kansas State @ West Virginia
Washington State @ Arizona
Houston @ East Carolina
Georgia State @ James Madison
Oregon State @ Arizona State
#16 NC State @ Louisville
#18 Texas @ Kansas
Coastal Carolina @ Virginia
South Alabama @ Southern Miss
Louisiana Tech @ Charlotte
Florida Atlantic @ Middle Tennessee
Iowa @ Minnesota
Arkansas State @ Texas State - Resistible force meets movable object.
Stanford @ Cal
Marshall @ Georgia Southern
Texas Tech @ Iowa State
#11 Ole Miss @ Arkansas
Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma
#8 USC @ #12 UCLA
UAB @ #7 LSU
San Jose State @ Utah State
#13 Utah @ #6 Oregon

[GeorgiaModerate]

TCU escapes, and that's the only word for it, Baylor with a 29-28 win on a last-second FG.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Congrats to ER as well, as Vandy knocks off Florida 31-24!

[GeorgiaModerate]

Grumps is a perfect 8-0 so far, with three people at 6-2 and everyone else at 5-3.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Extremely tight battle so far with ER & Illiniwek at 11-4, JGibson at 8-7, and everyone else 10-5.

[GeorgiaModerate]

WEEK 12 RESULTS

ExtremeRepublican took first with 19-5, two games ahead of Harry.  There were only 24 games this week because the Coastal Carolina-Virginia game was canceled.  Full results:

19 ExtremeRepublican
17 Harry
16 Dereich, GeorgiaModerate, Illiniwek
15 NY Express
14 Donerail, JGibson, Terry
13 Grumps, ultraviolet

There were three unanimous picks, all correct:

Kansas State-West Virginia
Texas-Kansas
LSU-UAB

There were also three games with a single dissenter:

Liberty-Virginia Tech (dissenter was right)
Oregon State-Arizona State
Texas State-Arkansas State

Illiniwek remains in the overall lead by two games, but there's now a 3-way tie for third place.  Year to date (299 games):

196 Illiniwek
194 GeorgiaModerate
191 Dereich, ExtremeRepublican, Harry
187 Donerail
185 Terry
174 Grumps
170 JGibson
166 NY Express
144 ultraviolet
117 CalamityBlue
86 Thomas D
54 Storr
37 Ishan
12 Orwell

[GeorgiaModerate]

Deion Sanders is reportedly in talks with both Colorado and South Florida for their head coaching vacancies.

He can do better that those 2...

Pretty much anywhere is better than South Florida.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Virginia Virginia Tech cancelled, should we replace it?

A few options:

Michigan State-Penn State
Kansas-Kansas State
Purdue-Indiana

I suspect everyone would pick Penn State in the first game, so if there's a replacement it should be one of the others.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Some tough ones this week.  I don't feel confident in a lot of these picks.

Mississippi State @ #14 Ole Miss 7 PM EST ESPN

#21 Tulane @ #25 Cincinnati Noon EST ABC
Baylor @ Texas Noon EST ESPN
Central Michigan @ Eastern Michigan Noon EST CBSSN
Arizona State @ Arizona 3 PM EST FS1
#24 NC State @ #13 North Carolina 3:30 PM EST ABC
Arkansas @ Missouri 3:30 PM EST CBS
Nebraska @ Iowa 4 PM EST BTN
#16 UCLA @ California 4:30 PM EST FOX
Florida @ #19 Florida State 7:30 PM EST ABC
Virginia @ Virginia Tech TBD

#3 Michigan @ #2 Ohio State Noon EST FOX
West Virginia @ #22 Oklahoma State Noon EST ESPN2
Louisville @ Kentucky 3 PM EST SECN
Auburn @ #8 Alabama 3:30 PM EST CBS
#12 Oregon @ #23 Oregon State 3:30 PM EST ABC
Minnesota @ Wisconsin 3:30 PM EST ESPN
Wake Forest @ Duke 3:30 PM EST ACCN
Memphis @ SMU 3:30 PM EST
Louisiana @ Texas State 5 PM EST ESPN+
#6 LSU @ Texas A&M 7 PM EST ESPN
#18 Notre Dame @ #7 USC 7:30 PM EST ABC
Oklahoma @ Texas Tech 7:30 PM EST FS1
#17 Washington @ Washington State 10:30 PM EST ESPN
BYU @ Stanford 11 PM EST FS1

[GeorgiaModerate]

North Carolina (which is having a bad day in both football and basketball) lost to NC State in double OT when they missed a short FG that would have sent it to a third OT.