NCAA football

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks “15- Week 3

Here they are. Ten games. Twenty teams. One winner of all the blog glory (I know, a little exaggerated there). Four games have Top 25 teams going at each other. Two others feature Top 25 teams playing unranked opponent. But I gotta please the audience. Chas likes South Carolina, so they are here again, even though they have a tough contest on the road against #7 Georgia. IBNO chose the tie breaker, which has #9 Florida State traveling to Yankee land: Boston College. Have at it, folks. Let’s see if we can do better than last week, in which we averaged 5.6 correct, after the previous week of 7.3 (8, if we leave one score of 0 out). But then, the first week had a lot of “gimmie” games.

1 Idaho State @ Boise State

2    Wake Forest @ Army

3  East Carolina @  Navy

4  #15 Ole Miss @  #2 Alabama

 5  South Carolina @  #7 Georgia

 6  #18 Auburn @  #13 LSU

7  #14 Georgia Tech @  #8 Notre Dame

8  Virginia Tech @  Purdue

9  #19 BYU @  #10 UCLA

10 Tie Breaker: #9 Florida State @ Boston College

 

Remember: pick winners of all games; guess the final score of the tie breaker, trying not to duplicate someone else’s guess; enter by 7:00pm EDT Friday. One entry per person. Prizes include boasting rights and the right to pick the next tie breaker game. Nothing else. Nada. Aught. Diddly. Zippo. Zilch. Zero.

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks “15- Week 2

Another week, another weekend of college football. Last week, four of us got nine out of ten games correct. It was a cake walk with all the top teams playing pushovers. Not this week. There is a possible preview of the final championship game with #7 Oregon visiting #5 Michigan State. And BYU hosts Boise State, after the now-famous Hail Mary pass by a substitute quarterback got BYU the win over Nebraska, at Lincoln! Have fun with this one, folks. Just make your picks by game-time Saturday, which is 10:30 AM EDT, when South Florida visits Florida State.

Remember the rules: Pick the winners of all ten games, and the final score of the tie breaker, which this week was chosen by Tychicus, who was the winner last week.

  1 South Florida @ #11 Florida State

  2 Army @ Connecticut

  3 Iowa @ Iowa State

  4 #19 Oklahoma @ # 23 Tennessee

  5 Kentucky @ South Carolina

  6 #7 Oregon @ # 5 Michigan State

  7  San Jose State @  Air Force

  8 #20 Boise State @ BYU

  9 #22 Arizona @ Nevada

10 Tie Breaker:  Kansas State @  UT- San Antonio

Pick winner and final score.

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News/Politics 1-13-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the national champions. And now that the first ever college playoffs are over, what did you think of it?

From MSNSports  “They took advantage of an opportunity they never would have had in the BCS, shrugging off questions about if they belonged among the college football’s final four. Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott and the Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff national championship, upsetting Marcus Mariota and Oregon 42-20 on Monday night.

Behind their bullish backup quarterback Jones and the relentless running of Elliott, the Buckeyes (14-1) completed a remarkable in-season turnaround with a dominating performance against the Ducks (13-2).”

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2. The House is trying to rollback Obama’s executive overreach. I know, which one, right?

From TheHill  “The GOP-led House Rules Committee late Monday advanced a bill to the floor that would fund the Department of Homeland Security through September and several amendments that would roll back President Obama’s immigration policies.

The House will likely vote on each of the amendments and the spending bill on Wednesday. The GOP-sponsored amendments are expected to be adopted and wrapped into the spending bill.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), chairman of the Rules panel, said Republicans want to withhold funding for the executive orders because Obama’s actions are “unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.” 

The amendments would defund Obama’s executive orders on immigration from November, the Morton Memos of 2011 and 2012 that relaxed some immigration laws and the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that defers deportations of children who came to the United States illegally.

Other amendments focus on immigration enforcement for sex offenders and prioritizing people who came to the U.S. legally ahead of those who arrived illegally.”

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3. The Keystone pipeline passes its initial Senate hurdle. Still no idea if they have the Democrat votes needed to override Obama’s threatened veto.

From LegalInsurrection/TheAP  “Legislation approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared an initial Senate hurdle Monday, a victory for newly empowered Republicans angling for a quick veto showdown with President Barack Obama.

The bipartisan 63-32 vote was 3 more than the 60 required, and well above the level the highly controversial measure ever gained in recent years when Democrats controlled the Senate….

But with more than enough votes at their command, Republican and Democratic supporters said they hoped the legislation could win final approval and be sent to the White House by the end of next week.

“President Obama has every reason to sign the jobs and infrastructure bill that we will pass,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. He noted that the Nebraska Supreme Court had recently rejected a legal challenge brought by opponents, an obstacle the White House had cited.”

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4. More “green science” myths bite the dust.

From HotAir  “Not that anyone in the anti-energy community will pay attention to this, but the debate over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and energy extraction in general has delivered another blow to the Green Energy crew. In fact, several of the most commonly repeated stories about the health hazards associated with the oil and gas energy have turned out to be “claims masquerading as science.”

[Dr. Dan Hill, head and professor and Noble Chair of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A & M University] cited a study in Colorado, which alleged that people who live within a half mile of a natural gas well are at higher risk of cancer. That study was later criticized by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for it flawed methodology and was eventually decommissioned by the Garfield County Commissioners in Colorado.

Similarly, some residents of Flower Mound, Texas (north of Fort Worth) suspected that breast cancers were linked to increased drilling. After extensive investigation by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the Texas Cancer Registry, and Susan G. Komen for the cure in Dallas all said there is no evidence of an increase in cancers. The Texas Department of State Health Services also found no connection between natural gas production and cancer in 2014.

In order to appreciate the impact of these results, do a Google search on Flower Mound, Texas and Fracking. This case has taken on legendary status among fracking opponents. It brought the phrase cancer cluster to national prominence and fueled the opposition to hydraulic fracturing in the liberal media for years. It was accepted as gospel that the incidence rate of cancers must be higher and, even in the absence of any evidence of a causal relationship, that it must have been caused by fracking. However we now see groups including Komen for the Cure saying that there was no increase and no relationship.”

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks-Week 15

Okay, some of you asked for it, here it is. Since Tychicus suggested a 7 game format this time, I figured, why not? I could add the “Pillow Fight of the Year”, according to Ryan McGee of ESPN.com, between two perennially bad teams. But I wouldn’t want this season of Joy and Goodwill to be spoiled. So, here are the 7 8 chosen games, all a championship of some sort. The rankings are the Playoff Committee rankings. 

1.  #7 Arizona  vs.   #2 Oregon– This could be Arizona’s first ever solo PAC-12 championship. And Oregon has only 1 loss – to Arizona.

2. Oklahoma State vs. #20 Oklahoma – The Sooner State bragging rights are on the line, but not much else except maybe a better bowl game.

3. #1 Alabama vs. #16 Missouri – SEC Championship. For the 2nd year of its 2 years in the conference, Mizzou has beaten the odds and made it this far. Will they go all the way? Stay tuned.

4. #4 Florida State vs. #11 Georgia Tech – ACC Championship. Personally, I don’t think FSU deserves the #4 ranking, since all too often they have had to win it in the last second to much lesser competition.

5. #13 Wisconsin vs.  #5 Ohio State – The B1G Championship. This could put OSU into the playoff picture, especially if one of the top 4 loses.

6. Fresno State vs. #22 Boise State – The Mountain West Championship. Yeah, I know, not much riding on this one except a 2nd rate bowl invitation. Too bad Boise can’t get into a more respectable conference.

7. #9 Kansas State vs. #6 Baylor – The de-facto Big 12 “Championship”. One of these teams could be in the playoffs as well. This is our tie breaker. Guess the winner and the score.

There you have it.

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And then Peter asks:

“Should we add Army vs Navy and wait a week for our winner?

I wish that game were this weekend. Go Navy!”

To which AJ replies “Let’s do it. And go Black Knights!”

8. army 2  vs.  navy

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks- Week 14

Here are the games for the (Mostly) Rivalry Week:

 1. Arkansas @ #20 Missouri – This hasn’t yet become a rivalry, since Mizzou’s old Big 8/12 rivalry was Kansas.

2. Arizona State @ Arizona – Not only is this a big rivalry, but the winner just might play in the PAC-12 Championship.

3. Virginia @ Virginia Tech – State pride and avoiding a losing season are on the line for both of these 5-6 teams.

4. Michigan @ #6 Ohio State – This use to be an almost national championship. Whatever happened to Michigan?

5. #18 Georgia Tech @ #10 Georgia – Wasps and Dawgs. Stingers and fangs. One “Peach” of a game, no?

6. #7 Baylor vs. Texas Tech – Remember when the “Big Rivalry” game in the Lone Star State was Longhorns vs. Aggies? What happened to Texas?

7. #4 Mississippi State @ Ole Miss – Can Ole Miss salvage something from the last two weeks of defeat? Either way, this is a can’t “Miss” game.

8. Florida @ #3 Florida State – Another game that used to be important. I guess Florida could make the playoff selection interesting.

9. # 14 Auburn @ #1 Alabama – The Iron Bowl. ’Nuff said.

10. Tie Breaker: South Carolina @ #22 Clemson – Chas doesn’t like Tigers. I see why, since South Carolina has the potential to play 4 different Tigers in a season, what with 3 in the SEC and Clemson on the schedule. At any rate, don’t be a turkey, guess winner and the score.

 

The first game is Friday @ 2:30pm EST, so get those guesses in before that left-over turkey sandwich (mine will have mayonnaise and mustard) and that afternoon nap.

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks- Week 13

13. Some consider it unlucky. But I don’t believe in luck, good or bad. So, you can try your luck at guessing the winner of these ten eleven games, or test your skill, whichever you prefer.

Just get your guesses in by Saturday @ high noon! (That’s 12 EST, the beginning of the 13th hour of the day.)

Editors Note – As you can see below, I’ve added an 11th game this week because it’s a special occasion in the college football world. Saturday at Yankee Stadium, the longest running rivalry in college football will play their 150th game.

 Here are your games (no apologies for the extended commentary):

 1. #25 Minnesota @ #23 Nebraska – Can the Cornhuskers overcome their problems against the Gophers? At least they are at home in Lincoln.

2. Fordham @ Army – The Black Knights are 3-7 and have lost to some good teams, and some bad ones. They’ve beaten some bad teams. But Fordham is 10-1 this season. You do the math.

3. Boston College @ #3 Florida State – The Seminoles almost lost to an unranked team on the road last week. The Eagles are a sacred bird to Native Americans. Think the Seminoles will let their Sacred Bird fly away with a win? I doubt it. They wouldn’t want the embarrassment at home.

4. #24 Louisville @ Notre Dame – The Fighting Irish have become the Fading Irish. Crushed in Arizona, then defeated by Northwestern at home! The Cardinals (a bird, not a religious leader) don’t stand a chance.

5. #15 Arizona @ #17 Utah – The Wildcats still have an outside chance at getting their first ever PAC-12 Championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Watch out, Utes!

6. #19 USC @ #9 UCLA – These two, and Arizona State, are the other PAC-12 South teams vying for the championship game. Too bad they all can’t lose. (Yes, I want Arizona to go for the Roses. We Wildcat fans have been waiting for 35 years.)

7. #8 Ole Miss @ Arkansas – Too bad the Rebels had to play Auburn. But they still have Mississippi State on the schedule. Perhaps their dream season has ended. The Razorbacks better tread carefully.

8. #20 Missouri @ Tennessee – The Tigers are in the lead in the SEC East. Unless they blow it against the Vols and the Razorbacks, they’ll play in the SEC Championship for the second time. So they miss the Big 12? No.

9. Boise State @ Wyoming – Broncos vs. Cowboys. It looks like the horses could win this rodeo.

10. South Alabama @ South Carolina – 6-4 Jaguars visiting 5-5 Gamecocks. Sun Belt vs. SEC. I think a .500 SEC team that plays a harder schedule shouldn’t have to worry about a .600 team from a less challenging conference (They have not faced any ranked team other than Mississippi State). But this is college football. Remember, it’s Chas’ team hosting this one.

11. Editors choice- Lafayette vs. Lehigh – Playing game number 150 at a neutral field, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Guess the winner and final score.

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 As an added bonus this week I’ve decided to give the people what they want, a shiny red sports car! (picture). If you guess the winner and final score of the Lafayette-Lehigh game exactly, you’ll win this….. A picture of a shiny red sports car. I’d love to buy you a real one, but this is kind of a low no budget operation we have running here. 🙂

 disney 2014 939

I’ll even autograph it if you like. 🙂

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks- Week 12

The Dirty Dozen, a baker’s dozen, a dozen eggs. And here is the “dozenth” entry in the Pigskin Picks. Another attempt by us amateurs to pick the winners in ten college football games. Since it’s the twelfth week, I picked a dozen games! This way we can include a lot of our favorite teams, including Army and Navy. Have at it folks. There are a lot of exciting opportunities for upsets this week as some usually great teams go up against each other.

Get your picks in by noon eastern on Saturday, November 15th to be eligible for the honor of being the top pickled picker of the week. TRW was our winner last week and he picked the tie breaker, a game I might have chosen myself if Arizona were off this week.

And here are your choices:

1. #21 Clemson @ #24 Georgia Tech

2. #2 Florida State @ Miami (FL)

3. #15 Oklahoma @ Texas Tech

4. #1 Mississippi State @ #5 Alabama

5. #3 Auburn @ #20 Georgia

6. South Carolina @ Florida

7. Iowa @ Illinois

8. Washington @ #19 Arizona

9. San Diego State @ Boise State

10. Army @ Western Kentucky

11. Georgia Southern @ Navy

12. Tie Breaker (pick winner and guess the score) Missouri @ Texas A&M

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks- Week 11

This week is hard to pick. A lot of the best teams are playing easy games. While it would be nice for someone to get all ten games correct for once, I wouldn’t want everyone doing so. Therefore, along with some of the blog favorites, I picked some games that involve Top 25 teams, or other games with evenly matched teams, including the Pillow Fight. And I think for the first time there are four teams from Texas. I must have a disease or something. Thus, I present your Week 11 choices:

  1. #13 Baylor @ #18 Oklahoma – Could this one decide the Big 12?

  2. #10 Notre Dame @ #9 Arizona State – I can’t remember these two ever meeting. Not that I care about either team.

  3. #5 Alabama @ #16 LSU – About the only SEC game that seems it’ll be a contest.

  4. Texas A&M @ #3 Auburn – Okay, so there are two SEC games of interest.

  5. #16 Ohio State @ #8 Michigan State – This game is more important than OSU-Michigan later on.

  6. Louisville @ Boston College – Haven’t had the ACC here much. So here they are.

  7. Boise State @ New Mexico – Broncos and Lobos (Wolves). A true wild West match-up.

  8. Colorado @ #19 Arizona – My Wildcats still have a slim chance in the PAC-12 South. This will help.

  9. Pillow Fight SMU (0-7) @ Tulsa (1-7) – I guess in the big scheme, this is meaningless. But it’s fun!

  10. Tie Breaker #20 WVU @ Texas – Tychicus chose this one. Guess the winner and the score.

The first game is at 12 noon EST Saturday, so get your picks in by then, whether you live in Georgia, USA or Georgia in Asia.

Winner decided on Sunday or Monday, depending on how busy I am.

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks-Week 9

Another week of guessing folks. Who will come out the winner this time? Pick away!

Deadline this week is Friday @ 9PM EDT Remember: You have to guess all ten games, unless you are so confident that you’ll win by guessing fewer than that. Just don’t be embarrassed like several Top 10 teams have been this year.

1. BYU @ Boise State – The Broncos play on Friday night a lot. Is the high school season over in Idaho?

2. San Jose State @ Navy – Will the long road trip by the Spartans help the Middies?

3. Michigan @ #8 Michigan State – If this were at Michigan’s home field, it might make a difference in the outcome. But the Spartans at #8? Hard to beat that.

4. Texas @ #11 Kansas State – KSU ranked, Texas not? Inconceivable!

5. #3 Ole Miss @ #24 LSU – Usually LSU is the higher ranked team. Odd year.

6. South Carolina @ #5 Auburn – Sorry Chas. I think SC has to play another Tiger.

7. #4 Alabama @ Tennessee – Tide came back Saturday. Can they do it again?

8. Vanderbilt @ Mizzou – Hopefully the right Tigers show up this time. Can’t be shut out at home twice in a row.

9. Pillow Fight Kent Stae (1-6) @ Miami (OH) (1-7) – I think Kent State did well against Army at home, but can they beat a lesser team on the road?

10. Tie Breaker: (guess winner and score) #15 Arizona @ Washington State – Hopefully Arizona won’t be embarrassed by the perennial PAC-12 cellar dweller.

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Peter’s Pack of Pickled Pigskin Picks-Week 8

Another week, another chance to prove yourself in predicting ten college football games. No pillow fight this week, and the tie breaker is in honor of Ricky and his son TRW actually being at the game. So here they are.

This week, have your entry in by 8:00PM EDT, Friday 10/17, since that is when the first game is played- Friday night lights in Boise.

1. Fresno State @ Boise State

2. #21 Texas A&M @ #7 Alabama

3. #14 Kansas State @ #11 Oklahoma

4. #5 Notre Dame @ #2 Florida State

5. Mizzou @ Florida

6. Army @ Kent State

7. UCLA @ California

8. Purdue @ Minnesota

9. Furman @ South Carolina

10. Tie Breaker (winner and score) #4 Baylor @ West Virginia