Fourth and Dumb

We’re alive and kicking, and back for another season, ladies and gents.

Real quick, let’s recap how last season turned out.

In our annual Bowl Challenge, we’ve been beaten by one of our readers for the second straight year. Brice Russ, linguistics Ph.D. student at The Ohio State University, claims to know nothing about football. He started out 0-3 in bowl season this past year, came back to go 9-1 on the New Year’s Eve/Day bowls and picked 24 of 4 games correctly to win the “title.” He was the only person to pick more than 21 bowl games correctly, and for that he has both my commendation and admiration.

Here’s the final standings among your four illustrious writers and the combined guest record.

DanGo 90-56
Chris 85-61
Fred 81-65
Guest 80-64
DanGr 76-60

I don’t like to gloat – but holy crap, I won?! Bet that doesn’t happen again.

I want thank everyone who picked as a guest last year. Special congratulations go to Evan Nagler, Chad Sinness, Ricky Compton, and Mike Cheyne, who each went 6-2 in their week to tie as the best of the guests. And we’re doing it again this year! If you want to get in on the guest picking action, post an email address here and I’ll get in touch with you.

For week one this year, our guest is Matthew Worner. Matthew Worner is a 2008 Master of Public Administration graduate from Virginia Tech’s Center for Public Adminsitration and Policy. He is an information technology auditor with one of the national security agencies (not disclosed… if it was, well…) in Washington, DC. Matthew is also probably one of the few Hokies that you know from North Dakota (maybe the only person you know from North Dakota). In his spare time, Matthew is an avid follower of the Hokies, is also enrolled in an Executive Master of Policy Management graduate program at Georgetown University. You can find him on Twitter at @HokieGuru.

We’ve got a decent slate of games for week one this year. Let’s go!

Read on for commentary and analysis.

Continue reading ‘Pick ‘Em – Week 1’ »

After three weeks, the entirety of our pickers are within one game of each other. I don’t think I’ve seen this much parity since the 2008 ACC. Is that a good thing?

Last week’s guest picker, Craig Barker, took a couple gambles and kept the guest spot at a perfect .500 record.

This week’s guest is James Quintong. James is an editor and occasional writer for ESPN.com’s fantasy section and also was on the original staff at CNNSI.com (now SI.com). He was a longtime member of TRASH before moving to other side of the buzzer, and is currently part of the reigning TRASHionals champions. In short, he’s everything that the good chunks of the blogosphere and quizbowl world apparently dislike. Oh yeah, he helped form Northwestern’s quizbowl team back in the mid-’90s, right around the time the Wildcats went to the Rose Bowl, and also graduated the same year as current head coach Pat Fitzgerald (but isn’t sure if that makes feel old or young).

Want to join us as a guest? Leave a comment with an email address, and we’ll get in touch.

On to week 4!

Read on for commentary and analysis. Continue reading ‘Pick ‘Em – Week 4’ »

Congrats to DanGr, who managed to become the first FnD writer to have a winning record for the week. It only took two weeks, folks!

Also – a quick plug here for the Fourth and Dumb College Pick ‘Em Challenge on ESPN.com. Some of you have joined but neglected to submit picks for a week for two. (I’m looking at YOU, Dan Greenstein.)

This week’s guest picker is Craig Barker. Craig is a member of the University of Michigan quiz bowl team in the previous century, longtime member of the Mike Keenan Employment Agency trash team, and a man currently enjoying his quiz bowl retirement. A Michigan football fan for so long he can still vividly remember listening to Mike Gilette’s field goal to beat Iowa in 1985, he has resigned himself to the fact that he will never be the most famous member of his collegiate graduating class. (Curse you Tom Brady, you handsome devil.) When not posting not-quite-as-witty-as-he-thinks rejoinders on various points on the Internet, he can be found blogging about Michigan athletics (including the Marching Band) at The Hoover Street Rag.

Based on our records after two weeks, I’m not sure we can do much worse. Here’s to hoping the season improves. Moving on!

Read on for commentary and analysis. Continue reading ‘Pick ‘Em – Week 3’ »

And so begins the 2009 season. Let’s recap what happened last year, shall we?

After falling back by as many as 10 games to Fred, our beloved Chris overcame a 2-5 first week of bowl season, and correctly picked 5 upsets during the last week of bowl season, to defeat Fred by one game for the yearly standings.

Final results:
Chris 83-56
Fred 82-57
DanGo 77-62
DanGr 76-63

But now it is time to erase the slate and begin anew, and so we shall. As I mentioned before, we’re going to add a rotating guest spot this year. Our first guest is Eric Douglass. Eric is a two time graduate of the University of South Carolina and lifelong Gamecock fan. Quizbowl is his way of escaping the fact that he is a lifelong Gamecock fan.

Read on for commentary and analysis. Continue reading ‘Pick ‘Em – Week 1’ »

Chris Borglum, ladies and gentlemen. You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.

He is…dare I say it…en fuego.

Commentary and analysis after the jump. Continue reading ‘Pick ‘Em – Bowl Week Extravaganza – Part 3’ »

Congrats to DanGr, who picked his way to another win. Way to come on strong late in the season.

There’s only one thing better than Rivalry Week, and that’s Championship Week.

Fred’s gone MIA all of a sudden, so we’re picking against the chalk on his behalf. (I FELL ASLEEP – Fred)

ACC Championship: #17 Boston College (-1) vs. #25 Virginia Tech (Tampa, FL) Saturday 1:00pm ABC
DanGr: This is not what the ACC had in mind when it poached the Big East so they could get their hands on some championship game $$$. Both teams have very good defenses, so it will be the offenses that decide this one. Specifically, the pass offenses. Both defenses are going to stymie the run, so it will come down to who has the better quarterback. Dominique Davis > (Tyrod Taylor OR Sean Glennon) BC to the OB via a low scoring game.
Fred: If I wasn’t lazy, I’d post that picture of a half-empty stadium hosting last year’s ACC Championship game, accompanied by an uninspiring score. I am lazy, though. This should be the closest game of the weekend.

Big 12 Championship: #20 Missouri (+16.5) vs. #2 Oklahoma (Kansas City, MO), Saturday 8:00pm ABC
DanGo: I think it’s pretty much a consensus; especially after their poor showing against Kansas in the Border War last week, there’s no way Missouri’s defense can stop Sam Bradford for 60 minutes. Look for Oklahoma to pull away late.

Conference USA Championship: East Carolina (+12) at Tulsa, Saturday 12:00pm ESPN2
DanGr: Surprisingly, this game will not be a shootout. ECU will make sure of that with their decent defense. But ultimately, Tulsa will pull away at the end to earn a trip to Memphis.

MAC Championship: #12 Ball State (-14.5) vs. Buffalo (Detroit, MI), Friday 8:00pm ESPN2
Chris: Turner Gill leads his team to the big upset and then gets a better job in a bigger conference (I hope).
DanGr: Do you get the feeling that the Cardinals are not going to be fully motivated at Ford Field? Buffalo will take advantage as they play lights out and shoot the bird all throughout the first half. But the skill differential is quite large and the Bulls did not fare well against anyone with a pulse. BSU will blow UB off the field in the second half to get to 13-0.

SEC Championship: #1 Alabama (+9.5) vs. #4 Florida (Atlanta, GA), Saturday 4:00pm CBS
DanGo: I’ve decided to try to be somewhat scientific in this pick. These are two talented teams, but Florida has the larger margin of victory over their six common conference opponents: 177-79. Florida only had two games where they outscored their opponent by less than 30 points – Tennessee and the loss to Ole Miss. Alabama only had 2 wins of more than 11 points, at Tennessee and at Arkansas. Look for the Florida D to stymie John Parker Wilson and for Tebow to get a chance to stretch his legs.
DanGr: The Crimson Tide defense and Gator offense will get their biggest tests of the year against each other. What about the Bama offense against the Florida defense? If the Tide defense can keep Florida under 30 points and keep them off the field, the offense should be able to do enough to get the victory late in the fourth quarter with a drawn out drive to end the game.

Navy (-11) vs. Army (Philadelphia, PA), Saturday 12:00pm CBS
Chris: Navy, by three samoans.
DanGr: If I pick against Navy again, my fiancee is sleeping on the couch. [Not really. -Ed.]

Arkansas State (+11) at Troy, Saturday 7:00pm ESPN360
DanGr: Troy is coming off a demolition of Louisiana Lafayette. The Trojans will continue their strong run in the de facto Sun Belt championship game.

Hey folks, it’s Rivalry Week!

Chris and Fred tied again, and Borglum is now trying to work his way out of the basement.

I dropped the ball a little this week too, but I can assure you that all picks were in prior to the Pitt-WVU kickoff I totally overlooked today.

And now…

COMMEN-TARY *clap clap clapclapclap*

Iron Bowl: Auburn (+14.5) at #1 Alabama, Saturday 3:30pm CBS
Chris: Bama’s front four won’t allow Auburn to run consistently, and we’ve all seen that Kodi Burns can’t win a big game with his arm. Bama snaps its string of Iron Bowl losses, and we all hope that no one gets shot afterward.

Hardee’s Trophy: South Carolina (+1) at Clemson, Saturday 12:00pm ESPN2
Chris: Stephen Garcia will solidify his hold on the QB job for the bowl game, and Jasper Brinkley and SC’s nasty defense will stop the great two-headed running back of Clemson.
DanGr: After the midseason crash that saw Tommy Bowden bite the dust, the Tigers are quietly on a three-game winning streak. This one is for an invitation to a bowl game and to rip the interim tag off of Dabo Swinney’s title. For that, C.J. “100%” Spiller and Clemson will play their best game of the year and sock it to the Cocks.

Bedlam Series: #3 Oklahoma (-7) at #12 Oklahoma State, Saturday 12:00pm ESPN2
DanGo: Oklahoma’s throttling of Texas Tech in Norman was a shock to many who had written off the Sooners. The trip to Stillwater won’t be anything close to hospitable, but the Cowboys have been the odd man out in the game of musical chairs that is the Big 12 South. It will be exciting, but the Sooners will persevere.
DanGr: Oklahoma has had a clunker in the regular season (plus championship game) every year since the championship season. Oklahoma State has been forgotten and wants to make a statement. The Cowboys will pull the upset and send Texas Tech to KC for some barbequed Tiger.

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate: #22 Georgia Tech (+7.5) at #11 Georgia, Saturday 12:00pm CBS
DanGo: After falling far behind the Gators in the SEC East, the Dawgs have silently played their way to a 9-2 record, losing only to the two better teams in the SEC: Florida and Bama. Georgia Tech is going to have to rely on Virginia to hand them their ACC Coastal title, but GT’s losses to VT, UVa and UNC raise some questions about how effective the “vaunted” triple-option really is. The Dawgs pull it out in the 2nd half.
DanGr: This is not the year Uga fans had hoped for, but they at least they can wash down the disappointment with another win over the Yellow Jackets. Not so fast, my friend. Paul Johnson makes another statement with his totally awesome triple option with flexbone filling as his team snaps their seven game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
[This really was DanGr, and not Lee Corso, writing this. - Ed.]

Commonwealth Cup: Virginia (+8) at Virginia Tech, Saturday 12:00pm ESPN
DanGo: This one’s pretty simple. The Hokies need to win to go to Tampa next weekend. The Wahoos need to win to become bowl-eligible, and possibly for Al Groh to keep his job. We’re not sure what color Al Groh’s chair is, but I hear Phil Fulmer is looking for employment… Regardless, The Hokies’ defense will have no trouble with a team that could only put up 3 points against Clemson, and the Hokies can book their tickets to Tampa.

Civil War: #23 Oregon (+3) at #17 Oregon State, Saturday 7:00pm Versus
Chris: ESPN is saying that Jacquizzzzz Rogers won’t play, and his brother isn’t as fast. Ducks will break out some hideous new throbbing, electric-neon-yellow unis and find a way to win.
DanGr: The Beavers feel like a team of destiny, one that is destined to win its local Civil War. They are playing well in all phases of the game. Their defense will be the difference against the Sun Bowl-bound Ducks.

Backyard Brawl: #25 Pittsburgh (+3) at West Virginia, Friday 12:00pm No TV
DanGo: West Virginia can’t really drop two straight to The Mustache, can they?

It was a thing for beauty for all enthusiasts of the totally awesome triple option.  Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson unleashed his playbook and the results were devastating: 472 rushing yards, the most yards rushing given up by Miami since 1944, and the most accumulated by Tech since 1978.  More important, however, was the final score, 41-23, in a game that was not as close as that score indicates: the score was 27-3 midway through the third quarter.  It was complete domination by an old school offense against the vaunted Miami defense.  Just when Miami looked like it was about to get back to being Miami, they lose their heads and get smoked old school.

Do you believe now that the totally awesome triple option works against Les Six?  What is that, still not convinced?  As big as this game was for its conference standing, the next game is for its standing in its state.  Yes, Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is just around the corner.  If Georgia Tech can go into Athens and knock off the Georgia Bulldogs for the first time since 2000, then everyone will believe in what Paul Johnson and his Yellow Jackets are doing for the North Avenue Trade School.

With a record of 5-3, Georgia Tech is now done with ACC regular season play.  With their win, they greatly enhanced their chances of attending the ACC Championship Game and diminished those of Miami.  With one more ACC game in the books, what does the ACC Coastal division race look like now?

- All five teams in contention now have three losses.  To qualify for the tiebreaker process, each team needs to get to 5-3.  From now on, a loss by the four remaining teams at any time this weekend or next weekend eliminates them from the race.

- Georgia Tech needs North Carolina to lose a game and the winner of Virginia-Virginia Tech to lose their previous game.  The Yellow Jackets would lose all tiebreakers that involve one of those teams.

- Miami needs the Virginia-Virginia Tech winner to win its previous game and for North Carolina to lose a game.  Miami cannot win a tiebreaker with only Georgia Tech or any tiebreaker involving North Carolina.

- North Carolina needs the Virginia-Virginia Tech winner to lose its other game.  North Carolina wins all tiebreakers not involving the Virginia teams.

- Virginia and Virginia Tech need Miami to lose a game and/or have North Carolina win both games.  The only way the winner of their matchup wins a tiebreaker involving Miami is if North Carolina is included in that tie.

Hey – what’s that? I’m not so bad at picking games after all. We’ve got a tie for second place now.

Boston College (+6.5) at #19 Florida State, Saturday 8:00pm ABC
Chris: Can anyone name any players on Boston College? I’m guessing DanGr could, but I can’t.
[Ed.: DanGr chose not to respond to this particular challenge, but I will: Kevin Challenger.]

South Carolina (+22.5) at #4 Florida, Sat 3:30pm CBS
DanGr: Does this seem familiar? They were in the exact same situation two years ago, twiddling their thumbs waiting for the SEC Championship Game. They ended up a botched field goal away from their national championship dreams being crushed in The Swamp by the Cocks. Do not be surprised if this is another close one, but the Gators will ultimately prevail.

#16 North Carolina (-3) at Maryland, Saturday 3:30pm ABC/ESPN
DanGo: There’s no “football science” in this pick. Maryland’s playing a a ranked team at home, thus.
Fred: Maryland is the Herschel Walker of college football. Not the dominating, run through eight brick walls and several small children actual player Herschel Walker, but you never know which Herschel you’re going to get Herschel Walker.

Minnesota (+13.5) at Wisconsin, Saturday 3:30pm ABC/ESPN
DanGo: Both of these teams have had a surprising season; Minnesota in a good way, Wisconsin in a not so good way. The Gophers have been surprising, but the loss to Michigan last week was a demoralizing blow, and the Badgers look to be too tough to stop.

Virginia Tech (+3.5) at Miami (FL), Thursday 8:00pm ESPN
Chris: Robert Marve continues running in place by throwing a couple picks, and Va Tech gets just enough offense to win.
DanGo: While I’m cheering for the Hokies the whole time in this one, I’m going to have to pick against them. The offense has still been stagnant, and even with a questionable return from Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies have too many question marks to play 60 minutes with a resurgent group of Hurricanes.

UCF (+7) at Marshall, Saturday 4:30 CSS
Chris: UCF has the worst offense in Division I, but Joe Burnett will get a pick and make a special teams play to get the Knights over. Bet on a combined under of 29 points.
PS–boy does George O’Leary suck.
DanGr: George O’Leary not only did not play college football, he also did not earn a Master’s in Education from NYU. Zing! That is besides the point. Face it, this Golden Knights team is as tarnished as O’Leary’s reputation. They are going to get spanked in Huntington against a Herd that wants to put pressure on East Carolina in the C-USA East race.

Notre Dame (-4) at Navy (Baltimore, MD), Saturday 12:00pm CBS
DanGr: If I pick against Navy again, my fiancée will exile herself to the couch.
Chris: DanGR, your fiancee needs to start practicing now to be a wife: YOU get exiled to the couch, not her.
DanGr: My fiancee will be no ordinary wife. I paid for the bed, so it is she who leaves. She agrees with me on this point.

I’m working on the picks for this week while I’m watching the VT – Miami game, and ESPN just managed to catch these two beauties.

Their sign, if you can’t read it, says “We Sparkle 4 Chris Fowler”

I’m at a loss for words.

(Click to Enlarge)