[NU Sports] PIGSKIN PICKS - Week 1

Sun Aug 26 19:21:23 CDT 2007

Hopefully everyone on the list knows about the Pigskin
Picks by now - if not, here's a short invitation to
join. We do this for fun and bragging rights only and
the Hall of Fame you'll see at the end of this message
is becoming extensive as we're entering our second
decade! The basics - all for fun, consider yourself
invited to join and have a great time! We just pick
winners (no point spreads) of all Big Ten games and
some national games of note - basically reply and fill
in the form below. Picks due to me (please, NOT to the
list) by the due date listed and standings will come
out weekly (hopefully ... for those who don't know,
I'm now teaching at the high school level, so year one
is pretty work heavy and standings may be delayed at
times:) ).

So let's get things going with the week 1 lineup ...

PIGSKIN PICKS - WEEK 1
########################
Name: 

BIG TEN
=======
GAME 1: Illinois vs. Missouri (@ St. Louis, MO)
WINNER: 

GAME 2: Indiana State @ Indiana
WINNER: 

GAME 3: Iowa @ Northern Illinois
WINNER: 

GAME 4: Appalachain State @ Michigan
WINNER: 

GAME 5: UAB @ Michigan State
WINNER: 

GAME 6: Bowling Green @ Minnesota
WINNER: 

GAME 7: Youngstown State @ Ohio State
WINNER: 

GAME 8: Florida International @ Penn State
WINNER: 

GAME 9: Purdue @ Toledo
WINNER: 

GAME 10: Washington State @ Wisconsin
WINNER: 

NATIONAL
========
GAME 11: Tennessee @ California
WINNER: 

GAME 12: Kansas State @ Auburn
WINNER: 

GAME 13: Florida State @ Clemson
WINNER: 

GAME 14: Oklahoma State @ Georgia
WINNER: 

GAME 15: Georgia Tech @ Notre Dame
WINNER: 

MY PICKS
=======
* ILLINOIS 24, Missouri 21 - Not on the Illini hype
wagon, but they will surprise a team or two this year,
starting with an overrated Big XII North contender
* INDIANA 38, Indiana State 7 - The Hoosiers come out
focused and win one for their beloved coach
* IOWA 27, Northern Illinois 23 - Give the Hawks
credit for visiting a MAC contender ... the Huskies
come close, but just miss the upset
* MICHIGAN 48, Appalachain State 0 - The Wolverines
come out looking like a contender
* MICHIGAN STATE 22, UAB 20 - So tempted to pick the
upset here, but Sparty's gotta have this one at home
... winnin' ugly!
* MINNESOTA 31, Bowling Green 21 - Gophers come alive
in the second half to win at home
* OHIO STATE 24, Youngstown State 6 - Close for a
half, but the young Buckeyes pull away late
* PENN STATE 33, Florida International 10 - Lions roll
and await the Irish
* PURDUE 46, Toledo 34 - Could be one of the more
entertaining games of the weekend ... lots of
fireworks
* WISCONSIN 27, Washington State 3 - Bucky looks
physical and dominant at home
* CALIFORNIA 30, Tennessee 23 - This time the Bears
show up for the big nonconference game
* AUBURN 20, Kansas State 14 - The Wildcats nearly
pull the upset in SEC country, but Auburn prevails
* CLEMSON 28, Florida State 24 - Big game for the ACC
... Clemson always plays well early and folds late, so
they get the win
* GEORGIA 26, Oklahoma State 21 - Another near upset
at home for an SEC power, but the Dawgs survivie late
like last year's Colorado game
* GEORGIA TECH 23, Notre Dame 17 - I'm hoping here,
because a loss means it's gonna be a disastrous
September and October for the Domers - they need to
win this one, but a new QB means early mistakes

And off the board ...
* NORTHWESTERN 27, Northeastern 17 - The Cats are
never a sure thing in the nonconference campaigns, but
they should have enough power to wear down
Northeastern in the second half.

Picks due by kickoff Saturday - have a great holiday
weekend!
GO CATS!!!
-SjT

PS - Here's the updated Hall of Fame

##################################
## PIGSKIN PICKS - HALL OF FAME ##
##################################

Winners of past years, whose names shall live forever
in immortality... (online at least):)

MATT HARTL "OVERALL EXCELLENCE" AWARD
Overall Pigskin Picks Champion
########################################
1997 - Eric J. Steffe
1998 - Carl Pilger
1999 - Eric J. Steffe
2000 - Bill Praast
2001 - Harlan Heiber
2002 - Chuck Herron
2003 - Chuck Herron
2004 - Marilyn Zilka
2005 - Alan Wolfson
2006 - Marilyn Zilka

ROB JOHNSON "IRONMAN" AWARD
Best record of those who have competed every week
####################################################
1997 - Eric J. Steffe (135-40)
1998 - Trey McAdams (120-40)
1999 - Bruce Taylor (111-39)
2000 - Steve Kandelman and Bruce Taylor (109-44)
2001 - Trey McAdams (107-43)
2002 - Chuck Herron (132-48)
2003 - Chuck Herron (130-40)
2004 - Marilyn Zilka (129-36)
2005 - Alan Wolfson (112-38)
2006 - Chuck Herron (113-37)

STEVE SCHNUR "ACCURACY" AWARD
Highest percentage - min. 5 weeks
######################################
1997 - Eric J. Steffe (.771)
1998 - Carl Pilger (.792)
1999 - Eric J. Steffe (.756)
2000 - Bill Praast (.714)
2001 - Harlan Heiber (.744)
2002 - Greg Kane (.738)
2003 - Chuck Herron (.765)
2004 - Marilyn Zilka (.782)
2005 - Alan Wolfson (.747)
2006 - Marilyn Zilka (.764)

PAT FITZGERALD "MOST HITS" AWARD
Most correct picks overall
####################################
1997 - NA
1998 - Trey McAdams (120)
1999 - Bruce Taylor (111)
2000 - Steve Kandelman and Bruce Taylor (109)
2001 - Trey McAdams (107)
2002 - Chuck Herron (132)
2003 - Chuck Herron (130)
2004 - Marilyn Zilka (129)
2005 - Alan Wolfson (112)
2006 - Chuck Herron (113)

BRIAN MUSSO "GUTSY" AWARD
Most upset special picks
############################
1997 - NA
1998 - Kelly Sevilla (10)
1999 - Jim Bendat (12)
2000 - Jim Bendat and Kelly Sevilla (13)
2001 - Jim Bendat (15)
2002 - Jim Bendat (18)
2003 - Bill O'Connor (14)
2004 - Carl Rossi (10)
2005 - Ace McInturff (14)
2006 - Ace McInturff (10)

D'WAYNE BATES "BOWL MVP" AWARD
Best performance in the postseason pool
#######################################
1997 - Mark Loach (20-1)
1998 - Jeff Larson (18-4)
1999 - Roger Bradshaw (15-8)
2000 - Carl Rossi (18-6)
2001 - Kenn Ruby (19-6)
2002 - Ty Levine (18-10)
2003 - Ryan Farney (19-8)
2004 - Ace McInturff and Ivars Embrekts (19-8)
2005 - Bob Waldele (19-8)
2006 - Mark Ament and Neil Kaplan (15-5)

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!

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