As you should have heard, it got pretty testy on the teleconference this week.  Ben Jones of StateCcollege.com has linked it and it’s pure gold from start to finish.   Needless to say, Evil Bill is simply fuming.  Since January 2012, the Head Football Coach has been nothing but great for Penn State.  After last July, that role expanded into a Public Relations role and was also handled with fire, grace and class.  The season came and ended with what everyone assumed was an F Bomb.  That has since been clarified that the wind caused the sound to go awry like a bad kick (I know, most kicks are bad).  There has been a debate on the “fighters” comment and what was said, so in saying that, this in-“fighting” is absurd.

Penn State has just finished the 1^st year of the sanctions and the program is doing well all things considered.  The foundation was there and graduation rates remained strong despite the toxic culture the NCAA portrayed.  Recruiting is going well and while there will could possibly be bumpy roads ahead (probably not), the football program is in very capable hands.  VBR has already taken aim at this very subject, but now it’s my turn.  The undermining of the football program and the Athletics Department is ridiculous, but allow me address some of the names that keep showing up in this pissing match:

Bill O’Brien – Head Football Coach:  Generally referred to as the greatest coach in college football (by me and anyone with a brain).  The head football coach who also moonlights as the public relations department by always being available and honest has been the face of Penn State since last January.  There is also a general respect for the chain of command, a sense of accountability and honesty which is a rarity in these times.  Not part of the pissing match, but a responder to it.

Dave Joyner:  While I understand that there is animosity towards the former Board of Trustees (BOT) member, he’s not here for long so the attempt to take him down has only made PSU look worse, which is a common theme. If the medical change by him was a personal grudge then that’s a bad look.  I have to give him some credit, as small as it may be, on the football coach hire.  Did he deserve the job?  No, but he got it and I am not sure who else was even a candidate.

Rod Erickson:  I would someday wish to be in a high stakes poker game with Erickson because I would get that guy to fold just by staring at him.  That is all I have to say about him.  He’ll be gone soon enough.

Jay Paterno:  Even mentioning a Paterno is risky.  They’re the 1st family of State College and beloved by many.  Jay consistently carries himself with class and is a great ambassador for the University.  Jay constantly tweets about all PSU sports but never tweets about football and that’s part of my beef.  The CBS article came off as quite dismissive and petty.  Jay seemed to cite that the B1G had a down year and that was bush league.  It was a bush league question from Dodd and Jay mentioned he doesn’t think its right to critique the coach, but he still got in a shot and mentioned how good Urban Meyer was, which made no sense.  Maybe I am forgetting that the 2011 Temple team that was the 1985 Bears D, but 14 points?  Spare me the “down year” stuff.  I am not sure McGloin just signed a 3 year deal thanks to a down league.  Jay also realized that message boards had accused him of being the source of the Sports Illustrated story and quickly dismissed those rumors.  There is no reason not to believe him so Godspeed Jay on whatever you plan on doing.

Anthony Lubrano:  It seems to me Lubrano is a on the BOT for all the wrong reasons.  He claims his best interest is Penn State but publicly questioning medical practices proves that to be untrue.  I understand Joe was his pal, but as a member of the board, I ask what his biggest contribution is so far other than being the most quoted BOT member in history?  To publicly comment and basically support that bogus Sports Illustrated article makes me wonder what the end goal of Lubrano is?  Remember, Lubrano was also upset that the football coach was consulted about the NCAA’s sanctions before they were handed down.  As we can all agree, the sanctions suck, but again, he’s out of line.  His role on the BOT seems more like an overzealous parent on a high school board than it does for the best interest of Penn State.  I am not naïve to not know what he wants, but slowly we’re getting to the point of cutting off the nose to spite the face. 

Wayne Sebastianelli:  A major subject in the Sports Illustrated article has been oddly quiet since the story ran.  While you cannot deny the good he has done, most notably with Adam Taliaferro, he’s still an employee of PSU.  It also is a good time to remind people that jobs in Centre County don’t last forever.  If football loses 9 games a year for 3 straight years (not on this watch) then I am pretty sure the office would be ordered to clean out.

John Ziegler:  A lightning rod for controversy it seems within the Penn State twitterverse .  There is no detail of the last 18 months or so he is not aware of, but his abrasive style has done nothing to improve the image of Penn State.  His followers attack anyone who seems to disagree with him.  He also did about the dumbest thing you could ever do, take some jabs at the football genius tweeting ESPN helped him get his job by  some bizarre logic and complaining ESPN gave a free pass after the “fighters” comment.   Regardless, this latest annoyance wasn’t his doing, but I wanted to address those cheap shots.

Other PSU coaches:  Currently, Penn State may have their best set of coaches at any time in the history of the school.  Wrestling is better than ever, Women’s Basketball is doing great, Men’s and Women’s Volleyball are always good, Hockey looks promising and I believe Chambers is up for the task of changing the perception of the Men’s Basketball program.  They don’t need this crap either.

Since that SI article has ran, Garret Learner has spoken, Taliaferro tweeted that he supports this program, but for some unknown reason, other people within are trying to sabotage this.  All that has happened is now people realize that Sports Illustrated tried to create a controversy over something that has been rebutted with statistics and additional facts.  The other thing that has happened is people are realizing that people within Penn State are screwing with the football team and it’s that perception is the reality.  People will blame the media for creating a new story, but it’s pretty plain to see this is no stretch.  I have my theories and you can probably guess based on what I have written on who the source is to Sports Illustrated.  I hope I’m wrong, but that is rarely the case.

Todd Blackledge said on twitter we can’t fully move forward until we know the truth and that is a common thought of many.  If that’s your mindset, fine go right ahead, but let’s not undermine the program in doing that.  Just understand that there is the reality of this that the truth they are seeking may never be known and also people with much more authority and legal backgrounds are working that out.  Undercutting the football program to settle a score seems like an off track way of finding this truth.    There is enough in our way and we surely don’t need this garbage.

The head football coach is a man who doesn’t suffer fools and sadly, he has plenty of fools to suffer.

Evil Bill O’Brien is not affiliated with The Pennsylvania State University or head coach Bill O’Brien

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Tim Beckman as Coach in “Zero Dark Conference Wins” –  When the sanctions came down, Beckman sent his henchmen off to State College to poach our players.  He came back with an unnamed underclassmen.  He then proceeded to act like he was a coach all year and was even given a headset.  His acting in those press conferences and on the sidelines earned him a nod because he almost convinced the world he actually coached.  His zero conference wins were just the icing on the cake for this performance.

Mark Emmert as the President in “Djoker Unchained” – Mark Emmert sung from the top of Sanctimonious Mountain back in July and led to praise from Dan Wetzel in the attached column that he meant business.  As he led his sham NCAA, he preached a holier than thou approach to anyone who would listen.  A truly memorable performance by the biggest hypocrite on the face of the earth.

Lane Kiffin as the Imposter in “Daddy’s Silver Linings Playbook” –  This project that Kiffin took on was a role of a lifetime.  Offering assistance to BOB on how to deal with sanctions In July and taking the high road in public.  What a guy and he didn’t even hint that  behind the scenes he was recruiting his best running back at the time.  It was a convincing performance because when you see what he was like in realty while engaging petty arguments with the media, pulling a scholarship from a recruit and managing to lose endless games with great talent, you know what a snake this man actually is.   For that tenth of a second though, he had the world convinced.

Best Original Screenplay

The nominees are limited for this category, but that is OK, because the winner is a runaway… literally and figuratively.

The Winner:  WR Bubble Screen play vs. Indiana (Director:  Bill O’Brien, Starring:  Allen Robinson Uncredited:  Matt Lehman.  A simple, yet creative  screenplay, a few great blocks and a great run and the nominee was easily the winner.

Best Original Score:

Matt McGloin vs. Northwestern:   A pretty normal QB scramble that ended in pure grace.  The rally was on as Penn State was closing in on a huge comeback and then a dive that solidified this as an Original Score.

Allen Robinson vs. Navy:  With the game no longer in doubt, PSU went for a little crss pattern to take it into the red zone.  The tipped pass intended for Williams only to drop into Robinson’s pass just like we drew it up.

McGloin to Jesse James vs. Wisconsin:  4th and 6 and plenty of time, it was time to make the coaching call of the year.  While most teams would have punted, the O-line stepped up and gave McGloin plenty of time to find James for the 1st down and much more.  It was truly and original score.

Best Picture

There were a ton to choose from because any picture of BOB is worthy of a nomination.

The Stare:  Joe Hermitt of the Patriot News – @JoeHermitt

Band of Brothers:  Dave Cole of Onward State – @DaveColePhoto

Double Vision:  Dave Cole of Onward State - @DaveColePhoto

Best Director

Well, do we even need to discuss this?  I will list the nominee, who is also the winner and will be the winner year after year.

Bill O’Brien

As for the real Academy Awards, I have no opinion since the only films I see are game tapes.  Enjoy the show, but the real show doesn’t start until August 31st vs. Syracuse.  We Are!

Evil Bill O’Brien is not affiliated Penn State University or Head Coach Bill O’Brien

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The players were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of touchdowns danced in their heads.
And Coach Fitz shirtless, and wearing just shorts,
Jim Delany clueless and all out of sorts.

When out on the field there arose such a clatter,
The fans sprang from their seats see what was the matter.
Away to twitter, they flew like a flash,
To confirm Mark Emmert is a babbling ***.

The Beaver Stadium lights reflecting on new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of a While Out and college football’s greatest show.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a high powered offense, while sipping an ice cold beer.

With a brand new coach, no one wanted at first,
They knew in a moment, Tim Beckman would be the worst.
Coach was poised and the supporters they came,
On back of the jerseys would be each players name!

“Now Mauti! now, Hodges! now, McGloin and Zordich!
On, Hill! On, Morris! On, Stanley and Yanich!
To the top of Mt. Nittany! This team saw it all!
No Bowl Game! Sanctions! The 2012 team stood tall!”

The sanctions came down and they blamed our Culture
While other teams coaches tried to poach like Vultures.
They wiped out wins and levied a huge fine,
They can kiss our *** because JoePa got 409.

And then after the 1st game, fans starting blaming Ted Roof
This team would bounce back and we’d offer the proof.
As I drew plays in my head, the season was turning around,
The wins stared coming and this team would be crowned.

Dressed in blue and white, and in the Big Ten hunt,
I lost a part of myself when being forced to punt.
A few tough calls made by the god awful referees
I told that loser Witovet I’d bust he knees.  

With eyes nearly bugged out of my head!
This team was not finished they’d awake from the dead!
Ohio State and Nebraska losses, were just a bump in the road,
The non-believers believed and were impressed what was showed.

A final game vs. Wisconsin, the season then complete,
The team accomplished an unbelievable feat.
The 2012 team remembered on the facade,
While every Penn State fan knows the NCAA is a fraud!

A 4th and 6 call while Penn State down one,
Made Bert Bielema realize his time at Wisky was done!
An overtime Field Goal by the much maligned Ficken,
Bert realized he should have gone for 2, but of course he was chicken.

The season was over, the end was here,
And time for a certain genius to be named Coach of the Year.
Off to recruiting and spreading some joy,
And devising a plan for this league that we will annually destroy!

May Delany and Emmert get nothing but coal,
And shoving it up their *** will always be our goal
For they messed with the best these short sighted suckers,
“Merry Christmas to all, you fantastic bunch of f******!”

Evil Bill O’Brien is not affiliated with Penn State University or head coach Bill O’Brien.

We know that 2012 was the birth year of @evilbillobrien and that is the main reason that 2012 was placed on the façade at Beaver Stadium.  I decided to work on something to capture the year with awards on what all we saw.  The categories vary over many topics to without further adieu, I present to you the 2012 O’B’s (pronounced OH-BEES)

BEST BOB QUOTE:

The nominees:

1.       On Birthdays and other fun things:  “I’m not a big birthday guy.  My wife will list all the things I really don’t enjoy: birthdays, weddings, theme parks, the beach.”

2.       In regard to seeking advice from USC’s horrid coach: “I’m not checking in with Lane Kiffin.

3.        When asked if he would recruit kids from other schools like the poachers were to Penn State:  “Hell no!  That’s not the right thing to do in my opinion. So I wouldn’t do that.”

4.       When asked about the 2012 Penn State team after the Wisconsin game, “They’re a bunch of *******”

While not enjoying the beach and laughing about reaching out to Lane Kiffin for advice is rather hilarious, this one is a no brainer.  Though fighters may have been the word, it missed the mark because *** is really the nicest compliment to give to this team.

WORST BOB/CALL DECISION

The nominees:

1.       Gerald Hodges as a punt returner.  This one was magnified when he fumbled a punt and having an All American caliber LB returning punts was debated heavily.

2.       Fake Punt vs. Ohio State.  This play hurt momentum and the feeling is if you’re going to go, just go because the offense is used to those situations.

3.       FG Attempt at the end of the 1^st half vs. Illinois.  After Mauti’s 99 yard INT return, the thought was just step on their throats and end the game.  The kick was blocked and had little to do with the outcome of the game, but showing mercy vs. Beckman was debated.

The winner is none of the above.  All of those were great calls with spotty execution.  Come on, like I was actually going to criticize the coaching.

WORST CALL BY A SKUNK (AKA REFEREE)

The nominees:

This was a penalty?

1.       The pass interference call on Stephon Morris late in the 1^st half of the Northwestern game.  This was truly putrid.  Morris made no contact on a jump ball and the laundry came flying.

2.       The non-holding call on Pete Massaro and Michael Mauti in the Ohio State game.  Both egregious plays were not flagged leading to some big Braxton Miller runs.

3.       The holding call on the punt in the Ohio State game.  This one was a real momentum changer and also a real mystery.

Good call idiots.

4.       The Nebraska TD that was somehow ruled a fumble.  I have no explanation here but a TD was ruled a fumble though the replay clearly showed the ball had crossed the goal line.

This is a landslide one for the Nebraska game.   As that went to replay, I tweeted, “In real life this is a TD.  In the B1G, it’s anyone’s guess.” As expected, they overruled it and that lead to a classic post game from Matt McGloin.

It’s been fun picking and not sure what the VBR Staff has planned for the Bowl Season, but I will probably partake in that.

Louisville (+2) at Rutgers (Big East Championship*)

*The de facto Big East title game to naturally be played on a Thursday.  ACC vs. B1G in this one and I think that Louisville is just way better a team.

Louisville 34 Rutgers 27

Northern Illinois (-6.5) vs. Kent State (#MACtion Championhip Game)

A Kent State win combined with a UCLA loss could mean Kent in the BCS automatically.  That makes this pick and easy one.

Kent State 30 Northern Illinois 29

UCLA (+10) vs. Stanford (Pac 12 Championship Game)

I’ll hand it to Stanford, they win games.  I’m still bitter over that play calling in the Notre Dame game, but I need them combined with that Kent game.

Stanford 28 UCLA 16

Florida State (-13) vs. Georgia Tech (ACC Championship Game)

Florida State is having a distraction of a week so they will come out flat.  Doesn’t matter, the game sucks bad,

Florida State 30 Georgia Tech 21

Nebraska (-2.5) vs. Wisconsin (B1G Championship Game)

Speaking of games that suck, this one is way up there.  A 3rd place team in Wisconsin vs. a spaz in Pelini.  Wisconsin could pose some issues, but Martinez will pull one out.

Nebraska 26 Wisconsin 24

Upset Special
Georgia (+7.5) vs Alabama (SEC Championship Game)

Screw the SEC.  I have no justification for this pick, but I just think that everyone is so hard up for Alabama Notre Dame, I just want to see the disappointment.

Georgia 23 Alabama 21

Season Record 49-28 (7-6 on Upset Specials)

Evil Bill O’Brien is not affiliated with Penn State University or head coach Bill O’Brien. 

Michigan (+4) at Ohio State

Jim Delany’s favorite game of the year and this year should be good. Part of me wants to see Ohio State remain undefeated and waste a perfect season, but the other part, which is me most of the time, wants to see them lose. Denard Robinson’s career comes to a close, but with injuries, his role has changed. I am not sure it will be enough as Meyer gets his 1st and last undefeated season.

Ohio State 29 Michigan 21

Florida (+7) at Florida State

I have seen a few projections that have FLA possibly sneaking into the mythical National Championship (MNC) game. I think FSU will end those dream scenarios for FLA and then be looking from the outside in as a 1 loss not in the MNC game.

Florida State 27 Florida 22

Notre Dame (-6) at USC

My goodness, this is terrible. One 1 hand, the thought of Notre Dame in the MNC game is nauseating. On the other hand, Kiffin losing 5 games is such a great thought. Barkley is out, but the benefit is that Kiffin may not have damaged the QB yet with his stupidity.

Notre Dame 17  USC 0 points, 0 class

Stanford (+1) at UCLA

I respect these teams for beating USC. Stanford lost that game to Notre Dame because they went in a shell and that is inexcusable. Therefore, my logic tells me they will lose this game.

UCLA 26 Stanford 24

Oklahoma State (+9) at Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s defense took last week off vs that terribly coached West Virginia team. I cannot envision a scenario where Okie State wins on the road. Medium-Sized game Bob runs away with one here.

Oklahoma 38 Oklahoma State 21

Upset Special

Rutgers (+2) at Pitt

Rutgers is ranked and Pitt is a sub .500 team, but that is not how it works with these games. Pitt is awful, but favored so this is hardly and upset, but since Rutgers is ranked, it will be.  Rutgers has no business joining the B1G, so they will falter and everyone can add their B1G jokes here.

Pitt 17 Rutgers 16

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Evil Bill O’Brien is in no way affiliated with Penn State University or head football coach Bill O’Brien.

Let’s hope my picks don’t have the glitch that the NCAA Site had this week, but if my picks are wrong, I will review them and see where I made a mistake and correct them.  In doing that, I will prove that I am not a B1G replay official.

Oklahoma (-11) at WVU

West Virginia’s downfall has been quite the spectacle and one only topped by Felix Baumgartner.  4 straight embarrassing losses with the 5^th one looming,  Couch sales have dropped significantly in WVU and arrests are down so there is a silver lining.

Oklahoma 52 WVU 32

Kansas State (-10) at Baylor

Klein is just too tough and Baylor lost to WVU and looking back on that now, it’s a real embarrassment.  Bill Snyder’s magical ride continues.  For years, it seemed liked KSU would screw up the B12 by beating a team late and cost them a chance in the Mythical National Championship game, but 2012 could see a role reversal.  Just not this week though.

Kansas State 62 Baylor 31

Rutgers (+6.5) at Cincinnati

Rutgers is ranked and getting points at Cincy.  Seems odd, but both teams have been tripped up by some #MACtion.  Cincy will prevail at home in game I will be sure not to watch.

Cincinnati 24 Rutgers 19

Washington State (+19) at Arizona State

Admittedly, this game is pathetic, but I need to get something off my chest here.  Many sports sites did coaching rankings and the media just gushed over Mike Leach.  I don’t even need to get into the accusations this week against Leach, because those seem suspect, but I do want to state that BOB has been 1,000 times better than him all season.  PSU has improved game by game and the players have shown great effort in every game.  Leach’s team may have gotten worse.  Todd Graham stinks too and he was ranked ahead of BOB.

Arizona State 35 Washington State 11

USC (-3) at UCLA

Every part of me wants to pick UCLA here.  USC getting another loss would be a very enjoyable experience, but I am just having trouble picking UCLA.  Oh wait, Lane Kiffin is still the coach at USC and he’s awful.  That was easy.

UCLA 41 USC 32

Upset Special

Ohio State (+1) at Wisconsin

OSU is an underdog by the line, but they are a top 10 team.  I just don’t want to see Meyer go undefeated this year and I think that Ball will be too much for OSU to handle.

Wisconsin 24 OSU 16

Season Record 42-23 (6-5 on Upset Specials)

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EVIL BILL O’BRIEN IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH PENN STATE OR HEAD FOOTBALL COACH BILL O’BRIEN.

Also, picking Oregon over USC was the easiest pick I had all year.   I said earlier that I held no hard feelings on Redd, but Kiffin has only slowed his progress, much like he does with anyone that is unfortunate enough to play for him.  Check out VBR’s article earlier this week on that subject.

Texas A&M (+16) at Alabama

If Bama loses to a once Big 12 team,  the South will cease to exist.  Luckily for them, that will not happen.  A&M has officially been my Achilles heel all year , but there is no way they are beating Bama…. Right?

Alabama 33 Texas A&M 16

West Virgina (+8) at Oklahoma State

WVU beat Baylor in the ridiculous game and people actually mentioned them as a National Championship contender.   This team is so soft and their coach is so overrated that it is starting to bother me.  Here comes their 4^th straight loss.

Oklahoma State 47 WVU 43

Oregon State (+5.5) at Stanford

Another game that is decent, but not great.  Oregon State had that great start, but Stanford and their uber-conservative coach vs. ND will prevail.

Stanford 28 Oregon State 21

Kansas State at TCU (No Line)

If Klein plays, KSU should win, but that seems very uncertain right now.  TCU just beat that overrated WVU team, but they will catch KSU sans Klein and a pumped up crowd to take down #2.

TCU 24 Kansas State 16

Minnesota (-2.5) at Illinois

Ron Johnson’s alma mater vs. Tim Beckman in an all time Idiot Bowl.  These teams are so bad that I am pretty sure anyone who watches this will become depressed and swear never to watch football again.  Beckman will punt with :04 seconds left in the game to preserve the one point loss / moral victory.

Minnesota 10 Illinois 9

Upset Special

Louisville (-3) at Syracuse

BOB’s good buddy Doug Marrone will have the Carrier Dome so loud…. well, just kidding, but they will be pumped to knock off undefeated Louisville and really upset the powers that be of the Big East.

Syracuse 24 Louisville 22

Season Record 38-21(5-5 on Upset Specials)

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EVIL BILL O’BRIEN IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH PENN STATE UNIVERSITY OR HEAD COACH BILL O’BRIEN

A new week and a generally uneventful week as usual.   Away we go to a 6-0.

Alabama (-7) at LSU

These teams are so great blah blah blah. These teams are good, but they play the worst football games.   I am sure if I had a rooting interest, I would think otherwise, but I don’t.  LSU will give Bama it’s 1^st real test, but that being said, this will be a smackdown. Not sure if LSU will resort to Bolden to throw for a TD since he does have some experience doing so vs. Bama. I can see Alabama struggling for a ½, but they will pull away in the end.

Alabama 24 LSU 7

Oklahoma State (+7) at Kansas State

Bill Snyder is a magician with his ability to coach.  If Mike Gundy was a man at 40, what does that make Snyder at 73? KSU big.

Kansas State 47 Oklahoma State 21

Texas A&M (-2.5) vs. Mississippi State

Texas A&M has ruined a lot of Evil Bill’s picks so far this year so now it is time for them to pay.  Mullen and his Penn State loving dad will prevail vs. this overrated A&M team.

MSU 31 Texas A&M 15

Texas (+2.5) vs. Texas Tech

How Texas is ranked is beyond me.  That is soon to change and the heat on Mack Brown will intensify with a bad defensive effort combed with a poor offensive showing.

Texas Tech 33 Texas 12

Oregon (-6) at USC

Kiffin in a game that he shouldn’t win, will not let me down.  I just hope he’s embarrassed and then eventually gets fired and disappears from my TV forever.

Oregon 53 USC 32

Upset Special

Clemson (-14) at Duke

I really have no feel this week so I am going big.

Duke 27 Clemson 26

Season Record 35-18 (5-4 on Upset Specials)

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Evil Bill O’Brien is in no way associated with Penn State University or head coach Bill O’Brien.

Cincinnati (+4) at Louisville

I think this is a big game, or at least it would have been had Cincy not lost to Toledo.  Again, EBOB made a negative fashionable by losing to a MAC school.  For PSU, losing doesn’t impact our bowl game, but these coaches don’t realize this and just want to copy the master.  Louisville is overrated, but they will win this at the Papa John’s dome.

Louisville 34 Cincy 24

Michigan (-2.5) at Nebraska

I probably should have lost on my Michigan pick last week because if Brady Hoke had any integrity, he would have forfeited a win with 4 FGs and 0 TDs.  Of all the B1G coaches, Hoke doesn’t bother me yet, but that is probably because PSU rarely plays Michigan.  Pelini, on the other hand, would be better served at a Circus than a sideline.  Michigan is a hard team to figure out but I think the running QB will out do the shot putting QB

Michigan 24 (8 FGs) Nebraska 16

Florida (-6.5) at Georgia

I think Florida is going to lose, but I am just not sure again if this is the week.  Much like ND last week, I can see a struggle here, but I think they will win.  Georgia is a mystery to me because I just don’t watch them play.  They have not matched with my schedule all year so I am picking blind here.

Florida 26 Georgia 18

USC (-6.5) at Arizona

As always, I was tempted to pick this as my upset special and again, I just can’t.   I think Kiffin will get outcoached as always, but I think USC will overcome a few fumbles from their star transfer and pull one out.

USC 33 Arizona 29

Notre Dame (+9) at Oklahoma

Buck stops here for ND.  After some squeakers, Oklahoma looks like they have recovered from their early loss and are ready to stomp some leprechauns.  If ND only had a LB as good as Mauti.

Oklahoma 27 Notre Dame 17

Upset Special

Oregon State (-4) at Washington

Washington was my upset special earlier this year vs. Stanford and have done nothing since.  Mike Riley is getting pub for Coach of the Year and that needs to end, much like the Todd Graham nonsense from last week.   I need that ridiculous list to thin out so only BO’B is left standing.

Washington 34 Oregon State 31 (OT)

Season Record 33-14 (4-4 on Upset Specials)
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Evil Bill O’Brien is in no way associated with Penn State University or head coach Bill O’Brien.

Also, a few ND fans didn’t take to kindly to my tweet about them getting a call. This was after I blasted Shaw for his insanely pathetic play calling.  Whatever, ND fans are back in full force and are as insufferable as always.

Michigan State (+10) at Michigan

Michigan State has had UM’s number after Mike Hart went “little brother” on MSU.  Michigan State lost at home to an Iowa team that PSU may beat by 60.  Denard Robinson gets his win vs. MSU and I further clear the path for UM to the B1G Championship Disaster Game.

Michigan 38 Michigan State 16

Kansas State (-2.5) at West Virginia

West Virginia found out last week that they’re offense can’t carry them every week.  They also learned that their highly touted offensive genius doesn’t have the 1^st clue how to coach defense.  14 points vs. Texas Tech with that talent?  Please.  That being said, Kansas State has to lose sometime.

West Virginia 34 Kansas State 29

South Carolina (+3) at Florida

The ol’ Ball Coach would love nothing more than to derail UF’s season.  I think he has the talent to do it, but Florida at home and their 2^nd half success puts that dream on ice.  I would really like to see Spurrier pull this off, but I have my doubts and I hate their initials are USC so that costs them here.

Florida 26 South Carolina 17

Oregon (-9.5) at Arizona State

Colin Cowherd mentioned Todd Graham as one of the top 3 coaches of the year and it also had BOB on there.  That nonsense must end immediately and in embarrassing fashion.  Being mentioned with that clown is almost as bad as people comparing Evil Bill to Charlie Weis when he left the Patriots.  Coach of the Year candidates don’t get beat like this.

Oregon 55 Arizona State 7

LSU (-3.5) at Texas A&M

I get that the SEC is pretty good, but they don’t seem to get that good defenses vs. mediocre offenses doesn’t make great for good football.  Texas A&M burnt me once vs. Florida and I am back at the well with an upset special.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and Texas A&M sucks.

Texas A&M 23 LSU 22

Upset Special

Rutgers (-5) at Temple

Logically, I cannot think of how this will happen, but I know that it must and will.  Temple will watch the game film vs. PSU and attempt to copy it play by play.  Rutgers will realize how high they climbed in the polls and panic.

Temple 26 Rutgers 21

Season Record 30-11 (4-3 on Upset Specials)
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Evil Bill O’Brien is in no way affiliated with Penn State University or head coach Bill O’Brien. 

I must disclose that I have never met anyone on this list and don’t even follow everyone I listed.  My list is far from perfect and everyday BOB has a press conference, I get the same tweet from every single one of the people listed.

@Coach_Chambers: Tied for the coolest coach at Penn State.

@caelsanderson: Tied for the toughest coach at Penn State.

@PennStateWBB: Represents the women’s basketball team. I don’t love the sport, but I hear they’re good.

@Tali43: If you don’t already know Adam Taliaferrro’s story, you’re in the wrong place. Leave now and find it.

@VictoryBellRing:  PSU blog that also works tirelessly on PSU stories, recruiting and any college football news worth discussing. You’re here. You know it’s awesome.

@TimTolleyVBR:  The current ringmaster of VBR who seemingly busts his tail to bring good PSU stuff.

@PSUMatt2005:  Compulsive gambler who enjoys whiskey, Cleveland sports, Columbus Blue Jackets which all go together nicely

@SportsChatChuck:  VBR contributor who likes Philly and New England sports.  Checks in on twitter every 30 feet, but a real good guy by all accounts.

@C_Chuff:  Die-hard PSU fan and contributor.  He is very good for RT’s of recruits tweets and RT’s plenty of good PSU info.  Passed the bar recently to become the 1000^th blogging PSU lawyer.

@Realhuntdog23:  VBR contributor who has a nasty streak and makes some crazy suggestions to Evil Bill.  I am pretty sure he doesn’t care for Lane Kiffin.

@cdauman8:  VBR contributor who brings lots of good PSU info. Another compulsive gambler on the staff.

@ericbsion: My favorite student with my favorite avi.

@BSDTweet:  Just a good follow to see when new posts are added to Black Shoe Diaries

@HappyHourValley:  BSD writer who happens to RT some incredible stuff.  His tweet regarding Mark Emmert on 9/21 was an all time great

@Jared_BSD:  BSD writer – Worth a follow with good articles on BSD and good tweets. Formerly known as @IfJoePaTweeted.

@Devon2012:  BSD writer who gained national attention by retweeting Evil Bill and possibly something else.  Overreacts to every play on twitter and has called to have Ted Rood fired 98 times in 4 games I believe.

@EpicTripod:  Tireless BSD writer who really covers recruiting well. Knower of all things (mostly bars) Pittsburgh.

@MikePettigano:  BSD Writer/Photographer.  Good source for various PSU RT’s. Very close to becoming too big for PSU.

@Notcarlotta:  BSD Writer with an apparent hatred for Carlotta.

@djvecellio:  BSD writer with great avatar w/ Pat Chambers.  His Paul Jones article on 9/28 was particularly good.  Buffalo masochist also.

@runthedive:  Buffalo masochist, who though I am not 100% sure, but believe he was a former BSD writer.  One of the more uniquely funny follows on twitter with great .gifs

@scrappled:  Former BSD writer who also RTs some incredible things with a good sense of humor. Hates crazy message boarders.

@IntelligentCFB:  BSD writer who has written off sports in 500,000 words or more only to enjoy PSU Football again.  His long articles are worth the read. Also an avid soccer fan so if that’s not your thing, you need to sift through those

@AdamCollyer:  BSD writer who showed up on TRU TV and represented the PSU brand and argyle fans everywhere well.  His RTs of his dad’s photos are worth the look as well.

@RowlffDogg:  Head jokester of JoePa’sDoghouse.  His corny jokes are a staple as well as his hatred for Pitt.

@JSchnauzer:  JoePa’sDoghouse contributor with corny jokes at times as well.

@_TheUnderdogs_  JoePa’sDoghouse contributor and soccer fan

@KellieGuinan:  @RowlffDogg’s better half, which isn’t saying much… Hostess of a top-notch tailgate.

@RBecklerPSU:  Onward State writer who looks to further his career as the Sundae Guy at the Bellefonte Dairy Queen.

@KevinHornePSU:  Onward State Editor / Penn State media watchdog who seems to have more enemies than friends.  Long time admirer of Sara Ganim’s work.

@drewBbalis:  Onward State writer who has received the cold stare from BOB.  Big Philly sports fan/Wings Over and Dominic Brown fan and tweets about those subjects excessively.

@OnwardState:  PSU student blog and new target of PS4RS.  Good follow if you want to be depressed and remember how fun college was.

@Ben_Jones88:  Tiger Woods apologist who gained fame during last November.  Very good source of PSU information.

@TimGilb:  Daily Collegian writer.

@Nittanylines:  Seems to be a pretty knowledgeable PSU fan.  Also has an affinity for old WWF which makes his tweets interesting at times.

@ArtieFufkin10:  PSU fan who is running the Philly marathon and looking for donations.  He also scours PSU message boards with one eye opened and reports his horrific findings to twitter.

@AllPSUfootball:  PSU blogger who writes interesting articles on his blog.

@blerms:  PSU/Twins/Whiskey fan and nemesis of @PSUMatt2005 which makes him a friend of mine.

@UncleRonSC:  Recent pardody account of “Uncle Ron” Musselman who has nailed Mussselman’s inability to RT/reply to texts.  Has also mastered the annoying trolling that Musselman does.

@troyweller:  President of Nittanyville.

@AdamBreneman87: Kid already bleeds blue and white. Do NOT tweet at him-that’s a violation and it pisses me off.

@BCogs22: Comes running when he hears the word “whiteout.” Man-crush on Adrian Amos.

@JoeCleezy1: Seems a little sketchy but nobody knows Pennsylvania high school football like him. Except for me.

@Rudybegga32: Former drum major, loves stats and thinks #KickingIsForQuitters

@PSU_DM_KENNEY: Current drum major, fan of all things Boston, including me.

@SBench12: I make the freshman QB run a lap each time he tweets the word “swagger.” It doesn’t deter him.

@PretendLouHoltz: Closer to the real thing than you’d expect.

@PSUBlueBand: A behind the scenes look at the best damn band in the land. That’s right, Ohio State, I said it.

@5tank0: Stanko might be the funniest person in the locker room when I don’t feel like being funnier than him.

@PSUQuiznos: It’s no Subway, but they do tweet specials all the time.

@sportspickle: Unnecessarily rude and ironic about the most obscure topics. Otherwise known as “EBOBing.”

@GoPSUJeff: Only person who promotes me more than me.

@KCarter_87: I have big plans in store for Kyle.

@ShawnGuinan: One of the few who have met the mysterious EBOB. He’s sworn to secrecy.

Penn State’s bye week brings an extremely boring batch of games.   The B1G being terrible doesn’t help, but there is not 1 game worth picking.  It’s amazing how when Penn State isn’t on, the quality of good football declines.  This week will feature plenty of spineless coaches punting on 4th and 2.  My advice, head to a pumpkin patch, get a case of pumpkin beer and catch up on some yards work and enjoy the last fall day not dominated by BOB.

Texas (+3) at Oklahoma

Texas let me down last week and Oklahoma got me a W so I know how I am going to pick here.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, your program is putrid.  These schools hate each other and I hate them both so the more the merrier.

Oklahoma 43 Texas 33

Stanford (+8.5) at Notre Dame

The former Ty Willingham Bowl.  I think Notre Dame will start losing soon, but cannot see that happening this week.  Notre Dame beat up on an overrated Miami team, but they will get this win only to let down their fan base soon.

Notre Dame 27 Stanford 21

South Carolina (+3) at LSU

LSU football is now the #1 remedy for insomniacs.  I get that you have a good defense, but your offense is simply put, pathetic. South Carolina rolled Georgia in a game that they used a ton of emotion on.  LSU will somehow win this snooze fest.

LSU 16 South Carolina 14

USC (-12.5) at Washington

Each week, I look and ask how Lane Kiffin could lose this week.  I have done some thought here, but Washington got their 1 win vs Stanford.   USC will win in spite of Kiffin, but that isn’t saying much, because they do they each time they win.

USC 35 Washington 21

Idaho (+2.5) at Texas State

This week is so bad that I am picking a random game that I bet is more fun to watch than some noon B1G disaster.  Evil Bill has no idea about these teams, but I am feeling a slight edge to Texas State.  In fact, I would come close to guaranteeing it.

Texas State 54 Idaho 46

Upset Special

Tennessee (+3) at Mississippi State

PSU fans wanted Dan Mullen for a week or so during the coaching search, so it is my goal to expose these frauds for what they are.  Tennessee generally stinks, but the curse of Evil Bill strikes again.

Tennessee 28 Mississippi State 27

Season Record 26-10 (4-2 on Upset Specials)
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I was planning on writing an article about how bad Tim Beckman’s coaching was, but that article would be longer than War & Peace.  Instead, I will try to keep this as short as that handshake after PSU cleaned that poachers clock.. ok, can’t be that short.

West Virginia (+7) at Texas

Everyone is anointing Dana Holgorson a genius after that 70 point effort vs. Baylor.  2 things, (1) PSU would have scored 71 with the O’Brien offense and (2) that defense was a disgrace.  That makes those old Michigan defenses under Rich Rod look like the 1985 Bears.  Texas’ QB looked solid down the stretch vs. Okie State and WVU will crumble on the road.

Texas 45 WVU 39

Miami (+12.5) at Notre Dame

Al Golden has the Miami Hurricanes playing pretty good in front of 35 people per game.  We all know Notre Dame is playing well and as much as it pains me, ND will win again.   The reasoning, there is still a large group of people that prefer Golden over BOB and I like those people to be reminded how stupid they are.

Notre Dame 28 Miami 16

Nebraska (+3) at Ohio State

Nebraska had an impressive comeback vs. Wisconsin.  The problem with that is, they were getting beat pretty soundly by a poorly coached, in over his head, Bert Bielema team.  Ohio State and their petty video doctoring staff will pull out another snoozer on Saturday.

Ohio State 20 Nebraska 16

Georgia (+1.5) at South Carolina

Mark Richt has lost control of this point spread.  Spurrier is up to his old tricks trying to get writer Ron Morris fired for some criticism he threw at the ol Ball Coach. A local TV station ended their relationship with Morris to appease Spurrier.  Remember, it is Penn State with the culture program.  Whatever, this game will be decent.

South Carolina 22 Georgia 17

Oklahoma (-5.5) at Texas Tech

Texas Tech is a dangerous game for Big Game Loss Bob, but Oklahoma is coming off a bye and should be able to win.  Oklahoma will survive a few miscues on special teams by a Emmert Transfer and hang on to beat the Red Raiders.

Oklahoma 33 Texas Tech 24

Upset Special

LSU (-2.5) at Florida

Sekrah predicted Les Miles would be coaching Penn State back in January.  He was a fraud and was wrong as predicted.  Florida is an interesting team becaue it is tough to gauge if they are good or not.  Evil Bill has predicted them to lose twice, so now I have jumped over to their side and they will hand the Mad Hatter a huge loss.

Florida 23 LSU 16

Season Record 21-9 (3-2 on Upset Specials)
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Week 5 presents another pretty weak Saturday outside of the PSU game.  2 games match ranked teams so I had to dig deep to even find 6 worth picking.

Tennessee (+13.5) at Georgia

Mark Richt has lost control of this point spread.  Actually, I picked Tennessee a few weeks back to beat Florida, which they didn’t then struggled with Akron.  Georgia is an inspiration for PSU since they only have 72 kids on scholarship and are ranked #5.  Sooner or later Georgia will blow a game or 2, but they will beat up on the Vols.

Georgia 31 – Tennessee 17

Texas (-3) at Oklahoma State

Texas is a team that I rarely pay attention to.  I know since Colt McCoy, they have played like 50 QBs and they haven’t played an interesting game in like 5 years in my book.  (please note, I am extremely biased)  I would tend to believe that Oklahoma State is hard to beat at home, but I think Texas will find a way to get pretty overrated before losing 3 games.

Texas 27 – Oklahoma State 22

Baylor (+13) at West Virginia

Regardless, I would have accepted going 1-6 last week as long as that Upset Special hit.  Seeing USC lose on the day Penn State got it’s 1^st win was seriously one of the best Saturday’s anyone could ask for, especially after the year we’ve had.  I must reiterate that my anger is not at Silas Redd, but is directed at his fraud coach, Lane Kiffin.  This clown has never won a thing but the media gets all starry eyed with USC and anoints  him as a great coach when in fact he’s just a petulant child who happens to be a very mediocre coach.  It was a win for the good guys and Evil Bill thanks Stanford for making my day complete.

This week’s picks are below and if anyone wants to know the state of college football, I have picked the Louisiana-Monroe/Baylor game as well as the Boise State/BYU game.  I had to because these were 2 of the best games.

In other games I didn’t pick, Duke is a 23.5 point favorite, Ohio State is actually playing UAB and Colorado is a 19 point underdog in a game they may lose by 50.  Welcome to 2012 (please avoid using an overplayed Mayan joke here).

Without further ado, my picks:

 Clemson (+14) at Florida State

Florida State has played no one and could be overrated, but Clemson won’t be the team to expose that right now.  If there were better games this week, I wouldn’t even waste my time here.  Gameday is at Florida State so we may get to see Burt Reynolds (aka Turd Ferguson), which is a plus.

Florida State 35 – Clemson 10

Baylor (-7) at Louisiana-Monroe (Friday)

ULM is a great story so far in college football.  Almost beating back-to-back SEC teams and generally offending SEC country makes you OK in my book.  The thing is, Baylor is better than the 2 SEC teams they played and will hand them a beating that the SEC can only dream of (Alabama not withstanding).

Baylor 38 – ULM 30

BYU (+7) at Boise State (Thursday)

BYU lost 3 times last week to Utah so they should have 3 losses now.  Boise State gave an overrated Michigan State team all they could handle.  Peterson was many of the PSU fans dream coach back in January so I naturally hope he fails, but Thursday night he will beat up on some cougars.

Boise State 27 – BYU 16

Rutgers (+7) at Arkansas

Schiano vs Petrino in a rematch of that great Rutgers/Louisville game.  Actually, some no name coach vs. John (emphasis on L.) Smith.  This game is truly putrid, but that is the week that has been presented to me.  Arkansas is coming off a brutal beatdown and Rutgers coming off a “big” conference win, but that is all for naught now.  Arkansas will scrape themselves off the pavement and get back on their bike as they head towards the disaster that will be their season.

Arkansas 21 – Rutgers 9

Michigan (+6.5) at Notre Dame

The battle of the overplayed/overrated fight songs. Denard Robinson went in video game mode last year vs. some terrible D for a dramatic win in the Big House.  The Big Ten will look really terrible after this one, but I am picking the home team.

Notre Dame 23 Michigan 21

Upset Special

Louisville (-13) at Florida International

Your prohibitive favorite to win the Big East who nearly blew a 30 point lead to UNC takes their act vs. the next flavor of the month coach, Mario Cristobal.  Well, Evil Bill looks deep into his Cristobal Crystal Ball and sees an upset brewing.

Florida International 34 Louisville 33
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I posted a 4-2 record in just picking the games, but someone posted comments on Facebook (or sometimes referred to as Spacebook by genius coaches) that they wanted the spread.  I will not pick against the line, but will add in it here for anyone that feels the need to profit of my infinite wisdom.  Any profits earned will go to the “Pay Evil Bill Money because his Parody Twitter Account is Better Than his Regular Job Fund.”

Here we go with this week’s picks:

Florida at Tennessee (Tennessee -3)

Florida burnt me last week with their comeback victory vs. Texas A&M.  There was a time this game was pretty great with Manning at UT and Spurrier at FLA.  That time is long gone,  but Derek Dooley will fight to keep his hot seat a littler cooler with a convincing win.

Tennessee 24 Florida 13

 Notre Dame at Michigan State (MSU -6)

Another game that is better in my memory than it is in reality.  Thinking of that game Drew Henson threw away and then the infamous rant of Mike Valenti in 2006 brings back some anger.  Brian Kelly losing and going on an eventual rant on a Saturday night in front of America is something I can get behind.

Michigan State 31 Notre Dame 17

 UConn at Maryland (UConn -3)

Wow, the Randy Edsall aka Rangoon game.  Minutes after celebrating their destruction in the Fiesta Bowl, Edsall was on his was to taking his dream job and ruining Maryland Football for the foreseeable future.  Maryland has lost more players than PSU because Rangoon is such a prick.  UConn is a complete unknown to me, but that’s more than enough to pick them here.

UConn 17 Maryland 9

Alabama at Arkansas (Alabama -21)

Driving down the highway on his bike with his secret life in full bloom, Bobby Petrino must have thought about this game and realized he would have no better chance to beat Alabama than in 2012.  Then, it all came crashing down both literally and figuratively.  John L. Smith steps in and everyone is happy to see such a great nutcase in a prime job.  He files for bankruptcy earlir in the week and then proceeds to lose to the University of Louisiana-Monroe.  Now, we are going to be deprived of John L. Smith past 2012.   What could have been for Arkansas…

Alabama 38 Arkansas 7

Arizona State at Missouri (Mizzou – 6)

Todd Graham is still coaching in the same spot for more than 2 weeks and that should be recognized.  Not only that, but smacking Illinois and leaving Pitt in disarray makes me kind of like this guy.  That being said, he can’t go on the road and beat a Big 12 SEC team.  If he does, just understand that Todd Graham will be coaching Arkansas in 2013.

Missouri 33 Arizona State 27

Upset Special

USC at Stanford (USC -9)

Any chance I can get to see USC getting outcoached and a potential loss, I will jump on it.  Lane Kiffin is not winning a BCS Title with an undefeated team.   I don’t even think that Stanford is that good, but I know for a fact they have a better coach with more class.  Screw Lane Kiffin!

Stanford 27 USC 24
2012 Season Record to date: 9-3

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Week 1 is in the books and as you can imagine, I am pretty ticked. Losing stinks and PSU will get better, but that is for another twitter rant now. My picks went 5-1 and I almost hit on my Iowa upset, but they lucked out and got the win. Also, the media was introduced to the term “run-on” rather than “walk-on” today. I hope that wasn’t a subliminal shot at Evil Bill and his rather lengthy sentences.

Nebraska at UCLA

This would be the matchup in the Rose Bowl if they paired below average, middle of the pack teams to represent the Big Ten and the Pac-12. Instead, in week 2, it becomes a marquee game because the rest of the games stink. Martinez will set new shot put records with his horrific throws, but that will be enough to beat the team from LA that we hope embarrasses the other team from LA. New coach at UCLA, but it’s Mora the same.

Nebraska 32 UCLA 16

Georgia at Missouri

I have not made the transition that this is now an SEC game. This seems like a decent, but probably boring non-conference game. Oh wait, I just basically described an SEC game. It’s September and Missouri will be pumped, but as Penn State fans know, that doesn’t always work out.

Georgia 20 Missouri 17

Florida at Texas A&M

Now that Texas A&M is in the SEC, I will be sure to continue my streak of not watching them play. A&M has been very boisterous as they stormed the SEC and now they get Florida and the remains of Urban Meyer’s team when he decided to mail it in as a coach. A&M uses their fans to sneak out a win and the rest of the SEC fans will tell you that Florida isn’t really a TRUE SEC team.

Texas A&M 21 Florida 20

Washington at LSU

If you like Purple, boy are you in for a treat. LSU should be credited for playing a pretty cool out of conference schedule each year. Steve Sarkisian had a Bengal Tiger at practice Tuesday because, well, I have no idea, makes no sense. Washington is getting better but LSU should cover the big spread. Sorry to pick such given, but I am mesmerized by the colors.

LSU 42 Washington 13

Illinois at Arizona State
This game features 2 of the slimiest coaches in the country. In an ideal scenario, Todd Graham will quit at halftime and Tim Beckman will send his assistants to camp out in front of ASU’s locker room to poach their roster. Either way, the Big Ten isn’t good and Graham will take his High Octane offense and beat the second rate Illini.

Arizona State 27 Illinois 16

Upset Special

Wisconsin at Oregon State

Badgers vs. Beavers and expect Wisconsin to struggle again, but this time, it will result in a loss. Late in the game, Bert Bielema will be forced to make a quick decision and since we know that is well beyond his limitations, he will falter and choke this one away.

Oregon State 25 Wisconsin 21

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The Ultimate Machine in the background refers to me.

Well, let’s face it, I hope only one team wins this week and the rest of the teams lose. Since that can’t happen, I will provide you my weekly picks in an effort to prove how smart I really am. These picks are all correct, but if you pick them, you risk jinxing them and I will no longer be held responsible for picks that do not win.

Navy vs. Notre Dame

A game featuring one of the most storied programs in the country with past Heisman winners vs. another team that will sellout at every chance under the guidance of Adidas. Let me ask, how low must Notre Dame stoop to get wins? Taking the Naval Academy off of US soil just to get a win. Enjoy one of the 7 you’ll get this year, ND.

Notre Dame 23 Navy 7

Clemson vs. Auburn

The amount or orange on this field will make it look like a construction zone on the PA Turnpike. Scapegoat Ted Roof is gone from Auburn and after this game, they will find a new one.

Clemson 29 Auburn 27

South Carolina at Vanderbilt

James Franklin is the new media darling of coaches. The video of him awarding the scholarship was pretty cool and I have to respect a man that Randy Edsall seems to not like. Regardless, I respect Spurrier more and if someone wants to send a message in week 1 vs. an upstart team, it’s the Ol’ Ball Coach.

South Carolina 33 Vanderbilt 24

Boise State at Michigan State

Since Michigan State gets to avoid PSU this year, they decided to take on a lesser, but somewhat formidable team in Boise State. I’m not B1G apologist, but I think MSU wins this rather easy. Delany will think the conference is great for about 24 hours.

Michigan State 22 Boise State 10

Alabama vs. Michigan

No word yet if Fitz Toussaint is going to play, but I am sure perennial loser and B1G Commish Jim Delany is fighting for him to play like he did for the tattoo boys at Ohio State. Also, this spring, Delany took a shot at Alabama and said, “I don’t have a lot of regard for that team. I certainly wouldn’t have as much regard for that team as I would for someone who played nine conference games in a tough conference and played a couple out-of-conference games on the road against really good opponents. If a poll doesn’t honor those teams and they’re conference champions, I do.” Something tells me that may come back to bite him this weekend. Anything to see his misery and I am cool with that.

Alabama 28 Michigan 14

UPSET SPECIAL

Iowa vs. Northern Illinois

This reminds me of a game a few years back when Iowa State beat Iowa. Usually, when Iowa has no expectations, they do well, but that silly trend will end this year. At least I have prepared you for the stupid “Field of Nightmare” headlines that will follow after this one. On the plus side, Iowa may not lose a running back during the game.

NIU 17 Iowa 16
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