Reaction Monday: 10/13

The deck has been shuffled for sure. No ranking and no lead in the Pool is safe…

Just ask Coach Rob… Rossk saw his #1 Sooners fall to his now #1 Longhorns in Dallas. This was truly a shootout and a great way to start Football Saturday. Rob has a doubleshot of The Woodshed this week…Wisconsin got pounded by Penn State at home and to make matters worse, Woody’s Gators took a chomp into LSU’s hind end in the Swamp. The silver lining for Rob is that he gets the Borrowed Time award for the Tarheels recovering a Notre Dame fumble to secure the game. Rough weekend for Rob but he still has the clear shot at the money.

Coach Q’s got nothing to be ashamed of this weekend…in the Pool anyway. OSU beats Purdue in a sleeper. Georgia did what they needed to do to help put the nails in Phil Fulmer’s coffin. Texas Tech got into a high scoring affair with Nebraska believe it or not and Arizona just got edged by the Sanford tree. The best news for Brian is that he is now in the lead.

Coach Woody has had worse weekends, but he has had better too. USC pounded ASU to get back on track for the title. Florida took it to Rob’s LSU Tigers in the swamp. Scary thing is, the game was close with 20 minutes left. Mizzou got caught against OSU and Auburn scored points but let the Hawgs score more in another disappointing loss.

We Stand:

Brian: 87%
Chris: 80%
Rob: 77%
Bando: 54%

Reaction Monday: 10/6

This is a fun season! There were several great games this weekend that impacted the Pool.

Coach Rob’s #1 Sooners look unstoppable. They truly put the Bears in their cage this weekend. West Virginia beat Rutgers early Saturday. Man is the honeymoon over at Rutgers?!  Rob’s Badgers lose for the second week in a row and for the FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS at home. GQ’s Buckeyes take Rossk down at Camp Randal. Texas stomped the Buffalos at Colorado and North Carolina is looking legit by whipping ranked Uconn (and no, this ain’t basketball).

Coach Q is on top but just barely. His Bucks took out Rossk’s Badgers.
Texas Tech is high flying on offense again and they whipped Manhattan High. It was a Bauman Battle on Saturday when VT took it to Shanna’s Hilltoppers. Utah shares the Borrowed Time Award this week with a narrow win over the Beavers and Arizona is looking legit with a beating of Washington.

Coach Woody keeps telling himself “real life is better than the Pool”. With his Auburn Tigers stalling against VU, Woody will gladly take the loss for Vandy’s benefit. What a good time. USC got back in form with a whoopin of Bando’s Ducks. Florida took out their frustration on the Hawgs. Do the Hawgs look terrible or what? Mizzou beat Nebraska in Lincoln since I think President Lincoln was in office and BYU looks to be BCS buster with their perfect record and win over Utah State. Pitt gets their share of the Borrowed Time Award as they beat South Florida late Thursday night in a thriller.

We Stand:
Coach Q: 88%
Coach Woody and Coach Rossk: 83%
Coach Bando: 55%

ESPN GameDay to visit Football Pool Oct. 4

Just announced… the ESPN College Game Day crew will be at Vanderbilt on October 4, when the Commodores take on the kitty cats of Auburn.  Can’t wait to see the game atmosphere in less than a week. Vanderbilt is currently ranked #19, and will move up when they beat Auburn.  After watching Auburn’s performances the last couple of weeks (3-2 win over Mississippi State, loss to LSU, and a not so great offensive outing versus a terrible UT Vols team), I really think Vandy has a shot at winning the game and going 5-0.  The game will air on ESPN at 5pm central time.  Don’t miss it.  

Here’s the official announcement from Vanderbilt. 

http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092808aaa.html

FP sees Dores down Ole Miss

The Football Pool coaches and pool photographer Jason (not pictured) were thrilled to be in Ole Miss to see the Commodores defeat the Rebels 23-17. The nail-biting win lifted the Commodores to 4-0 and landed them in the Top 25 for the first time in 25 years. Go Dores!!

Reaction Monday: 9/15

The “Game of the Week” turned out to be the Game of the “Weak” OSU Bucks. GQ, did your team get stuck in LA traffic? They didn’t show up….

Coach Q = reeling. Not a good night for the Bucks on the West Coast. USC took them behind The Woodshed and gave them a beating. Coach’s money now pretty much sits on the shoulders of the Bulldogs. Georgia got a good scare from Spurrier but escaped with a win to remain unbeaten on the season. Texas Tech got a scare from SMU…at the coin toss. Raiders roll. VT wins the battle of the brains by 3. Good game. The Utes had no problem scoring pasting in state “rival” Utah State 58-10. Arizona goes down to the Lobos.

Coach Rob rolls through another perfect weekend. The Sooners may send Ty Willingham packing. They destroyed the Huskies. Rossk avoids the first Whammy of the season by beating Coach Bando’s FSU bulldogs 13-10. This was an entertaining game. LSU has no problem with North Texas and North Carolina rolled Rutgers last Thursday. Coach Rossk will get us started this week when West Virginia takes on Colorado on Thursday.

Coach Woody’s theme for the weekend was win and win big. USC pounded GQ’s buckeyes and are looking good. Mizzou scored and scored often in their route of Nevada. BYU brought UCLA back down to earth with a 59-0 whipping. Coach Woody failed to tell Auburn that the theme was win big.
The Tigers get the Borrowed Time Award this week in their narrow escape out of Starkville. Tigers win 3-2 in 9 innings.

Whammy Count: 0

We Stand: Coach Rossk 93%
Coach Woody: 93%
Coach Q: 83%
Coach Bando: 63%

Reaction Monday: No one’s perfect

Coach GQ didn’t have quite as easy a time with the Bobcats from Ohio as he would have liked. OSU had to wake up in order to put Ohio away. Georgia’s second scrimmage in as many weeks was as easy as predicted.
There were no other fireworks for GQ this week with all of his teams winning.

Coach Woody had a little sweat going on Saturday when the Canes gave the Gators all they could handle through 3 quarters. This game was closer than the final score showed. Coach Woody wins not one but two Borrowed Time Awards this week. A referee judgment call against Washington gave BYU the chance to block an extra point and win by 1. Pitt is already giving Woody Malox Moments as they could only beat sorry Buffalo by 1 point.  Nonetheless, Woody enjoys the perfect weekend.

Coach Rob enjoyed perfection for just one week. Now, everyone has a blemish on their roster…Coach Rob’s Sooners are looking good against minor competition. Cincy had no answers for Oklahoma. In the Cinderella story of the season so far, ECU upsets Rob’s Mountaineers and takes them behind The Woodshed giving Rob this award for the week. Ouch. Wisconsin was behind Marshall but comes thundering back scoring like a billion unanswered points to whitewash the Heard.

We Stand:
Coach Q: 92%
Coach Woody: 91%
Coach Rossk: 90%
Coach Bando:64%

See ya Saturday!

Go Dores!

Vanderbilt 24, South Carolina 17 (FINAL)

Football Friday: Week Two

Can Rob stay undefeated? Can GQ or Woody separate from the other? The games get a tad bit spicier this week, but not by much.

Coach Rob: The Sooners welcome a real opponent to Norman this weekend when Cincinnati arrives. The Bearcats are better than the Mocs by far, but the Sooners should enjoy another scrimmage before hitting the road next weekend. UPSET ALERT: West Virginia travels to East Carolina. Can the Pirates upset 2 Pool teams 2 straight weeks? Wisconsin hosts the Thundering Heard and Texas travels to El Paso to face the Miners. In the biggest victory of the week, LSU has chosen to postpone their game against Troy. Yes, real life is better than the Pool…and real football sometimes.

Coach Q: Another in state “rivalry” game for OSU…they host Ohio. Wake me up when this one is over. Georgia has another tune-up against Central Michigan. Do they make the season ticket holders pay for these games? GQ’s theme of the week is gambling when Texas Tech heads to Nevada and Utah hosts Nevada Las Vegas. Virginia Tech should right the ship against Furman.

Coach Woody: Florida hosts Bando’s Wildcard and heart-felt favorite when the Canes blow into Gainesville. You can throw out what the papers say, this could be a great game. Mizzou hosts South East Missouri State, Auburn hosts Southern Miss. BYU heads to Washington and Pittsburgh better be able to handle Buffalo at Heinz Field.

Whammy Alert: Woody is on Whammy alert for the second week in a row. Miami can do damage to Florida at the Swamp this weekend…which leads to…

Stadium of the Week: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL. Florida hosts Miami.

Reaction Monday, er, Tuesday

Make that TUESDAY but the results are the same. Rough weekend for some Coaches already. Only one remains perfect.

And that Perfect Coach is Coach Rob. The predicted snoozfest was a reality as his teams didn’t face any chances of losing except at the coin toss. Chattanooga should have never gotten off the bus in Norman. 50-0…at the half. Nice work Rossk, you are in the lead.

Coach Q. How did it feel for your Utes to take down your home-town Wolverines? Is a win in your Pool better than a win for your real-life favorite team? Let us know. Speaking of upsets, ECU pulls Beamer-Ball in reverse to score the winning TD against the Hokies. Wow. Ohio State and UGA enjoyed their tune-up games.

Coach Woody. He was warned against picking the Pitt Panthers and he should have listened. Bowling Green comes to Pittsburg and pulls the upset. In the game of the week, Mizzou had a tussle with Bando’s Illinai but escaped thanks to some special special teams. USC and Florida look ready for real competition.

Whammy Count this season: 0

We Stand:
Coach Rob: 100%
Coach Woody & Coach Q:83%

Week 1…Here We Go!

Week 1, everyone is 0-0. The money is out there…so is the hat. Who will get what? November 29th will be here before we know it….

Coach Q: One dynamite game on tap and the rest he may as well be at a cake-walk. Utah takes on Big Blue in the Big House. Can they repeat what Appy State did on opening day last year? Can GQ’s own Pool team rip his heart out in real life? Ohio State hosts Youngstown State, in-state “rivals” Georgia and Georgia State meet in Athens. Are the Dawgs off to the title that so many are predicting? I doubt State will get in their way. Texas Tech hosts Eastern Washington, how did this game ever get scheduled? Virginia Tech hosts East Carolina in Charlotte. Arizona hosts the Vandals from Idaho in the Wildcard.

Coach Rob: If you thought Q’s schedule was a bore, wait till you hear this…Oklahoma hosts the Mocs from Chattanooga. West Virginia hosts Villanova. In hopps, this may be something. Wisconsin hosts Akron, LSU won’t be fooled when Appy State visits Tiger Stadium and Texas hosts Florida Atlantic. In wildcard action, North Carolina hosts McNeese State (the Cowboys if you are wondering).

Coach Woody: Perhaps the most spice of the pool comes from Woody’s group. USC travels to Virginia. Could be interesting. Florida hosts Hawaii. Last year, great game. This year, probably not. In the game of the week, Mizzou plays Illinois in St. Louis. This was a barn-burner last year to get things started. Auburn hosts LA Monroe and BYU hosts Northern Iowa. For the wildcard, Pitt hosts Bowling Green.

Whammy:  Coach Bando can Whammy Woody this week when his Fighting Illini take on Mizzou in St. Louis.

Stadium of the Week: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO. Mizzou vs. Illinois.