Thursday, November 08, 2007

Runway Challenge Week 11

Some Thursday updates from UConn camp heading into Saturday's crucial game with Cincinnati:

  1. Backup linebacker Ryan Henegan was injured in practice, and is questionable to make the trip to Cincinnati. Linebacker Matt Ashmeade was also injured, and also questionable to make the trip. That's a fair-sized blow to the depth at linebacker.
  2. Robbie Frey will indeed be the third-string tailback, though Edsall said he won't play unless it's absolutely necessary. Frey has traveled with the team, and has sat in on meetings all season, so he'll be well-prepared should his number be called.
  3. Edsall said the attitude in practice hasn't changed at all. The team practiced outside in the cold and wind Wednesday. Forecast is better for Cincinnati than it will be for Connecticut on Saturday. Temps should be in the mid-50s, with partly cloudy skies.

Here's the weekly bowl predictions, with my predictions for the Big East


CINCINNATI (7-2, 2-2)
11/10: UConn (L)
11/17: West Virginia (L)
11/24: at Syracuse (W)
Predicted record: 8-4 (3-4 Big East)

UCONN (8-1, 4-0)

11/10: at Cincinnati (W)
11/17: Syracuse (W)
11/24: at West Virginia (L)
Predicted record: 10-2 (6-1)

LOUISVILLE (5-4, 2-2)
11/8: at West Virginia (L)
11/17: at South Florida (L)
11/29: Rutgers (W)
Predicted record: 6-6 (3-4)


PITTSBURGH (4-5, 2-2)
11/17: at Rutgers (L)
11/24: South Florida (L)
12/1: West Virginia (L)
Predicted record: 4-8 (2-5)

RUTGERS (5-4, 2-3)
11/9: at Army (W)
11/17: Pitt (W)
11/29: at Louisville (L)
Predicted record: 7-5 (3-4)

SOUTH FLORIDA (6-3, 1-3)
11/10: at Syracuse (W)
11/17: Louisville (W)
11/24: at Pitt (W)
Predicted record: 9-3 (4-3)

SYRACUSE (2-6, 1-3)
11/10: South Florida (L)
11/17: at UConn (L)
11/24: Cincinnati (L)
Predicted record: 2-9 (1-6)

WEST VIRGINIA (7-1, 2-1)
11/8: Louisville (W)
11/17: at Cincinnati (W)
11/24: UConn (W)
12/1: Pitt (W)
Predicted record: 11-1 (6-1)

Which would make the Big East standings as follows:
1. West Virginia (6-1), wins tiebreaker, auto BCS
2. UConn (6-1)
3. South Florida (4-3)
4. Rutgers (3-4)
4 (tie). Louisville (3-4)
4 (tie). Cincinnati (3-4)
7. Pitt (2-5)
8. Syracuse (1-6)

And the bowl shake out:

BCS National Championship game: LSU vs. Ohio State
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. West Virginia
Orange Bowl: Boston College vs. Texas
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Hawaii
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Arizona State

The rest of the Big East
Sun Bowl: UConn vs. USC
Meineke Car Care Bowl: South Florida vs. Wake Forest
Papajohns.com Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Central Florida
International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Ball State
Texas Bowl: Louisville vs. Kansas State



And the weekly picks, which have slowly but surely turned into a disaster for yours truly. I'm awful at this. But I'll chalk it up to the fact that it's been a wacky season in college football. Looks like SeanO's ghost is in position to take over the blog for a day, and I'll bet he's dying to write for a captive audience after three months away.

I need to get myself back into the picture, so I'm upping the number of games to 18 this week.

Game 1: Wake Forest (+9) over CLEMSON

Game 2: South Florida (-16) over SYRACUSE: Jim Leavitt hasn't uttered a word during Bulls losing streak, down from his weekly average of two.

Game 3: Michigan (-3) over WISCONSIN: Next week's game with OSU might be worth watching after all.

Game 4: Arkansas (pick' em) over TENNESSEE: Can't put any faith in the Ainge family.

Game 5: Kentucky (-3.5) over VANDERBILT

Game 6: Air Force (-3) over NOTRE DAME: As if being an underdog at home against Air Force isn't humiliating enough...just want to point out that Notre Dame lost at home to Navy, a team that lost to Delaware the week before. I think Yale would put a hurting on the Irish right now. Charlie Weiss has effectively killed this program.

Game 7: Florida State (+6) over VIRGINIA TECH: The UConn faithful loving Bobby Bowden's boys right about now.

Game 8: GEORGIA (-2) over Auburn

Game 9: TEXAS (-6.5) over Texas Tech: Graham Harrell has thrown for 4,412 yards so far. Too bad the defense hasn't stopped a decent opponent yet.

Game 10: Connecticut (+6.5) over CINCINNATI: Huskies covered spread against everyone except Temple.

Game 11: Arizona State (-7) over UCLA: Thought the Bruins might be headed for a bowl showdown with the Huskies. They'll need to run the table against ASU, Oregon and USC. No chance.

Game 12: MIAMI-FL (+3.5) over Virginia

Game 13: Florida (-6.5) over SOUTH CAROLINA

Game 14: Kansas (-6) over OKLAHOMA STATE: Wasn't long ago that Kansas played lowly Texas State, led by quarterback Paul Blake and coached by Ed "Straight Arrow" Gennaro, to a 3-3 tie. Kathy Ireland kicked the tying field goal in a monsoon as time expired. Exciting stuff. Wait, was that a movie? I forget. Anyway, Jayhawks are no joke.

Game 15: Southern California (-4) over CAL: Don't get ESPNU? Watch this one for scouting report of Huskies Sun Bowl opponent (it'll be one or the other).

Game 16: Boston College (-6) over MARYLAND: The priest who christened my kid last week told me he was having a tough time after all his teams choked last week. Notre Dame is awful and lost to Navy. BC had just blown it's national championship dreams. Holy Cross lost to a Division III team (Rhode Island College) whose brutal schedule features Western Connecticut State, Roger Williams College and a bunch of aspiring chefs at Johnson & Wales. If it's any consolation to Father Dargan, the Fairfield Prep hockey team looks primed for another state title.

Game 17: HARVARD (-7.5) over Penn: Setting up an undefeated showdown at Yale Bowl next week...how are Ivy's still not letting their football teams go to the I-AA playoffs? What a waste.

Game 18: Yale (-17) over PRINCETON: Got a phone call earlier today from an irate man who wanted me to write a story on how ESPN continues to screw over football fans from the state of Connecticut. Not because of the ESPNU stuff, but because next week they scheduled the UConn-Syracuse game at noon: same time as Yale-Harvard.

Last week's results

1. Kooch 10-0-3 (congrats on the first-ever perfect week in two years of Runway challenges)
2. SeanO's ghost: 8-2-3
3. Tonto Kowalski: 7-3-3
Will L 7-3-3
Jerry 7-3-3
6. Sammy 6-4-3
Sturge-Rock 6-4-3
Pete 6-4-3
9. Caleb Mandrake 4-6-3
Mitch Kumpstein 4-6-3
11. Chip 3-7-3 (pathetic)
P.J. 3-7-3
Ian 3-7-3
Luc 3-7-3
Vinny from East Haven 3-7-3


Overall
1. SeanO's ghost 67
2. Kooch 66
3. Sammy 62
4. Ian 61
5. Will L 55
6. Chip 54
7. Vinny from East Haven 52
8. Caleb Mandrake 50
9. DetroitTigersHater 47
10. Pete 48
11. Dan 41
Kevin 37
13. sturge-rock 31
14. Mitch Kumpstein 26
15. Alex 16
16. P.J. 11
17. Steve P 8
18. Luc 7
Jerry 7
Tonto Kowalski 7


Get your picks in...click "comments" key below then cut and past the template inside.

20 Comments:

Blogger Chip Malafronte said...

Chip's picks
Game 1: Wake Forest (+9) over CLEMSON
Game 2: South Florida (-16) over SYRACUSE
Game 3: Michigan (-3) over WISCONSIN
Game 4: Arkansas (pick' em) over TENNESSEE
Game 5: Kentucky (-3.5) over VANDERBILT
Game 6: Air Force (-3) over NOTRE DAME
Game 7: Florida State (+6) over VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: GEORGIA (-2) over Auburn
Game 9: TEXAS (-6.5) over Texas Tech
Game 10: Connecticut (+6.5) over CINCINNATI
Game 11: Arizona State (-7) over UCLA
Game 12: MIAMI-FL (+3.5) over Virginia
Game 13: Florida (-6.5) over SOUTH CAROLINA
Game 14: Kansas (-6) over OKLAHOMA STATE
Game 15: Southern California (-4) over CAL
Game 16: Boston College (-6) over MARYLAND
Game 17: HARVARD (-7.5) over Penn:
Game 18: Yale (-17) over PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 2:28 PM 
Blogger Ian said...

Or you're upping it hoping one of us will move past the ghost of SeanO.

Don't feel bad, my week was as pathetic as yours.

November 08, 2007 2:53 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Game 1: Wake Forest
Game 2: South Florida
Game 3: Michigan
Game 4: TENNESSEE
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: Air Force
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: GEORGIA
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10: Connecticut
Game 11: UCLA
Game 12: Virginia
Game 13: Florida
Game 14: Kansas
Game 15: Southern California
Game 16: Boston College
Game 17: HARVARD
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 2:58 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Mr. Perfect" aka...Kooch
Game 1: Wake Forest
Game 2: South Florida
Game 3: WISCONSIN
Game 4: Arkansas
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: NOTRE DAME
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: Auburn
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10: Connecticut
Game 11: Arizona State
Game 12: Virginia
Game 13: Florida
Game 14: OKLAHOMA STATE
Game 15: CAL
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: HARVARD
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 3:35 PM 
Blogger Dan said...

Dan's picks -
Game 1: CLEMSON
Game 2: South Florida
Game 3: WISCONSIN
Game 4: Arkansas
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: NOTRE DAME
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: Auburn
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10:Connecticut
Game 11:UCLA
Game 12: MIAMI-FL
Game 13: Florida
Game 14: OKLAHOMA STATE
Game 15: Southern California
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: Penn
Game 18: Yale

November 08, 2007 3:56 PM 
Blogger Dan said...

While away, I should have used the Castansa rule on Chips picks....Pick the opposite...Dan

November 08, 2007 3:57 PM 
Blogger Chip Malafronte said...

Sadly, after reading Dan's statement, I could only nod my head in agreement.

November 08, 2007 4:29 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sammy picks
Game 1: CLEMSON
Game 2: SYRACUSE
Game 3: WISCONSIN
Game 4: TENNESSEE
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: NOTRE DAME
Game 7: IRGINIA TECH
Game 8: Auburn
Game 9: TEXA
Game 10: CINCINNATI
Game 11: Arizona State
Game 12: Virginia
Game 13: Florida
Game 14: OKLAHOMA STATE
Game 15: CAL
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: Penn:
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 5:25 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The prize for winning is control of the blog? I thought it was beer and wings. May have to pull a Rick Kuhn and throw these last few weeks.


SeanO's Ghost picks:
Game 1: CLEMSON
Game 2: South Florida
Game 3: WISCONSIN
Game 4: TENNESSEE
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: NOTRE DAME
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: Auburn
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10: Gator bowl bound Connecticut (Chip, those bowl agreements mean nothing. Their written down on cocktail napkins. It's all about geography, which equates to people in the seats. Anyone other than Texas from the Big 12 to the Gator makes no sense. And, besides, why would you think Notre Dame is going to get anywhere near New Year's Day next season?)
Game 11: Arizona State
Game 12: Virginia
Game 13: SOUTH CAROLINA
Game 14: Kansas
Game 15: CAL--will play Kansas State or Mizzou or Oklahoma State or Texas in the Sun Bowl
Game 16: Boston College
Game 17: HARVARD
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 7:41 PM 
Blogger Chip Malafronte said...

Ghost:

We'll bet the beer and wings on whether UConn goes to the Gator or Sun...unless they head to the Sugar or Orange...

If you win, you can bequeath blog control privlidges to someone else. I know Vinny from East Haven might buy you a "gaba-gool and mootz" sub from DelMonico's and loan you his I-Roc to cruise Valley chicks.

November 08, 2007 8:35 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Caleb
Game 1: CLEMSON
Game 2: SYRACUSE
Game 3: Michigan
Game 4: Arkansas
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: NOTRE DAME
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: Auburn
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10: CINCINNATI
Game 11: Arizona State
Game 12: Virginia
Game 13: SOUTH CAROLINA
Game 14: OKLAHOMA STATE
Game 15: CAL
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: Penn:
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 8:37 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chip,

Beer and wings it is. We have a nice Archie's here in the Valley that has Stella on tap.

Have a safe trip to Cincy.

Gator Ghost

November 08, 2007 9:24 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Game 1: Wake Forest
Game 2: South Florida
Game 3: WISCONSIN
Game 4: TENNESSEE
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: Air Force
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: GEORGIA
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10: Connecticut
Game 11: Arizona State
Game 12: MIAMI-FL
Game 13: SOUTH CAROLINA
Game 14: Kansas
Game 15: Southern California
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: Penn:
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 08, 2007 10:05 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Where's Vinny/BCAlum? Guess he realizes who the only legitimate 1-A program in New England is, eh? Go UConn!

November 08, 2007 10:18 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PJ
Game 1: CLEMSON
Game 2: SYRACUSE
Game 3: Michigan
Game 4: Arkansas
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: NOTRE DAME
Game 7: VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: Auburn
Game 9: Texas Tech
Game 10: CINCINNATI
Game 11: UCLA
Game 12: Virginia
Game 13: Florida
Game 14: Kansas
Game 15: CAL
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: HARVARD
Game 18: Yale

November 09, 2007 7:29 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CLEMSON

South Florida

WISCONSIN

Arkansas

Kentucky

NOTRE DAME

VIRGINIA TECH

Auburn

TEXAS

Connecticut

UCLA

Virginia

Florida

OKLAHOMA STATE

CAL

Boston College -> BC is not going to a BCS Bowl. I'm glad that this is Matt Ryan's last year, BC fans will be wearing bags on their heads for the next several years.

HARVARD

Yale

Will L

November 09, 2007 8:18 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

5th place and I missed a week or two, not too shabby.

Will L

November 09, 2007 8:20 AM 
Blogger Sturge-Rock said...

Eric's picks
Game 1: CLEMSON over Wake Forest
Game 2: South Florida over SYRACUSE
Game 3: Michigan over WISCONSIN
Game 4: TENNESSEE over Arkansas
Game 5: Kentucky over VANDERBILT
Game 6: Air Force over NOTRE DAME
Game 7: Florida State over VIRGINIA TECH
Game 8: GEORGIA over Auburn
Game 9: TEXAS over Texas Tech
Game 10: Connecticut over CINCINNATI
Game 11: Arizona State over UCLA
Game 12: MIAMI-FL over Virginia
Game 13: Florida over SOUTH CAROLINA
Game 14: OKLAHOMA STATE over Kansas
Game 15: Southern California over CAL
Game 16: Boston College over MARYLAND
Game 17: HARVARD over Penn
Game 18: Yale over PRINCETON

GO HUSKIES! And if your looking for good wings in the valley other than Archies, try Porky's in Shelton. Phenomenal!

November 09, 2007 1:56 PM 
Blogger Ian said...

Game 1: Wake Forest
Game 2: SYRACUSE
Game 3: Michigan
Game 4: Arkansas
Game 5: Kentucky
Game 6: Air Force
Game 7: Florida State
Game 8: GEORGIA
Game 9: TEXAS
Game 10: Connecticut
Game 11: UCLA
Game 12: MIAMI-FL
Game 13: SOUTH CAROLINA
Game 14: OKLAHOMA STATE
Game 15: Southern California
Game 16: MARYLAND
Game 17: HARVARD
Game 18: PRINCETON

November 09, 2007 3:54 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Vinny's Picks:
1. Clemson
2. USF
3. Michigan
4. Tennessee
5. Kentucky
6. Notre Dame
7. Virginia Tech
8. Georgia
9. Texas
10. Cincy (of course)
11. UCLA
12. Miami
13. South Carolina
14. Oklahoma St.
15. Cal
16. BC
17. Harvard
18. Princeton

I have neither the time nor the inclination to respond to random anonymous comments that accuse me of being a BC alum...didn't everyone read Detroittigershater's comment a few weeks ago? If you have paid attention to any of the comments I have made over the past two years, you would have easily figured out not only that I didn't attend BC,but also I have given the name of my alma mater several times.
Ridiculous. UConn fans are becoming insufferable. I grant you that it has been one hell of a year this year, but let's not get too crazy here folks. Do you honestly think this is one of the top 15 teams in the country? If they are, then college football is in a pretty sorry state.
I hope UConn plays a real team in their bowl game and gets slaughtered by about 60 points. Perhaps then these delusional fans will get a sense of reality.
The joyride's over today, anyway. Cincy will knock these losers off this afternoon.

November 10, 2007 11:03 AM 

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