Bowl predictions - New Year's Eve

Only 3 games today, as we start the "New Years Six" games.

Here are my picks:
Chick-fil-a: Florida St (38-Altese; 39-Dehlin)
Orange: Clemson (4- Altese; 2-Dehlin)
Cotton: Alabama (25-Altese; 12-Dehlin)

The Holiday Bowl is still being played, right now I'm still in first in the Altese pool and 3rd in Dehlin.



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Citrus Bowl prediction based on historical data

Michigan is 194-59-1 in all games I have attended (all data is only for games I attended unless otherwise noted)
M is 1-0 vs. Florida
M is 2-2 vs. schools from the state of Florida
M is 5-2 vs. schools from the SEC (Lloyd Carr 5-0 others 0-2)
M is 4-1 in games played in Florida
M is 7-5 in bowl games
M is 5-5 on January 1
M is 29-4 in games starting at 1pm
M is 12-9-1 in the starting QBs last game as a starter (currently counting Shane Morris in that data)
M is 1-0 when the opposing coach shares the same first name as M's head coach
M is 9-1 when ranked 17
M is 1-1 when opponent is ranked 19
M is 44-18 when playing the opposition in their home state
M is 12-5 in the 8th attended game of the season
M is 5-4 following games where they've given up 40 or more points (1-0 when it was 42)
M is 29-5 when the next lost would make the total losses attended a number evenly divisible by 10

It's easy when you look at the numbers:

Michigan 20
Florida 13

Bowl Predictions - Day 9

Four more games today. Here are my picks:

Birmingham Bowl: Memphis (14-Altese; 17-Dehlin)
Belk Bowl: Mississippi State (8-Altese and Dehlin)
Music City: Louisville (13-Altese; 14-Dehlin)
Holiday Bowl: USC (12-Altese; 11-Dehlin)

Not a big day points wise - but every game counts.

I am still in first place in the Altese pool with a 14 point lead over Sue. In the Dehlin pool I now trail Kevin by 11.
I had also entered my Altese picks into "College Football Expert" Phil Steele's ESPN pool as well. I'm tied for 22 place there out of 1000+.

Bowl Predictions - Day 8

Four bowl games today. Here are my picks:

Armed Forces Bowl: Cal (2- Altese; 6-Dehlin)
Russell Athletic: Baylor (17-Altese; 18-Dehlin)
Arizona Bowl: Colorado St (29-Altese; 21-Dehlin)
Texas Bowl: LSU (41-Altese; 40-Dehlin)

Current standings: I gained ground in both pools yesterday. I extended my lead in the Altese pool to 23 points over my sister Sue. In the Dehlin pool, I cut Kevin's lead to 6.

Today looks to be a big day.

Quick Lane Bowl live blog

Live Blog Quick Lane Bowl

 

Bowl predictions - day 7

Two games on tap for today. Here are my picks:

Military Bowl: Navy (22 - Altese; 29 - Dehlin)
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota (37-Altese; 38 - Dehlin)

I hold a precarious 3 point lead in the Altese pool and trail and am in second place in the Dehlin pool. I trail Kevin by 16 points and have a 20 point lead over Sandy's picks.

jiMpossible and I will be at the Quick Lane Bowl this afternoon (weather permitting)

Th Quick Lane Bowl: Facts, Tidbits and Prediction

Seven teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) are in bowls this year.  Central Michigan is the only one to be playing a team from a P5 conference.

Minnesota's Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Matt Limegrover and Quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski were fired the day following their last regular season game.  For the bowl game, Tight Ends coach Rob Reeves will be the acting OC.  The offensive staff is being shuffled, with some graduate assistants and quality control coaches being temporarily promoted as position coaches.  Similar changes are happening on defense due to Tracy Claeys' move from defensive coordinator to head coach.

CMU's defense has a 3.9% sack rate on passing downs, good for 118th in the nation.

John Bonamego is CMU's first alumnus to be the head coach of the Chippewas since Bill Kelley, who coached from 1951 to 1966.

The last time Michigan played Minnesota was on the 31st day of the October 2015.  The last time Michigan played CMU was on the 31st day of August 2013.

CMU is 5-13 in kicking field goals beyond 40 yards

Prior to his college/NFL coaching career, CMU head coach John Bonamego was a player-coach for the Verona Redskins in Italy.

CMU and Minnesota have played one time, in 1987.  Rickey Foggie led the Golden Gophers to a 30-10 victory.

CMU quarterback Cooper Rush threw for an NCAA-tying 7 touchdowns in last year's Bahamas Bowl against Western Kentucky.

Since head coach Jerry Kill has resigned, Minnesota's record is 1-4.

The University of Minnesota has an enrollment/stadium capacity ratio of .996, 4th in FBS (FIU leads with 2.704)

Eight CMU receivers have catches of 25 yards or more.  Five CMU receivers have in excess of 500 receiving yards this year.

CMU is 3-5 in bowl games, 2-2 in bowls played in Detroit.  Minnesota is 5-12 in bowl games and hasn't won a bowl since 2004 (20-16 over Alabama in the Music City Bowl).

Both teams' coaching staffs have dealt with serious medical conditions.  Minnesota's Jerry Kill has had multiple seizures since 2005, finally resulting in his resignation during this past season.  He is also in remission for kidney cancer.  This past June, Central Michigan's John Bonamego announced he had early stages of tonsil cancer.  He has completed his radiation treatment at University of Michigan Cancer Center in Ann Arbor.

CMU has not had a field goal scored against them since October 10 at Western Michigan.

Out of the 10 FBS schools with the most acreage, The University of Minnesota's campus has a student to acreage ratio of 44.07 students/acre, ranked 4th (Texas leads with 118.21 students/acre)

CMU has more alumni voted to this year's Pro Bowl than Alabama.

Prediction:  Minnesota 31, Central Michigan 21

Quick Lane Bowl Prediction based on historical data

• Minnesota is 3-15 and Central Michigan is 0-4 in games I have attended (all data is for games I have attended unless otherwise noted).
• This will be the second time I have seen Minnesota play this season. Teams that I have seen play more than once in a season are 188-60-1. 
• Those teams are 27-6 in that second game.
• Schools from the Big Ten Conference are 8-5 in bowl games I have attended
• Schools from the MAC are 3-23 in all games I have attended and 0-1 in bowl games
• Schools with Native American Nicknames are 8-20-1 in games I have attended
• Schools with animal nicknames are 217-173-1
• Schools with nicknames often including a color are 6-23

It's easy when you add it all together...

Minnesota 35 Central Michigan 27

Bowl predictions - Day 6

Big day - 6 bowls on tap.
Here are my picks:

St Petersburg: Marshall (28 Altese; 31 Dehlin)
Sun: Miami (19 Altese & Dehlin)
Heart of Dallas: Washington (31 Altese; 34 Dehlin)
Pinstripe: Indiana (15 Altese & Dehlin)
Independence: VaTech (39 Altese; 36 Dehlin)
Foster Farms: UCLA (20 Altese; 26 Dehlin)


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Bowl predictions day 5

Two bowl games in much nicer locations than here...
Bahamas: WMU (Altese-34; Dehlin 32)
Hawai'i: San Diego St (Altese-26; Dehlin28)
Split my picks yesterday. Others had more points on Boise than I did, so I fell back to 3rd in the Altese pool and 2nd in Dehlin.



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Bowl Predictions - day 4

Two bowl games today:

Poinsettia Bowl - Boise State (Altese - 7; Dehlin - 5)
GoDaddy - Bowling Green (Altese - 33; Dehlin - 37)

Utah State losing hurt yesterday, but the Toledo victory keeps me in first place in both pools for now.

Bowl predictions day 3

Two bowl games today:

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State (32-Altese; 33-Dehlin)
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl: Toledo (11-Altese; 16-Dehlin)

Western Kentucky's win yesterday moved me into first place in both family pools

Powl Predictions - Day 2

Only one bowl on tap for today - the Miami Beach Bowl.

I have Western Kentucky for 35 in both pools.

Current standings:

Altese pool I'm 3rd out of 34

Picker	points	points missed
SQQSIE	98	0
ptb591	92	0
Me	83	6

In the Dehlin pool I'm 2nd out of 11

Picker	points	points missed
SpartyPants	85	9
Me	79	4
ElkLakeKent	67	43

I also joined noted expert, Phil Steele's group with my Altese pool picks - I'm currently tied for 226th out of 1050

Bowl Predictions 2015-16 Day 1

Today marks the start of bowl season and puts both the Altese and Dehlin family bowl prediction trophies up for grabs.

Here are my picks for today's games (we're using the espn bowl pool as our template):
Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State for 1 point in both pools
New Mexico Bowl: Arizona for 30 in Altese / 20 in Dehlin
Las Vegas Bowl: Utah for 3 / 7
Carmella Bowl: Appalachian State for 27 /30
Cure Bowl Georgia State for 5 / 3
New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana Tech for 23 /22

I'd rather be lucky than good!

jiMpossible and SarcasMike - your one stop for Quick Lane Bowl info

Quick Trophy Update

TCU won in the rain in double overtime 28-21 over Baylor last night, winning back the jimpossible-sarcasMike Trophy.

I'll try to have a full update later, but for now Go Blue! Beat the Buckeyes!

Ohio State Prediction

Jeffrey Dahmer University Buckeyes 25
Theodore Kaczynski University Wolverines 22

Ohio State prediction based on historical data

Michigan is 194-58-1 in all games I have attended (all data is only for games I have attended, unless otherwise mentioned)
M is 9-7 vs. Ohio State
M is 17-8 vs. schools from Ohio
M is 11-11 vs. schools with non animal or human mascots
M is 127-42-1 in conference games
M is 163-43-1 in Michigan Stadium
M is 76-20-1 in noon games
M is 3-1 after Thanksgiving
M is 9-3 when ranked 12
M is 4-2 vs. teams ranked 8
M is 19-14 vs. teams ranked in the top 10
M is 28-20 vs. teams with a better ranking
M is 17-7 in the 7th game I have attended in a season
M is 4-1 in their head coach's 7th attended game
M is 7-3 when a victory vs. the opponent would be my 10th attended victory over them
M is 0-1 when a loss vs. the opponent would be my 8th attended loss against them
M is 2-1 when facing an opponent for the 17th time
M is 22-12 vs. teams with head coach shares the first name of a Pope

M has played 3 teams 100 times OSU, MSU and Minnesota. In the first 100 games vs. these schools, M had an overall record of  197-89-14. In the games vs. these teams since their 100ths games, M is 3-18. They have however won one-in-a-row.

In both January and September, I counted this game in the loss column. I'm afraid OSU will play 180 degrees differently than they did against MSU. But then again, HARBAUGH.

It's easy when you look at all the numbers,

M 27
OSU 17

Baylor back in possession of jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy

Baylor toppled undefeated Oklahoma State on Saturday, keeping their conference and playoff hopes alive. But perhaps most importantly taking possession of the jiMpossible-sarcasMike trophy.

The Bears have had two recent runs with the trophy. They held it for essentially for a season from November 2012 to November 2013, taking it from Kansas State and then losing it to Oklahoma State.

They had a one week reign last season between their victory over TCU and loss to WVU.

Overall Baylor has a 24-12 record in trophy games. This is their 5th time as trophy holder.

Baylor has 2 games left on the schedule. They travel to TCU Friday night and finish the regular season hosting Texas. Both those games will be season finales for their opponents. TCU and Baylor are definitely going to bowl games/playoffs. If Texas were to end up with the trophy, they are still not bowl eligible.

Penn State prediction based on predictions

Back in January I predicted M would finish the regular season at 9-3 - with losses only to Utah, MSU and OSU.
In September, as kickoff vs. Utah approached I back off to 8-4, adding the extra loss against Minnesota or Penn State.

Here's how jiMpossible and I have done so far with our weekly predictions:

Game	jiMpossible	sarcasMike	result
Utah	U 31-18	U 30-28	U 24-17
Oregon State	M 27-15	M 34-7	M 35-7
UNLV	M 41-7	M 45-3	M 28-7
BYU	M 30-17	M 27-17	M 31-0
Maryland	M 31-16	M 24-3	M 28-0
Northwestern	M 24-11	M 17-6	M 38-0
MSU	M 23-20	M 14-0	S 27-23
Minnesota	M 21-19	M 20-14	M 29-26
Rutgers	M 39-13	M 31-13	M 49-16
Indiana	M 36-21	M 42-20	M 48-41

We both picked the correct winner in every game except MSU. A couple times we've gotten really close.
jiMpossible picked Penn State earlier today. It's time for some separation in our picks. It's time to go with January over September.

M 21
PSU 13

Penn State Prediction

Ty Burell University Nittany Lions 24
Gilda Radner University Wolverines 20

Indiana prediction based on people I know who've seen M lose to IU

Indiana has never had much success in Big Ten football. They've made it to the Rose Bowl once in my lifetime - the 1968 Rose Bowl falling to OJ Simpson' USC Trojans in Pasadena.

Michigan has an overall record vs. Indiana of 54-9. They've only lost to IU twice in my lifetime 27-20 to the 1967 Hoosiers and 14-10 in 1987.

I've seen IU come close several times.

• I was at the famous 1979 game where a tie seemed imminent until Anthony Carter magic happened. M won 27-21
• My first trip to Bloomington in 1999 had IU throwing to the endzone for a chance at victory as time expired. M won 34-31
• The Rich Rodriguez era saw two close victories in 2009 and 2010. Both requiring late Michigan touchdowns and defensive stops to preserve wins for Michigan
• Even the 2013 game that ended up 63-47 was close for most of the game

I personally know one person who has seen M lose to Indiana - and that is jiMpossible. As that 1987 game was not on TV, very few people have seen M lose to Indiana at all. jiMpossible says his family was able to watch an announcer-less feed of that 1987 game on satellite -so that may increase the numbers a little. But I post there are fewer than 100,000 people alive who have seen Michigan lose to Indiana.

That number shouldn't go up Saturday

M 42
IU 20

Indiana Prediction

Kevin Kline University Hoosiers 21
Lucy Liu University Wolverines 36

Cowboys break Frogs hold on Trophy

Coming into Saturday, TCU had successfully defended the jiMpossible-sarcasMike trophy 13 times since taking it from WVU last October. Oklahoma State ended that run 49-29, sending the Horned Frogs home, but keeping the trophy in Stillwater.

Original photo from Oklahoma State Football Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/osuathletics/22441679657/in/dateposted/

Trophy Notes

• TCU's streak was the longest since USC defended 25 times after beating Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl.
• Oklahoma State's remaining schedule is at Iowa State then at home against Baylor and Oklahoma.
• Iowa State has never won the trophy. They are 0-3 all-time with an average game score of 60-10.
• The Cowboys last held the trophy in November 2013. The took the trophy from Baylor before losing the next week to Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma State is 4-9 all-time in trophy games, 1-2 as the trophy holder.
• Their only successful defense was a 34-6 victory over Baylor in 2008.
• The Big 12 has held the trophy since WVU beat Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl.
• That is 49 straight games and all the possible scenarios for the final three weeks of the regular season will keep it within the conference, bringing it to at least 52 games before bowl/playoff season.

Rutgers prediction based on historical data

M is 193-58-1 in all games I have attended (data is only for games I attended, unless otherwise noted)
M is 0-1 vs. Rutgers
M is 126-43-1 in conference games
M is 10-5 vs. conference teams that weren't in the conference when I started attending games
M is 162-43-1 in Michigan Stadium
M is 141-25-1 vs. unranked opponents
M is 4-1 when ranked 16th
M is 21-6 vs. schools with nicknames often including a color (Scarlett Knights)
M is 58-24-1 vs. schools with human-ish mascots
M is 22-5 vs. a head coach whose last name is a common verb
M is 28-9 vs. a head coach whose last name is a common noun
M is 21-7-1 in the 6th game I've seen in a season
M is 7-1-1 when the attendance is more than double the previous game attended (assuming Saturday's attendance is 101,418 or higher

Rutgers played in and won the very first intercollegiate football game. They were the first holder of the jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy.
Rutgers has played the most games 1313, Michigan is third with 1287 (using the Stassen database).
Michigan has the most wins all-time, Rutgers is tied with Iowa State for the 5th most losses.

It's easy when you look at the numbers

M 31 Rutgers 13

Rutgers Prediction

Ozzie Nelson University Scarlet Knights 13
Ann B. Davis University Wolverines 39

Minnesota Prediction

Thomas Friedman University Golden Gophers 19
Mike Wallace University Wolverines 21

Minnesota prediction based on historical data - updated

M is 192-58-1 in all games I have attended (data is only for games I attended, unless otherwise noted)

Since M lost last week with jiMpossible in attendance, he has now been to as many M games as I have seen M wins.

M is 14-3 vs. Minnesota
M is 125-43-1 in conference games
M is 30-15 away from Michigan Stadium
M is 22-12 in true road games
M is 10-3 in the central time zone
M is 18-4 on time change weekend
M is 12-8 in the first game in a particular stadium
M is 140-25-1 vs. unranked opponents
M is 6-1 when ranked 15th
M is 1-0 on Halloween
M is 24-6 on "major" holidays
M is 25-5 vs. rodent/weasel mascots
M is 20-6 vs. schools with nicknames often including a color (Golden Gophers)
M is 0-1 when lead by Jim Harbaugh vs. Minnesota

M is 22-5 vs. teams with head coaches whose last name is a common verb
Best wished to Jerry Kill in his retirement

M is 4-4 following losses to MSU
M is 20-10 in the 5th attended game of the year
M is 8-3 in night games
M is 116-33 on artificial surface
M is 33-13 in trophy games (Little Brown Jug, Paul Bunyan, jiMpossible-sarcasMike)

It's easy when you look at the numbers

M 20 Minnesota 14

MSU prediction based on historical data

M is 192-57-1 in all games I have attended (data is based on games I have attended unless otherwise stated)

 

Week late notice - last week was my 250th M game!

M won my first game

M won my 51st game

M won my 101st game

M lost my 151st game

M lost my 201st game

 

M is 24-6 in the 4th attended game of the season

M is 125-42-1 vs. conference opponents 

M is 16-8 vs. MSU

M is 162-42-1 in Michigan Stadium

M is 2-4 against teams ranked 7th

M is 9-2 when ranked 12th

M is 28-19 when ranked lower than their opponent

M is 15-3 with Jim Harbaugh playing a leading role on the team

M is 22-3-1 with #15 starting as their quarterback

M is 10-4 when ESPN Gameday is at the game venue 

M is 0-2 in games following consecutive attended shutouts

It's easy when you look at the numbers

 

M 14 MSU 0

Michigan State Prediction

Kwame Kilpatrick University Spartans  20
Gerald Ford University Wolverines  23

Quick fact:
In games I've attended against MSU, with Harbaugh being involved, M has outscored MSU 58-6.

TCU retains trophy in another close call

The Horned Frogs trailed Kansas State 35-17 at halftime and were still down 42-31 midway through the 4th quarter. But they came all the way back for a 52-45 victory, retaining the jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy

This Saturday they head to Ames Iowa for a match-up with Iowa State.

TCU has scored 50 or more points in 5 straight games. I assume the Cyclones will not be able to stop the streak.

Northwestern Prediction based on historical data

Michigan is 191-57-1 in all games I have attended (all data is based on games I have attended unless otherwise stated)

M is 28-2 in the 3rd attended game of the season

M is 124-42-1 vs. conference opponents 

M is 13-3 vs. Northwestern

M is 32-11 vs. private schools

M is 161-42-1 in Michigan Stadium

M is 2-3 against teams ranked #13

M is  5-1 when ranked #18

M is 32-7 on their homecoming (34-7 on all homecomings)

M is 111-21 vs. schools with animal nicknames

M is 30-5 vs. schools with feline nicknames

M is 14-3 with Jim Harbaugh playing a leading role on the team

M is 21-3-1 with #15 starting as their quarterback

It's easy when you look at the numbers

M 17

N 6

Northwestern Prediction

Warren Beatty University Wildcats 11
James Earl Jones University Wolverines 24

Maryland Prediction based on stealing from other blogs

MVictors has a post on previous Michigan games that have been changed from their original schedule.

M is 4-1 in the games he mentions. The only loss was the 1963 game that included my cousin Barry Dehlin. Barry and his teammates got revenge in Columbus the next season and went on to the 1965 Rose Bowl.

I also remember the Minnesota game in 2003 being moved to a Friday night because the Twins were in the playoffs. That game was the John Navarre transcontinental comeback game. So that brings M's record to 5-1.

Saturday should make 6 wins.

M 24
UM-CP 3

Maryland Prediction

Connie Chung University Terrapins 16
Rich Eisen University Wolverines 31

BYU predictions based on historical data

Michigan is 190-57-1 in all games I have attended (all data is based on games I have attended unless otherwise stated)

M is 24-6 in the 2nd attended game of the season

M is 66-15 vs. non-conference opponents

M is 11-6 vs. independents (5 straight wins)

M is 160-42-1 in Michigan Stadium

M is 1-1 against teams ranked #22

M is  33-21 when unranked

M is 8-7 when unranked playing a ranked opponent (lost 7 of last 8)

M is 110-21 vs. schools with animal nicknames

M is 29-5 vs. schools with feline nicknames

M is 2-0 vs. coaches that have first or last names that are the same as the name of a school or the nickname of the school that I have seen M play

M is 13-3 with Jim Harbaugh playing a leading role on the team

M is 20-3-1 with #15 starting as their quarterback

It's easy when you look at the numbers

M 27

BYU 17

BYU Prediction

Ken Jennings University Cougars 17
Sanjay Gupta University Wolverines 30

UNLV Prediction

Suge Knight University Running Rebels 7

Iggy Pop University Wolverines 41

UNLV prediction based on Antigonish

I will not be in attendance for (at least most of) Saturday's game vs. UNLV - RIP Aunt Wanda
Since I started at U of M in 1985 I have only missed 7 home games.

1987 vs. Notre Dame, a Michigan loss 26-7 - Never go to Pittsburgh when you could be in Ann Arbor.
1992 vs. Michigan State, an M victory 35-10 - went to a friend's wedding. I don't think I've even seen him since.
1994 vs. Penn State, M loses 31-24 - wedding in Pensylvania
1997 vs. Colorado, M wins 27-3 - funerals are when they are.
1998 vs. Eastern Michigan, M wins 59-20 - I finally had a job as a real pharmacist - but that meant I had to work on some weekends
1998 vs. Wisconsin, M wins 27-10 - see above - this was Wisconsin's only loss on the year
2001 vs. Illinois, M wins 45-20 - wedding

M 45 UNLV 3

Oregon State prediction

Though I have my database updated, I haven't had a chance to look through it.  So, my prediction isn't based on anything.

Dick Fosbury University Beavers 15
James McDivitt University Wolverines 27

Oregon State prediction based on historical data

Michigan is 189-57-1 in all games I have attended (all data is based on games I have attended unless otherwise stated)

M is 34-5 in the first attended games of the season

M is 1-0 vs. Oregon State

M is 65-15 vs. non-conference opponents

M is 8-5 vs. Pac-10/12 schools (4 straight losses)

M is 159-42-1 in Michigan Stadium

M is 109-21 vs. schools with animal nicknames

M is 2-3 vs. teams with head coaches who previously were a head coach in the Big10/Ten but I never saw them coach that school

M is 12-3 with Jim Harbaugh playing a leading role on the team (2 straight losses)

M is 19-3-1 with #15 starting as their quarterback

It's easy when you look at the numbers

M 34

Oregon St 7

jiMpossible - sarcasMike trophy game tonight

Last year was a big year for Minnesota football. They came to Ann Arbor and won the Little Brown Jug. They took Floyd of Rosedale back from Iowa. Since they beat Penn State in 2013 and didn't play them last season they maintained possession of the Governor's Victory Bell. Minnesota's mascot and @FauxPelini even went about creating the Bits of Broken Chair trophy, that the Gophers went on to win. Had then been able to defeat Wisconsin for  Paul Bunyan's Axe it may have been the greatest Minnesota season since 1941 (spoiler alert - it may have been anyway).
 
Tonight they host TCU and the winner gets the greatest mythological trophy there is, The jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy. As you know this trophy traces it's winner back to the first intercollegiate game between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869.

TCU is heavily favored coming off of perhaps their most impressive season since 1938. Can the Gophers make it 4 of 5 in their trophy case? The Big Ten hasn't held the trophy in conference since Ohio State lost to Urban Meyer's Gators in the 2007 MNC game.

My heart is with Minnesota - my head is with the Horned Frogs.

TCU 38
Minnesota 14 

Utah prediction based on wild guess

From the other predictions I've read - most people are anticipating a defensive battle - with bot teams barely into the 20s. Everyone seems to be predicting a close game. I'll go with more scoring - but still close.

Since I predicted a Utah win back in January - I'll stick with that.

Michigan 28
Utah 30

2015 sarcasMike season prediction

Back in January I said 9-3 with a bowl win. As much as I want that to be true - I have a feeling that 8-4 going into the bowl is more likely. Not sure where the extra loss is - probably either Minnesota or Penn State.

Let's add a bowl win to make it 9-4.

Go Blue!

Utah Prediction

Karl Rove University Utes 31
Clarence Darrow University Wolverines 18

Season Prediction

My prediction for the 2015 season:

7-5, and a win in the bowl.

Better than being blocked

January Prediction for 2015 record

My 4th annual January guess at Michigan's upcoming football season record
2012 - predicted 9-5 - ended up 8-5
2013 - predicted 10-4 ended up 7-6
2014 - predicted 9-4 ended up 5-7

As you can see my predictions have gotten worse each season.

2015 provides a lot of variables. How much will the new coaching staff improve the Hoke flaws? How will play QB? How will the veteran players take to the new - expected to be tougher - staff?

Here goes:

9/3 @ Utah - L
9/12 Oregon St - W
9/19 UNLV - W
9/26 BYU -W
10/3 @ Maryland - W
10/10 Northwestern - W
10/17 MSU - L
10/31 @ Minnesota - W
11/7 Rutgers - W
11/14 @ Indiana - W
11/21 @ Penn St - W
11/28 OSU - L

Foster Farms Bowl vs. Stanford - W

10-3

That seems way too confident...

Trophy Update Bowls 2014

TCU dominated Ole Miss 42-3 to keep the jiMpossible-sarcasMike Trophy in the Big 12 going in to 2015. With the Big 12 playing 9 conference games there are aren't many chances to get the trophy to another conference.


Here is TCU's 2015 schedule

9/3/15 @ Minnesota
9/12/15 Stephen F Austin
9/19/15 SMU
9/26/15 @ Texas Tech
10/3/15 Texas
10/10/15 @ Kansas St
10/17/15 @ Iowa St
10/29/15 WVU
11/7/15 @ Oklahoma St
11/14/15 Kansas
11/21/15 @ Oklahoma
11/27/15 Baylor

It looks like the best chance before the bowl season for the trophy to leave the Big 12 is the season opener at Minnesota. Then if the Golden Gophers can beat Colorado St, Kent St, Ohio, Northwestern, Purdue and Nebraska, the Little Brown Jug won't be the only trophy at stake on Halloween!

Go Gophers (for the next 7 games)