So, how did you do? Did you pick Oregon? Did you tell your friends you were picking Oregon, but you secretly thought South Florida would win but you didn’t want to sound like a know-it-all newspaper columnist or blogger? Did you move up, or down in the Bowl Bash? Don’t lie. Because it’s all there.
I’m not much of sporting, gambling man, myself. But I wanted to go out on a limb and conduct an experiment in predicting the Sun Bowl. Here’s how I picked Oregon and the points: I averaged all of the predicted scores listed below for both team and then I switched them. That’s it. I did what George would do. Sort of. Instead of doing the exact opposite of my own instincts, I did the exact opposite of everyone else’s. That’s how crazy this is!
Here was my prediction:
DuckSportsNews.com’s Prediction (JJ): USF 19, Oregon 24
Got the win. Close on USF’s points. Way, way off on Oregon’s points. But as Meatloaf said, “Two out of three ain’t bad.”
Let’s see how the less fortunate, and less optimistic, prognosticators did:
Prediction: Register-Guard’s Rob Moseley: USF 26, Oregon 20
Reality: Oops. And he even got called out by Chip Kelley on this one.
Prediction: Portland Tribune’s Jason Vondersmith: USF 31, Oregon 24
Reality: The Ducks played hard and USF was desperate.
Prediction: Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel: USF 31, Oregon 28
Reality: Theatrical? The Ducks tamed that “Raging Bull”.
Prediction: Tampa Tribune: USF 27, Oregon 14
Reality: The Bulls displayed a confidence so quiet, they didn’t even hear it.
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Steve Megargee’s pick: USF 20, Oregon 10
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Olin Buchanan, national college football writer: USF 20, Oregon 10
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Mike Huguenin, college sports editor: USF 20, Oregon 14
Prediction: Rivals.com’s Bill King, Rivals Radio host: USF 28, Oregon 13
Reality: Stewart had the biggest of games and Roper did not turn the ball over.
Prediction: USFBullsEYE.com: USF 24, Oregon 10
Reality: The Bulls did not contain Stewart’s talents.
Prediction: Duck Sports Authority: USF 31, Oregon 34
Reality: We have a winner! But QB play and the receivers were not a concern. Plus, DSA never picks against the Ducks. So, DSA is going to be right a good part of the time.
Prediction: OregonLive.com’s Bob Rickert: USF 24, Oregon 27
Reality: We have a fan, here. If he were a Bulls fan, he would have gone with them.
Prediction: Fox Sports’ & College Football News’ Rich Cirminiello: USF 30, Oregon 17
Reality: He got one thing right: USF did not explode on offense. Maybe implode. But definitely not explode.
Prediction: Addicted To Quack: Oregon (if they win the turnover battle)
Reality: No score for Dave, but he got the turnover battle correct (5-1).
Prediction: CBS Sportsline: USF
Reality: Uh, no, no, no, no, & no.
Prediction: Jimmy Boyd’s Locksmith Sports: USF 29, Oregon 23
Reality: Jimmy got this one wrong. Not quite a lock, huh?
Have a great New Year! I know I will. I am officially announcing my retirement from picking games. I’m 1-0 and I’m going out a winner! Goodnight, everyone.
- Jay Jones