Giving 'em the bizniz since 2006

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Bizniz, Volume 4, Issue 3

It's been a minute. I was having some internet/computer issues for a while. We're coming up on the 3rd week of college football. Throughout the season fellow blogger Jimmie Chesh (jimmiecheshsports.blogspot.com) and I will be predicting scores and winners for all top 25 games (based on USA Today poll) and Chesh will be breaking down matchups so check his blog for that. We will keep our standings throughout the season. We pick a top 25 game of the week, a non-top 25 game, and we have to pick at least one upset (broad term, for our purposes a lower ranked team beating a higher ranked team). Just winners and losers, no point spread nonsense. Through 2 weeks the standings are as follows:

Hill 38-5, 1-1 on upset picks
Chesh 37-6, 2-3 on upset picks

So here we go for week 3:

* denotes upset

#13 Arkansas 23
Georgia 14

Chesh: Ark 28 UGA 17

Maryland 24
#21 West Va 36
Chesh: W. Va 33 Mary 17

UMass 7
#22 Michigan 56

Chesh: Mich 47 UMass 6

Ohio 13
#2 Ohio St 48
Chesh: Ohio St 55 Ohio 10


Kent St 10
#20 Penn St 41
Chesh: Penn St 30 Kent St 13

#8 Nebraska 20
Washington 21*
Chesh: Nebraska 38 Wash 26

Ariz St 14
#11 Wisconsin 38
Chesh: Wisc 37 ASU 17

#7 Florida 42
Tennessee 17
Chesh: Florida 27 Tenn 16

Air Force 21
#9 Oklahoma 40
Chesh: Okla 41 AF 24

#1 Alabama 38
Duke 16
Chesh: Alabama 48 Duke 16


Baylor 14
#5 TCU 40
Chesh: TCU 43 Baylor 10

Portland St St 7
#6 Oregon 65
Chesh: Oregon 58 Port St 3

Furman 10
#16 S. Carolina 41
Chesh: S. Car 45 Furman 7

Miss St 20
#12 LSU 31
Chesh: LSU 24 Miss St 13

Clemson 21
#15 Auburn 36
Chesh: Auburn 28 Clem 26

#3 Boise St 40
Wyoming 21
Chesh: Boise 51 Wyoming 7

#14 Utah 45
UNM 10
Chesh: Utah 44 UNM 17

#4 Texas 38
Tex Tech 23
Chesh: Texas 24 TTech 18

#23 Houston 36
UCLA 21
Chesh: Hou 44 UCLA 23

Game of the Week
#10 Iowa 24
Arizona 32*

Chesh: Iowa 27 Arizona 24

Wake 14
#19 Stanford 38
Chesh: Stanford 38 Wake 13


SDSU 17
#25 Mizzou 42
Chesh: Mizz 28 SDSU 10

#24 Cal 45
Nevada 24

Chesh: Nevada 27 Cal 17

Non-top 25 Game
Ga Tech 26
UNC 20
Chesh: UNC 28 GT 17


Gotta check in with a few thoughts on Reggie Bush too, as word came out yesterday that Bush would give his Heisman trophy back in the wake of the entire USC improper benefits scandal. Bush becomes the first Heisman winner to forfeit the award, although according to sources he would have become the first winner to have it stripped so perhaps he was acting preemptively. I was a huge fan of Reggie Bush as USC. He is among the three best college football players of all-time in my opinion, along with Tim Tebow and Vince Young (no particular order). He was electrifying in space, whether as an edge rusher, out in the flat as a receiver, or as a return man. He deserved to win the Heisman no question (sorry VY heads, the award was given out weeks prior to the Superman Rose Bowl performance, and even with that game it's still a close race to me). Bush's infractions seem rather mild, albeit illegal based on NCAA rules. Some sleazy "marketing" people sought to get hooks into Bush, a future pro, by giving Bush's family a house to live in for free. This is essentially the gist of his catastrophic rule breaking. How much Bush himself benefited is up for debate; perhaps he got money under the table, etc. But it's interesting that Bush felt compelled to return his Heisman (USC had already removed its copy from the school's trophy case, along with all Bush images and references) while fellow Trojan O.J. Simpson keeps his. True, the Juice did not commit his... uh... indiscretions (whether the whole Nicole Simpson "thing" or the armed kidnapping rap for which he is currently in prison) while at school and Bush did. But if Bush felt (or was) compelled to forfeit his Heisman, many other trophies/awards in many locations from many sports could likewise be returned if all the facts of those athletes' careers were known. Perhaps it was the right thing to do, at least from the perspective of taking some heat off USC (although the aftershocks will still be felt in the form of sanctions) and allowing the Bush and, to a lesser degree, the Saints to focus on defending their Super Bowl crown. It would be cool if the Heisman trust eventually gave Bush the award back, maybe after he retires in the future and has paid whatever dues he still has outstanding. Maybe he could visit O.J. in prison as goodwill.

No comments:

Post a Comment