Thursday, September 27, 2007

Fearless Dilettante Football Predictions - Recriminations Version

Another week, more fun. Here we go:

Xavier Hawks 34, Fox Valley Lutheran Foxes 21 - it's the grudge match, the holy war, against the cross-town rivals. Since FVL is a WELS school, they tend to bring a fair amount of, shall we say, fervor to these games against my beloved representatives of the papist menace. But they won't win against the mighty Hawks.

ACTUAL RESULT - XAVIER 42, FVL 14. So much for the Lutherans.

Lake Forest Foresters 9, Beloit Bucs 2 - Another week, another weak sister for the Bucs. Problem is, the Bucs are weaker. Hope I'm wrong about this.

ACTUAL RESULT - LAKE FOREST 44, BELOIT 36 Beloit looks ahead and sees a 9, as in 0-9. Sigh.

Wisconsin Badgers 34, Michigan State Spartans 31 - after a two year hiatus, the Badgers get another look at the immortal Jehuu Caulcrick. Sparty is always hard to gauge, since they usually have talent but are almost always erratic. Bucky gets the nod on the Camp Randall turf.

ACTUAL RESULT - WISCONSIN 37, MICHIGAN STATE 34 That turned out to be a pretty good pick. The Badgers have work to do - the defense got gashed repeatedly. I think Sparty will end up having a pretty good year. The next two weeks (at Illinois, at Penn State) will really tell the tale.

Green Bay Packers 17, Minnesota Vikings 10 - I know, I know, the Metrodome has been the house of horrors over the years for ol' number 4. But I don't see how the Vikings will be able to score much under the leadership of the feared Kelly Holcomb. And no, Darren Sharper, Favre will not break the interception record this week. He very well might break the touchdown record, though, probably on a slant pattern to Driver. You know, the one where you get there late and miss him and watch his heels for about 40 yards. Yep, that one.

ACTUAL RESULT - PACKERS 23, VIKINGS 16 Okay, so it was Greg Jennings. Same difference. An excellent win. Here's a question: for all the words written about Favre's supposed futility in the Metrodome, do you suppose any other NFL quarterback has beaten the Vikings in Minnesota on six different occasions? I doubt it.

High school bonus picks:

Mounds View Mustangs 34, Park of Cottage Grove Wolfpack 20 - Park is improved, it appears, but they aren't usually a factor in the rugged Suburban East. Mounds View is. The tough games are coming, though.

ACTUAL RESULT - PARK 21, MOUNDS VIEW 14 Park played a nice game.

Irondale Knights 35, St. Louis Park Orioles 7 - Irondale has improved a lot this season. St. Louis Park, not so much.

ACTUAL RESULT - IRONDALE 56, ST. LOUIS PARK 7. The fun stops this week - Irondale has a tough one against Benilde-St. Margaret. If they can beat Benilde, they could have a special year (and might be the #1 seed in their section).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonder if Marty Grow, he of the tape down the middle of his glasses, is still somehow involved with FVL? How about Rod Riehl?

Love your picks each week.

Let's add one more ...

Brewers rattled off 4 straight victories and Cubs lose their next four.

Anonymous said...

Xavier has won 4 games in a row against the hated Lutherans, but somehow Martin Luther's gang owns the overall series, 20-16.

Obviously did not play much in the 1960s when XHS under Torchy Clark would have routinely trounced FVL.

Anonymous said...

So much for the Brewers... The Cubs are trying so hard to choke, but 5 errors in one game, manager get's to sit missing all or parts of several games this week. This is a classic choke...Too Bad for the Brew Crew. The beeping sound you hear is the sound of the Cub Bandwagon backing up in to the playoffs.

Mr. D said...

Yep, so much for the Brewers. The Cubs are definitely trying to be the Cubs, but the Brewers aren't smart enough to accept the gift. Five errors in one game tells you one thing - the Brewers aren't a playoff team. Not this year, at least.

Anonymous said...

Impressive prediction on the Badger game, Mr. Dilettante! Almost right on the money! We were at the game - what a frustrating win. Ugh.

Marge

Anonymous said...

Mr Dilettante,

The hated Lutheran now has a son playing for Holy family High School of Victoria Minnesota.
The memories of the Blue and white Xavier Hawks on the green tundra & chasing the infamous Rocky Bleier will remain as great momeries.. Gods blessings to all!
Rod Riehl-FVL hated hunchback