We've been talking about saints all week around here. And, oddly enough, today is All Saints Day. So let's talk about our favorite sainted football teams. Here we go.
Xavier 24, Kettle Moraine Lutheran 20 - I have no information on Kettle Moraine Lutheran except that they are undefeated. So I have no basis for this pick. Not that that has ever stopped me before.
ACTUAL RESULT: KML 35, XAVIER 32. Close but no cigar - Kettle Moraine scores the game winner with less than a minute left. Still, Xavier won more games this season than it did in my entire four years at the school. Can't beat that.
Grinnell 31, Beloit 21 - Time for the final indignity for my beloved Bucs. You may not know this, but there was a time back in the 1920s when Grinnell College played a big-time football schedule. They were in the league that later became the Big XII and regularly played Nebraska, Kansas and similar schools. Nowadays they pretty much stink. But not as bad as my Bucs.
ACTUAL RESULT: BELOIT 16, GRINNELL 13 (OT). Off the schneid, finally. Good thing, too, because the year is over. For what it's worth, only five seniors on the team. Maybe better times are ahead.
Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 24 - The Buckeyes appear to be #1 on merit this year. The Badgers are getting better but they won't win in Columbus with a third string running back, the most likely scenario.
ACTUAL RESULT: OSU 38, BUCKY 17. It looked good for a while, but the Buckeyes are clearly a better team these days. Lookin' like a New Year's Day bowl won't be happening this year.
Green Bay 31, Kansas City 21 - The Packers have never won in Kansas City. But most times when they've been there, the Chiefs had a good team. This year, not so much. Favre continues his retribution tour and my brother will be at Arrowhead to witness it.
ACTUAL RESULT: GB 33, KC 22 - Now that's a pretty good pick, huh? Great win for the Packers - will have to get the report from the Stinger upon his return from KC. Good thing, too, because the Lions are right on our heroes' heels. Thanksgiving could be very interesting, indeed.
Bonus high school picks - mighty Irondale is gone, so we're going to add Mrs. D's alma mater to the rotation.
Mounds View 31, White Bear Lake 24 - Go Bears. Back where you came from. The 'Stangs prevail on their home turf.
ACTUAL RESULT: MOUNDS VIEW 21, WHITE BEAR 14. Good for the 'Stangs. Next it's a tough one against mighty Eastview.
St. Thomas Academy 31, Washburn 24 - Sorry Mrs. D - I'd love to pick the Millers, but St. Thomas Academy is good, as usual, and city schools don't win championships any more.
ACTUAL RESULT: WASHBURN 42, STA 41. After all these years, I really should know better than to doubt Mrs. D. A great win for the Millers, who are proudly flying the banner for the city schools at state for the first time in a number of years. Next up - mysterious Waconia.
4 comments:
Hey, pretty darn close on that Green Bay score! Took a pretty wacky few minutes at the end to get there, but I'll take it.
After the Penn State loss, above which the Outback Steakhouse blimp hovered, a 12 year old lad remarked that "the Badgers should hop a ride on that blimp to the Outback bowl in Tampa" which is reserved for the 3rd place Big Ten team.
After Saturday's loss to Ohio St., I asked that same lad, what now? He said that the Champs Sports Bowl is just 50 miles down the road in Orlando from Tampa. That is reserved for the 6th place team. We could only be so hopeful.
Bret Bielemma may not be all that he is cracked up to be. The defense has been giving up 30+ points to all comers.
Ohio State is a pretty good team, and the Badgers gave them a scare.
Regarding their bowl future, and the overall status of Bielama, I'd suggest that everyone reserve judgment. This team has been decimated by injuries, and other off the field issues that have taken chess pieces off of the board. Injuries and dections have left them thin at both running back and defensive line, two traditional strengths at UW.
The bet here is that the Badgers will find a way to either beat Michgan, or at the very least give them one heck of a battle. With the 2007 version of the THE GAME, a week away, it's possible (given the Appalachian State fiasco, perhaps less possible, but certainly still possible) that Michigan could be a little flat footed for this game.
After the Michgan, it's the hapless Gophers. The final tally would be either 8-4 or 9-3. The bet here is that result will be good enough for either the Outback Bowl, or the Alamo Bowl against either a good 3rd place SEC team, or a formidable Bit 12 opponent.
We won't know about Bielema until he starts playing with his players. The Badgers may have disappointed some this year, but who's program would you rather have? Wisconsin's or Minnesotas?
That last type of mindset is why Wisconsin will always be 2nd tier. A "9-3 is pretty good" feeling and a healthy dose of MAC non-conference games will keep the Badgers in the 2nd and 3rd echelon for a long time.
Why don't they man-up and play a Georgia, or Tennessee, or Boston College, or Oklahoma or even LSU to see where they stand. Until then, to borrow a line from Risky Business, "it looks like the Alamo Bowl for me".
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