Another year of college football is finally here. At this time tomorrow I will be on my way to East Lansing for the big game. This will be my fourth year in a row going to Boise State's opening games. I have to say that I have enjoyed Boise State opening up east of the Mississippi.
Now on to the important, competitive stuff. OBNUG Pick 'Em is back! We even had a few people ask for it on Twitter, so I'm sure everyone is very excited. This year, we are changing things up a bit. The Pick 'Em contest is going eliminator. Not sure what that means? Hit the jump for an explanation and this week's picks.
How it works
Each week you will pick one team to win outright. If that team wins, you get a W. If they lose, you get an L. You are only allowed to pick each team one time, however. So Oregon beating Arkansas State may seem pretty tempting, but you know Oregon is probably going to win a bunch of other games this year. Do you want to waste your pick on them in Week One?
Teams
We will be playing this for 14 weeks so we have selected a list of 20 teams to pick from. These include all Mountain West teams as well as a selection of regional teams and, for those who love making bad decisions, Idaho.
Boise State | Air Force | Fresno State | Hawaii | Nevada |
New Mexico | San Diego State | UNLV | Wyoming | Idaho |
TCU | BYU | Utah | Louisiana Tech | Utah State |
Washington | Washington State | Oregon | Oregon State | Stanford |
This Week's Games
There are a total of 18 17 teams to pick from this week. TCU is on a bye and Louisiana Tech and Oregon State's games were postponed. Here's the schedule:
- (24) Boise State at (13) Michigan State
- Air Force vs. Idaho State
- Fresno State vs. Weber State
- Hawaii at (1) USC
- Nevada at California
- New Mexico vs. Southern
- San Diego State at Washington
- UNLV vs. Minnesota
- Wyoming at (15) Texas
- Idaho vs. Eastern Washington
TCU -- BYE- BYU vs. Washington State
- Utah vs. Northern Colorado
Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M-- POSTPONED- Utah State vs. Southern Utah
- Washington vs. San Diego State
- Washington State vs. BYU
- Oregon vs. Arkansas State
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Oregon State vs. Nicholls State - Stanford vs. San Jose State
See some winners there? Of course you do. Here's the one that I'm taking to the bank:
UTAH over Northern Colorado
I'm taking the layup here. I have no clue who is good and who isn't starting the season so I'm just trying to get on the board here. Some are picking Utah as a sleeper team this year, but I think there could be a possibility that they could drop a few in conference so I'm more than happy to cross them off my board early.
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Kevan:
AIR FORCE over Idaho State
The Falcons lose as many or more from last year's team as Boise State does, which will probably mean they will lose more games than usual this season. I don't want to go wrong with them down the line, so I'm going to go right with them here, versus Idaho State, who last time I checked was neither good nor FBS caliber.
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Drew:
STANFORD over San Jose State
They're playing San José State—need I say more? Okay, I will. Andrew Luck or no, SJSU has definitely lost whatever swagger they might have ever had and lost last year's opener against Stanford 57-3. This one is a lock. And who schedules road away games against the same team two years in a row? Oh...Gene Bleymaier is there now—nevermind.
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Wanna play?
The OBNUG Eliminator challenge is open to anyone and everyone who knows how to use a Google document or begs us really hard in the comments to use a Google document for them.
Enter your weekly pick into the Eliminator form.
One big rule: You can't pick the same team twice.
Additional rules are 1) don't cheat and screw with the spreadsheet, 2) make your picks before your game starts, 3) keep playing as long as you want after you pick wrong. All other rules are meaningless to the extent that I cannot remember them now.
Winner gets a free Deuce Brand watch.
Pick. Survive. Gloat. Enjoy.