Sports Then and Now

Oh, the humanity! Zultan came within nine points of perfection, deceived by a dyslexic tremor on the crystal ball surface causing the big Z an unfortunate number reversal.

The Ohio State Buckeyes won by one slim point while Arizona missed by three points against visitors Oregon State—at home no less.

Finally the all-seeing seer failed to unveil the final 30-second comeback win for the Longhorns—41-36 over the hapless Cowboys of Oklahoma State.

Nine points in total for the three losses.

The result was that 18 of you surpassed Fearless Zultan’s predictions for Week 5.

You will all be listed at the end of this article along with obligatory salutations and appropriate accolades.

The good news, of course, is that the Hawkeyes won, defeating the Minnesota Gophers  at homecoming in Iowa City.

Mom is humming now, baking pumpkin pies and turning cartwheels in the backyard. Iowa is off next week so there will be at least two weeks of unsullied sanity in the Zultan household.

Other than Iowa and Minnesota, the rest of the Big Ten is in action with Michigan back after their loss at Notre Dame in week 4.

Only three Big Ten teams are now ranked—Ohio State at No. 12, Nebraska at No. 21 with Northwestern moving into the No. 24 spot.

Besides the Big Ten, there are also some compelling SEC, PAC 12 and Big 12 match-ups in week 6.

If  you want another piece of the action—just make your picks and we will see whether you can outguess the Fearless One equipped with his new and improved crystal ball.

Week 6 is the next installment in Zultan’s 2012 quest for prognosticating perfection.

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Zultan returns for the 2012 season.

No way Zultan wanted to wake up for this season. The Big Ten is spiraling down the proverbial drain and leading the way are Mom’s Iowa Hawkeyes who tripped and fell during their “bend but don’t break” defensive stand at the end of their “game” against Central Michigan.

As a world famous prognosticator, you go to into hibernation for a few months and when you wake up, the whole college football landscape has shifted. Missouri and Texas A & M are members of the SEC—what were they thinking? West Virginia moved out west into Big 12  cattle country? Where is the logic there?

It seems to me that some of these teams are going to spending all their profits on air-fare.

It was bad enough when Nebraska came on board in the Big Ten, but at least they are next door to Iowa where they share a natural enmity with the Hawkeyes as river rivals.

The good thing in week No. 5 is that the non-conference portion of the year is breathing its last. The Big Ten can stop suffering embarrassment in isolation, falling to teams who should not be winning against the legendary Big Ten.

What happened to the “patsies” or “cupcakes” we were accustomed to running over during the first four weeks? Didn’t anybody get the message about the MAC Conference. They are too good—scratch them from the Big Ten non-conference schedule immediately.

Now, at least the “Legends” and “Leaders” can play teams they can defeat—their brothers in the the Big Ten.

So, fellow fans of the “hail Mary,” this is the start of the 2012 football season, Zultan’s fourth run at prognosticating college football fortunes highlighting the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Big Ten Conference and other Saturday games worthy of my penetrating insight.

You want a piece of the action—just make your picks here and we will see mano y mano who is the best at predicting winners in upcoming week No. 5 in college football, season 2012. Or as Zultan calls it—the year of the big, bad Big Ten fall.

Results listing the superior prognosticators—those who surpass Zultan in picking the winners in the ten games featured in week 5—will be posted in next week’s article, asssuming Zultan survives another tumultuous weekend of Big Ten action and Mom’s cooking if the Hawkeyes lose again.

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