Sports Then and Now

What do a Buckeye, a Sooner and a Hokie have in common?  They all lost last weekend and ruined Zultan’s life!  The mighty seer expected so much more – like a victory!  Now the mighty one lives in torment as nine bested the exalted soothsayer, leaving him shrouded in shame.

Last week Zultan was 7 for 10 or 70 percent – do you get this percentage stuff yet?  On the season – the all-seeing one climbs to 47 of 61 or 77 percent to date.

Phooey on amateurs is all Zultan says as he readies his magnificent mind for the impossible week ahead.  This is where we separate the men from the boys, the bad from the ugly – the dazed from the confused. Get ready to rumble because Zultan is charged, firing on all mental cylinders.

Do you feel favored enough to pit your puny predicting powers against Zultan – Big 10 Seer for the ages?  Time to take your turn at the big wheel…
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Zultan the magnificent almost achieved nirvana this past weekend, missing the promised objective because the Aggies failed to live up to their promise to shoot down the Cowboys.  Texas A&M came so close – but failed in the end.  The Oklahoma State Cowboys managed to circle the wagons and hold off the ensuing attack by the retro rural ones…Zultan never forgives these disappointments.

I was told by my exalted group leader that two persons actually achieved perfection on the day, picking 10 for 10.  They must have offered more than the penny-pinching Zultan can afford.  Such is the fate of poverty-stricken fortune tellers – no grease for the wheel when you need it.

Zultan was 9 for 10 or 90 percent if you failed math.  On the season – the all-seeing one climbs to 40 of 51 or 78 percent to date.

This week is the real test – the extreme challenge – the make ’em or break ’em Saturday.  Is this the week you feel lucky?  Well do ya? Lucky enough to pit your puny predicting powers against Zultan – Big 10 Seer for the ages?  Time to step up and take a whirl…
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It may not have been flashy, but the Florida Gators won a hard-fought game at LSU to remain undefeated.

After weeks of positioning, this was the week where the real contenders and pretenders started to weed themselves out. With a number of big games between contenders over the next few weeks, you can see the national championship picture starting to clear itself up as we head toward November.

Is it about Style or Substance, or Both?
It was very interesting to watch the different ways the top three teams in the college football rankings earned their victories this weekend.

The top ranked and defending champion Florida Gators were very methodical and workmanlike in their victory at LSU. Even though we all know that LSU is a dangerous team and playing a night game in Baton Rouge is usually a huge advantage for the home team, the Gators seemed to never really be in danger of losing the

game.

However, their 13-3 victory may be perfectly fine in the NFL where it is all about wins and losses and moving on towards the playoffs and Super Bowl. But, in college football many take such a low scoring win as a sign of weakness.

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Zultan promises to lay off the grain alcohol after tanking last week, scoring only six out of 10 or 60 percent.

Overall, Zultan comes in at 77 percent, 24 of 31.  Miami and the Cal Bears cost Zultan mightily while the Iowa win pleased him even though Zultan chickened out and picked favored Penn State.  Northwestern also sorely disappointed the soggy seer whose rain-soaked teams seemed to lay down and drown.

This week Zultan finds the road difficult.  Home wins are favored. To keep the magic number at 10,  Zultan has added four contests outside the Big 10.  Join in the fun – pit your puny predicting powers against Zultan—Big 10 Seer for the ages…

(1) Arkansas State @ Iowa
This no-brainer is just what Zultan needs after last week.  Iowa will win this one at home after drying out the gold and black uniforms and practicing hanging onto those Ricky Stanzi passes.  After upsetting Penn State 21-10 last week on the road, the Hawkeyes will need to cement their new ranking with a solid win at home.  The Iowa faithful will welcome the guys home in grand style and watch the Hawkeyes win their fifth in a row.
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Virginia Tech ended Miami's brief foray into the top 10 with a dominating 31-7 victory.

One of the early themes of the 2009 college football season has been the revivals demonstrated by a number of programs that had struggled in recent years, but gave indications early in this season that they were ready for a return to prominence.

Some, like Florida State, Miami and Michigan were looking to return to their one-time place among the national elite while others, including California, Mississippi and North Carolina, seemed poised to enter the national championship conversation for the first time in generations.

Well, I guess revivals aren’t what they used to be. Many of those teams were soundly defeated, some by lesser competition, and all struggled on the last weekend of September.

The poster child early this season for the theme of returning to prominence has been the University of Miami. Following impressive victories over Florida State and Georgia Tech, many well-respected national college football “experts” were gushing over how the “U” was back in the national picture. In fact, they went from being unranked at the start of the season to ranked 9th nationally after just two games.

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Daniel Murray celebrates his game-winning kick that stunned Penn State in 2008.

Last year on November 8, 2008, the perfect Penn State Nittany Lions came calling at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City hoping to secure a shot at the national championship as one of the teams in the creme de la creme BCS Bowl in Miami.

Unfortunately for them the Iowa Hawkeyes had another scenario in mind.

The Nittany Lions needed this victory to continue the season undefeated.  Penn State was already grumbling  about the possibility of not receiving the call to play in Miami even if they were undefeated at the end of the season.
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