Sports Then and Now

Zultan's last college football forecast for the regular season.

Here we are at long last at the end of the season.

All the questions we had in September have been answered, for the most part. Some teams exceeded expectations while others fell short.

Most of the perennial favorites remained where they always reside––at the top.

For Week 12, Zultan failed three times––at Iowa, Nebraska and Miami. Miami lost by two touchdowns and Iowa and Nebraska, each by three points.  Besides sharing a border, the Hawkeyes and Huskers shared mutual pain as time ticked down irrevocably on their season.

A dozen did better than Zultan and guest prognosticator, Craig Bancroft. These prophetic soothsayers will be listed at the end of the article along with appropriate kudos.

Be sure to click here to match wits with Zultan himself for the last time in this regular season finale.

As the 2010 regular season fades into the history books, it is time to look forward to Bowl Season. It promises to be another sizzler.

But in the meantime let us look at lucky Week 13 picks:

Game 1: (24) Iowa at Minnesota

After another devastating loss to one of the big guys in the Big Ten, Iowa (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) heads north to play the Minnesota Gophers (2-9, 1-6, Big Ten) at TCM Stadium in Minneapolis.

The Gophers finally won a Big Ten game on the road at Illinois.

Buoyed, Minnesota will be looking forward to a disheartened Iowa team sitting on their doorstep, poised for another loss.

Iowa, however, after suffering through a two-game losing skid, will be on a mission to end their season on a positive note by defeating the Gophers on the road.

Hopefully, the end result for the Hawkeyes will lead to another great Bowl game someplace warmer than chilly Iowa City.

Pick  Iowa

Read the rest of this entry →

Last week was not a good week to be a college football prognosticator.

Nine of the BSC Top 25 lost in Week 10.

In addition, two top ranked teams, Iowa and Nebraska were one play away from losing, but hung on to win against lower ranked teams who played more effective football for the better part of the game.

The reality of college football hit home last Saturday, underscoring that parity means there are no easy wins for any program, ranked or not.

No football team is guaranteed a win on any given Saturday. That is what makes college football so exciting to fans, players and the media.

It is also why the legion of sage soothsayers wear turbans––bald from pulling out their hair week after week.

This week offers another slate of critical clashes as another guest prognosticator Ryan Sparrow steps up to the plate to take a whack at Zultan’s appointed task––picking winners in Week 11.  Last week’s prognosticator Phillip Murphy suffered from near-miss syndrome which sent fifteen of you to the head of the class.  The list as well as the accompanying accolades are included at the conclusion of this article.

Be sure to click here to make your picks for Week 11––your opportunity to enjoy praise and prizes if you outguess the Mighty Zultan’s stand-in.  With less than a month remaining in the regular season, the chances for glory grow dimmer.  Take a chance now and join in the fun.

Read the rest of this entry →