Well, well, well… I can’t tell you all how much pleasure I take in announcing the DumbAss awards this week. Some only receive this award because they pick against Penn State for superstition’s sake… and therefore they really aren’t all that much of a dumbass… but there are others, some who have never picked before, who apparently felt obligated to pile on a bit after the loss to Minnesota, and to get the guts up to pick against us, and as such, they’re the true Das this week (for first time pickers, this is meant with a huge grain of salt, it’s all in fun). Of course, I think each and every one of them accepts this award with much glee and happiness because we all know they wanted Penn State to win. I listened to the game, our D wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be, but we did not lose and in the end, that’s all that counts (caveat, I know how we play matters, no need to jump in with negative comments, I heard the weaknesses this past weekend, too) . Without further ado, here’s this week’s biggest DumbAsses:
No. 1: @Diesel3375 with a prediction of Indiana 31 Penn State 24… I know @Diesel3375 did not want to be right so I’m happy he wasn’t, as is he.
No. 2: @db90 had Indiana beating us 34-30… another member who I’m certain is happy to win this award this week.
No. 3: @Donn(PSU 80) took Indy to win 31-27 but stated clearly in his post he hoped he’d be wrong- hey @Donn (PSU 80), you got your wish and we’re all happy you did. Tough, though, when your first pick is for the opponent rather than the team you’re actually pulling for.
No. 4: @WhiteOutU thought we’d lose 27-23 but like the others mentioned above and below, the pick was wrong.
NO. 5: @bdur76 hasn’t posted much lately but has been very active this past week, guess you were just waiting for the opportunity to call out the program… to your credit, you put your money where your keyboard was this past week and predicted we’d lose 35-32. Congrats on your first pick landing you on the DA list this week.
And
No. 6: @nattynitt who felt we’d lose 34-31 to the Hoosiers. The pick landed you here and I’d bet you’re glad it did.
Now on to the folks who continued to believe in our team. There were only 60 picks logged so obviously a lot of folks were scared off by the Minny result. This week’s biggest winner is @furrdogg_a_yahoo.com with a pick of Penn State winning 35-27. A few others nailed the point spread but @furrdogg_a_yahoo.com was only off by a mere point on the final score. High honors also go to @Lion10 (31-24); @MontereyLion (38-31) and @lions#1 (24-17). All 3 predicted we’d win by 7, nice job guys. Our final prognosticator who deserves mention this week was @BrianS as he called for a 6 point victory for the Nittany Lions, 27-21.
There were 10 members who were within 3 points of the final margin of victory, either predicting a Penn State win by 10 or by 4 points. While too numerous to mention, congrats to each of you as well for coming close to the actual final outcome.
With that all out of the way, on to the biggest game of the year. Our Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to face the nearly invincible Ohio State Buckeyes. I’d love to say I’m optimistic for an upset; I’d love to say that I think we’ll beat O$U; I’d love to say that at the very least, we will make it a competitive contest… but with much regret, I cannot say any of that. My heart wants me to pick our Lions but my head says this upcoming weekend trip is going to be anything but enjoyable. What I’m hoping for is some success, some minor victories, and for us to at least put up a few points and make the final score respectable. I mean, Rutgers put up 21, right? … so the final score prediction? Regrettably, O$U 42 Penn State 17. You all don’t know how much it pained me to make that prediction but I have to listen to my head on this one, not my heart… God knows, I want to be wrong so badly I can’t even put it into words. My apologies to all those who expected better of me this week. Fwiw, part of my prediction is based upon no Hamler, if he plays, it might make a difference in the final score but the winner, sadly, will still be O$U.
How about the rest of you, is there anyone out there who thinks we’ll beat the Buckeyes at their place this upcoming Saturday? I hope so, I hope someone will take the chance and will ultimately be right but being a “realist” (not often I’m accused of that hahaha), I just don’t see it. The secondary played a bit better at times, but not good enough; the defensive line was a bit better, but not good enough to deal with O$U; and our offense still sputters entirely too much for my liking. If Hamler and Cain are healthy, maybe it will be a little closer but regardless, I just think O$U is the better team, especially at home.
Now it’s your turn to make your pick, whacha think?
No. 1: @Diesel3375 with a prediction of Indiana 31 Penn State 24… I know @Diesel3375 did not want to be right so I’m happy he wasn’t, as is he.
No. 2: @db90 had Indiana beating us 34-30… another member who I’m certain is happy to win this award this week.
No. 3: @Donn(PSU 80) took Indy to win 31-27 but stated clearly in his post he hoped he’d be wrong- hey @Donn (PSU 80), you got your wish and we’re all happy you did. Tough, though, when your first pick is for the opponent rather than the team you’re actually pulling for.
No. 4: @WhiteOutU thought we’d lose 27-23 but like the others mentioned above and below, the pick was wrong.
NO. 5: @bdur76 hasn’t posted much lately but has been very active this past week, guess you were just waiting for the opportunity to call out the program… to your credit, you put your money where your keyboard was this past week and predicted we’d lose 35-32. Congrats on your first pick landing you on the DA list this week.
And
No. 6: @nattynitt who felt we’d lose 34-31 to the Hoosiers. The pick landed you here and I’d bet you’re glad it did.
Now on to the folks who continued to believe in our team. There were only 60 picks logged so obviously a lot of folks were scared off by the Minny result. This week’s biggest winner is @furrdogg_a_yahoo.com with a pick of Penn State winning 35-27. A few others nailed the point spread but @furrdogg_a_yahoo.com was only off by a mere point on the final score. High honors also go to @Lion10 (31-24); @MontereyLion (38-31) and @lions#1 (24-17). All 3 predicted we’d win by 7, nice job guys. Our final prognosticator who deserves mention this week was @BrianS as he called for a 6 point victory for the Nittany Lions, 27-21.
There were 10 members who were within 3 points of the final margin of victory, either predicting a Penn State win by 10 or by 4 points. While too numerous to mention, congrats to each of you as well for coming close to the actual final outcome.
With that all out of the way, on to the biggest game of the year. Our Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to face the nearly invincible Ohio State Buckeyes. I’d love to say I’m optimistic for an upset; I’d love to say that I think we’ll beat O$U; I’d love to say that at the very least, we will make it a competitive contest… but with much regret, I cannot say any of that. My heart wants me to pick our Lions but my head says this upcoming weekend trip is going to be anything but enjoyable. What I’m hoping for is some success, some minor victories, and for us to at least put up a few points and make the final score respectable. I mean, Rutgers put up 21, right? … so the final score prediction? Regrettably, O$U 42 Penn State 17. You all don’t know how much it pained me to make that prediction but I have to listen to my head on this one, not my heart… God knows, I want to be wrong so badly I can’t even put it into words. My apologies to all those who expected better of me this week. Fwiw, part of my prediction is based upon no Hamler, if he plays, it might make a difference in the final score but the winner, sadly, will still be O$U.
How about the rest of you, is there anyone out there who thinks we’ll beat the Buckeyes at their place this upcoming Saturday? I hope so, I hope someone will take the chance and will ultimately be right but being a “realist” (not often I’m accused of that hahaha), I just don’t see it. The secondary played a bit better at times, but not good enough; the defensive line was a bit better, but not good enough to deal with O$U; and our offense still sputters entirely too much for my liking. If Hamler and Cain are healthy, maybe it will be a little closer but regardless, I just think O$U is the better team, especially at home.
Now it’s your turn to make your pick, whacha think?
