Tag Archives: Brian Kelly

Fresh off our "Mascot Wars Bracket Challenge", we now bring yet another weekly opportunity for you to win a FREE Original Retro Brand T-Shirt.  Our newest contest will simply be called ORB'S College Football "High 5" Contest.  Simple name for a simple contest.  And this is how it will work....

1) Each Tuesday I will preview 5 of the most compelling College Football Match-ups for the upcoming weekend (except for this week as I will be making my picks for today below), and offer my expertise, or more commonly lack thereof, as to who will win & why, along with a predicted final score.

2) Contestants will e-mail in their picks for the same 5 games to me, and the person that beats me and/or the person who picks the most games correctly (no point spreads, straight up wins and losses) will win a FREE Original Retro Brand t-shirt of their choice. In the event of a tie, we will have a drawing to determine the final winner.  Send your picks to me at andyphyman@gmail.com no later than kickoff of the first scheduled game to be counted!

3) I will announce the winner each Tuesday following the weekend's games with the upcoming new picks on the blog.  In addition to the FREE ORB T-shirt, the winner will also receive an imaginary heartfelt High- 5!

Here are the picks for this week, and I don't believe there are any more compelling than these "High-5"!

GAME 1: # 22 Georgia @ # 24 South Carolina - The Gamecocks & QB Stephen Garcia looked impressive in their home opener against Southern Miss, while my beloved DAWGS and true freshman QB Aaron Murray, looked equally impressive in their home opener against a weak Ragin' Cajuns club.  The Bulldogs visit as road-dogs, having won 7 of their last 8 vs. the Cocks, including 4 straight in Columbia, and I say they make it 5 in this SEC classic.  GEORGIA - 24, SOUTH CAROLINA - 21.

GAME 2: # 12 Miami @ # 2 Ohio State - I love Miami QB Jacory Harris, and the Canes are my early favorite to take the ACC title, but Terrelle Pryor is equally as lovable, and won't be denied at the Shoe.  Miami may cover the 9.5 spread, but Ohio State will win this game.  OHIO STATE - 35, MIAMI - 28.

GAME 3: # 17 Florida State @ # 10 Oklahoma - The Sooners are basking (just a little) in the glow of their week # 1 win - the teams 800th of all-time, and I see # 801 coming against what will be a tough Florida State Seminole team.  FSU QB Christian Ponder will not fare as well against OU, as he did against Samford last week.  Jimbo Fisher suffers first tough loss as new head coach in a nail biter.  OKLAHOMA - 33, FLORIDA STATE - 30.

GAME 4: # 18 Penn State @ # 1 Alabama - Upset special?  Nah.  I love Jo-Pa and Nittany Lion wideout Brett Brackett, but BAMA is flat out loaded.  I don't think true frosh QB Robert Bolden will handle the pressure at Tuscaloosa.  It's highly likely that last year's Heisman winner Mark Ingram will not see action again on Saturday, but it won't matter.  Senior QB Greg McElroy and Trent Richardson will lead the Tide to victory - a BIG victory. ALABAMA - 32, PENN STATE -14.

GAME 5: Michigan @ Notre Dame - No ranked teams here, but hugely compelling none the less.  "Rookie" Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has a nice win over Purdue under his belt, and the Irish are looking to avenge last year's painful loss to Big Blue (came back from 11 points down in 4th qtr., only to yield winning score with 11 seconds on the clock).  On the other side you have coach Rich Rodriguez with a big win over a very tough Connecticut team in the Wolverine home opener.  Despite the victory, Rodriguez is on the hot seat EVERY week this season, and a 2-0 start will certainly take much of that heat off.  It ain't coming off.  I'm going with "The Luck of The Irish" as well as the pundits in Vegas on this one.  NOTRE DAME - 24, MICHIGAN - 20.

So there you have it folks.  My High-5 picks for this week.  Wanna win a FREE ORB shirt? Then again, e-mail your winners to me at andyphyman@gmail.com, enjoy the action, and check back next Monday to see how you did.

PARTING FYI'S: Tomorrow I'll be posting my "5 Questions with..." interview with  Heisman Trophy Winner & Michigan Wolverine, Desmond Howard - You can also catch the Green Bay Packer Super Bowl MVP covering the BAMA-Penn State game for ESPN's College Gameday this Saturday as well (the "white-out" commercial is hilarious)......45 folks have taken our poll "Who is your early season favorite to win the College Football BCS Championship this year?" so far, and not one vote for the still disrespected Boise State Broncos? What's up with that? (poll is lower right)......Another ORB contest challenging your knowledge of your school campus will be popping up soon, so keep your eye out for that, and yes, you can win FREE ORB gear in this contest too...Happy Rosh Hashanah to our Jewish friends today!.......This Saturday's action will surely be more emotional than normal, as it will be the 9 year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

FOR GREAT DEALS, CONTESTS, AND FUN FROM THE ORIGINAL RETRO BRAND,  BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER.

With each couple of Bowl games played, a new staffer on a hot streak in the 12 BOWLS OF CHRISTMAS contest emerges.  After losing his first 4 picks, ORB CFO Rick Schwartz reeled off 5 straight wins before the Miami Hurricanes got man-handled by Wisconsin last night in the Champs Sports Bowl.  The latest  to catch fire is ORB marketing guru Cassidy Moore (pictured right of the gentleman), who has won 4 straight, after being the lone employee to pick the Badgers to win last night.  Meanwhile, I have lost 3 of my last 4 (You killed me Temple!) and feel the heat from the ORB Arizona Alumni triumvirate!  Word on the street is that Marc, Rick, and Cassidy, will all be in San Diego tonight to watch the Holiday Bowl featuring Arizona and Nebraska (I've got the Huskers!).  Here are the updated standings:

Andy 7-3         Cassidy 6-4         Marc 5-5         Rick 5-5

With all the hoopla surrounding the Urban Meyer resignation, non-resignation, leave of absence nonsense (actually made Tiger Woods a footnote for a few days!), and the Tim Tebow era at Florida coming to an and chatter, AND former Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly headed to Notre Dame chatter, the media in its lust to make a big story a behemoth of a story, has forgotten about something:  THE CINCINNATI BEARCATS ARE 12-0, AND WILL BEAT THE FLORIDA GATORS IN THE SUGAR BOWL! Now that will be a behemoth of a story. Bearcats - 35, Gators - 18. (Marc, Cassidy & Rick all have Florida & I'm home alone with Cincy)

The Grandaddy of them all features the Oregon Ducks versus the Ohio State Buckeyes.  The last time these teams met in the Rose Bowl was 1958, and Oregon quarterback Jack Crabtree won the Outstanding Player of the game award in a losing cause, as the Buckeyes were outplayed in every aspect of the game, but still managed to win 10-7.  The Ohio State defense has been stellar this year, but Oregon will outplay the Buckeyes again, and this time they will win behind Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli & freshman running back LaMichael James.  Ducks - 21, Buckeyes - 20. (All staff picking Oregon)

Have to feel for Bobby Bowden this year.  He really doesn't deserve the beating he's taken from the press and fans, after being such a positive force for Florida State and college football for the past 50+ years (388-129-4 record!).  Will have to add a little more sympathy after West Virginia caps another beat down on the Seminoles in the Gator Bowl, at the hands of senior quarterback Jarrett Brown.  The Mountaineers put together a solid season, while FSU was plain lousy.  Sorry Bobby.  West Virginia - 28, FSU - 13. (Cassidy on her own with FSU pick)

While we are discussing legendary coaches, Joe Paterno (393-129-3!) put such chatter of his demise to bed a few years back by winning 50 games (13 losses) since going 4-7 in 2004.  The Penn State Nittany Lions go into the Capital One Bowl versus the LSU Tigers boasting one of the strongest defenses in the country.  Meanwhile, LSU has been very inconsistent running and passing all year.  It's weird that I am a complete SEC snob, yet I have Florida AND LSU losing?  Penn State - 24, LSU - 17. (All by myself in picking Penn State)

And now we can add Auburn to the list......The Tigers lost their last 2 games of the season, while the Northwestern Wildcats stunned Big-Ten rivals # 4 Iowa with a victory, and then finished off their schedule with a huge win over Wisconsin.  Big "Mo" is with the 'Cats in the Outback Bowl.  Northwestern - 23, Auburn - 21. (All by myself again picking Northwestern)

Enjoy the action tonight, and please check back tomorrow for more picks.