Going streaking
Nick Gourdoux and Frank Pellegrino
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Sports
Frank: After a sub-par performance two weeks ago, I wasn't entirely sure how last week would go for me. I was able to do much better, predicting four of five correctly, including all four of the UW-Eau Claire results. For the national contest I picked the Minnesota Twins, who I don't even like, for the first time in my life, and it prevented me from having a perfect prediction week. That's the last time I ever pick them again for anything. Seriously. Along with going four of five I brought my overall prediction percentage up from .600 to .700. Finally, and most importantly, as I am continuing to improve my co-editor continues to worsen as I leave him in my dust.
Nick: Last week Frank pulled ahead of me with four accurate predictions to my two … he must have cheated somehow. I was wrong in predicting that the volleyball team would record more than 45 kills in three or more matches last weekend and I was wrong in predicting that the football team would record less than 320 yards of offense. Both of us, however, failed to predict the outcome of the Twins-Blue Jays game from last Thursday, which prevented Frank from predicting the perfect week. Here's a prediction I feel pretty confident about: Frank will be bragging about this all week. I need to regain some ground.
Golf - Who will finish higher in their tournament this weekend? (A) Women's Golf (B) Men's Golf or tie
Frank: The women's team placed second in consecutive tournaments and have high expectations this year. The men didn't finish poorly in their lone tournament (third), but I still don't see them edging out the women. Not to mention, I picked the women's team last week and they came through for me. How can I go against that? My vote: Women's golf
Nick: This is actually a repeat question from last week, but since there are only four teams playing this week, I figured we should try to incorporate them all again. Last week, this was one of the few predictions I got right when I took the women's golf team over the men's. Despite the fact that the men finished a respectable third out of 14 teams, I'm going to stick with my pick from last week. My vote: Women's golf
Soccer - Who will score first? (A) UW-Eau Claire (B) UW-Stout or neither team
Frank: I've seen the Blugold soccer team in person this year and they come out fast. They have scored first in all but one of their games, and have scored by the 8th minute in two of them. UW-Stout has had close scores in all their matches this season, but they are still struggling at 0-4. On top of that, Stout is still yet to score a goal, making this an easy one. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Nick: The soccer team had high expectations entering the season, so their 1-2-1 start is a bit of a disappointment. I've decided to simply go with my gut on this one, though, and predict that the team will return to last year's form and score before UW-Stout. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Football - Who will win this matchup? (A) UW-Eau Claire (B) Hope College (Mich.)
Frank: Eau Claire is 1-1 and coming off a loss but I don't see it affecting them. They battled back twice in their loss and were just six yards away from tying the game again in the final seconds. Hope College has two losses to open the season and got crushed by the Blugolds last season 28-6. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Nick: The Flying Dutchmen of Hope College enter the game after losing their first two game after a 3-7 season a year ago. I think the Blugolds will be able to rebound from the 27-35 loss to St. John's (Minn.) a year ago to take this one. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Volleyball - How many service aces will the Blugolds against UW-Platteville? (A) 4 or fewer (B) 5 or more
Frank: UW-Platteville is just 3-4 on the year while the Blugolds are an impressive 9-1, which leads me to believe they are far superior. Furthermore, in 10 matches this year the volleyball team has averaged 5.8 service aces per match, well over the 5 mark. My vote: 5 or more
Nick: The team low for aces in a match this year is three, and the high is 12. Still, in six of the team's 10 matches this season they've recorded four or fewer aces. Despite that fact, the team is averaging 5.8 aces per game, so when it rains it pours. My vote: Five or more
National - Who will win this matchup? (A) #14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ (B) #20 Miami (Fl.) Hurricanes
Frank: Last year the Yellow Jackets trounced the Hurricanes 41-23 and were able to put up 472 yards on the ground alone. Georgia Tech still boasts one of the strongest running games in the country, but Miami counters that with one of the best passing games. Although Miami's defense struggled against Florida St. last weekend, they are still much improved since that pounding at Georgia Tech last year. The game is at Miami, and I see the Hurricanes trying to establish themselves as a legitimate national contender. My vote: Miami
Nick: As I mentioned in the first edition of Going Streaking, I don't know much about division I college football. I lucked out then when Boise State won, but I still have no confidence in my ability to pick these games - and I think that played a part in Frank's decision to choose this question. I'm going to go with Tech Yellow Jackets simply because they are the higher ranked team. My vote: Georgia Tech
Nick: Last week Frank pulled ahead of me with four accurate predictions to my two … he must have cheated somehow. I was wrong in predicting that the volleyball team would record more than 45 kills in three or more matches last weekend and I was wrong in predicting that the football team would record less than 320 yards of offense. Both of us, however, failed to predict the outcome of the Twins-Blue Jays game from last Thursday, which prevented Frank from predicting the perfect week. Here's a prediction I feel pretty confident about: Frank will be bragging about this all week. I need to regain some ground.
Golf - Who will finish higher in their tournament this weekend? (A) Women's Golf (B) Men's Golf or tie
Frank: The women's team placed second in consecutive tournaments and have high expectations this year. The men didn't finish poorly in their lone tournament (third), but I still don't see them edging out the women. Not to mention, I picked the women's team last week and they came through for me. How can I go against that? My vote: Women's golf
Nick: This is actually a repeat question from last week, but since there are only four teams playing this week, I figured we should try to incorporate them all again. Last week, this was one of the few predictions I got right when I took the women's golf team over the men's. Despite the fact that the men finished a respectable third out of 14 teams, I'm going to stick with my pick from last week. My vote: Women's golf
Soccer - Who will score first? (A) UW-Eau Claire (B) UW-Stout or neither team
Frank: I've seen the Blugold soccer team in person this year and they come out fast. They have scored first in all but one of their games, and have scored by the 8th minute in two of them. UW-Stout has had close scores in all their matches this season, but they are still struggling at 0-4. On top of that, Stout is still yet to score a goal, making this an easy one. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Nick: The soccer team had high expectations entering the season, so their 1-2-1 start is a bit of a disappointment. I've decided to simply go with my gut on this one, though, and predict that the team will return to last year's form and score before UW-Stout. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Football - Who will win this matchup? (A) UW-Eau Claire (B) Hope College (Mich.)
Frank: Eau Claire is 1-1 and coming off a loss but I don't see it affecting them. They battled back twice in their loss and were just six yards away from tying the game again in the final seconds. Hope College has two losses to open the season and got crushed by the Blugolds last season 28-6. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Nick: The Flying Dutchmen of Hope College enter the game after losing their first two game after a 3-7 season a year ago. I think the Blugolds will be able to rebound from the 27-35 loss to St. John's (Minn.) a year ago to take this one. My vote: UW-Eau Claire
Volleyball - How many service aces will the Blugolds against UW-Platteville? (A) 4 or fewer (B) 5 or more
Frank: UW-Platteville is just 3-4 on the year while the Blugolds are an impressive 9-1, which leads me to believe they are far superior. Furthermore, in 10 matches this year the volleyball team has averaged 5.8 service aces per match, well over the 5 mark. My vote: 5 or more
Nick: The team low for aces in a match this year is three, and the high is 12. Still, in six of the team's 10 matches this season they've recorded four or fewer aces. Despite that fact, the team is averaging 5.8 aces per game, so when it rains it pours. My vote: Five or more
National - Who will win this matchup? (A) #14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ (B) #20 Miami (Fl.) Hurricanes
Frank: Last year the Yellow Jackets trounced the Hurricanes 41-23 and were able to put up 472 yards on the ground alone. Georgia Tech still boasts one of the strongest running games in the country, but Miami counters that with one of the best passing games. Although Miami's defense struggled against Florida St. last weekend, they are still much improved since that pounding at Georgia Tech last year. The game is at Miami, and I see the Hurricanes trying to establish themselves as a legitimate national contender. My vote: Miami
Nick: As I mentioned in the first edition of Going Streaking, I don't know much about division I college football. I lucked out then when Boise State won, but I still have no confidence in my ability to pick these games - and I think that played a part in Frank's decision to choose this question. I'm going to go with Tech Yellow Jackets simply because they are the higher ranked team. My vote: Georgia Tech
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