CU:Independent Pick 'Em (CU Independent/Beth Schonberger)
Championship Week did not disappoint.
Seven conference championships were on the line in college football this week and five were decided by seven points or less. Consider the following:
• No. 7 Oregon needed running back LeGarrette Blount to play in his first game since being suspended for punching a Boise State player in the season-opener to rally from a 9-point deficit in a 37-33 win over No. 16 Oregon State in the Civil War.
• No. 5 Cincinnati trailed by as much as 21, but fought back and beat No. 15 Pittsburgh 45-44 thanks to a botched extra-point attempt by the Panthers followed by a Tony Pike to Armon Binns 29-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds remaining.
• East Carolina upset No. 21 Houston 38-32 when Cougars quarterback Case Keenum’s game-winning touchdown pass was deflected and intercepted by Van Eskridge with 42 seconds left.
• No. 10 Georgia Tech came out on top in a back-and-forth affair as running back Jonathan Dwyer’s 15-yard touchdown run with 1:20 to go propelled the Yellow Jackets to a 39-34 victory.
• In the most dramatic ending of the day, No. 3 Texas staved off No. 22 Nebraska’s upset bid when Longhorns kicker Hunter Lawrence nailed a 46-yard field goal as time expired to give Texas a 13-12 win.
Here at the CU Independent, the final week of the CU Independent Pick’em college football picks went down to the wire between staff writer Chris King and our weekly guest pickers.
King and the season’s final guest picker, Doug Looney, a 1963 CU graduate, former Sports Illustrated senior writer and an adjunct professor at CU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, picked the same winners for all but one game – the SEC Championship Game between the No. 1 Florida Gators vs. No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. King prevailed as he and the Crimson Tide spanked the Gators 32-13.
Congratulations to King for being the 2009 CU:I Pick’em winner after he started the season 6-10.
Special thanks to Troy Renck, Corey Jones, Brian Fox, Russell Cunningham, Matt Hanlon, Lucas Brandl, Alex Wilson, Leslie Fox, David Merrell, Kyle Gersper, Amanda Blackwell, Ashley McConnell and Doug Looney for participating as a weekly guest picker.
Here are the final standings for the 2009 CU:I Pick’em:
Chris King — staff writer — Overall: 68-36, Last week 6-2
Guest pickers this season — Overall: 66-38, Last week: 5-3
Alex K.W. Schultz — CU:I’s football beat reporter — Overall: 65-39, Last week: 6-2
Cheng Sio — sports editor — Overall: 63-41, Last week: 5-3
David Starcer — CU:I’s men’s basketball beat reporter — Overall: 63-41, Last week 5-3
Ron Knabenbauer — sports editor — Overall: 57-47, Last week: 4-4
Contact CU Independent Co-Sports Editor Cheng Sio at Cheng.sio@colorado.edu.
