This will be fun!!! Before we start ( too late ZT, you already did! ), Congrats to FCS Champion Montana State Bobcats with a 35-34 OT win over the Illinois State Redbirds. Not much for watching full game replays but you should watch this one! It’s a reason why we love the more pure version of College Football!!
The Quarter Finals continued the “Curse of the Bye Week” where now only 1 team earning a better seed and a bye week won! Oh and win they did, as the Indiana Hoosiers beat Bama like Ivan Drago did Apollo Creed in Rocky 4! Unfortunately for Bama, there was no trainer to throw in the towel early in the 4th quarter.
Hope you stayed up to watch Laneless Ole Miss take down the Dawgs in New Orleans. Will note the final 1 second took longer than it takes to cook a filet medium well. For a few moments, thought we were about to have a replay of the 1972 Munich Olympics when the final 3 seconds were “replayed” 3 times resulting in a 51-50 Russian upset of the US Men’s Basketball team. Good news? Ole Miss got the W and the Russians still lose regularly to the USA!!
Oregon Ducks flew over the Texas Tech Red Raiders who, among other things, could not get their Guns Up or a single point on the scoreboard. Miami ignored the National Weather Service calendar indicating Hurricane Season was over and took down the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Enough history ZT!! Most anyone reading this would have watched all games and recognize after the Superbowl they will be reduced to watching either dwarf tossing or Outhouse racing until August 2026.
Pigskin Prognostication Accountability Update: Padres 91-41 ZT 87-45 Ok, yes Clucko the Chicken ( from College Football News ) got the W last week but, most likely, Clucko did better than your bracket as well, so moving on!!!
Padre leading off…
CFP PICKS — SEMIFINALS
Joe Namath once said, “We’re gonna win the game. I guarantee it.’” — and in doing so, changed the Super Bowl forever. Legend has it Babe Ruth called his shot and then delivered. And my personal favorite: before the 1986 Three-Point Contest, Larry Bird famously asked, “Who’s coming in second?” Bird went on to win… without even taking off his warm-up jacket. What do all of these stories have in common? They feature winners who boldly back up their predictions….unlike me, as I went 0–4 on last week’s playoff games. So while I clearly have no earthly idea what I’m doing, I’m going to give the semifinals my best shot anyway.
THE FIESTA BOWL
Miami vs. Ole Miss: A team from Florida is in the Final Four of the CFP—and it’s not my Gators. In fact, UF is the only program of the Big Three in the state not to make a CFP Final Four—or CFP. Not that I’m bitter or anything. Hey, at least it’s Miami and not FSU. That’s like asking for Coke at a restaurant and they say, “All we have is unsweet tea or the Beverly drink from the World of Coke” (if you know, you know). I’ll take that bitter Yankee tea over bile in a bottle (that really is what it tastes like). This is a tough game to pick, but in the end, with that bitter tea in my mouth because they didn’t have Coke….I’ll take the Canes in another “CFP Classic — can’t beat the Cane thing” 🎶 (please tell me you got that joke). Miami 24, Ole Miss 23.
THE PEACH BOWL
Oregon vs. Indiana: I would love to go back to my 1996 self and say, “Thirty years from now, the Oregon Ducks will play the Indiana Hoosiers in the semifinals of a college football playoff… and the players are paid — sometimes in the millions.” I can imagine my younger self looking at my “old” (current) self and saying, “Yeah, right. And let me guess: People take pictures of their own food for fun… and people actually like it.” Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and this game is so unpredictable that no amount of visits from my future self would have convinced me otherwise—especially Indiana. Cignetti is the man. Lanning is also the man. While I have a soft spot for Lanning, Cignetti’s Hoosiers are on a different level than the Ducks. Usually, the loser of the first game wins the rematch—but not on Friday night. Indiana 27, Oregon 17.
If you are a Rebels or a Ducks fan, have no fear! Padre Nostradamus I am not. But I do hope that both games are entertaining!
Gator out.
ZT ready to prognosticate but first….. ZT is in 4 NFL Fantasy Leagues ( which by most accounts indicates issues! ) and after winning 2 in 2024, finished 6th, 7th, 7th, and 8th respectively. Noting the decrease in performance, ZT was provided the following “Aid”….the Fantasy Fate Ball…
And ZT’s first question was “How do you feel about ZT being in 4 leagues and finishing no higher than 6th?” Based on the response, ZT determined this thing may be magical!
Thursday Jan 8 Fiesta Bowl
Ole Miss Rebels vs. Miami Hurricanes
The last time these 2 teams played??? Harry Truman was President, 1st episode of I Love Lucy aired, and the 1st US computer named the Univac1 (weighed 29,000 lbs. and occupied 350 sq. ft. ) went into service ( thanks for another history lesson ZT ). Man…..I want Ole Miss to win this game and not because of the SEC, SEC, SEC chant or because of the Lane Train leaving town so he can walk into Pete Maravich Assembly Center holding hands with LSU women’s coach…. I love what this team has done in the face of adversity. Ok…sadly becoming more common place in in college football but ZT likes it. ZT is not anti – Hurricanes either. QB Carson Beck has overcome the adversity of being publicly dumped by one of the Cavinder twins and looking like both Timmy from South Park and Tom Petty.
HC Mario Cristobal has been on the hot seat as much as Coach Tate in Fansville commercials for not winning in the playoffs. Mario is working hard to not let his team buy into “ The U is BACK” hype even with Michael Irvin on the sideline acting wilder the “Cocaine Bear” or Animal of the Muppets.
Going with stats vs. heart in this one. Hurricanes 27 Rebels with a cause! 24
Friday Jan 9. Peach Bowl
Oregon Ducks vs. Indiana Hoosiers
2 more of Saban’s students of the game facing off in Atlanta. Dan Lanning and his flock of Ducks get a chance to rectify the only blemish on their 2025 dance card which was a 30-20 defeat in Eugene to, you guessed it, Indiana. The CFB pollsters made them stand in the corner for the rest of the season. That “stuff” just rolls right off the Ducks backs!!! Now to the Hoosiers. How do you not like this team? Not many Blue Chip players and a D2 QB… They just win…Google them! HC Cignetti looks and even acts a bit like Ray Zalinsky of Zalinsky Auto Parts in “Tommy Boy”
And how about D2 Heisman QB Fernando Mendoza? 36 TDs, Well-Spoken, smart ( blocked Diego Pavia on Facebook! ), and a set of teeth that make Tom Brady look like a sour puss, would be banned at Golden Coral, and would make a shark proud!! Ok, one reason to NOT like Indiana is the fan base is more irritating than a couple in workout gear rushing to board a plane when they announce for “those needing a little extra time” but lets give them a year and they are backing it up. Lanning lost to DeBoer twice in same year but just don’t see that happening to the Hoosiers…. Upset Special Ducks 24 Hoosiers 23
Dad Joke: Never date a Tennis player. Love means nothing to them.
Dad Joke Bonus 1: To Whomever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find you . You have my Word.
Dad Joke Bonus 2: When I die, I want to be cremated. It’s my last chance to have a smokin, hot body!!
Dad Joke Bonus 3: Was at a job interview and they asked if I could “perform under pressure”…… I told them no, but could do a darn good “Bohemian Rhapsody”!! Still interviewing….
Padre and ZT out….see you back for the Natty!!!
Pigskin Prognostications by the Piedmont Padre and Zimmern's Twin 