They’ve battled injuries.
They’ve gotten into fights with their own teammates.
They play nasty.
The 2001 Lantern Challenge will be decided this weekend for four veteran scribes.
Justin Powell (35-21) leads Luke Sullivan (34-22) by a scant game, with Travis Sawchik (33-23) and Dave O’Neil (32-24) nipping at their proverbial heels.
“It was 310 days ago that I promised the readers of The Lantern that I’d make them proud,” O’Neil said. “Tomorrrow after Florida beats Tennessee, pride will flow from south campus and north campus alike. Your hero, Dave O’Neil, will be the champion of the world.”
Powell reminded O’Neil that O’Neil did not make any promises 310 days ago and that he is in last place.
“I feel bad for the guy,” Powell said. “Not only is he the worst at picking games, he’s also not very smart.”
Sawchik and Sullivan, through a written statement, agreed to the above assesment of O’Neil.
Annie “Herman” O’Neil was selected as the guest picker this week.
The sophomore in accounting is the first female participant the challenge has seen this year.
Final standings will be available at www.thelantern.com on Sunday evening.
Dave O’Neil
Toledo 33, Marshall 12. Riki Rocket was a guitarist in the legendary band Poison. Tonight, the Toledo Rockets poison Marshall’s attempt at a fifth-consecutive MAC title.
Penn State 271, Virginia 266. Forget the state pen, forget Joe’s at Penn State. The thrilla, Zack Mills(a) leads PSU to victory.
Miami 41, Virginia Tech 23. Bubble hard in the Double R flashing rings, with the window cracked, holler back, “Money ain’t a thang.” Money may not be a thang, but Miami is.
Auburn 24, LSU 20. Always thought LSU’s nickame should be “Island.” Like Ellis Island. LSu Island.
Florida Hanging Chad, Tennessee Dimpled Chad. Gators and ‘Canes to play in Rose Bowl. How much would you pay to stay in the cheerleaders’ hotel?
Texas George W., Colorado Al Gore. First the presidency. Then the Big 12 championship. What a year for the great state of Texas.
Mississippi State 43, BYU 37. Dude. Being clever on these picks is tough. I’m just picking MSU because I need to pick enough games different from Powell to win this thing.
Navy 9-11, Army 9-11. Thank you.
Justin Powell
Marshall 37, Toledo 20. Toledo is hot off a whoopin’ but they were on the wrong end. Marshall wins the MAC again.
Penn State 30, Virginia 21. Fortunately for Penn State, this game was postponed until now. They used to be awful.
Miami 49, Virginia Tech 24. The Hurricanes are focused. Even if they weren’t, they’d still win.
LSU 27, Auburn 19. LSU has won three in a row, plus they have a good QB. I like good QBs.
Florida 45, Tennessee 17. The Gators will meet Miami in the Rose Bowl for the best championship game since last year, the year before, and the year before that.
Colorado 30, Texas 10. Simms stands for Sucky, Immature, Meathead, Moron, Sucky. The Buffaloes roam to victory while the Horns wish they had Ricky Williams and Major Applewhite on their team … wait, they do have Applewhite.
BYU 47, Mississippi State 44. Luke Staley is the new great white hope. BYU wins this one for mormons across the country.
Army 17, Navy 16. Navy hasn’t won a game all year, but at least they’re good in military combat.
Travis Sawchik
Marshall 35, Toledo 25. A wise Mann’s uncle , I mean Jason Mann, went to law school at Toledo. Mann said, “It’s a nice school but Toledo sucks.” Fair enough.
Penn State 27, Virginia 17. Now that “neckcar” season is over Cavs fans can turn there attention to the gridiron. Sorry boys, this is not a BYOB event.
Miami 72, Virginia Tech 0. In the words of my roommate, “I finally respect Miami.” I hope so. Cheers to you, Butch.
Auburn 17, LSU 0, A frequent patron of The Spot Bar likes to compare Rohan Davey’s head to a perfect sphere. I like to compare LSU’s chances to that.
Tennessee 22, Florida 21. I wish all Vol fans get to see Spurrier treated unsweetly. I wish to see a lovely pair of blue eyes that I will treat sweetly.
Colorado 28, Texas 24. Texas is tough in NCAA for Playstation 2, but that is about the only venue where they do not choke in.
BYU 43, Mississippi St. 1. One wife per man works in most states outside of Utah.
Navy 2001, Army 1991. Either way the game turns out, bin Laden and Saddam are in bad shape.
Lucas Sullivan
Marshall 31, Toledo 10. The Thundering Herd are a tough bunch and the Zips are not that good.
Penn State 36, Virginia 20. JoePa has the the Nittany Lions on a roll and bowl bound.
Miami 49, Virginia Tech 10. Come on. It’s the Hurricanes. The Hokies’ chance to beat Miami left with Michael Vick.
Auburn 25, LSU 21. The Tigers are not that good and Auburn has been playing spoiler all year.
Florida 38, Tennessee 17. Steve Spurrier is starting to stir the pot with the Seminoles. Way to look past the Vols, Stevie.
Texas 31, Colorado 17. This game is in Dallas and the Cowboys should scout Chris Simms because he is really, really good.
BYU 31, Mississippi 25. The Mormons are undefeated, but the good ol’ boys should keep this one close.
Army 31, Navy 31. We’re all one big family right? I’ll go with Army because they’ve won two games and the Navy has been too busy launching planes over Afghanistan to care about a football game.
Annie O’Neil
Toledo 24, Marshall 14. This game is on a Friday night? Since when did they play college football on Friday?
Penn State 17, Virginia 6. Two of the original 13 colonies square off. I should get bonus on my History 151 exam for knowing that.
Virginia Tech 31, Miami 30. Miami hasn’t had an undefeated season since 1987. The streak continues tomorrow.
Auburn 20, LSU 13. No matter what, the Tigers will win. Even if LSU wins, the Tigers win. Both schools are nicknamed the Tigers.
Tennessee 54, Florida 7. My grandfather is from Tennessee. I owe it to Grandpa Ray to pick the Vols.
Colorado 45, Texas 31. Texas is unable to tap the rockies, unlike my roommate.
BYU 22, Mississippi State 10. What does BYU even stand for? I’ll choose them anyway. And look for answers as to what BYU stands for later. After finals.
Army 26, Navy 20. This is a close one. Go Army and God Bless America!
