Welcome to Woolard's Weekend Winners.....week two

We have a great slate of games for the second weekend of college football but let's first recap the action from last week.

Week One Wrap Up….not bad… not bad at all.

Woolard’s Weekend Winners went 7 and 1. So no doubt you made mo’ money with Mark…and George the Cat.

We came up short in only one game (hey, no one can be perfect, right?).

Although I hate to pick against Tennessee, my reverse motivation strategy paid off perfectly as the Vols took care of business and got the Georgia Dome monkey off its back. And, their solid performance gave Coach Orange Pants his first quality win. ESPNU actually recorded its largest viewing audience for a college game with over 1.4 million viewers. The only bad news is that viewership by college prospects was limited given that the game was played on a Friday night. And I know Dooley and staff were not fond of that so don’t expect to see too many non-Saturday games for the Big Orange.

George the Cat hit it big in his first video BIG PICK of the WEEK with the Tide trouncing the Wolverines of Ann Arbor. It was several days before George wiped the grin off his furry face because he knows anything crimson gives me nightmares.

 Curious About George?

Speaking of George the Cat, several folks have asked me about my partner in picks, who handles our video BIG PICK of the WEEK. Well, here’s some catnip.

George and his sister, Elaine, were found abandoned at Tanger Outlet Mall in Bluffton, SC near Hilton Head Island. George never knew his father, and his mother struggled to make ends meet. He missed out on a lot in those early days: no peewee ball, no ESPN, no prom dates. But George the Cat is a survivor and he promised his sister that better days were ahead. Fast forward to two kind souls, Sarah and Roland, adopting both George and Elaine. He now has access to DISH satellite and NetFlix, hotlines to Vegas and Atlantic City, and an unlimited supply of treats and afternoon catnaps. He quickly went to work learning the game of football and sharpening his game-picking skills.

He’s honored to be a part of Woolard’s Weekend Winners, although he is pushing to rename it George the Cat’s Weekend Whiskers.

When not chasing a red laser dot, you can find George the Cat at the local dog track where he and Elaine find it absolutely hilarious that the mutts can never quite catch the rabbit.

Week Two Winners.....

Georgia vs Mizzou…the SEC East race starts to take shape in Missouri’s SEC debut. Of all the Saturday’s matchups, this game poses to be the best in what some consider to be a coin toss. As the line has tightened throughout the week, I really think Richt’s pups will put an “old man’s” sock in Sheldon Richardson’s mouth and show the Show Me State tiggers what big boy football is all about. Welcome to the SEC.

LSU vs Washington…this is a night game in the Bayou and anything could happen, except the Huskies pulling an upset. LSU is 28-0 against non-conference foes under The Hat, Les Miles. If you’ve never been to Death Valley in Red Stick, add it to your bucket list. And tag it on to a side trip to Bourbon Street where Tiger fans will be celebrating a 20+ point victory Saturday night.

Mississippi State vs Auburn…nothing sounds worse than 55,000 clamoring cowbells (unless you’re a visitor to Neyland Stadium and hear Rocky Top played 189 times in just the first quarter), and the Auburn Tigers/War Eagles/Plainsmen are going to hate them too before the final gun. Mullen’s mutts will be ready despite never beating any SEC West team other than Ole Miss. By the way, Chizik is 16-11 W.C. (Without Cam).

Vanderbilt vs Northwestern…I normally never care about the Commode-doors but something is happening in the Music City and I’m not talking about Minnie Pearl’s hat. Vandy dandy James Franklin actually has Commodore fans feeling good about their team despite starting the season with a 17-13 loss to South Carolina. And their trip to the Windy City should be a good one as they cruise past the Wildcats. Don’t be shocked to see Franklin split for greener pastures at season end.

Nebraska vs UCLA…..the Huskers, ranked #16, hope to make this the first of two trips to Pasadena. Nebraska is led by the much improved California native Taylor Martinez who threw for 354 yards and 5 TDs last week against Southern Miss. He’ll post similar numbers as the boys from Lincoln skin the Bruins despite a good effort by tailback Johnathan Franklin who racked up 214 yds last week against Rice.

Stanford vs Duke…you won’t meet a nicer guy then Coach David Cutcliffe. At Tennessee, he was the hammer for Phillip Fulmer, and his resume of developing outstanding quarterbacks is without peer having developed talent like the Manning brothers, Heath Shuler, Tee Martin, etc. And, before Ole Miss had a brain fart and ran off Cutcliffe, he was the SEC Coach of the Year while in Oxford. Duke’s 9-3 victory at Stanford in 1971 remains its last road win against a ranked opponent, and Cutcliffe is hoping this will motivate the Dookies. Not gonna happen against the #25 Cardinal.

Notre Dame vs Purdue…no Dublin hangover here as the #22 Irish host the cross-state rival Boilermakers at another great venue and a must-see for any real college football fan. The Boilers have not won at Notre Dame Stadium since 2004. And that streak continues as the Golden Domers beat the Boilermakers, the first of three straight Big Ten opponents for Notre Dame in September.

Florida vs Texas A+M…there’s a lot of “newness” with this game for the Aggies: new head coach, new quarterback, new conference, first time ever hosting the Gators in College Station. The Aggies are favored by 1 but here again, this could be a coin toss. 

George the Cat and I don’t see eye-to-eye on this game, but I’ll respectfully defer to his judgment since he’s 1-0 in his picks. So, with that in mind, let’s roll the video of George the Cat's BIG PICK of the WEEK....

 Make Mo Money with Mark (and George the Cat).

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