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Greetings from "Can't Wait For Saturday," your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He'll give you his views each day on the game he loves.
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For a minute there during the Illinois-Michigan State football game, I thought I was going to miss the final score by a single point. I had picked 31-10 and it looked like it might end 31-9.
Then both teams scored and my prediction was shot. Oh well, it happens. Better luck next week.
Which leads to this week's winners. There are bunch of you so be patient. And sorry you weren't all mentioned in the headline.
Rob Barnes of Geneva, a 1985 Illinois business graduate, missed by 12, 28-14. He can't believe it was the final home game of the season and I agree.
Bob Doyle of Macomb was also off by 12 with a 27-17 prediction.
Two others had the same score. What are you guys copying off each others' papers? Probably not.
Art Hasse of Ada, Mich., who won the previous two weeks, had it 27-17, so he gets credit for a threepeat. And Billy Lazarus of Washington , D.C., an Urbana native, had 27-17 too.
Time to turn to this week's Illinois game against Rutgers in lovely New Jersey. It is the Garden State. I've had lots of fun in New Jersey and do find it pleasant.
You all know the drill. Send your score predictions to [email protected]. Include the score for both teams, where you currently live and if you are an Illinois alum. Anything else you want to include is great.
Remember, it is an early game, so get your picks in by 11 a.m. Saturday. You can make my life easier by putting your prediction on the subject line.
If anyone nails the exact score, they win a $50 gift card to Papa Del's. So far, no takers. If nobody hits it, I will put the names of each weekly winner in a hat and draw out one winner. If you won multiple times, you get multiple slips of paper in the hat. Like the NBA Draft Lottery, only with pizza.
Thanks for playing along and good luck this week.