Greetings and welcome to another edition of Season 20 of Swami the Magazine! Well, last week proved to shake up the Top 25 in a major way (as well as shaking up fan bases of lesser teams – such as the Huskers and Yellow Jackets). This week doesn’t seem as likely to have that kind of outcome, but I guess that’s why they play the games!
The Theme
This week’s theme is a throwback to a bygone era of gamers. Not the “win one for the Gipper” kind of gamers. More of the “blow in the cartridge to get it to work” kind of gamers. With each match-up, you will get a trip down memory lane to a time when video games never considered realism to be of paramount importance.
The Picks
Michigan v. Michigan State – Tetris – I don’t know if Tetris was a nerd game, but I do know it was great for when you didn’t want to spend a ton of time playing a game. Also, it found its perfect game system when the Game Boy came out. Especially for those who used it when they needed to…….fill time….
Michigan 42-21
Oklahoma v. TCU – Pong – This was the beginning of all video games for me. Pong. Sure, my good friend, Reverend Piano Man could have programmed Pong on our TI-82 graphing calculators in an afternoon, but it was a game on an electronic device. It was awesome.
Oklahoma 37-33
Iowa v. Maryland – RBI Baseball – I loved RBI and played it a lot, along with The Guru. The best was the fact that every player had Kirby Puckett’s body type and none of us cared. We thought it was funny that they were all round. #SimpleTimes #SimplePleasures
Iowa 28-21
Clemson v. NC State – Super Mario Brothers – To be clear, I’m referring to the first game. While Mario 3 was a lot of fun and Dr. Mario was a rip-off of Tetris, nothing quite makes me smile like the original Mario Brothers. When Mrs. Swami and I introduced it to James and the Swamettes and they enjoyed it, we felt like we had succeeded as parents. Well, in one way at least.
Clemson 44-20
Washington v. Colorado – Pac Man/Ms. Pac Man – Pac Man was the original, but Pizza Hut had the Ms. Pac Man 2-player machine, which was pretty awesome as well. Ahhh… good times. And yes, you can have my pizza crust Mrs. Swami.
Washington 34-31
LSU v. Mississippi State – Sonic the Hedgehog – LSU looked like Sonic flying through Dr. Robotnik last week against Georgia and I expect they will do the same this week. It’s amazing how much that game did for sales of the Sega Genesis.
LSU 45-21
Oregon v. Washington State – Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out – What a classic! I still remember knocking out Soda Popinski for the first time. And I remember getting knocked out the first few times I got to Iron Mike. But oh the feeling when you finally beat him! It was awesome.
Oregon 33-24
Nebraska v. Minnesota – Contra – All of us still remember the cheat code. It was the first cheat code I think there was, but man did it launch a whole world of them. I’m feeling nostalgic and optimistic that someone slipped Scott Frost the old Contra code and this week is the breakthrough.
Nebraska 34-33
Tennessee v. Alabama – Tecmo Super Bowl – I loved getting to play Tecmo Bowl using the Raiders. Watching guys bounce off Bo Jackson while I zig-zagged across the screen was the best. Though throwing 90 yard TD passes was great too. It’s almost like, well, watching Patrick Mahomes throw. Bama rolls through people like Bo did in that game, but the Vols are only going to lose by 28.
Tennessee +30
Central Florida v. East Carolina – Frogger – Nothing captures the innocence of childhood like watching the frog you are controlling go splat… really. Kind of like most of UCF’s opponents in the past 500 days.
Central Florida 34-21
The Guru’s Take
Despite the misfire on Colorado last week, the Guru will stay with the Pac-12 this week for his pick. Hey, if GameDay is coming to Wazzu, why not? The Oregon-Washington State matchup should be a barnburner, with two great QBs plying their trade. The winner of the game will be a favorite in the Pac-12 North, and with the Cougars getting two weeks to prep for Oregon, the Guru thinks the Ducks will be hard-pressed to keep up with Mike Leach’s high-flying attack. This will have a Chiefs-Patriots feel to it – last team with the ball wins. Look for it to be the Cougs. Washington State 39, Oregon 37
Editor’s Note: We decided to pick a game that was about as old as The Guru to go for his pick, so… Space Invaders!!
James & the Swamettes
Chiefs v. Bengals – Madden – James is of the firm belief that the Chiefs offense is straight out of a Madden video game and who are we to argue!
Chiefs 38-30
Saints v. Ravens – The Legend of Zelda – Queen Swamette astutely pointed out that the Saints gold matches Zelda’s from the game cover, so clearly the Saints will win this quest as if it were the game. Side note, instructions like the one below are the reason people die in horror movies
Saints 33-31
Giants v. Falcons – Mario Kart – Princess Swamette behind the Mario Kart wheel looks a lot like the Falcons defense these days. I’m pretty sure that isn’t a compliment
Falcons 40-17
Baseball Playoff Status
Well… things don’t look great. On the plus side, this one was my first foray into skateboarding video games and one that I thoroughly enjoyed on the Commodore 64. Man I’m getting old…
Until next time… The Swami!!
Categories: Football
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