Without a doubt, last season’s Super Bowl blowout was painfully hard to watch. Have no fear, though—the 10 previous Super Bowls were competitive contests, and everyone on Student Life’s Sports staff is predicting a return to that pattern this year. Despite the Seahawks’ 35-point victory last year, all of us this year believe the margin of victory will be no greater than 10, with some predicting a game coming down to the final seconds.

Zach Kram, Editor-in-Chief

New England 23, Seattle 13

In the Patriots’ five Super Bowl appearances in the Belichick-Brady era, only one game saw either team score more than 24 points. The Seahawks, meanwhile, relish squeaking out low-scoring battles against top teams. These trends point to a low-scoring game, and the Patriots’ ability to convert third downs (62 percent this postseason, more than 10 points higher than the second-place Seahawks) will help them extend just enough drives to reach the red zone, where Gronk will Gronk. The Seahawks don’t have the receivers to challenge the Patriots’ secondary, and the hopes of non-New Englanders everywhere will be deflated by the fourth quarter.

Derek Shyr, Associate Editor

Seattle 27, New England 24

The old adage that “defense wins championships” will definitely apply to this game with the Legion of Boom limiting Tom Brady. The last time Brady faced Richard Sherman and Co., he struggled in the second half, throwing two picks and scoring only six points against Seattle’s defense. Seattle is faster, better and more experienced now, which means New England’s offense will struggle. While New England has an above-average defense, the Patriots will struggle to contain Russell Wilson. Yes, Seattle doesn’t have great receivers, but its run game with Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch at the helm is good enough to wear the Patriots’ defense down. At the end of the day, Brady’s legacy will be taken down another notch while the Seahawks become the first team in a decade to repeat as champs.

Nick Kauzlarich, Senior Sports Editor

Seattle 24, New England 23

Yes, this is the same score as the last time these two teams faced off, when the Seahawks rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win in Seattle two seasons ago. This time around, Richard Sherman’s trash talking with Tom Brady will reach another level as he will interchange “U Mad Bro” with something witty about Brady’s legacy being deflated. Is this all wishful thinking? Maybe. But I believe that Russell Wilson, who is 10-0 against Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, will shake off his dismal performance in the NFC Championship game and lead a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes to seal another comeback victory.

Aaron Brezel, Sports Editor

New England 31, Seattle 24

As long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have each other, it’ll be hard to bet against the New England Patriots. When you reach the Super Bowl six times in 14 years, you are obviously doing something right. While the Seahawks might have the slight edge in overall talent, expect a scheming Belichick to take away every Seattle advantage. The Patriots’ bread and butter, the tight end game led by human semi-truck Rob Gronkowski, is also one of the few weaknesses in the Seahawks’ vaunted defense. When these two teams met back in 2012, Gronkowski had a productive six catches and 61 yards. With rings on the line, look for the Patriots’ star to be all over the field early and often.

Weber Gaowen, Staff Writer

Seattle 31, New England 26

Coming off their impressive come-from-behind overtime win against Green Bay, the Seattle Seahawks will continue their postseason success and outlast the Patriots in a close-fought game. Bill Belichick may be a defensive mastermind, but even he will have trouble solving the two-pronged running game of Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson, who’s also capable of making every throw at the NFL level. The Patriots will be able to keep the game relatively close with their trick plays and loose interpretations of the rules, but the brute physicality of Seattle’s secondary will rattle the Patriots’ wide receivers. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor can hit hard, causing the Patriots to continue their pattern of dropping passes in the Super Bowl.

Albert Mo, Staff Writer

Seattle 24, New England 20

Who does America even cheer for in this game? Has there been a Super Bowl with two less likable teams than the Patriots and the Seahawks? The NFL, in its drawn-out, inconclusive investigation, has managed to fill the media with this grating “Deflate-gate” drivel for the past two weeks. With all the accusations regarding the Patriots as cheaters and the usual Bill Belichick hate, we forget about Pete Carroll’s sanction-filled tenure at the University of Southern California and the Seahawks’ seemingly casual PED usage. Anyway, the game feels like a toss-up. I don’t want to get too caught up in Seattle’s five-turnover performance against Green Bay or New England’s domination of Indianapolis. I think Russell Wilson makes some plays and the defense carries the Seahawks to victory.

Danny Schwartz, Staff Writer

Seattle 26, New England 24

It’s been a miserable day for both media darling quarterbacks. Nice guy Russell Wilson has continued his sloppy play, but he has ridden his Skittle-fueled monster truck of a running back, Marshawn Lynch, to 23 points by the halfway point of the fourth quarter. UGGs model Tom Brady has put up 17 points, but he has been equally ineffective. Again, the terrorizing Seattle defense makes a Hall of Famer look bad in the Super Bowl. However, summoning all of his powers, Brady takes his deflated balls down the field for a surprising, lead-stealing Gronk smash. But wait, is there too much time left on the clock? A magical drive from Wilson follows, with a containment lapse allowing the QB to sprint for a giant chunk of yards, setting up a game-winning 45-yard field goal.