Rusty's Blog

Congratulations to Carl, who is this year’s winner! He has now won this contest two years in a row. We all need to step up our game next year.

Sara and rugbyfan tied for the best score in the final week. Since neither of them chose a winner or entered a score for the Game of the Week, I’m putting it to vote:

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Thanks to everyone who played! I love running these contests because it makes me pay attention to games that I wouldn’t watch otherwise. I’m going to put together a separate bowls contest this week or next, and will let you know when it’s up.

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 15 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Update 2:50 p.m.: I modified the final results to indicate W-L and ratio ATS. By my count, there were 238 total games. Next year, I’ll format all the results this way.

Carl needed a monster week to catch up to me in the overall standings, and sure enough, he got one. Well-played, sir. I’m glad we have an actual competition heading into the last week of picks. And it is the last week of this contest, since an overwhelming four-to-two majority voted to make bowl picks a separate contest.

Here’s a photo I snapped of Phil Fulmer’s last Vol Walk this past Saturday:

And here’s a poll:

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Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 14 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 15 schedule

Game of the Week

Bama vs. Florida. The Armani Bear vs. The Classless Dirtbag.

If we have nothing else, we can agree to hate Florida.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

Damn Carl, you’re making me work at this. Here’s a poll:

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The upside to including bowls in the current contest is it would give the top four or five people a chance to win. The downside being it wouldn’t be as much fun for the players holding up the rear now since they’d have no chance to win anything. So, you tell me which way is better.

Results

We have a four-way tie! Nobody of the four picked the correct winner, so we’re going by who picked closest to the total score, which eliminates Jen. Garrett is out because he didn’t choose a tiebreaker at all. Ben and Carl both picked the same score, which is against the rules. Since Ben picked first, that makes him the winner.

The full results spreadsheet for week 13 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 14 schedule

Game of the Week

Georgia Tech at Georgia. Partly because I’m tired of the Big 12 dominating this spot, and partly because I think it’s the least predictable game on the slate this week.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

Has Michigan-Ohio State always been a noon game? Because that would be embarrassing if it’s scheduled then because nobody cares about it.

Almost as embarrassing as it will be when Tennessee closes out the season losing to Vandy and Kentucky, thereby sealing its fate as the worst team in UT history.

WTF 2008?

Here, have a poll:

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Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 12 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 13 schedule

Game of the Week

Texas Tech at Oklahoma. Renowned weirdo Mike Leach is Texas Tech’s coach. Here’s why he’s awesome, according to former Tech lineman Daniel Loper:

Coach’s motivational speeches are always the same. He tells very long stories, and you’re never sure what they mean. But he’s a genius. When we leave the locker room, we all know that we’ll have three receivers wide open every play.

Speaking of candidates for the Tennessee job, I was tempted to make the GOTW Pitt-Cincy. Cincy coach Brian Kelly refused to shake hands with Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe after he beat the hapless Cardinals last week. Nice. Maybe we need someone in Knoxville who can be a bigger dickhead than Urban Meyer.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

I was giggling like an idiot when Wyoming beat Tennessee, because if I couldn’t laugh about this season then I’d be crying.

With another loss, the Vols would set the school record for losses at eight. You’ll read a lot of news articles that will breathlessly describe this team as the worst ever if that happens. Most of these people won’t mention that there are more games on the schedule now than there used to be, and therefore more opportunities to lose.

As I lay out in a post on Rocky Top Talk, I do think another loss cements this team as one of the three worst Tennessee teams of the modern era (which I’m marking as 1926 and after, when General Neyland was first hired). But, I think for this team to be indisputably the worst Tennessee team ever would require it to lose both games.

But what do I know? Let’s turn this over to the wisdom of crowds.

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Either way, this is a bad football team we’re talking about here.

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 11 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 12 schedule

Note: 16th-ranked Ball State has a game on Tuesday. Including it is not worth giving people less than 24 hours notice to get their picks in. Besides, I can’t take a team that schedules games on Tuesdays seriously, even if they are ranked and even if they would beat Tennessee this year.

Game of the Week

This might be the weakest slate of games the entire year. I’m defaulting to Florida vs. South Carolina because of the Spurrier facing his old team angle, and because South Carolina might be good enough to give Florida a little trouble. But only a little.

The only other good news is that a weak slate of games like this sometimes makes for wildly inaccurate lines, which ought to at least make the picks fun.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

Phillip Fulmer as a senior on the 1971 Vols

We all knew this day would come eventually, but that doesn’t make it any less sad. Ultimately, Phillip Fulmer was crushed by the weight of expectations created by his own success during 30 years as a player, assistant and head coach at Tennessee. He is a class act who gave more to the school than most of us will ever realize, and I hope history remembers him well.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel has a good retrospective on his career here.

Unless something changes between now and 5 p.m., Coach Fulmer will be allowed to coach the Vols for the rest of the season. I’m planning to take a road trip to Knoxville Nov. 29 to catch his last home game if anyone wants to come with me.

Results

The tiebreaker this week is refreshingly uncomplicated compared with last week. Archibald, Griftdrift, and I each scored ten points. Archibald was the only one of us to correctly pick Texas Tech to win, so he is this week’s winner.

The full results spreadsheet for week 10 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 11 schedule

Game of the Week

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech. No commentary this week.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

I procrastinated getting these out this week. It’s way past my bedtime now. Enjoy. Oh, and here is a poll for you:

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Results

Remember the tiebreaker rules we discussed in week 7? We get to use them now.

Alyssa picked Penn State to beat the Ohio State University 28-21, a margin of 7. Carl also picked PSU to beat tOSU 31-24, also a margin of 7. So we have to go to the second tiebreaker of closest to the point total.

Alyssa’s score totals 49, Carl’s score totals 55.

The actual final score of the game was 13-6, a total of 19 points. So Alyssa wins the tiebreaker and is the week 9 winner.

The full results spreadsheet for week 9 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 10 schedule

Game of the Week

I thought about making the World’s Greatest Cocktail Party Civil Christian Gathering for Wholesome Fun the Game of the Week, but the Texas-Texas Tech match-up of undefeateds looks too good to pass up. So let it be said.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

I made an executive decision this week that will displease at least one of you: all side wagers are being tossed out.

There wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm for them, and the idea of keeping a tally on something that doesn’t count seems stupid to me. So, you’ll actually have to pick well if you want to win.

My decision is final. Accusations of a rigged game will not sway me otherwise, no matter how pathetic and/or amusing they are. You can take out your agression on me in this poll if you’d like:

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Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 8 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Week 9 schedule

Game of the Week

Penn State at Ohio State. Not only do we get to find out if Penn State is for real, but there’s a 50-50 chance that Joe Paterno will lose control of his bowels on national television. Always worth watching.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

The essence of college football fandom is to revel in the theft of someone else’s joy. It’s a nice bonus when you can commandeer that joy for yourself, but it’s not totally necessary to consider an afternoon a success.

From that standpoint, there are worse things than Tennessee being winless in the SEC. Georgia spanked the Vols in Sanford Stadium this past Saturday, true. But since the Vols entered the game with a dismal record against meager competition and no reasonable expectation of victory, there was no joy remaining for Bulldog Nation to steal from the Tennessee faithful.

That, Russell, explains your malaise when the book was closed.

Once you factor in UGA’s red zone blunders and subsequent inability to translate yardage into points, it wouldn’t be outlandish to describe the game as a karmic wash.

Plus, there was Eric Berry’s immensely-satisfying (and perhaps dirty) hit on Knowshon Moreno:

Bon appétit.

Housekeeping notes

• I’m having surgery Monday and will likely sleep through Monday and Tuesday thanks to some prescription narcotics. Fortunately, a couple of (little v) volunteers have offered to enter the betting lines in the comments section. Those hopefully will be in place Monday night for you to base your picks on.
• You may have noticed the ridiculous lead rugbyfan just opened up in the overall standings. This is due to a well-placed side bet with Archibald, whose drop in the rankings is equally as stunning aesthetically. Obviously, we will all be expected to place some side bets as the contest progresses to close this gap. If you don’t remember how side bets works, read this comment.
• The I’s have spoken by a margin of 6 to 4 (including poll results and Alyssa’s comment), and Reggie wins last week’s tiebreaker. Moving forward, we will go with margin of victory over total points scored in counting Game of the Week tiebreaker scores.

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 7 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores and side wager results can be found here.

Week 8 schedule

^* – In my absence, either Alyssa or Tony Ventry will enter the odds in the comments section when they become available Monday evening. Make your picks against those.

Game of the Week

Missouri vs. Texas.

Previous number three Mizzou was upset by Okie State last week (this Tennessee fan wishes Cowboy co-offensive coordinator Trooper Taylor was still wearing the right shade of orange).

Texas pulled off an emotionally-charged win against hated rival and previous number one Oklahoma, good for their own number one ranking this week.

Conventional wisdom says both teams will start sluggish after last week’s draining contests. If that holds, which one will snap out of it in time to pull off the win? Could be a classic or a clunker, but there’s no shortage of intrigue here.

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.

Firstly

Does someone have a UT-UGA ticket they’d let go for something close to face value? I’d still sort of like to go to the game in Athens this weekend, but I don’t really want to pay the price brokers apparently can still demand for the tickets.

Since that probably won’t happen, is anyone interested in attending a local viewing party for the game? I’ll organize something if there’s interest (or defer to someone who has already organized something and help promote it).

Nevermind, bought a couple of tickets.

Secondly

I’m having wisdom tooth surgery next Monday. I should be able to take care of NCAA Picks results and the schedule for next week before this happens, but odds won’t likely be available until after I’m in a two-day pill coma. Can I get a volunteer to enter the odds in the comment section of next week’s post? You can get them from Covers, I would just need them translated into something like the format you see in the schedule below.

Thirdly

We have our first tie! Remember the tiebreaker section in the rules?

If two or more players finish with the same number of points in a given week, whichever player is closest to guessing the exact score of the Game of the Week will be declared winner for the week.

In retrospect, this isn’t as clearly-defined as it should have been. Vandy beat Auburn 14-13. Carl guessed a final score of Auburn 19-Vandy 17, and Reggie guessed Vandy 24-Auburn 14. Carl’s guess is closer in terms of total points scored (36 vs. 38 that Reggie guessed), but he picked the wrong winner. Reggie picked the correct winner and was therefore closer to picking the correct margin of victory.

So, we need to clarify the tiebreaker rules. I’m going to put two proposals to a vote in this week’s poll and declare a winner for this week after we vote on the new rules. If at least seven people don’t vote, I will pick one and you’ll just have to live with it.

• Weekly Tiebreaker Proposal 1: Total points scored by both teams – the sum of both team’s scores. If scores are still tied, then go by closest to picking margin of victory for the winning team. Under this scenario, it would be possible for someone who picked a winning team to lose to someone who picked a losing team.
• Weekly Tiebreaker Proposal 2: Margin of victory – the margin of victory for the winning team. If scores are still tied, then go by closest picking the sum of both team’s scores. Under this scenario, someone who picked a winning team would never lose to someone who picked a losing team.

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Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 6 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

The full overall standings with week-by-week scores can be found here.

Week 7 schedule

Game of the Week

Texas vs. Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Hype courtesy of Wikipedia:

The Red River Rivalry has given rise to a great deal of negative stereotyping on the part of both fanbases: Texans often portray Sooners as ignorant country yokels envious of the state of Texas while Oklahomans portray Longhorns as fake, self-glorifying wannabe cowboys.

Tennessee fans never partake in such nonsense. When we say the Nashville streets were littered with lost monocles and broken champagne flutes after Vanderbilt’s upset win over Auburn, we’re just stating facts*.

* – probably not Tennessee fans who said that actually, but I can’t up and plagiarize someone’s joke either

How to enter your picks

You read the rules, right?

The short version:

• You’re picking which teams won’t cover their spread. You must choose at least one team not to cover unless there is only one game being played that week.
• You’re also entering a predicted score for the Game of the Week, which cannot be the same as a predicted score another player enters.

Example:

Florida and Clemson don’t cover. Alabama wins the GOTW 19-14.

If I entered that, that means I think Florida and Clemson either would lose or not cover their spreads, and you then wouldn’t be able to predict a 19-14 win for Alabama.