If you ever get discouraged by a seemingly-insurmountable points deficit, remember the example Garrett set this week: anybody with a lead can totally hose their picks at any time and open the door for everyone else.

Bravo sir, that was almost as bad as the Georgia Bulldogs played this weekend. Almost.

Then there was my alma mater’s “football team,” which put up 67 passing yards against Auburn. Not in a quarter, but during the entire game. The Tennessee Vols are again the subject of this week’s poll:

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S-E-C! S-E-C!

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 5 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 6 schedule

Game of the Week

The most intriguing match-up to me is actually among unranked Duke and Georgia Tech. But we’re going to stick with ranked teams for this purpose, so I’ll go with… Auburn at Vanderbilt.

For serious, Vandy is ranked 19th and owns the SEC East lead with two league wins. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

Auburn has a stout defense, but also an offense that wouldn’t be able to move the ball against Bugs Bunny’s Carrot Patch at Six Flags:

Photo by Jaime

The Commies might be able to pull this one off.

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 thought I’d bought tickets for a football game, but it turns out the tickets were for a live reenactment of this scene from Saving Private Ryan:

Here’s a poll for you:

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The good news is I picked with my head instead of my heart and kicked all of your asses this week. Pick better this time.

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 4 is here. If you find an error, let me know and I’ll adjust the results.

Notes about this week’s score:

• Reggie said Wake Forest wouldn’t cover. Florida State was the favorite. I’m going to be generous and interpret that to say FSU wouldn’t cover, which is the correct pick. In the future, I’ll dock points if someone says the underdog won’t cover, regardless of the outcome.
• I won my side wager with rugbyfan, so I take one of his points. That’s reflected here and in the overall standings spreadsheet, but not in the weekly spreadsheet.

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

Week 5 schedule

Game of the Week

Believe me when I tell you it pains me to feature Georgia as the marquee match-up for two weeks in a row, but even the most diehard Bulldog hater can’t deny that Alabama vs. Georgia is the standout game on this slate.

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 national spotlight is to The Ohio State University as salt is to a slug.

Garrett and Griftdrift are tied for the overall lead after Garrett’s strong showing this week. Griftdrift’s slow-and-steady/voodoo approach has been good for accumulating points, but those contemplating following his lead may want to consider this: if the contest ended here Garrett would be declared the winner since he has won a week and Griftdrift hasn’t. Rules are tricky like that.

If you didn’t follow the comments thread last week, you may have missed this addition to the rules: players are now allowed to wager points with each other.

Example: Tony bets 1 point with Archibald that Archibald doesn’t score at least 10 points overall. If Archibald scores 10, a point is docked from Tony’s score and added to Archibald’s score. If Archibald scores 9, a point is docked from his total and added to Tony’s score.

Obviously, both players must consent to a bet.

There are a lot of scenarios where I could imagine this being abused, but I’m going to allow it for now just to see how it shakes out. And because the abuse might actually be the fun part. I reserve the right to change my mind later.

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 3 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 4 schedule

Game of the Week

Georgia (3) at Arizona State (24).

You, Georgia Bulldog fan, may have wondered at some point what ingredient is missing from the national superpower secret sauce Mark Richt has been trying to brew in Athens, aside from a mythical national championship. Look no further than this fact: the Bulldogs have not played a regular season game outside the South since 1965.

It’s hard for a team to enter discussion among the latté-sipping liberal media in Bristol, Connecticut if it doesn’t swing by their Starbucks occasionally.

Thank Vince Dooley for this long history of lackluster out-of-conference scheduling. Fortunately for you, it appears Richt and the current administration possess an understanding of this phonomena which predeccessors lacked. Arizona State is the first of what I’m told will be several demonstrations of this new-found fount of knowledge.

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.

Rugbyfan proved that you can go scorched earth and still not tank completely (if Tony V. hadn’t already proven that the week before with his genius anti-Archibald picks).

Reigning week 1 champ Ben had a dramatic turnaround…which isn’t a good thing since he was already doing well.

Griftdrift seems to be taking a slow and steady wins the race approach, and leads in the overall standings.

As for me, I won this round…which really only proves that anyone can win.

Results

The full results spreadsheet for week 2 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 3 schedule

Game of the Week

Ohio State (5) vs. Southern California (1).

I’d like to go with something less Yankee this week, but given that Steve Spurrier South Carolina doesn’t look very imposing after its loss to Vandy, that’s the most intriguing match-up remaining. Georgia has no business losing that game, but will probably find a way to make it a 12-9 uglyfest and not cover the spread, which is generous if you ask me.

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.

Annnnnnnnd we’re off. Here are games for the first week: