COLLEGE FOOTBALL

In 2019, Bevo (Bumble/Stace) set a standard for awfulness in the pool that was thought once-in-a-lifetime. Yet here we are, and Earnest is blowing that year’s futility achievement to pieces. The Oregon Ducks drop his 3^rd double game of the year. He goes 0-6 vs. the spread. He tallies the first sub-zero score of the season. -4 for the week.

Sub-zero. Minnesota. Loveable Loser.

Welcome to the pool – The Fighting Frenchman…

Scott LeDoux.

Meanwhile, at the top of the standings:

The defending champ, John McKay, posts a 60point week. Toledo, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, San Jose, Houston, and BYU – 2022 Draft strategies are a changing.

Mike Lynn drops his double game as Memphis loses to Temple, Cincinnati saved him from a LeDoux-like week.

Bevo goes 6-0. More traditionally with Oklahoma, Penn State, etc., and climbs to 3^rd place.

4^th to 7^th – separated by a mere 3 points:

Meathead goes 2-4 dropping to the pack.

Zendejas (5-1) moves up to 5^th.

Eli’s Irish gambit backfires – he goes 3-3 and falls to 6^th.

The Hagg is moving up slowly, he goes 5-1 and continues the long road back.

Lots of teams with off-weeks coming up. Choose wisely my comrades.

commish.

Upsets were the story of the weekend and the Pool felt some big-ass ripples. We were 15-30 against the spread – including 3 big double-point losses.

Clemson leads the way, losing to NC State for Earnest, he adds another loss from Florida St. (Seriously Earnest, they are BAD), and Minnesota’s face plant performance. 11 points for the week, and a trip to the bottom of the standings.

Not to be outdone, Zendejas gets a second double-loss from #1 pick UNC. Texas A&M also takes a loss, and he goes 0-6 vs. the spread, tying Earnest for the weekly-low with 11 points.

The Hagg and USC round out the trio of double losers as USC gets drilled at home by the Beavers. It was his only loss of the week, 31 points moves him UP to a tie for 6^th place. 

Mike Lynn  and Meathead were 6-0 this week, but both made bonehead decisions in their double games. Meathead doubling Iowa instead of Georgia (would have been 22 points) and Mike Lynn switching Louisiana to Boise, costing himself 10 points.

John McKay got the double whammy Saturday watching the Beloved debacle and having the team he loves to hate (and hates to start) lose to the Irish. Liberty also flamed out in Syracuse.

Bevo got home losses from TCU and Stanford and slides to 4^th.

Eli left his Irish (and a bunch of points) out of his lineup. Iowa State and Troy were losers for the Righteous Gemstone, he falls to 5^th.

We saw miles and miles of Texas.

A 72 ounce steak challenge.

We were on the field Friday morning.

And the Sooners and Huskers lived up to the day. Great trip – 2022 planning is underway.

The plot, and the race, thickens after week 3.

Bevo wins the week, riding that Penn State white wave again – Arkansas and Ole Miss look good this morning – but the SEC gauntlet looms.

Mike Lynn remains the leader, dropping his first game, Texas State loses to Incarnate Word, while #1 pick Cincy sits on his bench.

John McKay also took his first hit, Toledo getting dusted at home by Colo.St. – His odd-ball lineup  (Liberty, Coastal Carolina, So Alabama…) gets it done.

Marshall, Air Force, and Pitt all lose as home favorites to the Righteous Eli Gemstone. He scores a pool-low 23 points.

Zendejas was a Utah triple overtime loss to SDSU away from a 6-0 week. He gets shutout wins from Texas A&M and Oregon State to vault into 5^th place.

Miami and UCLA took home upset losses for Meathead. He scores a meager 24 this week and falls to 6^th.

Goldie pitches a road shutout for Earnest, much to the thrill of John McKay and Dave Lemon (in attendance). But the love affair with the memory of Seminole glory days burns him again with a rout by Wake Forest.

The Hagg starting the long road back with a 6-0 week, and scoring 50 points. USC puts up 18 in his double game. Still in last place, but inching back.

September 11^th, the days the towers came down.

Ohio State, Texas, and USC all crumbled. That’s a big -11 points leading to our first single-digit effort of the season. 8 points this week for the our new cellar-dweller, the poet who penned this week’s headline…

The Hagg.

Earnest has company for 2022’s #1 pick. A former big name, Florida State was his only loss this week, He’s comfortably in 7^th place.

Everybody else was 6-0 this week:

Mike Lynn remains in the lead, but has a lot of company near the top.

John McKay wins the week- led by Coastal Carolina!?! And moves into 2^nd place.

Eli got divine intervention from the refs in his Irish double game, but slips to 3^rd.

Meathead’s Saturday morning double switcherwoo cost him 9 points in his double game.

Penn State chalks up another double win for Bevo.

And Zendejas gets a bounce back effort from the Tarheels in his double game.

On to week 3 as the pickin’s get slimmer. Try to avoid the landmines fellas.

This week’s highlites:

Meathead (GA) beating Earnest (Clemson) in a double dog dare showdown.

Bama (Eli) with the usual week one rout and BC (Mike Lynn) with a shutout double win.

Penn State (Bevo) with a big double win in Madison, and losses by Stanford and Washington.

John McKay with 4 wins over FCS fodder.

Gob gets a roadie 2X from OSU – and losses by LSU and Duke.

Zendejas loses his doubler with UNC and also started off with the Husker debacle in Champaign.

The rosters are set, weeks 0 and 1 are right around the corner.

This analysis is based simply on the Vegas odds consensus projected win totals for teams.

So, based on the draft – who’s got the most loaded roster heading into 2021?

First, a look inside the numbers.

Drafting in positions 5-6-7 garnered the most projected wins at the top of the draft.

Starting in Round 7, we start to see disparity from Memphis (8.5) to WKU and Ga State (5.5)

In round 12 we see a big swing – Arkansas St (3.5) and C Michigan (6.5)

So, who has the most projected wins to choose from?

Who does Las Vegas like to win the 2021 College Football Pool?

PROJECTED WINS

Meathead 103 (Sween)

Mike Lynn 102 (Jim)

Zendejas 98 (Dave)

Eli Gemstone 97.5 (Muck)

John McKay 96 (Jonny)

Earnest 93 (Barn)

Bevo 91.5 (Stace)

Gob 85 (Erik)

According to the odds makers, Gob has 18 less wins than Meathead to choose from this season.

But – As the Gambler said, you got to know when to start them, and know when to sit them.

Here we go boys!

commish

John McKay reclaims the most important trophy in all of the sports pools in the history of the world. Eli (Walter’s) reign is over. The final tally is in. Mock drafts are already being discussed. Bring on 2020. #bostonherewecome #thegame #harvardvsyale

2020 Draft

1. Bevo (Stace)
2. Eli Gemstone (Muck)
3. Gob (E)
4. Earnest (Barn)
5. Meathead (Sween)
6. Mike Lynn (Jim)
7. Zendejas (Dave)
8. John McKay (Jonny)

The party’s over.

For the 2nd time in 3 years, the Champion of the Greatest Pool in the History of the World is John McKay. A big come from behind effort after a double loss by Oregon in Week 13, scoring 57 points in week 14, outscoring Zendejas by 22 points, who dropped his season-ending doubler with Roll Tide. (You gotta dance with the girl who brung ya, right?)

Bevo still has Navy, but secured the #1 pick weeks ago.

Mike Lynn got a double win from LSU in the SEC title game to take 3rd, repeating his performance from last year. Same story for Meathead (4th) and Earnest (5th).

Gob scores 60 for the week to crack the 500 mark.

Eli was the only sister to beat his guy.

And Murderer’s Row is on the hook for next year’s draft.

LAFAYETTE — Of course it ended that way.  

It wasn’t right for Louisiana-Monroe to endure another loss to rival Louisiana-Lafayette on a last-second field goal.

This time it was left.

Jared Porter pushed a 34-yard kick left of the goal post with two seconds left. While ULM (5-7, 4-4) wore another season of “almosts” exiting Cajun Field, UL Lafayette (10-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) headed for the locker room and another victory cigar following a 31-30 win on Saturday night.

“It was wide right last year and wide left this time,” ULM head coach Matt Viator said. “I’m just speechless. We were right there in position again and couldn’t get it done.”

======

And it all came down to that. After Alabama dropped our leader’s double game in the Iron Bowl, and John McKay rallied with 5 wins, led by Georgia’s 20 point double win over The Wreck.

Coach McKay needed Louisiana (19.5 point faves) to avoid the upset vs La Monroe. How fitting that in this, the Greatest Pool in the History of the World, that it would come down to an obscure game that only the 8 of us would give a crap about? As soon as I realized it, with about a minute left in the game, I text the two of them the status of the pool. And then it ended. Wide left. Unreal. John McKay celebrates. And Dave falls to 2nd place. Dave’s pool to win in 2019, only to end at the hands of a kicker.

Two kickers.

After his Bama kicker doinked the upright and missed the game-tying FG in his double game.

A season that ends will live forever in our memories. Welcome to the pool….

Zendejas.

And congrats to John McKay. We’ll officially “crown the champion” next week. But we have a handful of games left – a season-ending re-cap will follow the season.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your football, family, friends, and food. Remember to be thankful for all the gifts you’ve been given.

Silent Bob, for a lead heading into the final 2 weeks that may be hard to cough up. A 6-0 week and a pool- high 48 points this week. That’s 115 points the last two weeks as he races to the goal line. (See photo above)

John McKay, for the Beloved. Hosting Gameday this week, sounds like ESPN will get Minnesota in all her winter glory. The Oregon Ducks laid an egg for the PAC 12 and Coach McKay, losing his double game at Arizona State. I sense an SEC championship doubler comin’.

Mike Lynn, for LSU falling to the 2nd round. After a 4-2 week, thanks to losses by SMU and No Texas, he’ll need all the points the Tigers and his Utes can muster the next 2 weeks.

Meathead, for the Ohio State Buckeyes, a point machine that has him leading the pool in double points this year. He’s the worst of the best in 4th place, Fresno State boning him with horrible coaching down the stretch vs Nevada for his only loss this week.

Earnest, for the being the best of the worst. Washington may be the under-achiever of the year in the pool, and the Huskies took Earnest along for the ride.

Eli Gemstone, for seeing the light. He needs to work on his propheting though – calling the Sisters win way too early. He goes 5-1 this week, leaping to 6th place, and now he’s losing to his guy.

Gob, for being the only Sister to be beating his guy. He scores 29 points for the 3rd straight week. That just ain’t gonna cut it, son. Picked 1st in the draft this year, looks like 2nd next year, you may need to re-think draft strategy.

Bevo, for the end of the season. His team is historically bad. And his Huskers need to beat Iowa to be bowl-eligible – not the Frost-led magic “year 2”. Be thankful for “year 3” and the first pick in the 2020 draft.