Two Solid Days of NCAA Football

What a great couple of days! Too bad the Georgia Tech vs. LSU constest wasn't really a contest.

No matter if you prefer to watch high scoring, acrobatic games or defensive slugfests - the past two days had it all. Wanny's Pittsburgh team was shut out, but managed to hold the Beavers to a single field goal - this brought our second push of the bowl season (there were none last year), pushes don't favor those of us trying to catch up to the leaders!

Speaking of leaders, we have a new one. JFishbein went on a tear and has now picked 15 out of 22 correctly (that's not even including the two pushes!) That's absolutely remarkable!

Tomorrow I'll post a lot of forward looking stats and information so that everyone can get a realistic picture of where they stand. For now, here's the latest Leader Board. I'm simply trying to stay awake long enough to see if Rhys Millen can do a back-flip jump in a truck on ESPN.

Happy New Year - goodbye 2008, hello 2009.

~ Max

Halfway Point - Please VERIFY YOUR PICKS

Tonight we reach the halfway point in terms of number of games played (17 out of 34). However, the halfway point for "points" won't be reached until the Insight Bowl (and that doesn't include gimmicks).

I implore you to verify that the picks that show on the All Picks Grid - match what you emailed in as your entry. Check your picks and the lines! If you have somehow misplaced your completed entry form, and only have the All Picks Grid - you can refer to an earlier post that contained the schedule of games and the lines here: Schedule and Spreads.

ALL ENTRANTS WERE URGED TO USE THE FINAL SPREADSHEET AND CHECK THE MASTER GRID AT THE OUTSET OF THE POOL FOR ACCURACY. THE POOL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE IF ENTRANTS CHOOSE TO DISREGARD THESE URGINGS. ALL ENTRANTS ARE URGED ONCE AGAIN TO CHECK THAT THE MASTER GRID ACCURATELY REFLECTS YOUR REMAINING PICKS. IN THE EVENT YOU BELIEVE THERE IS AN ERROR NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY AND, IN THE EVENT YOU CAN DOCUMENT THAT THE ERROR IS OURS WE WILL MAKE THE NECESSARY CORRECTIONS.

ALSO, TO THE EXTENT YOU INVOLVE YOUR CHILDREN IN THIS POOL, THAT IS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR KID(S). THIS IS NOT ROMPER ROOM.

~ Max

La Tech, NC State and Northwestern All Cover

Several people went 3 for 3 in this stretch, nicely done.

I'm too tired to write much more, so here's the Leader Board.

~ Max

FSU and WVA Cover, Cal Pushes - MWeiss First to Double Digits

FSU rolled over an exposed and outmatched Badger squad. Wisconsin couldn't get anything going against the Seminoles and lost 42-13. Meanwhile WVA pulled the mild upset by beating UNC in an exciting 31-30 Meineke Bowl. There were some amazing plays made in this game. WVA quarterback, Pat White, was a stud. He spread the ball around to seven different receivers, throwing for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns, including the game winner in the closing seconds of the game.

Cal made numerous mistakes, and turned what should have been an easy cover into a push by beating Miami 24-17.

MWeiss is the first player to reach double-digits. Everyone should know that this is far from over, we're just shy of the 1/3 mark in games to be played and we've only played for about 1/4 the total points. Stay tuned!

~ Max

Florida Atlantic University Captures Motor City Crown

It should come as no surprise to anyone following how well we (as a group of 54 college football pool players) are doing so far this bowl season, that our most heavily picked team failed to cover. The Chippewas of Central Michigan were favored by 6.5 points over the FAU Owls. 38 of us had leaned on the chalk for this game and 16 went with the underdog.

If we had done a little more research, we might have noticed a trend. Going back to the 1980's, Howard Schnellenberger had compiled a 5-0 record in bowl games. He and his Miami Hurricanes even managed to win a national championship in 1983. After tonight's upset victory, Schnellenberger is 6-0 in bowl games.

Our current record as a whole is a pitiful, 190 correct picks and 242 wrong picks. MFish and SCarlin each have 7-1 records and MWeiss leads the pool with 8.5 points.

In previous Leader Boards, I mistakenly awarded Bubba with a win for his Fresno State pick and PMartin a loss with his Colorado State pick. I've corrected this error.

~ Max

Notre Dame and Boise State Cover

Notre Dame rolled in Hawaii and crushed the Rainbow Warriors. There were 8 gimmick picks for this game, four per side. Two contestants lost 3 points by choosing Hawaii as their Second Bet. Earlier, TCU ruined Boise State's bid for perfection, but failed to cover the 2.5 point spread.

I'll update the Leader Board one more time this weekend after Saturday's games. As I write this, it certainly looks like Florida Atlantic is going to upset the Central Michigan Chippewas in the Motor City Bowl.

~ Max

Schedule and Spreads

A few people were wondering why the spreads weren't included on the Master Grid of all picks. Mainly because everyone has them on their entry, but also because that would have just made that spreadsheet three columns wider than necessary.

If you misplaced your entry form, and don't know the schedule or the spreads - here they are - just click on the image below to enlarge.You might have also noticed a mistake on the first leader board that I published. I didn't take into account the three people who didn't choose to make a Second Bet, that's been corrected on the most recent (and all future) leader board postings. In general, I'll try to post a leader board at the end of each day that games are played. I was just too tired (and shocked that Troy blew that lead) yesterday to post one.

~Max

Southern Miss Covers - Oh, Troy!

For a few minutes there I thought that we (as a majority of pickers) had finally gotten one right. I was wrong, Troy blew a 10 point lead in royal (or should I say, Cub) fashion. Troy actually ended up losing the game in overtime to the underdog Southern Miss team - geez.

There are three contestants who are perfect through the first 5 games. The rest of us are still in it though, as there is still a lot of football left to be played. An updated leader board is below, click to enlarge.
Tomorrow night's game should be a great one. TCU and Boise State square off in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - this game is worth 1.5 points as opposed to the 1 point that the previous 5 games were valued. This is also the first contest that features opposing gimmick picks - one for TCU and one for Boise State.
Did you see that Bears game? Incredible!

~ Max

Minority Report

As a collective body, we stink! The minority picks won each of the first four games of the bowl season. Underdogs, Navy, Memphis and BYU all failed to cover and favorite Fresno State lost outright to Colorado State.

The best sign in the stands I saw read: Fresno is not a State!

The best performance was turned in by Colorado State RB, Gartrell Johnson. He rushed for 285 yards and added another 90 yards receiving. Wow!

Here's the first Leader Board. Only one game on tap for tomorrow. The New Orleans bowl pitting Southern Mississippi against Troy.

~ Max

Some Stats

Wake has overcome the early 13 point deficit and now leads Navy, 22-19 with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter. What I haven't figured out is, why do they keep playing hula music when they break for a commercial?

Anyway, I thought everyone would like to see some of the statistics related to our picks.


Just like last year (although not quite as much), we're leaning on the favorites by a margin of 942-894. Central Michigan is our favorite favorite (picked on 38 entries) and Northwestern is our favorite dog (picked on 37 entries). The entire pick spectrum is shown in the graphic, just click it to enlarge. The gimmick, Best and Second Bets vary widely. Only three sheets chose not to take the risk with the Second Bet - we'll see how that strategy pays off in a couple of weeks. Oklahoma and Florida are the most used gimmick picks, 9 and 8 times respectively. So, the BCS Championship game will likely play an even more significant role to decide the ultimate winner of Goin' Bowling VII.Enjoy the rest of your Saturday. I'll try to post a leaderboard before heading to bed tonight.

~ Max

Ready...Set...Go!

Within a few moments I'll be sending out the Picks Grid to each player. If you don't receive it, please just shoot me an email and I'll forward one to you. The Eagle Bank Bowl has just entered the 2nd quarter, with Navy leading Wake by a score of 13-0.

~Max

I've spotted at least one error on the original Picks Grid. The maximum points should read "48", not "49". The most you can get for the Second Bet is 2 points. Sorry if this causes any of you confusion.

Best Bet Clarification

I doubt that one single person could run this pool (well, unless that one person had absolutely no life! - I'm close, just not there yet). That's why it takes three of us. However, when three people are trying to do all of this, mainly via email, mistakes happen.

On the rules we posted and sent out, the Best Bet was worth 1 full point in the event of a push - however, I forgot to change that on the spreadsheet. It still has what we used for last year, when a push in the Best Bet was worth .5 point.

So, the rules are correct, the spreadsheet is wrong. A push in the Best Bet will garner 1 point. A win is still 2 points and a loss is still zero.

~ Max

A Few Hours Left To Enter

Hey gang. The pot currently sits at $4,300 (assuming you all sent in your entry to Jon Perlman at 30 E. Huron, #1002, Chicago, IL 60611 - there are only a few hours left to get your picks in. I'm guessing there are anywhere from another 2-10 left to come in, based on the emails I've received over the past couple of days. I hope we get it over 50. It's not too late to get a friend or coworker to participate (if they send the fee today, we'll make accomodations for them).

Tune in tomorrow. I'll try to have everything pulled together by noon. Everyone will receive a spreadsheet from me that will show everyone's picks, for every game. Here on the blog I'll be posting the leaderboard and providing updates at the end of games.

Good luck to everyone!

~Max

Get Your Entry In

Hey everyone, the deadline for entries is Friday, December 19th. That's two days from today! So, send in your check to Jon and email your entry to me, max_rose@sbcglobal.net as soon as possible.

The first games are on Saturday. The NCAA Bowl Season kicks off with the Eagle Bank Bowl featuring a favored Wake Forest (-3) against Navy. Last year, Navy and Utah played one of the more exciting games of the bowl season. Utah won 35-32, but had to erase a 10 point half-time deficit. Navy has a very exciting offense, led by their QB, Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm starting to get fired up!

~ Max

Frequently Asked Questions

I'll do my best to keep everyone updated here at this website. If you have questions, feel free to email - if I don't respond immediately, check back here because I may have posted the answer here for everyone to read.

The most common question so far is in regards to payout. Depending upon the entries, payout will be to 3 or 4 places. The exact amounts won't be known until all of the entries have been recieved. Last year, we had 47 entries and paid out to fourth place. 65% to 1st, 20% to 2nd, 10% to 3rd and 5% to 4th.

The second most common question is: "Can I forward this to friends?" Answer: "Yes, absolutely."

Question: "How can I get a blank Excel entry form?"
Answer: "Send me an email request."

Question: "I've filled in my entry form, now what?"
Answer: "Save the excel file to your computer and email it as an attachment to all three email addresses; max_rose@sbcglobal.net mfish15@aol.com jon@chicago-aim.com

Question: "When are the entries due?"
Answer: "Forms are due by Friday, December 19. Entry fee is due by Saturday, December 20."

Question: "Can I submit multiple entries?"
Answer: "Yes - be sure to send in multiple entry fees as well ;-)"

Question: "What are the rules?"
Answer: "Rules are spelled out on the entry form and will be posted here on this blog."

If you want to see what happened in last year's pool, you can read all the updates on this blog: http://2007bowlpicks.blogspot.com/

~ Max

'Tis the Season (Pool Rules)

College Bowl Season...that is!

The Goin' Bowling VII Pool (aka MFish Pool) entry forms have been sent. Complete your entries and mail your fee - it's time to go bowling!

If you need an entry form, with complete instructions, send an email.

GOIN’ BOWLING VII
2008-2009 NCAA BOWL POOL RULES & SCHEDULE

(1) After Max Rose and Jon Perlman took over admirably during the one-year Mfish hiatus that was Goin’ Bowling VI, all three are combining efforts to co-commission the 7th edition of this pool that makes lemonade out the lemon that is the college football postseason. The minor pain in the ass for all of you is that your picks must be emailed to ALL 3 OF US. Thus, submit all picks via e-mail to: jon@chicago-aim.com, mfish15@aol.com, AND max_rose@sbcglobal.net before Noon on Friday December 19, 2008.
(2) Entry fees (100) go to Jon Perlman, 30 E. Huron #1002, Chicago, Illinois 60611 and must be received by December 20, 2008.
(3) Select a team in all 34 bowl games using the lines denoted below. If you omit any game, you get the favorite by default (or the second listed team in the event of an “EVEN” line).
(4) Winning picks receive the corresponding point value for each game. A push results in ½ the corresponding point value.
(5) BEST BETS: Clearly indicate one game your “BEST BET”. If you win this game you will receive an extra 2.0 pts. There is no penalty for losing your best bet. However, if you fail to clearly indicate a BEST BET then you will have none. There is no “default”. If your BEST BET game ends up as a “push” then you receive an additional 1.0 point.
(6) SECOND BETS (OPTIONAL): In addition to the purely “extra credit” BEST BET, you have the option of selecting another game by clearly indicating it as your “SECOND BET”. This gimmick comes with a risk. A correct “SECOND BET” results in an additional 2.0 points, but an incorrect “SECOND BET” results in a 3.0 point deduction (no award/deduction for a SECOND BET push).
(7) At the conclusion of the B(C)S “National Championship”, the entrant with the highest cumulative point total wins. Any prize position ties will be broken in favor of the entrant with the better win-loss record (determined by percentage, i.e 21-11-2=.656 beats 22-12-0=.647). BEST BET(s) and SECOND BET(s) are irrelevant to break ties. If teams are tied both in total points and win percentage, then the prize money is split between the two places. Our tiebreaker method, albeit imperfect, beats the shit of those used by the Big 12 or the BCS.
(8) GOOD LUCK! And may your holiday season be a little brighter when you are stuck at an event you don’t want to be at and the otherwise meaningless bowl game on TV becomes your little island of tranquility (until, of course, your team loses).
(9) Payouts have yet to be determined and will be based on the total number of entries. In all likelihood, payout will be to 3 or 4 places.