After Miami Beach Bowl

For the life of me, I figured that since the Miami Beach Bowl was the only Bowl game that it would have been in prime time.  Then , I went to the gym at lunch time and saw that the game was already in the second quarter.  What?!?!?!  God forbid they should compete head to head with the Lions / Saints NFL game.....   So, from what I saw, it was quite a shootout, as a lot of college games tend to be nowadays.  There wasn't a lot of points up for grabs in this game, but it did make a bit of a difference in the standings.

For one thing, we are down to one and only one person that is perfect.  Congratulations, Jim W.  You are the last person standing.  Too bad there are still 34 more games.

Here are the points standings:

1. Jim W.: 144 (0)

2. Brad R.: 142 (-110)

3. Klei R.: 131 (-15)

4. Roth W. #1: 126 (-3)

5. Dave M.: 126 (-9)

6. Brett W.: 121 (-24)

7. Scott H. #1: 119 (-32)

8. Craig G.: 118 (-15)

9. Dustin B.: 114 (-17)

10. Adam E.: 105 (-1)

11. Sally R.: 102 (-54)

12. Ray R.: 101 (-8)

14. Mike S. #1: 98 (-29)

13. Jay H. #1: 98 (-10)

15. Mike S. #2: 95 (-5)

17. Brent S. #1: 94 (-23)

16. Marc R. #2: 94 (-1)

18. Matt N.: 92 (-12)

19. Scott H. #2: 91 (-12)

21. Brent E. #2: 86 (-43)

21. Brent E. #1: 86 (-43)

20. Dan D.: 86 (-23)

23. Jay H. #3: 84 (-46)

24. Michelle L. #1: 83 (-11)

25. Marc R. #1: 81 (-17)

26. Mike W.: 78 (-13)

27. Ashley D.: 78 (-39)

28. Pete J. #2: 75 (-25)

29. Ryan W.: 70 (-17)

30. Damien R. #1: 66 (-62)

32. Chris L.: 63 (-55)

31. Nichole W.: 63 (-9)

33. Brent S. #2: 54 (-27)

34. Becky H.: 53 (-61)

35. Pete J. #1: 51 (-49)

36. Dylan B.: 47 (-45)

37. Michelle L. #2: 45 (-35)

38. James R.: 42 (-114)

39. Ally H.: 32 (-91)

40. Damien R. #2: 28 (-25)

41. Roth W. #2: 25 (-3)

42. Jay H. #2: 24 (-4)

43. Tim N.: 13 (-78)

44. Mindi W.: 9 (-19)

...and the net points:

1. Jim W.: 144

2. Roth W. #1: 123

3. Dave M.: 117

4. Klei R.: 116

5. Adam E.: 104

6. Craig G.: 103

7. Brett W.: 97

7. Dustin B.: 97

9. Ray R.: 93

9. Marc R. #2: 93

11. Mike S. #2: 90

12. Jay H. #1: 88

13. Scott H. #1: 87

14. Matt N.: 80

15. Scott H. #2: 79

16. Michelle L. #1: 72

17. Brent S. #1: 71

18. Mike S. #1: 69

19. Mike W.: 65

20. Marc R. #1: 64

21. Dan D.: 63

22. Nichole W.: 54

23. Ryan W.: 53

24. Pete J. #2: 50

25. Sally R.: 48

26. Brent E. #2: 43

26. Brent E. #1: 43

28. Ashley D.: 39

29. Jay H. #3: 38

30. Brad R.: 32

31. Brent S. #2: 27

32. Roth W. #2: 22

33. Jay H. #2: 20

34. Michelle L. #2: 10

35. Chris L.: 8

36. Damien R. #1: 4

37. Damien R. #2: 3

38. Pete J. #1: 2

38. Dylan B.: 2

40. Becky H.: -8

41. Mindi W.: -10

42. Ally H.: -59

43. Tim N.: -65

44. James R.: -72

There are 2 more games tomorrow.  The first one has got to be the worst Bowl game.  I probably say this every year, but I don't understand having a Bowl  game in Boise, Idaho.  Why would anyone ever go there?  That's not a great vacation destination unless you like hiking or fly fishing or some other cold weather activity.  Even if I was a super fan, I can't imaging travelling to Idaho to see my team play.  Unfortunately, that's the fate left to the fans of Utah State and Akron.  Here are the particulars:

Utah State: 34 (Average points = 20.88)

Akron: 10 (Average points = 14.00)

The median pick for this game is Utah State for 17.5 points.  The average pick is Utah State for 12.95.  The Vegas line was Utah State -6.5.  This bowl had the 24th highest amount of points wagered on it.  Once again, Ally H. is flying solo being the only person that took Akron as a top 10 play.  13 people went the other way, and took Utah State.  I'm going to go ahead and pull for Akron.  Not just because they are a MAC team, so I feel obligated, but I'd love to see a big upset.  We've only had one upset so far, and that was in the game that was so obscure I feel pretty comfortable saying that no one in the pool had ever seen either of the two teams play all season.  Go Zips!!!!

The second game of the day is the Boca Raton Bowl.  It must be heady times to be a college football fan on the East Coast of Florida.  It seems like there's a game there every day.  I don't think this one is going to be a ratings powerhouse, unless America is more football-starved than I already think they are.  It features Temple and Toledo.  Two natural rivals, if there were ones.  Here is the breakdown:

Temple:  27 (Average = 19.07)

Toledo: 17 (Average = 13.76)

The median pick is Temple for 9 points.  The average pick is Temple for 6.39 points.  The Vegas line is Temple -2, so it seems like an upset is a real possibility.  That would be fun.  Go MAC.  There are only 749 total points wagered on this game, which is good for the 5th most irrelevant bowl game left to play (34th overall).  Only 7 people felt moved enough to make this a top 10 pick.  This time it's Mindi W.'s chance to make a big move up the standings as she is the only person to take Toledo in her top 10.  Who knows?  Why not make a big splash?  I wouldn't mind.

Good luck to everyone!!!!!