Bowl Pool 2015 - 2 games done.

We have results!!!!  2 of the first 3 games are finished and there's some good news and some not so good news.  The good news first.  All but 3 people are on the board.  41/44 people have gotten at least 1 game right.  14 people have managed to go 2/2, although at least 3 of those people only have 3 points to show for their efforts.  In other good news, we've had our first "upset" of the bowl pool season.  North Carolina A&T was picked by <50% of the pool, so that counts as an upset.  If you've followed along with this pool in the past, you know how much I love a good upset.  I wouldn't say this one was particularly good, but it counts and I'll take it.

It looks like the Utah / BYU game is turning into a slugfest, only BYU is the only one getting slugged.  I won't tally that game until the clock runs out, but if you picked the Utes, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you are probably going to be able to count those points for you.

Without any further ado, here are the first standings of the season.  If you remember from years past, the tiebreaker at this point is how many points you've lost, so someone with 25 (-10) is going to be ranked ahead of someone 25 (-30).  The first number is the number of points won, and the second number is the number of points in games you have lost:

1. Becky H.: 47 (0)

2. Jim W.: 45 (0)

3. Roth W. #1: 42 (0)

3. James R.: 42 (0)

5. Jay H. #3: 41 (-1)

6. Scott H. #2: 40 (0)

6. Dan D.: 40 (0)

8. Ray R.: 40 (-1)

8. Brent E. #1: 40 (-1)

8. Brent E. #2: 40 (-1)

8. Adam E.: 40 (-1)

12. Scott H. #1: 39 (-1)

13. Brad R.: 38 (-39)

14. Mike S. #2: 36 (0)

15. Marc R. #2: 35 (-1)

16. Dave M.: 35 (-2)

17. Brent S. #1: 35 (-12)

18. Craig G.: 34 (-1)

19. Klei R.: 34 (-15)

20. Mike S. #1: 33 (-1)

21. Michelle L. #1: 31 (0)

22. Marc R. #1: 29 (-1)

23. Chris L.: 29 (-14)

24. Ally H.: 26 (0)

25. Matt N.: 26 (-3)

26. Brent S. #2: 24 (-13)

27. Dustin B.: 22 (-11)

27. Brett W.: 22 (-11)

29. Ryan W.: 17 (-15)

30. Nichole W.: 16 (0)

31. Dylan B.: 15 (-5)

32. Damien R. #1: 15 (-10)

33. Pete J. #2: 10 (0)

34. Jay H. #1: 9 (-2)

35. Mike W.: 9 (-8)

36. Ashley D.: 6 (-5)

37. Roth W. #2: 3 (0)

37. Mindi W.: 3 (0)

37. Jay H. #2: 3 (0)

40. Pete J. #1: 1 (-9)

41. Michelle L. #2: 1 (-12)

42. Damien R. #2: 0 (-8)

43. Tim N.: 0 (-21)

44. Sally R.: 0 (-39)

This second ranking is based on net points (points won - points lost).  This is a good relative measure of how well your sheet is doing.

1. Becky H.: 47

2. Jim W.: 45

3. Roth W. #1: 42

3. James R.: 42

5. Jay H. #3: 40

5. Scott H. #2: 40

5. Dan D.: 40

8. Ray R.: 39

8. Brent E. #1: 39

8. Brent E. #2: 39

8. Adam E.: 39

12. Scott H. #1: 38

13. Mike S. #2: 36

14. Marc R. #2: 34

15. Dave M.: 33

15. Craig G.: 33

17. Mike S. #1: 32

18. Michelle L. #1: 31

19. Marc R. #1: 28

20. Ally H.: 26

21. Brent S. #1: 23

21. Matt N.: 23

23. Klei R.: 19

24. Nichole W.: 16

25. Chris L.: 15

26. Brent S. #2: 11

26. Dustin B.: 11

26. Brett W.: 11

29. Dylan B.: 10

29. Pete J. #2: 10

31. Jay H. #1: 7

32. Damien R. #1: 5

33. Roth W. #2: 3

33. Mindi W.: 3

33. Jay H. #2: 3

36. Ryan W.: 2

37. Mike W.: 1

37. Ashley D.: 1

39. Brad R.: -1

40. Pete J. #1: -8

40. Damien R. #2: -8

42. Michelle L. #2: -11

43. Tim N.: -21

44. Sally R.: -39

It's a real family affair for me as both my Mom and Dad have lost a top 10 team in the first 2 games.  That's a rough way to start.  No guts, no glory!!!  Bet big, win big!!!  At least that's what they tell you at the casino.

There are 3 more games left to go today, so let's have an overview of those:

The Camellia Bowl, which I think is a flower, but maybe a lizard of some kind.  I really don't know.  It pits proverbial powerhouses Ohio U. and Appalachian State.  It turns out that I have t-shirts from both of those schools.  Actually, I have T-shirts from 10/12 teams that play today, which my wife repeatedly tells me is a sign of my growing college t-shirt addiction.  I bet you can guess which 2 teams I don't have.

Here's the breakdown of the picks:

Appalachian State: 35 (Mean = 19.69)

Ohio U:  9 (Mean = 16.22)

The median pick is Appalachian State for 13 points.  The mean pick was Appalachian State for 12.34 points.  This game was the game with the highest standard deviation of the picks, meaning that it hopefully is a good game for spreading the field out a little bit.  I hope the game is good, although I doubt I'll watch much of it.

The 5th game of the day is the Cure Bowl, which I'm probably not going watch for a different reason, and that is that it's on an obscure network that I may or may not have on my TV.  It's on the CBSSN, which I can't remember watching and am almost positive I have never looked for.  I initially thought this game was sponsored by the 80s alt-emo band The Cure.  My second thought was that this game was sponsored by Susan G. Komen, but it appears that even that was wrong, as it the technical name for this bowl is the Autonation Cure Bowl.  I think that Susan G. Komen is still involved somehow, since the promo I saw was decked out all in pink, making it the strange intersection of breast cancer, football and car parts.  That's a combination you don't often see.

Speaking of something you don't often see, San Jose State is 5-7 and was invited to this bowl.  I thought the NCAA had some pretty strict rules about being bowl eligible.  Actually, I thought the rule was pretty well established that you needed 6 D1 wins.  I remember a few years ago when Georgia Tech made it to a bowl with a losing record, and people were openly wondering if that was fair.  At least then, they were 6-7.  I' really don't understand how 5-7 gets you to a bowl game.

Apparently it didn't stop people from taking them.  Here are the picks:

San Jose State: 23 (Mean = 13.48)

Georgia State: 21 (Mean = 13.14)

The median pick was San Jose State for 2 points.  The mean pick was San Jose State for 0.77 points.  At least 3 people on each side took this game as a top 10 game, which ought to make for an interesting watch for them.  For the rest of us, not so much.  This game is the 2nd lowest wagered game we have (after the first game of the season).

But the non-stop zombie walk of bowl games continues with the last game of the day. This promises to be better than the Cure Bowl, but not much better.  It is the game with the 3rd lowest wagered points on it.  It's the New Orleans Bowl and it features Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech and probably large sections of the Superdome closed off from ticket purchase.  Actually, these two schools are probably not bad choices, geographically.  I shouldn't be so hard on the New Orleans Bowl.  Here are the specifics:

Louisiana Tech:  27 (Mean = 13.11)

Arkansas State:  17 (Mean = 13.94)

The median pick was Louisiana Tech for 4.5 points.  The mean pick was Louisiana Tech for 2.66 points.  At least 4 people have Louisiana Tech in their top 10, while 2 have Arkansas State.

So, not a lot of points at stake today, but it's only the first day.  We will only be 1/7 way done with the games and only 10.40% of the total available points doled out.  I doubt anyone will be eliminate based on this day only.  It may make the pathway to the to a little harder, but not impossible.

Good luck to everyone!!!!