2016 Bowl Pool - 5 games to go edition.....

It appears as though we have a day off tomorrow, which is nice.  We can all catch our breath after 9 games over 2 days.  Today, we took another step towards figuring out who's going to win this thing.  We started the day with 15 sheets alive to win something and after 4 games, we pared it down to only 5 entries that can win anything.  All but one of those entries is alive for both 1st and 2nd.

Here were the eliminations:

After Louisville loss:

Adam E. (2nd)

Brent S. (1st, 2nd)

Dave M. (1st)

Jay H. #2 (1st, 2nd)

Mike S. (2nd)

Ray R. (2nd)

Tim N. (1st)

After Kentucky loss:

Dave M. (2nd)

Klei R. (1st)

Scott Her. #2 (2nd)

Tim N. (2nd)

After Washington loss:

Klei R. (2nd)

After Ohio State loss:

Michelle L. #2 (1st, 2nd)

For those that care about the points, here are the updated standings:

1. Mark ESPN: 587 (-214)

2. Brent E. #2: 574 (-228)

3. Brent E. #1: 573 (-229)

4. Pete J. #1: 565 (-231)

5. Marc S.: 553 (-246)

6. Nick B.: 544 (-249)

7. Dave M.: 539 (-257)

8. Stephanie P.: 539 (-261)

9. Tim N.: 531 (-294)

10. Mike W.: 525 (-282)

11. Michelle L. #2: 524 (-256)

12. Mike S.: 524 (-268)

13. Roth W.: 520 (-279)

14. Adam E.: 512 (-262)

15. Josiah T. #2: 498 (-280)

16. Michelle L. #1: 498 (-285)

17. Freitag B.: 496 (-301)

18. Scott Her. #2: 495 (-269)

19. Hutch H.: 495 (-290)

20. Klei R.: 494 (-285)

21. Hal R. #1: 493 (-293)

22. Mason A.: 486 (-290)

23. Hal R. #2: 481 (-305)

24. Matt N.: 464 (-312)

25. Marc R.: 460 (-311)

26. Pete J. #2: 459 (-337)

27. Scott H.: 456 (-363)

28. Damien R.: 455 (-329)

29. Kevin F. #1: 453 (-325)

30. Brent S.: 451 (-304)

31. Ben S.: 451 (-315)

32. Deborah G.: 447 (-328)

33. Jim P.: 447 (-339)

34. Jay H. #3: 445 (-318)

35. Ray R.: 440 (-326)

36. Becky H.: 437 (-337)

37. Ryan W.: 427 (-347)

38. Kevin F. #2: 424 (-359)

39. Dylan B.: 423 (-354)

40. Josiah T. #1: 419 (-362)

41. Dorthea R.: 398 (-378)

42. Scott Her. #1: 397 (-337)

43. Dan S.: 396 (-371)

43. Jay H. #1: 396 (-371)

45. Julie S.: 382 (-385)

46. Brad R.: 380 (-380)

47. Ally H.: 367 (-376)

48. Chad L.: 365 (-378)

49. Dustin B.: 363 (-352)

50. Dan Du.: 353 (-427)

51. Jay H. #2: 346 (-357)

52. Jim W.: 340 (-419)

53. Dan Dz.: 339 (-369)

54. Brett W.: 302 (-413)

55. Ash D.: 293 (-470)

56. Nichole W.: 252 (-467)

There are only 4 people still alive for 1st place:

1.: Mark ESPN (53.125%)

2.: Brent E. #1 (28.125%)

3.: Brent E. #2 (12.5%)

4.: Pete J. #1 (6.25%)

...and 5 people still alive for 2nd place:

1.: Pete J. #1 (37.5%)

2.: Mark ESPN (31.25%)

3.: Brent E. #1 (18.75%)

4.: Brent E. #2 (6.25%)

4.: Nick B. (6.25%)

There are 4 games on Monday, and suffice it to say that there's a pretty good chance that this pool will be wrapped up after the second one depending on the outcomes of the earlier games.

Here are the single game eliminations:

Cotton Bowl:

If Western Michigan Wins:

Nick B is eliminated from 2nd place contention.

Pete J. #1 is eliminated from 1st & 2nd place contention.

If Wisconsin wins:

Brent E. #1 is eliminated from 1st & 2nd place contention.

Brent E. #2 is eliminated from 1st & 2nd place contention.

Outback Bowl:

If Florida Wins:

Pete J. #1 is eliminated from 1st place contention.

If Iowa Wins:

Nick B. is eliminated from 2nd place contention.

Rose Bowl:

If Penn State wins:

Nick B. is eliminated from 2nd place contention.

If USC wins:

Brent E. #2 is eliminated from 1st & 2nd place contention.

Pete J. #1 is eliminated from 1st place contention.

Sugar Bowl:

If Auburn wins:

Brent E. #2 is eliminated from 2nd place contention.

Pete J. #1 is eliminated from 1st place contention.

If Oklahoma wins:

Nick B. is eliminated from 2nd place contention.

So, if Wisconsin & Florida win on Monday, Mark ESPN wins the pool.  For those that are interested, here is the article I used to make these picks:

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/bigpicture2016/confidence-bowls-picks-split-college-football-playoff-semifinal-matchups

I just took his picks and copied them verbatim into my sheet.  I typically do this to show how little "experts" know about college football.  Maybe I picked the right "expert" this year, because he's the odds-on favorite to win this thing.  That was not my intention in the slightest.  Honestly, I'm really hoping that Western Michigan wins on Monday.  I even got a t-shirt commemorating their undefeated season for Christmas.  My wife still doesn't understand "Row the Boat", but I like it as a slogan, even though I don't totally understand it either.

Anyway, enjoy your New Years Eve.  Be safe and take your time recovering tomorrow.  Let's hope that 2017 is better than 2016.  I've said that the only good things this year were the Cubs winning the World Series and being able to go to arguably the best NCAA Final Game ever.  Other than that, this year sucked pretty hard.  Good riddance, 2016.....