Jim W. gets 1st place. 2nd & 3rd up for grabs

Despite the fact that the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is a game between a 6-6 team and a 7-5 team in, what I consider to be, the worst location of any of the bowl games, it certainly did decide a lot in the bowl pool.  If you read yesterday’s post, than you know that Jim W. has won the bowl pool.  As of right now, he is 32-6 picking games.  No one can catch or pass him with three games to go, so he is the 2019-2020 champion.  In looking at the elimination matrix, it seems pretty clear that the biggest pick in deciding this years Champion was the Alamo Bowl, where Jim W. picked Texas for 24 points.  If you see below, a whole lot of people that were close to the top were kept out because Utah losing did them in.  Every year, I say you need to pick some upsets and have those upsets win in order to win this thing, and that seems to be the case here.  It also helps to have a 2 pick lead on the next best picker.  Congratulations Jim.  Enjoy the rest of the games without having to stress over who wins and who loses.

I looked back a few years, and Jim has already set the record for most games right in a season with 32.  The previous highs were 30 a few years back, and those years had an extra game in them.  So, he has a great chance to set the all time record for points in Bowl pool.  Very impressive.

That’s not all that was decided.  There are 4 entries alive for 2 spots.  The thing is, one of those two spots is guaranteed to be Harrell R. #2.  No matter what, that entry will either get 2^nd or 3^rd depending on the outcome of the rest of the games.

This is where it gets a little weird and I have to go to the fine print in the introductory letter.  2 of the 4 entries belong to Harrell R..  This pool kind of lends itself to this because you can pick exactly the same teams, but mix up the points and do well on two entries.  However, that’s not really fair to everyone else, so the rule is that only one winning spot per person.  So, if Harrell R. happens to finish in both 2^nd and 3^rd with his two entries, he’ll get the money for 2^nd, but 3^rd place money will go to whoever is next in the standings.  I didn’t calculate probabilities with this contingency in place, so I’ll know more if / when it happens.

With that in mind, here are the points standings:

1. Jim W.: 623 (-137)

2. Harrell R. #2: 601 (-159)

3. Pete J. #1: 599 (-167)

4. Harrell R. #1: 592 (-168)

5. Mike S.: 591 (-181)

6. Mike N.: 591 (-219)

7. James P.: 586 (-231)

8. Ben W.: 584 (-180)

9. Grant F.: 582 (-173)

10. Josiah T. #1: 581 (-184)

11. Pete J. #2: 581 (-185)

12. Scott Herd. #2: 580 (-198)

13. Jonathan J.: 579 (-182)

14. Peter F.: 573 (-243)

15. Brett W.: 571 (-210)

16. Brian K.: 569 (-226)

17. Hutch H.: 562 (-198)

18. Matt N.: 558 (-225)

19. Andrzej #1: 555 (-247)

20. Andrzej #2: 554 (-248)

21. Dave M.: 552 (-209)

22. Klei R.: 551 (-216)

23. Mason A.: 545 (-230)

24. Scott Herd. #1: 544 (-236)

25. Pete J. #3: 542 (-224)

26. Brent S.: 541 (-218)

27. Scott Has. #1: 540 (-252)

28. Dan Du.: 539 (-276)

29. Mike W.: 536 (-253)

30. Michelle L. #1: 532 (-222)

31. Emily T.: 529 (-225)

32. Josiah T. #3: 526 (-269)

33. Josiah T. #2: 525 (-225)

34. Marc R.: 519 (-233)

35. Adam E.: 510 (-245)

36. Andrew D.: 509 (-308)

37. Michelle L. #2: 507 (-247)

38. Nikki W.: 502 (-326)

39. Scott Has. #2: 501 (-248)

40. Bryan G.: 501 (-276)

41. Dylan B.: 500 (-249)

42. Ryan G.: 500 (-288)

43. Max W. #2: 497 (-310)

44. Mike Smith: 496 (-266)

45. Jaxon S.: 496 (-298)

46. Max A. #1: 495 (-321)

47. Damien R. #2: 493 (-276)

48. Jay H. #2: 491 (-298)

49. Ryan W.: 489 (-273)

50. Shawn M.: 488 (-295)

51. Dustin B.: 486 (-285)

52. Greg McE. - ESPN: 481 (-276)

53. Jay H. #1: 481 (-278)

54. Brad R.: 480 (-308)

55. Cory R.: 472 (-309)

56. Tim N.: 471 (-315)

57. Matt M.: 464 (-294)

58. Nick B.: 461 (-280)

59. Max A. #2: 454 (-290)

60. Max W. #1: 449 (-330)

61. Becky H.: 440 (-335)

62. Steve Dz.: 436 (-359)

63. Nichole W.: 430 (-351)

64. Ally H.: 429 (-354)

65. Kirt R.: 414 (-332)

66. Jason S.: 411 (-388)

67. Damien R. #1: 399 (-418)

68. Rich P.: 376 (-429)

…and here is the elimination matrix:

Total	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
1. Jim W.: 623 (-137)	1st Place	Nevada	Indiana
2. Harrell R. #2: 601 (-159)	Utah	62.50%	37.50%
3. Pete J. #1: 599 (-167)	Utah	25.00%	37.50%
4. Harrell R. #1: 592 (-168)	Initial	Utah	25.00%
5. Mike S.: 591 (-181)	Utah	Utah	BC
6. Mike N.: 591 (-219)	Nevada	12.50%	Nevada
7. James P.: 586 (-231)	Utah	Baylor	Baylor
8. Ben W.: 584 (-180)	Initial	Initial	Va. Tech
9. Grant F.: 582 (-173)	Nevada	Nevada	Indiana
10. Josiah T. #1: 581 (-184)	Auburn	Baylor	Indiana
11. Pete J. #2: 581 (-185)	Initial	Kan. St.	Auburn
12. Scott Herd. #2: 580 (-198)	Initial	Initial	Kan. St.
13. Jonathan J.: 579 (-182)	Kan. St.	Wisconsin	Wisconsin
14. Peter F.: 573 (-243)	Wisconsin	Wisconsin	Wisconsin
15. Brett W.: 571 (-210)	Indiana	Nevada	Nevada
16. Brian K.: 569 (-226)	Initial	Va. Tech	Va. Tech
17. Hutch H.: 562 (-198)	Kan. St.	Kan. St.	Kan. St.
18. Matt N.: 558 (-225)	Va. Tech	Fla. St.	Indiana
19. Andrzej #1: 555 (-247)	Initial	Initial	Va. Tech
20. Andrzej #2: 554 (-248)	Initial	Initial	Kan. St.
21. Dave M.: 552 (-209)	Kan. St.	Kan. St.	Kan. St.
22. Klei R.: 551 (-216)	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
23. Mason A.: 545 (-230)	Initial	Initial	Initial
24. Scott Herd. #1: 544 (-236)	Ga. St.	Utah	Utah
25. Pete J. #3: 542 (-224)	Michigan	Michigan	Michigan
26. Brent S.: 541 (-218)	Baylor	Nevada	Nevada
27. Scott Has. #1: 540 (-252)	Initial	Initial	Initial
28. Dan Du.: 539 (-276)	Initial	Initial	Initial
29. Mike W.: 536 (-253)	Initial	Initial	Initial
30. Michelle L. #1: 532 (-222)	Fla. St.	Fla. St.	Baylor
31. Emily T.: 529 (-225)	Initial	Initial	Va. Tech
32. Josiah T. #3: 526 (-269)	Initial	Initial	Initial
33. Josiah T. #2: 525 (-225)	Ga. St.	Wisconsin	Wisconsin
34. Marc R.: 519 (-233)	BC	Indiana	Indiana
35. Adam E.: 510 (-245)	Baylor	Baylor	Nevada
36. Andrew D.: 509 (-308)	Initial	Initial	Initial
37. Michelle L. #2: 507 (-247)	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
38. Nikki W.: 502 (-326)	Initial	Va. Tech	Va. Tech
39. Scott Has. #2: 501 (-248)	Michigan	Michigan	Michigan
40. Bryan G.: 501 (-276)	Baylor	BC	Indiana
41. Dylan B.: 500 (-249)	Initial	Initial	Utah
42. Ryan G.: 500 (-288)	Initial	Initial	Initial
43. Max W. #2: 497 (-310)	Va. Tech	Initial	Utah
44. Mike Smith: 496 (-266)	BC	BC	BC
45. Jaxon S.: 496 (-298)	Va. Tech	Kan. St.	Kan. St.
46. Max A. #1: 495 (-321)	Va. Tech	Va. Tech	Va. Tech
47. Damien R. #2: 493 (-276)	Initial	Initial	Initial
48. Jay H. #2: 491 (-298)	Initial	Fla. St.	Fla. St.
49. Ryan W.: 489 (-273)	Ga. St.	Utah	Utah
50. Shawn M.: 488 (-295)	Initial	Initial	Initial
51. Dustin B.: 486 (-285)	Utah	Michigan	Michigan
52. Greg McE. - ESPN: 481 (-276)	Initial	Initial	Utah
53. Jay H. #1: 481 (-278)	Initial	Initial	Initial
54. Brad R.: 480 (-308)	Va. Tech	Va. Tech	Va. Tech
55. Cory R.: 472 (-309)	Initial	Initial	Initial
56. Tim N.: 471 (-315)	Initial	Initial	Initial
57. Matt M.: 464 (-294)	Kan. St.	Kan. St.	Ga. St.
58. Nick B.: 461 (-280)	Michigan	Auburn	Michigan
59. Max A. #2: 454 (-290)	Kan. St.	Michigan	BC
60. Max W. #1: 449 (-330)	Initial	Initial	Initial
61. Becky H.: 440 (-335)	Va. Tech	Va. Tech	Va. Tech
62. Steve Dz.: 436 (-359)	Initial	Initial	Initial
63. Nichole W.: 430 (-351)	Initial	Initial	Initial
64. Ally H.: 429 (-354)	Initial	Initial	Initial
65. Kirt R.: 414 (-332)	Fla. St.	Kan. St.	Kan. St.
66. Jason S.: 411 (-388)	Initial	Initial	Initial
67. Damien R. #1: 399 (-418)	Initial	Initial	Va. Tech
68. Rich P.: 376 (-429)	Initial	Initial	Initial

One thing to note is that the only person that has a chance to win anything that didn’t pick LSU in the final is Mike N., who picked Ohio State.  If he is still alive, the Championship Game may mean something to him, as he could still win if Clemson beats LSU.  He’ll have to survive two more games to get there, but that’s the only scenario where the last game of the season is going to matter.

But the Armed Forces Bowl is tomorrow, and much like today, it could decide a lot.  Here are the outcomes:

If Tulane wins:

Harrell R. #2 wins 2nd place.

If Southern Miss wins:

Harrell R. #1 is eliminated from 3rd place contention.

So, I guess this is almost the Harrell R. bowl.  We might wind up with another place to be decided, or we may have to wait a few more days.  We will see.  Good luck to everyone!!!!!