Bowl Pool update - I can't believe more than 7 people are still reading this edition.

 The Sugar Bowl is over, which means that there are only 2 games left in the Bowl Season.  There’s something called the Texas Bowl on 1/4 and the Championship Game, which I think is being played sometime in Mid-March.  At least it seems that way.  It may actually be on the 13^th, which is just long enough for everyone to forget about college football in its entirety.

But there were some developments in the Bowl pool after the Sugar Bowl.

First, there will be no ties this year.  I hate tiebreakers, and I am glad that none will be required.  All scenarios that ends in ties have been eliminated.  That makes things super easy for me.

Second, we are down to 7 people that can win something.  As we know from before, Hutvh H. is locked into one of those spots, but the other 2 are up for grabs.

Third, almost everyone has only one way they can win.  The only exceptions to that rule are the aforementioned Hutch H. and Cam L., who can get either 2^nd or 3^rd depending on how games play out.

Fourth, as mentioned before, Matt N. must win the Championship game to win the pool and win any money.  The other 4 people will have to hit both the Texas Bowl winner and the Championship Game winner to finish in the money.

Fifth, by “hit the winner” of the Championship game, I mean have the result go your way because Becky H. can still get second despite having Michigan winning it all.  For her that means Georgia winning the title.  Too many people picked Alabama for her to stay in the running if that happens.

Here are the updated standings:

Total

1. Hutch H.: 572 (-369)

2. Matt N.: 552 (-372)

3. Becky H.: 551 (-371)

4. Cam L.: 533 (-395)

5. Scott H. #2: 529 (-416)

6. Mark A.: 525 (-412)

7. Chad L.: 517 (-419)

8. Brian K.: 507 (-403)

9. Mike W.: 500 (-423)

10. Klei R.: 500 (-437)

11. Mike N.: 491 (-454)

12. Josiah T. #2: 486 (-439)

13. Daniel E.: 484 (-440)

14. Adam O. #3: 483 (-443)

15. Dan D.: 481 (-436)

16. Dylan L.: 481 (-458)

17. Dylan B.: 476 (-458)

18. Michelle L. #1: 476 (-469)

19. Jason S.: 474 (-445)

20. Marc R.: 472 (-437)

21. Adam O. #2: 462 (-464)

22. Josiah T. #1: 459 (-478)

23. Adam O. #1: 458 (-468)

24. Brent S.: 448 (-457)

25. Ryan W.: 447 (-484)

26. Jay H. #2: 445 (-478)

27. Michelle L. #2: 440 (-505)

28. Adam O. #4: 436 (-490)

29. Larry G. #2: 436 (-496)

30. Pete J. #2: 431 (-511)

31. Ben S.: 417 (-509)

32. Lee K.: 416 (-500)

33. Scott H. #1: 416 (-523)

34. Amy L.: 415 (-512)

35. Damien R.: 410 (-533)

36. Pete J. #1: 409 (-533)

37. Stefan K.: 405 (-498)

38. Brad R.: 404 (-521)

39. Dustin B.: 402 (-533)

40. Tom B.: 395 (-524)

41. Matt M.: 384 (-553)

42. Weston T. (Shane): 370 (-572)

43. Jay H. #1: 368 (-544)

44. Brett W.: 368 (-548)

45. Ally H.: 354 (-582)

46. Adam E.: 353 (-556)

47. Emily T.: 352 (-579)

48. Doug L.: 348 (-589)

49. Larry G. #1: 345 (-592)

50. Grant F.: 318 (-613)

51. Creighton H.: 304 (-619)

…and the matrix:

Row Labels	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
Hutch H.	50.00%	25.00%	25.00%
Matt N.	50.00%	Utah	Utah
Cam L.	N. Dame	25.00%	25.00%
Becky H.	Iowa	25.00%	Iowa
Mark A.	Utah	25.00%	Ole Miss
Chad L.	N. Dame	Ole Miss	25.00%
Brian K.	Iowa	Iowa	25.00%
Scott H. #2	Pitt	Iowa	Ole Miss
Mike W.	Michigan	Ole Miss	Ole Miss
Klei R.	Az State	Cincinnati	Cincinnati
Mike N.	Initial	N. Car	Tennessee
Josiah T. #2	Initial	Initial	Pitt
Daniel E.	Tennessee	Tennessee	Az State
Adam O. #3	Pitt	Pitt	Pitt
Dan D.	Utah	Iowa	Utah
Dylan L.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Dylan B.	Tennessee	Tennessee	Pitt
Michelle L. #1	Tennessee	Pitt	Michigan
Jason S.	Az State	N. Dame	Utah
Marc R.	N. Dame	Utah	Utah
Adam O. #2	Initial	Tennessee	Tennessee
Josiah T. #1	Pitt	Pitt	Pitt
Adam O. #1	Initial	Initial	Tennessee
Brent S.	Penn St.	Iowa	Iowa
Ryan W.	Pitt	Michigan	Michigan
Jay H. #2	Initial	Pitt	Pitt
Michelle L. #2	Initial	N. Car	N. Car
Adam O. #4	Initial	Tennessee	Pitt
Larry G. #2	Initial	Initial	Initial
Pete J. #2	Michigan	Michigan	Michigan
Ben S.	Tennessee	Tennessee	Tennessee
Lee K.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Scott H. #1	Initial	Initial	Initial
Amy L.	Initial	N. Car	N. Car
Damien R.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Pete J. #1	Initial	Initial	Initial
Stefan K.	Cincinnati	Cincinnati	Cincinnati
Brad R.	Michigan	Michigan	Michigan
Dustin B.	Initial	Pitt	Pitt
Tom B.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Matt M.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Weston T. (Shane)	Initial	Initial	Initial
Jay H. #1	Initial	Tennessee	Tennessee
Brett W.	Initial	Initial	Tennessee
Ally H.	Pitt	Az State	Az State
Adam E.	Az State	Az State	Cincinnati
Emily T.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Doug L.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Larry G. #1	Initial	Initial	Initial
Grant F.	Initial	Initial	Initial
Creighton H.	Initial	Initial	Initial

Just so I don’t have to do this later, here are the eliminations for the Texas Bowl:

If LSU Wins:

Cam L. is eliminated from 3^rd place contention.

Chad L. is eliminated from 3^rd place contention.

Hutch H. is eliminated from 2^nd place contention.

Mark A. is eliminated from 2^nd place contention.

 

If Kansas State Wins:

Becky H. is eliminated from 2^nd place contention.

Brian K. is eliminated from 3^rd place contention.

Cam L. is eliminated from 2^nd place contention.

Hutch H. is eliminated from 3^rd place contention.

 

2nd Place	Pick	Points
1.: Mark A. (25%)	Kansas State	9
1.: Hutch H. (25%)	Kansas State	5
1.: Cam L. (25%)	LSU	18
1.: Becky H. (25%)	LSU	24

3rd Place	Pick	Points
1.: Hutch H. (25%)	Kansas State	5
1.: Chad L. (25%)	LSU	10
1.: Cam L. (25%)	LSU	18
1.: Brian K. (25%)	LSU	36

   

Interesting that Chad L. needs LSU to lose to stay alive, even though he picked them for 10 points.  That’s largely because If LSU wins, Becky will gain 14 points on him, making him 48 points behind her.  If Georgia Wins, he actually gets snaked out of 3^rd place by Hutch H., who picked Alabama to win it, but is currently 55 points ahead, and Chad only could make up 10+35 = 45 points.  Wow.  OK.

Well, enjoy a few days off from college football.  Kirk Herbstreit is an idiot, which many of already suspected, but I will endorse here anyway.

Good luck in the Texas Bowl everyone!!!!