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NOTE FROM JAMIE: I messed up Kevin's score before and said that he lost a fake bet on UL-Lafayette when he actually won it. Corrected scores are below, and the fake bets he made for this week were based on the new total. I'll fix the Excel file when I have some more time.
(DISCLAIMER: This contest is for entertainment purposes only. No actual money is being wagered.)
(We apologize for the fault in the results last week. Those responsible have been sacked.)
Once November arrives, betting habits begin to change. Even though the rules now make it impossible to have gigantic money swings like there were last year, everyone who's more than a couple hundred fake dollars behind starts putting together parlays and giant bets in an attempt to get back into contention before bowl season. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. This was a week where (almost) none of them worked, so all that happened was Chris solidifying his lead and everyone who was trying to pull within striking distance falling even further behind (except for one).
Here are the current standings in Excel format, with everyone's picks. Also, while we were gone last week, Ken's sudden-death bet on USF against Rutgers went bust. He has been eliminated from the game. Sorry about that, Ken.
- Chris Lane, The Nova Blog: $1,621.36
- Kevin Meacham, The UConn Blog: $1,532.34
- GarySJ, Voodoo Five: $1,337.54
- Scott, Bearcats Blog: $1,254.18
- Chas Rich, Pitt Blather: $1,244.53
- Jamie DeVriend, Voodoo Five: $793.70
- Andrew Porter, The UConn Blog: $695.46
- Hoya Suxa: $469.53
- WVUIE97, The Smoking Musket: $434.80
- Ken DeCelles, Voodoo Five: ELIMINATED
BEST BET: Actually, there was no best bet, because (nearly) everyone who tried to make a move got shot down. So in lieu of that, I'm giving this to Chris, who made his best bet by making a bet that didn't count. He couldn't see the lines on his phone so he blindly fake bet UNLV against New Mexico. But there was no line on that game, so I couldn't accept the fake bet. Good thing, too, because the Rebels probably would have been favored and 100 of Chris's fake dollars would have disappeared the minute the Lobos won 21-14.
WORST BET: There really wasn't a worst bet, either, because some of the losses were downright painful. Andrew missed out on a $1200 parlay by one stinking point. My $450 parlay blew up when Southern Miss fumbled on their way to a game-icing score. Kevin finally got burned by the Sun Belt. But maybe this should go to everyone who loaded up on Texas only giving 1.5 points to Missouri, and then had to watch them go up to Columbia and take a Texas-sized crap and only score five points. Screw you, Texas.
MOST DEGENERATE BET: No one actually picked this, but Kevin found what would have been a spectacularly degenerate bet if someone was willing:
Also, my favorite line ever is LSU -41.5 over Western Kentucky, with the O/U 48.5. I dare someone to parlay LSU and the under.