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(DISCLAIMER: This contest is for entertainment purposes only. No actual money is being wagered.)
Week 1 of the college football season, and our pick’em game, is in the books! Normally we announce the results on Monday morning, but with a Monday night game, we could not do so until now.
Overall, a very good week for our local degenerates. Houston and Florida State were popular winning picks, in addition to the Thursday night games, as discussed in the previous picks thread.
Here are the standings:
| USFalum7 | 1227.27 |
| LrdNorman | 1186.98 |
| mmmmsnouts | 1154.91 |
| ElliotMoore | 1153.27 |
| Collin | 1135.36 |
| GaryStephen | 1112.46 |
| EastCoastBull | 1097.12 |
| diddybull32 | 1086.36 |
| defdans | 1073.39 |
| gibbsak | 1065.82 |
| jjlovecub | 1045.00 |
| ULhothot | 1029.00 |
| gym399 | 1026.14 |
| bullbard | 1018.80 |
| BullsOnParade96 | 1005.57 |
| ucscott | 998.18 |
| Snafu13 | 985.91 |
| DaGata | 953.64 |
| dsidwell31 | 845.45 |
| MC3443 | 800.00 |
Most players were in the black, but usfalum7 had a perfect score! He wagered his maximum of 250 units on three different underdogs against the spread. Houston and South Carolina won outright, and 20-point underdog Appalachian State took Tennessee to overtime. Well picked.
We have a Spite Bet of the Week Award, which once again goes to someone who bet $1 against Louisiana Tech. Collin made the popular play, and lost, as Arkansas (favored by 20) only beat the Bulldogs by 1. I note that Coach He Who Shall Not Be Named kicked a 20-year field goal in the 3rd quarter.
We also have a Degenerate Bet of the Week Award. Lots of candidates for this. Anyone who bet the super-early Cal-Hawaii game in Australia (or New Zealand, whichever it was) deserves mention. ULhothot loaded up on 23 longshot money lines, but only hit two couple (Texas State +1000, Houston +400). If only La Tech had pulled it off. And I still like my UTEP-New Mexico State play. But I’ll give the award to dsidwell11, for getting his bet in first, on August 22, barely after the window opened.
Week 2 has a lot of Power 5 vs FCS or non-Power 5 games. There are no games between Top 25 teams. The biggest game is probably Virginia Tech-Tennessee, at Bristol Motor Speedway. There are some minor rivalry games Pitt-Penn State, Iowa-Iowa State, and UMass-Boston College, plus a handful of lower-tier conference games.
In the AAC, East Carolina hosts the ACC’s North Carolina State; UCF goes to Michigan (the early line is Michigan -35); Cincinnati is at Purdue; SMU at Baylor; Tulsa at Ohio State; Connecticut, which struggled to put away Maine, travels to Navy in the first conference game of the year. And of course, USF hosts Northern Illinois with Marlon Mack questionable.
Lines for the Friday games are in place, and I’ll get the rest in as soon as I can.