Our Bowl Pool template went out Sun. Surprisingly, not a single game’s spread has wiggled more than half a point in
Vegas since then. It’s the holidays, where are the scandals, arrests, suspensions and expulsions? Honestly, what is wrong with kids these days?
Most games are worth a single point. Games that aren't part of the "New Year's Six," but have at least one team in the Top 25 are worth 2 points. "New Year's Six" games that aren't part of the playoff (i.e., the Orange, Cotton, Rose, and Sugar) are worth 3 points. The first two playoff games (the Fiesta and Peach) are each worth 4 points.
I’m submitting 2 pick sets. Some games that may interest y’all:
Georgia So -5 Liberty. Georgia So in both sets, of course.
Washington -3.5 Boise St (2 points). Splitting my picks. Sorry, Washington-loving O Really and Boise St-hating billy.pilgrim.
Appalachian St -16.5 UAB (2 points). Appalachian St in both sets of course, but the 2nd largest spread in all of the Bowls might be a big hurdle.
UCF -17.5 Marshall (in Tampa), largest spread. Splitting my picks. Looks like billy.pilgrim will have to suffer through more Mickey Mouse cheering.
BYU -2 Hawai’i (in Honolulu!). Hawai'i in both sets, of course. A clash of cultures.
Miami (FL) -6.5 Louisiana Tech (in Shreveport, LA, unfair). Miami in both sets. Good luck, O Really.
North Carolina -4.5 Temple. Splitting my picks. Sorry, O Really.
Gymnast-abusing Michigan St -4.5 Baptist Wake Forest. Splitting my picks. Can they both lose?
Air Force -3 Washington St. Go Cougars in both sets.
Penn St -6.5 Memphis (3 points). Memphis in both sets. I’d love to see this upset.
Some changes this year, partially at my instigation:
When the college football muckety-mucks came up with the 4-team playoff a few years back, the Jibba Jabba Pool administrators welcomed the opportunity to have a touch of Marchish Madnessish flavor in the Bowl Pool. However, it came with costs. Having no spreads for the semifinals, even when there were clear favorites, led almost everyone to make identical picks (for both the semis and the final game). Also, the fact the championship was worth relatively few points meant that the final game of the season was largely meaningless.
To solve these problems, we are adding a new wrinkle to the Jibba Jabba pool. WE WILL USE SPREADS FOR THE FIRST TWO PLAYOFF GAMES. Even if you figure Oklahoma definitely can't beat LSU, you can at least bet on your hunch that they will lose by less than 13.
Full disclosure: I'm not thrilled with any of the Playoff teams. I just hate the pussies more.
Playoff Games (4 points) - No pussies!
LSU -13 Oklahoma. Oklahoma in both sets.
Clemson -2 Ohio St. Ohio St in both sets.
California -7 Illinois (in Santa Clara, CA, nice). California in both sets. Good luck, Ulysses.
Florida -14 Virginia (3 points, in Miami Gardens, FL, unfair). Big spread. Splitting my picks.
Alabama -7 Michigan (2 points). Michigan in both sets, of course.
Auburn -7.5 Minnesota (2 points). Minnesota in both sets. Sorry, billy.pilgrim.
Wisconsin -2.5 Oregon (3 points). Splitting my picks. Shame they’re playing each other, but should be a good game.
Also, your picks for the two playoff games will no longer limit your choice for the eventual championship, and the points for that championship just got much, much bigger for those willing to take a chance. FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WE'LL BE USING "FUTURES" BETTING.
What the hell is futures betting? It's an odds system that can be used for multiple teams, giving more points for picking bigger longshots. Most of the world figures LSU will win it all, and nobody is giving OK a shot, so why give equal points to each? Using futures might give some of you a reason to take the chance. Currently, Vegas books give LSU a "120" futures figure - this means that if you bet $100 on them today to win it all, you'd win $120. In contrast, Oklahoma has a 1200 futures figure. In other words, they are a 12-1 underdog, and if your $100 would earn you $1200. For this year's Jibba Jabba, we are applying these futures to a 5-point "bet". As such, if LSU wins the championship, those who picked them get 6 points (same as the points allocated for the championship last year). If Clemson wins it all, their backers would get 10 points (their futures figure is around 200). If Ohio State is the champ, their fans would get 11 points (futures around 220). And if Oklahoma pulls off a miracle, anyone who called it gets 60 points. You read that correctly - 60 points!! So, picking the Sooners could sorta negate every terrible call you made for the other 39 games and put you in the running for prize money (among the others who picked OK).
Championship Game (New Orleans, maybe unfair, but I’m not sure there’s a local advantage when people come from all over the country).
I’m going with Oklahoma in one set, Ohio St in the other. An LSU win doesn’t hurt me much since it’s only 6 points. An 11 point Clemson win might hurt me the most.
Wanna tell me that I’m an idiot with any of these games? You have until FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20 AT 1:55 PM EASTERN TIME to persuade me.
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