We blew it. We really blew it. Needing a good week to get to an even record on the season, the staff was below .500 for the first time since Week 5. It was our 4th work week of the season. The 14-22 result was a horror show. Stan and Tom went 3-3 while the other four of us went 2-4. Import, VU ‘04, and CDA all having the same weekly record means nothing changes with VU ‘04 and Import tied with a 2-game lead over CDA. Overall, we are 336-358 on the year.

The biggest problem, and a result that basically flipped the tally due to the low number of games, was Florida managing to score a TD with 4:59 to go against Alabama AND add a 2-point conversion to trail by only 16. With no more points scored, they covered the 17-point spread and handed all of us a loss. Mississippi State’s offense going OFF against Missouri also doomed that game for 5 of us, with only Tom taking the right side. Notre Dame’s offense sputtering allowed Clemson to leave Stan with the only correct pick in that game. Basically, the 3 of the 4 big results we needed to go one way all went the other. Only Texas A&M did their job against Tennessee.

This edition has started off extremely poorly with Tulane (5 picks) and Florida (4 picks) both losing badly. Eight games still remain, so there could be a rebound, but I would expect a lot of lopsided games. Bowl season always has weird results with normal NFL draft opt outs, the long layoff, and differing attitudes between teams amped up for their bowl versus a team who is disappointed in the season. The good news is that VU ‘04 and Import have an odd number of discrepancies, so we SHOULD have a winner, though I have not checked to see if there is a way CDA can end up in a tie with either of them. Or we will have a game or three they split on be canceled then still split the others. If there is a tie, I guess we’ll have to do a Championship Game version with an extra tiebreaker or two to ensure a winner.

Also, yes, that IS an official Nevada logo. It was the one already in the assets dashboard, and I love it.

The Rules

1. Normally, the picks are for all SEC games with one dealer’s choice where I get to choose another game to make us pick. This year, it is going to be all SEC games, one dealer’s choice, and the Campbell Fighting Camels game! Why? Because I said so.
2. The picks will be made AGAINST THE SPREAD. Too many games are easy to pick heads up. Also, this will serve as a PSA for why you should not get into sports gambling with more states making it legal.
3. The lines will be taken from Oddshark’s consensus spread some time Monday, so they may not match what is listed at the time this article is published.

The Standings

The Picks

GAME	DotP	Stan	Tom	VU04	CDA	Import
Florida (-3) @ Oklahoma
Tulsa (-2.5) @ Mississippi State
Georgia (-7) @ Cincinnati
Auburn (+3.5) @ Northwestern
Notre Dame (+19.5) @ Alabama
NC State (+2.5) @ Kentucky
Ole Miss (+6.5) @ Indiana
Texas A&M (-7) @ North Carolina
Tulane (-2.5) @ Nevada
Ohio State (+7.5) @ Clemson