Kathy Retakes the Lead

 On the strength of TCU's overtime victory, featuring a 3rd and 20 touchdown on the last play, Kathy is now back in the lead by one game over Will and Margaret. Analicia was the only picker to get all three games correct today and she has made a move to get within striking distance. Should be a fun couple of days as the Bowl Mania gets going on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. It's still not over by any stretch of the imagination.

Moving Day

 We had like 10 bowls yesterday so it was going to have huge effects on the standings. When the dust settled, yours truly, the Commissioner, ran off eight games in a row to take a lead. But then lost the last three games of the night to fall into a tie with the powerhouse ladies, Kathy and Margaret. Bowl season really got going with wild results and comebacks. BYU looked dead in the water; New Mexico blew a late lead; and North Texas and San Diego State played an incredible 49-47 thriller. 

We are going to take a two-day break and then pick up on December 29th with three bowl games. Everyone is technically still in it, but the Baker boys, Joe and Matt, are struggling. I'll try to start doing some previews on Tuesday as we should be back home and I will have some time to write. Look for the email to go out today about making semi-final picks.

Hope you are well.

Christmas Day 2025

 Good morning! Hopefully, you are awaking to good food, presents and a peaceful Christmas morning. I know, I know, you are wondering where my daily blog posts have been. Unfortunately, I am busier than ever so I really needed the last few days to unplug from the world and concentrate on family. We will be traveling soon too, so blog posts will be limited this year.

So let's talk some football briefly. If you check the standings you will see that we have done an incredible job of picking winners this year. I've never seen so many of us above .500. There are two exceptions. One being our defending champion who is struggling to say the least. Not to mention his brother who is even in worse shape at the moment. 

But I bury the lead. I don't think in all my years of monitoring and running the pool that I've ever seen as incredible a start as Kathy has had this year. Ten victories in a row! She is undefeated. Last night, very late because I went to bed with Cal comfortably ahead, Hawai'i scored the winning touchdown with 10 seconds left to cap a 21 point comeback. Kathy, like most of you, picked Hawai'i and remained undefeated by that slim margin.

 You would think Kathy would be way ahead in the pool, but Alex and Margaret (our most consistent year-to-year performer) are hot on her tail with only one defeat a piece. Just incredible to see their ability to stay up at the top with Kathy.

However, we have tons of picking to do. I think it's time for me to start asking for your CFP Quarterfinal Picks. I'll be sending out an email later today to ask you for those. Merry Christmas everybody. Today belongs to the NFL and the NBA. Tomorrow the college football starts up again with three bowl games and then Saturday is a HUGE football fest with like one million bowls.

2025-26 Starts

Well, we have already started. We are HOT. We have two pickers who are undefeated through the first eight games. That is incredible. Margaret and Kathy really do well in this contest. And they are not disappointing this year. In the ninth game though, Margaret has picked UNLV and Kathy has Ohio. So at the end of this night we will have a leader. This year we are picking more games than ever, so hang on! It should be a fun time.

All Hail the 24-25 Champion

 Matthew Baker Strikes Back!

After losing the first two, Matt goes on an incredible 18-7 run to win the Bowl Pool. This included a nine game win streak in the middle of the action. Great job, Matt. (He also won his NFL Fantasy Football league by the way.) The plaque will need to be returned from California so it can reside for a year in Austin, Texas. See you all next year!

Close Results

 Matthew and Monique have clearly outclassed the field as they both added another win last night with Ole Miss routing Duke in the Gator Bowl. However, just looking at the results this year it is amazing how things could have been different. First. Pitt v. Toledo went six overtimes. Six! If that games goes the other way, Monique loses one, but Matt gains one.

Kansas State beats Rutgers by 3 in the Rate Bowl. Ana, Time and Alex pull big wins as the only three to pick Rutgers if that goes the other way.

Arkansas State beats Bowling Green by a touchdown. Big win for Matt. A big loss if it had gone the other way. Most of us had Bowling Green, including Monique.

Navy's upset of Oklahoma was huge. A 95 yard TD run sparks the midshipmen who seal the deal by stopping OU on a 2-point conversion on the last play of the game. Huge win for Monique as most of her challengers had OU, including Matt.

Texas A&M blows a 17 point lead in the 4th quarter to choke away the Las Vegas Bowl to the USC Trojans. Huge win for Matt as Monique had the Aggies.

Nebraska holds off a furious rally by Boston College by running out the last 4:16 of the game clock to win by five. Both Matt and Monique picked the Cornhuskers while many in the field had the Eagles.

Iowa State, in a wild one, scores a TD with 56 seconds left to beat Miami by one point. Huge win for Matt and a loss for Monique.

East Carolina breaks off an 86 yard run with a minute left in the game to come back and beat North Carolina State by five. Alex and Moriah were the only two to pick the Pirates.

Missouri scores the last 10 points of the game to come back and beat Iowa. Monique picks up a key win to keep within striking distance of Matt who had picked Iowa.

Michigan upsets Alabama by 6 points. Monique picks up a crucial victory against Matt and most of the field.

Washington fails on a 2-point attempt to win the game against Louisville. Both Matt and Monique suffer losses but Kirsten, Will, Alex, and Margaret picked up wins.

In a wild game that featured the coaches almost getting into a fight, Illinois beats South Carolina by 4 points. Matt and Monique both pick the Illini.

That's a LOT of tight games folks. And we didn't even get to pick the Texas v. Arizona State game yesterday which was a double overtime thriller. It's why we love college bowl season. I hope we never lose it (by the way, a ton of the proponents of the playoff are now singing a different tune as all four teams with byes in the first round - meaning they were conference champions - got beat over the last three days, hah!, told you so!).

Two Person Race

 This contest is coming down to two members of the family, both recent past winners: Monique and Matthew. Their battle renders today's Gator Bowl meaningless. Duke plays Ole Miss. Ole Miss is a whopping 17.5 point favorite. They have an experienced quarterback and a solid defense. Duke lost their starting QB and backup QB to the transfer portal among others. So, Coach Manny Diaz will have to start a third stringer and this may be a problem for the Blue Devils.

The Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina (will Monique attend?) will decide this contest. This bowl features the winning head coach getting doused with mayonaise at the end of the game. Also, the commentators, rather than call the game, spend their time tasting different foods covered in mayonaise. Don't watch on an empty stomach. Monique has the ACC's Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 6-6 going into the game and are seeking to have a second winning season in a row. They have lost a lot of players to the dreaded transfer portal though. They feature a strong running game and a stout defense. Matthew has picked the Big 10's Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers are 7-5. Coach P.J. Fleck has a 5-0 record in bowl games. He has lost very few to the transfer portal and has a high scoring defense - yes, defense. Minnesota is a 9.5 favorite to win. Good luck to both Monique and Matthew.

Note: I could not figure out a way to incorporate the 12 team playoff other than the first round games for our pool. I would have to go to a points based system or do something with collecting your picks after the pool has started or allow hypothetical picks. I decided to see how it played out this year and then reconsider next year. If you have a thought, let me know. I think we still had a great contest with the remaining bowls. I think the system will change soon anyway. You will probably see a 16 team playoff soon given that it looks like every team with a bye - Georgia is yet to play - this year so far lost in the second round. I'll let you know who won the pool after the Mayo bowl.