Bowl Pool Update: December 30, 2009

Since last we, uh, blogged, an update of the pool, three games occurred. In the first, Todd gave us a typical account of Georgia's 44-20 win over Texas A&M, but with 23% fewer dick jokes. I think he was off his game. It was an ugly game where neither team looked very good at all, and it turned on several big plays from Georgia's special teams. If a Big Ten team had won the exact same way, idiot columnists and bloggers wouldn't have been able to rip on them fast enough. As it is, though, this was just another great win for the dominant, world-conquering SEC. The vast majority of our pick 'em group picked the Bulldogs. As they should've, because A&M is turble [/Barkley].

Yesterday, UCLA snuck by Temple, 31-20, in a matchup led by the Owls for the majority of the game. After taking a 21-7 lead late in the second half, Temple got outscored 24-0 over the final 32 minutes of the game. After failing to pick up a first down on 4th-and-1 inside the UCLA 20-yard line early in the third quarter (thanks primarily to an extremely fishy spot on third down; the Temple RB seemed to clear the first down line easily, but was marked about a half-yard short), the Owl offense went completely in the tank. From that point on, Temple garnered -3 yards of offense. In the second half, Owl QB Vaughan Fithington Charlton III, Esq. was 1-for-7 passing for six yards, with two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. Watching this game, I and my MAC Fanatic father were going crazy wondering why Temple didn't try a single screen pass in the second half, when the UCLA defense was sending the kitchen sink on every play. In the pick 'em, this appeas to have been another difference-maker game, as the individuals who decided to take a flier on the Owls trend toward the bottom of the group.

Finally, big, slow, lumbering Wisconsin decided to spot Miami a 7-point lead in the first twenty seconds of their matchup, then proceeded to completely dominate the OMG Southern Speed-infused Hurricanes for the next fifty-five minutes of game action. Miami scored a late touchdown and recovered the onside kick, giving Wisconsin fans a heart attack as they seemed to be on the verge of blowing a game they controlled, but a sack and fumble ended the contest. Seventeen of our 32 entrants picked the Hurricanes to win, including the people occupying spots 25 through 32. I am among those people, and I am giddy. I will trade points for Big Ten victories 'til the cows come home. In the pick 'em, the top 15 remains largely unchanged except for a few people shuffling back and forth. Toward the bottom of the top 15, Kat, Matt, and Chris C. make their first appearances. Chris and Matt in particular look like they could be strong contenders, as they have a ton of possible points remaining. Kristin remains in percentile 99.2 nationally. Of course.

Rank	Team	Owner	Record	PPR	TOTAL
1	Shiva Bowl	Kristin	10-3	251	252
2	jimlaipply 1	Jimmah	9-4	231	249
3	Super Snavely	Donnie Smavels	9-4	231	243
4	d32moyer 1	Di	8-5	231	216
5	mjn1980 1	Mike Neary	8-5	233	209
6	Pocke full of Posey	Katey	8-5	250	203
7	Cantstandya120	Frange	8-5	255	199
8	What's YOUR Hang Up?!?	Christina	8-5	251	193
9	Super Happy Fun Bowl	Evan	7-6	231	188
10	Kitten Mittons	Wolfe	9-4	307	184
11	Where's the meatloaf ma!?	Chris B.	9-4	314	174
12	BenKarrasch 1	take a guess	7-6	302	167
13	Wannstache Rides 25 Cents	Kat	6-7	273	164
14	Mangino's Chins	Chris C.	8-5	323	163
14	I can has VICTORY?	Matt	8-5	335	163
14	ChrisHenrysDeathmo-bowl	Elliott	7-6	268	163