Week 15 Results - Time to go Bowling

And it's over. At least we have a fun month of bowl games, but the regular season is done.

I think I might call it a career and go out on top after this week. 13-3 overall in my NCAA picks this week...12-0 going into the evening games, I was thinking it was going to end perfectly...but I'll take 13-3 (81%).

Anywho, I ended up splitting the pot with Roe this week at 10-5 for each of us. MK went 8-7 and JG pulled up the ass end at 7-8. Overall, with 45 NFL games left to pick, here are the standings:

MR 117-108
JG 114-111
MK 110-115
JR 107-118

Roe went 89-66 in NCAA games for the year for 57% and the championship belt. All the rest of us hovered around .500 (MK 76-79, JG and JR at 74-81), overall we were a +6 collectively. Not awful, but far from good. I guess we'll have to keep practicing!

I am inspired for next year and the bowl games. I tried a new power rating system this week and went 13-3...so optimism is high right now. (we'll see how long that lasts)

NFL Standings
JG leads at 40-30, MK 34-36, JR 33-37, MR 28-42

So I think it's still anyone's game...REMINDER, WE WILL BE PICKING 15 OF THE 16 NFL GAMES THIS WEEK AND THE NEXT 2 WEEKS TO KEEP EACH WEEL WORTH 15 POINTS.

Nothing major to recap from last week. Bowl games are set - I will send out that list with lines once everything is set.

BCS - overall, I think they got it right. USC and TEXAS and actually PSU all have a claim, but the championship game could/should be a classic. That might be a good get together date for us if it works. JAN 8th - a THURSDAY NIGHT...could be fun?!?!

Other Notes:
Mike Locksley is the new coach at NM. Apparently, they got the memo on black coaches and made this guy the 4th. He was the OC at ILL most recently. My question is, was he really that special in his previous role? The Illini kind of sucked a$$ this year.

Al Groh of VIR fired his OC, who happens to be his son. That's got to be tough to do - but thumbs up for Groh for not just rolling with a poor coach because he happens to be his son. I really think Groh is one of the better coaches in the country and will get a bigger better job sometime soon.

Heisman is Saturday - appears to be a 2 man race between Tebow and Bradford. How does Tebow not get this? To me, he might be the best college player I've seen and maybe will ever see. He'll probably blow in the NFL, but there's nobody better in the NCAA. How about his fire in the ALA game - I love him.

Colt McCoy is coming back for his Sr. Season. Anyone shocked by this? I'm not so sure he won't be a bad NFL'r as well, and TEXAS will be really really good next year. This was a no-brainer for me.

Washington hired Steve Sarkesian as their new coach, the USC OC. I love the quote coming out of WASH, "we think we got our guy." Does this sound a little hesitant to anyone else? This job was being promoted as one of the sweeter jobs around, and to take a chance on a first year coach might not be what they really wanted. This quote, in context or not, sounds a little scary to me. He'll probably get a 3 year window to prove it or else I see another quick hook coming.

A couple of local notes:

Ray Edward sack tracker picked up another one on Sunday...19.5 to go in the last 3 games, I'm still confident he'll get there.

McHale will now be coaching Wittman. The media in general seems to be really down on this, but I think it's great. KOBS - I hope you feel special about attending the last game of the Randy Wittman era, sounded like a beauty. The great thing about the move is that it pulls McHale out of the front office, in title at least. Maybe he'll be a solid coach, he hasn't failed at that to prove he can't do it like he has in his other position. Wittman shouldn't get another shot in the league, he'll be a life long assistant at this point. It should be an intersting run for the next 2 months up to the break - if McHale is terrible, look out. It could finally be house cleaning time - only about 6-7 years too late! If he's decent and the team continue to look interested in FEB/MAR, then we might have found a spot for the giant from Hibbing. Time will tell. In my opinion, Foye, McCants, and others need to be gone before this team improves. Or at the very least the need to be re-cast in something that fits them. I heard Barreiro say this the other day, and I couldn't agree more - and it was why I was against the Mayo-Love trade at the start. You need to build a team by finding your pillars, your #1,2,3 options FIRST & then surround them with role players like Miller, Gomes, etc. We have a #1 or #2 in Jefferson...but that's it. Mayo had/has a chance top be a legit #1 or #2 option, but Love will only be a serviceable big man who can contribute while Miller is nothing but a 3 pt shooter. Things are at rock bottom...again. We do have money and picks galore for the coming years, but what's our track record look like in the draft and who in their right mind would come to this organization as a big-time free agent? Yikes - we might suck a lot for a long while.

GOPHERS-KANSAS
The is my first off the cuff impression of our matchup. I like it for our squad. I think we're +10 to open. KAN throws well, but running and pass protection are not solid. Our defense should be able to do some good things. Our offense should be better, hopefully an improved running game at least and a healthy Decker. KAN gave up 30 pts per game this year - this bodes well for our brutal offense. I think it will be a really close game, not ready to make a pick (even though you all know which way I'll go).


GET TOGETHER OPTIONS:
GOPHERS play on DEC 31st...new year's eve. I'm guessing this will be a tough one for all 4 of us to get together. Let me discuss with Anna & family to see if this might work even for me.

JAN 9TH - FLA-OK
This seems like a more realistic option. I know Holiday calendars fill up fast, so JAN might be a better option. It's also a Thursday night - keep your calendar clear for this one.

Upcoming Contests on FOOTBALL CHALLENGE
- 3 weeks left of 15 NFL picks
- Bowl Game Challenge will be paired with NFL Playoff Challenge as well, total points will be based upon the 66% NCAA, 33% NFL like we used in the regular season.

I will post this week's games soon - remember pick 15 NFL games (all but 1)
I will also post the Bowl Games as soon as all lines are set.

Talk to you later guys.