Thursday, December 27, 2018

EXTREMELY Very Special "Totally Ready For This" Edition 2018 3E Bowl Pick Them Score Board

There were only supposed to be two games yesterday. Big mix up at the corporate office. Let us never speak of it again.

Last 'board for a while I reckon. Because of baby.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Very Special "Ye Olde Asse Blasteing" Edition 2018 3E Bowl Pick Them Score Board

Dang, this is nastay. The records are within reach. Eye of the tiger, Charles.


Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Very Special "Ted 'Cherry' Bundy" Edition 2018 3E Bowl Pick Them Score Board

I'm going to tweet "Ted 'Frisco' Bundy" during tonight's game.

Ok, so I'm not going to make a 'board every day and I'm probably going to change the picture eventually (maybe). But excellence deserves recognition! As far as I can tell through a minimally rigorous investigation, 6-0 is the best ever start to a Pick Them. We are all witnesses.


Hoo baby, that's a hot tamale.

And I think if there's one thing that sports and perhaps life in general teaches us is that it is always good to get way, way ahead of yourself. As the old saying goes, "You'll have exactly as many chickens as you have un-hatched eggs."

So in that spirit, let's recall all the records (previously labeled "unbreakable" by the liberal, Soros-backed media) that are 100% sure to be absolutely demolished this year:
  • Most Total Wins: 26 (Charles 2012)
  • Fewest Total Losses: 9 (Charles 2012)
  • Total Win Pct: 74.3% (Charles 2012)
  • Margin of Victory: 7 games (Charles 2012)
  • Most CRISIS Wins: 12 (Charles 2012)
  • Fewest CRISIS Losses: 2 (Charles 2009)
  • CRISIS Win Pct: 75.0% (Charles 2015)
  • Highest Confidence Point Pct: 69.4% (Wes 2016)
  • Most Confidence Points: 569 (Wes 2016)
  • Largest Confidence Margin: 61 (Wes 2016)
And probably more! What a time to be alive.

Monday, December 17, 2018

Very Special "The First One's Free" Edition 3E Bowl Pick Them 2018 Score Board

This could get ugly!

At no point last year did you win 5 games in a row and you only did it once the year before that. Congratulations to "Chalk" Roberts!

LPM is "Largest Possible Margin," i.e. the largest confidence margin by which you can win. When it gets to zero... well, just trust me you don't want that to happen!!



You will notice that the POWER FACTOR no longer has a presenting sponsor. Thanks Obama.

For reffy ref (reference), the POWER FACTOR after Day 1 last year was C+.004. So this is significantly larger than that.

Friday, December 14, 2018

The CRISIS Right

Not the most CRISES ever but a good effort nonetheless (it's the 3rd most, bronze medal baby).

Charles's pick is first because it's the one that is going to win (except Auburn).
The numbo in parentheses is the combined points up for grabs. These are known as POWER POINTS.

12/15
Cure: Tulane v UL Lafayette (11)
Las Vegas: Fresno St. v Arizona St. (37)

12/20
Gasparilla: Marshall v South Florida (19)

12/22
Hawaii: Louisiana Tech v Hawaii (22)

12/26
Quick Lane: Georgia Tech v Minnesota (14)
Cheez-It: TCU v Cal (16)

12/27
Independence: Temple v Duke (32)
Pinstripe: Miami v Wisconsin (43)
Texas: Vanderbilt v Baylor (17)

12/28:
Music City: Auburn v Purdue (32)

12/31
Military: Cincinnati v Virginia Tech (32)
Redbox: Oregon v Michigan St. (18)
Liberty: Missouri v Oklahoma St. (17)
Holiday: Utah v Northwestern (29)

1/1
Outback: Mississippi St. v Iowa (21)
Rose: Washington v Ohio St. (50)



Here are all the games ranked by POWER POINTS (as above, the combined points wagered in CRISIS games or the difference in wagers in agreed games). POWER POINTS are the driving force behind the POWER FACTOR.

For all games, the winner that would benefit you is listed first. For CRISES that's pretty clear. For agreed games: if you have more points on the line, a shared win benefits you so our mutual pick is listed first. If I have more wagered, you benefit if we lose.

1. Rose: Washington v Ohio St, 50 POWER POINTS
2. Pinstripe: Miami v Wisconsin, 43
3. Las Vegas: Fresno St. v Arizona St., 37
4. Independence: Temple v Duke, 32
4. Music City: Auburn v Purdue, 32
4. Military: Cincinnati v Virginia Tech, 32
7. Holiday: Utah v Northwestern, 29
8. Frisco: Ohio v San Diego St., 23
9. Hawaii: Louisiana Tech v Hawaii, 22
10. Outback: Mississippi St. v Iowa, 21
10. Gator: NC State v TAMU, 21
12. Gasparilla: Marshall v South Florida, 19
13. Redbox: Oregon v Michigan St., 18
14. Texas: Vanderbilt v Baylor, 17
14. Liberty: Missouri v Oklahoma St., 17
14. New Mexico: North Texas v Utah St., 17
17. Cheez-It: TCU v Cal, 16
18. Bahamas: FIU v Toledo, 15
19. Quick Lane: Georgia Tech v Minnesota, 14
19. Camellia: Eastern Michigan v Georgia Southern, 14
19. Sun: Samford v Pitt, 14
22. Dollar General: Buffalo v Troy, 13
22. Peach: Florida v Michigan, 13
24. Camping World: West Virginia v Syracuse, 12
25. Cure: Tulane v UL Lafayette, 11
25. Fiesta: LSU v UCF, 11
27. Boca Raton: UAB v Northern Illinois, 9
27. Potato: Western Michigan v BYU, 9
27. Birmingham: Memphis v Wake Forest, 9
30. 1st Responders: Boise St. v Boston College, 7
30. Sugar: Georgia v Texas, 7
32. Belk: Virginia v South Carolina, 6
32. Cotton: Clemson v Notre Dame, 6
32. Orange: Alabama v Oklahoma, 6
35. Armed Forces: Army v Houston, 3
35. Arizona: Nevada v Arkansas St., 3
37. New Orleans: MTSU v Appalachian St, 2
37. Citrus: Kentucky v Penn St., 2
39. Alamo: Washington St. v Iowa St., 0

Tha Captain's Pix 2018: Daddyblogging, baby!!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

powl bicks

New Mexico Bowl:
North Texas vs. Utah State
My pick: UTAH STATE 9

This game has some weird coach stuff around it, with guys not leaving or Utah State hiring their old coach again. Remember Graham Harrell? He is apparently the North Texas offensive coordinator.

Cure Bowl:
Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
My pick: TULANE 1

sure!

Las Vegas Bowl:
Fresno State vs. Arizona State
My pick: FRESYES STATE 32

For some reason I feel like Fresno State is good this year, and we all know my feelings about Herm Edwards.

Camellia Bowl:
Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern
My pick: GA SOUTHERN 5

I like Georgia Southern.

New Orleans Bowl:
Middle Tennessee State vs. Appalachian State
My pick: APP STATE 33

Same as LVB above, for some reason I feel like Appy is good this year.

Boca Raton Bowl:
Northern Illinois vs. UAB
My pick: UAB 23

GO BLAZAHS

Frisco Bowl:
Ohio vs. San Diego State
My pick: SAN DIEGO STATE 2

Don't like Ohio, never have. San Diego State featured Gorgeous Al Borges at one point.

Gasparilla Bowl:
South Florida vs. Marshall
My pick: WE ARE MARSHALL 4

It's a home game for USF, so Marshall is more hopped up. Not sure about this one. But:

Gaaaaaasparilla is the place to bowl
It's a fun place to escape the cold
South Florida is the bulls, no bird,
But as for me my pick will be the Herd
dun dun dun dun dun dun

Bahamas Bowl:
FIU vs. Toledo
My pick: TOLEDO 19

Rockets!

Potato Bowl:
Western Michigan vs. BYU
My pick: BYU 30

POE TAY TOE

Birmingham Bowl:
Memphis vs. Wake Forest
My pick: MEMPHIS 38

dilly dilly

Armed Forces Bowl:
Houston vs. Army
My pick: ARMY 26

Incredibly unfair for this contest to happen in Texas, but also incredibly unfair for it to be named after one of the participants, so it is probably even.

Dollar General Bowl:
Buffalo vs. Troy
My pick: TROY 14

Dollar General Bowl

Hawaii Bowl:
Louisiana Tech vs. Hawaii
My pick: LA TECH 6

It's the more exciting trip for the Men of Ruston.

First Responder Bowl:
Boston College vs. Boise State
My pick: BOISE 31

What an idiotic name. Boise! Also, never liked BC.

Quick Lane Bowl:
Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech
My pick: TECH 8

Winning one for the gipper or whatever. I liked Paul Johnson even though, generally speaking, I dislike Georgia Tech in most regards save comparison to their neighbors, who are even more loathsome.

Cheez-It Bowl:
TCU vs. Cal
My pick: TCU 3

Horned frogs is a really cool mascot. I don't like the outfit, the design of the head I guess in particular, but I like the logo and I like the connection.

Independence Bowl:
Duke vs. Temple
My pick: TEMPLE 20

of doom! I have no idea how this ended up at this confidence ranking. I did the "big list of all the games and move them around until you're tired of it" thing, and this resulted in a middling spot.

Pinstripe Bowl:
Miami vs. Wisconsin
My pick: MIAMI 15

A pick that goes against what I actually think, I think, but I don't care for Wisconsin.

Texas Bowl:
Vanderbilt vs. Baylor
My pick: VANDY 10

This seems like it will be a lower-tier conference match up in a few years.

Music City Bowl:
Purdue vs. Auburn
My pick: AWBURN 24

More like Purdon't, am I right? Guys? Hello? Is anyone out there? Why is getting so cold?

Camping World Bowl:
Syracuse vs. West Virginia
My pick: WEST VIRGINNY 21

So, WVU's starting quarterback isn't going to play, so this line is way different from when I first posted. But my boy Holgo is going to pull this out anyway.

Alamo Bowl:
Washington State vs. Iowa State
My pick: WAZZU 22

This is another game in which I'm just picking the coach I like better.

Belk Bowl:
Virginia vs. South Carolina
My pick: USC 11

This is a neat little match-up of teams who used to be in the same conference (and still should be).

Peach Bowl:
Florida vs. Michigan
My pick: MINCHINGAN 25

Absolutely awful.

Arizona Bowl:
Nevada vs. Arkansas State
My pick: ARKANSAS STATE 17

I wish the SEC would kick out Arkansas and invite Arkansas State instead. All of the games on December 29 start within an hour and fifteen minutes of each other, which is cool.

Cotton Bowl:
Clemson vs. Notre Dame
My pick: CLEMSON 37

Hard to believe this isn't the worst playoff ever, but it's not.

Orange Bowl:
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
My pick: alabama 36

I mean, come on. The shootout element makes it less certain, but it's still a certain thing in this hateful world.

Military Bowl:
Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
My pick: CINCINNATI 28

Even more so than the Armed Forces Bowl, it's an outrage that Cincinnati, named after the famous Roman general Cincinnatus, should be in the Military Bowl. It's practically home field advantage! If I were just guessing I would have assumed VT was a favorite, but it turns out Cincinnati has been pretty good this year. Virginia Tech has been, uh, less so.

Sun Bowl:
Pitt vs. Stanford
My pick: SAMFORD 35

This game is the pits. I said it! The pits!

Redbox Bowl:
Oregon vs. Michigan State
My pick: OREGONE 7

This makes me nostalgic for the Blockbuster Bowl, which is apparently now the Camping World Bowl and which I thought started longer ago than it did. Anyway, this is a football game. These teams seem to meet a lot, right?

Liberty Bowl:
Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
My pick: MISSOURI 16

I think Missouri is the better team and will win, but it's weird that the line is this big.

Holiday Bowl:
Utah vs. Northwestern
My pick: UTAH 27

I don't think Northwestern is very good.

Gator Bowl:
N.C. State vs. Texas A&M
My pick: TAMU 12

Jimbo is a dumb name for an adult human being. The best animal to be named Jimbo is of course the humble chimpanzee, followed closely by the hippopotamus and then, a more distant third, the skunk.

Outback Bowl:
Mississippi State vs. Iowa
My pick: MISSISSISSIPPI STATE 18

Two months from now, I will have no memory that this game, which I will probably watch, ever happened.

Citrus Bowl:
Penn State vs. Kentucky
My pick: PENN STATE 34

This has got "final score of 17-9" written all over it.

Fiesta Bowl:
LSU vs. UCF
My pick: LSU 29

I feel like an idiot for picking this, but after last year, it's impossible that UCF sneaks up on somebody again. Plus, this is kind of a different season end for LSU than it was for Auburn last year.

Rose Bowl:
Ohio State vs. Washington
My pick: WASHINGTON 13

Pretend I am barking like a husky dog.

Sugar Bowl:
Georgia vs. Texas
My pick: uga 39

Nope.

Sunday, December 09, 2018

IT BEGINS

BOWL PICK THEM 2018 IS NIGH UPON US. KISS YOUR CHILDREN AND PRAY TO YOUR GOD, FOR THE BOWL PICK THEM WILL NOT BE MERCIFUL TO WE SINNERS IN THIS FALLEN AGE.

THE ANCIENT PAST:
2008
Charles: 22-12 (9)
Captain: 19-15 (6)

2009
Charles: 18-16 (3)
Captain: 17-17 (2)

2010
Charles: 21-14 (8)
Captain: 17-18 (4)

2011
Charles: 22-13 (8)
Captain: 19-16 (5)

2012
Charles: 26-9 (12)
Captain: 19-16 (5)

2013
Charles: 18-17 (4)
Captain: 22-13 (8)

2014
Charles: 23-15 (11)
Captain: 20-18 (8)

2015
Charles: 26-14 (9)
Captain: 20-20 (3)

2016
Charles: 23-17 (6)
Captain: 24-16 (7)

2017
Charles: 23-16 (5) SLASH 482/780 (61.8%)
Captain: 24-15 (6) SLASH 481/780 (61.7%)

THE GLORIOUS FUTURE:

SUBMIT PICKS WITH A CONFIDENCE RANKING (1 IS LEAST CONFIDENT AND HOWEVER MANY BOWLS THERE ARE IS MOST CONFIDENT) ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, AT 4:00 PM CENTRAL TIME. DO NOT HESITATE TO THRUST THE KNIFE.

TRULY WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DESCEND TO THE GRAY ANNIHILATION BEGIN OUR JOURNEY WITH NEW MEXICO.

New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 15): North Texas vs. Utah State (-11), 2 p.m. ET
Cure Bowl (Dec. 15): Tulane (-4.5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 2:30 p.m. ET
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 15): Fresno State (-3) vs. Arizona State, 3:30 p.m. ET
Camellia Bowl (Dec. 15): Eastern Michigan (pick'em) vs. Georgia Southern, 5:30 p.m. ET
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 15): Middle Tennessee State vs. Appalachian State (-7.5), 9 p.m. ET
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 18): Northern Illinois vs. UAB (-2.5), 7 p.m. ET
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 19): Ohio (-5.5) vs. San Diego State, 8 p.m. ET
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 20): South Florida vs. Marshall (-3), 8 p.m. ET
Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 21): FIU vs. Toledo (-6), 12:30 p.m. ET
Potato Bowl (Dec. 21): Western Michigan vs. BYU (-8), 4 p.m. ET
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 22): Memphis (-2) vs. Wake Forest, noon ET
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22): Houston vs. Army (-5), 3:30 p.m. ET
Dollar General Bowl (Dec. 22): Buffalo (-2.5) vs. Troy, 7 p.m. ET
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 22): Louisiana Tech vs. Hawaii (-2.5), 10:30 p.m. ET
First Responder Bowl (Dec. 26): Boston College vs. Boise State (-4), 1:30 p.m. ET
Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 26): Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech (-3), 5:15 p.m. ET
Cheez-It Bowl (Dec. 26): TCU vs. Cal (-1.5), 9 p.m. ET
Independence Bowl (Dec. 27): Duke vs. Temple (-3.5), 1:30 p.m. ET
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 27): Miami (-3.5) vs. Wisconsin, 5:15 p.m. ET
Texas Bowl (Dec. 27): Vanderbilt (-7.5) vs. Baylor, 9 p.m. ET
Music City Bowl (Dec. 28): Purdue vs. Auburn (-5), 1:30 p.m. ET
Camping World Bowl (Dec. 28): Syracuse vs. West Virginia (-7.5), 5:15 p.m. ET
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 28): Washington State (-7) vs. Iowa State, 9 p.m. ET
Belk Bowl (Dec. 29): Virginia vs. South Carolina (-7), noon ET
Peach Bowl (Dec. 29): Florida vs. Michigan (-6), noon ET
Arizona Bowl (Dec. 29): Nevada vs. Arkansas State (-1.5), 1:15 p.m. ET
Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29): Clemson (-11.5) vs. Notre Dame, 4 p.m. ET
Orange Bowl (Dec. 29): Alabama (-14) vs. Oklahoma, 8 p.m. ET
Military Bowl (Dec. 31): Cincinnati (-6.5) vs. Virginia Tech, noon ET
Sun Bowl (Dec. 31): Pitt vs. Stanford (-6.5), 2 p.m. ET
Redbox Bowl (Dec. 31): Oregon vs. Michigan State (pick'em), 3 p.m. ET
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31): Missouri (-12.5) vs. Oklahoma State, 3:45 p.m. ET
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 31): Utah (-7) vs. Northwestern, 7 p.m. ET
Gator Bowl (Dec. 31): N.C. State vs. Texas A&M (-3.5), 7:30 p.m. ET
Outback Bowl (Jan. 1): Mississippi State (-3.5) vs. Iowa, noon ET
Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1): Penn State (-2.5) vs. Kentucky, 1 p.m. ET
Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1): LSU (-7) vs. UCF, 1 p.m. ET
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1): Ohio State (-6) vs. Washington, 5 p.m. ET
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1): Georgia (-13) vs. Texas, 8:45 p.m. ET