ESPN Pick’ems Week 4 Review
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Michigan was going to lose to Wisconsin as a select few of us even had mid-range points on Wisconsin. Wendi’s throwing away all of her favorite Khakis today as she unpacks, but is looking into stock piling whiskey to cope with watching Michigan Football. But with the way the Michigan offense has been turning the ball over lately and their lack of offensive creativity, it was only a matter of time until THAT happened. All of a sudden, the Badgers have some confidence and momentum heading into conference play.
But Notre Dame has frustrations of their own too. Anytime Brian Kelly has gone against a Top-5 ranked opponent, it’s always been a letdown… to put it nicely. Now he’s 0-5 against Top-5 ranked teams. I think the fan base is getting frustrated.
Well, at least the PAC 12 is fun this year. You most likely missed it, but Washington State led UCLA by 32 at one point and then came back and won the game. Never mind that UCLA was 0-3 prior to entering the game. This was supposed to be perhaps Washington State’s best team as everything was firing on all cylinders. Cougars Quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for 570 yards and had 9 TD passes in the loss. Sure, the PAC 12 seems to be deeper this year than most, but it’s going to be a fun ride with the California Golden Bears the only undefeated team left in the conference.
Maybe it’s just me, but this Auburn team seems to be relying more and more on gadget plays. Bo Nix was decent at best hitting 12-20 passes for 100 yards and 1 TD. But here’s the thing, Auburn only had 299 total yards. Yep, they have a strong defense, but something doesn’t feel right with that offense and I think that’s why they are doing more gadget plays more often. 4-0 is still 4-0 though. It’ll be interesting to see the SEC this year. With Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, and Florida all positioning themselves for an SEC title run.
Pittsburg may have done a favor for the rest of America by playing like their hair was on fire against UCF. Pitt led the game 21-0 but then gave up the next 31 points. The Panthers then forced a few key stops against UCF’s vaunted Offense that led to the comeback. And here come the UCF critics…
Texas won. So did FSU…yippee.
On to Pick’ems…
Watching Megan and Brendan playing pick’ems this year is the equivalent of them playing a game of adult tee ball… and striking out.
Announcer: ‘And the first batter is Megan’ <Megan swings…hits the tee and the ball falls gently backwards on all three attempts>
[crowd whispers]
Announcer: ‘Welp, she gave it the ole try’.
Announcer: ‘The next batter is Brendan’
Megan to Brendan: ‘Watch that nasty curve ball’
But seriously… How do these two keep finding new and creative ways to stay down at the bottom?
While Mom and Wendi were enjoying food and drinks at the winner’s table, they had an unexpected surprise as the server scooted a larger table next to theirs. Mom finally told the server, "we don’t need a larger table, this one is just fine thanks.” But the server responded with, "You have company that will be joining you,” as the server pointed to a smiling Cindie, David, Teddy, and Marc.
And just like that, Mom and Wendi left a wee little opening for everyone else to catch up and collect some points. Well… almost everyone. Now the pressure is really on them to not have any bad weeks.
Dave was having a decent day until his face plant on those last two picks. He lost out on a total of 15 points. But he had company though. Kim, Mike, Brendan, and Megan whiffed on both final games too and the results were absolutely horrid.
Wendi and Kim had a seven game win streak going on at one point. However, Kim’s seven game win streak got caught in the wrong dark alley and things didn’t go so well.
Most points for the week: I needed a big week and finally caught the break that I was looking for by snagging 48 points.
Least Points for the week: How many times do we have to keep mentioning Megan’s name here? She
netted a measly 20 points and is a staggering 50 points from the top spot.
Best Pick of the week: Marc putting 6 points on Colorado beating Arizona State. Not only was Marc the sole one to put points on the Buffs, but the majority of individuals lost gargantuan points!!!
Worst Pick of the week: Prior to that fantastic pick of Marc’s, he also had a bonehead pick by sticking 8 points on Texas A&M beating Auburn.
Who needs the $120 this week? It’s likely that Teddy is walking around in bubble wrap to ensure he does not get injured or catch some illness this year that will keep him from missing his picks as he is off to a great start and appears to be serious about that cash this year.
Here’s how we rank going into week 5:
1. Mom – 172 points
2. Wendi – 164 Points
3. David – 158 Points
4. Cindie – 158 Points
5. Teddy – 157 Points
6. Marc – 151 Points
7. Mike – 145 Points
8. Adam – 140 Points
9. Kim – 137 Points
10. Dave – 137 Points
11. Megan – 122 Points
12. Brendan – 117 Points
If you aren’t apart of the GroupMe conversation, it’s not too late to join. Good luck in Week 5!
