ESPN Pick’ems Week 12 Review
There were some really good games over the weekend and some really good finishes. Two undefeated teams went down.
Undefeated and 8th ranked Minnesota traveled to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes which was a nail biter to the very end. The Gophers could never get a lead on Iowa and eventually fell to the Hawkeyes. To be fair though, Kinnick Stadium is a tough place to play in.
For a while, it appeared that Baylor was going to embarrass Oklahoma leading 31-10 at the half. And then all of a sudden, the Sooner defense kept Baylor scoreless in the second half and the Oklahoma offense went on a 24 point tear to win the game 34-31 in an epic comeback.
After Georgia went up 21-0, I turned the channel to watch some closer finishes to only see Auburn trailing by a 7 late in the 4th quarter. Luckily for Georgia, Auburn’s Bo Nix couldn’t hit a wide open running back out in the flat for an easy first down to keep the chains moving on the Tigers final drive. The Bulldogs have now clinched the SEC East and will most likely face LSU in the SEC Championship game. LSU can clinch the West next week with a win over Arkansas.
Lots of us were getting REALLY nervous as Indiana attempted a furious rally against Penn State as high points were on the line for many of us. Thankfully, Penn State tacked on a score to go up by 10 points late in the 4th quarter.
Texas made a furious comeback againt Iowa State and led 21-20 with just a few seconds left in the game. However, Iowa State kicked a field goal for the game winner which gave the Longhorns their 4th loss on the season. If only quarterback Sam Ehlinger had not said the ill-fated words of "Hey Texas, we’re baaccckk.”
The Top 5 teams should like this:
LSU
Georgia
Ohio State
Clemson
Oklahoma
On to Pick’ems…
Ooohhhh… Mom couldn’t have picked a worst time to brown her pants. Mom had been in 1st place for a whopping eight weeks, but failed to take some advice that could have kept her in the top spot. Wendi was quick to advise Mom earlier in the week that going 9 on Minnesota was not a wise choice. Then Wendi followed it up with going 6 on Baylor probably wasn’t a good idea for Mom either. What was Mom’s response, "Look where you’re at, and look where I’m at!”
Yep, look where you’re at now Mom. Of course, everyone in GroupMe was quick to meme Mom’s 3rd place spot and make it appear like it’s this horrible spot to be in. But I know some people who’d like to trade places with Mom. Kim, put your hand down.
Very carefully, Adam has been navigating the Pick’ems minefield by doing his best at getting his high points while taking some chances with upsets with his low points. The strategy has been working. Just in the past two weeks, Adam has gained 23 points on Mom. 23 POINTS!!!!!
Meanwhile, Marc’s first step onto the minefield didn’t go so well. To be fair though, this is Marc’s first time playing Pick’ems. He was pretty aggressive from the start and I’m sure he’s learned a few things. Dave’s been playing for a few years too and his first year wasn’t so great either. But now look at him…<checks stats>. Okay… maybe Dave was a bad example. But Brendan was really horrible his first season and he’s ….<checks stats> … Bottom line Marc, Don’t be Dave or Brendan!
Nobody’s really talking about it, but Megan’s in 8th place…That’s probably why nobody’s talking about it.
Cindie has been steady as a rock this year and has not fallen past 4th place. Good luck prying 2nd place from her if you’re behind her because once she locks in on a spot, she normally never loses it unless she’s passing you.
If you want some good news, it appears we have three more weeks of picks instead of two. Normally, ESPN does 14 weeks, but for some odd reason, this year it’s 15 weeks including championship weekend.
Most points for the week: I needed a huge week and came up with one after grabbing 52 points. I now hold a commanding ten point lead heading into the home stretch.
Least Points for the week: Marc took some high risk chances and got burned only snagged 33
points.
Best Pick of the week: Adam took a calculated risk and went 2 points on Iowa upsetting Minnesota. Needless to say, it worked.
Worst Pick of the week: Marc sticking 10 points on Auburn beating Georgia was bad, but Mom rolling the dice with 9 points on Minnesota beating Iowa was awful. It cost her BIG time.
Who needs the $120 this week? Mom could use the money this week after going to bed early on Saturday night feeling confident that Baylor was going to secure the win since they were up 31-10 at the half. Only to wake up in horror seeing that not only had she lost the Baylor game, but she also fell to 3rd place.
Here’s how we rank going into week 13:
1. David – 524 points
2. Cindie – 514 Points
3. Mom – 512 Points
4. Adam – 509 Points
5. Wendi – 507 Points
6. Mike – 487 Points
7. Kim – 485 Points
8. Megan – 477 Points
9. Marc – 470 Points
10. Dave – 462 Points
11. Brendan – 461 Points
12. Teddy – 446 Points
