"If you aren’t first, you’re last Ricky Bobby”
Written by Wendi
Championship weekend did not disappoint in the slightest. For the Mountain West, Boise State handled business and took care of UNLV for the second time this season 21-7 and earned a #3 seed in the playoff rankings. I’m okay with that.
Army man handled Tulane 35-14 for the AAC in a game that was not even close. Tulane had costly turnovers, failed 4th down conversions, missed field goals just to name a few of their issues. If you know the only thing that Army is going to (run the ball), then why aren’t you prepared for that? Army racked up 338 rushing yards.
After playing just the week prior (W. Kentucky won 19-17), Western Kentucky and Jacksonville State met for the Conference USA Championship game and Jacksonville State was better prepared and I’m pretty sure they said, "We can’t lose twice to theses people in back-to-back weeks”. Jacksonville State blew out the Hilltoppers 52-12.
I’m pretty sure we all thought that Oregon was going to blow out Penn State. The Nittany Lions had other plans and kept the game relatively close, but in the end, James Franklin just cannot win the big games he needs to. Oregon Ducks won 45-37 and are seeded #1 going in to the playoffs.
It took overtime for Georgia to finally get Texas off their backs. With Carson Beck going down late in the game, I am sure Texas thought they could get the win. Nope! Bulldogs won 22-19. Texas is still NOT back.
What looked to be a runaway game for Clemson, they were in the lead 24-7 at the break. SMU scored three touchdowns and one field goal to tie the game with 16 second left in the game. Apparently, SMU couldn’t play defense to save their life and allowed Clemson to get in field goal range and made a walk off field goal to win 34-31. Heartbreaking. However, they both still made the playoffs.
Arizona State put to rest any doubt on how good they are. Iowa State was the 4th ranked team they beat this season, and it was not even a game. It was all Sundevils 45-19 for the Big 12 Championship in which they secured the 4th seed in the playoffs.
For the MAC, Miami (OH) took on Ohio in Detroit and got demolished 38-3. Seems like someone forgot to show up for the Championship game.
And lastly, for the Sunbelt Conference, Louisiana hosted Marhsall with homefield advantage. Apparently, Louisiana was on their 3rd string quarterback (which I did not know that and stupidly went 7 on that game). It showed in the final score. Marshall 31-3.
FUN FACT: Just in case it wasn’t mentioned in last week’s article by David, Michigan beat Ohio State 13-10… hehehehe
On to Pick’ems…
Well, I definitely didn’t have an 11 year old beating all of us on my 2024 bingo card. Did you? Now Sam is gloating about all that money he won and already knows what he wants to buy with it. A new gel blaster gun, wrestlers, and the list goes on. It was just a fluke and I know he won’t win anything else. At least I hope not. It’s pretty embarrassing losing to your child. Cindy and I finished tied for 2nd place and had to split the winnings. But that is ok. It is better than nothing.
Mike H. was able to slide into 3rd and won his small prize. Mike H. should be lucky he didn’t have to share his.
Adam took some risks, and it paid off as he was able to slide into 4th place. As for David, well…better luck next time.
All of the Meggers finished no higher than 6th place. Maybe it was the dismantling of the Pac-12 that you just couldn’t get past or is was the Oregon State season. You sure you don’t wasn’t DJ U back? As for everyone else, it has been a fun season so let’s get ready to go bowling, shall we?
Most points for the week: Adam was able to snag the most points with 37 points and won the final weekly $10 and it bumped him up to 4th place, ahead of David…(now he can sleep at night).
Least points for the week: Mike M. managed just 17 points. It was the perfect ending to a catastrophic last few weeks for him. There’s always Bowl Season.
Best pick of the week: Megan, Adam, and Evelyn picking Army over Tulane.
Worst pick of the week: Evelyn going 9 on Texas and Mike M going 7 on Penn State. Were you hoping for the upset?
Here are the final rankings:
1. Sam – 572 points
2. Wendi – 550 points
3. Cindie – 550 points
4. Mike H. – 545 points
5. Adam – 536 points
6. David – 532 points
7. Megan – 525 points
8. Noah – 522 points
9. Rick – 520 points
10. Sean – 514 points
11. Kim – 513 points
12. Marc – 512 points
13. Evelyn – 508 points
14. Mike M. – 497 points
