2018 Atlas CFB Pick Em Contest

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I'll begrudgingly join at the last moment. Hope I have time this year.

I will go out of my way to stubbornly pick Army over Duke.

The games I am most excited for are:
1. James Madison @ NC State - of course I'm going with State on the pick 'em, but how can you not watch this and want to see JMU perhaps pull it off? NC State is not going to challenge Clemson this year for the crown, so maybe someone can challenge NDSU - even as someone who likes NDSU, let's get that storyline going.

2. Miami @ LSU - Everybody knows Miami is not good but rates them highly because joke schedule comparable to UCF. Everyone thinks LSU is not good due to consistent underachieving (partially right). They will underachieve again this year, but they will take the opener to shut out the ACC Bad Half from serious contention.

3. Washington State @ Wyoming - a great battle between two of my great loves, but I don't think it is reasonable to favour Wazzu by all that much, so Wyoming is my pick here. I expect severe regression for Leach and for Bohl to finally hit targets in Laramie despite having average talent.

4. South Dakota State @ Iowa State - how can you cheer against either. I think Iowa State does take this in spite of not being for real - but they will give us a reason to hope, and that's all you can ask for. South Dakota State will pull off a stunner at some point later this season to no championship accolades...as the story always goes in Brookings!

5. Ole Miss @ Texas Tech - I have absolutely no clue what the oddsmakers are thinking making Tech a favourite here.

---Some other potential surprises/storylines.

Navy @ Hawaii - Navy trying to prove they are not in tailspin yet.

Washington @ Auburn - obligatory excitement, but more for the storyline that the Pac-12 is for real this year - if possible.

UNC @ Cal - I picked UNC last year and got burned. S&P and others once again that UNC should be the better team. Not favoured per Yahoo?

Cincinnati @ UCLA - Reminds me of my perception when I picked Maryland over Texas last year. But Cincinnati is no Maryland lately! But I will definitely check in.

UTSA @ Arizona State - Perhaps Herm Edwards is more likely to flop to an oddly competitive foe than Chip Kelly. This one I will take the unlikely upset. UTSA has to get one eventually...Too bad the Arizona's didn't flip opponents as BYU might take 'em down.

Michigan @ Notre Dame - In the battle of overrated team I wouldn't otherwise hate, it's hard to care, but how does Michigan not get taken out of contention here? Please let's end that one early.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

What a disgrace to our beloved sport.

UCF needs to reschedule Nebraska for their bye week ASAP. Toughen up the schedule.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

West Virginia is generally viewed by the computer ranking systems as the most overrated team in the nation by a wide margin.

Massey #34
Sagarin #22
S&P+ #21
Curry #38
Round Robin W% #47
Massey Composite #25

NC State
Massey #19
Sagarin #26
S&P+ #45
Curry #17
Round Robin W% #19
Massey Composite #24

That's quite a toss-up. I picked State.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Dereich - what would you make of 3 potentially 1-loss teams in the SEC West? Alabama/State/LSU namely. P sure LSU is in title game, and it would mean they have to beat UGA twice. No way Bama doesn't get in with a single loss to LSU, right? State gets screwed? The chaos scenario we need.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Dereich - what would you make of 3 potentially 1-loss teams in the SEC West? Alabama/State/LSU namely. P sure LSU is in title game, and it would mean they have to beat UGA twice. No way Bama doesn't get in with a single loss to LSU, right? State gets screwed? The chaos scenario we need.

I can't see Alabama losing.....an Alabama team that can pass? Hard to stop.

Last year's Alabama was arguably better with a top tier defense, and they were stopped one and a half times and should have lost the Mississippi State game. The only three regular season games that you can evaluate them on will be played in November.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I unfortunately agree with NYE. If OU or ND lose, it opens a spot for the Georgia-LSU winner or Penn State.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

God bless the American Conference! Cincinnati may be barely top 50, but if the voters want to rank em, we'll just have to thank em. I have UCF at 7, USF at 28ish and Cincinnati much lower for the record. Temple is obviously favoured to stop the Bearcats sadly so probably only one potential ranked win for the Golden Knights.

I don't see good reason to have Washington ahead of UCF either. The other 2 are West Virginia and Texas though at least you can make a case for Texas.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Also, I would be totally prepared to cheer for UCF over Bama. After Nick Saban chastised us? It's ridiculous. They're the ones who took away Dixieland Delight. Why even go to a game anymore? It's ridiculous. Why did they have to change that? I think we need to bring that back.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

God bless the American Conference! Cincinnati may be barely top 50, but if the voters want to rank em, we'll just have to thank em. I have UCF at 7, USF at 28ish and Cincinnati much lower for the record. Temple is obviously favoured to stop the Bearcats sadly so probably only one potential ranked win for the Golden Knights.

The real question is, what has Oregon done to deserve to be ranked?

I have them in the very last spot even though USF would be nicer. Wazzu and USC are ahead of them amongst Pac-12 teams.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

While I'm sure that there have been weekends where more ranked teams lost, I can't think of a weekend where the Top 25 seemed so underwhelming as a group.  Save for LSU curbstomping Georgia, it was a lot of blah everywhere.

And just wait for Colorado to be demolished by the best team in their conference.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Temple is going to be pretty easily favoured over Cincinnati. Undefeated UCF will not be making the playoff. (Temple is favoured over USF too, but I am less inclined to believe they will take that one. Give Blake Barnett four more weeks of learning this offense against legitimate defenses like Houston, and I think they would take that through some growing pains.)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

lets be clear, the only non P5 team with any chance at the playoff is Notre Dame.

I currently have Notre Dame in the playoff, and they'll get there if they run the table.

But it'll be interesting to see where UCF starts out in the first playoff rankings.

I think they'll be somewhere between 5-8 in those rankings.

I currently have 6 SEC teams in my top 10. They're just going to beat up on each other with no penalty for losing giving UCF no one to jump.

I currently have UCF a very generous #12. Probably too generous. Oklahoma is arguably better without the Army cloud hanging over them and NC State, Oregon and Mississippi State will be given a chance to prove they belong ahead next week too.



I suspect Notre Dame will lose to USC narrowly to open up a controversy benefitting a 1 loss Big 12 champion. I can see Ohio State losing in surprise fashion and still winning the conference. NC State doesn't have a loseable gameafter Clemson if they come out unscathed given how Cuse is playing. While Clemson closes with 3 trap games, I'd be stunned if they lost any or at least more than after besting the Wolf Pack, which effectively locks up the ACC crown and a playoff spot. So the winner of that game is basically in.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

What has UCF done to be ahead of Kentucky? Kentucky has a top 10 road scalp, manhandled a top 20 team, and took care of a top 30 team. Their only loss is in overtime at one of the toughest or maybe the toughest road environment in college football, where #3 only escaped on a failed 2 point conversion.

For those keeping score at home right now, Alabama / Clemson > Texas A&M > Kentucky > Florida > LSU > Georgia. And the only one that came on the road was Kentucky's victory. For the record, that's not the order I have them in. I have LSU in the front because their road loss was basically by a single point and then had the greatest pounding of the group followed by Kentucky for such a seriously huge road win in the Swamp. But all should be very close to each other. Jacksonville is the next piece of the puzzle. Perhaps it can knock Georgia back a peg if ugly but Florida will stand firm.


My point regarding NC State and Oregon was that those teams have the opportunity to pass UCF without more teams moving behind. Not that it would happen, but it can. UCF's argument hinged on it beating Auburn so it should remain ahead until proven otherwise - as antifactual as that sounds given that they have had graduations. Well, this year's Auburn team is unranked! No name weight to help them float!

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

My upset of the week: I'm pickin' Purdue.

I won't even watch Illinois.  Got friends and family coming into town (Iowa City) to tailgate, so I will follow on my phone and hope for a miracle.  I plan to stop having to care by the second quarter.

Good pick, my friend, the Boilermakers are extremely underrated. But not so fast - Ohio State by 4 - squeaker. Purdue doesn't have as much of a homefield advantage you might think.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Congrats Tom! And more importantly, congrats America! The witch is dead!

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Congrats Tom! And more importantly, congrats America! The witch is dead!

I'm pretty sure the witch is still undefeated and sitting in the number 1 spot.

Saban endorsed the great Senator Joe Mancini. Urban Meyer endorsed domestic abuse and gangs.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Wow, just checked the scoreboard - RINO TOM continuing to prove that consistent mediocrity is the quickest way to the top (nearly a point per week ahead of everyone despite being the leader in zero weeks!)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

OK, throw your memes at me, Kansas beat TCU.

Kansas: Wins games they're supposed to lose by 30, loses everything else.

ISTR a few years ago there was a team (Missouri?) that had 100% "wrong" results.  They won every game in which they were the underdog and lost every game in which they were favored.

It can't have been a year Missouri was in the SEC and scheduled to play Alabama (such a thing is possible, I think, despite the being in opposite divisions), because Alabama would have won that game easily. I presume it while Missouri was still in the Big Twelve.

They play Alabama every six years....and this is that year (7th year in SEC do only once before)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Notre Dame and Oklahoma need to lose. This is Wazzu's year (to get thrashed by Nicholas)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Northwestern did not play well against a very bad Wisconsin team that is barely top 40 in the country and missing their QB causing fumbles galore. And that score already could have been a lot worse.

Not that Notre Dame is really close to an elite team, so they could fall. But that says little about my beloved Northwestern.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Congrats Tom! And more importantly, congrats America! The witch is dead!

Makes me feel a little better about the shellacking they put on Illinois, LOL.  Though I am under no illusions that Illinois is anything other than a bad football team at this point in time, their losses have, arguably, all been to good teams.  How they fare against a Maryland team that just got put down like a sick pet vs. Iowa will tell me much more.  Need to check out this week's picks and try to stay near the top.

Did you learn enough about Illinois this week?

Yes, more than I cared to.   Glad I have a wedding this Saturday.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Will be cheering on a Notre Dame defeat this Saturday from Ryan Field - go Cats~!!

Dang, I was planning to be there earlier this year, but a friend just invited me to MSU @Maryland instead.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Will be cheering on a Notre Dame defeat this Saturday from Ryan Field - go Cats~!!

Dang, I was planning to be there earlier this year, but a friend just invited me to MSU @Maryland instead.

That’s a much less important game tho

I've been to Evanston many times but never College Park nor to a game of the beloved Spartans. It was a tough call, but this is most convenient. The best choice of the weekend north of Dixie is obviously Dartmouth @ Princeton, but alas, I am not home.

Northwestern's game does not matter for them in the Big Ten race, so my purple goggles are already looking at Iowa.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Princeton defeats Dartmouth to reach 8-0! Now in line for the first undefeated season since 1964 and first outright championship of my conscious lifetime! After all these years of going to games! Just Yale and Penn stand in the way. What a 150th anniversary gift to football.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

No sup for you. Come back - one year!