Now that was worth staying up for! An instant classic with absolutely everything you want in a good football game.

As the first half unfolded, I was very skeptical of Clemson’s ability to score enough points to win the game. Both defenses were strong, but Alabama’s running back, Bo Scarborough, was able to get free and score two big touchdowns. Even after Clemson got on the board, it didn’t look like Alabama was all that concerned. Their D was doing fine and their freshman quarterback was ice-in-his-veins calm. Alabama’s strength and size allowed them to keep the game plan simple and just be exceptional athletes doing the fundamental things correctly.

Deshaun Watson has had more turnovers this year than last and his fumble in this game gave cause for concern. Alabama won every game this year in which they forced two or more turnovers…until tonight. Watson redeemed himself with a couple of stellar drives downfield in the second half, but again Alabama held Clemson at arms length with a 10 point lead. Jalen Hurts found his tight end wide open down field, reminiscent of a big play from Howard in last year’s game. Their offense wasn’t quite the same, though, after Scarborough left the game with an injury. The Tigers pounced and appeared to take the momentum.

The 4th quarter was a nail biter. After trading some punts, Clemson eventually put together two drives and wrestled the lead away from the Tide. Coach Saban wanted an offensive penalty called for setting a pick on the first one, but he didn’t get his way. Alabama started to sputter on offense and their defense was finally showing some vulnerability. It looked like the Tigers were about to make another defensive stand and seal the win, when the Tide used a trick play to get in field goal range. Moments later Hurts got loose on a lead-stealing 30 yard run. He calmly waltzed into the end zone, handed the ball off, and walked to the sidelines as if it was just another day at the office.

It looked like the Tide would once again hoist the trophy, but 2:07 on the clock was plenty of time for Watson and the Tigers. The final drive was almost perfect, aided by a penalty gift from the Tide defense. Like a fairy tale ending, Deshaun found his favorite receiver (on a similar pick play as the one Saban argued against) with one second left on the clock. Obviously the Alabama team and fans were devastated and the Tiger crowd was euphoric. Redemption was theirs. A national title was back after 35 years.

As for our championship, it was also a classic. Sprinkles made some great picks down the stretch. Her pick by mascot strategy and ACC loyalty paid off this year. She was one of a small handful of pickers (16%) who had faith in the Tigers. I picked Bama back in the beginning of the bowl season, but my faith in Clemson grew after their destruction of Ohio State and I found myself cheering for them. We have a lot of Clemson faithful in our family (one a former professor) and in our camp community. I am extremely happy them.

In the office:

Sprinkles: 28-14, Rambo: 26-16, Scoot: 22-20, Trip: 20-22, and T-Bone: 18-24

As expected, you, our precious camp community and family once again beat the staff picks. Four extremely savvy pickers came out with more wins than our best. This year we had to go to a tiebreaker to determine the overall winner. She didn’t pick the Championship team, but she had the right matchup and was the closest to the actual margin of victory. Congratulations, Rachel! Mike, you played a tough game and should be proud of your record and your almost flawless first half of the bowl season.

Here’s where you stand:

1st place: (30-12) Rachel Wiley (Overall winner by tiebreak) and Mike Hochman

2nd place: (29-13) Julia Lancaster and Terrence McBride (moving up with a Clemson Championship pick)

tied with us: (28-14) Jennifer Lancaster, Laura Watkins (moving up with a Clemson Championship pick), and David Maggiore (last year’s champ)

Sometimes it just isn’t your day. Sometimes it just isn’t your week. And then sometimes it just isn’t your year. Kronk, you are one of the greatest young men I know, despite being a Bama die hard. (Just kidding, of course)  You brought up the rear almost all bowl season and then, to kick you while you were down, Bama lost the big one, too. I am sure you will bounce back just fine next year. For now, I will enjoy giving you are hard time!

Thanks again for playing our game. Trip and Sprinkles will start working on sending out the winning gifts. We can’t wait to see you this summer and undoubtedly lace up our cleats for next year’s Bowl Bonanza!

It’s hard to believe we are just one game away from Bowl season coming to a close. The time has flown by and here we sit, waiting for the rematch between the two best teams in college football. Clemson has had revenge on their mind since the final whistle of the 2015 season and they appear to be up to the task. Alabama has the best defense in the land, but I don’t think they have faced an offense like this one. If Clemson can hold off the charging front line of the Tide and give Deshaun Watson time to make a decision, we could see Alabama in a position they haven’t experienced in a long time. It is going to be exciting to watch.

As we wait for Monday’s game, I need to bring you up to speed on where our contest stands and how the last four games went down.

Florida vs Iowa was billed as a defensive heavy weight match and proved to be just that. Iowa had moments of brilliance this year so I thought they might steal this one from a Florida team that struggled so mightily to put up points. With turnovers that converted to points and some respectable plays on offense, the Gators were able to hold down the Hawkeyes and score enough to win in convincing fashion. I think they will have some stiff competition for the SEC East next year, but for now they are once again the elite on that side of the conference. The win helped the 70% who picked Florida.

An undefeated season is always a special thing and to cap that with a bowl win is the stuff of dreams. Western Michigan found themselves watching their dream disappear as Wisconsin held off the comeback with an interception. It eventually lead to the knockout punch touchdown. Wisconsin used some talented underclassmen who will be anxious to try to stake their claim on a Big 10 title shot in 2017. Not much change on our leaderboard with 85% picking the winner.

Next was the game of the night, and possibly the best of the all the bowls. 38% of us correctly identified USC as the winner, but it wasn’t until the final play of the game that we could breathe again. USC started strong, but let Penn State creep back in it just before the half. The Nittany Lions were stronger coming out of the locker room. They scored 3 touchdowns before USC could get back on the board and then the Lions scores a fourth touchdown to finish the 3rd quarter! The Trojans still had some magic left, though. They scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game, leaving 1:20 on the clock for Penn State to try to go the length of the field for the win. Instead, the Trojans managed to intercept the ball and return it into field goal range. With no timeouts left, USC ran one quick play, rushed the field goal unit onto the field, and kicked the winning kick as time expired. It was exciting and exhausting to watch.

To close out the night we had two storied programs wanting to prove they still need to be in the conversation of the best teams in the land. Auburn continues to try and get out of the shadow of Alabama and Oklahoma is trying to prove the Big 12 is still a powerhouse. Only one team could win the game and possibly shed the naysayers. That team, to the pleasure of 38% of us, was Oklahoma. It took a lot of scrambling, scrappy play, and gutsy calls to keep away from the powerful Auburn defense. It started to pay off once the Tigers wore down. It didn’t help that they lost their starting quarterback, but the backups didn’t look too shabby.

I am one win away from a tie with Sprinkles for the lead in our office pool and since we both picked different winners for the final game, there is a chance I could make it. That would make two years in a row that I have tied for first place. Last year Trip made a huge surge at the end to join me at the top. My fingers are crossed! How we look for now:

Sprinkles: 27-14, Rambo: 26-15, Scoot: 22-19, Trip: 20-21, and T-Bone: 18-23

As for you guys in the extended family, we have a tight race for the lead and several others poised to at least beat our picks. This last game will decide how many people will be above the tied line and qualify for a gift from us. Here’s where you stand:

1st place: (30-11) Rachel Wiley and Mike Hochman  (this one may have to be decided by a tiebreaker!)

2nd place: (29-12) Julia Lancaster

3rd place: (28-13) Jennifer Lancaster, Terrence McBride, and David Maggiore (last year’s overall winner)

tied with us: (27-14) Libby Pittman, Michele Richards, and Laura Watkins

I am starting to feel sorry for Kronk and his bottom dwelling. Right now he is a game ahead of T-Bone, one behind my Auburn buddy (a camper), and two behind Leo. There is some comfort in having your friends around you when you are suffering, but I am sure none of them want to be here either. At least they are all great people! Even if they missed the mark with this year’s picks it’s good to know they don’t have to make a living with them. There is always next year…always next year.

Enjoy Monday’s game. I’ll post again on Tuesday!

The New Year’s Adam (Adam before Eve) slate of games was undoubtedly the best football this bowl season. Lots of big plays, close finishes, and high quality action. I didn’t get to watch all of it, but I was highly entertained by what I did watch.

The Georgia/TCU game was great to watch, but a very sloppy game overall. The big plays helped keep my eyes off the weak parts of the game and the goofy coaching decisions. I like to see the Dawgs win, even though I picked against them this time. Their inconsistency made me skeptical and I know TCU has a great offense. They were also inconsistent this year so I just went with my gut. With Eason, Michel, Chubb, and an improving defense, I expect great things from UGA next year. Congrats to the 62% who got this one right.

Despite the absence of Christian McCaffrey, who sat out the bowl game to save himself for the upcoming NFL draft, and losing their quarterback to a knee injury in the first quarter, the Stanford Cardinal was able to weather the storm and come out victorious over the North Carolina Tarheels. Stanford’s defense really showed out and carried the load of the work. They scored late on an INT and then sacked the NC QB to stop a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game and sent it to OT. (I just wanted to use all the abbreviations I could in one sentence.) 76% of us picked correctly.

Next up was another game between inconsistent teams. At times this season, both Nebraska and Tennessee looked as if they had returned to their former glory. Both eventually dropped games to teams they should have beaten and loss games to superior teams. This games was poised to possibly be the best match up of the day, but was more lopsided in the end. Nebraska was shorthanded without their star wideout and starting quarterback, so it should be easy to forgive them. This game kept everything fairly even, with 85% of us having picked Tennessee.

Air Force proved 73% of us right with their convincing win over South Alabama. They started the game really slow, falling behind 21-3 , but scored all of the remaining points to win 45-21. South Alabama’s earlier win over Mississippi State gave their fans hope that they could win this bowl game, but they couldn’t make the adjustments like Air Force did. I love it when the schools representing our military put one in the win column.

Dalvin Cook found a way to give FSU one last win for the season, possibly his last as a Seminole. With 145 rushing yards and 62 receiving, he was the most impressive and most important player of the game. Michigan used a strong defensive effort late in the game to make this one exciting. After finally taking the lead with less than two minutes to play, it appeared that they had turned the corner and had the game in hand. After a long kickoff return, FSU once again turned to Cook, who helped set up the knockout punch. The Noles would score a touchdown to resume the lead, only to have the PAT blocked and returned for a 2-point score for the Wolverines. Being down by one point, Michigan just needed to score a field goal to win the game. They just couldn’t do it with only 36 seconds to make it happen. 27% correctly chose the upset.

The New Year’s Eve games were not as balanced competitively as the ones the day before. In the first game of the day, LSU added fuel to the fire of those who believe a great defense is rather to be had than a great offense. The Tigers were relatively unfruitful on offense most of the season, relying on their stout defense to carry them. They stepped up to the task again and pounded the high flying offense of the Heisman trophy winner and his Louisville teammates. Lamar Jackson had his least productive game of the season, facing constant pressure and going down with 8 sacks. LSU took advantage of the Cardinals’ depleted defense and made the score look they way I assumed it would, only in reverse. Again, the upset pickers won the day (34%).

Kentucky continues to work hard at building a football program. Reaching a bowl game and winning a few games against big name teams along the way is proof of their effort. Unfortunately the Yellow Jackets proved to be too tough for them in this one. Paul Johnson’s unique offense is extremely physical and if you don’t have a top level run defense, they are going to put up a lot of yards. Tech did rely on a great defensive effort to put up some points and hold off the comeback bid from the Wildcats. Sometimes the ACC/SEC rivalry is bigger than the teams actually in the game. 77% of us were on the winning side.

The two playoff games were as lopsided as they could have been, not only in scoring, but in actual performance.

Alabama was the first to punch their ticket to the Championship. As they have done all season, the Tide absolutely punished their opponent with defense. Washington scored early because of busted coverage, but after that they couldn’t find enough time to develop their plays. Alabama’s defensive front was too physical and too fast, continuously harassing QB Jake Browning. Alabama still has concerns on offense, but their two running backs can be steamrollers to teams who are weak against the run. Clemson has better pass protection and run defense, so the Tide may be meeting their toughest match up of the year. It wasn’t hard for 95% of us to pick up one more for the win column.

The final game of the night, and the final one of the season for Ohio State, was the most embarrassing of all the games so far. With Michigan also losing their game to FSU, the “Big 10 is weak” argument will likely resurface with great momentum. Ohio State was shut out for the first time since 1993 and it was the first ever for Coach Urban Meyer. Most of the night they couldn’t even get across the 50. Clemson owned them on defense, constantly tackling in the back field and causing turnovers. They made fools of the Buckeye defense as well. It was extremely apparent the Tigers were hungry for a rematch with the Tide. 65% of us believed they were the better team.

I am no longer in the lead, but most of the games I picked wrong really didn’t hurt my feelings. This year I was as torn as I have ever been on who to pick for the later bowl games. It has been a great one so far, so I am not too disappointed. It is also nice to see Sprinkles TAKE THE LEAD in our office picks. She tends to favor the bottom of the pack most years. Way to go Sprinkles!

In the office:

Sprinkles: 25-12, Rambo: 23-14, Scoot: 20-17, Trip: 18-19, and T-Bone: 16-21

All of you:

1st place: (29-8) Rachel Wiley (holding strong with 5 to go!)

2nd place: (26-11) Mike Hochman (not letting Rachel get too far ahead)

tied with us: (25-12) Terrence McBride, Julia Lancaster, Regina Hutter, Michele Richards, Laura Watkins, and Lisa Adams

Kronk and Leo continue to hold down the bottom of our competition (along with some others!) Trip has slowly moved away from such title, but T-Bone has decided to take her place. One of my favorite Auburn fans, a camper, is really trying his best to keep them company. I hope he gets his wish in their game today, at least.

Until tomorrow!