College Bowl Season 2012-13 Recap: Our Bowl Pick’em Advice Hits Again
- 8 comments - College Football, College Football Bowls, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Tom Federico on January 9, 2013
Now that the 2012-2013 college bowl season has ended in a perhaps unsurprising fashion — and I don’t mean Alabama winning, I mean the entire sports world up in arms over something Brent Musberger said — it’s time to look back and grade the performance of our bowl season predictions and contest advice.
For those new to the site, as part of our premium services we offer picks for college bowl pick’em contests, which seem to be getting quite a bit more popular over the years. We also offer computer-determined betting predictions (point spread, over/under, and money line value picks) for every bowl game.
In summary, we had our third straight strong year with our bowl pick’em advice, while our betting pick performance was mixed.
2012-2013 College Bowl Pick’em Results
We published a total of 12 bowl pick’em pick sets this year, 9 for competing in game winner based bowl pick’ems with confidence points, and three for game winner contests without confidence points. As a group, they performed very well, including a few outstanding results.
- 11 of our 12 published pick sets finished in the top 3.5% of ESPN and the top 6% of Yahoo. That generally should be good enough to come in top five or six in a 100-person pool, top two or three in a 50-person pool, and first or second place in a 25-person pool.
- Our non-confidence pick sets did especially well this year on ESPN, with 2 of 3 finishing in the 99.6th percentile. On Yahoo! they were 97th percentile.
- Our worst pick set out of all twelve still beat 85% of the nation, and that was a pick set targeted for a large pool, which uses more of a boom-or-bust strategy.
Week 14 College Football Pick’em Strategy: The Final Countdown!
- 4 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on November 29, 2012
Note: This week one of Yahoo’s Game Winner Pick’em games is Oregon State vs Nicholls State; this game was rescheduled from Week 1 due to travel concerns during Hurricane Isaac. We only project games between FBS schools, so you won’t find this game under the Yahoo! drop down menu on our college football office pool picks page. You shouldn’t need much help with this one, however, as Nicholls State is an FCS school whose lone win came against a team named Evangel.
The Northern Illinois Huskies have not lost since Week 1 (a one-point loss vs Iowa), and Kent State has not lost since Week 2. In an unusual turn of events, the winner of the this year’s MAC Championship Game could earn an automatic bid to a BCS bowl, provide they move into the top 16 of the BCS rankings.
Our models see NIU as solid favorites with 70% odds, and the Huskies are about a touchdown favorite in Vegas. Surprisingly, though, about 70% of the public has picked Kent State to win outright. For those looking to gain an edge over the public in this final week, Northern Illinois provides the best chance to do so.
Where We Stand After Week 13
Here is where our game winner pick’em strategies currently stand on ESPN (which uses a 10-game weekly card and confidence points) heading into Week 14. All three strategies climbed in the standings, while our Conservative strategy continues to be the highlight, ranking in the top 7% nationally:
- Conservative: 93.1st percentile (+0.6 from last week)
- Aggressive: 77.9th percentile (+2.0)
- Very Aggressive: 67.8th percentile (+0.7)
Week 13 College Football Pick’em Strategy: It’s Crunch Time
- 5 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on November 21, 2012
The college football season is down to its final two weeks, and thankfully there are multiple opportunities this week to make a final push and gain ground on your opponents. With three odds-on contrarian picks and a solid upset selection, the penultimate week of the season offers both smart low risk plays and some high-value longshots.
Where We Stand After Week 12
Here is where our game winner pick’em strategies currently stand on ESPN (which uses a 10-game weekly card and confidence points) heading into Week 13. All three strategies dipped slightly, while our Conservative strategy continues to be the highlight, ranking in the top 8% nationally:
- Conservative: 92.5th percentile (-3.0 from last week)
- Aggressive: 75.9th percentile (-1.0)
- Very Aggressive: 67.1st percentile (-0.2)
Week 12 College Football Pick’em Strategy: Take Notice of Utah State
- 4 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on November 15, 2012
Update Fri 11/16, 5 PM ET: Our office pool pick sets have now frozen for the week, but two games (Iowa-Michigan and Arizona-Utah) didn’t have point spreads released before our office pool picks froze. As a result, those games are missing from several of our office pool pick sets, and where they do show up, the picks are incorrect.
As of now, Utah looks like a great contrarian game winner pick over Arizona. They are a one point favorite, but almost 75% of the public is on Arizona. Michigan is heavily favored over Iowa, and the Hawkeyes don’t provide much value as an upset pick. Stick with Michigan there.
On the point spread side, Iowa +16.5 offers ridiculous value if your pool has that spread and is like Yahoo!, where a a ridiculous 95%+ of contestants are taking Michigan against the spread. Even though our models prefer Michigan -16.5, aggressive strategies should take Iowa plus the points and put serious confidence points on it, based on value alone. Since we like Utah in a tossup game, we’d take them ATS as well, assuming the line is very close to -1.
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Louisiana Tech has been electric offensively this year, ranking 7th nationally in college football yards per play (6.6). Also, the Bulldogs are the only FBS team not to have thrown an interception all season.
Tech’s opponent, Utah State, looks up to the challenge though, as USU’s defense ranks 4th nationally in opponent yards per play (4.1). The Aggies have flown a bit under the radar this season, but are a mere 5 points from being a major national story. Their only two losses were by 2 at Wisconsin and by 3 at BYU, and they are the only FBS team currently undefeated against the spread.
In a matchup that will all but decide the WAC championship, our models (at publication time) favor Utah State to both win and cover a -3.5 point spread. Since over 90% of the public has picked Louisiana Tech to win, we see the Aggies as the highest value game winner pick of Week 12.
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Week 11 College Football Pick’em Strategy: Can Syracuse Be A Cinderella?
- 6 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on November 8, 2012
Louisville stands as the lone undefeated team in the Big East this year. They looked vulnerable at times on their recent three game home-stand, though, squeaking by South Florida and Cincinnati and falling behind early to Temple.
The Cardinals head to the Carrier Dome this week to take on the inconsistent Syracuse Orange. We see Louisville as narrow favorites to stay unbeaten, but a whopping 97% of the public is backing them in pick’em contests. For those needing to swing for the fences this week, rolling with Syracuse to pull a big upset certainly looks tempting.
Where We Stand After Week 10
Here is where our game winner pick’em strategies currently stand on ESPN (which uses confidence points) heading into Week 11. There wasn’t much change across the board, and in a week in which all the favorites won, even going 9 out of 10 with our conservative strategy was not enough to rise in the standings, and aggressive strategies will never shine when favorites dominate.
- Conservative: 93.9th percentile (-0.1 from last week)
- Aggressive: 76.5th percentile (+1.1)
- Very Aggressive: 65.9th percentile (-1.5)
Week 10 College Football Pick’em Strategy: Time To Ride Michigan State?
- 2 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on November 1, 2012
Michigan State has endured an up and down 2012 season, the low point being a four game span during which they won only once, squeaking by Indiana. The Spartans bounced back last week, though, edging Wisconsin on the road. Throughout the season, Michigan State’s defense has remained strong, and they rank in the top 5 nationally in opponent yards per play.
While our numbers don’t quite favor the Spartans to pull an upset over Nebraska this week, we do see the game as a relatively even matchup. With the public heavily favoring the Cornhuskers, Michigan State looks like the best value upset pick of Week 10.
Where We Stand After Week 9
Here is where our game winner pick’em strategies currently stand on ESPN (which uses confidence points) heading into Week 10. There wasn’t much change across the board, and in a week with some crazy upsets in ESPN’s 10-game pick’em, Penn State’s failure to upset Ohio State weighed on our more aggressive strategies.
- Conservative: 94th percentile (-2.4 from last week)
- Aggressive: 75.4th percentile (-2.3)
- Very Aggressive: 67.4th percentile (+1.4)
Week 9 College Football Pick’em Strategy: Penn State A Solid Value Pick
- 3 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on October 25, 2012
In a battle of two teams playing for pride rather than post-season glory, Penn State welcomes the Ohio State Buckeyes to Happy Valley this week. Even with the questionable health of starting quarterback Braxton Miller, the vast majority of the public has picked the Buckeyes to win this game, despite OSU being only a one point favorite.
Our models like the Nittany Lions well enough and we see this game as one of the best value opportunities of the week, provided the projections and Vegas odds hold steady. (It’s worth noting that Penn State did open as a 2.5 point favorite, but the Vegas lines have shifted to ever-so-slightly favor OSU.)
Where We Stand After Week 8
Here is where our game winner pick’em strategies currently stand on ESPN (which uses confidence points) heading into Week 8. The more aggressive strategies continue to slip a bit, which isn’t a shock, since they are more boom-or-bust approaches.
- Conservative: 96.4th percentile (+0.1 from last week)
- Aggressive: 76.7th percentile (-5.0)
- Very Aggressive: 66th percentile (-4.0)
Week 8 College Football Pick’em Strategy: Will Stanford Lose Again?
- 2 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on October 18, 2012
With several solid chances to choose anti-public favorites last week, our game winner picks had a very solid performance, and all three strategies should have moved you up in the standings. While there may not be as many odds-on value opportunities this week, there are several attractive upset picks, and there is a Sun Belt game we really like.
Where We Stand After Week 7
Week 7 was a nice bounce back week for our game winner picks across all strategies. After a down Week 6, all three strategies climbed in the rankings, highlighted by our Conservative strategy that now ranks in the top 4% nationally.
Here is where our game winner pick’em strategies currently stand on ESPN (which uses confidence points) heading into Week 8. The Conservative pick set should have you in the top 5 of a 100 person pick’em pool:
- Conservative: 96.3rd percentile (+4.8 from last week)
- Aggressive: 82.7th percentile (+7.5)
- Very Aggressive: 70th percentile (+4.9)
Week 7 College Football Pick’em Strategy: No Love for the Cougars?
- 0 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on October 11, 2012
Oregon State travels to Provo this Saturday to take on the BYU Cougars. Our system favors BYU, who is two heart-breaking road losses from an undefeated record, and Vegas has them favored by 6. Despite the point spread and a key personnel loss for the Beavers, an overwhelming majority of the public has picked against the Cougars at home. Rolling with BYU this week is just one of several excellent chances to pick against the public in week 7.
Week 6 College Football Pick’em Strategy: Shifting Into Passing Gear
- 0 comments - College Football, College Football Pick'ems - posted by Matt Woods on October 4, 2012
West Virginia has put up some pretty impressive offensive numbers this season. That success could be misleading, though, since we rank the Mountaineers’ strength of schedule as just the 70th most difficult in the nation. In fact, their run should end this week at Texas, which currently ranks #4 nationally in our Overall Power Ratings.
The general public disagrees, which makes this one of several games this week where there’s an opportunity to both pick the favorite, and gain ground on the majority of your opponents.
