Sunday, August 28, 2011

DFC XII Week One Games

Alrighty, enough predictions, enough talk, enough preseason.  Let the games begin.

All games are college this week, all ranks are from ESPN, games are Saturday unless noted


Northwestern Wildcats at Boston College Golden Eagles
11am, ESPNU

South Florida Bulls at 16. Notre Dame Fightin' Catholics
230p, NBC

BYU Ragin' Mormons at Ole Miss Politically Incorrect Southern Soldiers
345p, ESPN

Fresno State Bulldogs at California Bears
6pm, game not listed as televised

5. Boise State Broncos (first MWC game) at 19. Georgia Bulldogs
7p, ESPN

3. Oregon Ducks vs. 4. LSU Tigers
7p, ABC, played in Arlington, Texas

Colorado Buffs (first Pac 12 game) at Hawaii Warriors
915p, ESPN2

Miami Hurricanes at Maryland Terrapins
MONDAY game, 7p, ESPN

TIEBREAK GAME
Boise State at Georgia, total points scored in this game

Monday, August 22, 2011

The DFC XII Preseason Rankings Part II

Read Part I, from 41 to 21, by clicking here...

And now, the remaining 20, including the Preseason Top Ten, and The Official Six That The Champ Will Come From...


LEVEL THREE... THE PLAYOFF HOPEFULS
Not all of the following will make the playoffs, but some will, and most will come very, very close

(20) Jennifer Ernst... One of the all time greatest had her worst season of her career last year, going 48-48 and losing for the first time in six seasons the #1 All Time Ranking.  She also fell out of the top spot of both the College and NFL Ranks, but this is the type of "under the radar" season that could send her to her 2nd Deuce Bowl

(19) Tebe Shaw... The most passionate Bama fan (though Ry Sherman is a close 2nd) in The DFC has never had less than 51 wins in his five year career, though playoffs have been scarce, only making it once.  Could this be the Tebe Title?

(18) Matt Halpert... The DFC takes on the state of Texas, has he and his wife and daughter are making the move back to Houston.  The former Rookie of the Year has had a tough 2nd thru 4th year, though never dipping below 51 wins.  This will be either his return to playoff glory, or his final stand before oblivion.

(17) Randy Latta... Last year's Rookie of the Year made a strong statement with a Central Division title and an appearance in the first round of the postseason and besting all Lattas with his 57 wins. 

(16) Steven Ray... It finally clicked for St. Ray last year, making the playoffs and coming so close to the Central Division championship.  Now, can he keep it going this year, or will last year just be a blip?

(15) Brad Latta... Another former Rookie of the Year who had a solid year in the first year and even though he didn't make the playoffs last season, still had a good sophomore effort.  Look for him to make another playoff run and don't be surprised if he goes deep.

(14) Tommy McLeod... Somehow, someway, Tommy slips into the playoffs just about every year.  Be it a division champ or as a wild card, he's gotten in five of the last six years, but his struggle comes in making the later rounds. 

(13) Eddy McBroom Jr... The "Son" part of the McBroom Father-Son tandem, he is many times in the somewhat round shadow of his father, though he's built quite a career for himself.  I wouldn't be shocked to see McBroom the Junior take home a championship before even his father does.


LEVEL TWO... GOING TO HAVE A BIG YEAR
Expect lots of postseason action from the following...

(12) Dan Sellers... Still is the only DFC'er I've never actually met, so I secret root against him so someone I don't know won't take the plate. 

(11) Tad "The Dynasty" Roose... He holds 3 championships in our sport... essentially winning 25% of all championships the DFC offers.  And he's only made the postseason 4 times.  However, he hasn't done so in three seasons, so he's long overdue for a big year.

(10) Zack "The Dark Horse" Graves... The word "breakout" describes Zacky, as his near postseason misses mainly come from a lack of participation in some weeks of some seasons.  He has given his oath that he will send his picks in every week, and based on that oath, he comes in at #10 for the preseason.

(9) Scott Latta... I rank his guy high every year.  And every year, he sucks it up.  He's like the Houston Texans of the DFC.  Great promise, lots of media hype, tons of predictions of greatness, and results that resemble a balloon that has had the air let out of it... flying around the room higgledy-piggledy, no sense of purpose with an uneventful landing in parts unknown. 

(8) Joey Thornell... A reigning division champ and a spot in a previous DeuceBowl is pushing Joey high for the preseason.  He's broken through to the end, can he bring home a championship?  Long shot this year, because there are too many to go through, but it still could happen.

(7) Yours Truly... Unfortunately, I'm in a division with The Mighty Gainey. 


LEVEL ONE... THE TITLE CONTENDERS
The DeRamus Championship Plate for DFC XII will have one of the following six names etched upon it come the end of December...

(6) Jonathan Osborne... He's the New Orleans Saints of the DFC. Wallowed in obscurity and suckdom for the majority of his early career, but the last four seasons have been great, with four straight postseason appearances. 

(5) Big Eddy McBroom... I keep expecting Big Eddy to win the whole thing.  He's got a good shot this year.

(4) Mark "The Mighty" Gainey... After missing the postseason for the first time in his career, expect Gainey to come roaring back.  Not out of the question is 64 wins and an MVP title, and a likely division championship... and a possible 2nd title.

(3) Drew Morris... He's a legend in the DFC, a former champion, and has made the postseason 7 of the last 10 years.  His battles with Big Eddy are legendary, but now must face off against not only The Big One, but also Lt Dan and Trey Cartledge.  The DFC West is like the SEC West. 

(2) Trey Cartledge...  Its been a while since we've had a defending champion that looked as if he could easily repeat, but here's Trey.  He's loaded this season, not losing much in the offseason, and ready for bear.  Will he repeat?  There's a good chance... except for...

The Preseason #1... James Hawbaker... He's come close many, many times.  This is The Hawbaker Year.  Watch him roll.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

DFC XII Preseason Rankings Part 1

So, here are the preseason rankings for The DFC XII... of course, this is only my prediction for the future... and we'll breaking up into levels..

LEVEL SIX... NOT GONNA HAPPEN THIS YEAR
Be it rebuilding, distractions or just yearly struggles, those in this level will probably populate the lower ranks of the DFC

(41) Garrett Cheney... Not sure if it will ever happen for Young Garrett.

(40) Daniel Powell... Woes will continue in Danny P's 12th year

(39) Michael Nipp... Hasn't seen the playoffs since 2004.  Not this year.

(38) Sarah Hasha... Currently the record holder for most games with no postseason

(37) David Tuck... Baby in the way will hinder his efforts for a title in his 2nd year

(36) Jessica Hawbaker... The rookie will, for now, stand in the shadow of her highly ranked hubby

(35) Matt Latta... the former champ is in the 2nd year of a 2 year rebuilding phase

(34) Rhett Barnett... Two straight 51 win seasons, might make it a third, but not likely

(33) Justin Fisher... Coming off a terrible year, JustFish looks to improve considerably


LEVEL FIVE... ON THE VERGE, BUT NOT QUITE
In this level are those who are about to breakthrough, and one of them just might... and in DFC XIII just might be a Level Two'er

(32) Ryan Sherman... Two straight 60 win seasons came before two straight down years (43 and 52 wins).

(31) John Wolf... The Lone Wolf quietly got to 53 wins last season, look for him to possibly get a few more

(30) Chris Croyle... He came thisclose to making the postseason in DFC XI.  Not this year.

(29) Bradley Pinkerton... A single season layoff will hurt DFC X's Rookie of the Year

(28) Drew Warren... No longer a rookie, it will be hard to match the 55 wins from last year


LEVEL FOUR... LONGSHOTS, BUT COULD DO IT
Here are those who are against the odds, but could end up pulling the upset and making some waves.  Not all, but a lucky one or two.

(27) Tim Wasyluka... A longtime DFC vet, The Big Wasyluka is always a threat, but will be in a down year

(26) Greg Graves... The father of highly ranked Zack Graves dives in for what will probably be a pretty good year.

(25) DM Osborne... The DFC lifer has had his ups and downs, and hasn't seen the postseason in 5 years, though this might be a comeback.

(24) Lori Beirne... The very first Chick Champ is facing DFC life with a baby.  53 wins this year.

(23) Tom Johnson... He tasted the playoffs last year after a five year gap, and he might do a little more this year.

(22) David Stamper... My pick for Rookie of the Year, I'm predicting a decent 55 wins, but no postseason.

(21) Tyler Campbell... Perhaps my pick for Dark Horse of the year, that is to say, I dunno if he'll win 39 games, or he might end up with 66 and the East Divisional title.

Coming tomorrow... Level Three--The Playoff Hopefuls (ranks 20 - 13)... Level Two--Gonna Have a Big Year (ranks 12-7)... and finally, Level One--The Title Contenders (ranks 6-1)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

DFC XII Conference Lineup

There are 41 DFC'ers in this years league, the largest field ever!  Its tradition to name the conferences after the previous season's Deuce Bowl participants, but since I don't like The Dollar Conference, which sounds like a Dave Ramsey seminar, I'm giving over my conference name to one of our DFC Hall of Famers, Wookiee Fulaytar, hence The Fulaytar and Cartledge Conferences

Also, I wanted to mention that a correction has been made to The DFC Rulebook on the site this year... it was brought to my attention (thanks Drew) about the playoff lay-out, and I wanted to make the correction to read:

The Wild Card Weekend will consist of the remaining five DFC'ers, in the playoff first round. After determining playoff seeds, the seasons TBA will be disregarded and will no longer count. The best TWO records out of the five will advance to the Divisional Round, the Conference Semi-Finals, joining those three who had first round byes. Then, the best two records out of those five will advance to the DFC Final Four. The best of the two that weekend will then go on to DeuceBowl XII. 


Below is the conference lineup, and my predicted finish: (R) means rookie


THE FULAYTAR CONFERENCE
NORTH DIVISION
Joey Thornell (division winner)
Zack Graves (wild card)
Matt Latta
Matt Halpert
DM Osborne
Rhett Barnett
Drew Warren


CENTRAL DIVISION
Brad Latta (division winner)
Tommy McLeod (wild card)
Jennifer Ernst (wild card)
Tebe Shaw
David Stamper (R)
Sarah Hasha
Justin Fisher


WEST DIVISION
Trey Cartledge (division winner)
Big Eddy McBroom (wild card)
Dan Sellers (wild card)
Bradley Pinkerton 
Drew Morris
Tom Johnson
David Tuck


First Round Byes:  Joey Thornell... Trey Cartledge... Big Eddy McBroom
Wild Round Round:  Brad Latta and Zack Graves advance... Tommy McLeod, Jenn Ernst, Dan Sellers eliminated
Divisional Round:  Trey Cartledge and Zack Graves advance... Joey Thornell, Brad Latta, Big Eddy eliminated
Final Four:  Trey Cartledge over Zack Graves


CARTLEDGE CONFERENCE
EAST DIVISION
Mark Gainey (division winner)
Yours Truly (wild card)
Tyler Campbell (wild card)
John Wolf
Ryan Sherman
Chris Croyle
Garrett Cheney


CENTRAL DIVISION
Jonathan Osborne (division winner)
Randy Latta (wild card)
Lori Beirne (wild card)
Steven Ray
Jessica Hawbaker (R)
Scott Latta


SOUTH DIVISION
James Hawbaker (division winner)
Tad Roose (wild card)
Eddy McBroom Jr
Tim Wasyluka
Greg Graves (R)
Michael Nipp
Daniel Powell


First Round Byes:  Mark Gainey.... Yours Truly... James Hawbaker
Wild Round Round:  Jonathan Osborne and Tad Roose advance... Tyler Campbell, Lori Beirne, Randy Latta eliminated
Divisional Round:  James Hawbaker and Jonathan Osborne advance... Tad Roose, Yours Truly, Mark Gainey eliminated
Final Four:  James Hawbaker over Jonathan Osborne

MVP Prediction:  Trey Cartledge
Rookie of the Year Prediction:  David Stamper

DeuceBowl XII Prediction:  James Hawbaker def. Trey Cartledge

The DFC XII Rulebook

And here is the official rules for the 12th season of The Deuce Football Championships

TIME
First, please make sure you are willing to last the season. Its not fun to have someone drop out in the middle of the year, even if its due to just them being busy. Obviously, some circumstances warrant an early exit, but those are typically few and far between. If you are leaving the country or will be out of contact, you can always email me and say "Hey, just give me all home games, with a ## for my tiebreak until I get back", or "My boo will be picking for me this weekend, here is their email". All you have to do it pick games, I do all the work.... that said...

THE GAMES EMAILS
On August 29th, you will receive in your inbox an email titled "DFC XII Week One Games". There will be 8 college games of interest listed, and your responsiblity will be to pick your winner. Hit reply, or in another email, send to me your predictions for the winners of those games. Each week will also feature a "tiebreak" game... you'll guess the total number of points to be scored in that game, and also send that back. Your predictions will be logged for the weekend. You are allowed to change your picks if needed up until kickoff of the first weekend game.

Sometimes, though it will be rare, there will be a Thursday night game. You are allowed to give your pick for that game, then send the rest of the picks in the following day. However, again, once the weekend games kick off-and if there is a Friday night game, that is the weekend start--all picks are locked and cannot be changed.

Once the games are over, the following Monday you'll recieve an email with 4 college games and 4 NFL games (the NFL Season starts the next weekend). Once picks are locked for the weekend, NFL games cannot be changed either.

On Tuesday, you'll get a DFC Week One Results email, with weekly results, then season updates as well, with division listings, a Top 12 Coaches Poll and some fun stats (when I have time!).

Also, on Thursdays, you'll get a quick DFC Games reminder, informing you of the picks I have recieved, who I am needing picks from, and also letting anyone know if I'm missing anything from you.

With 40+ people participating this season, remember there is alot to keep up with--if I miss a pick you made, or don't give you credit for a win, then please let me know... I save all emails and can easily research it and make the necessary changes.

If there is a tie in an NFL game, that game will be disregarded, and 9 games will be chosen the following week (4 college, 5 NFL). If there is an NFL tie following Week 12, an automatic "Win" will be given to everyone, regardless of their prediction in that game.

To those in The East Division, mine, I typically make my picks on Thursday afternoons, just before I send the reminder email out.

THE TIEBREAK AVERAGE (TBA)
The first tiebreak averages will be released in Week Four's results email.

Your TieBreak score (the guess you make for the tiebreak game) will be kept and averaged for the season. This is used to rank players who are tied, and is especially useful to determine playoff seedings. To make it fair, and to help with those random missteps, your worst TB will be dropped... and to make it fair and to help with those random lucky breaks, your best TB will also be dropped. At the end of the season, however, if there is a tie to determine ranks, playoffs spots, playoff berths and/or anything else, the best TB will be added back in just to break the tie. If there is still a tie, your worst will then be added back in. If there is STILL a tie, your average seasonal ranking will be taken. And, though I cannot possibly fathom this, if there is still a tie, we'll do something else.
Sometimes I do happen to forget the TieBreak game... if I do, please just email me or wait for a correction--there will always be a tiebreak game.

And if you forget to list the tiebreak score, I will send you an email to remind you. If the weekend goes on, and I don't get a TB guess from you, it will go down as a 0... which, may or may not even help you, who knows.

THE SEASON
It does go on for 12 weeks, starting the first weekend in September, ending the weekend of November 19th-20th. The playoffs will then take place from November 25th-27th (thanksgiving weekend), straight through to DeuceBowl XII, which will be the weekend of December 17th-18th. In years past, we have taken a two week break in between the 1st and 2nd rounds and the Final Four and DeuceBowl to allow for Bowl Games to be a part of the finals, but as I might be really, really busy the second part of December (and probably for the next 18 years.... sigh), this year's Final Four and DeuceBowl will likely only have NFL games.

THE PLAYOFFS
 Because of the expanded divisions and conferences this year, there will be 8 playoff berths (not 6, as in previous years) per conference. There was a little controversy last year as a Division Winner made the postseason over another in a different division, despite the fact that the Division winner had only the 7th best record in the conference... after much thinking (and by much, I did actually ponder for a few), it will stay the same. If someone wins Division A, but another in Division B has a better record (but didn't win the title), the Division A winner will still get the nod.

With 8 playoff spots per conference, I'm pretty sure this won't happen, but if it does, we'll deal with it in the offseason. And you can be bitter. Anyway, there will be 3 Division Winners and five wild card spots. The Top Two Division Winners, those with the best records (and TBA) will get a First Round Bye. The third first round bye will be given to the next best overall record, division winner or not. If a Division Champion has the same record as a Wild Card, they will be ranked higher, regardless of TieBreak Average.

The Wild Card Weekend will consist of the remaining five DFC'ers, in the playoff first round. After determining playoff seeds, the seasons TBA will be disregarded and will no longer count. The best TWO records out of the five will advance to the Divisional Round, the Conference Semi-Finals, joining those three who had first round byes. Then, the best two records out of those five will advance to the DFC Final Four. The best of the two that weekend will then go on to DeuceBowl XII.

Onto a great, great season, another Scott Latta flameout, a great season from Tad "The Dynasty" Roose (he had a bad season last year, so its his time), an embarassing year-after from Defending Champ Trey Cartledge and my first DFC Championship!