DFC XII Week Five Games

If Washington defeats Dallas on Monday night, there will be a tie for the Weekly win between Matt Halpert, who would get his 2nd weekly crown in his career and Sarah Hasha, who has never won a week in the DFC.

However, if Dallas defeats Washington, Mikey Nipp will capture his 8th career week, and go 8-0, heading off Lt. Dan Sellers, who would also be 8-0 but would come up to 2nd due to that pesky TieBreak...

Week Five in The DFC brings us to a game where two schools are licking their wounds... two schools who are riding high for a possible chance to lose to the SEC in the BCS Championship... an SEC game that will hopefully not end the way I think it will end... and a legendary program with its first game in its new conference... 

COLLEGE GAMES

all times central, all rankings from the AP Poll

(14) Texas A&M "We Choked" Aggies (2-1) vs. (18) Arkansas "We Got Blowed Out" Razorbacks (3-1)

11am, ESPN, played at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, TX

(13) Clemson Tigers (4-0) at (11) Virginia Tech Hokes (4-0)

5pm, ESPN2

(3) Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) at (12) Florida Go Gators (4-0)

7pm, CBS

(8) Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0) at (7) Wisconsin Badgers (4-0)

7pm, ABC

NFL GAMES

all times central

Minnesota Vikings (0-3) at Kansas City Chiefs (0-3)

12p, FOX

San Francisco 49ers (2-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-2)

12p, FOX

New England Patriots (2-1) at Oakland Raiders (2-1)

315p, CBS

NYJets (2-1) at Baltimore Ravens (2-1)

720p, NBC

TIEBREAK GAME

Clemson at Virginia Tech, total points scored

DFC XII Week Three Results

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 66, Kansas Jayhawks 24
Miami Hurricanes 24, (17) Ohio State Buckeyes 6
(1) Oklahoma Sooners 23, (5) Florida State Seminoles 13
Utah Utes 40, Brigham Young Coogs 10
Cleveland Brown 27, Indianapolis Colts 19
Tampa Bay Bucs 24, Minnesota Vikings 20
Washington Redskins 22, Arizona Cardinals 21
New England Patriots 35, San Diego Chargers 21

 

NEW ADDITIONS
The DFC has now accepted the application of Mark Warner as a rookie.  Warner, 53 or something, was recently a member of the W&LPC (the WNBA and LPGA Pick'em Championships), and seeks to be a part of our league instead.  The conditions of his late arrival is that he will begin the season at 0-16, and he will not be eligible for the postseason, regardless of his regular season performance.  However, the initial 16 losses will not be added to his all-time records.  He will, however, be eligible for postseason awards such as Rookie of the Year, meaning if he finishes with 60+ wins after a 0-16 hole, he might deserve such.  Warner, a lifelong Mississippi State junkie, will join the Central Division in the Cartledge Conference.

 

THE WEEK THAT WAS
He hasn't won a week since Week 12 of DFC IX, and hasn't gone undefeated since Week 1 of DFC VIII, but Jonathan Osborne has gone 8-0 for a second time in his career, and won his 4th week overall.  Counting the last two games of last week, thats 10 straight...

 

Former DFC Champ Matt Latta gets a strong 2nd week performance, coming in 2nd, while Dan Sellers gets 3rd place, both at 7-1.  In 4th place, Tad "The Dynasty" Roose, in 5th, Tommy McLeod and in 6th, Jennifer Ersnt, all at 6-2.

 

For 7th place, Ryan Sherman"ator", and tied for 8th place is Eddy the Junior and Yours Truly.  And tied in 10th place in our Weekly Top Ten is Mark "The Mighty" Gainey and Drew Morris, all at 6-2.

 

Also Finishing
6-2:  Jessica Hawbaker... Matt Halpert... Hurricane Rhett... JustFish...
5-3: Joey Thornell... Zack Graves... Brad Latta... Trey Cartledge... Bradley Pinkerton... Tyler Campbell... John "The Lone" Wolf... Garrett Cheney... Randy Latta... Lori Beirne... Steven Ray... Scotty Latta... James Hawbaker... Greg Graves...
4-4:  Teber Shaw... Eddy the Bigger... Tom Johnson... David Tuck... Chris Croyle... Marky Mark Warner.. Tim "The Big" Wasyluka... Daniel Powell
3-5:  DMOsborne... Drew Warren... David Stamper... Sarah Hasha... Mikey Nipp

 

STANDINGS
FULAYTAR CONFERENCE
NORTH DIVISION
Matt Latta, 16-8
Rhett Barnett, 15-9
Matt Halpert, 14-10
Zack Graves, 13-11
Joey Thornell, 13-11
Drew Warren, 12-12
DMOsborne, 8-16

 

CENTRAL DIVISION
Tommy McLeod, 16-8
Jennifer Ernst, 16-8
Brad Latta, 15-9
Justin Fisher, 15-9
Tebe Shaw, 13-11
Sarah Hasha, 10-14
David Stamper, 9-15

 

WEST DIVISION
Drew Morris, 16-8
Dan Sellers, 16-8
Eddy McBroom, 15-9
Trey Cartledge, 15-9
Bradley Pinkerton, 14-10
Tom Johnson, 13-11
David Tuck, 12-12

 

CARTLEDGE CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

 

Mark Gainey, 16-8
Yours Truly, 16-8
Ryan Sherman, 16-8
Garrett Cheney, 16-8
John Wolf, 15-9
Chris Croyle, 14-10
Tyler Campbell, 11-13

 

CENTRAL DIVISION
Jonathan Osborne, 18-6
Randy Latta, 17-7
Steven Ray, 15-9
Jessica Hawbaker, 14-10
Lori Beirne, 14-10
Scott Latta, 13-11
Mark Warner, 4-20

 

SOUTH DIVISION
Greg Graves, 17-7
Tad Roose, 15-9
Eddy McBroom Jr, 15-9
Tim Wasyluka, 14-10
James Hawbaker, 14-10
Daniel Powell, 14-10
Michael Nipp, 10-14

 

THE DFC POWER POLL TOP 12
rank, DFC'er, record, (last week)
1. Jonathan Osborne, 18-6 (9)
2. Randy Latta, 17-7 (1-tie)
3. Greg Graves, 17-7 (1-tie)
4. Matt Latta, 16-8 (NR)
5. Mark Gainey, 16-8 (8)
6. Drew Morris (10)
7. Dan Sellers, 16-8 (NR)
8. Tommy McLeod, 16-8 (NR)
9. Jennifer Ernst, 16-8 (NR)
10. Yours Truly, 16-8 (12)
11. Ryan Sherman, 16-8 (NR)
12. Garrett Cheney, 16-8 (3)
dropped out:  John Wolf (6th)... Brad Latta (7th)... Big Eddy (4th)... Steven Ray (11th)... Tim Wasyluka (5th)

...AND... THE BOTTOM FIVE
38. Michael Nipp (10-14)... 39. Sarah Hasha (10-14)... 40. David Stamper (9-15)... 41. DMOsborne (8-16)... 42. Mark Warner (4-20)

LIES, DARN LIES & STATISTICS

• First up, a correction on last week... I had Big Eddy's record miscounted in the standings--but if you look at last week's results via the site, its been updated. 
• Week Three in the DFC, Jonny Osborne has the first undefeated Week Three in the league's history.  Looking back over all the weekly winners, the only weeks without an undefeated champion are Weeks 6, 7 and 11. 
• Check out the list of Weekly Undefeated wins (sometimes there were multiple in one week, but I'm only listing who actually won the week).  Week 1-- Shawn Sharp (DFC I), Daniel Powell (DFC II), Scotty Latta (DFC III), DMOsborne (DFC IV), Matt Latta (DFC V) and Mark Gainey (DFC XI).  Week 2--Big Tim Wasyluka (IX)... Week 3--Jon Osborne (XII)... Week 4--Mikey Nipp (V), Justin Glenn (VI)... Week 5--Justin Glenn (III), Garrett Cheney (V), Mikey Nipp (XI)... Week 6--None
• Week 7--None... Week 8--Jason Barnette (IX)... Week 9--Jenn Ernst (IV), Ryan Sherman (IX)... Week 10--Tad Roose (IV), Tyler Campbell (VI), Tebe Shaw (VII), James Hawbaker (VIII)... Week 11--None... Week 12--Mark Gainey (III), Mark Gainey (IV), Wookiee Fulaytar (V), Zack Graves (VII)
• Interesting to note, Mark Gainey went 9-0 in Week 12 of DFC III.  If a game (now only NFL can do this) ends in a tie in Week 1 through Week 11, its disregarded and there are 9 games the following week.  In Week 12, its just granted as a "win".  And this happened to be the only time this rule has ever come into play.
• Then there are those who have seen 8-0, but was unfortunate enough to do so when another someone does the same thing, only their TB is better.  Those who have seen 2nd place perfection include Joey Thornell, Randy Latta, Eddy Jr and Trey Cartledge.  Both Yours Truly and Lori Beirne has had this 2nd place 8-0 thing happen twice in their careers. 
• Who's still waiting for that perfection?  Not counting the newbies this year, there are a few who have only had one or two years of experience and haven't seen that Zero in the L column--Drew Warren, Brad Latta, Hurricane Rhett, Dan Sellers, Bradley Pinkerton, David Tuck, John Wolf, Steven Ray
• As far as those who have been in more than a few seasons, you've got Matt Halpert... Justin Fisher
• And then there are those who's waits are much longer.  Sarah Hasha has had 111 weeks of DFC without an undefeated week.  Big Eddy Mac has seen 123 weeks go by. 
• But the longest wait for an undefeated week?  Both Tom Johnson and Tommy McLeod, in the DFC since the beginning, have gone 134 weeks with nary an 8-0... though in Tommy's defense, that week when Mark Gainey went 9-0, he managed a pretty good 8-1 record.

DFC XII Week Four Games

We enter Week Four in The DFC with a few notes... Week Three was won by a guy getting his fourth career weekly win, and first in two years... and we've got a late addition to the DFC lineup... all will be explained in The DFC Results posted here later, and emailed on Tuesday.   But today, here are the games...


COLLEGE GAMES
As always, times are central, ranks from the AP Poll

North Carolina Tar Heels (3-0) at 25. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-0)
11am, ESPN

14. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0) at 3. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)
230p, likely on CBS

7. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) at 8. Texas A&M Aggies (2-0)
230p, ABC

11. Florida State Seminoles (2-1) at 21. Clemson Tigers (3-0)
230p, ESPN


NFL GAMES
Houston Texans (2-0) at New Orleans Saints (1-1)
12p, CBS

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) at Carolina Cam Newtons (0-2)
12p, CBS

Green Bay Packers (2-0) at Chicago Bears (1-1)
315p, FOX

Washington Redskins (2-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-1)
Monday Night, 730p, ESPN

TIEBREAK GAME
Arkansas at Alabama, total points scored

DFC XII Week Three Games

COLLEGE GAMES
Kansas Jayhawks (2-0) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-0)
1130a, ESPN3

17. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0) at Miami Hurricans (0-1)
630p, ESPN

1. Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) at 5. Florida State Seminoles (2-0)
7p, ABC

Utah Utes (1-1) at BYU Cougars (1-1)
815p, ESPN2

NFL GAMES
Cleveland Browns (0-1) at Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
12p, CBS

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) at Minnesota Vikings (0-1)
12p, FOX

Arizona Cardinals (1-0) at Washington Redskins (1-0)
12p, FOX

San Diego Chargers (1-0) at New England Patriots (1-0)
315p, CBS

TIEBREAK GAMEOklahoma at Florida State, total points scored

DFC XII Week Two Results

Auburn 41, (16) Mississippi State 34 (tie break game, 75 points)
(3) Alabama 27, (23) Penn State 11
Tennessee 45, Cincinnati 23
Notre Dame 17, Michigan 7
Cincinnati Bengals 27, Cleveland Browns 17
Baltimore Ravens 35, Pittsburgh 7
Houston Texans 34, Indianapolis Colts, 7
NYJets 27, Dallas Cowboys 24

THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Jeopardy answer is, "He was the first DFC Season XI to win a week, and did so undefeated at 8-0", and the question for the win is, "Who is Greg Graves?"  Yep, the 64 year old (according to son Zack) rode through the weekend in perfection, even clinching the weekly victory before the final game of the weekend (Jets/Cowboys) had even started.

Young Garrett Cheney is also riding a wave of success that he's not seen since his Rookie of the Year season in DFC V--he won 66 games, though missed the postseason, a record for most victories in a non-playoff year.  He comes in 2nd for the week at 6-2, while in 3rd is Big Tim Wasyluka.

In 4th place for the week is Big Eddy Broom, while in 5th is a tie between Eddy the Junior and Jennifer Ernst.  Coming in 7th is another tie, this time between Tommy McLeod and Steven Ray.  All finished at 6-2, just like Tom Johnson in 9th. Rounding out the Weekly Top Ten is John "The Lone" Wolf at 5-3.

Also Finishing:
5-3:  Zack Graves... Matt Latta... Brad Latta... Yours Truly... Sarah Hasha... Trey Cartledge... Bradley Pinkerton... Drew Morris... Chris Croyle... Jonathan Osborne... Randy Latta.. Lori Beirne... Drew Warren... Hurricane Rhett Barnett...  James Hawbaker... Daniel Powell...
4-4:  Joey Thornell... David Tuck.. Lt. Dan Sellers... Tebe Shaw... The Mighty Gainey... Jessica Hawbaker... Scott Latta... Tyler Campbell... Ryan Sherman... JustFish... Michael Nipp... Tad Roose...
3-5:  Matt Halpert... DMOsborne... David Stamper...    

STANDINGS
FULAYTAR CONFERENCE

NORTH DIVISION

Matt Latta, 9-7
Drew Warrne, 9-7
Rhett Barnett, 9-7
Zack Graves, 8-8
Joey Thornell, 8-8
Matt Halpert, 8-8
DMOsborne, 5-11

CENTRAL DIVISION
Brad Latta, 10-6
Jennifer Ernst, 10-6
Tommy McLeod, 10-6
Justin Fisher, 9-7
Tebe Shaw, 9-7
Sarah Hasha, 7-9
David Stamper, 6-10

WEST DIVISION
Eddy McBroom, 11-5
Drew Morris, 10-6
Bradley Pinkerton, 9-7
Dan Sellers, 9-7
Tom Johnson, 9-7
Trey Cartledge, 9-7
David Tuck, 8-8

CARTLEDGE CONFERENCE
EAST DIVISION
Garrett Cheney, 11-5
John Wolf, 10-6
Mark Gainey, 10-6
Yours Truly, 10-6
Ryan Sherman, 10-6
Chris Croyle, 10-6
Tyler Campbell, 6-10

CENTRAL DIVISION
Randy Latta, 12-4
Jonathan Osborne, 10-6
Steven Ray, 10-6
Lori Beirne, 9-7
Jessica Hawbaker, 8-8
Scott Latta, 8-8

SOUTH DIVISION
Greg Graves, 12-4
Tim Wasyluka, 10-6
Daniel Powell, 10-6
James Hawbaker, 9-7
Tad Roose, 9-7
Eddy Jr, 9-7
Michael Nipp, 7-9

THE DFC POWER POLL TOP 12
Rank, DFC'er, Rec, (last week)
1-tie. Randy Latta, 12-4 (1)
1-tie. Greg Graves, 12-4 (NR)
3. Garrett Cheney, 11-5 (NR)
4. Big Eddy, 11-5 (NR)
5. Tim Wasyluka, 10-6 (NR)
6. John Wolf, 10-6 (8)
7. Brad Latta, 10-6 (4)
8. Mark Gainey, 10-6 (2)
9. Jonathan Osborne, 10-6 (9)
10. Drew Morris, 10-6 (6)
11. Steven Ray, 10-6 (NR)
12. Yours Truly, 10-6 (7)
dropped out:  Ryan Sherman (3)... Matt Halpert (5)... Tebe Shaw (10)... Dan Sellers (11)... Tad Roose (12)...

LIES, DARN LIES & STATISTICS

• As mentioned before, its been kinda fun watching the resurgance of Young Garrett Cheney, if only because he exploded to 64 wins in DFC V, only to... well, basically suck in every season since then.  If memory serves correctly, he needed to win only 2 games out of 8 that weekend to make the postseason, or he could just go 1-7, and the person behind him, Wookiee Fulaytar, would have to go undefeated... otherwise, Garrett would get into, albeit limping along, the playoffs.
• And guess what happened?  Yep, Garrett went 1-7 and yep, Wookiee went 8-0, en route to a DFC title that season.  Poor, poor Garrett
• Its Week 2, and here are your Week 2 champs in DFC history... in DFC I, Wookiee Fulaytar and Brook DeRamus shared the weekly win, and in II, it was Vic Paschal.  III saw Wookiee again, while Jason Demastus took IV.  Tom Johnson won in V, Jason Duren in VI, Tebe Shaw in VII, Ty Coffeey in VIII, The Big Wasyluka went undefeated for Week 2 in DFC IX, Lt Dan Sellers got DFC X, and last season, The Big Wasyluka won again in Week 2. 
• No sooner did we congratulate The Mighty Gainey on his current streak of 5-3+ weeks than he went 4-4 this week.  His. .500 streak is at 6 weeks, but his .500+ ends.  The new leaders with 5 weeks are Drew Morris, Yours Truly and John Wolf, all dating back to last season.
• Looking at regular season wins & losses, 600 is a big mark, and set to cross, maybe this week, is Tom Johnson with 597, followed by DMOsborne with 595, and Big Eddy McBroom at 593.
• Congrats to Tim Wasyluka, as he crossed 500 regular season wins this past week.  Next up for 500 is Sarah Hasha with 485.  Garrett Cheney and Tyler Campbell are next for 400 wins, but a long way off, as they sit at 365 and 364 respectively. 
• Defending DFC Champ Trey Cartledge has 295 regular season victories, and will likely cross 300 in the next two weeks.   At 167, Chris Croyle is closest to 200, and for 100 victories, it will be later this season for Bradley Pinkerton (69), Randy Latta (68) and Drew Warren (63)
• However, when I re-sort the spread sheet, and pull up All Time Wins & Losses, which include playoffs, things change a little.  Now we are looking at 700 wins all time, which Yours Truly alone has crossed (723).  Next in line is Jennifer Ernst (689), Big Eddy McBroom (688) and Matt Latta (681).
• Scott Latta is next for 600 all time, with 594, followed closely by Jonathan Osborne with 592. 
• As far as college rankings go, sadly I only keep track of regular season wins, which when I will find the time (when Lorelei or Campbell turns 18 and heads to college, right before DFC XXX, which will be fun to say because Rhett Barnett will see the "XXX" and make jokes) I will add in playoff college wins too, currently the milestones of note are Big Tim Wasyluka (306) and Sarah Hasha (300) hitting the 300 win mark.
• Ryan Sherman (206) and James Hawbaker (201) just crossed 200, and Chris Croyle has picked 104 college games correctly in his DFC career.
• Finally, looking at The DFC Power Poll Top 12, what a difference a week makes--FIVE people dropped out, with Matt Halpert falling from 5th to 33rd, and were replaced by five more, with Wasyluka making the biggest jump from 22nd to 4th.  And a tie at the top of the Power Poll between two of our oldest gents of the game.
• To explain, and answer any lingering questions, yes, you are ranked by record, then by TBA.  And I don't display that until after week 4, because its so tough to gauge just yet--while its true your best and worst weeks will be dropped, I choose to wait until 4 weeks have passed in order for your best and worst to be discounted, and still have two weeks to average together... make sense?  So, even though Lori Beirne's TBA is dreadful, it will likely jump at least 10 to 20 points better once Week 4 passes. 
• But remember... if your worst week in Week 6 is dropped, and you have an even worse week in Week 9, your Week 9 will then be dropped and Week 6 will be factored back in.

DFC XII Week Two Games

COLLEGE GAMES (rankings to be released)... ALL TIMES CENTRAL

Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-0) at Auburn Tigers (1-0)
1121a, ESPN3

Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) at Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0)
230p, ABC

Cincinnati Bearcats (1-0) at Tennessee Volunteers (1-0)
230p, ESPN2

Notre Dame Fightin Irish (0-1) at Michigan Wolverines (1-0)
7p, ESPN


NFL GAMES, ALL TIMES CENTRAL
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
12p, CBS

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
12p, CBS

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
12p, CBS

Dallas Cowboys at NYJets
720p, NBC

TieBreak Game
Mississippi State vs. Auburn, total points scored

DFC XII Week One Results

The Games:
Northwestern 24, Boston College 17
South Florida 23, 16. Notre Dame 20
BYU 14, Ole Miss 13
5. Boise State 35, 19. Georgia 21 (tiebreak game-56)
4. LSU 40, 3. Oregon 27
Hawaii 34, Colorado 17
Maryland 32, Miami 24

THE WEEK THAT WAS
Even though he was Rookie of the Year last season, it took until Randy Latta's 13th regular season week to capture a weekly win.  At 7-1, he was pretty much all over this weekend's games, saying about the one he missed, "I'll never pick Notre Dame again."

Coming in second, The Mighty Gainey hits big at 6-2, while in third was Ryan Sherman'ator also at 6-2.  Tied for 4th is Matt Halpert and Brad "The Lawdawg" Latta, at 5-3, while in a three way tie for 6th is Drew Morris, John "The Lone" Wolf and Yours Truly.  In 9th place is Jonathan Osborne, and in 10th is Tebe Shaw rounding out the Top Ten, all at 5-3.

Also Finishing:
5-3:  Justin Fisher... Tad Roose... Chris Croyle... Young Garrett... Big Eddy Mac (on his bday!)... Lt. Dan Sellers... Daniel Powell...
4-4:  Greg Graves... Big Tim Wasyluka...  Trey Cartledge... Tommy McLeod... Jennifer Ernst... Joey Thornell... Hurricane Rhett... Drew Warren... Matt Latta... Bradley Pinkerton... Lori Beirne... Steven Ray... Jessica Hawbaker... Scott Latta.. James Hawbaker...
3-5:  Zack Graves... Mikey Nipp... David Stamper... Eddy Jr... Tom Johnson... David Tuck
2-6:  Tyler Campbell... DMOsborne... Sarah Hasha 

THE STANDINGS
FULAYTAR CONFERENCE
NORTH DIVISION
Matt Halpert, 5-3
Rhett Barnett, 4-4
Matt Latta, 4-4
Joey Thornell, 4-4
Drew Warren, 4-4
Zack Graves, 3-5
DMOsborne, 2-6

CENTRAL DIVISION
Brad Latta, 5-3
Tebe Shaw, 5-3
Justin Fisher, 5-3
Tommy McLeod, 4-4
Jennifer Ernst, 4-4
David Stamper, 3-5
Sarah Hasha, 2-6

WEST DIVISION
Drew Morris, 5-3
Dan Sellers, 5-3
Eddy McBroom, 5-3
Bradley Pinkerton, 4-4
Trey Cartledge, 4-4
Tom Johnson, 3-5
David Tuck, 3-5

CARTLEDGE CONFERENCE
EAST DIVISION
Mark Gainey, 6-2
Yours Truly, 5-3
John Wolf, 5-3
Ryan Sherman, 5-3
Garrett Cheney, 5-3
Chris Croyle, 5-3
Tyler Campbell, 2-6

CENTRAL DIVISION
Randy Latta, 7-1
Jonathan Osborne, 5-3
Steven Ray, 4-4
Jessica Hawbaker, 4-4
Scott Latta, 4-4
Lori Beirne, 4-4

SOUTH DIVISION
Tad Roose, 5-3
Daniel Powell, 5-3
Greg Graves, 4-4
Tim Wasyluka, 4-4
James Hawbaker, 4-4
Michael Nipp, 3-5
Eddy Jr, 3-5

The DFC TOP 12 POWER POLL
(will mirror the weekly results this week)
1) Randy Latta, 7-1
2) Mark Gainey, 6-2
3) Ryan Sherman, 6-2
4-tie) Brad Latta, 5-3
4-tie) Matt Halpert, 5-3
6-tie) Drew Morris, 5-3
6-tie) Yours Truly, 5-3
6-tie) John Wolf, 5-3
9) Jonathan Osborne, 5-3
10) Tebe Shaw, 5-3
11) Dan Sellers, 5-3
12) Tad Roose, 5-3

LIES, DARN LIES & STATISTICS
"There are three kind of lies in this world.  Lies, darn lies and statistics." -- Mark Twain.

• And here we are, Season Twelve of The Deuce Football Championships!  What started out as an 11 person football pick 'em has turned into a fall tradition, and we are 41 people strong this year!  Welcome back!
• Let's talk streaks first... there are two "untouchable" streaks that have emerged over the years that we like to keep track of, the first being Consecutive Weeks with a +5-3 record, meaning consecutive weeks with either a 5-3, a 6-2, a 7-1 or an undefeated 8-0 record.   The current record is held by Matt Latta, who went from Week 8 of DFC VIII to Week 12 of DFC IX with nary a 4-4 or below mark.  He opened up the following DFC X season by ending the streak with a 1-7.
• In fact, its so difficult to do that week after week, I can only find three other people who have topped 10 weeks with such a streak... Yours Truly did it for 14 weeks in DFX IX and X... Mark Gainey did it also for 14 weeks between DFC IV and V... and Big Eddy went 11 weeks in DFC III and IV.
• Who's got the current streak going right now?   The Mighty Gainey, who is sitting at 5 straight weeks.  
• The other record we keep an eye on is the +4-4 record, which is slightly easier, yet still hard to keep going.  Thats consecutive weeks going 4-4 and better.  
• The record is huge.  Tad Roose went 45--thats forty five--straight weeks from mid-DFC IV to DFC Week 1 of DFC VIII with at least a 4-4 record.  That's why we call him "The Dynasty" and that's why he has three Brook DeRamus Championship Plates.  
• Coming in a not-even-close second is retired legend Gary "The Idol" Eubanks with 24 weeks, Yours Truly with 22 weeks in third, in fourth is retired DFC Hall of Famer Justin Glenn with 21, and Lori "Sunshine" Beirne at #5 with 20 weeks.  
• The longest current streak now?  Yours Truly and Drew Warren are tied at 9 weeks.
• How does Randy Latta's great 7-1 record stand up to other Week One records?  Let's take a look, as weekly I'll give you that particular week's winners, season by season... this week, I'll let you know if they made the postseason
• From DFC I to X... Shawn Sharp (8-0, won DFC title)... Daniel Powell (8-0, missed playoffs)... Mark Gainey (7-1, made playoffs)... Scott Latta (8-0, missed playoffs)... DMOsborne (8-0, made playoffs)... Angie Mark Osborne (6-2, missed playoffs, won RotY)... Matt Latta (7-1, won title)... Matt Latta (8-0, made playoffs)... Trey Cartledge (7-1, made playoffs)... Yours Truly (5-3, made playoffs)

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

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.

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)

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!

DFC Season XI Wrap Up

We wait and we wait and we wait... and finally, the games go out, the kick off is here and another Deuce Football Championships season is underway.  And just like that, *poof*, its over.  Where has the time flown?  We are but a few days away from seeing the Auburn Tigers take on the Oregon Ducks tigre-a-ducko, but we can already say for certain the following words:

Trey Cartledge, DFC Champion 

It was an impressive season by Trey, racking up 58 wins and narrowly missing the divisional title by less than a single point in the TBA.  He stormed through the Wild Card Weekend, made it through the divisional weekend, beat up Dan Sellers by a game, and then edged Yours Truly, also in my first Deuce Bowl, by a game.  So, Trey will return next season with the ring, the hardware and the championship plate, seeking to become something no one has ever done--be a back-to-back champion. 

AWARDS
We obviously etch Trey's name forever upon the Brook DeRamus Championship Plate, to be pictured soon, but we must hand out some other hardware as well.

I struggled with this, only because of my own narcissism, but looking at the numbers they don't lie... 66 wins is the best in the league, with Joey Thornell's 60 wins the 2nd best.  NFL Wins at 27, three games ahead of 2nd place, that being Tom Johnson and Joey in a tie.  Tied with Randy Latta for best college record, that being 39 wins.  Plus, a pair of weekly wins coming back to back this year... that's why I will declare Yours Truly the DFC XI MVP, for the third straight season.  I dare not speak of greatness, because once again, I come up short of the big prize, but there are the numbers right before you.

As far as Rookie of the Year goes, there was also little contest with that.  At 57 victories, a share of the College title and a Central Division crown, Randy Latta outpaced rookies Drew Warren, David Tuck and John Wolf easily.  Last year, Brad Latta took the Rookie trophy home, and this year, his dad keeps it in the Latta familia.

As mentioned a few times, Yours Truly and Randy Latta share the College crown, while Yours Truly gets the NFL title.  Jennifer Ernst will walk with the TieBreak Trophy this year, with her 7.7 being the lowest all season long.

Now, the David Mark Osborne Award... awarded to the best player left in the cold, out of the postseason.  Due to rules, a division title guarantees you a postseason spot, even if someone has a better record than you do... this has been a rule for a while, but it has never come into play until this season.  Tommy McLeod won the Central Division (Beirne Conference) with 54 wins... but that was only the 8th best record in the conference.  Sixth in the conference, and left out of the postseason due to his 2nd place finish in his own division, Matt Halpert, with 55 wins and nowhere to go.  Its also notable that Drew Warren finished in 7th, 3rd in the division, with 55 wins, but Halpert has earned his stripes, Drew's a wet behind the ears rookie.  We graciously give the Osborne Award to Matt Halpert, with our apologies and condolences.

RULES COMMITTEE
I've enacted a "rules committee" for the off season.  I have and will ask 6 current DFC'ers to be on this committee, which will be a rotating group--new people in and new people out periodically--to look at certain rules and to come up with better solutions.  Two come to mind immediately, the first being what Halpert dealt with--should a division title guarantee a spot, or should records overrule any divisional leadership, and secondly, when should the tiebreak game be enacted in the playoffs?  I've already heard from a couple of people and so we'll look at these things, plus more, in the offseason.

THE FINAL STANDINGS

X-Playoff Berth; Y-Division Champion; Z-First Round Bye
W-L, (TBA) (College) (NFL) (Conf Rank)
NORTH DIVISION
XYZ Joey Thornell, 60-36 (14.2) (36-18) (24-18) (1st)
Matt Halpert, 55-41 (8.3) (37-17) (18-24) (7th)
Drew Warren, 55-41 (12.0) (35-19) (20-22) (8th)
Zack Graves, 54-42 (9.9) (32-22) (22-20) (10th)
Rhett Barnett, 51-45 (13.6) (33-21) (18-24) (13th)
DMOsborne, 51-45 (14.4) (30-24) (21-21) (14th)
Matt Latta, 49-47 (10.8) (32-22) (17-25) (17th)

CENTRAL DIVISION
XY Tommy McLeod, 54-42 (10.7) (35-19) (19-23) (6th)
Tebe Shaw, 53-43 (12.0) (35-19) (18-24) (11th)
Brad Latta, 51-45 (10.8) (33-21) (18-24) (12th)
Sarah Hasha, 50-46 (15.9) (35-19) (15-27) (15th)
Jennifer Ernst, 48-48 (7.7) (31-23) (17-25) (18th)
Justin Fisher, 41-55 (16.3) (27-27) (14-28) (19th)

WEST DIVISION
XYZ Dan Sellers, 58-38 (10.5) (38-16) (20-22) (2nd)
X Trey Cartledge, 58-38 (12.1) (37-17) (21-21) (3rd)
X Eddy McBroom, 57-39 (12.1) (36-18) (21-21) (4th)
X Tom Johnson, 56-40 (12.3) (32-22) (24-28) (5th)
Drew Morris, 54-42 (9.4) (35-23) (19-23) (9th)
David Tuck, 50-46 (16.6) (32-22) (18-24) (16th)

MCBROOM CONFERENCE
EAST DIVISION
XYZ Yours Truly, 66-30 (12.3) (39-15) (27-15) (1st)
Chris Croyle, 55-41 (14.1) (36-18) (19-23) (7th)
Mark Gainey, 54-42 (10.7) (39-15) (15-27) (8th)
John Wolf, 53-43 (36-18) (17-25) (10th)
Ryan Sherman, 52-44 (10.6) (32-22) (20-22) (11th)
Tyler Campbell, 49-47 (12.0) (29-25) (20-22) (15th)
Garrett Cheney, 48-48 (18.9) (33-21) (15-27) (17th)
CENTRAL DIVISION
XY Randy Latta, 57-39 (10.4) (39-15) (18-24) (3rd)
X Steven Ray, 56-40 (13.1) (36-18) (20-22) (4th)
X Jonathan Osborne, 55-41 (11.1) (34-20) (21-21) (6th)
Scott Latta, 53-43 (9.9) (32-22) (21-21) (preseason #1, end of season #9)
Lori Beirne, 50-46 (11.1) (34-20) (16-26) (14th)

SOUTH DIVISION
XYZ Eddy McBroom Jr 58-38 (12.3) (38-16) (20-22) (2nd)
X Tim Wasyluka, 55-41 (10.5) (34-20) (21-21) (5th)
James Hawbaker, 52-44 (12.0) (34-20) (18-24) (12th)
Mikey Nipp, 52-44 (13.1) (33-21) (19-23) (13th)
Tad Roose, 49-47 (12.0) (31-23) (18-24) (15th)
Daniel Powell, 45-51 (17.7) (28-26) (17-25) (18th)

LIES, DARN LIES & STATISTICS (Playoffs!  Your talking Playoffs?  Edition)

• Even though he was eliminated mid-way through the postseason, Big Eddy McBroom still had a good run... so good, in fact, that he supplants The Mighty Gainey at the top of All Time Playoff Wins.  Big Eddy now has 95 wins to his name in 7 postseasons, to Gainey's 94 in 8 postseasons. 
• After Eddy and Gainey, here are your postseason winners... 3rd is Drew Morris with 93, 4th is Yours Truly with 71, 5th is Matt Latta with 58, the new DFC Champion Trey Cartledge has now climbed to 6th all time with 56, DFC Legend Wookiee Fulaytar is 7th with 55, three time DFC Champ Tad Roose is 8th with 54, Jennifer Ernst is 9th with 52 and at number 10, is The Big Tim Wasyluka, with 40 playoff wins. 
• Mark Gainey still holds the lead with 8 postseason appearances, all in a consecutive streak.  Big Eddy is 2nd on the list with 7 overall, but his are broken up.. he had 4 in a row in DFC II - V, missed VI - VIII and is now on his third playoff appearance in a row.
• Both Jonathan Osborne and DFC Champion Trey Cartledge share the longest current streak, with four playoffs in a row, while Yours Truly has three.
• Missing the playoffs for his third consecutive year, this after winning Rookie of the Year in DFC VIII is Matt Halpert, and Justin Fisher, Tebe Shaw, Tad Roose and Daniel Powell have also not seen the postseason since DFC VIII.  David Mark Osborne just finished his fifth season with no playoffs, while Michael Nipp's playoff drought has now hit six seasons.  
• Then, there is Sarah Hasha, who has just completed her 9th season in the league, and has never made the playoffs.   Tyler Campbell and Garrett Cheney have been in seven seasons each, and sat at home in December. 
• Speaking of Trey's DeuceBowl XI performance, he did well by DeuceBowl Standards.  In 11 DeuceBowls, only four have had 6 wins or more in a DeuceBowl win--DFC II, when Tad beat Drew 6 games to 4, DFC III where Wookiee Fulaytar's 6 wins beat Drew Morris' 5, DFC IV where Tad Roose had a perfect week with 8 wins to Jennifer Ernst's 6, and now Trey's 6 games over Yours Truly's 5.
• Its also important to note in that last paragraph the 6 wins that Jennifer Ernst logged in DFC IV's loss to Tad "The Dynasty" Roose.  Its the only time someone won 6 games and lost DeuceBowl.   Its also noteworthy because no one has had a perfect week in any Final Four or DeuceBowl week in DFC's history... except for the 8-0 week that won the DFC IV for Tad "The Dynasty" Roose.

FAREWELL
Well, thats that.  Thank you to everyone for participating, thank you for every week you sent your picks in, and thanks for being enthusiastic about it... I received texts, voicemails and even a sheet of paper at church with picks on them during the season, making sure people didn't miss. 

So for the rookies, I hope it lived up, for the vets, I hope it was just as good, if not better, than DFC I - X... and you will all get an open invite to next season.  Games go out sometime at the end of August.

Onto DFC XII!

Your DeuceBowl XI Champion

DeuceBowl XI Games
Florida State 26, South Carolina 17
Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14
Texas Christian 21, Wisconsin 19
Stanford vs Virginia Tech
San Diego Chargers 33, Denver Broncos 28
Green Bay Packers 10, Chicago 3
NYGiants 17, Washington Redskins 14
St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks

The DeuceBowl That Was
Well, it was somewhat of a predictable DeuceBowl for the most part, as Yours Truly and Trey Cartledge picked 7 out of 8 games the same.  Many times, we add on a few games to make the picks a little more varied... however, with Florida Fan Yours Truly taking on Alabama Guy Trey Cartledge, it was sheer irony that our one game different was San Diego vs. Denver... more specifically, San Diego vs. Tim Tebow. 

My entire season was on Tim Tebow. 

And though he put up a valiant effort, and the result was better than the SEC Championship game of 2009, Tebow couldn't make it happen on his own.  San Diego's 33-28 win over the Broncos puts Trey over the top in DeuceBowl XI, and regardless of what happens with the Orange Bowl and tonight's Rams/Seahawks games, Trey Cartledge is your new DFC Champion.

More to come!

DEUCEBOWL XI... TREY CARTLEDGE VS. YOURS TRULY

So, here are the Final Four Results...

Boise State 26, Utah 3
San Diego State 35, Navy 14
Tulsa 62, Hawaii 35
Air Force 14, Georgia Tech 7
Arizona Cardinals 27, Dallas Cowboys 26
Chicago Bears 38, NYJets 34
New Orleans Saints 17, Atlanta 14
Green Bay Packers 45, NYGiants 17 (tiebreak game, total points 62)

Gotta say, the battle I looked forward to the most was between Yours Truly and Eddy McBroom the Younger, two individuals with long DFC history, with the two all time regular season records combining to make just over 1200 wins.  However, it was a thumping, if I do say so myself, with Yours Truly finishing up at a respectable 5-3, while Eddy Jr limped to the end at 1-7.

On the other side, division mates Lt. Dan Sellers and Trey Cartledge went head to head.  Dan won the division with a 2.4 edge over Trey, both winning 58 games.  Trey, however, making his third Final Four appearance in four seasons has advanced to his first Deuce Bowl, while Dan, in only his second season, punks out.  Trey gets a 5-3 mark, beating Dan's 4-4.

So here it is... Yours Truly, making my first Deuce Bowl appearance after eleven seasons, taking on Trey Cartledge, in his fifth season of what will possibly be a Hall of Fame career. 

Because I'm in the championship, and I want no room for chicanery, I've asked Scott Latta to come up with the DeuceBowl XI games.  He readily agreed to the challenge, in addition to giving a worthy Tom Coughlin like, sans F-bombs, pregame pump-you-up speech. 

I've also asked Trey to send his games to Tyler Campbell, and I will do the same, so that my picks are not influenced by Trey's for any reason.  I am sending my picks in later today, Tyler will let me know when Trey's are in, and I'll post all games online. 

Good luck, Trey. May you lose. 

Scotty Latta writes:

My adoptive father, Nick Lou Saban, likes to equate the journey through the long regular season with a treacherous climb up a daunting mountain. There are pitfalls — loose rocks, harsh winds, and perilous obstacles that any potential champion must overcome if he is to find himself, arms raised in triumph, at the top of the mountain. My adoptive drunk uncle, Dr. Lou Holtz, likes to equate the Meineke Man to the Muppets while spitting all over my screen. At any rate, the time has come. You have climbed the mountain one step at a time, pushing aside those who kindly asked to climb alongside you into the rocky ravines with outstretched arms that are meant only to hold the cold porcelain that is the Brook DeRamus Championship Plate. And nevermind that if this analogy were true, Lou Saban's team would be crippled in a heap at the bottom of this mythical mountain, with Greg McElroy eating his own hair and Julio Jones pinned between boulders like James Franco in "127 Hours." Nevermind that! The time is come!


You are eight games from immortality. Eight games from seeing your name etched alongside legends like Mark Gainey, Tad Roose, and.....Lori Beirne?! We still let women in this league?!

The games are below. Good luck. And may the spirit of Dr. Lou rest upon your shoulders as you make this final climb. TO THE GAMES!

---------

Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Friday 12/31, 6:30p, ESPN, Atlanta, GA
South Carolina Gamecocks (9-4) vs. Florida State Seminoles (9-4)
There was once a time when we thought South Carolina was a championship-caliber team. They breezed through then-No. 1 Alabama with the energy of Billy Mays hopped up on SURGE. Then we remembered who their quarterback was, and they lost to Kentucky and Arkansas before letting Cam Newton add enough equity to his value to fix the roof of the Metrodome in a 436-point loss. Florida State, behind the arm of Christian Ponder, should be poised to win if Ponder can remember the correct shade of Garnet to which he is supposed to throw, as they are playing in memory of Bobby Bowden, who passed away 12 years ago.

Progressive Gator Bowl, Saturday 1/1, 12:30p, ESPN2, Jacksonville, FL
Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) vs. Michigan Wolverines (7-5)
If running QBs were cars, Chris Relf vs. Denard Robinson would be a 2002 Mustang against a 2003 Miata. It's like life. While you wish you could get the 2011 Porsche, it's on a lot in Auburn and anyway its $180,000 price tag is simply too high, and this is the best you can do. So this is what you are left with, and it actually shapes up to be quite the battle, with Mississippi State trying to hit nine wins for the first time since the Fillmore administration, and Michigan trying to do anything to make people forget Rich Rodriguez is their coach.

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio, Saturday 1/1, 3:30p, ESPN, Pasadena, CA
Wisconsin Badgers (11-1) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (12-0)
I can't make any jokes about Wisconsin or TCU. This is a good game.

Discover Orange Bowl, Monday 1/3, 7:30p, ESPN, Miami, FL
Stanford Cardinal (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (11-2)
Remember when Virginia Tech lost to James Madison, and we were all like "DANG VIRGINIA TECH DONE LOST TO BOISE AND JAMES MADISON LOL"? Well somehow they've won ELEVEN STRAIGHT games and find themselves in the freaking Orange Bowl. This will be the last time Andrew Luck ever has fun playing football, as he is set to go to the Panthers. Tyrod Taylor has all the NFL potential of a three-legged Jack Russell Terrier, so this will probably be it for him.

NFL GAMES
San Diego Chargers (8-7) at Denver Broncos (4-11), 3:15p, CBS
TEBOW ALERT TEBOW ALERT TEBOW ALERT TEBOW ALERT TEBOW ALERT TEBOW ALERT TEBOW ALERT

Chicago Bears (11-4) at Green Bay Packers (9-6), 3:15p, FOX
Let this be a lesson: If you want to win a tough division and 11 games in an NFL season, get your best players from Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Abilene Christian.

New York Giants (9-6) at Washington Redskins (6-9), 3:15p, FOX
Manning vs. McNabb, in the AdvoCare Which Quarterback is More Hateable Bowl!

St. Louis Rams (7-8) at Seattle Seahawks (6-9), 7:20p, NBC
Sam Bradford is the feel-good story of 2010, while Matt Hasselbeck is the feel-kinda-nauseous story of 2010.

Tiebreak Game:
Wisconsin Badgers vs. TCU Horned Frogs, total points scored.

DFC XI Final Four Games

I know you've been waiting... so here it is.  The Final Four Games this week, en route to next week's Deuce Bowl XI!

College Games:
The MAACO Las Vegas Bowl, Wednesday 12/22, 7p, ESPN
Utah Utes (10-2) vs. Boise State Broncos (11-1)
The only reason I wanted this game was, although it seems like Boise State should dominate, Alabama should have dominated as well a few years back... and a huge let down left them with nothing to play for and listless in the bowl game.

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Thursday 12/23, 7p, ESPN
Navy Midshipmen (8-3) vs. San Diego State (8-4)
Until the GoDaddy dot com Bowl, this was my very favorite bowl game name, a prime example of corporate sponsorship run amok, and another nail in the "we gots too many crappin' bowl games" coffin.

The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Friday, 12/24, 7p, ESPN
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (10-3) vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-3)
I always pity poor Hawaii, because they always seem to play on their own field and never get to go anywhere.  Of course, they play in Hawaii.  And live in Hawaii.  And go to school in Hawaii.  Those poor, poor football players.

The AdvoCare V100 Independance Bowl, Monday, 12/27, 4pm, ESPN2 in Shreveport, LA
Air Force Falcons (8-4) vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-6)
Sure, the Academy has a better record, but they do play in the Mountain West. And Tech plays in... well, the ACC, so I guess that argument is a wash.   

NFL GAMES
Saturday, Christmas Day
Dallas Cowboys (5-9) at Arizona Cardinals (4-10), 630p, NFL Network

Sunday, 12/26
NYJets (10-4) at Chicago Bears (9-4), 12p, CBS

The New York Football Giants (9-5) vs The Green Bay Packers (8-6), 315p, FOX, at the Frozen Tundra of LAM-BOW FIELD

Monday, 12/27
New Orleans Saints (10-4) at Atlanta Falcons (12-2), 730p, ESPN
Remember when this game would come on Fox at 12p on Sunday, because it was a "local" game, and you'd get so mad because you wanted to see two good teams play, not crap?  Well, here you are.

TieBreak Game:
The New York Football Giants vs. The Green Bay Packers, total points scored.

If, and ONLY IF, there is still a tie between DFC'ers after the TieBreak Game is settled (say the total score is 40, someone guess 38, someone guessed 42, and both records are 5-2, especially if both picked the same team in the Saints/Falcons game, there will be a go-to tiebreak for the Monday night Saints/Falcons game.  But parties involved will be notified of such a tiebreak, don't worry about sending me extra scores)

Also, I will be forwarding all of my picks to Mikey Nipp Tuesday evening, so Young Master Eddy Jr, you may get them to me early, or you may send them to me Wednesday, your choice.  I promise you your picks will not influence mine. 

The DFC XI Divisional Playoffs Results

Fresno State 25, Illinois 23
1. Auburn 56, 19. South Carolina 17
15. Virginia Tech 44, 21. Florida State 33
9. Oklahoma 23, 13. Nebraska 20
UConn 19, South Florida 16
Minnesota Vikings 38, Buffalo Bills 14
Pittsburgh Steelers 13, Baltimore Ravens 10
New England Patriots 45 at NYJets 3

Its been a busy few weeks at The DFC Corporate Headquarters, aka, The Cabana, which is why I'm just getting back to reveal results... so, I do thank you for your patience!

Okay, lets talk about the previous week's Divisional Round... the rules state that no tiebreak game the first two rounds, the tie breaker goes to the higher seed.  This is a rule we might re-visit in the off season, but for now, it put four people into the Final Four, despite everyone having stellar records.

Dan Sellers, Trey Cartledge and Big Eddy McBroom all went 7-1. but Dan and Trey advance via the higher seeds, 2 and 3 respectively.  Joey Thornell, top seed, went 6-2--good, but not enough.

Yours Truly and Eddy the Junior, seeds 1 and 2, advance, both at 7-1 and move on to The Final Four, while rookie gRandy Latta and The Big Wasyluka go 6-2, but are eliminated.

Final Four Games will encompasse a couple of bowl games and NFL, and will go out soon, and I will probably just send those games to Dan, Trey and Eddy Jr.  Check back for more frequent updates, plus a year-end recap coming soon!

DFC XI Wild Card Weekend Results

(2) Auburn 28, (6) Alabama 27
(19) Nevada 34, (4) Boise State 31 OT
(9) Arkansas 31, (5) LSU 23
(13) Oklahoma 47, (9) Oklahoma State 41
Notre Dame 20, USC 16
Atlanta Falcons 20, Green Bay Packers 17
Kansas City Chiefs 42, Seattle Seahawks 24
Baltimore Ravens 17, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10


BEIRNE CONFERENCE
(1) Joey Thornell (in 2nd round)
(2) Dan Sellers (in 2nd round)
(3) Trey Cartledge, 5-3 (advances to 2nd round)
(4) Eddy McBroom, 5-3 (advances to 2nd round)
(5) Tom Johnson, 3-5 (eliminated)
(6) Tommy McLeod, 3-5 (eliminated)

MCBROOM CONFERENCE
(1) Yours Truly (in 2nd round)
(2) Eddy Jr (in 2nd round)
(3) Randy Latta, 4-4  (advances to 2nd round)
(5) Tim Wasyluka, 4-4 (advances to 2nd round)
(4) Steven Ray, 3-5 (eliminated)
(6) Jonathan Osborne, 4-4 (eliminated)

COLLEGE GAMES
Friday Night Game
Illinois Fighting Illini (6-5) at Fresno State Bulldogs (7-4), 915p, ESPN2

SEC Championship Game
1. Auburn Tigers (12-0) vs 19. South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3), Atlanta, GA, 3pm, CBS

ACC Championship Game
21. Florida State Seminoles (9-3) vs 15. Virginia Tech Hokies (10-2), Charlotte, NC, 645p, ESPN

BIG XII Championship Game
9. Oklahoma Sooners (10-2) vs 13. Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-2), Dallas, TX, 7pm, ABC

A Big East Battle To Remind You That a 3 or 4 Loss Team Will Get a BCS Berth And a 1 Loss Team Like Boise State or Michigan State Will Get Something Crappy Like the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl... Real Bowl, Look It Up 
UConn Huskies (7-4) at South Florida (7-4), 7pm, ESPN2

NFL GAMES
Buffalo Bills (2-9) at Minnesota Vikings (4-7), 12p, FOX

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) at Baltimore Ravens (8-3), 720p, NBC

NYJets (9-2) at New England Patriots (9-2), 730, ESPN on Monday Night

DFC XI Wild Card Weekend

THE POSTSEASON
Here's who is in...

BEIRNE CONFERENCE
1. Joey Thornell, 59-36 (14.2)... North Division Champion, clinched First Round Bye
2. Dan Sellers, 57-38 (10.5)... West Division Champion, clinched First Round Bye
3. Trey Cartledge, 57-38 (12.1)... clinched playoff berth
4. Big Eddy McBroom, 56-39 (12.10)... clinched playoff berth
5. Tommy McLeod, 53-42 (10.7)... Central Division Champion, clinched playoff berth

If Denver beats San Diego... Zack Graves gets 5th seed, Tommy drops to 6th
If San Diego beats Denver... Tom Johnson gets 5th seed, Tommy drops to 6th

Officially eliminated... Matt Halpert... DMOsborne... Drew Warren... Rhett Barnett... Matt Latta... Brad Latta... Sarah Hasha... Jenny Ernst... JustFish... Drew Morris... David Tuck

MCBROOM CONFERENCE
1. Yours Truly, 65-30 (12.3)... East Division Champion, clinched First Round Bye
2. Eddy Jr, 57-38 (12.3)... South Division Champion, clinched First Round Bye
3. Randy Latta, 56-39 (10.4)... Central Division Champion, clinched playoff berth
4. Steven Ray, 55-40 (13.1)... clinched playoff berth
5. Chris Croyle, 55-40 (14.1) or Jonathan Osborne, 54-41 (11.1)
6. Tim Wasyluka, 54-41 (10.5)... clinched playoff berth

If Denver beats San Diego... Chris Croyle clinches playoff berth
If San Diego beast Denver... Jonathan Osborne clinches playoff berth

Still eligible... Chris Croyle... Steven Ray... Jonathan Osborne...

Officially Eliminated... Mark Gainey... John Wolf... Scott Latta... James Hawbaker... Mikey Nipp... Ryan Sherman... Tyler Campbell... Garrett Cheney... Lori Beirne... Tad Roose... Daniel Powell

WILD CARD WEEKEND
Joey Thornell, Dan Sellers, Yours Truly & Randy Latta get first round byes, do not have to participate.

Top two records in each conference will advance to next round.  No tiebreak game, any tied records will go to higher seed. 

FRIDAY GAMES
2. Auburn Tigers (11-0) at 6. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2), 130p, CBS

14. Boise State Broncos (10-0) at 19. Nevada Wolf Pack (10-1), 915p, ESPN

SATURDAY GAMES
5. LSU Tigers (10-1) at 12. Arkansas Razorbacks (9-2), 230p, CBS

13. Oklahoma Sooners (9-2) at 9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-1), 7p, ABC

Notre Dame Fightin' Irish (6-5) at USC Trojans (7-4), 7p, ABC

NFL GAMES (SUNDAY)
Green Bay Packers (7-3) at Atlanta Falcons (8-2), 12p, FOX

Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) at Seattle Seahawks (5-5), 305p, CBS

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3) at Baltimore Ravens (7-3), 315p, FOX