FedEx BCS National Championship Game: Florida 24, Oklahoma 14

Well, it was a beautiful run, boys. Sure, the last game was a letdown, but we had some thrills along the way.

Before we get to tonight's recap, let me tell you officially that Steve Politi is the champion of The Second Annual Graziano Brothers College Bowl Point Spread Bonanza. Steve correctly picked 23 of the 34 bowl games against the spread and also pocketed six of the 18 possible combination bonuses for a total of 30 bonus points. As a result, he won in a rout, in spite of missing both his LOCK and SUPER-LOCK picks. The final standings:

Steve Politi 102
Yohan Sengamalay90
Jon Graziano 81
Ed Price 74
Mark Feinsand 66
Jim Graziano 65
Sal Sabatino 63
Chris Sabatino 63
Greg Lester 60
Nino Canino 57
Dan Graziano 50
Rob Biro 50

This particular game tonight was a cover for Florida, which was a 3-point favorite.

It was a win for Dan, Jon, Mark, Chris, Yohan, Rob, Sal and Steve.

It was a loss for Jim, Ed, Greg and Nino.

It eliminated Greg from the Sabathia bonus.

It AWARDED the 9-point CC Sabathia's Wallet Bonus to Steve, who correctly picked all five bowl games that were played in stadiums that regularly host major-league baseball games.

It eliminated Jim, Ed, Greg and Nino from the Janus Bonus.

It AWARDED the 3-point Janus Bonus to Jon, Chris, Yohan, Rob, Sal and Steve, who correctly picked the first and last bowl games.

In addition, Florida was the designated LOCK pick of Jon, Chris and Rob, each of whom gets an additional 5 bonus points because the Gators covered.

I'll be back tomorrow with a wrap-up of some kind, but then this blog is likely to shut down until next December. If you're sick of reading me, that's good news. If you're not, you can read my new Big East college basketball blog or my new baseball blog.

Shameless plugs? Sure. But that's where I am in my life.

Promised Land

Gentlemen, I quiver as I type this.

Tonight, live from Miami, comes the...

BCS National Championship Game
8 pm, Fox
Florida (-3) Oklahoma

No. 1 vs. No. 2. The past two Heisman Trophy winners playing quarterback. A team that's scored more than 60 points in each of its past five games (and scored 58 the game before that) against a team that won its last nine games by an average of 36.4 points a game.

If this game were a woman, I'd have to at least consider cheating on my wife with it.

It also will decide our pool. If Florida covers, or if the game is a push, Steve will win the pool (with a stunning record of 23-11 against the spread). If Oklahoma covers outright, Ed will win the pool by a single point.

This is a seven-point game and required for the CC Sabathia's Wallet Bonus (for which only Steve and Greg remain eligible) and the Janus Bonus (for which Jim, Jon, Ed, Greg, Chris, Yohan, Rob, Sal and Steve all remain eligible). It also would have been eligible for the Bobby Bowden's Belly Bonus, but we've all been eliminated from that one.

In addition, Jon, Chris and Rob have all designated Florida as their LOCK pick, which means they'll each pick up five bonus points if the Gators cover the spread.

For the last time, here's how it breaks down:

PICKS
Dan: Florida -3
Jim: Oklahoma +3
Jon: Florida -3
Mark: Florida -3
Ed: Oklahoma +3
Greg: Oklahoma +3
Nino: Oklahoma +3
Chris: Florida -3
Yohan: Florida -3
Rob: Florida -3
Sal: Florida -3
Steve: Florida -3

I hope everyone enjoys this game as much as I will. And of course, I'll be checking back in tomorrow with a wrap-up. I can't just quit you guys cold-turkey...

GMAC Bowl: Tulsa 45, Ball State 13

All right, one bowl to go and we're down to two contenders for the title.

As a result of this game tonight, Yohan is out. Either Steve or Ed will win this year's pool.

If Florida covers on Thursday, or if the game is a push, Steve wins the pool.

If Oklahoma covers, Ed wins the pool.

This game here was a mess. I once spent a week in Mobile, Ala., and the way it looked on TV tonight was exactly the way I remember it -- dreary and lame.

Tulsa handled the horrendous weather much better, though, and as a result this game was a cover for Tulsa, which was a 2.5-point underdog.

It is a win for Jim, Jon, Ed, Greg, Nino, Sal and Steve.

It is a loss for Dan, Mark, Chris, Yohan and Rob.

It eliminates Chris and Yohan from the Bear Bryant Tower Bonus.

It AWARDS the Bear Bryant Tower Bonus to Ed, who gets three extra points for correctly picking both of the bowl games that were played in the state of Alabama.

It leaves Ed in third place with 74 points, nine behind Steve, who is in first place with 83. But if Oklahoma pulls an outright cover on Thursday, Ed would get 10 points (7 for the game and 3 for the Janus Bonus for correctly picking the first and last bowl games) and Steve and Yohan would get none. Ed would win the pool by a single point.

If Florida pulls an outright cover, Steve would earn 19 points (7 for the game, 3 for the Janus Bonus and 9 for the Sabathia Bonus for correctly picking all five games played in baseball stadiums), Yohan would earn 10 and Ed would earn none, meaning Steve would win the pool by 12 points over Yohan, 22 over Jon and 29 over Ed.

If the title game is a push (Florida is favored by 3), Steve would still get his 19 points and nobody would come close to him.

No game Wednesday, but that's OK. We should all take a couple of days to get ready for what could be the greatest championship game of all time.

Wait. What's this bowl doing here?

For reasons known only to its organizers, on the day after the Fiesta Bowl, two days before the BCS Championship Game, comes the...

GMAC Bowl
8 pm, ESPN
Ball State (-2.5) Tulsa

Ball State just barely missed an undefeated season when it lost the MAC Championship game to that Buffalo team that just got waxed by Connecticut the other day. Tulsa has never recovered from Tubby Smith's defection to Kentucky.

This is a 2-point game and is required for the Bear Bryant Tower Bonus, because it's being played in the state of Alabama. Ed, Chris and Yohan are still eligible for this bonus, and this is the LAST of the Bryant Bonus games, so either Ed (who picked Tulsa) or Chris and Yohan (who picked Ball State) will pick up three bonus points with this game.

This game also would have been required for the Damp Basement Bonus, since it's being played in a city (lovely Mobile) that sits at or below sea level. But we've all been eliminated from that bonus for some time.

Also, either Ed or Yohan (but not both) will be eliminated from title contention based on this game's result. If Ball State covers, Ed is out and the pool is down to Steve vs. Yohan. If Tulsa covers, Yohan is out, and the title will go to Steve or Ed, depending on the results of the national championship game.

PICKS

Dan: Ball State -2.5
Jim: Tulsa +2.5
Jon: Tulsa +2.5
Mark: Ball State -2.5
Ed: Tulsa +2.5
Greg: Tulsa +2.5
Nino: Tulsa +2.5
Chris: Ball State -2.5
Yohan: Ball State -2.5
Rob: Ball State -2.5
Sal: Tulsa +2.5
Steve: Tulsa +2.5

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Texas 24, Ohio State 21

Yeah. Kind of a good game, that.

Ohio State mounts that kind of comeback effort without Beanie Wells on the field? We all saw that coming.

Just try telling me I'm the only one who's going to miss this stuff...

The overall impact of this game on our pool is that Steve, Yohan and Ed all remain alive for the pool championship, which will not be decided until we know the result of the very last game -- Thursday's BCS Championship Game. There are two remaining games, and six remaining possible results. Of those six, Steve wins four and Yohan and Ed each win one. The details are below.

Meantime, this game is a cover for Ohio State, which was a 9.5-point underdog.

It is a win for Jon.

It is a loss for Dan, Jim, Mark, Ed, Greg, Chris, Nino, Yohan, Rob, Sal and Steve.

It eliminates everybody from the John McCain's Hangover Bonus (Jon was eliminated based on the results of the Insight Bowl).

And Texas was the LOCK pick for both Mark and Sal, who lose the chance to earn the five bonus points that would have come with a Longhorns cover.

As for the rest of the pool, it gets pretty simple. Either Yohan or Ed will be eliminated Tuesday night after the GMAC Bowl. After that, if Florida covers in the title game, Steve wins. If it's a push in the title game, Steve wins. If Oklahoma covers in the title game, either Ed or Yohan (whichever is left standing after Tuesday night) wins. Per this chart:

If Ball State and Florida cover: STEVE
If Ball State and Oklahoma cover: YOHAN
If Tulsa and Florida cover: STEVE
If Tulsa and Oklahoma cover: ED

If Fla-Okla PUSH and Ball State covers: STEVE
If Fla-Okla PUSH and Tulsa covers: STEVE

That's all for tonight, fellas. Check back in tomorrow for more fun from Mobile, Ala.

Back in action in the desert

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
8 pm, Fox
Texas (-9.5) Ohio State

Only three games remain, and three people -- Steve, Yohan and Ed -- remain in contention for the 2009 title.

If Texas covers the spread tonight, Ed will be eliminated. If Ohio State covers, all three will still be alive.

If Texas covers tonight and Tulsa covers tomorrow night in the GMAC Bowl, Steve will clinch the title. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Tonight's game is a five-point game and is required for the John McCain's Hangover Bonus because it is being played in the state of Arizona. Dan, Jim, Mark, Greg, Nino, Chris, Yohan and Steve all are still eligible for the McCain Bonus. This is the LAST of the McCain Bonus games, so if Texas covers, all eight of those participants will pick up the 3-point McCain Bonus.

This game also would have been required for the Homer Simpson Bonus, because it carries the name of a food product, but no one is still eligible for that.

And if it is played with the roof closed at University of Phoenix Stadium, it would have been eligible for the Climate Control Bonus, but no one is still eligible for that one either.

Finally, Mark and Sal have both designated Texas as their LOCK pick, which means each will pocket an additional five-point bonus if the Longhorns cover.

PICKS

Dan: Texas -9.5
Jim: Texas -9.5
Jon: Ohio State +9.5
Mark: Texas -9.5
Ed: Texas -9.5
Greg: Texas -9.5
Nino: Texas -9.5
Chris: Texas -9.5
Yohan: Texas -9.5
Rob: Texas -9.5
Sal: Texas -9.5
Steve: Texas -9.5

You'll notice that Jon is the only one who picked Ohio State. This bodes very well for Ohio State. So far in this pool, there have been three games where at least 11 of the 12 pool participants agreed on the result. In all three of those cases (BYU, Boston College, Texas Tech), the team picked by at least 11 of us lost the game.

So we got that going for us. Which is nice.

International Bowl: Connecticut 38, Buffalo 20

Things begin to clarify...

This is a cover for Connecticut, which was a four-point favorite.

It is a win for Dan, Greg, Nino, Chris, Sal and Steve.

It is a loss for Jim, Jon, Mark, Ed, Yohan and Rob.

It eliminates Jim, Jon and Ed from the CC Sabathia's wallet bonus, for which only Greg and Steve now remain eligible.

It eliminates Jim, Jon, Ed and Rob from the ESPN2 Broadcast Overflow Bonus.

It AWARDS the 3-point ESPN2 Broadcast Overflow Bonus to Greg, Nino and Steve.

It eliminates JON from contention for the overall pool title.

It moves STEVE into a one-point lead in the standings, and puts him in the driver's seat for the overall title. Of the 12 remaining possible outcomes, Steve wins nine, Yohan wins two and Ed wins one, as explained here:

If Texas, Ball State and Florida all cover: STEVE
If Texas, Ball State and Oklahoma all cover: YOHAN
If Texas, Tulsa and Florida all cover: STEVE
If Texas, Tulsa and Oklahoma all cover: STEVE
If Ohio State, Ball State and Florida all cover: STEVE
If Ohio State, Ball State and Oklahoma all cover: YOHAN
If Ohio State, Tulsa and Florida all cover: STEVE
If Ohio State, Tulsa and Oklahoma all cover: ED

If Fla-Okla PUSH and Texas and Ball State cover: STEVE
If Fla-Okla PUSH and Texas and Tulsa cover: STEVE
If Fla-Okla PUSH and Ohio State and Ball State cover: STEVE
If Fla-Okla PUSH and Ohio State and Tulsa cover: STEVE

Also, Buffalo was Rob's SUPER-LOCK, so he misses the 10 bonus points he would have got if they'd covered.

No game tomorrow...(sniff)...