Friends in fight songs,
The Jungle Juice finish was a BCS throwback.
Like back to when JIMBO was winning Nattys and Jameis was squinting at the price of crab legs.
Seven of us tied for first in our 14-game Jungle Juice pick’em at 12-2.
But since we ALWAYS crown a single champ in our overall competitions, that meant we had to hit up college football’s exiled friend, Margin of Victory, to award some figurative crystal and very real $1,500.
Our inaugural Jungle Juice champ is @Pitt4life21, whose picks racked up a Margin of Victory tally of 149 points, 16 better than @gdmslug. And since our tiebreakers exist solely to crown a champ, our six runners-up tie for 2nd place.
Valiant efforts. Jim Harbaugh is stooped over his Dockers in disbelief. It was a frenetic finish.
CFB SZN FINAL RESULTS
- Jungle Juice Bowl Pick'em >>
- Champ: @Pitt4life21 (see their picks)
- Rankings & Rivalries Pick'em >>
- Champ: @Dufresne (see their picks)
- Trampled Trombone Survivor >>
- Champ: @dsackett via pickoff (see their picks)
- Blue Turf Rank & Bank >>
- Champs: @ZOD for Forecast 1 (see their picks), @Azcats9741 for Forecast 2 (see their picks)
How impressive was @Pitt4life21’s performance? Of course, our resident Pitt Panther fan picked their last-second upset over UCLA, gaining leverage on more than 90% of us.
But a better lens to appreciate @Pitt4life21’s picking prowess is to look at Margin of DEFEAT.
@Pitt4life21’s two losses (UNC and USC) were BOTH by one point.
First, UNC was Bo Nix’d by the Ducks with 19 seconds to go in the Holiday Bowl - our first game of the slate.
Then, USC comically coughed up a 15-point lead with 4 minutes left, ultimately surrendering the game-winning Tulane touchdown with 9 seconds remaining in the Cotton Bowl.
Two points, or just 28 seconds from perfection.
Of course, surviving the final seconds of Michigan-TCU and Georgia-Ohio State certainly required some cosmic Hypnotoad and New Year’s Eve ball-dropping intervention.
(J-FROG! Are you alive!?! I have NO idea how you can handle 14 games of that insanity in one season. Is this really what the National Title Game is going to be like?)
Interestingly enough, even if that Ohio State kick split the uprights to beat Georgia (instead of duck-hooking into Butler Cabin), no one in the top 15 (or within one win of the lead) would have benefitted.
But Stat Czar would have.
We finished strong, just like lip-smacking Jungle Juice should.
Personally, the SZN community greatly enhanced my enjoyment of college football. It wasn’t just Caleb Williams.
I hope the SZN gave you a few moments of Stetson Bennett unadulterated joy over these past three months.
Have ideas to make next year's CFB SZN even better? Let us know via comment or email us at yo@theszn.com.
And I expect you to keep those Moxie resolutions!
Yours in baggy khakis and bubble gum,
Merf