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This week’s “Separation Saturday” made for a “Shoehorn Saturday” in the GPHW. 44 total points separates first from last in the pool.

Last week’s cellar-dweller, Milburn, beat 3 guys by more than 44 points this week. 6-0, 6-0 vs. the spread. An 18 point win from Notre Dame in his double game. Mizzou and FIU post defensive points. 61 points for the week, he climbs from 9th to 5th, only 13 points out of the lead.

We have a new co-leader. Bronko gets 54 points on 5 wins led by a 24 point double win from Georgia. Ranked, Cover, and Road bonus points. Florida State is cooked, getting drubbed at Louisville for his lone loss. He moves from 5th to first place, tied with…

Captain GOP. Kansas State and Pitt lose at home, Northwestern wins by 31 and doesn’t cover in his double game. 28 points for the week, our braggadocious captain is in put-up or shut-up territory as the October squeeze is on.

Jumping from 6th to 3rd – Beef gets 5 wins and 46 points. A gallant start of the Huskers provided early hope, but faded late. Sound familiar, Husker fans? Underdog UCLA delivered a big upset at Autzen. Ole Miss gets 18 points in a double win at Vandy.

Champ drops 3 games this week and slips to 4th place. NDSU endures FBS loss #1, head coach and QB might have some ‘splainin’ to do this week. Va Tech and Cal lose late. Indiana ekes out a double win in Lincoln.

Texas has an Arch problem, and that’s a big problem for Wile E. 2 crucial picks late doom his double game. App State and Toledo both held to single digits in home losses. He falls from 3rd to 6th, and into the Group of Pizza.

LSU thwarted a good week for Navin, losing his double game at Kentucky. Florida gets blitzed at home. 4 wins, 27 points for the week, he sits in 7th.

Sergio posts the rare 0-6 vs. the spread week. Temple and Arkansas State take L’s, 34.5 was too many points to cover for Ohio State in a double win over Maryland.

Back to the basement for Igor. The Ducks lose again, a double loss at home (-6 points) to UCLA. Alabama and Tulsa lose as well. A pool-low 15 points for the week.

Getting to the midway point of the season. Tough conference games on the horizon. Who do you trust enough to start? For a lot of us, the old confidence meter on the squads is waning.

Week 5 didn’t provide the litany of nail biters we’ve seen in prior weeks, but it certainly shook up the GPHW; Greatest Pool in the History of the World. Scores ranged from 48 (Sergio) to 16 (Beef). The leader of the GOP is only 10 points out of 3rd place. She’s tightening up fellas, gonna be a fun ride.

Captain GOP hangs on to the top spot, but the old eyebrow-raising decisions that marked his existence to date resurfaced. He doubled Miami, not the steam-rolling, point-producing, South Beach juggernaut, but the MAC version. In a league game. Nuff said, CFB Pool battle scars we’re all too familiar with. He still manages 32 points on 5 wins, including Miami’s 41-13 win at Clemson.

Champ’s Bison picked up right where they left off, posting another shutout and earning a ridiculous drill bit trophy. Memphis picks up a 20 point double win. Illinois and late-substitution pick Texas State take losses. He sits in 2nd, 4 points back.

Wile E. posts the only 6-0 record this week and is in 3rd place. USC survives Washington for a meager 8 point double win, Air Force gets defensive points holding Navy to 9 points as the Zoomies are looking good for the 2026 Commander-in-Chief’s trophy

Bronko scratches 24 points out of a 4-2 week. Georgia beats Vandy for the 2X win, but no cover. (8 points) His Wolverines lost to the Gophers (he’ll take that) and WKU get run at New Mexico State. He moves to 5th.

A big leap for Sergio, jumping from 8th to 4th. The Buckeyes roll into Kinnick and take a resounding W, good for 22 points. (ranked,road,cover). USF loses at home to Temple for his one loss.

Beef falls back to the GOP in 6th place. Virginia gets blasted by FSU, AZ State, C Carolina, and Hawaii all take losses. Texas Tech’s 20 point double win over Prime salvaged the week.

Navin chased points the week, but the Gators went back to their Billyball ways and had a Napierian showing at Mizzou. He picks up 5 wins, including an 18 point double effort from surprising Wake Forest.

Igor claws out of the cellar. In a meager way. 4 wins. UMass and Tulsa drop home games. Alabama get a big road,ranked,spread win, good for 20 points.

Canio sang a forlorn song this week. From afar (on his bench) his Beloved claim an epic, historic victory. Louisville and Penn State lose for the 2nd straight week, and Mississippi State found out that yes, Alabama is back. 3 losses. And back to last place.

Return to GO. Do not collect $200. Welcome to the pool…

Milburn

5 guys posted 50+ points this week. And cellar-dweller Igor led the way, hitting the 60 point mark.

Oregon’s win at USC was good for 22 points for Igor. UMass gets a 10 point win at Sac State, Alabama and UNLV get cover wins. He moves to 7th place in his effort to claw out of the GOP.

Captain GOP stays perfect on the season (24-0), the last unblemished record. Miami is racking up double points over the cupcakes. Boise gets a nice roadie at W Michigan. 56 points for the week – Looking tough a month in, can he sustain?

Champ is right on his heels, 23-1 on the season, scoring 52 this week. Louisiana gets a big 20 point double win – and Iowa tallies 10 in the upset at Ann Arbor. Indiana was a bit shaky beating Northwestern at home.

Beef sits in 3rd place. 50 points for the week – even with Ole Miss’s loss in the Swamp. 5 wins AND covers including an 18 point from Utah at Iowa State.

Bronko moves up to 4th posting his 2nd straight 50+ point week. 4 teams get defensive points and Georgia routs Oklahoma for an 18 point double win. Also – Nice win at Washington! Ski. U. Mah. Must have been an awesome night at Husky Stadium.

Wile E. slides to 5th place scoring 36 points. USC loses at home to the Ducks. The Longhorns win his double game but no cover.

Canio dips to 6th. 3 losses – Penn State to Wisconsin, Louisville to Wake, and Washington to Minnesota (bitterswee- ah, the rub of the CFB pool) A pool-low 25 points, back in the GOP.

Sergio is in 8th. The Buckeyes finally don’t cover a monster spread vs. Illinois, Tennesse loses but covers at home. Gotta keep chasin’ points.

Navin sits in last place. Navy kicks off the week with a loss at UAB – another no-cover double win out of Houston as Navin doubles the wrong team every week.

The pre-season jostling is winding down. Get rid of the FCS fodder! Indiana, play someone! We’re 3 weeks in and haven’t had one train wreck to laugh at. But as we all know – Winter’s coming.

Bronko takes the top spot in week 3, the only poolster to break the 50 point mark. Georgia gets an SEC road-cover win. Wash St, TCU, Iowa St, and Oklahoma get defensive bonus points. The Sooners don’t cover his double game win.

Captain GOP stays perfect on the season. Miami gets a non-cover double win at Wake Forest. Northwestern pummels Colorado for a solid 9 point win. Cincy and Boise State looked shaky in their wins.

Canio and Wile E. are also 18-0. Canio sits in 2nd led by Penn State’s shellacking of Buffalo in his double game. Wile E. sweats out a USC win at Rutgers and Texas has the letdown with a no cover double win vs. UTSA.

Champ slides a couple spots to 3rd this week. Texas A&M gets upset at home by Kentucky, the Bison get a no-cover double win in Sacramento. Shutouts by Indiana and Iowa buoyed the week.

Beef is now tied for 3rd place- Virginia loses to West Virginia. He gets a a nice head-to-head win over Navin with Ole Miss beating ranked LSU. Utah gets a 20 point double shutout win.

Sergio gets a couple losses this week. SMU loses at Louisville and ODU gets deposed by East Carolina. He scores a pool-low 32 points sitting in 7th place. Ohio State continues to cover ridiculous point spreads.

Louisiana kicked Navin’s ass this week. LSU loses to Ole Miss, La Monroe loses to FCS SE Louisiana.

Igor’s double game lasted about 7 hours – a lot of work for a no-cover Bama win over FSU. His Ducks took out some frustration, big potential points on the board next week when Oregon travels to USC.

Week 2. We get the first major upset (a double whammy for Igor) and a good ol’ fashioned duel in Texas (Wile E gets the edge over Sergio).

But let’s kick this off in the Colorado Mountains. Watch out G6!, the mighty Bison have arrived. Champ rides the alma mater into Fort Collins and pulls off a big road double win to go to 3-0. The Bison are racking up some points and have helped vault Champ to the top of the standings. Add a shutout by Indiana as they roll creampuffs and defensive points from South Carolina and Baylor.

Captain GOP slides to 2nd place, besting 6 FCS squads. NC state gets a shutout and the Miamis get defensive points, the Hurricanes in an embarrassing double win over Fla. A&M.

Silver lining for Canio’s beloved’s tragic day was going 6-0 in the pool. Notre Dame shuts out Rice – Penn State gets defensive points in a double win.

Wile E. goes 6-0, 0-3 vs. the spread. He gets 6 ranked bonus points in the Texas showdown win over the #1 Buckeyes, but it’s a -4 in the odds column. USC and Marshall also post non-cover W’s.

The biggest mover this week is Beef, moving up to 5th place. Virginia, Coastal Carolina and Nebraska get defensive bonus points, the Huskers in a double win over BGSU. Nebraska- Kings of September.

The Ohio State – Texas duel looked so good for Sergio, but the plot took an unfortunate twist in the 4th quarter. 3 Longhorn TD’s – one can only imagine the stream of vindictiveness going through Sergio’s head Saturday night. The Buckeyes did cover, earning 4 points in a loss. JMU, Sconny, and UNC post defensive points.

Navy loses at FAU to hand Navin a loss. LSU had the sandwich game (Clemson-L Tech-Ole Miss) and posted a lackluster double win.

Oklahoma lost to it’s B1G doppelganger Michigan (Overpaid, overrated mediocre QB, great D) dealing Bronko loss #2 on the season. TCU gets defensive points and Georgia is looking like the Dawgs of old.

It’s getting late early for Igor. The Ducks are looking pretty busty 2 games into the season with a daunting schedule ahead. Clemson bounces back and Bama looks solid in a win at Kentucky.

What a debut for Captain GOP! The perpetual bottom feeder is living in the penthouse this week. 3 of his teams get defensive pts., and (much to Sergio’s chagrin) Ga. Southern gets a shutout in his double win. 54 points for the week. Does Cap have staying power?

Defending champ Wile E. answers the call with 2 shutouts, 2 defensive point wins and a 16 point double win out of Texas is his double game. Big week 2 showdown with Ohio State on the horizon. Will be a statement game for sure.

Canio gets a big double win from the Irish. 3 teams get defensive points (including The Beloved) and Penn State opens the Campbell era with a shutout. But with Canio, tragedy always looms.

Champ is off to his usual 50+ Week 1 total. He gets 3 shutout wins and 1 win with defensive points. NDSU gets a great debut with a (16 point) shutout win over Florid- err.. Fordham. Iowa and Texas A&M also get shutouts.

4 defensive point bonus wins including a double win and cover by Ohio State (as a 51 point favorite) has Sergio in 4th place. The Buckeye vs. Longhorn match-up is up next. Who’s balls are bigger? We shall see in Week 2.

Game 1 – week 0 – Dublin, Ireland. TCU takes a dump on Irish soil and loses to start Bronko’s season. He rallies and gets defensive points from Georgia and Vandy. Oklahoma gets a shutout in a double win over UTEP. That’s a 20 point doubler – tops in the pool.

Poolsters who are mired in mediocrity have a hard time getting rid of nicknames. Outside of winning in his rookie year – Cletus hasn’t done much of anything to distinguish himself, outside of being a perpetual Nebraska drafter. He lives, breathes, and eats Nebraska. And what’s Lincoln’s favorite food? Beef.

Beef survives a couple nail biters. Auburn gets a skinny 1 point win over Baylor; Ole Miss wins on a walk-off field goal against Louisville. Neither team covers. Arizona State gets defensive points.

Wake Forest set the tone for Navin this week – giving up 14 points late in the 4th quarter to not cover vs. Akron. Houston followed suit. 0-2 vs. the spread. BYU gets defensive points in his double game, along with Kansas.

A week 0 loss by UNLV to Memphis at home kicked off Igor’s season and his lineup didn’t exactly rally. 5 wins with 1 cover – Defensive points from Delaware and So Miss. Oregon looked a bit shaky (maybe Boise looked better than expected?) and didn’t cover in his double game. Someone has to start in the basement.

21 teams get defensive bonus points. 9 teams get shutout wins. That’s as many in a week that I can remember. By a long shot. Loading up on wins, lacking marquee match-ups. The new era of college football.

A hearty Congratulations to the 2025 Champion of the Greatest Pool in the History of the World! Armed with a seemingly endless supply of gadgets and good football teams, Wile E. bested the field with a resounding stretch run. He took the lead in week 10 and closed it out going 17-2 down the stretch. It’s a long-time coming for Wile E. From Junkyard Dog and Dr. X, Chief Wahoo and Dwight to Reggie, OJ, and PJ, it’s a long, long line of losing seasons. And hopefully that makes the 2025 Championship taste that much sweeter. Texas Tech ties the bow on the season with big win – Cover, Ranked, and Defensive points. And he had the Dawgs resting on the porch.

There was no movement in the standings in the final week. The Group of Pizza is locked in for the 2026 Draft.

The draft order is set. On the clock…

Canio.

(pictured here at Open Mic Night, Northfield, MN. Nov. 27,2025)

His 2025 CFB Pool story was remarkable for its intense verismo, raw emotion, and devastating plot – somehow navigating a path to finish worse than Igor. Canio gets the double win of the year with the Hoosiers knocking off Sergio’s Buckeyes in a head-to-head final showdown. But Igor answers with a double win out of top-pick Boise State – holding off Canio by 3 points.

The “modern era” in the Greatest Pool in the History of the World started in 2004 with a fitting champion – Keith Jackson (Mike). Yes, there were champions prior. Talked about and debated in draft rooms and on Bowl Days, these titles are “mythical”, unsubstantiated by historic records.

The GPITHOTW has its very own Cubs, Red Sox, Browns, long-suffering, snake-bit loser. Wile E. may be the most fitting nickname ever as he chased, and chased, and chased his title. While there is a mathematic possibility, he’s a virtual lock for his first title heading into Championship week.

Wile E. is running away from the field with another solid 5-1 week. Texas Tech gets a road shutout at West Virginia for 11 points. The Dawgs get defensive points.

Navin jumps to 2nd place powered by 5 road wins including a double win from the Tide in the Iron Bowl.

Champ slips to the 3rd spot. The Irish win by 29 and fail to cover in his double game. San Diego State falls to New Mexico.

Bronko continues to climb the standings. another 6-0 week, he’s posted 111 points in the last 2 weeks. The Ducks get a road, cover, double win at Washington. USF and Hawaii get defensive points.

Cletus and Sergio are locked in a tight battle to avoid the Group of Pizza.

Cletus loses his double game as his Aggies can’t shake the Longhorns. #1 pick Penn State gets a rare win.

Sergio‘s team has a split personality. There’s the 14-0, 236 point double wins (Ohio St) and the 46-20 rest of his team. Chasing points, he gets losses from LSU, SMU and Auburn.

Safely in the GOP: Squirrel, Igor, and Operaman.

Squirrel wins his double showdown in the Texas win over the Aggies. Memphis and UTSA take home losses.

Igor’s Mormons secure a conference championship bid with a double win over UCF. Marshall drops a home game to Ga Southern.

Operaman has one more verse in his swan song. He will bid adieu with his final pick next week. His Hoosiers continue to steamroll the fodder on the schedule.

Happy Thanksgiving fellas,

I’m feeling very thankful for my group of college football friends. Here’s wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday weekend.

As the headline says – It all comes down to this. 7 games left, 6 this week and 1 double-game for championship weekend.

For the 3rd straight season, a modern-era CFB Pool title is tantalizingly close for Wile E. He goes 6-0, his first undefeated week since week 6. Georgia fails to cover his double game but he gets 4 covers and 4 road wins. 50 points for the week.

Champ vaults into 2nd place with a 5-1, 50 point week. Notre Dame routs Syracuse in his double game. Illinois’s loss at Wisconsin was his lone setback.

Navin is fading fast. Ga Tech continues to befuddle him, losing at home to Pitt.

Cletus moves up to 5th place. (Note: After double-checking Cletus’s season total, he was 10 points short, that was corrected this week.) Utah had to rally to beat Kansas State – Cal loses to Stanford for his only loss.

Sergio drops to 5th, the last position safe from relegation and the GOP. East Carolina (-2) and Wyoming (-4) take losses. His doublers, primarily OSU, continue to rack up the points – 214 for the season.

Bronko leads the GOP, chasing down Sergio with a 6-0, 58 point week. Oregon gets ranked points with a cover-win over USC. 4 road wins – 5-1 vs. the spread.

Squirrel looks like a lock for the 7 hole. The Fighting Entz’s take another loss, losing at home to Utah State. His Longhorns rout Arkansas in his double game.

And drama surrounds the #1 pick in the 2026 draft. Igor has risen from the dead with a 6-0, 57 point week. He gains 43 points on Operaman and climbs into the 8th spot. Tulane gets a road-cover double win.

Operaman posts a pool-low 14 points with losses by UTEP, Army, and Florida State. #1 pick is there for the taking.

Only 2 full weeks remain as Wile E. looks to close out his first CFB Pool title in the modern era. He expands his lead in Week 12, winning 5 games – topped by a 20 point double win with his Dawgs resounding beat-down of ranked Texas. So. Miss was his lone loss getting whipped at home by Texas State. Can he exorcise the demons of his past?

Navin loses 2 games, posting a pool-low 29 points. Ga Tech survives but doesn’t cover his double game. Alabama and Cincinnati lose at home.

Sergio is poised in 3rd place, hoping there will be enough Buckeye points left to chase down Wile E.. 12-0, 196 points in double games, an average of over 16 points per double win keep him in the hunt. Losses by San Jose State and Delaware sidetracked his week 12.

Champ – only 3 points behind Sergio – managed 41 points out of 4 wins. Liberty and Buffalo lose but the Irish get a nice road cover double win at Pitt. The Irish piling up style points in the polls and cover points in the pool.

Cletus wins the week with 54 points. Utah routs Baylor in the 2X game – Penn State and No Texas pick up road wins. He expands the margin over the Group of Pizza in 5th place.

Bronko travels to Autzen and witnesses his Ducks double win over the Gophers. His only loss of the week? – The “Highest Ranked Group of 6” curse, USF losing at Navy.

Squirrel is trying to hang on to 7th place – Memphis and TCU handed him losses in week 12- USC gets a gutty win over Iowa and UTSA routs Charlotte in his double game.

Operaman is reeling in Squirrel – 2 points back in 8th place. Kennesaw State was his only loss – Indiana (2X) and No. Illinois rack up 10 points each in wins.

Igor is firmly in control of the #1 pick in the 2026 draft. Playing with pride, he posts a 6-0 week scoring 51 points. Toledo gets a 10 point in Tuesday MACtion. 5-1 against the spread – Tulane (2X) was his only non-cover.