College Football Contests Conference Challenges Wrap-Up: Big Ten, Pac 12, SEC
Conference Challenges Wrap-Up: Big Ten, Pac 12, SEC
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Longevity and consistency, clutch second half rally's and one record breaking campaign summed up 2011 conference challenge races. Three of the six conference challenge leaders at the half-way point were able to finish in the same winning standing to include scoochnew in the ACC, kst8no1 in the Big 12 and slwlion in the Big Ten. bobbyd and TwoEgg rallied from twelve spots down to win Big East and Pac 12 contests, respectively, and J06Powercat broke all three previously held SEC prediction records.
Big Ten Challenge
Champion: slwlion topped all Big Ten predictors by at least two games with a 79-18(.814) record to secure his second conference prediction title. In Week 3, the Penn State fan finished in 1st place outright (11-1 record). The win allowed slwlion to move into the No. 2 spot in the rankings and never fell below it from that point on. Three weeks later he stepped off the doorstep and into the house as the No. 1 ranked Big Ten predictor for the remaining nine weeks of the season.
This was slwlion's fourth attempt at the Big Ten Challenge prediction crown. His expertise in Big Ten football extends beyond his favorite team as evidence of his track record. In 2009, he wound up No. 2 in the final rankings then followed that up with a No. 9 rankings last year. This year's conference crown adds to his first which came in the 2009 Big 12 Challenge.
When it was over: slwlion's season-long prediction results compared to the field was the epitome of the steady riser who locks down the top ranking, has a late season hiccup only to rebound with points to spare. By Week 6, he nudged onto the top line by 0.02 points after a second consecutive perfect score line. From there, he slowly built leads of seven, ten and 13 points before a 44th place (3-3 record) blip in Week 11. His lead shrunk to four points in front of No. 2 devescovi before quickly rebounding. In Week 12, he was one of four to score a perfect 6-0 record in part to his loyalty to the Penn State, who he predicted would persevere amid off-field distractions and a coaching change to beat Ohio State on the road. By Week 13, slwlion had all but finalized his mark on the contest after besting his top competitor devescovi by one point and pushing his overall lead back to double digits.
Records: Since this was the first season the Big Ten played with 12 members, three new records are marked going forward for the expanded conference. slwlion bested all three categories including an .814 winning percentage, 396 confidence points and a 322.52 CFBRating.
Champion: slwlion, PSU; 322.52
Margin of Victory: 10.55 over devescovi
Weeks at No. 1: 9 (Weeks 6-14)
Total Lead Changes: 2
1st Place Finishes: 5
Top 10 Finishes: 8
Single Season CFBP Record: 322.52; slwlion, PSU, '11-'12
Pac 12 Challenge
Champion: TwoEgg won the most mercurial conference challenge of the season by notching a 69-22(.758) record predicting the now dual division 12-team Pac 12. In a contest that took all 14 weeks to determine a winner, the Memphis fan was the seventh leader and beneficiary of the last of nine lead changes in the contest.
The Pac 12 Challenge victory was TwoEgg's first conference title of any kind which came in his fifth season participating. He's slowly but surely figured out how things go down out West with final rankings of No. 20 in '07, No. 22 in '08, No. 14 in '09 and No. 7 in '10 before topping all comers this season. In addition, this was his 12th Championship Top 10 which places him among the top five all-time.
When it was over: We'd have to check all the records but it would be a surprise if a more competitive weekly contest was found than the one involving the new Pac 12 Conference this season. The nine lead changes and seven different leaders aside, what's most astonishing about this season's Pac 12 race was that none of them held a lead of more than 3.39 points. That accomplishment went to crzyfrk back at the mid-point of the season. It was that same Week 7 that ranked the eventual champ TwoEgg all the way down at No. 13 and 18 points off the pace. He'd dip as low as No. 17 following week before kicking it into high gear for an impressive five week rally to end the season. Following a 1st place (5-1 record) in Week 10, TwoEgg cracked the top ten for the first time. Week's 12 and 13 saw him place 2nd and 1st, respectively, with the latter coming thanks to the boldest upset prediction of the contest. He was one of four to pick Colorado to earn their first and only Pac 12 win on the road at Utah. The bold pick landed him at No. 1 then he turned around and shut the door behind him in an easy one-game Week 14. This one easily took every bit of the 91 Pac 12 games but, right at the end, TwoEgg rushed in and swiped top honors.
Records: With the Pac 12 playing with an even dozen, all three records this season will take over as current records. TwoEgg will hold two of the three including the best winning percentage at .758 and the best CFBRating of 247.95. nitemare64 will also hold rights to the best winning percentage of .758, while orangebleed23 will lay claim to the most confidence points of 328.
Champion: TwoEgg, MEM; 247.95
Margin of Victory: 2.28 over nitemare64
Weeks at No. 1: 2 (Weeks 13, 14)
Total Lead Changes: 9
1st Place Finishes: 4
Top 10 Finishes: 7
Single Season CFBP Record: 247.95; TwoEgg, MEM, '11-'12
SEC Challenge
Champion: J06Powercat collected a record tying third conference prediction championship after posting an 87-10(.897) record in the SEC Challenge. The Kansas State fan was parked in the No. 2 spot for much of the season but nine 1st place finishes was too many for him not gain the lead by season's end. In the process, J06Powercat shredded all three single-season contest records.
It was J06Powercat's fifth season predicting the SEC and he's now won two of them with the first one coming back in 2007. Add in an ACC Challenge title from 2007 and he holds three conference trophies, which ties for an all-time record. It was his 15th Championship Top 10 which is another all-time record for college football contests.
When it was over: The SEC Challenge race appeared to be turning into a one man show after orangebleed23 built a 20-point lead by Week 6 which he held through Week 9. But by Week 10, J06Powercat began cutting into that lead with a 1st place (7-0 record) finish. He followed that up with another 1st place (7-0 record) in Week 11 which shaved the lead down to six points and it was suddenly a two-man contest. Week 12 was a wash as both placed 1st (8-0 records) but it was the next week that really turned the tide in J06Powercat's favor. In that critical Week 13, there was a lot parity in a contest that didn't see a whole lot of it throughout the season. It would be an unlucky 13 for orangebleed23 who placed 33rd (4-4 record) while J06Powercat scored his most important top ten of his ten this season with a 6th place (6-2 record) effort. The result gave J06Powercat an 8-point lead which flipped the race in his favor for good.
Records: J06Powercat was the only player this season to break previous records, mainly because only two conferences played with the same number of participants as previous years and the other four were not up for being broken. His 364.14 CFBRating shattered the previously held total set last year by 33 points. His winning percentage of .897 broke the two year old record of .892. Lastly, his 406 confidence points easily surpassed the previous year old record by 23 points.
Champion: J06Powercat, KSU; 364.14
Margin of Victory: 10.12 over scoochnew
Weeks at No. 1: 3 (Weeks 1, 13, 14)
Total Lead Changes: 3
1st Place Finishes: 9
Top 10 Finishes: 10
Single Season CFBP Record: 364.14; J06Powercat, KSU, '11-'12
Click here to read ACC, Big 12 and Big East races