Pick ‘em contests are a lot like presidential elections. Most of each week’s picks are “safe” picks; games that one team is virtually guaranteed to win, like an overwhelmingly blue or red state in an election. To win at Pick ‘em, the competitors need to win the majority of the "swing games;" those games that, like swing states, could go either way.
All our experts correctly picked the safe games winners -- Westlake, Liberty Hill, LBJ and Vandegrift -- last week. The week turned on the swing games, especially Cedar Park vs. East View and Hyde Park vs. Brook Hill, and some of those were decided by just a couple of points.
Melvin Jones (Regents PxP), David Roy (Austin High) and Tyler Ulses (Crockett) did that the best, nearly running the table with 10-1 marks. Jones’ week moved him back onto the podium, just three games out of first. Yours truly (Vandegrift) at 9-2 pulled back into a tie for the lead with Jack Farrel (Manor ISD). Farrell notched a solid 8-3 mark – but also recorded a couple of key swing game misses.
The rest of our experts are bunched in a tight pack outside the Top 3 with just five games separating the next nine pickers.
There are nine games on this week’s docket, including another batch of key swing contests. See how we all picked below, right after the current standings heading into Week Eight.
Merle Bertrand (9-2, 54-14)
Jack Farrell (8-3, 54-14)
Melvin Jones (10-1, 51-17)
Matt Lorenz (8-3, 48-20)
Michael Rose (9-2, 47-21)
Cecil Coconougher (8-3, 46-22)
Bryan Reed (8-3, 46-22)
David Roy (10-1, 45-23)
Josh Willard (8-3, 45-23)
Josh Blanch (8-3, 44-24)
Jeff Goen (7-4, 44-24)
Tyler Ulses (10-1, 43-25)
Adam Neuberger (6-5, 39-29)
Here are the Week Eight picks….
