So the new year has arrived and we are still vertical – maybe a bit wobbly after last night but we survived. Lots of action yesterday including the first of the quarter final games for the CFP.  Our table has been affected with new losers but the top still stays the same but that is guaranteed to change given what happened yesterday.

Wednesday’s Games:
Sun Bowl: Duke 42 Arizona St 39
Citrus Bowl: Texas 41 Michigan 27
Las Vegas Bowl: Utah 44 Nebraska 22
ReliaQuest Bowl: Iowa 34 Vanderbilt 27
CFP Cotton Bowl: Miami 24 Ohio St 14

I will start with the elephant in the room: The Cotton Bowl was dreamy.  Good-bye-o State got walloped by Miami.  I will say I am not a real fan of Miami but whoever plays Ohio St is one of my favorite teams in the country. It is not just because they are perennially good but it is the arrogance about them that drives me nuts – “THE Ohio State” – how about “shut the eff up state”.  And it is the fans that roll up in that ruckus. Buckeyes are some kind of nut and so are their fans. Suffice to say, I am positively giddy about the result last night.  I will get into the implications of this in a little bit.  The Sun Bowl resembled the New Mexico Bowl (North Texas) in terms of both the score and the amount of offense in the game – nearly 1200 yards of offense and 80 points makes for a highly entertaining game. While I root against Duke when it comes to basketball, on the gridiron, I’m good with that!  Utah showcased their class even without their long-time head coach who moved on a few weeks back to go to Michigan and take over that mess. That really sucks for the kids who went to Utah because of that coach – while he does seem like a good dude, and moving on is part of the reality of things, I struggle with the lack of loyalty in today’s NCAA.  The portal, while in some cases makes sense for these athletes – and I consider our own AHFP contestant Will Levis as a beneficiary of the portal for the proper reasons – to jump ship from a school once, twice, or even three times for NIL money is tough for me to swallow. While I am OK with these athletes getting paid for their commitment and sacrifice to the sport, how it is structured and the massive divide it is creating has really been detrimental to the game.  Sorry for the editorial, I’ll move on now….Is it me or does Arch Manning seem like a big baby? The hype surrounding that kid is incredible and I cannot fathom the pressure that is placed upon him given his name and the school he chose to attend. But, while he played pretty well leading Texas to a win over the Wolverines, the way he carries himself to me, is off putting. Yes, he is young and yes, I have never met the lad and cannot speak to his character. All I can do is base the opinion on what I see.  I hope I am wrong because the family in general is very likable. We’ll see how the Arch experience plays out over the next 18 months – when I assume he will opt for the NFL at this time next year. 

Now for the fun part: the impact yesterday had on the AHFP!  We have historically had a great deal of fun throwing barbs at certain contestants for a variety of reasons.  One of the most notable examples of that is the wishing of performance ill-will on Brian “Bellichick” Kelley. He is, without a doubt, one of the GOATs of the AHFP.  As much as it pains me to say this, he is really good at this stuff. He normally chimes in and shares this fact with the good people of the AHFP, in all humility of course.  The silence coming from Gillette Rd this year is oddly disconcerting – almost as if he is telling us everything we need to know by not saying a thing.  His performance heretofore has been typically excellent.  Two years ago, I sent the following missive Brian’s way:  

“It’s bad enough that he is REALLY good at picking football games but to go and flaunt such skill in the faces of AHFP Nation warrants repercussions. Certainly your grandfather, mother and father have taught you the importance of humility. It started with Brian’s own brother calling him out for wearing socks with sandals – a well known faux pas – and it will continue well beyond Brian’s wildest imagination. I envision Camryn throwing punches at her father instead of her sister; I envision The Good Doctor/father overcooking your steaks and burgers giving you something resembling hockey pucks just to teach you a lesson; Harrison, your nephew having stomach issues which manifest themselves Exorcist style all over your shirt, socks and sandals and the rest of AHFP Nation rooting against you so hard that the foundations of your so called empire will rock. Your Aunt Sandy is staring intense German daggers at you down from the heavens for such insolence – trust me, I have seen those daggers and it is not pleasant. We are a benevolent bunch in AHFP Nation but we have limits – the ball is in your court on what comes next. Repent or become a pariah with good skills.”

Well, Brian never came to us for reconciliation and we warned him what might happen if he did not repent. Last year, not only was he relegated to mid-table, his amazing wife took home the Grand Champion title securing bragging rights in the house for the year. While we do struggle with how much money the 300 Round Pond Gang has hoisted from PPP, drafting a check to Ashley was not so bad. And that brings us to yesterday. The choice of Ohio St affected many people – in fact only two (yes, two) people out of 85 had Miami getting past this game. In the parlance of NCAA March Madness, this was a bracket buster. Our good friend Brian Kelley was one of the victims of the Cotton Bowl shocker. While there was some unfortunate collateral damage to others whom we most definitely root for (myself included), I am good diving on the grenade to sacrifice myself for the greater benefit of the people in PPP Nation. So while he remains listed at the top of the table (because everyone lost this game), his future is not so bright as we continue the march through our fun competition. We warned you Brian – it is never too late to repent. On the other extreme, we have a new entrant into the cellar now making it a three way battle of ineptitude.  The absolutely lovely Julia Milano joins Jill Edd and Catherine Kelley in the race for the Nana Prize.  These three ladies have proven thus far that picking college football games in not their thing.  But, there are plenty of other folks nipping at their heels for suckiness – including four members of the Kelley clan just one away from the bottom.   

So, today brings the remaining three CFP games to determine who moves on the CFP semi finals. Today’s games will keep dreams alive or shatter them ruthlessly. We wish you a glorious day to relax and spend time with family. Happy New Year from the Chairman and his illustrious Board.

Sincerely,
The Chairman