The Living Room Times

This season, for the first time, I’m going to host a season-long college football pick ’em contest through Yahoo Sports. Each week, contestants will predict the outcome, against the point spread, of every Saturday game involving a Top 25 team. The deadline is 5 minutes before kickoff of the first such game (generally noon EDT, or 10am MDT).

I decided to use the spread, rather than straight-up predictions, because an awful lot of games aren’t likely to produce much difference of opinion otherwise — e.g., is anyone really going to pick Louisiana-Monroe to beat Texas? By contrast, whether Texas can beat Louisiana-Monroe by more than 41 points is something people might conceivably have differing opinions about.

(Caveat: when there is no point spread, as with most I-A vs. I-AA games, the spread column on the picks page will say “Off (0).” In such cases, you simply predict the straight-up winner.)

Anyway, to join the contest, click here, then enter Group ID number 16830 and password irishtrojan. Contestants are encouraged, in choosing their “Pick Set Name,” to use a name or handle that will be recognizable to other members of the blog community.

More detailed rules are on the group homepage, which is accessible once you’ve joined. You can make your picks anytime between now and 11:55 AM EDT (9:55 AM MDT) Saturday.