It is college football time! I like watching football, but I do have a confession. I don’t usually watch college football. My interest in the sport starts and ends with the Titans. I don’t watch other teams for fun or know all the stats, but I did pretty good picking for the Pigskin Panel. 

This is my first time getting to participate in the Southern Standard’s Pigskin Panel and I did pretty well. I don’t keep up with college football, but I really do enjoy making bets. When I requested to be on the panel this time I was thrilled when I got a yes. 

For those who don’t know what I am talking about, six of us pick which football team we think will win the upcoming games. A paper with the 10 games was placed on my desk and I had to circle which teams I thought would win and I had a foolproof strategy. I randomly circled which teams I thought would win and didn’t even really read who was playing. 

I didn’t even realize I picked Florida and Florida State. I didn’t even know there were two Florida teams before this past weekend. 

After I turned in my paper I realized I picked against LSU. I don’t know much, but I do know LSU is usually good. I was told I could change my picks, but I decided not to because I picked randomly and maybe luck would be on my side. 

When the paper came out, my heart sort of dropped. On six out of the 10 games I had different picks than everyone else. I was a little embarrassed because I am up against people who actually keep up with football and they all seemed to be on the same page. My parents were even judging my picks and my dad was telling me where I could easily find the stats next time, but I’ll stick to blindly circling. 

I had other things to do so I didn’t watch the games, but I did occasionally google the scores to see the damage. In the beginning it didn’t go well. Oregon let me down, Cincinnati let me down, MTSU let me down, but then Florida gave me some hope when they beat Utah. Then I got interested. 

I was the only one who picked against LSU, so I was checking in on the score every now and then to see how little Florida State was doing. Apparently LSU was giving the game to Florida State and Florida State must have not wanted it because they nearly blew it within the last few seconds. Then the extra point attempt was blocked and I beat everyone else. 

I ended up 6-4 and not in last place like everyone suspected I would be. How funny would it be if I won against these experienced pickers, or at least didn’t come in last, by just randomly circling? That is my plan for the upcoming weeks. Hopefully luck is on my side. 

Bethany Porter can be reached at (931) 473-2191