How to Pick Winners in ESPN College Bowl Mania

Picking winners in ESPN College Bowl Mania can be quite a challenge. College football bowl games tend to pair teams from different conferences and different parts of the country. Often they have not played a common opponent all year. It is very difficult to gauge how the teams will match up against each other when they play drastically different football schemes. However, if you do a little research, you can make better educated choices and increase your chances of picking winners.

Instructions

    • 1

      Focus on the point system. Games are not equal in ESPN College Bowl Mania. Players must rank bowl games from 1 to 32. For every game you pick correctly you are awarded the number of points you assign to that bowl game. Save your high points for "sure things." The more uncertain you are about a pick the lower the number of points you should assign to it.

    • 2

      Remove all emotion from your decisions. Just because you want a team to win doesn't mean it will. Assigning 32 points to your favorite team when it is an underdog is foolish. If you can't get yourself to pick against your favorite team then assign it just one point. If you are wrong it wont hurt you much. If you want to succeed at ESPN College Bowl Mania you must take a sober look at the facts.

    • 3

      Rank the apparent ESPN College Bowl Mania blowouts first. If a college bowl game is an obvious mismatch, assign that game high points. Give your surest pick 32 points, the next surest 31 points and so on until you are not so sure of the winner.

    • 4

      Check for common opponents. If the bowl participants played the same team during the year, compare how they did. This may be the best indicator of how the teams will do head to head. Adjust for factors such as injuries, away games and when they played during the season.

    • 5

      See what other players are picking using the "Who Picked Whom" link. It is located at the top of the ESPN College Bowl Mania page. It shows the percentage of players picking each team and the average number of points they assigned. Go with the majority for a safe pick or take a chance on the upset. Going against the majority can give you a significant advantage if you are right but put you much farther behind if you are wrong.

    • 6

      Consult the professional oddsmakers. ESPN College Bowl Mania is not gambling, but you can use gambler's odds to help you make your picks. USA Today prints college bowl game odds on their sports page right after bowl selections are made. The odds show point spreads. The greater the point spread the more confident gamblers are that the team will win.

    • 7

      Feel the mood of the team. Consider if its getting to a bowl game was a minor miracle or if the team is disappointed that they didn't make a more prestigious bowl. Teams that are happy to be at a bowl game have emotion on their side and tend to do better. Teams that are disappointed tend not to try very hard. In close match-ups this can make all the difference.

    • 8

      Assign toss up games and upsets the lowest number of points. If you are right about an upset then you have the advantage since most players will get nothing while you score points. However, if you are wrong many more people will score points while you get nothing. Assigning low points to a game you think will be an upset minimizes losses if you are wrong.