SEMINOLE FOOTBALL PREDIXN DERBY RESULTS GAME V, FSU @ DUKE

POS FABULOUS FORECASTER                            PREDIXN         DIFFER
=== ============================================== =============== ======
 1. Bob Laffen <laffen#capital.net>                FSU 55, Duke 13  14.56
 2. jp <jpjohn#lex.infi.net>                       FSU 47, Duke 12  15.52
 3. John Shadle <JHS7#acpub.Duke.edu>              FSU 50, Duke 11  16.03
 4. Joey Sandy <JSandy24#aol.com>                  FSU 50, Duke 10  17.03
 4. J.Shaw/ N.Osmun <umpire#ptdprolog.net>         FSU 52, Duke 10  17.03
 4. Tony Patterson <Tony.Patterson.tonyp#nt.com>   FSU 52, Duke 10  17.03
 7. Greg Reeves <GReeves#ix.netcom.com>            FSU 49, Duke 10  17.12
 8. Casey Morrison <jomorri2#VT.edu>               FSU 41, Duke 13  17.20
 9. Ron Smith <ronps#mindspring.com>               FSU 48, Duke 10  17.26
10. Tchaka <tchaka#worldweb.net>                   FSU 55, Duke 10  17.46
11. Kathleen Healy <kmh#mail.municode.com>         FSU 63, Duke 14  17.69
12. Christopher <chris#christopher.org>            FSU 50, Duke  9  18.03
13. Herb Wills <HWills#FreeNet.TLH.FL.US>          FSU 54, Duke  9  18.25
14. Tony Turner <T-Turner#worldnet.att.net>        FSU 51, Duke  7  20.00
15. Sean Linkenback <Showcase#onramp.net>          FSU 52, Duke  7  20.02
15. John Thurber <JThurb#aol.com>                  FSU 50, Duke  7  20.02
15. <bitts#wam.UMd.edu>                            FSU 52, Duke  7  20.02
18. John McGeeney <JMcGee7493#aol.com>             FSU 62, Duke 10  20.25
19. Travis Vaughan <travismv#mindspring.com>       FSU 55, Duke  7  20.40
20. Eric Smythers <ESmyther#Warren-Wilson.edu>     FSU 56, Duke  7  20.62
20. Mike Sukhadwala <MSukhadw#Garnet.ACNS.FSU.edu> FSU 56, Duke  7  20.62
22. Lance <???lancec#ct.net???>                    FSU 45, Duke  7  20.88
23. Fred Desing <Desing#nu.CS.FSU.edu>             FSU 53, Duke  6  21.10
23. Frank Brown <ebb2feb#gte.net>                  FSU 49, Duke  6  21.10
25. BB3 <BB3#SPAMJAMMERibm.net>                    FSU 55, Duke  6  21.38
26. Bill Lott <William_A_Lott#mail.dbf.state.fl.us>FSU 56, Duke  6  21.59
27. <Cftatom#aol.com>                              FSU 43, Duke  6  22.47
28. Bob Stuke <BStuke#bellsouth.net>               FSU 55, Duke  3  24.33
29. Scott Mandell <ScootM#aol.com>                 FSU 57, Duke  3  24.74
30. Danielle Galvin <dtg#mail.municode.com>        FSU 44, Duke  3  25.00
30. Jarrett Keyes <jkeyes#Radix.Net>               FSU 44, Duke  3  25.00
32. Rob MacKenna <bludevil#worldnet.att.net>       FSU 59, Duke  3  25.30
33. Scott Kramer <slapshot#expert.cc.Purdue.edu>   FSU 42, Duke  3  25.63
33. Jim McCoy <Jmccoy#efn.org>                     FSU 60, Duke  3  25.63
35. Jeffrey Price <JeffPrice#worldnet.att.net>     FSU 70, Duke  9  26.17
36. Dan Seamon <DSeamon#ix.netcom.com>             FSU 52, Duke  0  27.02
37. Enrique Machado <EMachado#comsysinc.com>       FSU 56, Duke  0  27.46
37. <BeachNole#aol.com>                            FSU 56, Duke  0  27.46
39. Robert Kerr <RKerr#mindspring.com>             FSU 58, Duke  0  27.89
40. Allen Risley <ARisley#coyote.CSUSM.edu>        FSU 66, Duke  0  30.89
41. James Armstrong, Jr. <james#internetmall.com>  Duke 10, FSU  7 -47.17

The actual score was Florida State 51, Duke 27.

Bob Laffen grabbed this week's championship with a difference of 14.56; he underestimated the Blue Devils' scoring less than nearly every other prognosticator. The rest of the top five were not far back: J.P. (2nd, 15.52), John Shadle (3rd, 16.03), and in a three-way tie for fourth, Joey Sandy, J. Shaw, and Tony Patterson (17.03). Laffen's victory marks his second trip to the top five, but he is overshadowed in that category by the winner of last week's FSU vs. Miami Derby, Tony Patterson, who notched his third top-five finish this week.

Patterson was also the top finisher among this season's past champions. John McGeeney, winner of FSU-Clemson, was 18th (20.25); while Danielle Galvin, who won the season opener of FSU-USC, was tied for 30th (25.00). FSU-Maryland winner Chris Brady chose not to make a predixn this week.

Personally, I knew I was in trouble by Saturday morning, when Richard Rosenblatt of the Associated Press picked the score as FSU 55, Duke 10; almost the same as what I had come up with. Sure enough, Rosenblatt ended up off by 17.46 and I was slightly worse. Everyone did better than John Nogowski of the "Tallahassee Democrat" whose pick for the day was FSU 47, Maryland 0. Right, Maryland. You decide: was it a joke, an error, or was he just drunk that day?

Thank you to everyone who played. It's not easy to call a game that's expected to be a blowout, and I appreciate the fact that y'all had the guts to try it.

Next up should be a more proper test of predixn skill, as the Fightin' Insects of Georgia Tech visit Campbell Stadium for a Saturday afternoon game of football. Tech holds a 7-5-1 edge against the Seminoles in games dating back to 1952, long before either team was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Does FSU come a game closer to an even record against the Bugs? Does Tech do to FSU what they couldn't quite do to Notre Dame?

When you know, here's what to do: E-mail a message containing your predixn for the final score of Florida State vs. Georgia Tech to:

HWILLS@FREENET.TLH.FL.US

Put something like "FSU vs. GT" in the subject line so I don't discard you message, suspecting it to be a deadly e-mail virus that will erase my hard drive, steal my credit card numbers, and let the air out of my tires. You want it to get to me before the kickoff at 3:30 PM on Saturday, October 18th, so send it early--how about now? All predixns received before the deadline will be recorded to be scored and ranked following the outcome of the game. The results, like the above results for FSU @ Duke, will be posted to this newsgroup. You can see old results at the PrediXn Derby website:

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/5177/.

Surf over there and gloat over your past victories.

Looking forward to seeing your predixn soon. Good luck!

Herb Wills, HWILLS@FREENET.TLH.FL.US