SEMINOLE FOOTBALL PREDIXN DERBY RESULTS GAME IX, FSU @ UNC

POS SAGE OF THE SIDELINES                           PREDIXN        DIFFER
=== =============================================== ============== ======
 1. Ron Smith <ronps#knox.mindspring.com>           FSU 23, UNC  6   4.24
 2. Herb Wills <HWills#FreeNet.TLH.FL.US>           FSU 21, UNC 10   7.07
 2. Darren Lueddecke <LueddeD#dms.state.fl.us>      FSU 21, UNC 10   7.07
 4. Jeff Price <JeffPrice#worldnet.att.net>         FSU 24, UNC  9   7.21
 5. Jbm328 <jbm328#aol.com>                         FSU 17, UNC 10   7.62
 5. John Thurber <JTHURB#aol.com>                   FSU 27, UNC  0   7.62
 7. John McGeeney <jmcgee7493#aol.com>              FSU 24, UNC 10   8.06
 7. Steve Allbritton, CFP <allb#mindspring.com>     FSU 24, UNC 10   8.06
 7. BeachNole <beachnole#aol.com>                   FSU 24, UNC 10   8.06
10. <slerner#bellsouth.net>                         FSU 26, UNC 10   9.22
11. PackBacker <pmarfman#unity.NCSU.edu>            FSU 27, UNC 10   9.90
12. Bill Lott <William_A_Lott#mail.dbf.state.fl.us> FSU 24, UNC 13  10.77
12. Brett W. McMillan <bwm#gate.net>                FSU 24, UNC 13  10.77
14. Dan Seamon <chgconsult#austin360.com>           FSU 26, UNC 13  11.66
15. Joe Sandy <JSANDY24#AOL.COM>                    FSU 24, UNC 14  11.70
16. Mike Sukhadwala <msukhadw#garnet.acns.fsu.edu>  FSU 31, UNC 10  13.04
17. Tony Turner <t-turner#worldnet.att.net>         FSU 24, UNC 16  13.60
18. BB3 <BB3#SPAMJAMMERibm.net>                     FSU 31, UNC 13  14.87
18. chris brady <chrispat#mediaone.net>             FSU 31, UNC 13  14.87
20. GRUE <grue#prism.u-net.com>                     FSU 27, UNC 17  15.65
21. Peter Elliott <PSElliott#aol.com>               FSU 28, UNC 17  16.12
22. SLTycho <sltycho#aol.com>                       FSU 31, UNC 16  17.03
23. jp <jpjohn#lex.infi.net>                        FSU 30, UNC 17  17.20
24. Bob Laffen <laffen#capital.net>                 FSU 24, UNC 20  17.46
25. Christopher <chris#christopher.org>             FSU 36, UNC 12  18.36
26. <Inovashun#aol.com>                             FSU 33, UNC 16  18.38
27. Kathleen Healy <kmh#mail.municode.com>          FSU 28, UNC 20  18.79
28. Jim McCoy <Jmccoy#efn.org>                      FSU 28, UNC 21  19.70
29. Scott Mandell <ScootM#aol.com>                  FSU 38, UNC 12  20.12
30. Oren Webster <ThnkTank#concentric.net>          FSU 38, UNC 13  20.59
30. Mark Weaver <weaver#magnet.fsu.edu>             FSU 30, UNC 21  20.59
32. J.Shaw/ N.Osmun <umpire#ptdprolog.net>          FSU 31, UNC 21  21.10
33. Stan Butler <sbutler#plabel.com>                FSU 32, UNC 21  21.63
34. Danielle Galvin <dtg#mail.municode.com>         FSU 27, UNC 24  22.14
35. Scott Hill <rambo67#webtv.net>                  FSU 28, UNC 24  22.47
36. Ed Bettinger <Ed_Bettinger#dcf.state.fl.us>     FSU 36, UNC 20  23.35
37. Marty McKittrick <mtmckitt#NOeos.SPAMncsu.edu>  FSU 35, UNC 21  23.43
37. Bob Stuke <bstuke#bellsouth.net>                FSU 35, UNC 21  23.43
39. Eric Smythers <esmyther#warren-wilson.edu>      FSU 45, UNC  7  25.32
40. Jason Samenow <jps9n#virginia.edu>              FSU 38, UNC 21  25.46
41. Travis Vaughan <travismv#mindspring.com>        FSU 44, UNC 13  26.00
42. Enrique Machado <EMachado#comsysinc.com>        FSU 45, UNC 13  26.93
43. Rob MacKenna <bludevil#REMOVE.worldnet.att.net> FSU 48, UNC  6  28.16
44. JMIKE CPA <jmikecpa#aol.com>                    FSU 42, UNC 21  28.43
45. <RALAMORE#aol.com>                              FSU 39, UNC 33  35.51
46. Robert Kerr <rkerr#mindspring.com>              FSU 41, UNC 35  38.28
47. <Sperrl#aol.com>                                FSU 42, UNC 37  40.50
48. Paul Barkowitz <paulb#transarc.com>             FSU 45, UNC 35  40.61
49. Tony Patterson <Tony.Patterson.tonyp#nt.com>    UNC 17, FSU 13 -15.65
50. <Jeff1267#aol.com>                              UNC 21, FSU 17 -18.25
51. Kevin Farrell <kfarrell#mail.neocomm.net>       UNC 24, FSU 21 -21.02

The actual score was Florida State 20, North Carolina 3.

Third time was the charm for Ron Smith; after two previous trips to the top five he comes away from the North Carolina game with a win. His difference of 4.24 is the eighth best of the season so far, and put him well ahead of second place finisher Herb Wills (7.07). Hey! That was me! Curse you, Ron! Grrr. Ahem. Uh, tied for the runner up slot was Darren Lueddecke, while fourth went to Jeff Price (7.21). John Thurber and "JBM328" tied for fifth (7.62). Except for Ron, all of the abovementioned were new to the top five this season.

Personally, I knew I was on the right track when I tuned into ESPN's SportsCenter this morning and heard Beano Cook predict a 20 - 17 win for the Tarheels. It made me curious as to who else was being paid big bucks to be clueless in public, so I grabbed the newspaper and collected the following media predixns:

POS PROFESSIONAL PROGNOSTICATOR                     PREDIXN        DIFFER
=== =============================================== ============== ======
 1. Steve Ellis (Tallahassee Democrat)              FSU 30, UNC 10  12.21
 2. Richard Rosenblatt (Associated Press)           FSU 31, UNC 21  21.10
 3. Beano Cook (ESPN)                               UNC 20, FSU 17 -17.26

So over half our entries this week outperformed the AP. Let's not pretend that this is statistically significant, but just for fun, note that performance in the "media division" seems to be inversely proportional to what these guys are being paid. Also keep in mind that sports writers make up the AP polls panel of voters -- no wonder so many people want a playoff.

A big "thank you" to everyone who entered this week and made this the second largest PrediXn Derby of the 1997 season. Without y'all, it wouldn't have been the tough contest that it was.

Well, Florida State fans can't deny that the FSU - UNC match-up was a Big Game. Not only did the Seminole coaching staff declare it a Sod Game, but Burt Reynolds was on the sidelines. However, next week's matchup at home against Wake Forest won't carry that kind of weight. Still, it will be the last game of the season for Wake, and it isn't a good idea to overlook the Demon Deacons -- just ask the Big Ten's 1996 co-champions, Northwestern, if you want a confirmation on that. So does Wake catch the Seminoles looking ahead to the Florida game, or do they get mauled by a Florida State squad trying to make up ground on Michigan in the polls?

When you've thought it all out and come up with a predixn for the final score, send it to:

HWILLS@FREENET.TLH.FL.US

Please put something like "FSU vs. WFU" in the subject line so I can easily pick it out of all the hate mail I'm going to get from the Beano Cook Fan Club. Send it early so that it gets here before the kickoff at noon EST on Saturday, November 15. All timely entries will be recorded to be scored and ranked following the outcome of the game. Results, uncannily like those above, will be posted to alt.sports.football.college.fsu-seminoles and one or two other lucky newsgroups. If your ISP's news server is really crummy, you can always find the results archived at the PrediXn Derby's home on the web:

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

Where you can also find ancient results going back to 1995, season stats, a list of the current entries, and a largely-ignored guestbook.

Good luck!

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