BYU week of Oct 26: Almost nobody had it this close

The easy part and the hard part

Twenty-six of the 27 fans who made a pick on Arizona State had BYU winning. That was the easy part. The hard part, the one this league is actually built around, was how much by. And on that question the crowd went big.

The most popular call in the league was BYU by 15 to 21, with nine of you on it. Eight more had 8 to 14, and six went for 22 to 28. Only two fans had BYU winning by a touchdown or less.

Then BYU won 27 to 20. A seven-point game, right at the top of the 4 to 7 range, and the board was set for the season.

You vs the Y's Guys

Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler went into the first game of their own league with the same call: BYU by 15 to 21. Right winner, two ranges too big. That earns 2 points each, and it leaves the Y's Guys tied for 11th on the Overall board after one game, with ten fans already ahead of them.

They have plenty of company down there. Sixteen fans also finished on 2 points, most of them for making exactly the same call as the hosts. Between them, the 27 fans who picked scored 64 points; the Y's Guys scored 4 between two. Per pick, the crowd came out narrowly ahead.

One week is not a season, and the hosts have a live show every Monday to plot their comeback. But the hook of this league is right there in its name. It is you against the Y's Guys, and after week one, ten of you are winning.

Prediction of the Week: Linda M

One fan saw a close game coming.

Linda M picked BYU by 4 to 7, the only fan in the league in that range, and had held that call since Wednesday morning, three days before kickoff. No late switch on game day. Just a read that BYU would win a tight one, and the patience to sit on it.

That exact range is worth 5 points, the most a single pick can earn, and it puts Linda M alone at the top of the Overall board.

How the points fell

The scoring is simple. Five points for the exact range, three for one range off, two for the right winner, nothing for the wrong one.

That is why the table looks the way it does. The eight fans who said 8 to 14 and the one who said 1 to 3 each landed one range away from 4 to 7, so nine fans sit on 3 points, tied for second. Everyone who had BYU by more than two touchdowns, the hosts included, took the 2 points for the right winner. The one fan who backed Arizona State is still waiting on a first point, with a whole season to find it.

A league in its first week

The league went live on the Y's Guys stream on Monday, and launch day alone brought 11 new fans. Across the week, 25 people joined, which takes the board to 28. Between them they made 35 picks this week across football and basketball.

The social side is already moving too. Three Huddles are up and running, with 8 people in them, which is how families and friend groups keep their own private table inside the bigger one. And the first badges of the season have started landing on profiles; you can see the full badge list and what it takes to earn each one.

Basketball tips off Monday

This is a two-sport league, and the second sport starts Monday night: Ohio State at BYU, tip-off 7 PM MT, in the middle of the Y's Guys' own stream.

Basketball has its own ranges, sized for the sport: 1 to 3, 4 to 7, 8 to 12, 13 to 18, 19 to 25, and 26 and up. It also has its own board, so everybody starts level on zero there, Linda M and the Y's Guys included. Eleven fans have picked so far. Picks close at tip-off, so make your basketball pick before the ball goes up.

The race

One game in, there is no race yet, just a starting grid. Linda M has 5 points, nine fans have 3, and everyone else on the board is within 5 of the lead. A single exact range is worth 5, so a fan who joins today is one good call from drawing level on points.

That is the best thing about week one. Nobody is out of it, and nobody is safe, not even the hosts.

Next up: Utah

Football is back on Saturday, 7 November: BYU at Utah, kickoff 10 AM MT. No picks are in yet, so the first ones on the board set the tone. Get your Utah pick in and decide how much BYU win or lose by.

And if you have not joined yet, there is still time to get on the board in the Y's Guys Prediction League. It is free to play. Think you can beat the guys?