Re: Pred Contest has begun.....
Read the instructions.
You can predict your score and stick it in the blanks if you like, but the actual scoring doesn't have to do with how close you are. It's whether you pick "win" and "cover" right.
So if I write in USC 150,000, UVA 4, then all I've done is picked USC to win and cover. I get 2 points if they win, and an additional 1 if they cover. For the purposes of scoring, a prediction of USC Ten Zillion, UVA 9, is the same as USC 40 UVA 0.
If I write in USC 2, UVA 1, then I've picked USC to win but not cover. I get 2 points if USC wins, and an addition 1 if UVA covers.
If I write in UVA 1, USC 0, then I've picked UVA to win and cover. I get 3 points if UVA wins, because them winning automatically means they cover.