Coach McElwain brings a National Championship to Alabama, and a RamNation Bowl Pick'em Contest Championship to SB04

1/10/12--Incoming CSU head coach Jim McElwain will be wearing a shiny new national championship ring as he takes over his duties for the Rams following a 21-0 win over LSU Monday night to win the national title. In a game that was a "pick'em", the two teams were far from even Monday night. With Alabama's win, SB04 surged ahead of sacRAMento and wins the 2011 RamNation Bowl Pick'em Contest, sponsored by Rams Bookstore. He finished with a field-best 24-11 record for an impressive 69% winning percentage. For his tremendous season, SB04 earns a $100 store credit to Rams Bookstore. SacRAMento and 123RamsRamsRams finished tied for second place at 23-12 (66%), but 123RamsRamsRams won the tiebreaker with a total score guess of 45 points in the National Championship game compared to sacRAMento's 54. So, 123RamsRamsRams officially takes the runner-up spot ($50 store credit) and sacRAMento drops to third ($25 store credit). (Winner should contact us at staff@ramnation.com to arrange collecting your prizes.)

Ten other contestants were close behind at 22-13 (63%):

• jeppsonr
• BigAl
• ram fan 93
• EMJ
• BigHorn
• whadaino
• Poop Scoop Ram
• emmanator
• Running Ram
• MPHRam

Things could have been different had LSU come to play and pulled out a win. SacRAMento would have been the champ, with jeppsonr, Running Ram, EMJ, and ram fan 93 finishing in a tie for second place. No matter who won Monday night, russell80220, Mountain Ram, and hawkram fan were all locked into the worst scores of the bowl season. But they all went out on a positive note with the Alabama win, and finished at 11-24 (31%).

And lastly, the field set a new record for best winning percentage, finishing at 52.2%. The mark eclipsed the 52.0% recorded in 2007. When the bowl season started off with four underdogs covering out of the first five games, the field was sitting at a pathetic 23% winning percentage. But the favorites got on a hot streak, and the field benefited. There was no underdog or favorite in Monday night's National Championship game, since the line was a "pick", so the final count was 23 favorites to 12 underdogs, with eight of those underdogs wining outright.

So that wraps up another great contest season. Thank you all for playing and for spending your days on RamNation. Please joing me in thanking Rams Bookstore, who has sponsored the regular season and bowl contests for the last 11 years. They are also a new affiliate, so if you're in the market for CSU gear, PLEASE, use this link or clikc the Rams Bookstore banner ads in the side columns of this website to access their online catalog. Not only does it benefit our great sponsor, but it also benefits RamNation.co, as we get a percentage of each sale driven through the affiliate links on our site.

Happy 2012 to you all. It should be an exciting year to be a CSU Ram!

--Joel Cantalamessa
(Good SHEPHERD)

Contest details/rules

Guidelines and other notes:

Q.Ram, our contest administrator, will make his picks known on the message board prior to deadline, so that everyone will know he is not rigging the game to win all of the prizes.

When in Fort Collins, please pay a visit to our gracious sponsor, Rams Bookstore, for furnishing the prizes. Their sponsorship is what helps make RamNation go.

All registered posters are welcome to join the contest, but remember all you Ram foes out there...the prizes are limited to what Rams Bookstore has in stock, which is primarily CSU-related gear! Thanks and best of luck to everyone (except Buffaloes, Cowboys, and Falcons).

--Q.Ram, Good SHEP, and CSURamFan