2020-21 College Bowl Pool Files Are Ready! Finally!

Ok, everybody! This season's college football bowl pool files are finally ready! I'm sorry I didn't get these out late Selection Sunday, per usual, or even yesterday before the first game, as I'd planned, but it was a challenge to make all the modifications I needed to, and the last minute changes kept rolling in.

Many, many noteworthy items this COVID-19-impacted year:

• There would have been 3 new bowl games added this year, had it not been for the pandemic. There is the Myrtle Beach Bowl, which was actually played yesterday. There would have been the Fenway Bowl, which was to be played at Fenway park a la the Pinstripe Bowl played at Yankee Stadium, but it was canceled due to COVID, and was replaced with a one-year-only Montgomery Bowl, which will be played tomorrow. Finally, there was to be a LA Bowl played in southern California, but it was canceled this year due to COVID.
• 16 bowl games canceled, some stating that it was "due to the pandemic" (or similar), and a few outright saying they canceled because there weren't enough teams to play, given the large number of otherwise eligible teams choosing to opt out of the bowl season. We've lost the Bahamas Bowl (COVID, travel restrictions), the Frisco Bowl (SMU couldn't play due to COVID cases), the Celebration Bowl (both the MEAC and SWAC canceled all of their fall sports), the Las Vegas Bowl (pandemic reasons), the Hawai'i Bowl (COVID, travel restrictions), the Independence Bowl (couldn't find team to play Army), the Quick Lane Bowl (pandemic reasons), the Military Bowl (had selected Army when the Independence Bowl canceled, but couldn't find another team), the Pinstripe Bowl (pandemic reasons), the Holiday Bowl (pandemic reasons), the Cheez-It Bowl (this is the old Copper Bowl, not last year's Camping World Bowl, which this year is the Cheez-It bowl -- couldn't find enough teams to play), the Redbox Bowl (was the first to cancel due to COVID back in August), the Sun Bowl (pandemic reasons), the Birmingham Bowl (couldn't find enough teams), and the previously would-be new Fenway and LA Bowls (pandemic reasons).
• All in we're left with 29 games, down from last year's 41. (41+3-16+1=29)
• We did have two title sponsor changes. Last year's Camping World Bowl becomes this year's Cheez-It Bowl, which isn't to be confused with last year's Cheez-It Bowl, which was really just an incarnation of the old Copper Bowl, which is no more. The Belk Bowl from last year is this year's Duke's Mayo Bowl, which is probably one of my favorite title sponsor-named bowls of all time.
• I've updated the sheets with opening betting lines for your convenience, but you should probably update these as we get closer to the games, as the lines are constantly being updated until game time. I use the "VI Consensus" lines from Vegas Insider.

Without further ado...the files:

• 2020-21_Bowl_Pool_Entry_Form.xlsx
• 2020-21_Bowl_Pool_Summary.xlsm

For those unfamiliar with the two-file system, the idea is that pool managers can distribute the simple, single person Entry Form version to those in their pool to make their picks and assign confidence points. The participants them email back that file, and the manager can simply copy, paste special... values those picks and points into the Summary file, which is where they manage everything.

As always, the file is protected, but not with a password, so feel free to unprotect the workbook and then unhide some of the sheets running this stuff behind the scenes to see how it works. And if you add some cool hacks/additions, pass them along, so we can all enjoy them.

I'll personally be shocked if we make it through the entire bowl season without more changes, cancellations, etc., to bear with me and I'll try to keep up.

Finally, as also always happens each year, several folks, as they were pinging, pestering, checking-in with me offered to pay me or donate to me for the sheets. This, like the NFL pick 'em sheet I do, I do for free as a labor of love. That said, if you are so compelled, feel free to PayPal me whatever you like, and I'll put these donations towards website hosting fees:

$5.00     $10.00     $25.00     $50.00

Really you just have to change that dollar amount in the URL -- https://paypal.me/excelgeek/5.

Enjoy, everyone!