Hello ladies and gentlemans! The start of another collegiate athletic year is upon us and Kentucky fans are looking forward to a football season that has to have one of the oddest excitement-to-expectations ratios in the history of sport. With this in mind it is my great pleasure to bring to you ASoB's first Football Guess the Outcome Game (GOG for short).

A little GOG History

The GOG was originally started at fellow SBN site Athletics Nation for the 2005 baseball season and was run by AN members Alien and Jjjsixsix. A basketball version has run on ASoB in each of the last 4 seasons and last year Wild Weasel took home the crown.

So How Do You Play?

This part is very simple. Each week I will post a list of questions for you to predict the answers to. This will usually occur on the Friday before the game. Just come up with your answers and leave them as a comment. There is a deadline for the answers, which will typically be kick-off for the game in question. Examples of some of previous GOG's are here and here to give you an idea (note that these are basketball GOGs).

Questions will fall under 4 general categories and are scored as follows:

• Questions with 2 choices: These are worth +1 point for a correct answer or -1 point for an incorrect answer.
• Open ended questions: These have a variety of possible answers and are worth between 3 and 5 points for a correct answer, with no penalty for a wrong answer. The point value varies depending on the difficulty of the question.
  
• Guess a point total question: This question is typically about guessing both UK's and the opponents respective points scored for the game. Because there is such a wide range of possibilities, answers are graded on a sliding scale. The scale is
  
  Within 0 or 1: 4 points
  Within 2 or 3: 3 points
  Within 4 or 5: 2 points
  Within 6 or 7: 1 point
• Put a list in order: This will be a question where your answer is an ordered list of some kind. Correctly picking an element of the list is worth 1 point while correctly placing their location is worth an additional point. For example, say the question is "List the top 3 rushers from most yards to least yards" and the answer is Kemp/Saunders III/Whitlow. If your answer was Kemp/George/Saunders III you would score 2 points for correctly choosing Kemp and Saunders and 1 point for correctly placing Kemp first for 3 points total.
• Choose an option from a list: I will give you a list of options to choose an answer from. Often different options will have different point values depending on how likely they are to happen. Outcomes which are possible but less likely are worth more points.

Other question types might appear as I think of them and get a better feel for what works for football.

After each game, I will tally up and post the scores and keep track of both total points and average points for the entire season (7 GOGs played are needed to qualify for Scoring Average Title at the end of the season). I encourage everyone to play the entire season, but don't fret if you miss a GOG, just play the next time!

A word about clarity: I try as much as possible to write the questions in such a way so that it is clear what I am asking for. If you need a clarification though, just mention it in your entry and I'll respond as soon as I see it.

Useful Resources:

• UK Athletics football page
• College Football Reference.com
• TeamRankings.com

Football GOG 2013 #00: Preseason Predictions

1. How many games does Kentucky win? [4 points; 2 points if within two] 2
   
2. How many SEC games does Kentucky win? [3 points; 1 point if within one] 0
   
3. How are the first points of the season scored: Offensive TD [3 points]; Defensive/Special Teams TD [5 points]; Field Goal [3 points]; Safety [6 points]. Field Goal
   
4. Who has the most starts at quarter back: Jalen Whitlow or Max Smith? [ +/- 1 point] Whitlow
   
5. Who leads the team in rushing yards? [5 points; 3 points if second; 1 point if third] Kemp, Sanders, Whitlow
   
6. Who leads the team in receiving yards? [5 points; 3 points if second; 1 point if third] Blue, Timmons, Badet
   
7. Who leads the team in passing yards? [5 points; 3 points if second; 1 point if third] Smith, Whitlow, Robinson
   
8. What is the single game high for points scored? [4/3/2/1 points] 48
   
9. (Updated for clarity) What is the single game low for points allowed by UK's defense? [4/3/2/1 points] 7
   
10. How many quarters of play does UK score points (not counting overtime)? [4/3/2/1 points] 27
    
11. How many quarters does UK's defense shut out an opponent (not counting overtime)? [4/3/2/1 points] 11
    
12. List in order from most to least the 3 opponents against whom UK scores the most points this year. [1 point each for correct choice; 1 point each for correct placement] Alabama St, Miami (OH), South Carolina
    
13. How many Overtime periods does UK play this year? [4 points; 2 points if within three] 0
    
14. Who wins the SEC East? [4 points; 2 points if second] Missouri, South Carolina
    
15. Who wins the SEC West? [4 points; 2 points if second] Auburn, Alabama
    
16. Who wins the BCS Title game: Alabama or The Field? [+/- 1 point] The Field
    
17. How may SEC teams play in a bowl game? [4 points; 2 points if within one] 10
    
18. Does a non-BCS school play in a BCS game? [+/- 1 point] No
    

Deadline is kick-off against WKU at 7:00 PM on August 31.