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2015-16 Preseason predictions reviewed #cfb

Posted on January 16, 2016 by gamedaycole

Now is the time for us all to reflect back to the 2015 preseason where we can all look at our bold predictions (and yes, MANY were bold) and laugh at ourselves for thinking that we knew anything about anything when it came to predicting the 2015 season.

For starters, pretty much nobody was even close on any predictions for the playoff and/or championship. The best anyone did was Tom Luginbill, who correctly predicted two of the four teams in the playoff (Alabama and OU). Other than that, most people didn’t even get one team right.

On Heisman predictions, nobody even had Derrick Henry on their radar, so let’s move on.

Brad Edwards knocked the ball out of the park, going 7-2 on the season totals bets. Really impressive stuff. Chris Fallica also had a winning record at 9-7 on the totals.

Things are graded pretty arbitrarily below and not included in our official record, but we can still have some fun with it. Looking back, most people below tried to get pretty cute with their preseason picks (myself included), and cute usually doesn’t end up winning. Take a look below, have some laughs, and enjoy.

Lee Corso: Not even close, 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG SEC to have 2 teams or 0 teams in playoff
WRONG Notre Dame 8 wins
WRONG FSU over VaTech in ACC Championship
WRONG Baylor to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10
WRONG Oregon to win Pac-12
WRONG LSU to win SEC
WRONG Leonard Fournette to win Heisman
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St over Oregon, LSU over Baylor
WRONG LSU over Ohio St for Championship

Kirk Herbstreit: 2 right predictions, 1 partial, 1/4 playoff teams
PARTIAL CREDIT Arizona St over Stanford in Pac-12 Championship
WRONG LSU over Tennessee in SEC Championship
RIGHT Notre Dame to go 10-2 (Twitter 8/24)
WRONG Ezekiel Elliott to win Heisman (8/26 Twitter)
WRONG Michigan 8 wins at most
WRONG GaTech over FSU to win ACC
RIGHT OU to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10 over Wisconsin
1/4 Ohio St vs. OU, Ariz St vs. LSU
WRONG Ohio St vs. LSU
WRONG Ohio St to win Championship

Desmond Howard: 2 right, 1/4 playoff teams
Recycled his Brady Hoke hiring speech for Jim Harbaugh
WRONG Notre Dame 9 wins
WRONG VaTech to win ACC
WRONG TCU to win Big 12
RIGHT Michigan State to win Big 10
RIGHT Stanford to win Pac-12
WRONG TAMU to win SEC
0/4 Final Four: TCU, Mich St, Stanford, TAMU
WRONG Stanford wins championship

Jennifer’s Picks: 1 right, 0/4 playoff teams
RIGHT Clemson to win ACC
WRONG TCU to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10 (but watch out for Michigan St!)
WRONG Arizona St to win Pac-12
WRONG Auburn to win SEC
WRONG SEC Champion to have 2 losses
0/4 Final Four: (1) Ohio St vs. (4) Mich St, (2) TCU vs. (3) Ariz St
WRONG TCU over Ohio St for Championship

Cole’s Picks: Couldn’t have been more wrong, 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG GaTech to win ACC
WRONG Auburn to win SEC
WRONG Texas to win Big 12
WRONG Ohio St to win Big 10
WRONG Oregon to win Pac-12
0/4 Final Four: Oregon, Auburn, Ohio St, Texas
WRONG Oregon over Texas, Auburn over Ohio St
WRONG Oregon over Auburn for Championship

Charles Arbuckle: 2 right predictions, 1 partial
RIGHT Duke under 9 wins
WRONG FSU wins ACC
WRONG No ACC in playoff
RIGHT Stanford over 9 wins
WRONG UCLA over USC
PARTIAL Stanford over UCLA in Pac-12 championship (wrong LA team)

Mike Bellotti: 1 right prediction, 1/4 playoff teams, 1/5 Heisman favorites
RIGHT Duke under 9 wins
WRONG FSU wins ACC
WRONG No ACC in playoff
WRONG Stanford under 9 wins
WRONG USC to win Pac-12
1/4 Final Four: (1) Ohio St, (2) TCU, (3) Alabama, (4) USC
1/5 Heisman Favorites: (1) Trevone Boykin, (2) Ezekiel Elliott, (3) Deshaun Watson, (4) Nick Chubb, (5) Cody Kessler

Kevin Carter: 1 right
RIGHT OU at least 9 wins
WRONG Baylor wins Big 12
WRONG Auburn best chance for SEC to make playoff

Stanford Steve Coughlin: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: Winner of USC/UCLA, Ohio St, Auburn, FSU

Colin Cowherd preseason over/unders: 1 right, 1 push
WRONG ND at 9 wins or less, trap bet
PUSH Arkansas over 8 wins
WRONG Michigan under 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9 wins
RIGHT Nebraska under 8 wins

Ed Cunningham: 1 right
RIGHT Notre Dame over 9 wins
WRONG Texas under 7 wins

Rece Davis: 1 right
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9.5 wins

Heather Dinich: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: Auburn, Ohio St, TCU, USC

Chris Doering:
WRONG Miss St to go 6-6

Brad Edwards: 7 right
WRONG Vanderbilt under 3.5 wins (best bet)
RIGHT Tennessee over 8 wins (best bet)
RIGHT S. Carolina under 6.5 wins (best bet)
WRONG Arkansas 8-4
WRONG Auburn over 8 wins
RIGHT Georgia over 8 wins
RIGHT Kentucky under 5.5 wins
RIGHT LSU over 8.5 wins
RIGHT Ohio St over 11.5 wins
RIGHT FSU over 9.5 wins
WRONG Okla St to win Big 12

Chris Fallica: 9-7 on totals, 0/4 playoff teams
PUSH TAMU over 8 wins (best bet)
RIGHT Florida over 7 wins (best bet)
WRONG Alabama under 9.5 wins (best bet)
WRONG Arkansas 8-4
WRONG Auburn over 8 wins
RIGHT Georgia over 8 wins
WRONG Kentucky over 5.5 wins
WRONG LSU under 8.5 wins
RIGHT Ole Miss over 8.5 wins
RIGHT Miss St over 7 wins
WRONG Mizzou over 7.5 wins
RIGHT Ohio St over 11.5 wins
RIGHT FSU over 9.5 wins
RIGHT OU over 8.5 wins
WRONG Clemson under 9.5 wins
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
RIGHT USC under 9.5 wins
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St, UCLA, TAMU, Louisville

Paul Finebaum: 1/4 playoff teams
RIGHT One team possible to make playoff from SEC: Winner of Iron Bowl
WRONG TAMU to go 9-3

Pat Forde: 1/4 Playoff teams
1/4 Final Four: Ohio St, TCU, Alabama, UCLA

Joey Galloway: 2 right predictions
WRONG Ohio St undefeated
WRONG USC/UCLA meet undefeated
WRONG Michigan at 7 wins
WRONG Notre Dame under 9.5 wins
RIGHT OU over 8.5 wins
WRONG Clemson under 9.5 wins
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9.5 wins

Mike Greenberg final four: 0/4 playoff teams (only picked three)
WRONG Ohio St
WRONG TCU
WRONG Georgia

Mike Golic final four: 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG Ohio St
WRONG TCU
WRONG LSU
WRONG Stanford

Danny Kanell: 3 right, 0/4 playoff teams
WRONG Notre Dame 9 wins
WRONG Texas over 7 wins
WRONG Ohio St to go undefeated
WRONG Michigan at 8 wins
RIGHT OU over 8.5 wins
RIGHT Clemson over 9.5 wins
RIGHT Louisville over 7.5 wins
WRONG USC over 9.5 wins
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St, UCLA, Baylor, Georgia

Tom Luginbill: 2/4 playoff teams
RIGHT Alabama best chance for SEC to make playoff
2/4 Final Four: (1) Ohio St, (2) OU, (3) Alabama, (4) USC

Trevor Matich: 1/4 playoff teams
1/4 Final Four: Ohio St, Oregon, Alabama, Baylor
WRONG Baylor to win championship
WRONG Seth Russell for Heisman

Greg McElroy: 1/4 playoff teams
WRONG Kentucky to go 6-6
WRONG S.Carolina to go 6-6
WRONG Miss St to go 6-6
WRONG Mizzou to 9-3
WRONG Tennessee to go 10-2
1/4 Four teams possible to make playoff from SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas

Ryan McGee: WRONG
WRONG SEC West winner has two losses

Brett McMurphy: WRONG
WRONG USC to make playoff

Todd McShay: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: LSU, TCU, Oregon, Ohio St
WRONG Oregon over Ohio St in championship
WRONG Trevone Boykin for Heisman

Jesse Palmer:
WRONG Tennessee to win SEC East

Ryen Russillo: 0/4 playoff teams
0/4 Final Four: Ohio St, USC, TCU, Auburn

Robert Smith: WRONG
WRONG Auburn to make playoff

Clint Stoerner:
WRONG Arkansas to go 9-3

Jason Sehorn: 1 right
RIGHT 10 wins for OU
WRONG TCU to win Big 12

Robert Smith: Oops
WRONG SEC to miss playoff

Phil Steele: 3 right, 1/4 playoff teams
WRONG Utah St 9 wins in regular season
WRONG Boise St to top the “Group of 5” in bowls
1/4 Final Four: Ohio St, Alabama, TCU, USC
WRONG Cody Kessler to win Heisman
RIGHT Miami Fl over 7 wins
WRONG VaTech over 8 wins
RIGHT LSU over 8.5 wins
RIGHT LSU starts 8-0 (we are crediting the McNeese St win)

Marcus Spears:
1/4 Four teams possible to make playoff from SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU

Matt Stichcomb:
WRONG Kentucky to go 9-3

Clint Stoerner:
WRONG Mizzou to go 8-4

Scott Van Pelt: 0/4 playoff teams
Ohio St
TCU
Mich St
USC

Dari Nowkhah Playoff Predictions: 0/4 playoff teams
(1) Ohio st over (4) Auburn
(2) TCU over (3) Stanford,
(2) TCU over (1) Ohio st 27-23
Georgia to win SEC East, not make playoff

Dari Nowkhah Heisman predictions: WRONG
1. Trevone Boykin
2. Nick Chubb
3. Cody Kessler

Dari Nowkhah Big 10 Predictions: WRONG
Ohio St to win Big 10
Michigan as sleeper
Minnesota overrated
Ezekiel Elliott Player of the Year

Dari Nowkhah SEC Predictions: WRONG
Auburn to win SEC
Arkansas as sleeper at 10 wins
Alabama overrated
Nick Chubb as player of the year

Dari Nowkhah ACC Predictions: WRONG
FSU to win ACC
UNC as sleeper
Louisville overrated
Justin Thomas as player of the year

Dari Nowkhah Big 12 Predictions: WRONG
TCU to win Big 12
KState as sleeper
Nobody is overrated
Trevone Boykin as player of the year

Dari Nowkhah Pac-12 Predictions: RIGHT (on the champion)
Stanford to win Pac-12
Utah as sleeper
Oregon overrated
Cody Kessler player of the year
Boise St undefeated

Mel Kiper Jr. Playoff Predictions: 0/4 playoff teams
(2) TCU over (3) USC
(4) Auburn over (1) Ohio St
(2) TCU over (4) Auburn

Mel Kiper Jr. Heisman Predictions: WRONG
1. Trevone Boykin
2. Ezekiel Elliott
3. Jeremy Johnson

Mel Kiper Jr. Big 10 Predictions: WRONG
Ohio St to win Big 10
Michigan as sleeper
Minnesota overrated
Ezekiel Elliott player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. SEC Predictions: WRONG
Auburn to win SEC
Tennessee as sleeper
S. Carolina overrated
Nick Chubb player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. ACC Predictions: WRONG
FSU to win ACC
UNC as sleeper
Miami (Fl) overrated
Deshaun Watson player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. Big 12 Predictions: WRONG
TCU to win Big 12
Oklahoma St as sleeper
KState overrated
Trevone Boykin as player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. PAC-12 Predictions: WRONG
USC to win Pac-12
Arizona St as sleeper
UCLA overrated
Cody Kessler player of the year

Mel Kiper Jr. miscellaneous predictions:
Boise St to lose 1 or 2 games

2015-16 Season results and champion Phil Steele! #cfb

Posted on January 13, 2016 by gamedaycole

The 2015-16 season of college football brought excitement and many hours wasted in front of the television, and it is with great sadness that we now enter the offseason. However, that also means that it is time to crown the 2015-16 GAMEDAYCOLE.COM SEASON CHAMPION!!! Competition was fierce this year, with 4,271 picks tracked this year and an average correct pick rate of 70.03% on the season. We had 33 competitors eligible for this year’s championship, and it is without further adieu that I present to you our 2015-16 season champion, Mr. Phil Steele!

Mr. Steele finished off this season with a record of 597-174 straight up and 121-105-2 against the spread, which comes out to 77.03% straight up and 53.54% against the spread. I don’t know what his secret is to picking games. Maybe it is his computer. Maybe it is the mustache. Maybe it is the fact that he hasn’t slept since June due to football. Whatever it is, it works. Congratulations Phil. You can now add this to your long and impressive resume, and no doubt impress acquaintances at cocktail parties with this accolade.

There are plenty of other notes to get to for this season’s wrap up. As you may notice, Greg McElroy topped the straight up percentages on the year at 84.54% with a record of 82-15 on the year. While this is impressive and deserving of congratulations, he was hurt by the limited number of games he picked, and the fact that his picks are almost entirely SEC conference picks. Phil Steele had a much larger body of work, and combined with his win rate against the spread that was enough to vault him over McElroy on the season. Next year we will probably have a separate award for the experts focusing on a single conference, but it is too late to be starting that nonsense right now.

Lee Corso’s headgear picks on the year were his worst year on record. He went 6-12 on the year in the headgear picks due to some tough breaks and close losses on underdogs. Charley the Cat had a season on par with Coach Corso, and ended up squeezing out a 7-11 season to beat Corso on the year picking games. Gameday Jen had her best season on record, going 153-59 (72.17%) on the year, so watch out Phil; she is coming for you! Maybe next year we’ll have her pick against the spread and make us some money. Our Gameday guest celebrities had an abysmal year at 56.39% picking games straight up this year. Maybe you shouldn’t be trusting Rick Ross, the Philly Phanatic, or Eric Church for your betting advice after all.

You can see the full rankings below to see how everyone else did on the year. We will be putting together a recap of preseason predictions this week to see how great everyone’s preseason picks surely went, so keep an eye out for that and much more to come.

	Straight Up	SU %	ATS	ATS %
Greg McElroy	82-15	84.54%
Phil Steele	597-174	77.03%	121-105-2	53.54%
Paul Finebaum	78-27	74.29%
Pat Forde	256-89	73.99%
Andrea Adelson	84-30	73.68%
Booger McFarland	80-32	72.73%
Tim Tebow	45-17	72.58%
Trevor Matich	68-26	72.34%	14-21-1	40.00%
Jennifer	153-59	72.17%
Jason Sehorn	82-33	71.30%
Kirk Herbstreit	120-49	71.01%
Marcus Spears	55-23	70.51%
Brad Edwards	89-38	70.08%	22-20-1	52.38%
Colin Cowherd	73-32	69.52%
David Pollack	71-32	68.93%
Joey Galloway	93-43	68.38%
Robert Smith	49-23	68.06%	10-17-0	37.04%
Mark May	23-11	67.65%
Kevin Carter	38-19	66.67%
Jon Berger	32-16	66.67%
Todd McShay	33-17	66.00%
Danny Kanell	88-47	65.19%	20-23-0	46.51%
Desmond Howard	111-60	64.91%
Chris Fallica	77-42	64.71%	71-67-3	51.45%
Lee Corso	101-56	64.33%
Ryen Russillo	46-27	63.01%	23-19-0	54.76%
Scott Van Pelt	5-3	62.50%	34-35	49.28%
Joel Klatt	105-64	62.13%
Celebrity Guests	75-58	56.39%
Dari Nowhkah	46-36	56.10%	10-8-0	55.56%
Lou Holtz	13-11	54.17%
Stanford Steve Coughlin	42-37	53.16%	40-44-3	48.19%

Season Average	2925-1250	70.06%	365-359-10	50.41%

2015-16 Exclusive #CFBPlayoff Big Board Bonanza! #BowlMania

Posted on December 30, 2015 by gamedaycole

Welcome back everyone. I hope you are having a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, a Krazy Kwanzaa, a Tip Top Tet, and a solemn, eventful Ramadan. I also hope you are having a happy new year and a productive bowl season. I am pleased to announce to you the publishing of this year’s official EXCLUSIVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BIG BOARD BONANZA! You can still find our full slate of picks at the original BIG BOWL BOARD but going forward the playoff picks will be kept up to date right here in this post. So without further adieu, let’s get right to it.

Lee Corso:
OU over Clemson (headgear pick)
Stanford over Iowa (headgear pick)
FSU over Houston
Alabama over Mich St
Mich St+10 vs Alabama

Kirk Herbstreit:
Houston over FSU
OU over Clemson
Ole Miss over Okla St
Tennessee over NW (Champ Drive 1/1)
Penn St over Georgia
Arkansas over KState
Oregon over TCU
Michigan over Florida
Ohio St over ND
Iowa over Stanford

Desmond Howard:
FSU over Houston
Alabama over Mich St
Clemson over OU
Ole Miss over Okla St
Tennessee over NW (Champ Drive 1/1)
Penn St over Georgia
Arkansas over KState
Oregon over TCU
Michigan over Florida
ND over Ohio St
Stanford over Iowa

David Pollack:
FSU over Houston
Clemson over OU (Championship Drive 12/10)
OU over Clemson (Gameday 12/31)
Alabama over Mich St (Gameday 12/31)
Tennessee over NW (Champ Drive 1/1)
Penn St over Georgia
Arkansas over KState
Oregon over TCU
Michigan over Florida
Ohio St over ND
Ole Miss over Okla St
Iowa over Stanford

Rece Davis:
Tennessee over NW (Champ Drive 1/1)

Tim Tebow:
OU over Clemson
Alabama over Mich St

Marcus Spears:
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St

Paul Finebaum:
OU over Clemson
Alabama over Mich St 23-13

Charles Arbuckle
Alabama over Mich St (Power Hour 12/8)
Clemson over OU (Power Hour 12/8)
Clemson over Alabama (Power Hour 12/8)

Skip Bayless: (CFB Live 12/18)
OU over Clemson
Alabama over Mich St

Mike Bellotti:
OU over Clemson (Playoff Preview 12/9)
Alabama over Mich St (Playoff Preview 12/9, Bowl Mania 12/13)
OU over Alabama (Playoff Preview 12/9)

Jon Berger:
OU over Clemson (Big 12 Weekly 12/16)

Mack Brown:
Clemson over OU 41-38(Champ Drive 12/6, Sportscenter 12/31)
Mich St over Alabama 28-24 (SC 12/31)

Kevin Carter:
Clemson over OU (ESPNU Facebook 12/17)
Alabama over Mich St (ESPNU Facebook 12/17)

Cole’s Picks:
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St

Colin Cowherd:
OU over Clemson (The Herd 12/30)
Alabama over Mich St by 4 (The Herd 12/30)

Tim Cowlishaw:
Clemson+4 vs OU
Alabama-9.5 vs Mich St
Alabama over Mich St

Ed Cunningham: (Bowl Mania 12/13)
Alabama over Mich St
Clemson over OU
Clemson over Alabama

Butch Davis: Sportscenter 12/31
OU over Clemson 31-24
Alabama over Mich St 34-17

Brad Edwards:
Clemson over OU (M&M 12/31)
Alabama over Mich St (M&M 12/31)

Chris Fallica: (Behind the Bets podcast 12/21)
Alabama over Mich St
Alabama-9.5 vs Mich St
Alabama-10 vs Mich St (Bear’s Bank 12/31)
Clemson+3.5 vs OU (Bear’s Bank 12/31)

Pat Forde: Bowl Dash 12/17
Clemson over OU 33-31
Alabama over Mich St 23-17
Alabama over Clemson 28-21

Joey Galloway: Sporstscenter 12/31
Alabama over Mich St 14-10
OU over Clemson 32-28
Alabama over OU (Bowl Mania 12/13)

Mike Golic: CFB Live 12/18
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St
Clemson+3.5 vs OU
Alabama-9.5 vs Mich St

Mike Greenberg: (CFB Live 12/18)
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St
Clemson+3.5 vs OU

Brian Griese: (Peach Bowl 12/31)
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St

Jennifer’s Picks:
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St

Danny Kanell: Bowl Mania 12/13
Clemson over OU
Alabama over Mich St
Clemson over Alabama

Mel Kiper Jr.:
Alabama over Mich St (Dari & Mel 12/7)
OU over Clemson (Dari & Mel 12/7)

Joel Klatt: Twitter 12/30
OU over Clemson 42-24
Alabama over Mich St 20-13

Matt Lienart: Twitter 12/31
OU over Clemson 38-34
Alabama over Mich St 31-21

Tom Luginbill:
Clemson over OU (Peach Bowl 12/31)
Alabama over Mich St (Playoff Preview 12/9)
Alabama over OU (Playoff Preview 12/9)

Trevor Matich:
OU over Clemson (College Gameday Selection Special Podcast 12/7, CFB Live 12/9)
Alabama over Mich St (College Gameday Selection Special Podcast 12/7, CFB Live 12/9)
Alabama over OU in championship (College Gameday Selection Special Podcast 12/7, CFB Live 12/9)

Mark May:
Clemson over OU (Championship Drive 12/6, SC 34-21)
Alabama over Mich St (Championship Drive 12/6, Birmingham Bowl postgame 12/30)
Alabama over Clemson (Championship Drive 12/6)

Greg McElroy:
Alabama over Mich St (SEC Now 12/6, Bowl Mania 12/13, 12/26)
Clemson over OU (SEC Nation 12/31)
Alabama over OU (SEC Now 12/13, 12/26)

Booger McFarland:
Alabama over Mich St (SEC Now 12/6, 12/13, 12/26)
OU over Clemson (SEC Now 12/13,12/26)
Alabama over OU (SEC Now 12/13, 12/26)

Todd McShay:
OU over Clemson (CFB Live 12/9,M&M 12/31)

Dari Nowkhah:
Alabama over Mich St (Dari & Mel 12/7, 12/31)
OU over Clemson (Dari & Mel 12/7)

Petros Papadakis: Twitter 12/31
OU over Clemson 41-20
Alabama over Mich St 24-20

Brady Quinn: Twitter 12/31
OU over Clemson 34-31
Alabama over Mich St 30-21

Ryen Russillo
Clemson over OU (M&M 12/31)
Alabama over Mich St (M&M 12/31)

Mark Schlabach:
OU over Clemson 35-34
Alabama over Mich St 27-17
Alabama over OU 27/21

Jason Sehorn:
OU over Clemson (CFB Daily 12/11)
Alabama over Mich St (CFB Daily 12/11)
OU over Alabama (CFB Daily 12/11)

Robert Smith:
Clemson over OU (Championship Drive 12/6)
Alabama over Mich St (Championship Drive 12/6)
Clemson over Alabama (Championship Drive 12/6)

Stephen A. Smith:
OU over Clemson (CFB Live 12/18)
Alabama over Mich St (CFB Live 12/18)

Phil Steele:
OU over Clemson (CFB Daily 12/11, Champ Drive podcast 12/30)
Alabama over Mich St by 10 (CFB Daily 12/11, Champ Drive podcast 12/30)
Alabama over OU (CFB Daily 12/11)
Alabama vs Mich St Under 46.5

Scott Van Pelt:
OU over Clemson (CFB Live 12/18)
Alabama over Mich St (CFB Live 12/18)

Andre Ware:
Alabama over Mich St (Music City Bowl 12/30)