For much of the season, Nolan Austin kept appearing near the front of every important board. Four contests ended 19th or better, and none of his ten entries fell into the bottom quarter.
College football was the engine. Texas Tech returned 85 on a 347-point regular-season card that placed 7th, then Indiana's title run helped Austin reach 10th in the playoff contest. Nine March picks survived to Day 7 for 19th. On the NBA board, 4 correct calls out of 5 delivered 12th.
The final pair changed the temperature. Mexico led a World Cup card that stopped at 168th. Golf's majors haul came to 369.2 and yielded only 131st. Neither was a catastrophe; together they were enough to cost Austin 7 places in a tightly packed race.
A total of 1699 secures 12th. The finish understates how often Austin threatened the leaders, but it also captures the narrow margins at the top of this league.