Diary Room: Adam Poch’s Player Rankings: Big Brother 17 – Finale Week Part 2

We have finally made it to Day 98 – tonight Julie will hand an oversized check to either Vanessa, Steve, or Liz. That will also signify the end of the Big Brother 17 season. We will now have to find other ways to spend every waking moment as there will be no CBS show 3 nights a week – and no more hours of watching people eat, sleep, scamper, etc on the Live Feeds.

I am sad the season is over, but happy to have so much time freed up! The finale should be fun to see if Steve or Vanessa will win part 3 – and will they take each other like they promised, or will they take Liz who has 2 for sure votes in the jury. make sure you have your popcorn ready because there should be plenty of fireworks tonight, BUT FIRST – here are the final final rankings.

Yesterday in part 1 of my final Bacon/Tofu wrap-ups – I gave out Tofu to the first 9 evictees – today I will compare my preseason predictions to how they played, & hand out Bacon to the final 8.

Meg Maley – Preseason ranking: 4 strips of Bacon – OK, maybe I am giving her extra bacon because she is a superfan from the NY area and has been to some of the reality viewing parties here. So of course I am rooting for her. Could she be a Jessie (BB15) and have her game hurt because she is too busy chasing boys? I am hoping not. She has to not fall victim to her craziness getting her in trouble. I see her as first 2 out – or final 6.

Meg (or Grandma as her roommates called her) did not have much of a physical presence during the game, unless you are talking about the 2 best wipeouts of the season (during the slip n slide & Otev comps). She was the straight woman in the James/Meg comedy duo.

While the showmance thing never happened, Meg had plenty of opportunites with James & Jeff – and who can forget the drunky flirting with Clay? Sadly she will be remembered as the Black Widow – everyone she was friends with early would be sent packing. But she was able to outlast a lot of other players. Final ranking – 1 strip of Bacon

James Huling – Preseason ranking: 3 strips of Bacon – probably the most genuine person in this group. James has seen a lot in his days of the military & as a corrections officer. He will be very aware of what’s going on around him without anyone knowing. He has a chance to go real far if he can align himself with some other strong/smart players. Top 6.

Not to toot my own horn here, but I think my preseason assessment was pretty spot on. James was the goofball we all love to watch inside the house, but he was also a very strong player who sadly never teamed up with other strong players until it was too late.

James was the HoH that was able to split up the Clelli showmance – but I still question his decision to get rid of Shelli the following week instead of Vanessa. Ok, maybe it was better for his game at the time, but we were all kicking and throwing stuff at our TV when he flipped. Final ranking – 2 strips of Bacon

Julia Nolan – No preseason ranking – We saw the twin swap in Season 5 – and no one had any clue – but this season, the HGs started picking up on the possibility of the Twin Twist early on. Instead of taking that opportunity to get rid of 1 person now, her sister Liz had her allies use Julia’s entry into the game as a weapon to get another number on their side.

When Julia finally entered the game, she was just that – a number – since she did not seem to have much of her own strategy, and was not winning comps. But she did win the Veto on the 2nd Double Eviction night to seal James’ fate. (OK, James actually sealed his own fat by not even getting 1 point). Julia proved in BB that sometimes its better to be lucky than good. Final Ranking – 2 strips of Bacon.

Austin Matelson – Preseason ranking: 2 strips of Bacon – A big guy with a big heart, shows respect to his girlfriend at home – superfan & live feeder – this reminds me of another player from a few years ago – what was his name? (hint, it’s me!) Only knock on him is he does not seem to think quickly on his feet. How are you going to play like you are weak & then lead everyone in exercises & do back flips in the backyard? He could be a target early so he will need to win some comps or he’s a goner. And I think he will win those challenges. Lock for jury – possible top 6.

WOW – my first line of this was totally wrong. Well, not totally – we did see Austin is a bug guy with a big heart, but the preseason line about being loyal to his girlfriend went out the window as soon as Jace left and he went for sloppy seconds with Liz. But I was correct about him making it to Final 6. He did win some comps when he needed to, and he was targeted early – by his own alliance. But like so often in BB history – plans change on a dime, and he survived to live another day.

The blindside eviction by Vanessa, sending him out to Julie barefoot is one of the highlights of the season. If he spent a little more time paying attention to what was going on around him, instead of trying so hard to get Liz to fall in love with him (which seems to have worked) – perhaps he could have struck first and got Vanessa out when he had the chance. Instead we all got to laugh at him throwing away his chance at 500K. Final Ranking – 3 strips of Bacon