Odds and Ends 10/24/18

Welcome Back!

Here at Odds and Ends, I plan to look at some stats, trends, storylines, etc. as they play out.  I will also give my opinion on some issues, but you can take that for what it's worth.

LIR

I think we can declare Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama the winner in this category.  He has attempted 152 passes without an interception, which is more then double the next person.  Also, he has surpassed the earlier 2018 mark of 143 set by Cole McDonald of Hawai'i.  

All Wins and No Wins

This is where I will list all the teams that are still undefeated, and all the teams that are winless.  These lists will get smaller as the season goes on, of course.

Undefeated

Alabama

Clemson

Notre Dame

UCF

USF

Winless

San Jose State

UTEP

Some interesting tidbits:

There are now only 2 winless teams, with Nebraska defeating Minnesota last week. Undefeated teams have been whittled down to 5, as 3 suffered their first loss last week (Cincinnati, NC State, and Ohio St).

There are no games between undefeated teams in week 9.  Alabama and UCF are off this week, but Clemson plays 4-3 FSU, Notre Dame plays 2-5 Navy, and USF plays 6-1 Houston.

There are no games between winless teams. None of these teams are scheduled to play each other in 2018.

Here are the conference standings in relation to undefeated and winless teams.  The 1st number is the number of undefeated teams, the 2nd is the number of winless teams.  I trust you to know how many teams are in each conference.

AAC 2-0

ACC 1-0

SEC 1-0 

Independents 1-0

Big 10 0-0

Big 12 0-0

PAC 12 0-0

MAC 0-0

SBC 0-0

CUSA 0-1

MWC 0-1

There are also 8 teams that have yet to win against an FBS foe:

Bowling Green
Central Michigan
Kent State
Oregon State
Rice
Texas State
Tulsa
UConn

Conference Standings

I will also be keeping up with how the conferences are faring in non-conference games.  This week, I have dropped the records against FCS teams and just presenting the non conference records against FBS foes.   Here is where we stand:

1) SEC 23-5 .821 winning percentage

2) Big 12 15-6 .714

3) Big 10 25-13 .658

4) ACC 19-13 .594

5) Pac 12 15-11 .577

6) Independents 19-17 .528

7) AAC 14-17 .452

8) MWC 15-20 .429

9) SBC 10-17 .370

10) CUSA 11-26 .297

11) MAC 7-28 .200

Here are the rankings against P5 conference teams:

1) SEC 6-2 .750 winning percentage
2) Big 10 7-5 .583
3) Ind 8-6 .571

4) PAC 12 3-4 .429

5) AAC 7-10 .412
6) Big 12 4-6 .400
7) ACC 3-6 .333
8) MWC 4-13 .235
9) MAC 3-19 .136
10) CUSA 2-16 .111
11) SBC 1-10 .091

Here are the rankings against G5 conference teams:

1) Big 12 11-0 1.000 winning percentage
2) SEC 17-3 .850
3) ACC 16-7 .696
4) Big 10 18-8 .692
5) PAC 12 12-7 .632
6) MWC 11-7 .611

7) SBC 9-7 .563

T8) Ind 11-11 .500

T8) AAC 7-7 .500

10) CUSA 9-10 .474
11) MAC 4-9 .308

Which Conference Division is the best?

In order to figure this out, I simply took the winning percentage of each team in the divisions and ranked them.  Yes, I included intra-division games.  Here is how it looks now, after 4 weeks:

1) SEC West 36-18 .667

2) AAC East 28-15 .651

3) SBC East 22-12 .647

T4) SEC East 31-17 .646

T4) ACC Atlantic 31-17 .646

6) Pac 12 North 27-16 .628

7) Big 10 East 32-21 .603

8) Big 12 41-28 .594

9) ACC Coastal 26-21 .553

10) Independents 24-20 .545

11) MWC West 24-21 .533

12) Big 10 West 26-23 .530

13) Pac 12 South 22-21 .512

14) MWC Mountain 22-22 .500

15) CUSA West 24-27 .471

16) CUSA East 23-27 .460

17) MAC West 21-25 .457

18) MAC East 19-26 .422

19) AAC West 18-25 .419

20) SBC West 14-22 .389

The SEC West has reasserted its dominance and now sits at the top, followed by 2 G5 divisions, the AAC East and the SBC East.  The SEC is the only conference with both divisions in the top 4.  In fact, they're the only conference with both divisions in the top 8!  Obviously, as most of the games being played now are conference games, the percentages should be collapsing toward .500, being affected only by the non-conference and cross-division games.

The divisions that did well last week were B10W at 5-2; SECW and P12N at 4-2; SBCE at 3-1.  The worst divisions were B10E at 2-5; P12S and AACW at 2-4.  All of the other divisions were at .500 or a game away.

Which Division in each Conference is best?

Here are the standings for each conference in cross divisional games.

SEC East is 4-5 vs. the West (very competitive!)
Big 10 East is 7-5 vs. the West (West was 3-0 vs the East last week!)
PAC 12 North is 6-6 vs. the South
ACC Atlantic is 3-4 vs. the Coastal
AAC East is 6-2 vs. the West
MWC West is 7-5 vs. the Mountain
MAC West is 5-3 vs. the East
CUSA West is 1-1 vs. the East
SBC East is 9-2 vs. the West!

Update on Paul's Playoff Picks:

My picks are pretty much a disaster at this point.  Washington and Wisconsin each have 2 losses, so they won't sniff the playoff.  Georgia has one loss, which means its only chance would be to win the rest of their games, and then the SECCG over Alabama (or LSU in a rematch).  Clemson is the only one still on pace to make it. The top 2 spots seem set, with Alabama and Clemson appearing to be head and shoulders above anyone else.  The fight for the last 2 spots should be interesting!

Teams that have achieved 6 Wins, i.e. Bowl Eligibility
There are 39 bowl games this year, which means there are 78 slots for 130 teams.  The minimum standard is 6 wins.  These are the teams that are already eligible for a bowl:

Alabama
Buffalo
Cincinnati
Clemson
Florida
Fresno State
Georgia
Georgia Southern
Hawai'i
Houston
Iowa
Kentucky
LSU
Michigan
North Texas
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma
San Diego State
Texas
UAB
UCF
USF
Utah State
Washington
Washington State
Western Michigan

This means 27 of the available slots have been filled.

Games I'm excited about this weekend:

Appalachian State @ Georgia Southern- Just how good are the Eagles?  Can the Mountaineers win in Statesboro and put a chokehold on the division?
Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech- Can the Jackets turn their season around?  Are the Hokies really good enough to win the Coastal?
Miami @ Boston College- Both teams come in at 5-2/2-1, so this is a big game as the loser could be out of the division race in their respective divisions, while the winner still has a chance.
Utah @ UCLA- Both of these teams are on a roll.  Which one will be able to sustain it?  Which team will take the lead in the division race?
Clemson @ FSU- The Seminoles have been playing much better of late, but can they challenge the Tigers?
Wisconsin @ Northwestern- Which of these teams will stay alive in the division race, and which team's chances will be on life support?
Texas Tech @ Iowa State- What an intriguing matchup! Can the Red Raiders continue their run? Can the Cyclones pull another upset at home?
Purdue @ Michigan State- Another pivotal cross-division game, this time in the Big 10. Purdue has a chance at the division crown.  Will the Spartans dash those hopes? Will the Spartans be able to bounce back from their loss to Michigan last week?  Will the Boilermakers be able to stay focused after their big win? Or will they be looking forward to Iowa next week?
Army @ Eastern Michigan- Will the Black Knights continue their roll to a 10 win season?  Will the Eagles be able to stop the Army offense?
Florida vs. Georgia in Jacksonville- Will the Dawgs bounce back from their loss to LSU?  Will the Gators get revenge for last year's loss to the Dawgs?  Can Georgia get enough offense against the UF defense?  Can the Gator offense score enough against the UGA defense?
Iowa @ Penn State- Yet another important cross-division game in the Big 10.
USF @ Houston- Can the Bulls stay undefeated?  Will Houston shut down an inconsistent Bulls offense?  Will the Cougars maintain control of the AAC West?
Northern Illinois @ BYU- Just an interesting matchup...
Cincinnati @ SMU- Will the Bearcats be able to bounce back from their 1st loss?
Kentucky @ Missouri- Will the Wildcats be able to maintain pace with the Gators and the Dawgs?
Washington State @ Stanford- Will the Cougars be able to maintain their focus after their big win over Oregon last week?  Can the Cardinal end Wazzou's magical run to the PAC 12 title?
Texas A&M @ Mississippi State- Will the Aggies be able to win in Starkville? Or will they succumb and drop out of the SEC West race?
NC State @ Syracuse- Will the Wolfpack bounce back from their loss to Clemson?  Or will the Orange assert their claim for 2nd place behind the Tigers?
Tennessee @ South Carolina- Will the Vols be able to put their loss to Bama behind them and instead build on their victory over Auburn 2 weeks ago? Will the Gamecocks be able to even their conference record, solidifying their claim for 4th place in the SEC East?

That's all for now.  Tomorrow, I will have my picks for Week 9.  Feel free to leave a comment.  Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!