Odds and Ends 10/3/18

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

Let's start with the Last Interception Race (LIR).  In this space, I will be chronicling who has the most attempts without an interception.  After week 5, the list looks very different.  Here are the top 5:

1. Joe Burrow, LSU- 131
2. Peyton Bender, KU- 89
3. Tua Tagovailoa, Ala- 88
4. Ian Book, ND- 70
5. Drew Eckels, WKU- 67

I think this is a fun race to watch!  I wonder how far we will get into the season until everyone has an interception?

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

Cincinnati

Clemson

Colorado

Georgia

Kentucky

LSU

N C State

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

UCF

USF

West Virginia

Winless

Nebraska

San Jose State

UCLA

UTEP

Some interesting tidbits:

There are still only 4 winless teams.  That means that none of the winless teams from last week won.  Undefeated teams have been whittled down to 14, as 7 suffered their first loss last week.

There are only no games between undefeated teams in week 6.  It's possible that all 14 could still be undefeated heading into week 7.  However, they can't all finish the year undefeated as these are the games remaining between currently undefeated teams: Alabama @LSU Nov 3; Georgia @LSU Oct 13; Georgia @Kentucky Nov 3; Oklahoma @West Virginia Nov 23; NC State @Clemson Oct 20; Cincinnati @UCF Nov 17; UCF @USF Nov 23; USF @Cincinnati Nov 10.  Obviously, only one of the 3 AAC teams can make it to the end undefeated, as they all play each other the last 3 weeks of the season.  It is also possible that and undefeated Alabama (or LSU) could meet an undefeated Georgia (or Kentucky) in the SECCG, but since UGA and LSU play each other Oct 13, that matchup is out for the championship game, at least as 2 undefeated teams.

There is only 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.

SEC 4-0 

AAC 3-0

ACC 2-0

Big 12 2-0

Independents 1-0

PAC 12 1-1

Big 10 1-1 

MAC 0-0

SBC 0-0

CUSA 0-1

MWC 0-1

Conference Standings

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

1) SEC 20-5 .800 winning percentage

2) Big 12 15-6 .714

3) Big 10 25-13.658

4) ACC 19-11 .633

5) Pac 12 15-11 .577

6) Independents 12-11 .522

7) AAC 13-14 .481

8) MWC 14-18 .438

9) SBC 7-15 .318

10) CUSA 11-26 .297

11) MAC 7-27 .206

Here are the rankings against P5 conference teams:

1) SEC 6-2 .750 winning percentage
2) Big 10 7-5 .583
3) Ind 6-6 .500
4) AAC 7-8 .467
5) PAC 12 3-4 .429
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 1-9 .100

Here are the rankings against G5 conference teams:

1) Big 12 11-1 .917 winning percentage
2) SEC 14-3 .824
3) ACC 16-5 .762
4) Big 10 18-6 .692
5) PAC 12 12-7 .632
6) MWC 10-7 .588
T7) Ind 7-7 .500
T7) SBC 6-6 .500
9) CUSA 9-11 .450
10) AAC 6-8 .429
11) MAC 4-8.333

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) ACC Atlantic 25-9 .735
T2) SEC East 24-9 .727
T2) Big 10 East 24-9 .727
4) Pac 12 North 20-9 .690

5) SEC West 24-11 .686

6) AAC East 18-9 .667

7) Big 12 31-16 .660

8) SBC East 15-8 .652

9) MWC West 16-11 .593

10) ACC Coastal 19-14 .576

11) Independents 16-14 .533

12) Pac 12 South 14-13 .519
13) Big 10 West 14-15 .483

14) AAC West 13-14 .481

15) CUSA West 15-17 .469

16) MWC Mountain 12-14 .462

17) CUSA East 14-19 .424

18) MAC West 12-17 .414

19) MAC East 11-16 .407
20) SBC West 8-15 .348

The usual suspects are at the top, but the SEC West being below the East is surprising.  Also, the ACC Coastal and the Big 10 West are further down than you would expect.  The best G5 division (so far) appears to be the AAC East, with the SBC East  and MWC West not far behind.

Which Division in each Conference is best?

Here are the standings for each conference in cross divisional games.  Not a lot of them have happened, but there are some interesting results.

SEC East is 2-0 vs. the West (both losses by Miss St)
Big 10 East is 4-0 vs. the West (no surprise here...)
PAC 12 North is 3-3 vs. the South
ACC Atlantic is 2-1 vs. the Coastal
AAC East is 1-0 vs. the West
MWC West is 2-0 vs. the Mountain
MAC West is 2-1 vs. the East
CUSA West is 1-0 vs. the East
SBC East is 5-0 vs. the West!

Update on Paul's Playoff Picks:

Two of my four picks already have losses: Washington lost to Auburn in week 1 and Wisconsin lost to BYU in week 3.  While neither of these teams are eliminated yet, they just made their chances pretty slim.  Georgia and Clemson are still on track, however, as both are still undefeated.  Alabama, Ohio State, and Oklahoma are waiting for someone to stumble.  Notre Dame and LSU are waiting in the wings.

Games I'm excited about this weekend:

Georgia State @ Troy- The Trojans look like a terrific team, but the Panthers are dangerous, too.
Mid Tenn @ Marshall- The winner of this game gets the inside track for the CUSA East crown, since FAU already has a conference loss.
Texas vs. Oklahoma in Dallas- The Red River Rivalry is always a big game, but Texas has won 2 of the last 5, and all 3 losses have been by 5 points each.  On paper, this looks like a mismatch, but...
Maryland @ Michigan- The Terrapins could spoil homecoming for the Wolverines if they catch them looking ahead to the Wisconsin game next week.
Missouri South Carolina- Which of these teams will make a run for 2nd place in the SEC East?
Tulane @ Cincinnati- The Bearcats should be on high alert after the Green Wave upset Memphis last weekend.  Can they keep their undefeated season intact?
E Mich @ W Mich- Poor EMU can't catch a break! Now they get a Broncos team on a 3-game winning streak.
Boston College @ NC State- Can the Eagles knock the Wolfpack from the ranks of the unbeaten?
LSU @ Florida- This game may tell us much about these respective teams.
San Diego St @ Boise St- A game between two of the top G5 teams, each with only 1 loss.
Arizona St @ Colorado- Can the Buffs stay undefeated?
Kentucky @ Texas A&M- Just how good are the Wildcats? Win this one, and they should be undefeated when they host Georgia on Nov 3.
UAB @ La Tech- A key CUSA West matchup.  The winner will have the inside track on winning the division.
Auburn @ Miss St- This is an elimination game in the SEC West.
Notre Dame @ Virginia Tech- The last remaining "tough" game on the Irish schedule, unless you count USC.

That's all for now.  Tomorrow, I will have my picks for Week 6.  Feel free to leave a comment.  Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!