Odds and Ends 9/23/2020

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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.  This is a lot harder to keep up with with teams playing so sporadically!  After week 2, here are the top 5:

1. Sam Hartman, WF- 57
2. D'Eriq King, Miami- 54
3. Tyrell Pigrome, WKU- 48
4. Trevor Lawrence, Clem- 37
5. Grayson McCall, CCU- 34

I think this will be a fun race to watch!  I wonder how far we will get into the season until everyone has an interception?  This will also be an odd race to watch, as not everyone is starting the season at the same time, and not everyone is playing the same number of games.

Conference Standings

I will also be keeping up with how the conferences are faring in non-conference games. Here is where we stand after 3 weeks:

1) Independents 4-0 1.000
2) ACC 5-1 .833
3) AAC 7-3 .700
4) Big 12 5-3 .625
5) Sun Belt 8-6 .571
6) CUSA 8-9 .471
7) FCS 0-15 .000

Against FBS competition, here is how the conferences stack up:

1) Independents 4-0 1.000
2) ACC 3-1 .750
3) AAC 5-3 .625
4) Sun Belt 6-6 .500
5) Big 12 2-3 .400
6) CUSA 2-9 .182
7) FCS 0-15 .000

Against P5 teams (ACC and Big 12) here is how the conferences are doing:

1) Sun Belt 3-0 1.000
2) AAC 1-2 .333
3) CUSA 0-3 .000

None of the other conferences have played non-conference games against P5 teams.

And now, let's break down some of these numbers.

The Independents are off to a great start, beating an AAC, 2 CUSA, and an SBC team by a combined 164-34!

CUSA looks okay, until you realize that they are 6-0 against the FCS, and 2-9 each against everyone else.

The AAC is 3-0 against the Sun Belt.

The SBC is 3-0 against the Big 12, but are 0-3 vs the AAC.

Which Division is Best?

There has only been one intra-division game so far this season: Louisiana, from the SBC West, defeated Ga St, from the SBC East.

Update on Paul's Playoff Picks:

My four picks are still on track!  Clemson and Oklahoma were off, and Alabama and Georgia have yet to play.  With the Big Ten joining play next month, I may have to revise my picks, as I believed Ohio State was a lock for the Playoff.  I would just have to decide who to drop.

Conference Trends

As promised, I am going to go over how each team in the conference has done over the last 3, 5, and 10 year periods.  I will cover one conference each week, starting with the G5 conferences. These will cover only conference games, not overall records, and do not include conference championship game results.  So far, I have done the Sun Belt and the MAC..

CUSA

Last 10 Years
1. La Tech 37-19 .661 (7 years)
2. WKU 31-17 .649 (6 years)
3. Mid Tenn 36-20 .643 (7 years)
4. Marshall 49-31 .613
5. FAU 29-27 .518 (7 years)
6. UAB 32-32 .500 (did not play in 2015 & 2016)
7. Southern Miss 35-37 .486 (9 years)
8. North Texas 27-29 .482 (7 years)
T9. FIU 25-31 .446 (7 years) 
T9. UTSA 25-31 .446 (7 years)
11. Rice 29-43 .403 (9 years)
12. ODU 19-29 .396 (6 years)
13. UTEP 16-56 .222 (9 years)

Last 5 Years
T1. La Tech 27-13 .675
T1. WKU 27-13 .675
T1. Southern Miss 27-13 .675
4. Mid Tenn 25-15 .625
5. Marshall 24-16 .600
6. FAU 23-17 .575
7. FIU 21-19 .525
8. North Texas 19-21 .475
9. UTSA 16-24 .400
10. ODU 15-25 .375
11. Charlotte 13-27 .325 
12. Rice 10-30 .250
13. UTEP 6-34 .150 

Last 3 Years
1. UAB 19-5 .792
2. FAU 18-6 .750
T3. Southern Miss 16-8 .667
T3. Marshall 16-8 .667
T5. La Tech 15-9 .625
T5. North Texas 15-9 .625
T7. Mid Tenn 14-10 .583
T7. FIU 14-10 .583
9. WKU 12-12 .500
10. Charlotte 10-14 .417
11. UTSA 8-16 .333
T12. ODU 5-19 .208
T12. Rice 5-19 .208
14. UTEP 1-23 .042

Except for UTEP, which seems to have a firm grip at the bottom, CUSA may be the most volatile of the conferences.

Games I'm excited about this weekend:

Kansas State @ Oklahoma- Can the Wildcats pull off the upset 2 years in a row?  Will the Sooners stay on track for an undefeated season?

Kentucky @ Auburn- Are the Wildcats the sleeper I think they are?  Just how good is this group of Tigers?  Is this one of those magical years?


Georgia Southern @ Louisiana- Have the Ragin' Cajuns learned their lesson that they can't take anyone lightly?  Are the Eagles ready to play better than they did 2 weeks ago against Campbell?


Louisville @ Pitt- Is the Panthers' defense really that good? Is the Cardinal offense better than the Pitt defense?


Army @ Cincinnati- Which of these teams will challenge for the G5 slot in the NY6 Bowl? Will a loss here eliminate either of these teams?


Georgia @ Arkansas- Will Georgia's new look offense live up to expectations? Will the Razorbacks be able to score?


Texas State @ Boston College- Can the Sun Belt pull off another upset over a P5 team? Is BC as good as they looked against Duke?


Tennessee @ South Carolina- Are the Volunteers the threat in the SEC East everyone seems to think they are?  Are the Gamecocks as bad as all the pundits believe?


That's all for now.  Tomorrow, I will have my picks for Week 2.  Feel free to leave a comment and to follow me on Twitter: @pbanderson. 

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!

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