Odds and Ends 9/22/21

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Welcome Back!

There was lots of action this past week, so there is lots of data to sift through.  As we get further into the season, there will be more to talk about. I hope you enjoy reading through all the info below!

Which Conference is Best?

While there have been a few conference games played, most teams played non-conference games, so we have something to compare, and it's quite interesting. Here is how they stand after week two.

1. SEC 30-6 .833
2. Big 12 23-5 .821
3. Big Ten 23-7 .767
4. MWC 17-19 .472
5. ACC 22-12 .611
6. Sun Belt 17-12 .586
7. Independents 12-9 .571
8. AAC 17-15 .531
9. Pac 12 16-15 .516
10. CUSA 16-6 .727
11. MAC 13-22 .371
12. FCS 10-85 .105

The CUSA drops from 4th all the way to 10th.  The MWC now is the highest rated G5 conference.

Now the above includes the record against all competition.  What if we narrow it down to just FBS competition?  Does that change the standings?  Let's see...

1. SEC 22-5 .815
2. Big 12 17-7 .708
3. Big Ten 4-1 .800
4. Independents 10-8 .556
T5. MWC 13-11 .542
T5. ACC 13-11 .542
7. Sun Belt 9-11 .450
8. AAC 10-14 .417
9. Pac 12 9-13 .409
10. CUSA 5-19 .206
11. MAC 3-21 .125
12. FCS 10-85 .105

As you can see, a lot of conferences fattened up against FCS teams. The MAC finally moves ahead of FCS teams. 

To break it down further, here is how each conference has done so far against G5 teams. For this purpose, all independents, even Notre Dame, are considered G5 teams.

1. SEC 16-1 .941
2. Big 12 10-1 .909
3. MWC 8-1 .889
4. Big Ten 9-3 .750
5. AAC 8-3 .727
6. ACC 10-4 .714
7. Sun Belt 8-4 .667
8. Independents 5-5 .500
9. Pac 12 6-8 .429
10. CUSA 3-11 .214
11. FCS 6-47 .113
12. MAC 1-9 .100

And against P5 teams:

1. Big Ten 8-4 .667
2. Independents 5-3 .625
3. SEC 6-4 .600
4. Big 12 4-4 .500
5. Pac 12 3-5 .375
6. MWC 5-10 .333
7. ACC 3-7 .300
8. CUSA 2-8 .200
9. AAC 2-11 .154
10. MAC 2-12 .143
11. Sun Belt 1-7 .125
12. FCS 4-38 .095


Which Division is Best?

Here is how each conference division is faring so far in this young season.  Conferences without divisions get counted as one.

1. SEC West 18-3 .857
2. Big Ten East 18-3 .857
3. Big 12 24-5 .828
4. SEC East 15-6 .714
5. ACC Atlantic 14-7 .667
6. MWC Mountain 12-6 .667
7. SBC East 9-6 .600
8. ACC Coastal 12-9 .571
9. SBC West 8-6 .571
10. Independents 13-10 .565
11. Pac 12 North 10-8 .556
12. MWC West 11-9 .550
13. Big Ten West 12-10 .545
14. AAC 17-15 .531
15. CUSA West 11-10 .523
16. CUSA East 10-10 .500
T17. Pac 12 South 8-10 .444
T17. MAC West 8-10 .444
19. MAC East 5-13 .278

The MAC is having a rough season in non-conference games.


Intraconference Results

The SEC West leads the SEC East 1-0.
The Big Ten East leads the Big Ten West 4-1.
The ACC Atlantic leads the ACC Coastal 1-0.
The Pac 12 North is tied with the Pac 12 South 1-1.
The CUSA West leads the CUSA East 1-0

Last Interception Race (LIR)

All season long, I will keep up with who has the most pass attempts without throwing an interception.  Here are the leaders so far:

1) Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland- 106
2) N'Kosi Perry, FAU- 103
3) Bryce Young, Alabama, 100
4) Jack Plummer, Purdue- 97
5) Matt Corral, Ole Miss- 96

The top 3 from last week all dropped off, as each had an INT, so we have a new #1, and 2 who were tied for 4th last week remain in the top 5.

This is always fascinating to watch, and I hope you find it so, too.

Undefeated/Winless Teams

With a minimum of 2 games played, here are the undefeated teams.

Alabama 3-0
Arkansas 3-0
Army 3-0
Baylor 3-0
Boston College 3-0
BYU 3-0
Cincinnati 3-0
Coastal Carolina 3-0
Georgia 3-0
Iowa 3-0
Kansas State 3-0
Kentucky 3-0
Liberty 3-0
Maryland 3-0
Memphis 3-0
Michigan 3-0
Michigan State 3-0
Notre Dame 3-0
Oklahoma 3-0
Oklahoma State 3-0
Ole Miss 3-0
Oregon 3-0
Penn State 3-0
Rutgers 3-0
San Diego State 3-0
SMU 3-0
South Alabama 3-0
TCU 2-0
Texas A&M 3-0
Texas Tech 3-0
Utah State 3-0
UTSA 3-0
Wake Forest 3-0
Wyoming 3-0

With a minimum of 2 games played, here are the winless teams.

Arizona 0-3
FSU 0-3
Navy 0-2
Ohio 0-3
Rice 0-3
Tulsa 0-3
UConn 0-4
UMass 0-3
UNLV 0-3

There are 34 undefeated teams out of 130 total teams in FBS, a loss of 18 from last week.  There are only 9 winless teams, as 10 teams earned their 1st win last week.  This goes to show that it is much harder to go winless than it is to go undefeated! 

Look below to see how these break down by conference.  The number listed 1st is the number of undefeated teams in each conference, and the 2nd number is the amount of winless teams.

SEC 6-0
Big Ten 6-0
Big 12 6-0
Ind 4-2
MWC 3-1
AAC 3-2
SBC 2-0
ACC 2-1
CUSA 1-1
Pac 12 1-1
MAC 0-1

While the number of winless teams have been reduced to only 9, there are 29 teams that have a win, but their only win is against an FCS team. Those teams, in alphabetical order, are:

Akron
Arkansas State
Ball State
Bowling Green
Buffalo
California
Central Michigan
Colorado
FIU
Georgia Southern
Georgia Tech
Hawaii
Indiana
Kansas
Kent State
Miami, Oh
Middle Tennessee
New Mexico State
North Texas
Northwestern
ODU
Southern Miss
Toledo
Tulane
ULM
USF
Utah
Washington State
WKU

If you break these down by conference:

SEC- 0
Big 12- 1
ACC- 1
Ind- 1
MWC-1
Big Ten- 2
AAC- 2
SBC-3
Pac 12- 4
CUSA-6
MAC-8

If you combine this list with the winless list, you find that the MAC has 9 teams who have yet to get a win against FBS competition, 2/3 of the conference.  CUSA has 7, the Pac 12 has 5, and the AAC has 4. No other conference has more than 3, with the SEC being the only conference with no team on either list.

Bowl Eligible/Eliminated

Starting midseason, I will keep a running list of teams as they reach bowl eligibility (6+ wins) or are eliminated from bowl eligibility (7+ losses).

Update on my Playoff Picks

My playoff picks (in no particular order) are Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Clemson.  Georgia defeated South Carolina convincingly, so the Dawgs are looking good.  Oklahoma defeated Nebraska, so they're still in the race, but it was much closer than it should have been. Oregon looked great in defeating Stony Brook, an FCS team, and if they can go undefeated, they'll make me look like a genius. Clemson obviously has a loss, and so will need to win the rest of their games to make it in, including the ACCCG, but they struggled mightily against Georgia Tech, a team that lost to Northern Illinois. 

Games I'm Excited About

Wake Forest @ Virginia- Can the Demon Deacons stay undefeated? Can the Cavaliers get back into the win column?

Notre Dame vs Wisconsin (Chicago)- Will the week off help the Badgers get prepared for ND? Are the Fighting Irish going to be able to stay unbeaten?

SMU @ TCU- Which team will win the Iron Skillet and remain undefeated? Is either team a threat in their respective conference?

Texas Tech @ Texas- Are the Red Raiders legitimate? Will the Longhorns struggle again against their rivals?

Boise State @ Utah State- Are the Aggies for real, or is their unbeaten record a result of playing easy competition? Is it possible the Broncos could fall to 1-3?

Texas A&M @ Arkansas- Which team will establish itself as the early favorite for 2nd place in the SEC West? Can the Razorbacks score against the Aggie defense?

Clemson @ NC State- Can the Tigers solve their offensive woes? Can the Wolfpack score enough to win?

Iowa State @ Baylor- Are the Bears ready to declare themselves contenders by pulling the upset? Are the Cyclones past their usual early season doldrums?

Rutgers @ Michigan- Are the Wolverines as good as they have looked against weaker competition? Can the Scarlet Knights avenge last year's 3 OT loss to UM?

UTSA @ Memphis- Can the Roadrunners upend one of the established G5 powers? Will the Tigers have a letdown after last week's upset win over Miss State?

Tennessee @ Florida- Will the Gators have a letdown after last week's heartbreaking narrow loss to Alabama, or will they take out their frustration on the Volunteers? Can the Vols defense do enough to allow their offense to stay in the game?

Nebraska @ Michigan State- Will the Spartans be able to remain undefeated? Are the Cornhuskers an improved team, or was last week's game against Oklahoma a mirage created by animus against a rival?

Kansas State @ Oklahoma State- Which team will remain unbeaten and establish itself as a possible early favorite for a Big 12 CG berth? Can the Wildcats continue to have success without hurt QB Skylar Thompson?

West Virginia @ Oklahoma- Are the Mountaineers a legitimate threat to move out of the middle of the pack in the Big 12? Are the Sooners as vulnerable to an upset as they have shown so far?


Come back tomorrow for Paul's Picks! Follow me on Twitter: @pbanderson

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

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