Odds and Ends 10-19-22

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Welcome Back!

I hope you have been enjoying this blog. Once October ends, I will be exploring each team's path to the conference championship game as an added feature. Check out the bottom for my pick for tonight's game.

Enjoy!

Inter-conference results 

With most of the out-of-conference games completed, I will revisit this again at the end of the season. Otherwise, you'll just be looking at incremental changes each week, which can be kind of boring. For example, we only had 2 non-conference games this week. Look for this again at or near the end of the season, when I'll devote one whole blog to just this section.

I will do the same on the "Which Conference is Best" and Which Division is Best" sections as well.


Intra-conference results

Here is how the divisions are stacking up against each other within each conference:

The SEC West is 6-4 against the SEC East
The Big Ten East is 6-5 against the Big Ten West
The ACC Atlantic is 3-1 against the ACC Coastal
The MWC Mountain is 5-3 against the MWC West
The SBC East is 5-3 against the SBC West
The MAC East is 2-2 against the MAC West

The SEC East was 2-1 against the West again this week; the Big Ten East was 1-0 against the West; the ACC Atlantic was 0-0 against the Coastal, as there were no crossover games this week; the MWC Mountain was 1-0 against the West; the SBC West was 1-0 against the East; and the MAC West was 2-1 against the East.



Undefeated/Winless teams

The following teams are currently undefeated (listed alphabetically):

Clemson
Georgia
Michigan
Ohio State
Ole Miss
Syracuse
TCU
Tennessee
UCLA


The following teams are currently winless (also listed alphabetically):

There are no winless teams!

There are now 9 (out of 131) undefeated teams in FBS, a reduction of 6 from last week. There are NO winless teams, as Colorado earned their 1st win last weekend.


Here are the undefeated teams by conference:

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

In addition, there are 4 teams with only 1 win, but no wins over an FBS opponent, as 5 teams earned their 1st FBS win this past week. Those teams are:

Akron
Army (has 2 wins against FCS teams)
UMass
USF

One is from the MAC, 2 are Independents, and 1 is from the AAC.  


Bowl eligible/eliminated 

The following teams have already earned their 6th win, and thus are bowl eligible. Two teams, Army and Marshall, play 2 FCS teams, so they will need 7 wins to qualify. Since there are 43 bowl games, 86 teams will be needed. Teams that finish 5-7 may fill some of those slots if enough teams don't qualify with 6 wins. So far, we have 16 teams eligible. The teams are listed alphabetically.

Alabama
Clemson
Coastal Carolina
Georgia
Illinois
Liberty
Michigan
North Carolina
Ohio State
Ole Miss
Syracuse
TCU
Tennessee
Tulane
UCLA
USC

At this point, no one has 7 losses, so every team still has a chance. Theoretically...

In a week or 2, I will list every team and their chances of making a bowl.

In case you are interested, here are the number of teams with each amount of wins:

7 wins- 4 teams 3.1%
6 wins- 12 teams 9.2%
5 wins- 24 teams 18.3%
4 wins- 24 teams 18.3%
3 wins- 36 teams 27.5%
2 wins- 24 teams 18.3%
1 win- 7 teams 5.3%
0 wins- 0 teams 0%

Note: Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding to nearest tenth.

Here are the amount of teams with each amount of losses:

0 losses- 9 teams 6.9%
1 loss- 16 teams 12.2%
2 losses- 21 teams 16%
3 losses- 38 teams 29%
4 losses- 28 teams 21.4%
5 losses- 15 teams 11.5%
6 losses- 4 teams 3.1%



Updates on my playoff picks 

Georgia had no problems with Vandy. Alabama was upset by Tennessee, but they were on the road, and can still qualify for and win the SEC Championship Game. Ohio State still looks like a strong choice. Utah has been eliminated with their 2nd loss, and has been reduced to the role of spoiler, which they handled quite well against USC. Of those I didn't pick, Clemson looks like the best bet to make it in. Other possibilities are whoever else emerges as an undefeated or 1-loss Pac 12 champion (now down to UCLA, Oregon, or USC), or an undefeated or 1-loss Big 12 champion (TCU, Oklahoma State, or Kansas State). Tennessee is also now a viable candidate.


Games I'm Excited About


Troy @ South Alabama- Can the Jaguars stay undefeated in the SBC and take a firm grip on the division race? Can the Trojans win this and force a tie at the top of the division, and more importantly, seize the tiebreaker edge?

UAB @ WKU- Who will come out on top of what is basically an elimination game?

Syracuse @ Clemson- Are the Orange for real, or is it all a mirage? Will the Tigers reduce their magic number to 1 to clinch the division with a win?

Kansas @ Baylor- Which team will be able to end their 2-game losing streak and keep their fading Big 12 Championship Game hopes alive?

Cincinnati @ SMU- Can the Bearcats eliminate the Mustangs before they even have a chance to get started? Can the Mustangs play spoiler and knock the Bearcats from NY6 consideration?

Toledo @ Buffalo- Which team will be left as the only one with an unblemished conference record?

Texas @ Oklahoma State- Can the Cowboys bounce back from their 1st loss? Can the Longhorns continue their recent success?

Ole Miss @ LSU- Can the Rebels stay undefeated overall and in the SEC? Will the Tigers seize control of the SEC West?

UCLA @ Oregon- Can the Bruins stay undefeated? Will the Ducks be able to pull the upset and take over 1st place in the Pac 12?

Mississippi State @ Alabama- Can the Bulldogs bounce back from their loss to Kentucky? Will the Crimson Tide blow out the Bulldogs, or will they allow them to hang around and perhaps pull the upset?

Boise State @ Air Force- Will the Broncos eliminate their main competition in the division? Can the Falcons pull off the upset and bring the Broncos back to the pack?

Kansas State @ TCU- Who will be the lone remaining unbeaten team in the Big 12? Can the Horned Frogs satay undefeated overall, or will the Wildcats spoil their perfect season?



Wednesday, October 5

Georgia State @ Appalachian State- The Panthers have never beaten the Mountaineers in 8 tries, and the closest they've been was in 2020 when they lost 17-13 in Boone, NC. Otherwise, their average margin of defeat has been 28.4 ppg, with a high of 44 and a low of 14. ASU started the season by barely losing to UNC, then upsetting Texas A&M and beating Troy on a last play Hail Mary, but since then, they've lost to JMU and @Texas St in their last 2 FBS games. GSU started 0-4, losing @S Carolina, to UNC by 7, to Charlotte by 1 and to CCU, but have won their last 2 over Army and Ga Southern by a combined 25 points. My heart says this is the time the Panthers finally catch App State and get a win, but I just can't pull the trigger. ASU wins a close one.




Feel free to leave a comment. Check out yesterday's Power Rankings, and come back tomorrow for Paul's Picks! 

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

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