Odds and Ends 9-20-23

Welcome Back!

Yesterday, I presented my Power Rankings. New this year is points added based on how the teams are doing statistically. So far, these are the teams playing the best offensively and defensively combined based on my analysis. I'll let you decide if each team is really this good, or if this is the result of them playing poor competition.

1. Syracuse

2. Notre Dame

3. UCF

4. Ohio State

5. Oregon

6. Oklahoma

7. UCLA

8. Miami, FL

9. Clemson

10. Penn State

Inter-conference results 

For these purposes, all Independents (except Notre Dame) are considered G5. 

Here are the results of all out-of-conference games.

Overall

1) Pac 12 29-5 .852

2) SEC 29-8 .783

3) Big Ten 25-8 .758

4) ACC 25-10 .714

5) Big 12 28-13 .683

6) SBC 24-12 .667

7) Independents 9-7 .563

8) CUSA 13-11 .542

9) AAC 18-22 .450

10) MAC 16-21 .432

11) MWC 15-22 .405

12) FCS 4-98 .039

The Pac 12 remains in 1st place winning an astonishing 85% of their OOC games (but 1-2 against the SEC), but the SEC moves past the Big Ten into 2nd place. For G5 conferences, the Sun Belt continues to lead, and the Mountain West falls into last place. 

vs FBS

1) Pac 12 21-4 .840

2) Big Ten 20-8 .714

3) SEC 17-8 .680

4) ACC 15-10 .600

5) Big 12 17-13 .567

6) SBC 11-12 .478

7) Independents 5-7 .417

8) CUSA 6-11 .353

9) MAC 7-19 .269

10) AAC 8-22 .267

11) MWC 6-21 .222

12) FCS 4-98 .039

Again, the Pac 12 leads, followed by the Big Ten. The Sun Belt leads the G5, as CUSA and the MAC move up.

vs P5

1) Pac 12 7-3 .700

2) ACC 8-8 .500

3) Big 12 6-7 .462

T4) Big Ten 5-7 .417

T4) SEC 5-7 .417

T6) SBC 3-6 .333

T6) Ind 1-2 .333

8) MWC 4-17 .190

9) MAC 3-14 .176

10) AAC 1-12 .077

11) FCS 1-46 .021

12) CUSA 0-6 .000

The Pac 12 continues to lead as the only conference above .500, with the SEC and Big Ten doing the worst among the P5 conferences. Once again, the Sun Belt leads among the G5, with CUSA still winless in this category, though they've only had 6 chances, fewer than any other conference (except Independents).

vs G5

1) Big Ten 15-1 .938

2) Pac 12 14-1 933

3) SEC 12-1 .923

4) ACC 7-2 .778

5) SBC 8-4 .667

6) Big 12 11-6 .647

7) CUSA 6-5 .545

T8) MWC 2-2 .500

T8) MAC 4-4 .500

10) Ind 4-5 .444

11) AAC 7-9 .438

12) FCS 3-52 .055

The Big Ten is in 1st, but that's mainly because they have played more G5 teams than any of the other P5 conferences (except the Big 12). The Sun Belt leads in this category, also, even doing better than the Big 12.

vs FCS

The MWC has lost one game to an FCS team; the MAC has lost 2. Surprisingly, the Pac 12 has a loss to an FCS team, one of their few OOC losses overall.

Intra-conference results

There have been only 4 intra-conference games so far this year. The Big Ten East leads the Big Ten West 2-0, and the Sun Belt East leads the Sun Belt West 2-0.

Which Conference is Best?

This category takes each team's overall record in all games into consideration. Here is how they stack up after Week 3.

1) Pac 12 30-6 .833

2) SEC 32-11 .744

T3) Big Ten 29-13 .690

T3) ACC 29-13 .690

T3) Big 12 29-13 .690

6) SBC 26-15 .634

7) CUSA 16-14 .533

8) Independents 7-7 .500

9) AAC 19-23 .452

10) MWC 17-21 .447

11) MAC 16-21 .432

The Pac 12 is still far in the lead, and the Sun Belt is still the best among the G5 leagues.

Which Division is Best?

To further break things out, I break the conferences down into divisions. Unfortunately, there are fewer conferences using divisions this year, and even fewer will be using them next year.

1) Big Ten East 18-3 .857

2) Pac 12 30-6 .833

3) SEC West 16-5 .762

4) SBC East 15-5 .750

5) SEC East 16-6 .727

T6) ACC 29-13 .690

T6) Big 12 29-13 .690

8) CUSA 16-14 .533

T9) Big 10 West 11-10 .524

T9) SBC West 11-10 .524

11) Ind 7-7 .500

12) AAC 19-23 .452

13) MWC 17-21 .447

14) MAC West 8-10 .444

15) MAC East 8-11 .421

The Big Ten East continues to lead, as they were 5-2 last week. The Sun Belt East is the best division among the G5 conferences. The Pac 12 was 9-2 last weekend, as both the Big 12 and the ACC were 9-5, and the SEC West was 5-2. The Big Ten West at 3-4, the AAC at 6-8, and the Mountain West at 4-8 had the only losing records for the week.

Undefeated/Winless teams

These are the teams that are undefeated so far, listed alphabetically (all teams are 3-0 unless otherwise noted):

Air Force

Auburn

BYU

Colorado

Duke

Fresno State

FSU

Georgia

Georgia State

Iowa

James Madison

Kansas

Kentucky

Liberty

Louisville

Marshall (2-0)

Maryland

Memphis

Miami, FL

Michigan

Missouri

North Carolina

Notre Dame (4-0)

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Ole Miss

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Rutgers

Syracuse

Texas

UCF

UCLA

USC 

Utah

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

The following teams are winless, also listed alphabetically (all teams are 0-3 unless shown otherwise):

Buffalo

Colorado State (0-2)

East Carolina

Nevada

Sam Houston (0-2)

UConn

Virginia

There are 39 teams without a loss so far (down from 50 last week), and only 7 winless teams (down from 16 last week). This is how they break down by conference (1st number listed is number of undefeated teams, 2nd is number of winless teams):

1) Pac 12 8-0

2) ACC 7-1

3) Big Ten 6-0

T4) SEC 5-0

T4) Big 12 5-0

6) Sun Belt 3-0

7) Mountain West 2-2

T8) CUSA 1-1

T8) Independents 1-1

T8) AAC 1-1

11) MAC 0-1

In addition, there are 31 teams that have a win, but no wins against FBS competition, down from 38 last week, as some teams dropped off, but others moved here from the winless list. Those teams are (again listed alphabetically):

Akron

Arkansas State

Arizona State

Ball State

Baylor

Boise State

Boston College

Bowling Green

Central Michigan

Charlotte

FAU

Georgia Tech

Hawaii

Indiana

Iowa State

Kent State

Middle Tennessee

Navy

New Mexico

Pittsburgh

San Jose State

South Carolina

Southern Miss

Texas Tech

Troy

Tulsa

UAB

USF

UTEP

Utah State

Western Michigan

There are some surprising names on this list! Here is how they break down by conference:

AAC- 6

MAC- 6

Mountain West- 5

Sun Belt- 3

ACC-3

Big 12-3

CUSA- 2

SEC-1

Pac 12- 1

Big Ten-1

Independents- 0

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)

Updates on my playoff picks 

Michigan and Ohio State won rather easily, but Alabama struggled to get by USF, a team expected to finish at or near the bottom of the AAC this year. Clemson may have turned the corner and turned into the team everyone expected, but we'll find out more when they play FSU this week. My CFP prediction is not off to a good start, but none of my teams have been eliminated just yet.

Of the other teams I mentioned as possibilities- Georgia, USC, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Kansas State, Texas, Texas Tech, FSU, NC State, North Carolina, LSU, Penn State, and Wisconsin- the Longhorns, Trojans, Utes, Huskies, Seminoles, and Tar Heels have distinguished themselves so far, while the Badgers and KSU Wildcats look less than playoff material, and the Red Raiders are probably eliminated. The Bayou Bengals may be playing their way back into playoff consideration. The others are still possible, of course; they just haven't stood out to me either positively or negatively yet, but there is still a long way to go.

Games I'm Excited About

There are some fantastic games this week!

Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina- Can the Panthers continue their hot start to the season and get revenge for their 17-point loss to CCU last year? Will the Chanticleers get a 3rd win in 4 years over GSU?

Rutgers @ Michigan- Can the Scarlet Knights actually pull the upset, stay undefeated, and completely throw the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff pictures in disarray? Will the Wolverines even break a sweat?

FSU @ Clemson- Can the Seminoles regain the same explosiveness and defense they exhibited in their opener against LSU? Have the Tigers figured out their own deficiencies, and are they ready to make a run to the ACC crown, and perhaps a berth in the CFP?

Oklahoma @ Cincinnati- Was the Bearcats' loss to Miami last week just a symptom of taking the Redhawks lightly and looking ahead to this matchup, or is it a harbinger of what's to come? Will the Sooners continue to mash their competition, or can Cincy challenge them?

Army @ Syracuse- Are the Orange ready to defend the Army offense, and can they stay undefeated in the process? Will the Black Knights pull the upset, their 1st win over a P5 team since beating Duke in 2017?

Auburn @ Texas A&M- Have the Aggies turned their season around, and can they handle the Plainsmen at home in College Station? Will the Tigers be able to handle their 1st big test on the road (does the game at Cal count? Maybe...), and can they remain undefeated in HC Hugh Freeze's 1st year?

SMU @ TCU- Can the Horned Frogs win the Battle for the Iron Skillet for a 2nd season in a row after losing the previous 2? Will the Mustangs prove they belong in a P5 conference (they'll be in the ACC next year) with a victory, going 1-1 against the Big 12 this year?

Ole Miss @ Alabama- Could the Crimson Tide actually lose 2 home games in 1 year for the 1st time since 2007 (Nick Saban's 1st year, when they were 3-3 at home), and could they actually be 2-2 in a season for the 1st time since 2003 (when they went 4-9 in HC Mike Shula's 1st year)? Do the Rebels really have enough on offense and defense (allowing 21.5 ppg to FBS foes) to play well enough to take down the Tide?

UCLA @ Utah- Will the Utes have enough firepower to stay with UCLA, especially if star QB Cam Rising is still unable to play? Will the Bruins be able to score on the Utah defense, though I could say the same about the UCLA defense, as it has given up 1 less point than the Utes have?

Colorado @ Oregon- Can the Ducks stop the prolific Colorado offense? Can the Buffaloes stop anyone?

Boston College @ Louisville- Will the Eagles display the same grittiness they showed last week against FSU, but without all the penalties, or was that a one-off? Can the Cardinals continue their magical homecoming for HC Jeff Brohm and remain unbeaten?

BYU @ Kansas- Will the Jayhawks continue to roll on offense, and can their defense play well enough for KU to stay undefeated? Are the Cougars good enough to win their 1st ever conference game as a member of the Big 12?

UTSA @ Tennessee- Will the Roadrunners have the services of star QB Frank Harris, and if so, could they possibly pull the upset? Can the Volunteers find some consistency on offense, and can they stop the passing of UTSA if Harris plays?

Arkansas @ LSU- Will the Tigers continue their march to the SEC West crown, or will their season get uprooted by the Hogs? Can the Razorbacks pull the huge upset and get their own dreams of a championship back on track?

Oregon State @ Washington State- Can the Beavers do enough on defense to keep the Wazzu offense in check? Will the Cougars establish themselves as the champions of the Pac Two?

Ohio State @ Notre Dame- Are the Fighting Irish ready to establish themselves as a CFP contender with a win over OSU at home? Can the Buckeyes be the 1st team this year to hold the Irish to under 41 points, and/or be the 1st to score more then 24 points against the Notre Dame defense?

Iowa @ Penn State- Can the Nittany Lions score enough to win against an Iowa team that has yet to allow anyone to score more than 14 points? Will the Hawkeyes score enough to give themselves a chance?

Memphis @ Missouri (St. Louis)- Will the Tigers (Memphis version) be able to score on Missouri? Can the Tigers (Mizzou version) avoid a letdown after last week's dramatic win over former rival Kansas State?

UCF @ Kansas State- Will the Wildcats be able to bounce back from their devastating loss to Missouri last week? How will the Knights do in their 1st ever conference game as a member of the Big 12?

North Carolina @ Pittsburgh- Can the Tar Heels make it 2 in a row over Pitt? Will the Panthers recover from 2 rivalry losses in a row and finally get a win against an FBS opponent?

Feel free to leave a comment. Come back tomorrow for Paul's Picks, as I pick the winner for all 74 games this weekend! 

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