Paul Prattles On

Welcome Back! Last week, I came very close to perfection with a 3-1 record, a winning percentage of 75%. The game I missed- Montana State over New Mexico- went down to the wire and was decided on a TD with 10 seconds left.  Oh well, there are still many, many games to go. And this week, there are a LOT of FBS vs FCS games, which history shows us is won by FBS teams greater than 90% of the time. So I just have to do well on the other games. There are 96(!) games in total this week, which I hope is the most for any week this year, because it took me a long time to prepare for this. So... on with the picks! Thursday, August 29 Howard @ Rutgers - The Scarlet Knights are 5-0 against the Bison, who were 6-6 last year, and should handle them easily. Rutgers wins big. Western Carolina vs NC State - The Wolfpack are 7-0 against the Catamounts (7-4 last year). In case you were wondering, a catamount is a large cat also known as the mountain lion, panther, American lion, and puma. NC State wi...

Welcome Back! Today will be a little sparse, as there were only 4 games this past weekend, and there just isn't much to analyze. Interconference results As I mentioned above, there were only 4 games, and 1 was a conference game. Here is where we stand so far: ACC 1-0 FCS 1-1 MWC 1-2 There will be a lot more games in the FCS column next week. Intraconference results The only conference with divisions is the Sun Belt, and they have yet to play a game. Undefeated/Winless teams I will start to list these after Week 2 (we just finished Week Zero). Bowl eligible/eliminated I will start listing these as soon as teams become bowl eligible (6 wins) or eliminated (7 losses). Look for this in October. Paul's Playoff Picks All of my picks are still in play (obviously), but FSU's possible bid looks a little shakier. And could Ga Tech make it in, or is that just a huge overreaction? As a refresher, here is the setup for the CFP: 5 slots are reserved for the 5 highest ranked conference ch...

Welcome Back! As you might expect, there weren't very many changes, as there were only 4 games involving 6 FBS teams. After their big win, Georgia Tech moves up 5 spots to #51, FSU drops 1 spot to #12, and Nevada dropped from 129 to 130. The other 3 teams- New Mexico, SMU, and Hawaii- did not move, despite the Lobos losing to an FCS team. This was because they were far enough ahead of the team below them to absorb that loss. However, now the margin between UNM and Southern Miss is extremely narrow. Anyway, here are my rankings from 1 to 134: Rank Team Previous 1 Georgia 1 2 Ohio State 2 3 Oregon 3 4 Alabama 4 5 Notre Dame 5 6 Penn State 6 7 Texas 7 8 Clemson 8 9 Kansas State 9 10 Michigan 10 11 Ole Miss 12 12 FSU 11 13 LSU 13 14 Oklahoma 14 15 Tennessee 15 16 Utah 16 17 Missouri 17 18 SMU 18 19 Oklahoma State 19 20 Iowa 20 21 Liberty 21 22 Miami, Fl 22 23 Texas A&M 23 24 NC State 24 25 Louisville 25 26 Boise State 26 27 Washington 27 28 USC 28 29 Wisconsin 29 30 North Carolina ...

Welcome Back! What a fantastic opening weekend! The 1st game was decided by 3 points on a final play FG, the 2nd game by 4 points on a TD with 10 seconds left, and the 3rd was a 5-point win with 16 unanswered points in the 4th quarter, including the game-winning TD with 1:18 left to go. Only the late game was decided by more than 5 points. This week, I'll have something to say about each of the games, but starting next week, I only plan to mention games that could have a significant impact on a team, a conference, or a CFP berth. That's because, as I've mentioned before, I have less time this year to write blogs, as I am working full time for the 1st time in 7 years (I've been a retired teacher working part time during that period). Anyway, here is my take on the 4 games from yesterday. Georgia Tech scored the 1st upset of the season with a 24-21 victory over FSU . After their 1st drive, the Seminoles didn't create much offense, and seemed to handicap new QB DJ Uia...