TWIF Notes 8/18/25

By

Welcome Back!

Today starts my normal in-season schedule, as I have finished all of my previews (check out my Previews Parts I through XXV in my previous 25 blogs), and it is finally GAME WEEK!

In case you are new, and not one of my two faithful readers (many thanks to my eldest son and to my brother!), let me go through what you can expect from me during the season.  Obviously, this week will be slightly different.

On Mondays, I have my TWIF Notes. While I will be changing the format, I'll be keeping the name. This year, instead of reviewing every outcome, I plan on streamlining a bit and perhaps just presenting winners and losers from the weekend. These might be a team, an individual, or a whole conference. The object is to do more than just give a brief recap; I hope to highlight important results and accomplishments. But to be honest, I may change the format a few times before I settle on something that feels comfortable. I should mention that TWIF stands for "This Week In Football."

On Tuesdays, I will reveal my updated Power Rankings, and list the biggest movers, both those moving up, and those moving down.  I use my own formula, and for the early part of the season, it is heavily weighted on my preseason points.  As we move forward into the season, I will switch out the preseason points for in-season statistical results, and the rankings will be based solely on a team's performance this season. Usually, I will do this after every team has played at least 4 games (1/3 of the schedule), so around the end of September or the beginning of October. A large component of my rankings are strength of schedule, which again, is my own formula. Please understand that this is not a predictive model; it's more to show what each team has accomplished so far, and then putting them in order.

Wednesdays is where I present Odds and Ends.  This is where I showcase interesting statistics that you can't easily find elsewhere.  Well, at least I find them interesting. These include:

Interconference results- which conference has the best OOC record.
Intraconference results- how do the divisions fare against each other within each conference (I'm a little sad that only the Sun Belt has divisions).
Undefeated/Winless teams- Starting week 2, I keep a running list of undefeated and winless teams throughout the season, updated each week.
Bowl eligible/eliminated- Starting midseason, I 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- After I reveal my picks this Wednesday, I will update them each week.

On Thursdays, I give you Paul's Picks, my picks for every game taking place that week, and sometimes will include my reasoning, be it sound or just a gut feeling.

On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, I usually don't post anything; I may if the Spirit moves me, but don't count on it. I always announce on X/Twitter  (@pbanderson), BlueSky (@pbanderson) and Facebook when I post a new blog, or you can just follow me here or bookmark this page. 


I hope you enjoy my new format, but feel free to offer suggestions in the comments. Come back tomorrow for my Power Rankings!

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Patriots' Day 2025

By
Today, I attended just my second protest. I've been on this Earth for more than 61 years, and had seen protests, but had only participated once- after George Floyd was murdered. But this was my first political protest. I had some idea of what to expect, but was unsure about how I would feel. I also had no idea what reactions I would get as cars crawled (and sometimes sped) past us.  First, a little background. I am very new to political activism. For many years, I have kept to the admonition of not discussing religion or politics in public. As a public school teacher, I have rarely discussed either subject, except in the context of educating students. For example, when discussing western music history, you cannot leave out the role of the Catholic Church (though I am not Catholic). And when discussing music from the 60s and 70s, protest songs (anti-Vietnam War, for example) cannot be ignored. But this was always in the context of history. I would venture to guess that the students ...
Read more

Week 14 Picks

By
This is the last week of the regular season, and includes the conference championship games.  Last week, I was 41-21, for a pretty awful 66.1%, which brings me to 608-210, dropping me below 75% to 74.3%.  I need to do well this week and in the bowls, which typically are difficult to predict, due to layoffs, coaching changes, injuries, etc.  There are only a few games this week, so let's get to it! USC over Stanford (PAC12CG)- USC has been riding high since midseason, and defeated Stanford when Bryce Love was healthy.  The Trojans will keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a close victory, and hope for massive chaos elsewhere. FIU over UMass - The Minutemen have played pretty well this year, though their record doesn't show it.  However, they've won 4 of their last 5 and will certainly give the Panthers all they can handle. UCF over Memphis (AACCG)- The Golden Knights defeated the Tigers 40-13 on September 30, which was Memphis' only loss on the year....
Read more

TWIF Notes 12-5-22

By
Welcome Back! Championship Week lived up to its promise, mostly, as the games were competitive into the 2nd half, but with only one down to the wire. This marks the official end of the regular season, as only one game, Army-Navy, remains. Let's get to the recaps! Teams Who Defeated FCS Opponents, Just As They Should Have New Mexico State crushed Valparaiso 65-3 in a make-up game when they were unable to either reschedule San Jose State or find an FBS foe to fill in. The win gives the Aggies a 6-6 record, their 1st non-losing season since they went 7-6 in 2017. However, with 2 wins over FCS teams, they needed a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible for a bowl, which the organization graciously granted due to their unusual circumstances, so NMSU will be attending their 5th bowl ever! NMSU will be playing in the Quick Lane Bowl against BGSU on Dec 26. FBS vs FBS Games Buffalo  eked by Akron 23-22, scoring a TD with 1:15 remaining to become bowl eligible at 6-6. At 5-3, the Bulls finis...
Read more