Odds and Ends 10/1/25

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Welcome Back!


We are now about 1/3 of the way through the season for most teams, and there is a lot more interesting info, as we are now starting to see trends. However, OOC games are just about done, so that goes on the back burner until the end of the year.


Interconference results


Now that we are deep into conference play, there are only a few non-conference games each week. I will revisit this at the end of the season.


Intraconference results

The Sun Belt West leads the East 2-1.


Undefeated/Winless teams

The following teams are undefeated with a 4-0 record (unless otherwise indicated):

BYU 
Georgia Tech (5-0)
Houston 
Indiana (5-0)
Iowa State (5-0)
Louisville 
Maryland
Memphis (5-0)
Miami, Fl
Missouri (5-0)
Navy 
North Texas (5-0)
Ohio State 
Oklahoma
Ole Miss (5-0)
Oregon (5-0)
Texas A&M 
Texas Tech
UNLV 
Vanderbilt (5-0)

10 teams suffered their 1st loss this past weekend, so we are down to 20 out of 136 teams (14.7%) that remain undefeated. 

Here is how many from each conference are still undefeated:

SEC     5 out of 16/.313
Big 12    4-16/.250
Big Ten    4-18/.222
American    3-14/.214
ACC    3-17/.176
MWC    1-12/.083
Pac 12    0-2/.000
Independents 0-2/.000
CUSA    0-10/.000
MAC    0-13/.000
SBC    0-14/.000


The following teams have yet to win a game (0-4 unless otherwise indicated):

Oregon State (0-5)
Sam Houston 
UCLA 
UMass 

1 team earned their 1st win of the season, so we have only 4 teams that remain winless (2.9%).

This is how many from each conference are still winless:

Big Ten     1 out of 18 teams
MAC    1-13
CUSA    1-10
Pac 12    1-2
Ind     0-2
MWC    0-12
SBC    0-14
American    0-14
ACC     0-17
SEC    0-16
Big 12    0-16


The following teams have a win, but no FBS wins:

Air Force
Akron
Arkansas State
Ball State
Boston College
Charlotte
Colorado State
FAU
Florida
Georgia State
Kent State
Liberty
Miami, Oh 
Nevada
Northern Illinois
Oklahoma State
San Jose State 
South Alabama
UTEP

19 teams (14%) do not have an FBS win.
This is how many teams from each conference fall into this category:

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


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 mid- to late-October. But actually, we have as many as 3 teams that can become bowl eligible this Saturday: Vanderbilt (if they win at Alabama), Iowa State (if they win at Cincinnati), and Memphis (if they beat Tulsa at home).


Paul's Playoff Picks

Most of my picks are still in play, but Clemson's and Kansas State's possible bids are all but gone.

As a refresher, here is the setup for the CFP:

5 slots are reserved for the 5 highest ranked conference champions; 7 slots are at-large (any team)
The top 4 seeds get a bye for the 1st round. This year, there are no allowances made for conference champions beyond being accepted into the field. The next 4 seeds get a home game for the 1st round, and the 9-12 seeds travel to play 4-8 (4 vs 12, 5 vs 11, etc.). Teams are not reseeded after the 1st round. After the 1st round, it plays out like any tournament- quarterfinals, semifinals, then finals, all at neutral sites (which I hope will change in future years).

Here is who I think makes it into this year's 12-team CFP, presented in no particular order:

Georgia- loss to Alabama reduces margin for error
Ohio State- still undefeated
Clemson- ELIMINATED
Kansas State- just 2-3, on the verge of elimination
Notre Dame- 2 losses already
Boise State- blown out by USF, but back in the race
Texas- close loss to OSU
Alabama- back in the race
Oregon- still undefeated
Penn State- loss to Oregon at home reduces margin for error
Georgia Tech- still undefeated
LSU- loss at Ole Miss hurts


Here is the list of the next most likely teams to get in:


Oklahoma- still undefeated
Ole Miss- still undefeated
Tennessee- close loss to UGA in OT
Michigan- loss to Oklahoma
Iowa- losses to Iowa State and Indiana
Illinois- routed by Indiana, but still in the Big Ten race
Indiana- still undefeated
USC- loss at Illinois hurts
Miami, Fl- still undefeated
SMU- 2 losses already
Louisville- still undefeated
BYU- still undefeated
Arizona State- loss to lowly Miss State
Iowa State- still undefeated
Baylor- 2 losses already
Utah- big loss to Texas Tech
Tulane- routed by Ole Miss
Army- ELIMINATED
Memphis- still undefeated
San Jose State- ELIMINATED
UNLV- still undefeated
James Madison- loss at Louisville by only 14
Georgia Southern- ELIMINATED
Louisiana- lost to Rice
Texas State- loss to Arizona State
Toledo- 2 losses already
Ohio- 2 losses already
Liberty- ELIMINATED
WKU- loss to Toledo

This is obviously an extensive list, because I basically listed every P4 team with a chance to get 9+ wins, and every G5 team that I think could get 10+ wins. I am 99.9% sure that I will be wrong about much of this, but I would be happy if I get at least 6 of the 12 teams right, and if all 12 come from these 2 lists.


I'll update how my picks are doing each Wednesday throughout the season.




Feel free to leave a comment. Come back tomorrow for Paul's Picks! 

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

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