Odds and Ends 10/8/25

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Welcome Back!


We are almost 1/2 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. We do have some Wednesday games this week, so I'll start with those.


Wednesday, October 8

Missouri State @ Middle Tennessee- The Blue Raiders lead this brief series 1-0, but I can find no further info on the contest- when it was, where it was played, or the score. The Bears are 2-3/0-1, with a close loss to WKU last week. MTSU is 1-4/0-1, with a loss to an FCS team (by 20 points!). Both teams have played Marshall, with Mo State winning by 1 and the Blue Raiders losing by 14. Both teams were also off last week. Bears win to get their 1st ever CUSA win.

Liberty @ UTEP- The Flames have defeated the Miners each of the last 2 years, winning by at least 14 points both times. Both teams are off to 1-4/0-1 starts, with both victories over FCS teams, so one of these teams will get their 1st FBS win of the season. They also both had a bye week last week. UTEP wins at home.


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 5-0 record (unless otherwise indicated):

BYU 
Georgia Tech 
Indiana 
Memphis (6-0)
Miami, Fl
Missouri 
Navy 
North Texas 
Ohio State 
Oklahoma
Ole Miss 
Oregon 
Texas A&M 
Texas Tech
UNLV 

5 teams suffered their 1st loss this past weekend, so we are down to 15 out of 136 teams (11.0%) that remain undefeated. 

Here is how many from each conference are still undefeated:

SEC     4 out of 16/.250
American    3-14/.214
Big Ten    3-18/.167
Big 12    2-16/.125
ACC    2-17/.118
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 (0-5 unless otherwise indicated):

Oregon State (0-6)
Sam Houston 
UMass 

1 team earned their 1st win of the season, so we have only 3 teams that remain winless (2.2%).

This is how many from each conference are still winless:

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


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

Air Force
Boston College
Charlotte
Colorado State
Georgia State
Kent State
Liberty
Nevada
Northern Illinois
Oklahoma State
South Alabama
UTEP

12 teams (8.8%) do not have an FBS win, including 2 P4 teams.

This is how many teams from each conference fall into this category:

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


Bowl eligible/eliminated

Memphis, as the only team at 6-0, is the 1st team to become bowl eligible! 


Paul's Playoff Picks

Most of my picks are still in play, but more and more teams are being eliminated each week.

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- ELIMINATED
Notre Dame- 2 losses already
Boise State- ELIMINATED
Texas- only 3-2
Alabama- back in the race
Oregon- still undefeated
Penn State- loss to previously winless UCLA puts them on the verge of elimination
Georgia Tech- still undefeated
LSU- loss at Ole Miss hurts

NOTE: Eliminated only means from an at-large spot. These teams could still win their respective conferences. 


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- just lost to Virginia
BYU- still undefeated
Arizona State- loss to lowly Miss State
Iowa State- just suffered 1st loss
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- ELIMINATED
Toledo- 2 losses already
Ohio- ELIMINATED
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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