Paul Prattles On

Welcome Back! The Power Rankings are much improved this year, and so far I'm pretty happy with how they are working.  They are still far from perfect, but they're much better than when I first introduced them 2 years ago.  If you've been following me for 2 years, then you'll know that the 1st year was marred by too many ties in the rankings.  Last year was better, but there were still too many ties.  This week, there are no ties! First, a few clarifications about the rankings.  I assign a point value to each win and loss.  Depending on how far away a team is from the ones above or below, and how those teams did, a team may move up or down, or may not move at all.  A team may win and move down, or lose and move up, or stay the same.  It all depends on how the teams around them did, and how far away they are from the teams above and below.. A majority of teams move only 1 or 2 spaces either way (or stay in the same spot), but 16 of the top 25 ...

Welcome back! And welcome to Autumn! What an exciting weekend of college football- big games, huge comebacks, and just a little bit of everything! There were several upsets, and many exciting, close games.  And, of course, there were blowouts. I apologize for this being a little late this week.  Normally, I write these out on Sunday afternoon, and then review and post on Monday.  This weekend, however, my wife and I went out of town for a long weekend, and I had no wifi or internet for much of the time, so I had to do it all when I got home Monday afternoon. Anyway, here is how the games turned out, and some thoughts on each (or at least most). Teams who won against FCS competition, exactly as expected: Army 52-21 over Morgan State Wake Forest 49-7 over Elon Liberty 62-27 over Hampton FAU 42-7 over Wagner Arkansas State 41-28 over Southern Illinois Fresno State 34-20 over Sacramento State Hawai'i 35-16 over Central Arkansas Teams wh...

Welcome back! Last week was only okay, as I finished 52-16 for a .765 win percentage. I picked several upsets, and there were several upsets, but the 2 groups were not in common.  Overall, I am 192-35, which is 84.6%.  Not bad!  How long can I stay above 80%?  There are a lot of games this week where my gut disagrees with my brain.  Mostly I went with my brain, but there are 1 or 2 surprises! On to the predictions! Thursday, September 19 Houston @ Tulane - This is the AAC opener for both teams.  While the Green Wave has the better record, their victories are over FIU (which seems to have taken a step back this year), and FCS Missouri St (their best game is a relatively close loss to Auburn).  The Cougars are only 1-2, but their losses are to Oklahoma and Washington St.  My heart says Tulane, but I'm going with UH in a close one. Friday, September 20 FIU @ Louisiana Tech - The Panthers are only 1-2 , with their o...

Welcome Back! Here at Odds and Ends, I plan to look at some stats, trends, storylines, etc. as they play out.  I will also give my opinion on some issues, but you can take that for what it's worth. This is the week I start expanding, as there is a lot more data to work with.  Today I add the list of teams that are undefeated and the teams that are winless.  Six weeks into the season, I'll add the teams that are bowl eligible and those eliminated (or in danger of being eliminated). Anyway, let's get into this week's statistics! LIR Let's start with the Last Interception Race (LIR).  In this space, I will be chronicling who has the most attempts without an interception.  After week 1, here are the top 5: 1. Matthew McCay, NC State- 113 2. Sam Ehlinger, Texas- 112 3. Justin Herbert, Oregon- 105 4. Jarren Williams, Miami, FL- 93 5. Tua Tagavailoa, Alabama- 91 I think...