Paul Prattles On

Welcome Back! We had a sparse weekend of games, with the expected routs, some close games, and a couple of surprising results. Let's get to the recaps! Notre Dame routed  Navy 42-3, pretty much as expected, but the Midshipmen had their chances to make a game of it, but just couldn't convert- missing wide open receivers, receivers dropping passes, and putting the ball on the ground (though they didn't lose any of the fumbles). Going 4-14 on 3rd down and giving up 2 sacks on what few pass attempts they had didn't help, either. For Notre Dame's part, they looked very efficient and balanced on offense, and if this game is any indication, they may be a threat to go undefeated. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and overreact to one game. Jacksonville State jumped out to a 10-0 lead and then held on for a 17-14 win over UTEP , getting a fantastic start to their FBS journey. While the Miners won the TOP battle at approximately 35 minutes to 25, they lost the turno...

Welcome Back! College Football is back!   The first games are in 2 days, and it's a rather sparse weekend, hence the "Week Zero" moniker.  Last year, I finished at 70.3%, which was   below my usual average.  Over the last 6 years, I am a combined 3,648-1,345, which comes out to 73.1%. Last year was my worst year over this period, while 2019 was my best year, at 76.2%. In both 2017 and 2018, I was at 73%, and 2021 was 73.6%, while the pandemic year of 2020 saw me at what had been my previous low of 71.8%. You should know that I only only pick who wins, not against the spread.  I'm not into gambling, and I certainly wouldn't use my picks to gamble with (if you do, that's on  YOU! ). I don't have inside information, I don't scour injury reports, I don't have a research staff, and this isn't my full time job; it's just a hobby, but I have been following college football for right around 50 years, and I've seen a lot of it.  In this space ea...

Welcome Back! On Wednesdays I have my  Odds and Ends .  This is where I present interesting statistics that you can't easily find elsewhere. These include: Interconference results - which conference has the best OOC record (and which division) Intraconference results - how do the divisions do against each other within each conference (what few divisions we have left...) 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 today, I will update them each week Games I'm excited about - I will give a brief preview with key questions about big games that week Since the season hasn't started yet, I will use today's Odds and Ends to present my list of  Coaches On The Hot ...

Welcome Back! While I'm positive every single one of you read and memorized all 15 of my college football previews of the individual teams (Parts I-XV), I thought it would be a good idea to present my top 133 all at once, just in case you missed some, or in case you didn't memorize the order.  But before that, I'm going to compare my top 25 to the AP top 25, just for fun!  So let's start there. AP Rank Team My Rank 1 Georgia 1 2 Michigan 4 3 Ohio State 3 4 Alabama 2 5 LSU 9 6 USC 11 7 Penn State 6 8 FSU 13 9 Clemson 5 10 Washington 12 11 Texas 14 12 Tennessee 15 13 Notre Dame 8 14 Utah 7 15 Oregon 10 16 Kansas State 21 17 TCU 17 18 Oregon State 34 19 Wisconsin 18 20 Oklahoma 19 21 North Carolina 31 22 Ole Miss 33 23 Texas A&M 22 24 Tulane 39 25 Iowa 16 26 Texas Tech 43 27 South Carolina 46 28 UCLA 28 29 UTSA 20 30 Arkansas 47 31 Boise State 23 32 Pittsburgh 24 33 Kentucky 38 T34 Louisville 44 T34 Troy 35 T34 Kansas 80 37 Auburn 54 38 Minnesota 25 T39 Toledo 53 T39 D...