Paul Prattles On

Welcome Back! Last week I bounced back to go 40-14, or 74.1% correct. Overall, I am 419-121, or 77.6%, a drop of 0.4% from last week. I typically finish around 73%, but my goal is always to finish at or above 75%. This week, there are a lot of conference matchups, and no games against FCS opponents- 54 games overall. With conference play in full swing, the games are much harder to predict, so my accuracy is likely to drop. Can I stay above 75%?. So far, I am 3-1 on my early picks, which is a 1/2-game better than I've been the last 2 weeks.  Now... on with the picks! Thursday, October 26 Syracuse @ Virginia Tech - The Orange lead the series 11-8, winning the last 2, and 4 of the last 5 (since 2001), and they've won 2 of the last 3 played in Blacksburg. While they 1st played in 1964, most of their games were between 1985 and 2003, 1st when they were both Independents, and then as members of the Big East from 1991-2003. The Hokies are 3-4/2-1, and 3-1 at home, with wins over Pitt ...

Welcome Back! Before I get to my early picks, I want to give the top 10 teams in my statistical analysis that I use for my Power Rankings. These are the teams that are doing the best so far this season offensively and defensively combined, based on a formula I devised. 1. Georgia 2. Oregon 3. Michigan 4. Penn State 5. Miami, FL 6. SMU 7. Ohio State 8. South Alabama 9. Air Force 10. Troy Here are the teams doing the worst statistically: 133. Nevada 132. Temple 131. ULM 130. Southern Miss 129. Arkansas State 128. San Diego State T127. Kent State T127. FIU 125. Stanford 124. UMass Here are my picks for tonight's games: Wednesday, October 25 Jacksonville State @ FIU - In their only previous meeting, the Gamecocks defeated the Panthers 19-10 in 2020. JSU is 6-2/4-1, and 2-1 on the road, with wins over UTEP and WKU and at SHS (by 7 in OT), and a loss to Liberty (by 18). FIU is 4-4/1-4, and 2-2 at home, with a win over SHS (by 6), and losses to Liberty (by 32), and at La Tech and NMSU. Th...

Welcome Back! Before I talk about the rankings, there are 2 early games this week. Hopefully, I'll do better this week than last on these early contests... Tuesday, October 17 New Mexico State @ La Tech - The Bulldogs lead the series 8-4, winning the last 6, but most of the contests (8) occurred between 2005-2012, when both were members of the WAC. They also played in 1995, when each were members of the Big West, and in 1967, '68, and '83. The Aggies have never defeated LT in Ruston in 5 tries. This year NMSU is 5-3/3-1, and 2-2 on the road, with wins over FIU (by 17), Sam Houston, and at UTEP (by 21), and a loss at Liberty, and they currently are battling WKU and JSU for 2nd place in CUSA and a spot in the title game (JSU is ineligible). The Bulldogs are 3-5/2-2, and 2-2 at home, with wins over FIU (by 5) and at UTEP (by 14), and losses to WKU and at MTSU. This will probably be close, but the Aggies finally get a win in Ruston. Liberty @ WKU - The Flames lead the series 3-...