Paul Prattles On

Welcome Back! What an exciting 7th weekend of college football! We had several OT games, exciting finishes, big games, and everything else that makes CFB so great! For just the 2nd time this season, there were no games against FCS teams. Here are my thoughts on the FBS vs FBS games. Liberty  got the week started right with an OT win over FIU . The win keeps the Flames undefeated, but the Panthers look like they could be a factor in the CUSA race, or at least play spoiler. Jacksonville State won their 3rd game in a row, this time defeating New Mexico State 54-13 to even their record at 3-3, and the Gamecocks are 2-0 in CUSA. The Aggies are 1-5/0-3, and it's obvious that they won't come close to the heights they achieved last year, as they have already exceeded their loss total from the '23 season. James Madison routed Coastal Carolina 39-7, as both teams are now 1-1 in the SBC. The Dukes rebounded nicely from their loss last week and are now 5-1 on the season. The Chants

Welcome Back! I had a mediocre week, going 36-13, a winning percentage of 73.5%. There are only 52 games in total this week, just a few more than last week, so I sure hope I do a lot better. Games are much harder to predict once we move into conference play, where there are all these rivalries. Overall, I am 317-92, a percentage of 77.5%, and a decrease of 0.6% from last week. I'm below 80% overall, and won't get back there, but I can still reach my "realistic" goal of 75%. So far, I am 2-0 after the early games. So... on with the picks! Thursday, October 10 Coastal Carolina @ James Madison - The Dukes lead this series 3-1, losing the 1st contest in 2005, but winning the last 3: in 2007, 2022, and 2023, all by at least 35 points. Both teams are 4-1, but CCU is 1-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, while JMU is 0-1. The Chanticleers have a good offense with just an ok defense while the Dukes have been inconsistent on offense- scoring anywhere from 13 to 70 points- but have h

Welcome Back! Before I get to this week's interesting tidbits, there is a game being played tonight. Wednesday, October 9 New Mexico State @ Jacksonville State - The Aggies won the contest last year, 20-17 in Las Cruces, but while both teams combined for a 19-9 record last year, this year they are 3-7, with NMSU 0-2 in CUSA. The Gamecocks plastered Kennesaw State last week to win their conference opener, and they should get to 2-0 in CUSA with this win. JSU wins. OOC games are starting to dwindle away as all teams move into their conference schedules. Of course, Notre Dame, UConn, and UMass have to play somebody, as does Oregon State and Washington State, so there will be some throughout the season. However, I have stopped updating the Inter-conference results and will pull them back out at the end of the year. Instead, I will talk about each of the conference races. Conference Call Army leads at 4-0, but Navy is right behind at 3-0. Tulane and Charlotte are 2-0, and UNT is 1-0. Al

Welcome Back! Before I present my Power Rankings, this week starts those maddening mid-week games. Here is my pick for tonight's game. Tuesday, October 8 FIU @ Liberty - The Flames have won both prior meetings, 36-34 in Lynchburg in 2020, and 38-6 last year in Miami. The Panthers have been inconsistent this year, beating CMU and La Tech, but losing to FAU (by 18) and to an FCS team. They've been held to 20 points or less 3 times, which is bad news when facing Liberty. LU has held all 3 opponents to 24 points or less, and have scored at least 28 in each (FIU has allowed 31+ in 3 games). Oh, and the Flames have been off for the last 2 weeks due to their game at App State being canceled because of Hurricane Helene. Liberty wins easily. Power Rankings I had a lot of movement in the PR this week, as we are starting to see some wins and losses pile up.  Last week, I eliminated my preseason points, so that has greatly affected these rankings. That means the rankings are based solely o