Paul Prattles On

Welcome Back! Wow! We had yet another exciting weekend, with a few upsets and a lot of near upsets. But no coaches have been fired (yet!), so that's a big plus. This year, I decided to keep up with which teams I watch on TV, with a goal of seeing every team. Now, there is no way I can watch every team play a full game, so my criteria is seeing every team play at least one offensive and one defensive drive or series. So far, I have seen 132 of the 136 FBS teams, including every P4 team. I am only missing 1 team from the Mountain West (San Diego State), 1 from the MAC (E Mich), and 2 from CUSA (WKU & SHS). If that seems like I am prioritizing the G6 teams less, that is only partially true. My TV package does not include ESPN+ or CBS Sports Network, so I have to wait for teams to appear on Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, SEC, BTN, or ACC networks. I also have the MWC app (it's free!), which allows me to watch contests from the Mountain West Conference that don't appear on other netwo...

Welcome Back! Last week was exactly the same as the week before (which wasn't very good), as I was 35-17 (67.3%), making me 520-168 overall with a winning percentage of 75.5% (down 0.8% from last week). This time, it was the ACC which messed me up, as I'm not sure I got more than 1 or 2 right for that conference. This week we are at 59 games, 7 more than each of the last 2 weeks, but there are some big games. I'm 2-3 so far after the early games, which means I'm not off to a good start (thanks to MACtion). Let's see if I can stay above 75% for the year. So... on with the picks! Thursday, November 13 Troy @ ODU - The Trojans and Monarchs are both 6-3 overall. ODU is 3-2 in the Sun Belt East (3rd place) and unlikely to make it to 1st place. Troy is 4-1 in the SBC West and can claim the division by winning their last 3 games. The Monarchs are 4-0 at home and the Trojans are 3-1 on the road, with their only loss at Clemson. This should be a fantastic game, but I'm g...

Welcome Back! As expected, my Power Rankings did pretty well in predicting the committee rankings! My top 8 were all in the top 8 and of the 12-team bracket, I have 10 of the 12 I have Vandy and Utah instead of Texas and Notre Dame). Of the Committee's top 25, I have all of the top 17 in my top 25, in addition to Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, and Pitt, and among the 5 outside my top 25- Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisville- I have them ranked 26, 27, 28, 29, and 31 respectively. Not too shabby! Wednesday, November 12 Buffalo @ Central Michigan - The Chippewas have doubled up the Bulls 8-4 in this series, but Buffalo has won 3 of the last 4, including 37-13 in their last meeting in 2023. However, CMU is 3-1 in games played in Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant. Both teams are 5-4 overall, but the Bulls are tied with 3 other teams at the top of the MAC with a 4-1 conference record with the Chips just behind at 3-2. CMU is 2-0 at home vs FBS teams, but those wer...

Welcome Back! Happy Veterans' Day! As a semi-veteran, and the son of a WWII POW, this day has always held special significance for me. As you go about your holiday, please think of all those who have served and who continue to serve. Before I begin, there are 2 games today. Last week I was 2-0 on the Tuesday games. Let's see if I can keep it up. Tuesday, October 28 Kent State @ Akron - The Zips hold a 37-28-2 lead in the series, winning the last 2 including 38-17 last year, but the Golden Flashes have won 4 of the last 6, and 2 of the last 3 played in InfoCision Stadium. Akron is 4-6/3-3 with a good chance of getting to 6 wins for the 1st time since they were 7-7 in 2017, but they're ineligible for a bowl, and only 2-2 at home vs FBS opponents. KSU is 3-6/2-3, and also fighting to get to 6 wins, but they are 0-5 on the road this season, and have lost 19 road contests in a row, last winning at Buffalo in the final game of the 2022 season. Zips win. Ohio @ Western Michigan - ...