Category: FBS

2013 Preseason Consensus from Stassen.com

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So now that the majority of preseason magazines for the upcoming 2013 season of College Football have been released, it’s time to start looking at the numbers and then taking a look at each team.  We’ll be using websites like these, preseason.stassen.com, to give us a broad look at all of the rankings from the major magazines.  We’ll also look at the websites out there and their rankings for conference  and overall wins.  My next post will be the odds from Vegas for the over/under win totals for all of the FBS Teams.

National Top 25

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
1 Alabama 150 1 1 1 1 1
2 Ohio State 142 2 2 5 2 2
3 Oregon 130 4 3 8 5 5
4 Stanford 129 3 7 2 11 3
5 Georgia 120 6 4 12 9 4
6 Texas A&M 114 5 9 7 13 7
7 South Carolina 113 9 5 3 14 11
8 Clemson 110 7 6 9 15 8
9 Louisville 105 10 10 11 7 12
10 Notre Dame 99 14 8 10 10 14
11 Florida 98 12 13 4 18 10
12 Oklahoma State 95 11 16 6 8 19
13 Florida State 89 13 15 18 3 17
14 Texas 88 18 18 14 4 13
15 Louisiana State 84 8 12 16 17 18
16 Boise State 75 17 11 15 – 6
17 Michigan 73 16 14 13 24 15
18 Nebraska 67 21 21 21 16 9
19 Oklahoma 64 15 17 19 19 21
20 Texas Christian 45 22 20 – 21 16
21 Southern Cal 31 25 – – 6 –
22 Wisconsin 30 – 19 24 20 –
23 Fresno State 27 – 22 – 22 22
24 Baylor 26 19 – 17 – –
25 Miami-Florida 22 24 – 22 25 –

Others receiving votes:

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
26t Michigan State 19 20 – – 23 –
26t UCLA 19 23 – 20 – –
26t Virginia Tech 19 – – – 12 –
29 Northwestern 18 – 24 – – 20
30 Oregon State 14 – 25 23 – –
31t Arizona State 8 – 23 – – –
31t Northern Illinois 8 – – – – 23
33 Kansas State 7 – – – – 24
34t Mississippi 6 – – 25 – –
34t Tulsa 6 – – – – 25
36 unranked 0 – – – – –

Conference predictions

AAC (former Big East)

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
1 Louisville 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 Rutgers 15 2 3 2 5½ 2½
3 Cincinnati 15½ 3 2 3 3 4½
4 Central Florida 17½ 4 4 5 2 2½
5 Houston 30½ 5 7 10 4 4½
6 Connecticut 31½ 6 6 4 7 8½
7 Southern Methodist 33½ 7 8 6 5½ 7
8 South Florida 34 8 5 7 8 6
9 Memphis 46 9 9 9 9 10
10 Temple 46½ 10 10 8 10 8½

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Rutgers and Southern Methodist for 5th-6th place in the AAC.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Central Florida and Rutgers for 2nd-3rd place in the AAC.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Cincinnati and Houston for 4th-5th place in the AAC.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Connecticut and Temple for 8th-9th place in the AAC.

Atlantic Coast

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
Atlantic
1 Clemson 6 1 1 1 2 1
2 Florida State 9 2 2 2 1 2
3 N.C. State 18 4 4 3 4 3
4 Maryland 19 3 3 4 4 5
5 Wake Forest 27 7 5 6 4 5
6 Syracuse 29 6 6 5 7 5
7 Boston College 32 5 7 7 6 7
Coastal
1 Miami-Florida 6½ 1 1 1 2 1½
2 Virginia Tech 11½ 3 2 4 1 1½
3 Georgia Tech 15½ 2 3 3 3½ 4
4 North Carolina 16½ 4 4 2 3½ 3
5 Pittsburgh 26½ 5 5 5 6 5½
6 Virginia 29½ 6 6 6 6 5½
7 Duke 34 7 7 7 6 7

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a three-way tie between Maryland, N.C. State, and Wake Forest, for 3rd-5th place in the ACC Atlantic division.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Georgia Tech and North Carolina for 3rd-4th place in the ACC Coastal division.
  • Phil Steele predicted a three-way tie between Duke, Pittsburgh, and Virginia, for 5th-7th place in the ACC Coastal division.
  • USA Today predicted a three-way tie between Maryland, Syracuse, and Wake Forest, for 4th-6th place in the ACC Atlantic division.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Miami-Florida and Virginia Tech for 1st-2nd place in the ACC Coastal division.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Pittsburgh and Virginia for 5th-6th place in the ACC Coastal division.

Big Ten

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
Leaders
1 Ohio State 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 Wisconsin 10 2 2 2 2 2
3 Penn State 15 3 3 3 3 3
4 Indiana 21 4 4 5 4 4
5 Purdue 24½ 5 5 4 5 5½
6 Illinois 29½ 6 6 6 6 5½
Legends
1 Michigan 8½ 1 1 1 3½ 2
2 Nebraska 9½ 3 2 2 1½ 1
3 Michigan State 15½ 2 4 4 1½ 4
4 Northwestern 16½ 4 3 3 3½ 3
5 Iowa 27 5 6 6 5 5
6 Minnesota 28 6 5 5 6 6

Notes:

  • Lindy’s swapped Purdue/Illinois and Iowa/Minnesota in their division predictions — they had Iowa/Monnesota in Leaders and Purdue/Illinois in Legends. Since they predicted each pair of teams 5th/6th (in the wrong division), I counted that as a prediciton of 5th/6th in the proper one.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Michigan State and Nebraska for 1st-2nd place in the Big Ten Legends division.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Michigan and Northwestern for 3rd-4th place in the Big Ten Legends division.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Illinois and Purdue for 5th-6th place in the Big Ten Leaders division.

Big XII

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
1 Oklahoma State 8 1 1 1 2 3
2 Texas 10 3 3 2 1 1
3 Oklahoma 13 2 2 3 3 3
4 Texas Christian 22 5 4 6 4 3
5 Baylor 25½ 4 6 4 5 6½
6 Kansas State 27 6 5 5 6 5
7 Texas Tech 37 8 7 7 7 8
8 West Virginia 40½ 9 8 9 8 6½
9 Iowa State 43 7 9 8 9½ 9½
10 Kansas 49 10 10 10 9½ 9½

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Iowa State and Kansas for 9th-10th place in the Big XII.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Baylor and West Virginia for 6th-7th place in the Big XII.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Iowa State and Kansas for 9th-10th place in the Big XII.

Conference USA

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
East
1 East Carolina 7½ 1 2 1 2 1½
2 Marshall 9½ 3 1 3 1 1½
3 Middle Tennessee 16 2 3 2 5 4
4 Southern Miss 20½ 5 5 4 3½ 3
5 UAB 22 4 4 5 3½ 5½
6 Florida Atlantic 30 6 6 6 6½ 5½
7 Florida Int’l 34½ 7 7 7 6½ 7
West
1 Tulsa 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 Rice 10 2 2 2 2 2
3 Louisiana Tech 18 4 3 3 4½ 3½
4 Texas-El Paso 23 3 4 4 6 6
5 North Texas 24 5 6 5 4½ 3½
6 Tulane 25 6 5 6 3 5
7 UTSA 35 7 7 7 7 7

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Southern Mississippi and UAB for 3rd-4th place in CUSA East.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Florida Atlantic and Florida International for 6th-7th place in CUSA East.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Louisiana Tech and North Texas for 4th-5th place in CUSA West.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between East Carolina and Marshall for 1st-2nd place in CUSA East.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Florida Atlantic and UAB for 5th-6th place in CUSA East.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Louisiana Tech and North Texas for 3rd-4th place in CUSA West.

Mid-American

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
East
1 Bowling Green 8 3 1 1 1 2
2 Ohio 9 1 2 3 2 1
3 Buffalo 16 2 4 4 3 3
4 Kent State 18 4 3 2 4 5
5 Miami-Ohio 25 6 5 5 5 4
6t Akron 32 7 6 7 6 6
6t Massachusetts 32 5 7 6 7 7
West
1 Northern Illinois 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 Toledo 12 3 3 2 2 2
3 Ball State 13 2 2 3 3 3
4 Western Michigan 21 4 4 5 4 4
5 Central Michigan 24 5 5 4 5 5
6 Eastern Michigan 30 6 6 6 6 6

Mountain West

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
West
1 Fresno State 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 San Diego State 12 3 3 2 2 2
3 San Jose State 14½ 2 2 3 3 4½
4 Nevada 19 4 4 4 4 3
5 Nevada-Las Vegas 27 5 5 5 6 6
6 Hawaii 27½ 6 6 6 5 4½
Mountain
1 Boise State 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 Utah State 10 2 2 2 2 2
3 Air Force 15½ 3 3 3 3½ 3
4 Wyoming 22½ 4 4 4 5 5½
5 Colorado State 24 5 5 5 3½ 5½
6 New Mexico 28 6 6 6 6 4

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Air Force and Colorado State for 3rd-4th place in the MWC Mountain division.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Hawai’i and San Jose State for 4th-5th place in the MWC West division.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Colorado State and Wyoming for 5th-6th place in the MWC Mountain division.

Pacific 12

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
North
1t Oregon 7½ 2 1 2 1 1½
1t Stanford 7½ 1 2 1 2 1½
3 Oregon State 16½ 4 3 3 3 3½
4 Washington 18½ 3 4 4 4 3½
5 California 27 5 5 5 6 6
6 Washington State 28 6 6 6 5 5
South
1 UCLA 9 1 3 1 3 1
2 Arizona State 10½ 3 1 2 2 2½
3 Southern Cal 11½ 2 2 4 1 2½
4 Arizona 19½ 4 4 3 4 4½
5 Utah 24½ 5 5 5 5 4½
6 Colorado 30 6 6 6 6 6

Notes:

  • USA Today predicted a tie between Oregon and Stanford for 1st-2nd place in the PAC 12 North.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Oregon State and Washington for 3rd-4th place in the PAC 12 North.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Arizona State and Southern Cal for 2nd-3rd place in the PAC 12 South.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Arizona and Utah for 4th-5th place in the PAC 12 South.

Southeastern

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
East
1 Georgia 7 1 1 3 1 1
2 South Carolina 10 2 2 1 2½ 2½
3 Florida 13 3 3 2 2½ 2½
4 Vanderbilt 21½ 4 4 4 5½ 4
5 Tennessee 24½ 5 5 5 4 5½
6 Missouri 29 6 6 6 5½ 5½
7 Kentucky 35 7 7 7 7 7
West
1 Alabama 5 1 1 1 1 1
2 Texas A&M 10½ 2 2 2 2½ 2
3 Louisiana State 14½ 3 3 3 2½ 3
4 Mississippi 20½ 4 4 4 4 4½
5 Mississippi State 28 5 5 7 6½ 4½
6 Arkansas 29½ 6 7 5 5 6½
7 Auburn 32 7 6 6 6½ 6½

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Florida and South Carolina for 2nd-3rd place in the SEC East.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Missouri and Vanderbilt for 5th-6th place in the SEC East.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Louisiana State and Texas A&M for 2nd-3rd place in the SEC West.
  • Phil Steele predicted a tie between Auburn and Mississippi State for 6th-7th place in the SEC West.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Florida and South Carolina for 2nd-3rd place in the SEC East.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Missouri and Tenneessee for 5th-6th place in the SEC East.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Mississippi and Mississippi State for 4th-5th place in the SEC West.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Arkansas and Auburn for 6th-7th place in the SEC West.

Sun Belt

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
1 Louisiana-Lafay. 8 3 1 2 1 1
2t Louisiana-Monroe 13½ 1 2 3 3 4½
2t Western Kentucky 13½ 4 3 1 3 2½
4 Arkansas State 17½ 2 4 4 3 4½
5 Troy 22½ 5 5 5 5 2½
6 Texas State 30 6 6 6 6 6
7 South Alabama 35 7 7 7 7 7
8 Georgia State 40 8 8 8 8 8

Notes:

  • Phil Steele predicted a three-way tie between Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, and Western Kentucky, for 2nd-4th place in the Sun Belt.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Troy and Western Kentucky for 2nd-3rd place in the Sun Belt.
  • USA Today predicted a tie between Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe for 4th-5th place in the Sun Belt.

BCS National Championship 2013-2014 Odds

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ImageSo as you will learn the more I blog, I am regular watcher of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report…  There are a couple of notable things within both of these shows or regular “nicknames” they use for people within the media, my favorite being Stephen Colbert’s use of “Papa Bear” for Fox News host of The Factor with Bill O’Reilly.  So in that tradition, I will be using the name Godfather in reference for Phil Steele.  Incase you are unaware, Godfather, publishes a novel about pre-season college football every year around June, he also runs a website, blog and is active within social media.  Godfather is legit!  So to start our blog for the New Year here is a write up he did about the odds for winning the 2013-14 National Championship from Vegas, or as we will call it going forward, the Homeland (also an avid viewer of the show)-

Phil Steele

A couple of days ago, several casinos released their odds for the 2013-14 BCS National Championship. While PhilSteele.com does not affiliate itself with gambling, I do think it is interesting to see how Vegas is examining the upcoming season.

Here are the Top 10 Favorites to win the title this upcoming year courtesy of Bovada.

1. Alabama                  Odds: 4/1

Tough to go against a program that has won three out of the last four national championships including winning one this year with a team that many thought were a year away including its head coach Nick Saban. Next year’s team will return quarterback AJ McCarron, linebacker CJ Mosely and a boatload of other talented players. The schedule is manageable with two weeks to prepare for an early road trip to Texas A&M and they also have a home date against LSU. Also noteworthy is the fact that for a second straight year, the Crimson Tide avoid Florida, Georgia and South Carolina from the SEC East.

2. Ohio State               Odds: 8.5/1

At Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, Urban Meyer’s 2nd season was better than his first and the only thing that can top a 12-0 season, which the Buckeyes achieved in 2012 is to take home the crystal ball in 2013. Offensively, it starts with the return of quarterback Braxton Miller who figures to be one of the Heisman favorites and while they do lose their entire defensive line from last year, keep in mind Meyer’s top recruits last year were all on the DL. The schedule sets up nicely as the non-conference schedule is rather weak and in Big 10 play they get Wisconsin and Penn State at home while avoiding Nebraska and Michigan St. The biggest landmines are road trips to Northwestern and Michigan.

2. Oregon                    Odds: 8.5/1

The Ducks are off back-to-back BCS bowl wins and will return as many as 15 starters from last year’s 12-1 team that basically came one play away from playing in the national title game. The biggest return is head coach Chip Kelly who after yet another flirtation with the NFL looks to be here for the time being.  On offense quarterback Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas return and while the defense loses Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has proven to be one of the more underrated coordinators in the country. The schedule features a road test against Stanford which will probably not only decide the Pac-12 North but possibly who goes to Pasadena to play an SEC team for the national title.

4. Texas A&M              Odds: 10/1

The Aggies had arguably one of their best seasons in school history on and off the field in 2012 with a move to the SEC, a Heisman trophy winner, an upset of #1 Alabama on the road and won 11 games capped off by a dominating Cotton Bowl performance over Oklahoma. Next year’s team naturally will see the return of quarterback Johnny Manziel but they will lose several key players including wide receiver Ryan Swope and defensive end Damontre Moore. The schedule is manageable as the two games are a September 14th home game vs Alabama and a November 23rd road game at LSU, which the Aggies have two weeks to prepare for.

5. LSU                         Odds: 12:1

The Las Vegas odds for the Tigers here at least for now have to be based on their recent success of being a consistent top 5 program as they certainly have had a tough couple of weeks starting with the bowl loss to Clemson then followed by a max exodus of key players declaring early for the NFL Draft. Next year will see the return of quarterback Zach Mettenberger who figures to be improved in his second year and he will have several talented running backs to hand off too and a great wide receiver in Odell Beckham. Defense could be the bigger issue with the loss of arguably their six best players and the schedule is no walk in the park as they start with basically a road trip to TCU in the opener and they also have SEC road games at Alabama and at Georgia.

Early Odds To Win
2013-14 BCS National Championship

Rk Team Odds Rk Team Odds
1 Alabama 4/1 23 TCU 66/1
2 Ohio St 8.5/1 23 Virginia Tech 66/1
2 Oregon 8.5/1 26 Boise St 75/1
4 Texas A&M 10/1 26 Michigan St 75/1
5 LSU 12/1 26 North Carolina 75/1
6 Clemson 16/1 26 Oregon St 75/1
6 Florida 16/1 30 Arizona 100/1
6 Florida St 16/1 30 Arkansas 100/1
9 Georgia 20/1 30 Kansas St 100/1
10 Louisville 25/1 30 Rutgers 100/1
10 Notre Dame 25/1 30 Tennessee 100/1
10 Oklahoma 25/1 30 Washington 100/1
13 Miami, Fl 28/1 36 BYU 150/1
13 South Carolina 28/1 36 Cincinnati 150/1
13 Stanford 28/1 36 Pittsburgh 150/1
16 Texas 30/1 36 West Virginia 150/1
17 Michigan 33/1 40 Auburn 200/1
17 Nebraska 33/1 40 Georgia Tech 200/1
19 USC 35/1 40 Iowa 200/1
20 Oklahoma St 40/1 43 Missouri 250/1
21 UCLA 50/1 44 Boston College 300/1
21 Wisconsin 50/1 44 California 300/1
23 Mississippi St 66/1 44 USF 300/1

I will be reviewing and releasing my own list in the coming weeks as an out of the gate before spring practices begin.

Our 50 States of College Football

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We are now on the eve of the 2013 BCS Championship between two of the traditional football powers, The Golden Domers of Notre Dame and The Tide of Alabama.  In 24 hours we will close out the 2012 season and begin previews of the next year.  A goal of mine this year is to write about all the previews and outlooks that are put out there by the traditional media outlets to have a collection or resource of all the pre-season hype so when kick-off rolls around I can come back to this source to provide insight on how the season unfolds. I will begin this journey in adding my thoughts towards previewing the 2013 season and starting down the path paved with roses for the 2014 game is Pasadena. In the coming months my goal is: before kick off of the 2013 season I will to have one post about every team that has a chance to play in Pasadena, well maybe not a chance but every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.