Tag: LSU Football

Rivals Rundown 2013 College Football Preseason Top 30 Teams

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Welcome to our inaugural Rivals Rundown Preseason Top 30 Teams!!!  We are excited to present this the morning of the 2013 College Football Season.  We have published our Top 5 teams for all of the BCS Conferences and this is the culmination of all that research.  This is not our prediction of how the season will end, this is where we rank the teams as of today.  Throughout the season we will visit our Top 30 and adjust as we see fit.  Sometimes the whole thing might get flipped upside down but that’s College Football.  Here is our Rivals Rundown 2013 College Football Preseason Top 30!!!

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Clemson Tigers
6. Louisville Cardinals
7. Texas Longhorns
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
9. Florida State Seminoles
10. Oklahoma State Cowboys
11. South Carolina Gamecocks
12. LSU Tigers
13. USC Trojans
14. Stanford Cardinal
15. Florida Gators
16. Texas A&M Aggies
17. Oregon State Beavers
18. TCU Horned Frogs
19. Boise State Broncos
20. Oklahoma Sooners
21. Michigan Wolverines
22. Northwestern Wildcats
23. Arizona State Sun Devils
24. Fresno State Bulldogs
25. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
26. Baylor Bears
27. Washington Huskies
28. Northern Illinois Huskies
29 Miami Hurricanes
30. Ohio Bobcats

2013 @SECSportsUpdate Football Preseason Top 5* Rundown!

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2013 SEC Football Top 5* Teams Preview

So the saying goes that you save the best for last, so here we are on our last preview of the 2013 college football preseason and we find ourselves in the SouthEastern Conference where the BCS Trophy has now reigned for the past seven seasons.  It’s a streak that has been over-talked about but not and can’t be overstated.  In the modern era of college athletics it’s difficult to believe that one conference could completely dominate the landscape and it seems that 2013 will continue the streak and even more impressive, Alabama is on the verge of four titles in six years…yeah, let that soak in…Alabama with Nick Saban is setting the standard for modern day college football champions.  Sometimes it’s hard to recognize when we are living during the greatest era of something and right now, if Alabama wins it’s forth title in six season and if Saban gets to 100 wins before he gets to 20 losses, that is domination and that is something that others will have a hard time to replicate.  Now to clarify that last point, Saban is currently 68-13, over the last five years he is 66-6!  On that current pace he could hit 100 before 20 but that is still a couple of years away.  So here is our 2013 SEC Top5(maybe6 or7) Rundown:

 

1.  Alabama Crimson Tide 11-1 (West Champions) (Conference Champions)

So after that whole rant about how dominant the SEC has has been and how impressive Alabama’s streak has been, here’s the problem: last year Alabama schedule was less then impressive.  If you take out the three toughest games of the regular season, Michigan, LSU and Texas A&M, the combine record of the Crimson Tide’s opponents was 43-67, that’s nine teams…let that sink in for a moment.  This year the schedule doesn’t change much, they have an opening day game against Virginia Tech, then like last year they have A&M and LSU, if Bama survives those three games they will play in the SEC title game again with an appearance in the final BCS game on the line.  We like LSU to upset Alabama or a trap game on the road to Mississippi State as the only chances for a loss on the schedule.  If LSU had Alabama’s schedule we would be picking them to play for the National Championship but they don’t and so we are taking the Tide to appear once again an in the SEC TItle game but we aren’t ready yet to say they’ll play for a National Title, that prediction is still to come…

 

2.  Georgia Bulldogs 11-1 (East Champions)

Georgia will return with what we believe will be the best offense in the SEC, the question of if they can run the table or overcome Alabama in the title game will be if a young but talented defense can overcome an early and very tough schedule to help Georgia go into the Worlds Largest Cocktail party with only one loss.  If that happens, which we think it will, Georgia will return to the SEC Title game and this time they will be ready to dethrone Alabama.  Disclaimer: We will say this, we picked Alabama to win the conference again, but if this part of the prediction comes true and it’s Georgia vs Alabama we will take Georgia this time.  Which should mean that we should have Georgia as the number one team…but we can’t unseat Alabama, Georgia will have to do it.

 

3. South Carolina Gamecocks 10-2

This is going to be a repeat of last year for the Gamecocks, meaning if South Carolina can get past two teams that could also find themselves in this position in Georgia and Florida they could be undefeated going into a season finally against Clemson.  Last year, they fell pretty hard against Florida after coming off of a loss to LSU this year we like them against Florida but think Georgia will take a win away from the Gamecocks, also if Clemson can be in a position to play for a National Championship when they meet, we like Clemson.  The schedule is easy enough and with a little luck South Carolina could be playing in the SEC Title game but this year we think it’s Georgia’s game to play in.

 

4.  LSU Tigers 9-3

This is why the SEC is still the best conference is the nation, no other number four team in our conference Rundowns compare to the talent of LSU.  LSU was seconds and a couple of scores away from playing in the SEC title game and maybe a National Championship.  This year LSU has the toughest schedule of our top 4 teams in the SEC, they have a tough opening day road game against TCU, they also face Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Texas A&M.  This is the only reason we don’t have LSU higher, we like everything about the team and think that they have what it takes to win a SEC title but the offense and defense will have to improve with losing some key pieces thus leading us to think that LSU will be in the National Championship talk next year after these players have another year of experience under their belt.

 

5.  Texas A&M Aggies 9-3

Before all of the distractions that came in the offseason and before the half-game suspension imposed on Manziel we would’ve taken Texas A&M at 10-2 but now with all of that behind us we are looking at A&M not only to lose to Alabama and LSU but we think they might have a mental “loss” in there too and drop them to this position.  On the field with Manziel leading the offense, the Aggies will have a chance to win any game, other the Alabama (they want blood).  On the other side of the ball, the Aggies have some big holes to fill and that is not a good thing in the SEC.  Look for the Aggies to take a step back in their second year of SEC play but it will be a small step and if Manziel returns next year look for A&M to be in the hunt for a National Championship

 

6.  Florida Gators 9-3

We can’t say enough about the depth of the top 6 teams in the SEC, having Florida ranked as the sixth team in a conference is unreal.  This team at one point last year was thought as the number one team in the country.  For the 2013 campaign, like Texas A&M, (without the off field distractions) Florida will take a small step back as they gain some experience on both sides of the ball.  The defense in Florida was one of the best, top 10 in both points allowed and rushing yards allowed, that’s impressive when playing in the SEC.  This season the defense will need to catch up and while that’s occurring they will need to rely on the offense that ranked last year as on of the more average in the country.  All the top teams in the SEC can beat each other on any given Saturday, Florida in 2013 will be in it but we don’t see them playing for a conference title.

Big Update of Preseason Predictions!

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The website www.stassen.com recently updated their database of preseason predictions from different websites and magazines!  As we here at rivalsrundown.com our releasing our previews we will compare and eventually add ours to the table!  Enjoy the update and get ready for kickoff!!!

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National Top 25

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
1 Alabama 269 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
2 Oregon 247 4 3 8 5 5 2 2 2 1
3 Ohio State 243 2 2 5 2 2 6 10 4 3
4 Georgia 219 6 4 12 9 4 9 9 3 4
5 Stanford 209 3 7 2 11 3 – 3 5 5
6 South Carolina 197 9 5 3 14 11 13 14 6 7
7 Texas A&M 196 5 9 7 13 7 4 15 12 11
8 Clemson 183 7 6 9 15 8 15 20 8 8
9 Oklahoma State 177 11 16 6 8 19 3 6 15 18
10 Texas 171 18 18 14 4 13 11 8 10 12
11 Florida State 165 13 15 18 3 17 5 19 14 10
12 Louisiana State 160 8 12 16 17 18 – 4 7 6
13 Florida 157 12 13 4 18 10 – 5 13 16
14 Notre Dame 146 14 8 10 10 14 20 13 24 20
15 Louisville 144 10 10 11 7 12 – – 9 14
16 Nebraska 120 21 21 21 16 9 8 21 11 –
17 Michigan 117 16 14 13 24 15 12 – 22 15
18 Boise State 116 17 11 15 – 6 – 12 – 9
19 Oklahoma 107 15 17 19 19 21 24 7 – 19
20 Texas Christian 98 22 20 – 21 16 18 11 20 22
21 Wisconsin 83 – 19 24 20 – 7 16 – 17
22 Southern Cal 66 25 – – 6 – 10 17 – –
23 Michigan State 46 20 – – 23 – 17 18 – –
24 Fresno State 42 – 22 – 22 22 – – 16 –
25 Miami-Florida 38 24 – 22 25 – 21 25 – –

Others receiving votes:

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
26 Northwestern 36 – 24 – – 20 – – – 13
27t Arizona State 33 – 23 – – – 16 – – 21
27t Baylor 33 19 – 17 – – – – – 24
29 Oregon State 29 – 25 23 – – 25 22 – –
30t UCLA 27 23 – 20 – – – – – 23
30t Virginia Tech 27 – – – 12 – – 23 – –
32 Georgia Tech 18 – – – – – 19 – – 25
33 North Caroolina 17 – – – – – 14 – – –
34t Kansas State 16 – – – – 24 22 – – –
34t Mississippi 16 – – 25 – – – – 21 –
36t Cincinnati 8 – – – – – 23 – – –
36t Northern Illinois 8 – – – – 23 – – – –
38 Penn State 7 – – – – – – 24 – –
39 Tulsa 6 – – – – 25 – – – –
40 unranked 0 – – – – – – – – –

Notes:

  • Arena Fanatic did not list a team for #17-#19, #23, or #25, at time of this writing.

Conference predictions

AAC (former Big East)

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
1 Louisville 11½ 1 1 1 1 1 2½ 2 1 1
2 Cincinnati 23½ 3 2 3 3 4½ 1 1 2 4
3 Central Florida 31 4 4 5 2 2½ 2½ 3 5 3
4 Rutgers 32 2 3 2 5½ 2½ 8 4 3 2
5t Connecticut 55½ 6 6 4 7 8½ 9 5 4 6
5t Houston 55½ 5 7 10 4 4½ 6 6 8 5
7 Southern Methodist 59½ 7 8 6 5½ 7 4 9 6 7
8 South Florida 64 8 5 7 8 6 7 8 7 8
9 Temple 78½ 10 10 8 10 8½ 5 7 10 10
10 Memphis 84 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 9 9

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.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Central Florida and Louisville for 2nd-3rd place in the AAC.

Atlantic Coast

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
Atlantic
1 Clemson 12 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 1
2 Florida State 15 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 2
3 N.C. State 33 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 3
4 Maryland 40 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 3 5
5t Syracuse 48 6 6 5 7 5 3 3 7 6
5t Wake Forest 48 7 5 6 4 5 7 5 5 4
7 Boston College 56 5 7 7 6 7 5 6 6 7
Coastal
1 Miami-Florida 16½ 1 1 1 2 1½ 3 2 2 3
2 Virginia Tech 21½ 3 2 4 1 1½ 4 1 3 2
3 Georgia Tech 23½ 2 3 3 3½ 4 2 4 1 1
4 North Carolina 28½ 4 4 2 3½ 3 1 3 4 4
5 Pittsburgh 49½ 5 5 5 6 5½ 7 5 5 6
6 Virginia 54½ 6 6 6 6 5½ 6 6 6 7
7 Duke 58 7 7 7 6 7 5 7 7 5

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
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
Leaders
1 Ohio State 10 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
2 Wisconsin 17 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
3 Penn State 28 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3
4 Indiana 36 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 4
5 Purdue 44½ 5 5 4 5 5½ 5 5 5 5
6 Illinois 53½ 6 6 6 6 5½ 6 6 6 6
Legends
1 Nebraska 14½ 3 2 2 1½ 1 1 2 1 1
2 Michigan 19 1 1 1 3½ 2 2½ 3 2 3
3 Michigan State 24 2 4 4 1½ 4 2½ 1 3 2
4 Northwestern 32½ 4 3 3 3½ 3 4 4 4 4
5 Iowa 47 5 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5
6 Minnesota 52 6 5 5 6 6 6 6 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.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Michigan and Michigan State for 2nd-3rd place in the Big Ten Legends division.

Big XII

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
1 Oklahoma State 14 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 2
2 Texas 17 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 1 1
3 Oklahoma 24½ 2 2 3 3 3 3½ 2 3 3
4 Texas Christian 37½ 5 4 6 4 3 3½ 4 4 4
5 Baylor 47½ 4 6 4 5 6½ 6 5 6 5
6 Kansas State 49 6 5 5 6 5 5 6 5 6
7 Texas Tech 69 8 7 7 7 8 8 8 7 9
8 West Virginia 73½ 9 8 9 8 6½ 10 7 9 7
9 Iowa State 75 7 9 8 9½ 9½ 7 9 8 8
10 Kansas 88 10 10 10 9½ 9½ 9 10 10 10

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.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Oklahoma and Texas Christian for 3rd-4th place in the Big XII.

Conference USA

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
East
1 East Carolina 11½ 1 2 1 2 1½ 1 1 1 1
2 Marshall 20 3 1 3 1 1½ 2½ 2 2 4
3 Middle Tennessee 29 2 3 2 5 4 4 4 3 2
4 Southern Miss 40 5 5 4 3½ 3 5½ 3 6 5
5 UAB 41 4 4 5 3½ 5½ 7 5 4 3
6 Florida Atlantic 53½ 6 6 6 6½ 5½ 5½ 7 5 6
7 Florida Int’l 57 7 7 7 6½ 7 2½ 6 7 7
West
1 Tulsa 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 Rice 20 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2
3 Louisiana Tech 32½ 4 3 3 4½ 3½ 3½ 2 5 4
4 Texas-El Paso 40 3 4 4 6 6 5 5 2 5
5 North Texas 41½ 5 6 5 4½ 3½ 3½ 4 4 6
6 Tulane 48 6 5 6 3 5 7 7 6 3
7 UTSA 61 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 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.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Florida International and Marshall for 2nd-3rd place in CUSA East.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Florida Atlantic and Southern Mississippi for 5th-6th place in CUSA East.
  • McIllece Sports 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
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
East
1 Bowling Green 13 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2
2 Ohio 16 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 1
3 Buffalo 29 2 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 4
4 Kent State 33 4 3 2 4 5 4 4 4 3
5 Miami-Ohio 45 6 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5
6 Akron 56 7 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 6
7 Massachusetts 60 5 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 7
West
1 Northern Illinois 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2t Ball State 22½ 2 2 3 3 3 2½ 3 2 2
2t Toledo 22½ 3 3 2 2 2 2½ 2 3 3
4 Western Michigan 37 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
5 Central Michigan 44 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 5 5
6 Eastern Michigan 54 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

Notes:

  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Ball State and Toledo for 2nd-3rd place in the MAC West.

Mountain West

Rank Team Total
Points		 Lindy Athlon TSN Phil
Steele		 USA
Today
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
West
1 Fresno State 10 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
2 San Diego State 22 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2
3 San Jose State 23½ 2 2 3 3 4½ 1 2 3 3
4 Nevada 36 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 5 4
5 Nevada-Las Vegas 48 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 4 5
6 Hawaii 49½ 6 6 6 5 4½ 5 5 6 6
Mountain
1 Boise State 10 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
2 Utah State 17 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
3 Air Force 28½ 3 3 3 3½ 3 3 3 4 3
4 Wyoming 39½ 4 4 4 5 5½ 5 4 3 5
5 Colorado State 44 5 5 5 3½ 5½ 4 5 5 6
6 New Mexico 50 6 6 6 6 4 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
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
North
1 Oregon 11½ 2 1 2 1 1½ 1 1 1 1
2 Stanford 16½ 1 2 1 2 1½ 3 2 2 2
3 Oregon State 28½ 4 3 3 3 3½ 2 3 4 3
4 Washington 33½ 3 4 4 4 3½ 4 4 3 4
5 California 48 5 5 5 6 6 5 5 5 6
6 Washington State 51 6 6 6 5 5 6 6 6 5
South
1 Southern Cal 17½ 2 2 4 1 2½ 1 1 1 3
2 Arizona State 19½ 3 1 2 2 2½ 2 3 3 1
3 UCLA 21 1 3 1 3 1 3 5 2 2
4 Arizona 33½ 4 4 3 4 4½ 4 2 4 4
5 Utah 43½ 5 5 5 5 4½ 5 4 5 5
6 Colorado 54 6 6 6 6 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
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
East
1 Georgia 12 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2
2 South Carolina 18 2 2 1 2½ 2½ 2 3 2 1
3 Florida 24 3 3 2 2½ 2½ 3 2 3 3
4 Vanderbilt 39½ 4 4 4 5½ 4 4 6 4 4
5 Tennessee 47½ 5 5 5 4 5½ 6 5 6 6
6 Missouri 48 6 6 6 5½ 5½ 5 4 5 5
7 Kentucky 63 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
West
1 Alabama 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 Texas A&M 20½ 2 2 2 2½ 2 2 3 3 2
3 Louisiana State 24½ 3 3 3 2½ 3 3 2 2 3
4 Mississippi 36½ 4 4 4 4 4½ 4 4 4 4
5 Mississippi State 50 5 5 7 6½ 4½ 5 6 6 5
6 Arkansas 55½ 6 7 5 5 6½ 7 5 7 7
7 Auburn 56 7 6 6 6½ 6½ 6 7 5 6

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
(mag.)		 McIllece
Sports		 F’Ball
Out-
siders		 Arena
Fanatic		 Gold
Sheet
1 Louisiana-Lafay. 17½ 3 1 2 1 1 1½ 3 2 3
2 Louisiana-Monroe 21½ 1 2 3 3 4½ 3 2 1 2
3 Arkansas State 25 2 4 4 3 4½ 1½ 1 4 1
4 Western Kentucky 28½ 4 3 1 3 2½ 4 4 3 4
5 Troy 42½ 5 5 5 5 2½ 5 5 5 5
6 Texas State 54½ 6 6 6 6 6 6½ 6 6 6
7 South Alabama 63½ 7 7 7 7 7 6½ 7 8 7
8 Georgia State 71 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 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.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette for 1st-2nd place in the Sun Belt.
  • McIllece Sports predicted a tie between South Alabama and Texas State for 6th-7th 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.