Tag: Ohio State Football

Predicting the College Football Playoff Top 10

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After another great weekend of College Football, we sit trying to predicted what the College Football Playoff Committee will do.  We’ve now seen the movement with the polls but if there is one thing that the committee has proven, it’s that they are independent.  They have been looking at the “body of work” and eye test of these teams and carrying less weight on where the teams were ranked in the preseason.The tough part comes when we get to the grouping of Oregon, Arizona State, TCU, Baylor, Ohio State. A case could be made after the wins that Arizona State, TCU, and Ohio State posted this last weekend that all could be moved ahead of Oregon. It would be an accurate reflection of how each week these teams should be re-ranked based on what happens across the board in college football. Based on common opponents, Arizona State has had more impressive wins and dominated Notre Dame but they have a loss, where Florida State doesn’t. The question is, “Is a bad loss to a top team better then a win vs a bad team”, that’s where this committee could make a difference. If we took strength of schedule for 1 loss teams vs Florida State’s schedule, we could move them to 9th! Which is crazy to think about but it’s the truth and right now, they don’t look as good as the teams in that top 8. What appears to matter most in the rankings every week is who you beat, with that, TCU and Arizona State should move ahead of Alabama.

Now, I want to say, in no way do I think that these teams are better then Alabama but for this week they should be ranked higher. If Alabama beats Mississippi State, they will move two the #2 team next week. So for week 12 of the college football season, this is what we think the top 10 should be:

1.  Mississippi State

2.  Florida State

3.  TCU

4.  Oregon

5.  Arizona State

6.  Alabama

7.  Ohio State

8.  Baylor

9.  Auburn

10.  Ole Miss

Rivals Rundown College Football Top 25 – Week 8

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Wisconsin v Ohio StateAfter taking a week off and enjoying some music at Austin City Limits, we here at the Rundown have pieced ourselves back together and are ready to get back to some College Football!  The Top 6 teams have stayed almost untouched for the first six weeks of the season.  Now that both Alabama and Oregon have faced true tests in Texas A&M and Washington and passed, that leaves Louisville as the only untested top 6 team.  We will give Louisville some props for avoiding the trap game against Rutgers and while Rutgers is a good team, they are nowhere near A&M or Washington.  Other notes…  We are still of the opinion that LSU has the best shot of making it to a National Championship game other then Oregon or Alabama at this time, even though we have them ranked at 7.  With the showdown between Florida State and Clemson looming, the loser will fall somewhere between LSU and Miami, thus giving everyone a dilemma, does the winner deserve to be 1,2 or 3…  That is going to be a huge choice, I think at this time it depends on who the winner is and how they looked.  But, it will be tough!  It’s too bad Stanford choked on Utah,  it hurts the overall street cred of the Pac12 and Washington.  Until that we would say that the Winner of Stanford vs Oregon would peg their ticket if they were undefeated and so was Clemson or Florida State but now the Ducks are going to have to be really impressive, not to mention games left against Stanford and Oregon State. (Oregon State is a whole different blog).  Even as we sit back and look at our rankings, UCLA and Baylor might be the most underrated teams and we’re not sold on Texas Tech and Auburn but the deserve the rankings for now.  Ok, no more rambling, here is our most recent installment of the Rivals Rundown Top 25 Teams, Week 8 Edition!

1 Alabama Crimson Tide
2 Oregon Ducks
3 Clemson Tigers
4 Ohio State Buckeyes
5 Louisville Cardinals
6 Florida State Seminoles
7 LSU Tigers
8 Texas A&M Aggies
9 Baylor Bears
10 UCLA Bruins
11 Miami Hurricans
12 South Carolina Gamecocks
13 Stanford Cardinal
14 Missouri Tigers
15 Virginia Tech Hokies
16 Georgia Bulldogs
17 Washington Huskies
18 Fresno State Bulldogs
19 Texas Tech Red Raiders
20 Northern Ill Huskies
21 Michigan Wolverines
22 Nebraska Huskers
23 Michigan State Spartans
24 Auburn Tigers
25 Oklahoma Sooners

(Stats via Espn.com; Picture via sbnation.com)

Week 5 College Football Games to Watch

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Aaron Murray Georgia BulldogsThank you Baby Jesus that we made it to Week 5 of the College Football Season!  With no major match-ups and with the best game of the weekend over with on Friday night between Fresno State and Boise State, we have made it back to a weekend of real games, most importantly, Conference Games!  For the most part this weekend marks the beginning of Conference play, which marks the beginning of “who’s real and who’s faking it!”

As we found out last week, Arizona State is questionable Top 30 material, while Stanford proved they are Top 5 material.  Look Wisconsin the week before, while the ran for 200+ yards on the Devils, if you subtract one home-run run of 70, ASU held Wisconsin to 130ish yards, statistically they are the best rushing team in the whole country.  Stanford had no problems running, passing or causing disruption all over the field, this brings us to Week 5, so who this week will prove to be the Stanford and who will be the Sun Devils?

First, one note on the Fresno State vs Boise State Match-up:  These two teams are Top 25 teams, no questions asked, Boise State might be the best two loss team in the Country, right in-front of Utah State.  Derek Carr is a legit Heisman Candidate, he has proven himself as an NFL passer and clutch in two prime time games on ESPN.  Fresno and Colorado have to make up their missed game and let’s hope the two (Boise, Fresno) teams win out the season and play for the Mountain West Title and a possible BCS birth.  Think of it, Fresno State could finish with a better strength of schedule over Louisville, one big problem, they don’t have the ranking yet but we’ll see.  Anyways, on to week 5 games!

 

We stay in the Mountain West!

Utah State at San Jose State

Normally we like home dogs on Thursday or Friday nights, something about the upset and national tv just works!  Look up the numbers!  This time, we think Utah State is finally licking their chops after losing very close games to Utah and USC, we think that the Aggies are going to come into Spartan Stadium ready to unload what some are calling, “The Poor Man’s Manziel” in QB Chuckie Keeton all over the field on an over-matched Spartans Defense.  In a rare one, we are taking Utah State to Cover on a Friday Night!

 

Moving East

East Carolina at North Carolina

This is a must win for the North Carolina Tar Heels.  After losing by 8 to a very tricking and tough to read Georgia Tech team, North Carolina enters this match-up at 1-2 and still the Tar Heels have to get through the heart of their ACC schedule before things get easier.  For East Carolina, it’s not a must win as they still have to get into the depth of conference play but we like the Pirates to keep things close.  Let’s take East Carolina and the points.  Also the over deserves a second look.

 

Now for some Big Boys!

LSU at Georgia

These two teams are National Champions in the waiting, the stakes couldn’t be higher, blah blah, yada yada yada.  Look, we know what’s going on here, this game is to take claim for a solid top 5 spot and for Georgia, it’s a must win to keep their outside shot of being the only one loss team with National Championship hopes alive.  The main factors that we are all going to be watching fall to Georgia’s defense and LSU’s offense.  The major difference we feel is that Georgia’s defense has been tested and has gained quick and important experience by already playing two top ten teams.  They have the help of playing at home, which strengthens the defense and they have an offense that can keep up with anyone in the country.  For LSU this is their first major test, yes we all felt going into the TCU game that that would provide the test but comparing TCU and Georgia isn’t fair, TCU has fallen short of our preseason hype, while Georgia is fitting into the mold we expected.  We’re not buying the Tigers yet over the Bulldogs so we’re taking Georgia to cover.

 

And our Final Game:

Ball State vs Toledo

Bet you didn’t see that one coming!  Look there are great games this weekend, Wisconsin vs Ohio State, Oklahoma vs Notre Dame and Ole Miss vs Alabama but everyone is talking about those.  We want to talk about a game between two rising programs in the MAC that need some love.  The importance of this game? The winner has a fast-tracked chance at competing against Northern Illinois for the MAC West Title.   The key is that both of these teams can do it!  We recommend that if you want to watch two teams put everything on the line in week 5, check this one out.  We like Ball State in this one!

 

Side notes:

We like Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio State.  We think that all three teams are going to come out with something to prove, all for different reasons.  Look for Ohio State to expose the weak secondary of Wisconsin with a balanced run, option, throw attack.  Look for Oklahoma to do the same actually to Notre Dame.  Alabama and Ole Miss might be close at halftime but we see the Tide pulling away in the 4th Quarter.

 

Final Note-

Because we were late with this post, we had a chance to watch the Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech game.  Virginia Tech’s defense is getting better every week and is going to give this Hokies team a chance in every football game from here til the end of the season.  We’re standing by our prediction for Virginia Tech, for now, although we need that QB to step up the way that he should be in this season.

2013 @B1GFootball Conference Preseason Top 5* Predictions

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Big10Logo_Divisions

When the Big Ten realigned and added Nebraska, it appeared that they would be the most complete conference behind the SEC.  However, in a flash Penn State imploded as a football powerhouse, Ohio State was faced with violations, Michigan appeared to be in a longer rebuilding process and Michigan State couldn’t overcome the larger hurdles.  This left Wisconsin to go for 3 consecutive B1G Titles, a feat that seemed unbelievable, then they lose their coach to the SEC.  So where does this leave the conference now…  The B1G has huge upside this year but the depth of the conference is questionable and could haunt a potential BCS contender.  Without further discussion, let’s get too it… Here is the Rundown for the Top 5* Teams in the B1G Conference for 2013!

 

1. The Ohio State Buckeyes 11-1 (Leaders Division Champion)
Last season the Buckeyes escaped two overtime games against Purdue and Wisconsin with victories, they beat Michigan by 5 and slipped by Michigan St. by one point and found themselves with a perfect season, normally that would be one heck of a season but without the chance to prove themselves against Alabama, they enter the 2013 season with unfinished business. Ohio State has reasons to believe that this year will be no different, they get help with an offense that returns 9 starters and a schedule that features the football powerhouses of Buffalo, San Diego St, and Florida A&M.  They also get Wisconsin and Penn State at home before getting to a November that has 3 of 4 games on the road, with a (don’t laugh) much improved Indiana program as the only home game.  We like the chances of Ohio State playing for a National Title, but feel like they will slip up and lose one game before playing for a B1G championship and don’t see them making the BCS Championship Game.

 

2. University of Nebraska Cornhuskers 11-1 (Legends Division Champion)
The Cornhuskers have finished with only four losses for the last 5 seasons, yet if you are a Nebraska fan, you can’t be satisfied with anything, especially with an ending last year that featured one of the most embarrassing losses, on one of the biggest stages in school history.  If there was a year for a program looking to prove that they have officially returned to the main stage this is it for the Huskers.  They have an offense that is going to score and score often to keep them in every game and will blowout it’s lesser opponents.  The questions remain on defense where they have to replace 8 positions with a collection of new faces and juco transfers but with a schedule that is lined up for them to be 8-0 with a match-up with Michigan, we like the Huskers to return to the B1G title game and this time, they will show-up.  Look for the Huskers to be in a BCS game and maybe a trip to Pasadena.

 

3. University of Michigan Wolverines 9-3
We like the look of Michigan, they have the right schedule featuring home games against Notre Dame, Indiana, Nebraska, and Ohio State.  We like what their coach Brady Hoke is putting together in Ann Arbor, with solid recruiting and playmakers on both sides of the ball, but we don’t like them on the toughness meeter…meaning they have to replace too many starters within the trenches and we see them getting better and improving from the 8-5 season they had last year, but talks about them playing for a B1G championship or a BCS game will have to wait another year.

 

4. Northwestern Wildcats 9-3
Ok, this just feels weird.  We’ve now picked Northwestern before Wisconsin, Michigan St and Penn State… what the #*$% is going on here!  So, last year Northwestern proved that they could play with everyone!  They had no bad losses and came within a couple of touchdowns of having a 10 win regular season, this year Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats might hit the double digits again with a bowl win and easily could prove to be the number four team in the conference overall.  They return a solid and exciting group on offense and have enough talent and returns on defense to hold off it’s competitors.  We like the idea of back to back 10 wins for this Northwestern team and maybe their best season yet under coach Fitzgerald.

 

5.  Indiana University Hoosiers 9-3
This is a hard pick, this might be a surprise and this might be overreaching but in making preseason predictions, sometimes you have to take a bold step out and look for a program to turn a corner.  This might be our best pick and it could be our worst but we are picking Indiana as the fifth, that’s right fifth best team in all of the B1G conference this year.  Looking backwards first, Indiana finished 4-8, which if you factor close games that could’ve swung in their direction with a little more experience, they could’ve ended easily at 7-5, if that would’ve happened, we think everyone would be talking about them turning the corner this year, like they are with Northwester, as a football program and coach Kevin Wilson as the real deal, so we are.  If they make it past a couple of tough home games early against Bowling Green (yes, an early game against a good MAC team looking to prove something will be tough) and Missouri, look for a 4-0 record going into a home game against Penn St, where a win could put them on the map.  Make no mistakes, we are not picking them to win the conference but we think that Wilson has the pieces he needs at the right time to make a surprise run and put together a great season for the Hoosiers.

 

6. Michigan State Spartans 8-4
So this is just crazy…We have completed our top half of the B1G conference and no Wisconsin and no Penn State but Michigan State deserves this spot!  Last year they lost 4 of their last 7 but they played well in all of those games, suffering only a bad loss in OT against a down Iowa team.  This year they return leadership on both sides of the ball with 14 starters coming back for the Spartans, they have a schedule which has no Wisconsin, no Ohio State, and no Penn State and they will be in every game till the end.      Don’t be surprised if Michigan State finds themselves in the race for the legends division, we wont.

2013 Preseason Consensus from Stassen.com

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Image

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.