Tag: Phil Steele

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!!!

APTOPIX_BCS_Championship_Football_0d41f

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.

Ranger Pool: The Official College Football Fantasy Game

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ncaa_football_top58attendance07_cSo, a little back story before you ready the blog further, I am a second generation participant, this game was started by my father and his college buddies as a way to put some friendly bets on the college football season.  It’s a blast, mainly because once the season starts, your rosters are set.  It’s not something you have to check on weekly, it’s there and you start following and rooting for teams all over the country.  When I explain it to non-hardocre college fans, they usually laugh at the fact that the University of Ohio or Boise St. (before they played on the national stage) or any other mid-major was selected before Florida or USC, they don’t get it.  Those of us who live and die preseason reading, Phil Steele or Athlon Sports or The Sporting News or Lindy’s, we get it.  This football season, if you or your friends start a pool please let me know!  As our draft approaches I’ll be posting who I think will go in what round and will also post the draft results for the public to comment on.

 

The story goes, a long, long, time ago, in a gentleman’s club somewhere in what once was called East Phoenix, AZ, now it’s just Central Phoenix or Arcadia, a group of college aged friends created a college football pool for them to bet against each other.  The pool has continued for well over 30+ years across multiple states and including a number of participates in this underground fantasy game.

Well, now for the first time ever, the Official Rules of The Ranger Pool will be released and written for public viewing.

Over the years and with the expansion of Division I Football the rules have evolved but the format has stayed the same.

 

Ranger Pool:  The Official College Football Fantasy Game.

  1. There will be a number of 10 participates within the pool, no more no less.
  2. Each participate will draft 8 teams.
  3. The draft will take place before the first kick-off of the College Football Season
  4. Each participate will pick 1 team per draft round, therefore the are 8 rounds in the draft.
  5. A team can only be drafted once.
  6. There will be an official rules committee in place to enforce these rules, the official committee can be either voted on or establish by a majority of players.
  7. The Rules Committee will decide what the pool of draftable teams are.  For example, most leagues will only pick teams from Dvision I or FBS Division of Teams or whatever the major division of college football will be called in the future.  However, some leagues based on geographical area might want to include conferences from sub-divisions to increase the available pool of teams.
  8. The draft is a snake formula, however it is mathematically perfect, for example if you draft 1 overall in round 1, then round 2 you would draft 10th, round 3 you would draft 2. and so on and so forth.  The official drafting order for each participate can be emailed or sent by the official rules committee.  Note, this is different from Snake Drafts that you always pick the same picks in alternating rounds.
  9. Once the draft is completed and all participates have 8 college football teams on their roster, the league is set and ready for the season to begin.
  10. WInners and Losers:  The beautiful part of this Fantasy game is it’s simplicity.
  11. Victory is achieved by having the overall highest combined winning percentage of a participants teams!  For example:
    1. Participant 1 Teams-

Alabama 11-0

Texas      9-2

Arizona St. 8-4

Louisville    5-7

Georgia Tech  6-5

UNLV             7-4

Northwestern   3-8

Toledo             9-2

Win Total- 58 Loss Total- 32

Percentage- 64.44%

  1. Order of Finish will be determined using the above formula for each participant.
  2. The regular season of college football games count only, no conference championship games, no bowl games.  An alternative version can be played by using championship or bowl games as a tie-breaker.
  3. Payout:  If used for better purposes, buy-in is collected prior to draft and payout is to the top three finishers after the season has been completed.  It is recommend that payout occurs at an end of year banquet with all participants in Las Vegas during bowl season.

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.

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.