We have officially closed the books on week three of the 2013 college football season, and what a wild ride it was at times. I have spoken some last week on my Twitter feed about Texas (Mack Brown is toast), Oklahoma State (SI article on corruption and scandal in the program), and USC (Kiffin's job status) last week. Let us take a look below at these events, and how they helped to shape the week that was. After that, we'll take a closer look at what happened on the field, and break down who won, who lost despite winning, and who outright lost and why.
Mack Attack In Austin
It has become more obvious by the second as to where the stability bar is located on Mack Brown's tenure in Austin might be coaching the Longhorns. The official take is that there is none at all, and more heads might roll along with Brown's at the end of the season.
Brown was so desperate for answers after the 40-21 trouncing Texas took at BYU in week 2, that he fired DC Manny Diaz as a scapegoat for getting rush bombed by the Cougars. Brown brought back former DC Greg Robinson, and just like that, Texas got stumped at home by Ole Miss, a team that Texas rolled last year in Oxford. Making matters even worse is that this trouncing came at home on Darryl Royal Field.
I immediately dropped Brown's job status into the Dead Pool last weekend after the humiliation in Provo, and the water only gets deeper this week after the 44-23 home loss to the Rebels. I did some studying of the local Austin temperature and the national take on Brown after last week's move to the DP, and found out many things that piqued my interest.
As far as Brown is concerned, the entirety of Longhorn nation wants him gone, and the sooner the better. They do not feel that he is the man to take Texas back to the promised land, and they become incensed that some members of the national media keep pointing to that long ago 2005 title win. They give the credit for that title to Vince Young, and not Mack Brown, and the general feel is that Brown has done nothing lately but get complacent and stale in his position. Ask for a decent replacement candidate, however, and the bag seems relatively empty right now.
Texas is a great job, one of the best in the nation with endless funds and amazing facilities. If you can navigate the fan base, a political culture that rivals the dirt of Washington, and unlimited expectations, then Texas is the place for you. It's one of the best jobs in the nation, but also one of the toughest, and maybe worst for the expectations on you from day one.
That being said, we'll see next winter who wants the gig, because not only will Brown's job be open, but it looks as if DeLoss Dodds is getting the boot as well, and it's actually hardly shocking when you look at the general state of the big three programs in football, men's basketball, and baseball. All three programs are in relatively stale condition, and Texas baseball hasn't been in the running for a title in a while, not realistically anyway. The Texas Administration went into immediate denial mode over that breaking story, but where there's smoke...
Stay tuned for further details.
Kiffin Breathes a Sigh of Relief...For Now
I stated last week that if USC fell to Boston College on Saturday, that he may be fired as early as this week, even today. I did not ever truly believe that BC could win at the Coliseum, as they are one of the worst road teams in college football, regardless of who the coach is. The end result, USC won 35-7, so firing Kiffin immediately after that would be difficult at best.
Kiffin has lost the general support of his fan base, his players, and his administration. He has not only lost general support, it would seem that he has lost a great deal of the little bit of respect that he still had amongst that wide ranging group as well.
How do I know about the respect factor? Last week, according to some reports, USC players may or may not have had a players only meeting at the football facilities. Some players reported being in on it, and some deny it ever happened or weren't invited. That leads me to believe that the leadership of the coaching staff has cracked, and that there is the same schism that existed within the team at the end of last season, when players were fighting amongst themselves. One major factor was a quote from "team leader" Marquise Lee, who has begun to look like a petulant child, when he was asked about Kiffin's knowledge of the meeting beforehand. His response? "Kiffin didn't know about the meeting."
Lee didn't respond by saying that "Coach" didn't know about the meeting. He certainly didn't respond by saying that "Lane" didn't know about the meeting. He referred to his leader as "Kiffin", which coming from my world bleeds disrespect and flat out distain.
When you have lost all of your most needed support structures in the world of coaching, your days are numbered, and it is real to me that no matter what happens going forward, Kiffin will be not be coaching the Trojans in 2014.
It's Not OK at OKlahoma State
It's Not OK
A scathing five part story has emerged from Sports Illustrated looking into details heading back to 2004 that Oklahoma State had become a pit of corruption and scandal, going back to the era of Les Miles and the early part at least of the Mike Gundy era at OSU. These allegations include the following: At least 29 or 30 former OSU players discussing being paid by multiple boosters and former assistant Joe DeForest. Grade manipulation by professors for football players and tutors performing classroom work including passing grades for no work performed. Cover ups of multiple failed drug tests by many different players. A hostess program for recruits where the student hostesses were engaging in sex with said recruits. Multiple other recruiting violations and outright violations of so many NCAA bylaws, one can hardly count.
Pay For Play
Over 30 athletes on the football team over ten years have more then verified these accounts. There were always different boosters who had access to the locker room after games, where cash was handed out in the open amongst the team, with players who had had big games getting the lion's share of the money. Joe DeForest has been accused of handing out cash himself in the articles that I have read, and he was the ringleader of the operation, allegedly.
Of course the denials have come, and it does seem that these alleged acts happened back in the Les Miles era, and tended to end during the reign of Mike Gundy. From what I have heard, it would seem that Gundy may have come into this situation, and may have stemmed the tide of the activities, however, it would be interesting to know whether or not they stopped outright. There are other details of the other accusations that seem to state that some of the other activities continued under Gundy.
Grade Manipulation...Can You Do My Homework?
Dez Bryant was an Academic All-American once during his days at OSU. If that's true, then I'm Walter Kronkite. Bryant, for lack of a better phrase, is about as sharp as a marble, as dim as a burned out light bulb, and probably has the IQ of concrete. This part of the story is the part that I have the easiest time believing, in that professors were engaged in giving out passing grades to football players like Halloween candy, and that student tutors were actually doing the work, which would more than explain Bryant's accomplishments.
We Never Inhaled...
There are multiple issues at stake here. There are several stories (I don't have a count) in regards to players failing multiple drug tests each that goes back ten years. These tests were then buried and never came to light to protect the status of the athletes involved. When you look back to the Justin Blackmon and Dez Bryant issues of lack of sobriety behind a wheel, which have happened not only in the NFL but at OSU as well, you really can't fail to believe these accusations.
Former QB Brendan Weeden has shot down these speculations, calling them the trivial accusations of jaded athletes who were kicked off of the team, but there weren't that many players who got bounced off of the football team during these years. There really are never that many players getting bounced out of programs most years anywhere that are not publicized to hell and back, so Weeden's claims ring false.
When you look at the cases of Blackmon and Bryant, the only reasons they were likely outed was for the fact that they were such huge stars, the mainstream media followed their acts like the vultures that they are looking for a fresh carcass to snack on. By doing so, there was just enough of a wedge blown open to actually see where these claims are going, and I, for one, tend to believe it.
OklaHOma State has HOstesses
We've all heard this story before. Oklahoma State has a hostess program as it turns out. Most programs do. I don't believe in them, personally, as I believe that they are mere fronts for borderline prostitute behaviors like this one. It's happened before. It's happened a lot. The girls get special favors, probably grade manipulation and flippant degrees, in exchange for "taking one for the team" with high profile incoming recruits. This happened rampantly dating back to the SMU death penalty days and before. We'll talk about that in a minute.
OSU has been accused of using their HOstess program to lure recruits to Stillwater by engaging in sexual activities, often with underage athletes as the case would seem, to pique their interest in attending OSU. It has likely been endorsed by both the administration, and the staff alike, but of course any head coach would have been giving deniability by having some third rate assistant being in charge of the coordinating of "activities."
This story is as old as time, so again, it rings true.
Controlled Chaos
With all of these allegations in place, OSU will have a hard time defending themselves outside of Stillwater. T. Boone Pickens, I am sure, will throw every dollar he has into defending the activities of his beloved university, and let me tell, you, he owns the joint, as most of us know. It has been said that you don't work for Oklahoma State, you work for T. Boone Pickens.
These allegations, in their entirety, remind me of one specific case dating back more than 25 years at their root, and I have already mentioned it. SMU.
SMU did all of the above, and maybe more. SMU was also hammered with one of the harshest penalties ever to be brought down, one which the NCAA has been more hesitant to name than the calling out of Voldemort in Harry Potter. Yes, I am referring to it which shall not be named, the dreaded Death Penalty.
If it can be outright proven, and I am guessing that SI has put together what is reffered to on HBO's "The Newsroom" (if you aren't watching this gem of a show, why not?) their "Red Team" to go over the details and investigate, then these details are more than real and likely true, then OSU should be hammered into oblivion by these allegations. If the NCAA can keep from fucking up this investigation like they have in investigating USC, North Carolina, and Miami (it's a stretch to believe that they can), then OSU should be in for the ride of their institutional lives, Mike Gundy and Les Miles should be jobless and under a show cause clause for hire, and we should see an OSU program blown into the depths of hell. Remember, SMU has never recovered.
And now onto a look at the weekend that was on the field, as I take a look at who won, who lost despite winning, and who outright lost.
Winners and Losers
AAC
Winners
Louisville: It was a struggle to separate from Kentucky early, but the Cardinals did so, even if Teddy Bridgewater may have taken a slight hit to his Heisman campaign by only tossing one TD on the day. Cardinals beat Kentucky 27-13 on the road.
Cincinnati: It was the perfect game to play when breaking in a new starting QB, as the Bearcats coasted to a 66-9 pasting of FCS member Northwestern State. Brendan Kay tossed for 277 yards and 4 scores in his debut act.
UCF: Lee Corso picked the Knights to win it on the road, and they certainly did so, 34-31. Blake Bortles passed for 3 TDs, and Storm Johnson broke the 100 yard mark and scored on a pass and a long run, as UCF beat a Big 10 team for the first time ever.
Lost Despite Winning
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights beat Eastern Michigan 28-10, but led the hapless Eagles, who dropped to 1-2, by only a 14-10 margin at the half. Rutgers has the ability to play flat at times, and they did so here.
Losers
Temple: When you lose to Fordham to fall to 0-3, there is never anything good to come out of it.
UConn: Lost to former coach Randy Edsell, cementing Paul Pasqualoni's decent into the Coaching Dead Pool.
South Florida: The Willie Taggert era starts 0-3, and this comes at the hands of falling to an awful Florida Atlantic program. It hurts to watch.
Memphis: The Tigers put up a fight, but the Justin Fuente era looks no different in year two than that of any other coach in Memphis history. Fell to Middle Tennessee 17-15.
ACC
Winners
Pittsburgh: Bounced back from a horrible loss to start the season by pounding New Mexico 49-27.
Georgia Tech: Paul Johnson is off to a 2-0 start, and the Wreck beats a solid Duke team by 24 on the road.
Florida State: Jamies Winston may be the second consecutive redshirt freshman to win the Hiesman. He is in the running as he has tossed just 5 incomplete passes in two wins. He also has passed for 7 TDs. FSU destroys Nevada 62-7.
Syracuse: Cruised out to a 37-0 halftime lead and crushed FCS Wagner 54-0.
Maryland: Randy Edsell climbed off of the Hot Seat last week, and this week it gets sweeter as he cruised by his former team, UConn, 32-21.
Lost Despite Winning
Virginia Tech: The Hokies were lucky to have survived on the road in beating East Carolina 15-10, and with their struggles, the future is looking bleak. Tech is averaging just 12.5 points per game thus far against FBS opponents, but scored 45 against FCS Western Carolina.
Losers
Wake Forest: Lost at home to Sun Belt member UL-Monroe. Grobe to the Dead Pool this week?
Boston College: BC never disappoints the gamblers on the road. They never got off the bus in a 35-7 loss to USC in LA.
Duke: After a solid 2-0 start, it got real very quickly in a 38-14 loss to Georgia Tech in ACC play at home.
Big 10
Winners
Indiana: The Hoosiers were up against a solid Bowling Green unit this weekend, and torched the Falcons 42-10. The IU offense is very much for real, and so are bowl hopes.
Michigan State: The Spartans were prone for an upset to FCS Youngstown State, who had been dominant on their level to date, but it was not to be. Spartans roll 55-17.
Ohio State: No Braxton Miller? No problem as the Buckeyes rolled at Cal 52-34. Kenny Guiton passed for 3 scores in a six minute span in the 1st quarter, and finished with 4 on the day in relief of injured Miller.
Northwestern: The Wildcats scored 24 points in the 2nd quarter and cruised by Western Michigan 38-17 to get off to a 3-0 start.
Lost Despite Winning
Michigan: The Wolverines had to put up two stops from their five yard line to hold off an upset bid by Akron, one of the worst teams in FBS football. Michigan trailed twice in the second half before winning 28-24.
Minnesota: Jerry Kill was carted off of the field with yet another seizure, and the Gophers lost QB Phillip Nelson. They pulled away, but led just 7-6 at the half against FCS Western Illinois.
Iowa: If the Hawkeyes were going to beat up on someone, finally, it would be this week. They could hardly separate from rival Iowa State, and barely held onto a 27-21 win. Again, the future in Big Ten play looks bleak.
Losers
Penn State: Lost to a solid program in UCF, but did it at home.
Wisconsin: Did not survive a shootout in the desert against Arizona State. Defense was exposed.
Nebraska: Blew a 21-3 lead against UCLA, and then gave up 38 unanswered in a collapse like none I have seen since the Flutie era of the college football mid 80s.
Illinois: So much for the happy vibes after upsetting Cincinnati. Washington controlled the tempo this week in Champaign.
Purdue: Had Notre Dame on the ropes, but choked it away. 1-2 now, with only a narrow win over Indiana State to show for it.
Big 12
Winners
West Virginia: Blowout win over Georgia State was nothing to get hyped over, but it was a necessary big win.
Oklahoma: Torched Tulsa behind Blake Bell, and now you have a QB controversy.
Kansas State: Wildcats needed a big win, and coasted by hapless UMass.
Oklahoma State: Got by a scandal plagued week by crushing FCS Lamar 59-3 at home.
Texas Tech: Kliff Kingsbury is off to a 3-0 start with the Red Raiders, and the glory days could be coming back after a 20-10 win over TCU.
Lost Despite Winning
None
Losers
TCU: The Frogs just don't have it this fall. Could be a long season.
Iowa State: The Cyclones had Iowa within reach, but could not grab the ring.
Kansas: Lost to Rice. And so it begins.
Texas: Blown out for the second straight week. It's obvious that trouble is in store in Austin.
Conference USA
Winners
Tulane: Opened conference play with a nice 24-15 win over Louisiana Tech in what is sure to be a decent rivalry game annually.
North Texas: Trailed a good deal of the game to Ball State, but pulled out an important win. Showing major signs of growth as a program right now.
Florida Atlantic: A win is a win at this point for the Owls, and beating USF had to be pretty sweet. Won 28-10.
Rice: It's only Kansas, but Bailiff needs every win this season. Quality of wins doesn't matter right now.
UTEP: Doubled up on rival New Mexico State 42-21. Miners need to gain confidence, and this win probably helped.
Lost Despite Winning
Middle Tennessee: After falling to North Carolina in week two, the Raiders struggled to beat hapless Memphis 17-15. Stockstill stays on the Hot Seat.
Losers
Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs have not been the same without Sonny Dykes as coach, and losing to Tulane was a horrible way to start CUSA action.
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane looks lost right now. Maybe Bill Blankenship isn't a rising star after all.
East Carolina: The Pirates had Virginia Tech on the ropes, and should have won. There is no real excuse as to why ECU didn't pull this one out.
Southern Miss: When Larry Fedora left to take the UNC job, he left the cupboard bare. This team is decimated, and I think Fedora was a fraud.
Florida International: It's one thing to lose, but to lose to a MEAC school as an FBS program? Fell to Bethune-Cookman 34-13. This is as bad as it could get for the Panther program right now.
Memphis: It's the same old song and dance in Memphis. Tigers lose again.
Marshall: The Herd had a tough assignment this week, and they fell just short at Ohio, 34-31. Time to get up and dust off. Move on.
UT-San Antonio: The schedule has been brutal on Larry Coker's club. It's hard to develop with a schedule this tough so early on.
Independents
Winners
Navy: Outscored Delaware 28-0 in the second half after leading 23-7 at the half. Big win against a solid FCS club.
Old Dominion: Monarchs are transitioning to FBS football, and are unranked in PRS rankings, but they certainly did crush Howard this weekend , 76-19. Led 49-10 at the half.
Losers Despite Winning
Notre Dame: We can talk let downs all we want after the Michigan loss. The Irish trailed Purdue quite a bit, and almost got bit in the ass. No excuses Irish fans.
Losers
Army: The Cadets played Stanford tough. Not tough enough. Lost 34-20.
New Mexico State: Getting doubled up by your rival UTEP? Never good. UCLA is next.
Idaho: Idaho had Northern Illinois on the ropes and let them go. Fell 45-35 at home.
MAC
Winners
Toledo: Beat Eastern Washington 33-21 in a game where I felt like the Rockets were the actual underdog. Good win against a great program.
Ohio: Held off Marshall and Rakeem Cato 34-31. This was a necessary win, and was huge for the Bobcats after a slow start.
Lost Despite Winning
Northern Illinois: Actually trailed Idaho 28-21 at the half. That can be a scary thing.
Buffalo: Had to go to OT to beat FCS Stony Brook, but then again, I picked the Bulls to lose.
Losers
Bowling Green: The façade fell off in a 42-10 loss to Indiana.
Akron: Had the ball at the Michigan 5 with two plays. Still lost.
Eastern Michigan: Yet one more L in the books.
Ball State: Fell as the favorite at North Texas by a TD. Defense really let them down.
UMass: Get used to seeing the Minutemen in the column. Another terrible week.
Kent State: Got pounded by LSU. Good vibes from 2012 are gone.
Western Michigan: The team is lost. The losses will pile up. Rebuilding sucks.
Central Michigan: Fell at UNLV by 10. Dan Enos in the Dead Pool? You bet.
Mountain West
Winners
Boise State: Opened MWC play by crushing Air Force at home. Joe Southwick completed 25 of 27 passes in the win.
Colorado State: Necessary win over Cal Poly. Now beat someone bigger.
Wyoming: Cruised by Northern Colorado 35-7. Not a big deal, but a win.
Utah State: Crushed Weber State 70-7. Easy week, but USC is next.
UNLV: Rebels beat C. Michigan, but can they beat anyone else?
Losers Despite Winning
None
Losers
Air Force: The Falcons wings are clipped at Boise State 42-20. This is going to be a long year at the academy.
New Mexico: Lobos fall by 22 at Pitt. Nothing has changed it seems.
Nevada: Lost to Florida State 62-7, but also lost Cody Fajardo. Uh oh.
PAC-12
Winners
UCLA: Scored 38 straight in 16 minutes after trailing 21-3 at Nebraska. Won one for Nick.
USC: Kiffin keeps his job, as the Trojans rolled Boston College 35-7
Washington: Huskies got a huge win on the road against overrated Illinois 24-14. Great start for Sark and the gang.
Oregon: Is there anyone better than Oregon right now? I don't really think so. Crushed Tennessee.
Washington State: Easy win (48-10) over FCS Southern Utah. Good start for the Cougars.
Oregon State: Won a tough game on the road and got a conference win in 51-48 win over Utah.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils are for real, and beat a real team at home in Wisconsin.
Arizona: The Wildcats are off to a solid start, but they haven't played anyone yet. Beat UTSA this week.
Losers Despite Winning
Stanford: Allowed a bad Army team to hang out all day. Is Stanford overrated?
Losers
Utah: Trailed Oregon State by 20 at home before tying it, taking it into OT, only to lose. Gave up 51 in the loss.
California: The offense is fine. It's the defense that has problems. Gave up 52 to Ohio State, but scored 34.
SEC
Winners
Arkansas: It wasn't pretty at times, but the Hogs picked up a 24-3 win over Southern Miss. Don't panic.
Alabama: The Tide gets the revenge win, and takes A&M out of the title picture. Might have taken Manziel out of the Hiesman picture with 2 picks as well.
South Carolina: Led Vandy 28-10 at the half in what was a tough game coming off of the Georgia loss.
Auburn: The Tigers are trying to show some resilience this season, and they are hanging tough. Beat Miss. State to open SEC play. Quality win.
LSU: Cruised past Kent State. Was there ever any doubt?
Ole Miss: Blew out Texas in Austin, and may have put the final nail in Mack Brown's coffin.
Losers Despite Winning
None
Losers
Kentucky: The Wildcats played tough for a half against Louisville. It's not enough.
Texas A&M: Aggie defense is suspect, and even though Manziel had a big game stat wise, his two picks may have been the difference in the loss, and one was for sure.
Vanderbilt: Much promise coming into the season, many questions now.
Mississippi State: I am not a Dan Mullen fan, and the Bulldogs are crap. Worst team in the SEC West next to Missouri.
Sun Belt
Winners
Arkansas State: Beat Troy to open Sun Belt Play. In it for a bowl game.
UL-Monroe Beating an ACC team on the road is big for ULM, even if it was Wake Forest.
UL-Lafayette: Crushed Nicholls State a week after NSU beat W. Michigan. Good week overall.
South Alabama: Jags are coming to life after wins against Tulane and Western Kentucky. 1-0 in SBC play now.
Losers Despite Winning
None
Losers
Troy: This team is off the wagon, and Larry Blakeney needs to go.
Western Kentucky: Bobby Petrino's Toppers fell apart in loss to USA in league play. Not a great start to conference.
Georgia State: Can anyone seriously justify why this team is playing FBS football?
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Coahes Swimming in the Dead Pool: 2013 Week 3
Paul Pasqualoni, UConn
Pasqualoni had a break last week, but the pool is still churning for him, as he will likely fall to his predecessor this weekend in Randy Edsell and his Maryland Terrapins.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Even though Iowa won last weekend, they certainly struggled to take down Missouri State until late in the 3rd quarter. Ferentz has a losing record against arch rival Iowa State, and if the Hawkeyes lose to the Cyclones this week, things will start to get ugly.
Norm Chow, Hawaii
The Rainbows are getting eclipsed by a storm cloud of losing, and even though UH fought early against Oregon State, they fell apart in the second half. Hawaii is going nowhere.
Bobby Hauck, UNLV
Hauck is going to get one of two chances for a win this weekend at home against Central Michigan. I don't think that they'll get the win. It's almost a foregone conclusion in Vegas that this is Hauck's final year.
Lane Kiffin, USC
A major coach could get fired next week if Kiffin loses at home to Boston College. I know it's only week 3, but Kiffin has lost the fans, has basically lost his players, who obviously have no respect for him, and is really losing the administration. I am looking to see a small crowd at the Coliseum, and a loss spells imminent doom.
Dan Enos, Central Michigan
Enos saved himself some aggravation by barely holding on to beat New Hampshire. He can get a huge score by beating UNLV on the road, but both teams suck so badly, that I basically flipped a coin to make a pick.
Ron English, Eastern Michigan
English is just done. Lost to Penn State 45-7 last weekend, and the team is flat lining. It's all over.
Mack Brown, Texas
Brown fired Manny Diaz as DC this week. That is pure desperation. The fan base does not like Brown, and they surely like him less after the BYU loss last weekend. Brown is going to find it difficult to climb out of the pool, as there is some rather large writing on the wall, and yes, obscenities are involved.
College Football 2013: Week 3 Picks
Here we are heading into week 3 already. The young NCAA football season is streaking on by, so let's take a look at my week 3 picks. My record for the season so far is 152-36 after a 62-11 run last weekend. My big three upset picks went 2-1, with Montana State's 1 point defeat with 12 seconds left foiling a 3-0 week. For that reason, I hate you SMU...just kidding...
Week 3 Picks
Thursday
Arkansas State over Troy
Texas Tech over TCU
Louisiana Tech over Tulane
Friday
Boise State over Air Force
Saturday
Stanford over Army
East Carolina over Virginia Tech (Upset Alert)
Bowling Green over Indiana
Louisville over Kentucky
Michigan over Akron
West Virginia over Georgia State
Minnesota over Western Illinois
UCLA over Nebraska
Oklahoma over Tulsa
Arkansas over Southern Mississippi
Pittsburgh over New Mexico
Wake Forest over UL-Monroe
Rutgers over Eastern Michigan
Temple over Fordham
Youngstown State over Michigan State (FCS Upset Alert)
Fresno State over Colorado
USC over Boston College
Stony Brook over Buffalo (FCS Upset Alert)
Georgia Tech over Duke
Florida State over Nevada
Navy over Delaware
Alabama over Texas A&M
Colorado State over Cal Poly
Oregon over Tennessee
Syracuse over Wagner
Ball State over North Texas
Wyoming over Northern Colorado
Northern Illinois over Idaho
Florida International over Bethune-Cookman
Penn State over UCF
Old Dominion over Howard
Washington State over Southern Utah
Cincinnati over Northwestern State
South Carolina over Vanderbilt
South Florida over Florida Atlantic
Eastern Washington over Toledo (FCS Upset Alert)
Auburn over Mississippi State
Kansas State over UMass
LSU over Kent State
UL-Lafayette over Nicholls State
Middle Tennessee over Memphis
Ohio State over California
Maryland over UConn
Oklahoma State over Lamar
Rice over Kansas
Western Kentucky over South Alabama
Marshall over Ohio
Notre Dame over Purdue
Ole Miss over Texas (Upset alert)
UTEP over New Mexico State
Utah State over Weber State
Northwestern over Western Michigan
Utah over Oregon State
Central Michigan over UNLV
Arizona over UT-San Antonio
Arizona State over Wisconsin
FCS
Charlotte over North Carolina Central
New Hampshire over Colgate
Dayton over Robert Morris
Furan over Presbyterian
Lehigh over Monmouth
Jacksonville over Morehead State
Samford over Florida A&M
Alcorn State over Mississippi Valley State
Sam Houston State over Texas Southern
Western Carolina over Citadel
Maine over Bryant
Alabama State over UA-Pine Bluff
Richmond over Gardner-Webb
James Madison over St. Francis (PA)
Charleston Southern over Campbell
Eastern Kentucky over Coastal Carolina
South Carolina State over Alabama A&M
Tennessee Tech over Hampton
Elon over North Carolina A&T
Chattanooga over Austin Peay
Georgetown over Marist
Lafayette over William & Mary
Butler over Franklin
Holy Cross over Central Connecticut State
Liberty over Morgan State
Montana over North Dakota
Eastern Illinois over Illinois State
South Dakota State over SE Louisiana
Murray State over Missouri State
C. Arkansas over UT-Martin
Wofford over Georgia Southern
Prairie View over Southern
Albany over Rhode Island
Tennessee State over Jackson State
Towson over Delaware State
Northern Arizona over UC-Davis
Week 3 Picks
Thursday
Arkansas State over Troy
Texas Tech over TCU
Louisiana Tech over Tulane
Friday
Boise State over Air Force
Saturday
Stanford over Army
East Carolina over Virginia Tech (Upset Alert)
Bowling Green over Indiana
Louisville over Kentucky
Michigan over Akron
West Virginia over Georgia State
Minnesota over Western Illinois
UCLA over Nebraska
Oklahoma over Tulsa
Arkansas over Southern Mississippi
Pittsburgh over New Mexico
Wake Forest over UL-Monroe
Rutgers over Eastern Michigan
Temple over Fordham
Youngstown State over Michigan State (FCS Upset Alert)
Fresno State over Colorado
USC over Boston College
Stony Brook over Buffalo (FCS Upset Alert)
Georgia Tech over Duke
Florida State over Nevada
Navy over Delaware
Alabama over Texas A&M
Colorado State over Cal Poly
Oregon over Tennessee
Syracuse over Wagner
Ball State over North Texas
Wyoming over Northern Colorado
Northern Illinois over Idaho
Florida International over Bethune-Cookman
Penn State over UCF
Old Dominion over Howard
Washington State over Southern Utah
Cincinnati over Northwestern State
South Carolina over Vanderbilt
South Florida over Florida Atlantic
Eastern Washington over Toledo (FCS Upset Alert)
Auburn over Mississippi State
Kansas State over UMass
LSU over Kent State
UL-Lafayette over Nicholls State
Middle Tennessee over Memphis
Ohio State over California
Maryland over UConn
Oklahoma State over Lamar
Rice over Kansas
Western Kentucky over South Alabama
Marshall over Ohio
Notre Dame over Purdue
Ole Miss over Texas (Upset alert)
UTEP over New Mexico State
Utah State over Weber State
Northwestern over Western Michigan
Utah over Oregon State
Central Michigan over UNLV
Arizona over UT-San Antonio
Arizona State over Wisconsin
FCS
Charlotte over North Carolina Central
New Hampshire over Colgate
Dayton over Robert Morris
Furan over Presbyterian
Lehigh over Monmouth
Jacksonville over Morehead State
Samford over Florida A&M
Alcorn State over Mississippi Valley State
Sam Houston State over Texas Southern
Western Carolina over Citadel
Maine over Bryant
Alabama State over UA-Pine Bluff
Richmond over Gardner-Webb
James Madison over St. Francis (PA)
Charleston Southern over Campbell
Eastern Kentucky over Coastal Carolina
South Carolina State over Alabama A&M
Tennessee Tech over Hampton
Elon over North Carolina A&T
Chattanooga over Austin Peay
Georgetown over Marist
Lafayette over William & Mary
Butler over Franklin
Holy Cross over Central Connecticut State
Liberty over Morgan State
Montana over North Dakota
Eastern Illinois over Illinois State
South Dakota State over SE Louisiana
Murray State over Missouri State
C. Arkansas over UT-Martin
Wofford over Georgia Southern
Prairie View over Southern
Albany over Rhode Island
Tennessee State over Jackson State
Towson over Delaware State
Northern Arizona over UC-Davis
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Coaches on the Hot Seat #3
Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
Grobe crashed and burned last weekend as the Deacons wasted a perfect opportunity against Boston College. If the Deacons somehow fall to UL-Monroe this weekend, the writing should be on the wall. Grobe is slipping fast, and it's getting noticed nationally.
Charlie Weis, Kansas
It's only year two in the Weis regime, and they got over on South Dakota last week. This may be the only win that the Jayhawks are guaranteed this season. It could be downhill from here.
Dave Christensen, Wyoming
I'd be willing to take Christensen off of the seat next week, but beating Idaho is not enough. Wyoming has some climbing to do, and it has to start now.
Troy Calhoun, Air Force
The Falcons won't send Calhoun packing this season, but this is more a look ahead to 2014, and after the Falcons fell to Utah State by 32 this week, the future is looking more bleak by the minute.
Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Pinkel has started out with 2 wins, but they are against lesser teams. As the competition gets tougher, the Tigers will see less success on the scoreboard.
Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders lost by 20 to North Carolina. Once they get into CUSA play they could be a favorite, but something doesn't feel right yet. 8 wins are a must this season.
David Bailiff, Rice
Bailiff has been on and off of this list for a few years now. After getting blown out by Texas A&M, the Owls took last week off. They must now rebound, and do it quickly, or else there will be no escape for Bailiff.
Rocky Long, San Diego State
Long had a longshot job to do in holding over the success of Brady Hoke. It worked well for a year, but the magic is wearing off. They have lost to Eastern Illinois and Ohio State by a combined score of 82-26. Let that sink in.
Off of the Seat: Tony Levine, Houston; Randy Edsell, Maryland;
Fell Into the Dead Pool: Mack Brown, Texas
FCS PRS Rankings: 2013 Week 2
Here's how the PRS Rankings fell out after week 2:
1. Towson (2-0, 639)
2. McNeese State (2-0, 637)
3. Eastern Illinois (2-0, 604)
4. Maine (2-0, 564)
5. Northern Iowa (2-0, 562)
6. Georgia Southern (2-0, 546)
7. South Dakota State (2-0, 488)
8. Sacred Heart (2-0, 481)
9. Northwestern State (2-0, 475)
10. Youngstown State (2-0, 467)
11. Jacksonville State (2-0, 459)
12. Delaware (2-0, 430)
13. Coastal Carolina (2-0, 426)
14. Fordham (2-0, 406)
15. Eastern Washington (2-0, 381)
16. North Dakota State (2-0, 373)
17. Southern Utah (2-0, 372)
18. Samford (1-1, 341)
19. Nicholls State (1-1, 327)
20. Charlotte (2-0, 287)
21. Bethune-Cookman (2-0, 274)
22. Prairie View A&M (1-1, 261)
23. Central Arkansas (1-1, 259)
24. Western Illinois (2-0, 253)
25T. Stony Brook (1-0, 248)
25T. Sam Houston State (1-1, 248)
The Next Ten
27. Charleston Southern (2-0, 243)
28. UT-Martin (1-1, 241)
29. SE Louisiana (1-1, 233)
30. Wofford (1-1, 232)
31. Liberty (1-1, 225)
32. North Carolina A&T (1-0, 224)
33. Eastern Kentucky (1-1, 220)
34. Richmond (1-1, 218)
35. James Madison (1-1, 212)
Bottom Ten
118. Marist (0-2, -344)
119. Appalachian State (0-2, -350)
120. Alabama State (0-2, -360)
121. Holy Cross (0-2, -370)
122. Rhode Island (0-2, -373)
123. Citadel (0-2, -375)
124. Valporaiso (0-2, -421)
125. Mississippi Valley State (0-2, -453)
126. Drake (0-2, -456)
127. Morehead State (0-2, -484)
1. Towson (2-0, 639)
2. McNeese State (2-0, 637)
3. Eastern Illinois (2-0, 604)
4. Maine (2-0, 564)
5. Northern Iowa (2-0, 562)
6. Georgia Southern (2-0, 546)
7. South Dakota State (2-0, 488)
8. Sacred Heart (2-0, 481)
9. Northwestern State (2-0, 475)
10. Youngstown State (2-0, 467)
11. Jacksonville State (2-0, 459)
12. Delaware (2-0, 430)
13. Coastal Carolina (2-0, 426)
14. Fordham (2-0, 406)
15. Eastern Washington (2-0, 381)
16. North Dakota State (2-0, 373)
17. Southern Utah (2-0, 372)
18. Samford (1-1, 341)
19. Nicholls State (1-1, 327)
20. Charlotte (2-0, 287)
21. Bethune-Cookman (2-0, 274)
22. Prairie View A&M (1-1, 261)
23. Central Arkansas (1-1, 259)
24. Western Illinois (2-0, 253)
25T. Stony Brook (1-0, 248)
25T. Sam Houston State (1-1, 248)
The Next Ten
27. Charleston Southern (2-0, 243)
28. UT-Martin (1-1, 241)
29. SE Louisiana (1-1, 233)
30. Wofford (1-1, 232)
31. Liberty (1-1, 225)
32. North Carolina A&T (1-0, 224)
33. Eastern Kentucky (1-1, 220)
34. Richmond (1-1, 218)
35. James Madison (1-1, 212)
Bottom Ten
118. Marist (0-2, -344)
119. Appalachian State (0-2, -350)
120. Alabama State (0-2, -360)
121. Holy Cross (0-2, -370)
122. Rhode Island (0-2, -373)
123. Citadel (0-2, -375)
124. Valporaiso (0-2, -421)
125. Mississippi Valley State (0-2, -453)
126. Drake (0-2, -456)
127. Morehead State (0-2, -484)
Monday, September 9, 2013
NCAA Football 2013: FBS PRS Rankings Week 2
Here is the second weekly FBS PRS Rankings of the 2013 season. As you will plainly see, there have been some wild swings in the numbers and rankings, with changes all over the place top to bottom.
1. Oklahoma State (2-0, 516)
Last Week: Defeated UT-San Antonio 56-35
This Week: Lamar
The Cowboys will lose the top ranking, as taking on FCS opponents really has no benefit here. OSU, however, is cruising early.
2. Minnesota (2-0, 496)
Last Week: Defeated New Mexico State 44-21
This Week: Western Illinois
After a fast start against weak opponents, the Gophers have built up a solid point total early. They too will slip after taking on an FCS opponent this week.
3. Central Florida (2-0, 495)
Last Week: Defeated FIU 38-0
This Week: At #7 Penn State
The Knights are off to a dominant start as well, but get their first major test of 2013 when they travel to play another team in the top ten this week in Penn State.
4. LSU (2-0, 492)
Last Week: Defeated UAB 56-17
This Week: Kent State
LSU is also in cruise mode early, and they returned a missed FG for more than 100 yards in the win. This week should be another cruise mode win over Kent State.
5. Northwestern (2-0, 477)
Last Week: Defeated Syracuse 48-27
This Week: Western Michigan
The Wildcats have scored 46 points per game, and they should roll up on WMU this week after the Broncos got taken down by weak sister Nicholls State.
6. Bowling Green (2-0, 471)
Last Week: Defeated Kent State 41-22
This Week: At Indiana
The Falcons are very much for real after tearing into Tulsa and Kent State. They get a huge test at the Hoosiers this week, but the Hoosiers are coming off of a tough loss Navy.
7. Penn State (2-0, 462)
Last Week: Defeated Eastern Michigan 45-7
This Week: #3 Central Florida
As good as Penn State has been, this will be a real test this week at home against the Knights, who would love nothing more than to get this win. If the Lions hold off UCF, they are top 5 for certain.
8. Michigan (2-0, 461)
Last Week: Defeated Notre Dame 41-30
This Week: Akron
Last weekend brought an emotional win over Notre Dame, but look for now letdown this week. Wolverines will rip the Zips.
9. Nebraska (2-0, 439)
Last Week: Defeated Southern Mississippi 56-13
This Week: UCLA
The Huskers may have struggled against Wyoming, but Southern Miss provided no such challenge and the Huskers come into their biggest game yet red hot. UCLA will come in emotional, and will try to build off of last year's win at the Rose Bowl in this series.
10. Ohio State (2-0, 437)
Last Week: Defeated San Diego State 42-7
This Week: California
The Buckeyes cruised, and are averaging 41 points per game. Braxton Miller will not be 100% with a knee sprain this week, but is expected to start. Buckeyes will roll even if Miller plays on one leg.
11. Auburn (2-0, 405)
Last Week: Defeated Arkansas State 38-9
This Week: Mississippi State
The Tigers are on an early roll, and they should continue to roll this week against MSU, who has lost to Oklahoma State and has beaten Alcorn State. Not impressive for the Bulldogs.
12. Oklahoma (2-0, 393)
Last Week: Defeated West Virginia 16-7
This Week: Tulsa
The Sooners struggled last week, and they are going to Blake Bell at QB due to injury. This week will bring a win, but the Sooners may struggle moving forward.
13. Miami (2-0, 388)
Last Week: Defeated Florida 21-16
This Week: Idle
Miami needed a statement win, and they got it at home against Florida. It's a shame that they are taking a bye week this week instead of breaking on the advantage.
14. Michigan State (2-0, 375)
Last Week: Defeated South Florida 21-6
This Week: Youngstown State
The Spartans are struggling offensively, and they will be challenged by the Penguins, who are looking for the statement FCS game of the week.
15. Oregon (2-0, 371)
Last Week: Defeated Virginia 59-10
This Week: #23 Tennessee
The O Train is flying down the track, and nobody is getting in the way, not even Tennessee this weekend. Look for a 3-0 start.
16. Arizona (2-0, 338)
Last Week: Defeated UNLV 58-13
This Week: UT-San Antonio
The Wildcats have been streaking, and they should win yet again, but more interesting will be the further development of a young UTSA club, who covered the spread against Oklahoma State.
17. Texas Tech (2-0, 307)
Last Week: Defeated Stephen F. Austin 61-13
This Week: TCU
The Red Raiders stay in the top 25 this week after crushing the Lumberjacks of the FCS ranks. They have a big chance to take down the Frogs this weekend, who are without Casey Pachall.
18. Marshall (2-0, 295)
Last Week: Defeated Gardner-Webb 55-0
This Week: at Ohio
If the Herd can pick up the win in Athens this weekend, which they can, they may very well be pushing for a CUSA title this season.
19. Wisconsin (2-0, 288)
Last Week: Defeated Tennessee Tech 48-0
This Week: At Arizona State
The Sun Devils will not get shut out, and that's for sure. There will be contrasting styles, but the Badgers have outscored opponents 46.5 to 0 on average in the first two weeks. The Badgers need this win.
20. Duke (2-0, 287)
Last Week: Defeated Memphis 28-14
This Week: Georgia Tech
David Cutliffe has the Devils playing better than expected. This week is a huge challenge at home with the Yellow Jackets coming to town fresh off of a bye week.
21. Baylor (2-0, 283)
Last Week: Defeated Buffalo 70-13
This Week: Idle
The Bears are a national title contender. Believe that. The Bears are running sharp on both offense and defense, but they take a bye week. I wish they weren't.
22. Houston (2-0, 280)
Last Week: Defeated Temple 22-13
This Week: Idle
The Cougars are better than expected, but nobody they've beaten has won a game this season. They'll take the 2-0 start.
23. Tennessee (2-0, 279)
Last Week: Defeated Western Kentucky 52-20
This Week: at #15 Oregon
I actually feel bad for the Vols heading into Eugene this week, because I don't see a scenario where they win. Expect a down week.
24. Louisville (2-0, 278)
Last Week: Defeated Eastern Kentucky 44-7
This Week: At Kentucky
One thing we learned last weekend...Teddy Bridgewater is the QB and not the coach. Bubble Gum got a little excited and tried to wave off his punt team on 4th and 2. Charlie didn't like it. Come on now Teddy, don't get arrogant. We still like you a lot.
25T. Colorado (2-0, 269)
Last Week: Defeated Central Arkansas 38-24
This Week: Fresno State
Colorado got a serious scare from the FCS Bears, so I am not confident in how they'll handle the Bulldogs, who are aiming for a BCS birth this season.
25T. Florida State (2-0, 269)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Nevada
The Seminoles didn't play, and lost 24 places because of the lack of points. They start the climb back up this week against an outclassed Nevada team.
The Next Ten
27. Maryland (2-0, 263)
28. Ole Miss (2-0, 261)
29T. Texas A&M (2-0, 260)
29T. Alabama (1-0, 260)
31. Texas State (2-0, 254)
32. Troy (2-0, 250)
33T. Utah (2-0, 247)
33T. Missouri (2-0, 247)
33T. Navy (1-0, 247)
The Bottom Ten
116. Temple (0-2, -362)
117. Southern Mississippi (0-2, -372)
118. UNLV (0-2, -387)
119. New Mexico State (0-2, -394)
120. Florida International (0-2, -411)
121. Western Michigan (0-2, -431)
122. South Florida (0-2, -470)
123. San Diego State (0-2, -480)
124. UMass (0-2, -491)
125. Georgia State (0-2, -603)
1. Oklahoma State (2-0, 516)
Last Week: Defeated UT-San Antonio 56-35
This Week: Lamar
The Cowboys will lose the top ranking, as taking on FCS opponents really has no benefit here. OSU, however, is cruising early.
2. Minnesota (2-0, 496)
Last Week: Defeated New Mexico State 44-21
This Week: Western Illinois
After a fast start against weak opponents, the Gophers have built up a solid point total early. They too will slip after taking on an FCS opponent this week.
3. Central Florida (2-0, 495)
Last Week: Defeated FIU 38-0
This Week: At #7 Penn State
The Knights are off to a dominant start as well, but get their first major test of 2013 when they travel to play another team in the top ten this week in Penn State.
4. LSU (2-0, 492)
Last Week: Defeated UAB 56-17
This Week: Kent State
LSU is also in cruise mode early, and they returned a missed FG for more than 100 yards in the win. This week should be another cruise mode win over Kent State.
5. Northwestern (2-0, 477)
Last Week: Defeated Syracuse 48-27
This Week: Western Michigan
The Wildcats have scored 46 points per game, and they should roll up on WMU this week after the Broncos got taken down by weak sister Nicholls State.
6. Bowling Green (2-0, 471)
Last Week: Defeated Kent State 41-22
This Week: At Indiana
The Falcons are very much for real after tearing into Tulsa and Kent State. They get a huge test at the Hoosiers this week, but the Hoosiers are coming off of a tough loss Navy.
7. Penn State (2-0, 462)
Last Week: Defeated Eastern Michigan 45-7
This Week: #3 Central Florida
As good as Penn State has been, this will be a real test this week at home against the Knights, who would love nothing more than to get this win. If the Lions hold off UCF, they are top 5 for certain.
8. Michigan (2-0, 461)
Last Week: Defeated Notre Dame 41-30
This Week: Akron
Last weekend brought an emotional win over Notre Dame, but look for now letdown this week. Wolverines will rip the Zips.
9. Nebraska (2-0, 439)
Last Week: Defeated Southern Mississippi 56-13
This Week: UCLA
The Huskers may have struggled against Wyoming, but Southern Miss provided no such challenge and the Huskers come into their biggest game yet red hot. UCLA will come in emotional, and will try to build off of last year's win at the Rose Bowl in this series.
10. Ohio State (2-0, 437)
Last Week: Defeated San Diego State 42-7
This Week: California
The Buckeyes cruised, and are averaging 41 points per game. Braxton Miller will not be 100% with a knee sprain this week, but is expected to start. Buckeyes will roll even if Miller plays on one leg.
11. Auburn (2-0, 405)
Last Week: Defeated Arkansas State 38-9
This Week: Mississippi State
The Tigers are on an early roll, and they should continue to roll this week against MSU, who has lost to Oklahoma State and has beaten Alcorn State. Not impressive for the Bulldogs.
12. Oklahoma (2-0, 393)
Last Week: Defeated West Virginia 16-7
This Week: Tulsa
The Sooners struggled last week, and they are going to Blake Bell at QB due to injury. This week will bring a win, but the Sooners may struggle moving forward.
13. Miami (2-0, 388)
Last Week: Defeated Florida 21-16
This Week: Idle
Miami needed a statement win, and they got it at home against Florida. It's a shame that they are taking a bye week this week instead of breaking on the advantage.
14. Michigan State (2-0, 375)
Last Week: Defeated South Florida 21-6
This Week: Youngstown State
The Spartans are struggling offensively, and they will be challenged by the Penguins, who are looking for the statement FCS game of the week.
15. Oregon (2-0, 371)
Last Week: Defeated Virginia 59-10
This Week: #23 Tennessee
The O Train is flying down the track, and nobody is getting in the way, not even Tennessee this weekend. Look for a 3-0 start.
16. Arizona (2-0, 338)
Last Week: Defeated UNLV 58-13
This Week: UT-San Antonio
The Wildcats have been streaking, and they should win yet again, but more interesting will be the further development of a young UTSA club, who covered the spread against Oklahoma State.
17. Texas Tech (2-0, 307)
Last Week: Defeated Stephen F. Austin 61-13
This Week: TCU
The Red Raiders stay in the top 25 this week after crushing the Lumberjacks of the FCS ranks. They have a big chance to take down the Frogs this weekend, who are without Casey Pachall.
18. Marshall (2-0, 295)
Last Week: Defeated Gardner-Webb 55-0
This Week: at Ohio
If the Herd can pick up the win in Athens this weekend, which they can, they may very well be pushing for a CUSA title this season.
19. Wisconsin (2-0, 288)
Last Week: Defeated Tennessee Tech 48-0
This Week: At Arizona State
The Sun Devils will not get shut out, and that's for sure. There will be contrasting styles, but the Badgers have outscored opponents 46.5 to 0 on average in the first two weeks. The Badgers need this win.
20. Duke (2-0, 287)
Last Week: Defeated Memphis 28-14
This Week: Georgia Tech
David Cutliffe has the Devils playing better than expected. This week is a huge challenge at home with the Yellow Jackets coming to town fresh off of a bye week.
21. Baylor (2-0, 283)
Last Week: Defeated Buffalo 70-13
This Week: Idle
The Bears are a national title contender. Believe that. The Bears are running sharp on both offense and defense, but they take a bye week. I wish they weren't.
22. Houston (2-0, 280)
Last Week: Defeated Temple 22-13
This Week: Idle
The Cougars are better than expected, but nobody they've beaten has won a game this season. They'll take the 2-0 start.
23. Tennessee (2-0, 279)
Last Week: Defeated Western Kentucky 52-20
This Week: at #15 Oregon
I actually feel bad for the Vols heading into Eugene this week, because I don't see a scenario where they win. Expect a down week.
24. Louisville (2-0, 278)
Last Week: Defeated Eastern Kentucky 44-7
This Week: At Kentucky
One thing we learned last weekend...Teddy Bridgewater is the QB and not the coach. Bubble Gum got a little excited and tried to wave off his punt team on 4th and 2. Charlie didn't like it. Come on now Teddy, don't get arrogant. We still like you a lot.
25T. Colorado (2-0, 269)
Last Week: Defeated Central Arkansas 38-24
This Week: Fresno State
Colorado got a serious scare from the FCS Bears, so I am not confident in how they'll handle the Bulldogs, who are aiming for a BCS birth this season.
25T. Florida State (2-0, 269)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Nevada
The Seminoles didn't play, and lost 24 places because of the lack of points. They start the climb back up this week against an outclassed Nevada team.
The Next Ten
27. Maryland (2-0, 263)
28. Ole Miss (2-0, 261)
29T. Texas A&M (2-0, 260)
29T. Alabama (1-0, 260)
31. Texas State (2-0, 254)
32. Troy (2-0, 250)
33T. Utah (2-0, 247)
33T. Missouri (2-0, 247)
33T. Navy (1-0, 247)
The Bottom Ten
116. Temple (0-2, -362)
117. Southern Mississippi (0-2, -372)
118. UNLV (0-2, -387)
119. New Mexico State (0-2, -394)
120. Florida International (0-2, -411)
121. Western Michigan (0-2, -431)
122. South Florida (0-2, -470)
123. San Diego State (0-2, -480)
124. UMass (0-2, -491)
125. Georgia State (0-2, -603)
Sunday, September 8, 2013
NCAA Football 2013: Week 2 Under Review
Week two of the 2013 college football season is now wrapped up, and there were some interesting happening from around the game. Upsets were again in motion, and the FCS was again an active part in those results, which is becoming a regularity more than an isolated moment, which is what it had generally been before now. That, in my opinion is a look deep inside of scholarship limitations being placed at 85 in FBS football. It has undeniably had a massive effect on parity not just between Mid-Majors and the power leagues in FBS football, but the top half of FCS football has seen an unprecedented move upward towards competitiveness and respectability when facing FBS members, as we have seen these last two weekends.
Of course, there may be a limited shelf life to the FCS phenomenon that we have seen as of late. In studying the progression of realignment, and what it means for various schools and conferences, up to and including the obliteration of long standing regional affiliations and rivalries, I have come to the conclusion that the NCAA as we know it will no longer exist in a relatively short period of time, meaning within the next 10 years. Some may think that this is a longer period of time than I am observing it as, but think of tit this way, the BCS is already on its last season, and doesn't it seem, at least to people like me who have been watching the game for 30 years or more, like the system was just recently created?
Why am I coming to this conclusion? It's simple. The power conferences are a short time away from a massive split from the rest of college football, and the NCAA in all sports overall. As these conferences have more flexibility in making their own TV deals, which is still far from finished, they will feel the burn of having to answer to a power that does not have their best interests in mind. When they come to the full realization that they can, legally and ethically, eliminate the NCAA governing body, the wheels will fall off of the wagon entirely, and the NCAA will cease to exist.
What will then replace the NCAA is several different governing bodies governing the individual sports, which makes more sense than one body governing every sport. In essence, the fall of the NCAA would allow sensible rules, and with that, conferences will more than likely increase scholarship limits once again. The athletes that are now attending mid-majors and FCS schools, would start to follow paths back to power programs, especially because exposure will become more difficult to get outside of major conferences on TV. With the fall of the NCAA as governing body, along with the realignment of divisions, which is more likely than not, this FCS raid on wins may be short lived.
With that said, let us take a look in review of what happened in college football this weekend!
AAC
Winners: UCF, Louisville, Rutgers, Houston, SMU
UCF, Louisville, and Rutgers had the easiest roads this weekend, with only UCF taking on a team from the FBS ranks. That being said, UCF got FIU, which was almost like getting an FCS game on the slate. With UCF's win, they scored the biggest PRS number by winning 38-0 on the road. Houston, however, got a break by taking their first conference game in a 22-13 win over Temple. Tony Levine may be getting off the hot seat.
Louisville and Rutgers picked up easy wins over Eastern Kentucky and Norfolk State, which were no brainers. The one interesting point from these two games was the incident in which Teddy Bridgewater tried to wave off the punt unit on a 4th and 2 play, bringing on the ire of head coach Charlie Strong.
SMU was one of my picks to become an upset victim to FCS member Montana State, and it almost happened. The Mustangs scored with 12 seconds remaining to knock off the upset minded Bobcats 31-30.
Losers: USF, Temple, Cincinnati, Memphis
There are issues at both USF and Temple, where new head coaches Willie Taggert and Matt Ruhle have gotten off to dismal starts this season. USF was in the game against Michigan State for a good long while, but ultimately fell apart late. Temple has scored just 19 points (9.5 per game), and their offense seems in ruins. The defense is giving up 25 points per game for the Owls.
Cincinnati was a heavy favorite in my mind at Illinois, but lost QB Muchie Legaux to a serious leg injury, and the defense never got off of the bus in the 45-17 loss.
Memphis, as always, is just Memphis, and fell 28-14 to Duke.
ACC
Winners: Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Duke, NC State
Any time your conference can pile up 7 wins, it's a good week, but Miami's win over overrated Florida really took the cake this week. The Hurricanes, although offensively inept at times, really defensively took a beating to the Gators at home, and this was the most lively that the home stadium felt for Miami in over a decade.
BC got a huge advantage with a solid home win over Wake Forest in the conference opener, giving Steve Addazio a 2-0 start, albeit against inferior opponents in my book.
Va. Tech, Maryland, and NC State picked up wins against FCS opponents, however, NC State almost felt the FCS sting, as Richmond gave the WolfPack all they could handle in a 23-21 win for NC State. Clemson also played and routed an FCS opponent in South Carolina State of the MEAC.
Duke had an easy week as well, and cruised by Memphis. The Blue Devils used two QBs and struggled to separate until the second half. However, the Blue Devils are 2-0, and this is a huge start for David Cutliffe.
Losers: Virginia, Syracuse
You really can't be surprised by either loss here. Virginia gave up big play after big play against Oregon, which was hardly shocking.
Syracuse met up against a red hot Northwestern club, and the Orange defense was victimized often.
Big 10
Winners: Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota
It was a huge week for the Big 10, and the Twitter wars between Big 10 and SEC fan is burning at an all time high.
Penn State burned up little energy in trashing E. Michigan, while Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Nebraska, Minnesota, and Northwestern all cruised. Ohio State's win over San Diego State may have been the most costly of the group, as Braxton Miller injured a knee in the win. It is not yet entirely known how bad the injury was, so Ohio State could be in trouble moving forward.
Michigan State, Purdue, and Iowa all have major concerns. The Spartans struggle mightily for three quarters before just getting by USF 21-6. Purdue had to hold on in a low scoring battle against Indiana State, a team that gave up 73 to Indiana the week before. Iowa also struggled early before pulling away against Missouri State, who had lost to Northwestern State the week before.
Then there was Michigan. The Wolverines and Irish played for the last time in the foreseeable future in Ann Arbor, and Devin Gardner collected 4 TDs, with three of them going to Jeremy Gallon through the air, and Michigan beat Notre Dame 41-30. Brian Kelly may think that Michigan-Notre Dame is not a major rivalry, but he'd be dead wrong, and his statement makes me wonder just how much he knows or cares about Notre Dame history and tradition.
Losers: Indiana
That's right, one loser only this week, and the Hoosiers really should have won this game against Navy, but they didn't, falling to the Middies 41-35. The Hoosiers defense has given up 76 points in two weeks. The offense may be solid, but their defense gave up 444 yards rushing to Navy, which is something to be concerned about long term.
Big 12
Winners: TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
TCU struggled for most of the first three quarters to put SE Louisiana away, but finally did, losing Casey Pachall for 8 weeks with an arm injury.
Oklahoma State and Baylor rolled up huge yardage, with Baylor breaking an all time record with 781 yards on 80 plays. Lache Seastrunk rushed for 150 yards on just 17 carries.
Kansas State had a nice bounce back win against a reeling UL-Lafayette team that has now failed to pull an upset two weeks running.
Kansas picked up a win against FCS member South Dakota, so that may be the one win that Kansas can pull off this fall.
Texas Tech crushed Stephen F. Austin, who has given up 111 points in losses to the Red Raiders and Weber State. Tech jumped out to a 45-7 lead at the half.
Oklahoma is an interesting team this fall, as they stumbled to a 16-7 win over West Virginia, who os clearly in the toilet after two weeks in which they almost fell to William & Mary and struggled to score 7 against OU. The Sooners scored exactly one TD in the game despite Brennan Clay rushing for 170 yards on the day.
Losers: Texas, West Virginia
If Mack Brown has been on the Hot Seat, I do believe that he has splashed down into the Dead Pool, barring a huge run that takes them back to the top in the Big 12, but their defense, especially their rush D, was highly exposed. Texas gave up 550 yards on the day on the ground, and Texas is in major trouble.
As is West Virginia, who scored a whopping 7 points in losing to OU. The Mountaineers have scored 31 points in two weeks, which is uncharacteristic for Dana Holgorsen.
Conference USA
Winners: East Carolina, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa
ECU and Marshall plainly had great weeks, but La. Tech and Tulsa both struggled to get wins that ordinarily should have been easy. This conference is plainly without teeth for the most part. It's going to get worse.
Losers: FAU, FIU, UTSA, M. Tennessee, Tulane, Southern Miss, North Texas, UAB
Look at the list above. One major loss after another, especially a truly bad loss by Tulane to South Alabama. This is ugly, but credit must be given to North Texas and UT-San Antonio, who are the only teams that put up the good fight. UTSA and North Texas may both surprise some teams from within the league.
Indpendents
Winners: Navy, BYU
Navy's run game is well within range of its same old self, as they rolled up 444 yards against Indiana in a major road win.
BYU was the story of the day with over 500 yards rushing, as they have turned into the Sooners of Oklahoma from the 80's. BYU a rushing mega monster? Who knew?
Losers: Army, Old Dominion, Idaho, Notre Dame, New Mexico State
Nobody on this list really had a shot this weekend, including Notre Dame, who was playing a fired up Michigan team that was hosting the final game of this series for a very long time at least. Other than that, this list was completely expected.
MAC
Winners: Bowling Green, Ball State, C. Michigan, Akron, Ohio
The Falcons are for real as it turns out. BGSU is moving in the right direction, and I have to believe that they are worth buying into right now. The win over Kent State also has them up on top early in the MAC race.
Ball State pounded Army, and is off to a solid 2-0 start. Pete Lembo is doing one hell of a job in Muncie early on, and the Cardinals could be a surprise team I the MAC come the end of the season.
CMU and Akron beat CAA members New Hampshire and James Madison by a combined 5 points. These wins were quality in certain ways, but terrifying in others.
Ohio struggled to get over on North Texas, and I am worried about the Bobcats after a fairly weak 1-1 start.
Losers: Kent State, Miami (Ohio), E. Michigan, UMass, Buffalo, Toledo, W. Michigan
One can't help looking at the above list and not think that the MAC may be on a down year in 2013. You have to think that especially hard when you consider that WMU lost to Nicholls State, Toledo is 0-2, and UMass lost to FCS Maine when CMU barely held off FCS New Hampshire. Oh, and don't forget Buffalo and their stellar D that gave up 781 yards to Baylor. EMU and Miami are just running
jokes right about now.
Mountain West
Winners: Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, Fresno State
This week was an even split. Utah State had the most impressive conference win, a 52-20 rout over Air Force, which gets them in the MWC win column. Look for the Aggies to move forward strongly from here on out.
Boise State got a much needed rebound win against FCS member UT-Martin, and it was an easy 63-14 pounding.
Wyoming also got a much needed win this weekend with a 42-10 win over Idaho, and the Cowboys offense has scored 75 points in two games.
New Mexico also picked up a much needed win over rival UTEP, a game that went into OT, with the Lobos winning 42-35 in the end. UNM, despite the win is not ready to get to a higher level, but this was a start.
Nevada and Fresno State got easy, but bumpy wins along the way against FCS members UC-Davis and Cal Poly.
Losers: San Diego State, Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, UNLV, San Jose State
San Diego State is in major trouble after falling 42-7 to Ohio State. The Aztecs are a mess, and are averaging just 13 points per game, while giving up 41.
Air Force took a major step back this weekend, falling to Utah State, dropping to 0-1 in conference play.
Colorado State had Tulsa on the ropes, but fell apart in the 4th quarter, allowing Tulsa to steal the win.
San Jose State had the highest quality loss, as they fell to Stanford. No shame in that, and they were competitive in the process.
Hawaii is an 0-2 disaster, but at least they played tighter than last week. They had Oregon State nervous for a half.
UNLV is a huge disaster that has given up 111 points in two weeks. Bobby Hauck has to be toast at this point.
PAC-12
Winners: Arizona State, Utah, Oregon, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona, Stanford
ASU, Utah, Cal, an Colorado all beat FCS opponents, but Colorado and Cal won ugly over C. Arkansas and Portland State. ASU and Utah beat Sacramento St. and Weber State by a combined 125-7.
Oregon is on the right track, and may have moved ahead of Stanford in terms of overall power right now. The 59-10 win over Virginia was effortless.
Oregon State looks like they could be in trouble long term after struggling with Hawaii for a half.
While Arizona completely dominated hapless UNLV, Washington State's 10-7 win over USC was the most meaningful PAC-12 win this weekend, and gets WSU one win up in the conference win column.
Losers: USC
Dead Pool Kiffin. That's now his name. There is no likely way that Kiffin survives to coach this team in 2014. No freaking way.
SEC
Winners: Kentucky, Tennessee, Miss. State, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Auburn, Vandy, LSU
Let's look at who the SEC beat...Miami (Ohio), W. Kentucky, Alcorn State, Toledo, SE Missouri State, Samford, Sam Houston State, Arkansas State, Austin Peay, and UAB. This group hardly constitutes murderers row right now, so, uh, awesome?
Georgia got the huge win at home against South Carolina, abut the defense looks to be a mess.
Losers: Florida. South Carolina
Can you find two bigger chokes than these two? Florida dropped a road game to Miami, while South Carolina saw their national title hopes go scampering out the door with a road loss to Georgia, which also drops them to 0-1 in the East.
Sun Belt
Winners: South Alabama, UL-Monroe, Texas State, Troy
USA got the best win, a 41-39 win over Tulane, which is huge for this young program. ULM, Texas State, and Troy picked up games against HBCU opponents, who have historically taken beating for pay checks.
Losers: W. Kentucky, Georgia State, UL-Lafayette, Arkansas State
WKU had the best shot for a win, but failed and turned the ball over 5 times in the 1st quarter on 6 plays.
GSU, ULL, and Arkansas State are off to a 1-5 start collectively.
Of course, there may be a limited shelf life to the FCS phenomenon that we have seen as of late. In studying the progression of realignment, and what it means for various schools and conferences, up to and including the obliteration of long standing regional affiliations and rivalries, I have come to the conclusion that the NCAA as we know it will no longer exist in a relatively short period of time, meaning within the next 10 years. Some may think that this is a longer period of time than I am observing it as, but think of tit this way, the BCS is already on its last season, and doesn't it seem, at least to people like me who have been watching the game for 30 years or more, like the system was just recently created?
Why am I coming to this conclusion? It's simple. The power conferences are a short time away from a massive split from the rest of college football, and the NCAA in all sports overall. As these conferences have more flexibility in making their own TV deals, which is still far from finished, they will feel the burn of having to answer to a power that does not have their best interests in mind. When they come to the full realization that they can, legally and ethically, eliminate the NCAA governing body, the wheels will fall off of the wagon entirely, and the NCAA will cease to exist.
What will then replace the NCAA is several different governing bodies governing the individual sports, which makes more sense than one body governing every sport. In essence, the fall of the NCAA would allow sensible rules, and with that, conferences will more than likely increase scholarship limits once again. The athletes that are now attending mid-majors and FCS schools, would start to follow paths back to power programs, especially because exposure will become more difficult to get outside of major conferences on TV. With the fall of the NCAA as governing body, along with the realignment of divisions, which is more likely than not, this FCS raid on wins may be short lived.
With that said, let us take a look in review of what happened in college football this weekend!
AAC
Winners: UCF, Louisville, Rutgers, Houston, SMU
UCF, Louisville, and Rutgers had the easiest roads this weekend, with only UCF taking on a team from the FBS ranks. That being said, UCF got FIU, which was almost like getting an FCS game on the slate. With UCF's win, they scored the biggest PRS number by winning 38-0 on the road. Houston, however, got a break by taking their first conference game in a 22-13 win over Temple. Tony Levine may be getting off the hot seat.
Louisville and Rutgers picked up easy wins over Eastern Kentucky and Norfolk State, which were no brainers. The one interesting point from these two games was the incident in which Teddy Bridgewater tried to wave off the punt unit on a 4th and 2 play, bringing on the ire of head coach Charlie Strong.
SMU was one of my picks to become an upset victim to FCS member Montana State, and it almost happened. The Mustangs scored with 12 seconds remaining to knock off the upset minded Bobcats 31-30.
Losers: USF, Temple, Cincinnati, Memphis
There are issues at both USF and Temple, where new head coaches Willie Taggert and Matt Ruhle have gotten off to dismal starts this season. USF was in the game against Michigan State for a good long while, but ultimately fell apart late. Temple has scored just 19 points (9.5 per game), and their offense seems in ruins. The defense is giving up 25 points per game for the Owls.
Cincinnati was a heavy favorite in my mind at Illinois, but lost QB Muchie Legaux to a serious leg injury, and the defense never got off of the bus in the 45-17 loss.
Memphis, as always, is just Memphis, and fell 28-14 to Duke.
ACC
Winners: Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Duke, NC State
Any time your conference can pile up 7 wins, it's a good week, but Miami's win over overrated Florida really took the cake this week. The Hurricanes, although offensively inept at times, really defensively took a beating to the Gators at home, and this was the most lively that the home stadium felt for Miami in over a decade.
BC got a huge advantage with a solid home win over Wake Forest in the conference opener, giving Steve Addazio a 2-0 start, albeit against inferior opponents in my book.
Va. Tech, Maryland, and NC State picked up wins against FCS opponents, however, NC State almost felt the FCS sting, as Richmond gave the WolfPack all they could handle in a 23-21 win for NC State. Clemson also played and routed an FCS opponent in South Carolina State of the MEAC.
Duke had an easy week as well, and cruised by Memphis. The Blue Devils used two QBs and struggled to separate until the second half. However, the Blue Devils are 2-0, and this is a huge start for David Cutliffe.
Losers: Virginia, Syracuse
You really can't be surprised by either loss here. Virginia gave up big play after big play against Oregon, which was hardly shocking.
Syracuse met up against a red hot Northwestern club, and the Orange defense was victimized often.
Big 10
Winners: Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota
It was a huge week for the Big 10, and the Twitter wars between Big 10 and SEC fan is burning at an all time high.
Penn State burned up little energy in trashing E. Michigan, while Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Nebraska, Minnesota, and Northwestern all cruised. Ohio State's win over San Diego State may have been the most costly of the group, as Braxton Miller injured a knee in the win. It is not yet entirely known how bad the injury was, so Ohio State could be in trouble moving forward.
Michigan State, Purdue, and Iowa all have major concerns. The Spartans struggle mightily for three quarters before just getting by USF 21-6. Purdue had to hold on in a low scoring battle against Indiana State, a team that gave up 73 to Indiana the week before. Iowa also struggled early before pulling away against Missouri State, who had lost to Northwestern State the week before.
Then there was Michigan. The Wolverines and Irish played for the last time in the foreseeable future in Ann Arbor, and Devin Gardner collected 4 TDs, with three of them going to Jeremy Gallon through the air, and Michigan beat Notre Dame 41-30. Brian Kelly may think that Michigan-Notre Dame is not a major rivalry, but he'd be dead wrong, and his statement makes me wonder just how much he knows or cares about Notre Dame history and tradition.
Losers: Indiana
That's right, one loser only this week, and the Hoosiers really should have won this game against Navy, but they didn't, falling to the Middies 41-35. The Hoosiers defense has given up 76 points in two weeks. The offense may be solid, but their defense gave up 444 yards rushing to Navy, which is something to be concerned about long term.
Big 12
Winners: TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
TCU struggled for most of the first three quarters to put SE Louisiana away, but finally did, losing Casey Pachall for 8 weeks with an arm injury.
Oklahoma State and Baylor rolled up huge yardage, with Baylor breaking an all time record with 781 yards on 80 plays. Lache Seastrunk rushed for 150 yards on just 17 carries.
Kansas State had a nice bounce back win against a reeling UL-Lafayette team that has now failed to pull an upset two weeks running.
Kansas picked up a win against FCS member South Dakota, so that may be the one win that Kansas can pull off this fall.
Texas Tech crushed Stephen F. Austin, who has given up 111 points in losses to the Red Raiders and Weber State. Tech jumped out to a 45-7 lead at the half.
Oklahoma is an interesting team this fall, as they stumbled to a 16-7 win over West Virginia, who os clearly in the toilet after two weeks in which they almost fell to William & Mary and struggled to score 7 against OU. The Sooners scored exactly one TD in the game despite Brennan Clay rushing for 170 yards on the day.
Losers: Texas, West Virginia
If Mack Brown has been on the Hot Seat, I do believe that he has splashed down into the Dead Pool, barring a huge run that takes them back to the top in the Big 12, but their defense, especially their rush D, was highly exposed. Texas gave up 550 yards on the day on the ground, and Texas is in major trouble.
As is West Virginia, who scored a whopping 7 points in losing to OU. The Mountaineers have scored 31 points in two weeks, which is uncharacteristic for Dana Holgorsen.
Conference USA
Winners: East Carolina, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa
ECU and Marshall plainly had great weeks, but La. Tech and Tulsa both struggled to get wins that ordinarily should have been easy. This conference is plainly without teeth for the most part. It's going to get worse.
Losers: FAU, FIU, UTSA, M. Tennessee, Tulane, Southern Miss, North Texas, UAB
Look at the list above. One major loss after another, especially a truly bad loss by Tulane to South Alabama. This is ugly, but credit must be given to North Texas and UT-San Antonio, who are the only teams that put up the good fight. UTSA and North Texas may both surprise some teams from within the league.
Indpendents
Winners: Navy, BYU
Navy's run game is well within range of its same old self, as they rolled up 444 yards against Indiana in a major road win.
BYU was the story of the day with over 500 yards rushing, as they have turned into the Sooners of Oklahoma from the 80's. BYU a rushing mega monster? Who knew?
Losers: Army, Old Dominion, Idaho, Notre Dame, New Mexico State
Nobody on this list really had a shot this weekend, including Notre Dame, who was playing a fired up Michigan team that was hosting the final game of this series for a very long time at least. Other than that, this list was completely expected.
MAC
Winners: Bowling Green, Ball State, C. Michigan, Akron, Ohio
The Falcons are for real as it turns out. BGSU is moving in the right direction, and I have to believe that they are worth buying into right now. The win over Kent State also has them up on top early in the MAC race.
Ball State pounded Army, and is off to a solid 2-0 start. Pete Lembo is doing one hell of a job in Muncie early on, and the Cardinals could be a surprise team I the MAC come the end of the season.
CMU and Akron beat CAA members New Hampshire and James Madison by a combined 5 points. These wins were quality in certain ways, but terrifying in others.
Ohio struggled to get over on North Texas, and I am worried about the Bobcats after a fairly weak 1-1 start.
Losers: Kent State, Miami (Ohio), E. Michigan, UMass, Buffalo, Toledo, W. Michigan
One can't help looking at the above list and not think that the MAC may be on a down year in 2013. You have to think that especially hard when you consider that WMU lost to Nicholls State, Toledo is 0-2, and UMass lost to FCS Maine when CMU barely held off FCS New Hampshire. Oh, and don't forget Buffalo and their stellar D that gave up 781 yards to Baylor. EMU and Miami are just running
jokes right about now.
Mountain West
Winners: Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, Fresno State
This week was an even split. Utah State had the most impressive conference win, a 52-20 rout over Air Force, which gets them in the MWC win column. Look for the Aggies to move forward strongly from here on out.
Boise State got a much needed rebound win against FCS member UT-Martin, and it was an easy 63-14 pounding.
Wyoming also got a much needed win this weekend with a 42-10 win over Idaho, and the Cowboys offense has scored 75 points in two games.
New Mexico also picked up a much needed win over rival UTEP, a game that went into OT, with the Lobos winning 42-35 in the end. UNM, despite the win is not ready to get to a higher level, but this was a start.
Nevada and Fresno State got easy, but bumpy wins along the way against FCS members UC-Davis and Cal Poly.
Losers: San Diego State, Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, UNLV, San Jose State
San Diego State is in major trouble after falling 42-7 to Ohio State. The Aztecs are a mess, and are averaging just 13 points per game, while giving up 41.
Air Force took a major step back this weekend, falling to Utah State, dropping to 0-1 in conference play.
Colorado State had Tulsa on the ropes, but fell apart in the 4th quarter, allowing Tulsa to steal the win.
San Jose State had the highest quality loss, as they fell to Stanford. No shame in that, and they were competitive in the process.
Hawaii is an 0-2 disaster, but at least they played tighter than last week. They had Oregon State nervous for a half.
UNLV is a huge disaster that has given up 111 points in two weeks. Bobby Hauck has to be toast at this point.
PAC-12
Winners: Arizona State, Utah, Oregon, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona, Stanford
ASU, Utah, Cal, an Colorado all beat FCS opponents, but Colorado and Cal won ugly over C. Arkansas and Portland State. ASU and Utah beat Sacramento St. and Weber State by a combined 125-7.
Oregon is on the right track, and may have moved ahead of Stanford in terms of overall power right now. The 59-10 win over Virginia was effortless.
Oregon State looks like they could be in trouble long term after struggling with Hawaii for a half.
While Arizona completely dominated hapless UNLV, Washington State's 10-7 win over USC was the most meaningful PAC-12 win this weekend, and gets WSU one win up in the conference win column.
Losers: USC
Dead Pool Kiffin. That's now his name. There is no likely way that Kiffin survives to coach this team in 2014. No freaking way.
SEC
Winners: Kentucky, Tennessee, Miss. State, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Auburn, Vandy, LSU
Let's look at who the SEC beat...Miami (Ohio), W. Kentucky, Alcorn State, Toledo, SE Missouri State, Samford, Sam Houston State, Arkansas State, Austin Peay, and UAB. This group hardly constitutes murderers row right now, so, uh, awesome?
Georgia got the huge win at home against South Carolina, abut the defense looks to be a mess.
Losers: Florida. South Carolina
Can you find two bigger chokes than these two? Florida dropped a road game to Miami, while South Carolina saw their national title hopes go scampering out the door with a road loss to Georgia, which also drops them to 0-1 in the East.
Sun Belt
Winners: South Alabama, UL-Monroe, Texas State, Troy
USA got the best win, a 41-39 win over Tulane, which is huge for this young program. ULM, Texas State, and Troy picked up games against HBCU opponents, who have historically taken beating for pay checks.
Losers: W. Kentucky, Georgia State, UL-Lafayette, Arkansas State
WKU had the best shot for a win, but failed and turned the ball over 5 times in the 1st quarter on 6 plays.
GSU, ULL, and Arkansas State are off to a 1-5 start collectively.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
2013 Week 2 FBS and FCS Picks
Here are my picks for all week 2 games. Last week's final record finished at 91-25.
FBS
Thursday
Arizona State over Sacramento State
East Carolina over Florida Atlantic
Friday
Wake Forest over Boston College
UCF over Florida International
Saturday
Bowling Green over Kent State
Kentucky over Miami (Ohio)
Louisville over Eastern Kentucky
Miami over Florida
Michigan State over South Florida
Penn State over Eastern Michigan
Purdue over Indiana State
Rutgers over Norfolk State
Houston over Temple
Cincinnati over Illinois
Iowa over Missouri State
TCU over SE Louisiana
Oklahoma State over UT-San Antonio
Wisconsin over Tennessee Tech
Tennessee over W. Kentucky
Clemson over South Carolina St.
North Carolina over M. Tennessee
Ball State over Army
Virginia Tech over W. Carolina
Chattanooga over Georgia State
UMass over Maine
Utah over Weber State
New Hampshire over C. Michigan
Boise State over UT-Martin
Ohio State over San Diego State
Oregon over Virginia
Baylor over Buffalo
Mississippi State over Alcorn State
Missouri over Toledo
Tulane over South Alabama
Utah State over Air Force
Maryland over Old Dominion
Wyoming over Idaho
South Carolina over Georgia
Duke over Memphis
Cal over Portland State
James Madison over Akron
Indiana over Navy
NC State over Richmond
Nebraska over S. Mississippi
Northwestern over Syracuse
Marshall over Gardner-Webb
Kansas State over UL-Lafayette
Ohio over North Texas
W. Michigan over Nicholls State
Arkansas over Samford
Kansas over South Dakota
LSU over UAB
Louisiana Tech over Lamar
UL-Monroe over Grambling
Oklahoma over West Virginia
Ole Miss over SE Missouri
Texas A&M over Sam Houston St.
Texas St. over Prairie View
Texas Tech over SF Austin
Troy over Savannah State
Tulsa over Colorado State
Texas over BYU
Auburn over Arkansas State
Vanderbilt over Austin Peay
Michigan over Notre Dame
Montana State over SMU
Colorado over C. Arkansas
UTEP over New Mexico
Oregon State over Hawaii
Minnesota over Oregon State
Nevada over UC-Davis
Fresno State over Cal Poly
Washington State over USC
Arizona over UNLV
Stanford over San Jose State
FBS
Thursday
Arizona State over Sacramento State
East Carolina over Florida Atlantic
Friday
Wake Forest over Boston College
UCF over Florida International
Saturday
Bowling Green over Kent State
Kentucky over Miami (Ohio)
Louisville over Eastern Kentucky
Miami over Florida
Michigan State over South Florida
Penn State over Eastern Michigan
Purdue over Indiana State
Rutgers over Norfolk State
Houston over Temple
Cincinnati over Illinois
Iowa over Missouri State
TCU over SE Louisiana
Oklahoma State over UT-San Antonio
Wisconsin over Tennessee Tech
Tennessee over W. Kentucky
Clemson over South Carolina St.
North Carolina over M. Tennessee
Ball State over Army
Virginia Tech over W. Carolina
Chattanooga over Georgia State
UMass over Maine
Utah over Weber State
New Hampshire over C. Michigan
Boise State over UT-Martin
Ohio State over San Diego State
Oregon over Virginia
Baylor over Buffalo
Mississippi State over Alcorn State
Missouri over Toledo
Tulane over South Alabama
Utah State over Air Force
Maryland over Old Dominion
Wyoming over Idaho
South Carolina over Georgia
Duke over Memphis
Cal over Portland State
James Madison over Akron
Indiana over Navy
NC State over Richmond
Nebraska over S. Mississippi
Northwestern over Syracuse
Marshall over Gardner-Webb
Kansas State over UL-Lafayette
Ohio over North Texas
W. Michigan over Nicholls State
Arkansas over Samford
Kansas over South Dakota
LSU over UAB
Louisiana Tech over Lamar
UL-Monroe over Grambling
Oklahoma over West Virginia
Ole Miss over SE Missouri
Texas A&M over Sam Houston St.
Texas St. over Prairie View
Texas Tech over SF Austin
Troy over Savannah State
Tulsa over Colorado State
Texas over BYU
Auburn over Arkansas State
Vanderbilt over Austin Peay
Michigan over Notre Dame
Montana State over SMU
Colorado over C. Arkansas
UTEP over New Mexico
Oregon State over Hawaii
Minnesota over Oregon State
Nevada over UC-Davis
Fresno State over Cal Poly
Washington State over USC
Arizona over UNLV
Stanford over San Jose State
FCS PRS Rankings: Week One 2013
Welcome to the first FCS PRS Rankings of 2013. There were eight upsets of FBS programs by FCS schools last weekend, so naturally, those teams took the top eight spots in the first weekly rankings. One note as we move forward, all future FCS and FBS PRS Rankings will be released on Mondays for the rest of the season. Here are our FCS PRS Rankings for the first week of the 2013 College Football Season.
1. McNeese State (1-0, 385 Points)
The Cowboys scored 31 in the second quarter on the way to a blow out win over FBS South Florida. This wasn't a standard nip and tuck stealing of a win from an FBS program, this was taking it and doing so in a huge way.
2. Eastern Illinois (1-0, 361)
The Panthers pulled off their best McNeese State impersonation by crushing San Diego State. EIU outscored the Aztecs 21-3 in the second half, and never looked back.
3. Eastern Washington (1-0, 352)
The Eagles didn't win by the biggest differential, but they probably beat the most impressive FBS team in the group, with a 49-46 win over Oregon State. The Eagles actually had to hold off a second half charge from the Beavers, but this is a huge win.
4. Towson (1-0, 348)
The Tigers walked into East Hartford and dropped a beating on the UConn Huskies. Terrance West rushed for 156 yards on the night in the win. Towson now looks like a team ready to compete in the loaded CAA.
5. Samford (1-0, 341)
The Bulldogs had an easier road to travel, beating Georgia State, who is transitioning into FBS football way before they are ready. Fabian Truss ran for a score, and went 100 yards on a kick return for another, and the Bulldogs scored 17 in the 4th to put it away.
6. Northern Iowa (1-0, 336)
Bigger than getting the win, it came against in-state FBS rival Iowa State. The Panthers led at the half and never trailed again in the 28-20 win. Dave Johnson ran for two scores, and scored twice more on receptions in the win.
7. North Dakota State (1-0. 327)
Brock Jensen scored from a yard out with 0:28 left to give the Bison a 24-21 upset win over Kansas State. NDSU came back from a 14 point hole and controlled the tempo in the second half in pulling off one of the biggest wins in school history.
8. Southern Utah (1-0, 323)
The T-Birds got the benefit of taking on a struggling program that is also transitioning to FBS football in South Alabama. Colton Cook's FG attempt sailed through the uprights as time expired, giving SUU their first win post Brad Sorensen.
9. Georgia Southern (1-0, 295)
The Eagles destroyed Savannah State 77-9 to start the season, scoring 49 points in the second half. 12 different players rushed for GSU, with Jerrick McKinnon and Dominique Swoop each breaking the 100 yard mark.
10. North Dakota (1-0, 278)
The Fighting Sioux rolled up on Valporaiso 69-10, beating one of the most futile programs in college football.
11. Prairie View A&M (1-0, 261)
The Panthers cruised to a 37-13 win over Texas Southern in both their season and SWAC opener. It gets tough this week with a date at FBS Texas State.
12. Central Arkansas (1-0, 259)
The Bears welcomed Incarnate Word into their FCS transition by laying a 58-7 beating on the former Lone Star member from D2. The Bears have a shot at an upset bid this week on the road at Colorado.
13. Sacred Heart (1-0, 253)
The Pioneers make their first appearance in a PRS top 25 ever after picking up the season opening win over Marist.
14. Sam Houston State (1-0, 248)
The Bearcats were the first ever opponent for Houston Baptist last week, and gave the Huskies a welcoming 74-0 thrashing for their trouble. Texas A&M is next.
15. Charlotte (1-0, 247)
The 49ers opened their college football program with a resounding 52-7 beat down of Campbell. Mark Hogan scored the first ever TD in 49er history on a pick 6 from 32 yards away. That'll be a trivia answer one day.
16. South Dakota State (1-0, 246)
The Jackrabbits jumped out quick in trashing Butler 55-14. SDSU led 31-7 at the half, and never looked back.
17. Florida A&M (1-0, 244)
The Rattlers took care of fellow HBCU program Mississippi Valley State 27-10 in their opener. The Rattlers jumped out to A 20-0 lead at the half, and cruised from there on. Three different Rattlers scored TDs in the win.
18. UT-Martin (1-0, 241)
SkyHawks struggled up to the half, but maintained a 7-0 lead into the break before taking over in the second half. Boise State is next.
19. Maine (1-0, 240)
The Bears got the easy win over Norfolk State, but old Yankee Conference rival UMass comes up next. It's an opportunity for an FCS/FBS upset.
20. Alabama A&M (1-0, 237)
Bulldogs opened the SWAC season with an easy 23-9 win over Grambling.
21. Charleston Southern (1-0, 235)
The Buccaneers pick up their first appearance ever in the PRS rankings after upset win over Citadel.
22. Coastal Carolina (1-0, 234)
Chanticleers struggled to a 27-20 win over South Carolina State. They have a shot at a 2-0 start with Furman up next.
23. SE Louisiana (1-0, 233)
Oregon transfer Brian Bennett had a big debut, and the Lions destroyed SE Missouri State in the opener, 45-7.
24. Northwestern State (1-0, 229)
The Demons picked up a huge season opener in a 23-17 win over Missouri State. Great start for a program that finished winless just a few short seasons ago.
25T. Fordham (1-0, 226)
Fordham wins the Ram bowl with a 51-26 win over Rhode Island.
25T. Jacksonville State (1-0, 226)
The Gamecocks struggled against in-state rival Alabama State, but came away with a 24-22 win. They take on rebuilding Jacksonville next.
The Next Ten
27. Western Illinois (1-0, 225)
28. Eastern Kentucky (1-0, 220)
29. Richmond (1-0, 218)
30. Delaware (1-0, 217)
31. Bethune-Cookman (1-0, 215)
32. James Madison (1-0, 212)
33T. Weber State (1-0, 210)
33T. Montana State (1-0, 210)
33T. Cal Poly (1-0, 1-0, 210)
The Bottom Ten
117T. Tennessee State 0-1, -194
117T. Incarnate Word 0-1,-194
119. Marist (0-1, -195)
120. Valporaiso (0-1, -199)
121. Grambling (0-1, -205)
122. Savannah State (0-1, -209)
123T. Texas Southern (0-1, -211)
123T. Norfolk State (0-1, -211)
125. Houston Baptist (0-1, -224)
126. Drake (0-1, -289)
127. Morehead State (0-1, -293)
Coming up next: Week 2 FBS and FCS picks!
1. McNeese State (1-0, 385 Points)
The Cowboys scored 31 in the second quarter on the way to a blow out win over FBS South Florida. This wasn't a standard nip and tuck stealing of a win from an FBS program, this was taking it and doing so in a huge way.
2. Eastern Illinois (1-0, 361)
The Panthers pulled off their best McNeese State impersonation by crushing San Diego State. EIU outscored the Aztecs 21-3 in the second half, and never looked back.
3. Eastern Washington (1-0, 352)
The Eagles didn't win by the biggest differential, but they probably beat the most impressive FBS team in the group, with a 49-46 win over Oregon State. The Eagles actually had to hold off a second half charge from the Beavers, but this is a huge win.
4. Towson (1-0, 348)
The Tigers walked into East Hartford and dropped a beating on the UConn Huskies. Terrance West rushed for 156 yards on the night in the win. Towson now looks like a team ready to compete in the loaded CAA.
5. Samford (1-0, 341)
The Bulldogs had an easier road to travel, beating Georgia State, who is transitioning into FBS football way before they are ready. Fabian Truss ran for a score, and went 100 yards on a kick return for another, and the Bulldogs scored 17 in the 4th to put it away.
6. Northern Iowa (1-0, 336)
Bigger than getting the win, it came against in-state FBS rival Iowa State. The Panthers led at the half and never trailed again in the 28-20 win. Dave Johnson ran for two scores, and scored twice more on receptions in the win.
7. North Dakota State (1-0. 327)
Brock Jensen scored from a yard out with 0:28 left to give the Bison a 24-21 upset win over Kansas State. NDSU came back from a 14 point hole and controlled the tempo in the second half in pulling off one of the biggest wins in school history.
8. Southern Utah (1-0, 323)
The T-Birds got the benefit of taking on a struggling program that is also transitioning to FBS football in South Alabama. Colton Cook's FG attempt sailed through the uprights as time expired, giving SUU their first win post Brad Sorensen.
9. Georgia Southern (1-0, 295)
The Eagles destroyed Savannah State 77-9 to start the season, scoring 49 points in the second half. 12 different players rushed for GSU, with Jerrick McKinnon and Dominique Swoop each breaking the 100 yard mark.
10. North Dakota (1-0, 278)
The Fighting Sioux rolled up on Valporaiso 69-10, beating one of the most futile programs in college football.
11. Prairie View A&M (1-0, 261)
The Panthers cruised to a 37-13 win over Texas Southern in both their season and SWAC opener. It gets tough this week with a date at FBS Texas State.
12. Central Arkansas (1-0, 259)
The Bears welcomed Incarnate Word into their FCS transition by laying a 58-7 beating on the former Lone Star member from D2. The Bears have a shot at an upset bid this week on the road at Colorado.
13. Sacred Heart (1-0, 253)
The Pioneers make their first appearance in a PRS top 25 ever after picking up the season opening win over Marist.
14. Sam Houston State (1-0, 248)
The Bearcats were the first ever opponent for Houston Baptist last week, and gave the Huskies a welcoming 74-0 thrashing for their trouble. Texas A&M is next.
15. Charlotte (1-0, 247)
The 49ers opened their college football program with a resounding 52-7 beat down of Campbell. Mark Hogan scored the first ever TD in 49er history on a pick 6 from 32 yards away. That'll be a trivia answer one day.
16. South Dakota State (1-0, 246)
The Jackrabbits jumped out quick in trashing Butler 55-14. SDSU led 31-7 at the half, and never looked back.
17. Florida A&M (1-0, 244)
The Rattlers took care of fellow HBCU program Mississippi Valley State 27-10 in their opener. The Rattlers jumped out to A 20-0 lead at the half, and cruised from there on. Three different Rattlers scored TDs in the win.
18. UT-Martin (1-0, 241)
SkyHawks struggled up to the half, but maintained a 7-0 lead into the break before taking over in the second half. Boise State is next.
19. Maine (1-0, 240)
The Bears got the easy win over Norfolk State, but old Yankee Conference rival UMass comes up next. It's an opportunity for an FCS/FBS upset.
20. Alabama A&M (1-0, 237)
Bulldogs opened the SWAC season with an easy 23-9 win over Grambling.
21. Charleston Southern (1-0, 235)
The Buccaneers pick up their first appearance ever in the PRS rankings after upset win over Citadel.
22. Coastal Carolina (1-0, 234)
Chanticleers struggled to a 27-20 win over South Carolina State. They have a shot at a 2-0 start with Furman up next.
23. SE Louisiana (1-0, 233)
Oregon transfer Brian Bennett had a big debut, and the Lions destroyed SE Missouri State in the opener, 45-7.
24. Northwestern State (1-0, 229)
The Demons picked up a huge season opener in a 23-17 win over Missouri State. Great start for a program that finished winless just a few short seasons ago.
25T. Fordham (1-0, 226)
Fordham wins the Ram bowl with a 51-26 win over Rhode Island.
25T. Jacksonville State (1-0, 226)
The Gamecocks struggled against in-state rival Alabama State, but came away with a 24-22 win. They take on rebuilding Jacksonville next.
The Next Ten
27. Western Illinois (1-0, 225)
28. Eastern Kentucky (1-0, 220)
29. Richmond (1-0, 218)
30. Delaware (1-0, 217)
31. Bethune-Cookman (1-0, 215)
32. James Madison (1-0, 212)
33T. Weber State (1-0, 210)
33T. Montana State (1-0, 210)
33T. Cal Poly (1-0, 1-0, 210)
The Bottom Ten
117T. Tennessee State 0-1, -194
117T. Incarnate Word 0-1,-194
119. Marist (0-1, -195)
120. Valporaiso (0-1, -199)
121. Grambling (0-1, -205)
122. Savannah State (0-1, -209)
123T. Texas Southern (0-1, -211)
123T. Norfolk State (0-1, -211)
125. Houston Baptist (0-1, -224)
126. Drake (0-1, -289)
127. Morehead State (0-1, -293)
Coming up next: Week 2 FBS and FCS picks!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
PRS Week One Rankings: FBS Edition
With week one now entirely closed out, it's now time to for the release of our Bilo Power Ranking System for FBS football. Every week from now until the end of the season, we will be releasing our weekly rankings for both FBS and FCS football. For those of you who are not familiar with our rankings, let me explain how they work. We have come up with a set of numeric values for wins, losses, road and home wins and losses, point differentials, and points scored. Since we have never believed in the BCS system, strength of schedule matters only for FBS programs playing FCS schools. We treat every conference the same on each level, with no conferences getting preferential treatment over an others. This is an equal playing field. Keith Harding is our head statistician and research analyst, and I have handed the formula and its management over to him. Every team starts at zero to start the season, and the rankings are cumulative week to week. There is no pre-season "poll", as this is not a standard or traditional poll or ranking system. The top 25 changes wildly during the first month, and calms down traditionally thereafter as teams get into a groove.
Without further delay, we are proud to present our first 2013 PRS Rankings!
1. Florida State (1-0, 269 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Pittsburgh 41-13
This Week: Nevada (0-1)
The Seminoles got an all time great performance out of RS Freshman QB Jamies Winston, and FSU looks to be for real. The game against Nevada ought to be a cake walk for the Noles this week.
2. Alabama (1-0, 260 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Virginia Tech 35-10
This Week: at #25 Texas A&M
The Tide rolled away from an overmatched Hokie squad Saturday night, and as always, Nick Saban has Bama looking like a pro team. This week will bring a challenge against a fired up Aggie team, but I believe that the Tide overcomes this time.
3T. Michigan (1-0, 259 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Central Michigan 59-9
This Week: Notre Dame
Michigan had a huge week against the spiraling Chippewas, and Notre Dame comes in off of their own solid, yet less than amazing win at home against Temple. With this being the last game between the two in the Big House for a while, I look for UM to take it, as they have at home 6 of the last 7 in this series.
3T. Texas Tech (1-0, 259 Points)
Last Week: Defeated SMU 41-23
This Week: Stephen F. Austin
The Kliff Kingsbury era started out with a bang, as Baker Mayfield passed for 413 yards. Tech will not stay here long with a meaningless game against the FCS Lumberjacks coming up. Tech will likely drop out of the top 10 next week.
5. Northwestern (1-0, 258 Points)
Last Week: Defeated California 44-30
This Week: Syracuse (0-1)
Treyvon Green rushed for 2 scores and Collin Ellis returned a pair of picks for scores, and the Wildcats pulled away in the 4th to beat the Bears in Berkeley. Kolter Cain went down to injury (hardly a surprise) and Trevor Siemian sis a serviceable job replacing him, as he made several clutch throws late in the game. Syracuse could be a tough home opener.
6T. Colorado (1-0, 255 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Colorado State 41-27
This Week: Central Arkansas (1-0)
Connor Wood passed for 400 yards, while Paul Richardson caught 12 passes for 208 yards as the Buffaloes won the annual rivalry game in Denver. If you are looking for an upset possibility next week of the FCS vs. FBS variety, Central Arkansas could bring some heat. Win or lose, the Buffaloes fall next week while gaining very few points from a win against an FCS opponent.
6T. Texas (1-0, 255 Points)
Last Week: Defeated New Mexico State 56-7
This Week: At BYU (0-1)
The Longhorns piled up a school record 715 yards, mostly in the second half, to get by a miserable start Saturday night in Austin. David Ashe was picked off twice in the first half, and the Horns trailed the Aggies 7-0 late into the second quarter before the wheels fell off of the wagon for NMSU. Ashe accounted for 5 TDs in the win, and now Texas takes on a beaten down looking BYU squad on the road.
8T. LSU (1-0, 247 Points)
Last Week: Defeated TCU 37-27
This Week: UAB (0-1)
Terrance Magee and Alfred Blue combined for 184 yards rushing and Magee scored twice as LSU held off a strong challenge from TCU in Arlington. The Bayou Bengals should find the going much easier against the rebuilding Blazers this Saturday.
8T. USC (1-0, 247 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Hawaii 30-13
This Week: Washington State (0-1)
The Trojans are the weakest club in this week's top 10 after a non-impressive win against the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu. Neither Cody Kessler nor Max Wittek took the reins on a still open QB competition, and it was up to the defense to hold the ship together. WSU will be looking for a huge upset opportunity at the Coliseum.
10. UCLA (1-0, 246 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Nevada 58-20
This Week: Idle
Brett Hundley passed for 265 yards and scored 4 total TDs as the Bruins outscored Nevada 41-7 after the half, when the score was just 17-13. Jordan James added 155 yards on the ground, and 12 different Bruins caught passes. The Bruins will slide with no points coming in an off week, and have a huge opportunity to climb high at Nebraska on 9/14.
11. Western Kentucky (1-0, 245 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Kentucky 35-26
This Week: At Tennessee (1-0)
WKU won Bobby Petrino's debut game, and Keyshawn Simpson ran for a pair of scores, while the defense made Kentucky's air raid offense look more like an air fade. The Toppers get another huge crack at a vulnerable SEC opponent in Knoxville.
12. Mississippi (1-0, 243 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Vanderbilt 39-35
This Week: SE Missouri State (0-1)
The Rebels overcame a 21-10 deficit at the half to outscore the Commodores 29-14 after the half in the win on the road. Ole Miss gains very little in which should be an easy romp over FCS member SE Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference this week.
13. Louisville (1-0, 241 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Ohio 49-7
Next Week: Eastern Kentucky (1-0)
Teddy Bridgewater tossed 5 TD passes, and the Cardinals jumped out to a 42-0 lead in the rout. The Cardinals will slide this week, with a game against EKU, but Bridgewater may get closer to Heisman consideration with another huge game.
14T. Marshall (1-0, 240 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Miami (Ohio) 52-14
This Week: Gardner-Webb (1-0)
Rakeem Cato tossed 5 TD passes and the Herd broke a 14-14 tie at the half to score 38 unanswered points in quarters 3 and 4. Like many others in this early Power Ranking, they will fall next week by virtue of playing a no value game against the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb, who defeated Citadel last week.
14T. Wisconsin (1-0, 240 Points)
Last Week: Defeated UMass 45-0
This Week: Tennessee Tech (1-0)
The Badgers started off the Gary Anderson era with a bang over UMass, and should cruise easily again against FCS opponent Tennessee Tech this week. Thank God the Big 10 as a conference has banned FCS opponents moving forward. It's time for Wisconsin to play someone.
16. Oklahoma State (1-0, 239 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Mississippi State 21-3
This Week: At #22 UT-San Antonio (1-0)
The Cowboys defense carried the day, and how often can we say that? UTSA is coming off of a nice win at New Mexico, but beating the Cowboys would be a much higher task than that. OSU should climb a few spots next week.
17. Northern Illinois (1-0, 233 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Iowa 30-27
This Week: Idle
A late pick led to the game winning FG with 3 seconds left, and NIU started off the season with an all important win over the Big 10 on the road. The bye week comes at a bad time, but a win over Idaho on the 14th should have the Huskies moving up quickly again.
18T. Penn State (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Syracuse 23-17
This Week: Eastern Michigan (1-0)
The opening win at the Meadowlands was more important than many may think, as the Lions got off to a solid start. An easy win against the Eagles next week, and Bill O'Brien's guys are looking good for September. It should be easy next weekend.
18T. Minnesota (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated UNLV 51-23
This Week: At New Mexico State
The Gophers grabbed the lead right before the half and never looked back against UNLV at home. The Gophers get one more patsy this week in Las Crucas, so 2-0 is very real out of the gate right now.
18T. Texas State (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Southern Mississippi 22-15
This Week: Prairie View A&M (1-0)
The Bobcats jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the half, and then held off the Eagles in the 4th quarter for a quality road win. The top 25 appearance won't last with a no value game at home against the SWAC member Panthers next weekend.
18T. UT-San Antonio (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated New Mexico 21-13
This Week: #16 Oklahoma State (1-0)
Larry Coker's overachievers got a taste of these rankings early last season as well, but this home opener is a meat grinder this week. UTSA came from behind to beat what was supposed to be an improving New Mexico club, so I do not expect them to lie down at home this week, but a win seems too much to ask for.
22. Cincinnati (1-0, 227 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Purdue 42-7
This Week: At Illinois (1-0)
The Tommy Tuberville era got off to a rousing start against Purdue, one of the biggest doormats in the Big 10. There is a bigger doormat, however, in Illinois. The Bearcats should be 2-0 in Big 10 play this week, so too bad they are in the sinking ship known as the AAC.
23. Maryland (1-0, 226 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Florida International 43-10
This Week: Old Dominion (0-1)
The Terps can be happy with a 33 point win against a team that a troupe of girl scouts could roll over. Now it's time to play grown up football, with a rising star program in ODU coming to town this week. Edsell is on the line here, so a loss to the Monarchs would be a disaster.
24. North Texas (1-0, 224 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Idaho 40-6
This Week: At (0-1)
North Texas got a softball tossed at them with an opener against Idaho, and next week should be tougher with a road trip to Athens to take on what should be a livid Ohio team. This will be a game of who wants it more, and if North Texas wins, they could be the surprise of CUSA early.
25. Texas A&M (1-0, 223 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Rice 52-31
This Week: Sam Houston State
The Owls gave the Aggies all that they could give for about a quarter and a half, and then Manziel came in and blasted them late. Of course the ever head in the game Johnny Football got himself ejected for taunting late, so there's that.
The Next 10
26. Washington (1-0, 220)
27. UCF (1-0, 219)
28. Oklahoma (1-0, 218)
29. NC State (1-0, 216)
30. Miami (1-0, 212)
31. Bowling Green (1-0, 211)
32. Ohio State (1-0, 210)
33. Arkansas (1-0, 204)
34. Fresno State (1-0, 203)
35. Notre Dame (1-0, 200)
The Bottom 10
116. Hawaii (0-1, -204)...Inept all the way through in home loss to USC.
117. Pittsburgh (0-1, -215)...Secondary never got off the bus in 41-13 loss to FSU.
118. Oregon State (0-1, -257)...Losing to E. Washington was bad enough. That defense?
119. South Alabama (0-1, -280)...This program doesn't belong in FBS yet, lost to S. Utah.
120. Kansas State (0-1, -282)...Lost to the best FCS team in the country, at home.
121. Iowa State (0-1, -288)...Lost to in-state FCS rival N. Iowa at home. Ouch.
122. Georgia State (0-1, -289)...See S. Alabama, but the loss came to Samford.
123. UConn (0-1, -297)...The loss to Towson may be a head scratcher, as is Pasqualoni as coach.
124. San Diego State (0-1, -302)...Losing to E. Illinois has no excuses. Ridiculous loss.
125. South Florida (0-1, -311)...Gave up 31 in the 2nd quarter, got destroyed by McNeese St.
Please email us to request the complete 1-125 rankings this week at scott.bilo@powerratedsports.com
Coming up next: FCS PRS Rankings!
Without further delay, we are proud to present our first 2013 PRS Rankings!
1. Florida State (1-0, 269 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Pittsburgh 41-13
This Week: Nevada (0-1)
The Seminoles got an all time great performance out of RS Freshman QB Jamies Winston, and FSU looks to be for real. The game against Nevada ought to be a cake walk for the Noles this week.
2. Alabama (1-0, 260 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Virginia Tech 35-10
This Week: at #25 Texas A&M
The Tide rolled away from an overmatched Hokie squad Saturday night, and as always, Nick Saban has Bama looking like a pro team. This week will bring a challenge against a fired up Aggie team, but I believe that the Tide overcomes this time.
3T. Michigan (1-0, 259 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Central Michigan 59-9
This Week: Notre Dame
Michigan had a huge week against the spiraling Chippewas, and Notre Dame comes in off of their own solid, yet less than amazing win at home against Temple. With this being the last game between the two in the Big House for a while, I look for UM to take it, as they have at home 6 of the last 7 in this series.
3T. Texas Tech (1-0, 259 Points)
Last Week: Defeated SMU 41-23
This Week: Stephen F. Austin
The Kliff Kingsbury era started out with a bang, as Baker Mayfield passed for 413 yards. Tech will not stay here long with a meaningless game against the FCS Lumberjacks coming up. Tech will likely drop out of the top 10 next week.
5. Northwestern (1-0, 258 Points)
Last Week: Defeated California 44-30
This Week: Syracuse (0-1)
Treyvon Green rushed for 2 scores and Collin Ellis returned a pair of picks for scores, and the Wildcats pulled away in the 4th to beat the Bears in Berkeley. Kolter Cain went down to injury (hardly a surprise) and Trevor Siemian sis a serviceable job replacing him, as he made several clutch throws late in the game. Syracuse could be a tough home opener.
6T. Colorado (1-0, 255 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Colorado State 41-27
This Week: Central Arkansas (1-0)
Connor Wood passed for 400 yards, while Paul Richardson caught 12 passes for 208 yards as the Buffaloes won the annual rivalry game in Denver. If you are looking for an upset possibility next week of the FCS vs. FBS variety, Central Arkansas could bring some heat. Win or lose, the Buffaloes fall next week while gaining very few points from a win against an FCS opponent.
6T. Texas (1-0, 255 Points)
Last Week: Defeated New Mexico State 56-7
This Week: At BYU (0-1)
The Longhorns piled up a school record 715 yards, mostly in the second half, to get by a miserable start Saturday night in Austin. David Ashe was picked off twice in the first half, and the Horns trailed the Aggies 7-0 late into the second quarter before the wheels fell off of the wagon for NMSU. Ashe accounted for 5 TDs in the win, and now Texas takes on a beaten down looking BYU squad on the road.
8T. LSU (1-0, 247 Points)
Last Week: Defeated TCU 37-27
This Week: UAB (0-1)
Terrance Magee and Alfred Blue combined for 184 yards rushing and Magee scored twice as LSU held off a strong challenge from TCU in Arlington. The Bayou Bengals should find the going much easier against the rebuilding Blazers this Saturday.
8T. USC (1-0, 247 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Hawaii 30-13
This Week: Washington State (0-1)
The Trojans are the weakest club in this week's top 10 after a non-impressive win against the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu. Neither Cody Kessler nor Max Wittek took the reins on a still open QB competition, and it was up to the defense to hold the ship together. WSU will be looking for a huge upset opportunity at the Coliseum.
10. UCLA (1-0, 246 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Nevada 58-20
This Week: Idle
Brett Hundley passed for 265 yards and scored 4 total TDs as the Bruins outscored Nevada 41-7 after the half, when the score was just 17-13. Jordan James added 155 yards on the ground, and 12 different Bruins caught passes. The Bruins will slide with no points coming in an off week, and have a huge opportunity to climb high at Nebraska on 9/14.
11. Western Kentucky (1-0, 245 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Kentucky 35-26
This Week: At Tennessee (1-0)
WKU won Bobby Petrino's debut game, and Keyshawn Simpson ran for a pair of scores, while the defense made Kentucky's air raid offense look more like an air fade. The Toppers get another huge crack at a vulnerable SEC opponent in Knoxville.
12. Mississippi (1-0, 243 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Vanderbilt 39-35
This Week: SE Missouri State (0-1)
The Rebels overcame a 21-10 deficit at the half to outscore the Commodores 29-14 after the half in the win on the road. Ole Miss gains very little in which should be an easy romp over FCS member SE Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference this week.
13. Louisville (1-0, 241 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Ohio 49-7
Next Week: Eastern Kentucky (1-0)
Teddy Bridgewater tossed 5 TD passes, and the Cardinals jumped out to a 42-0 lead in the rout. The Cardinals will slide this week, with a game against EKU, but Bridgewater may get closer to Heisman consideration with another huge game.
14T. Marshall (1-0, 240 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Miami (Ohio) 52-14
This Week: Gardner-Webb (1-0)
Rakeem Cato tossed 5 TD passes and the Herd broke a 14-14 tie at the half to score 38 unanswered points in quarters 3 and 4. Like many others in this early Power Ranking, they will fall next week by virtue of playing a no value game against the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb, who defeated Citadel last week.
14T. Wisconsin (1-0, 240 Points)
Last Week: Defeated UMass 45-0
This Week: Tennessee Tech (1-0)
The Badgers started off the Gary Anderson era with a bang over UMass, and should cruise easily again against FCS opponent Tennessee Tech this week. Thank God the Big 10 as a conference has banned FCS opponents moving forward. It's time for Wisconsin to play someone.
16. Oklahoma State (1-0, 239 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Mississippi State 21-3
This Week: At #22 UT-San Antonio (1-0)
The Cowboys defense carried the day, and how often can we say that? UTSA is coming off of a nice win at New Mexico, but beating the Cowboys would be a much higher task than that. OSU should climb a few spots next week.
17. Northern Illinois (1-0, 233 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Iowa 30-27
This Week: Idle
A late pick led to the game winning FG with 3 seconds left, and NIU started off the season with an all important win over the Big 10 on the road. The bye week comes at a bad time, but a win over Idaho on the 14th should have the Huskies moving up quickly again.
18T. Penn State (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Syracuse 23-17
This Week: Eastern Michigan (1-0)
The opening win at the Meadowlands was more important than many may think, as the Lions got off to a solid start. An easy win against the Eagles next week, and Bill O'Brien's guys are looking good for September. It should be easy next weekend.
18T. Minnesota (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated UNLV 51-23
This Week: At New Mexico State
The Gophers grabbed the lead right before the half and never looked back against UNLV at home. The Gophers get one more patsy this week in Las Crucas, so 2-0 is very real out of the gate right now.
18T. Texas State (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Southern Mississippi 22-15
This Week: Prairie View A&M (1-0)
The Bobcats jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the half, and then held off the Eagles in the 4th quarter for a quality road win. The top 25 appearance won't last with a no value game at home against the SWAC member Panthers next weekend.
18T. UT-San Antonio (1-0, 229 Points)
Last Week: Defeated New Mexico 21-13
This Week: #16 Oklahoma State (1-0)
Larry Coker's overachievers got a taste of these rankings early last season as well, but this home opener is a meat grinder this week. UTSA came from behind to beat what was supposed to be an improving New Mexico club, so I do not expect them to lie down at home this week, but a win seems too much to ask for.
22. Cincinnati (1-0, 227 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Purdue 42-7
This Week: At Illinois (1-0)
The Tommy Tuberville era got off to a rousing start against Purdue, one of the biggest doormats in the Big 10. There is a bigger doormat, however, in Illinois. The Bearcats should be 2-0 in Big 10 play this week, so too bad they are in the sinking ship known as the AAC.
23. Maryland (1-0, 226 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Florida International 43-10
This Week: Old Dominion (0-1)
The Terps can be happy with a 33 point win against a team that a troupe of girl scouts could roll over. Now it's time to play grown up football, with a rising star program in ODU coming to town this week. Edsell is on the line here, so a loss to the Monarchs would be a disaster.
24. North Texas (1-0, 224 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Idaho 40-6
This Week: At (0-1)
North Texas got a softball tossed at them with an opener against Idaho, and next week should be tougher with a road trip to Athens to take on what should be a livid Ohio team. This will be a game of who wants it more, and if North Texas wins, they could be the surprise of CUSA early.
25. Texas A&M (1-0, 223 Points)
Last Week: Defeated Rice 52-31
This Week: Sam Houston State
The Owls gave the Aggies all that they could give for about a quarter and a half, and then Manziel came in and blasted them late. Of course the ever head in the game Johnny Football got himself ejected for taunting late, so there's that.
The Next 10
26. Washington (1-0, 220)
27. UCF (1-0, 219)
28. Oklahoma (1-0, 218)
29. NC State (1-0, 216)
30. Miami (1-0, 212)
31. Bowling Green (1-0, 211)
32. Ohio State (1-0, 210)
33. Arkansas (1-0, 204)
34. Fresno State (1-0, 203)
35. Notre Dame (1-0, 200)
The Bottom 10
116. Hawaii (0-1, -204)...Inept all the way through in home loss to USC.
117. Pittsburgh (0-1, -215)...Secondary never got off the bus in 41-13 loss to FSU.
118. Oregon State (0-1, -257)...Losing to E. Washington was bad enough. That defense?
119. South Alabama (0-1, -280)...This program doesn't belong in FBS yet, lost to S. Utah.
120. Kansas State (0-1, -282)...Lost to the best FCS team in the country, at home.
121. Iowa State (0-1, -288)...Lost to in-state FCS rival N. Iowa at home. Ouch.
122. Georgia State (0-1, -289)...See S. Alabama, but the loss came to Samford.
123. UConn (0-1, -297)...The loss to Towson may be a head scratcher, as is Pasqualoni as coach.
124. San Diego State (0-1, -302)...Losing to E. Illinois has no excuses. Ridiculous loss.
125. South Florida (0-1, -311)...Gave up 31 in the 2nd quarter, got destroyed by McNeese St.
Please email us to request the complete 1-125 rankings this week at scott.bilo@powerratedsports.com
Coming up next: FCS PRS Rankings!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Buy, Pass, Sell: 2013 Edition 2
Over the last two weeks, I have posted on which college football programs I have chosen to Buy, Pass, or Sell on for the 2013 season. Over the course of the season, I will update how these investments are paying out on a weekly basis. By the end of September, I will be forced to choose from the "Pass category, whether to Buy or Sell the teams in that grouping. I will be using our PRS Rankings formula to update weekly, with the exception of this week, as the rankings are delayed until Tuesday due to Monday's Florida State-Pittsburgh game.
Buy
Independents
Notre Dame: Great investment this week, as the Irish cruised by Temple 28-6. (1-0)
Sun Belt
Western Kentucky: Another solid buy, as the Toppers took care of Kentucky away from home. 2-0
UL-Lafayette: Cajuns screwed me this week, falling flat at Arkansas. 2-1
UL-Monroe: WarHawks fell apart at Oklahoma, but this is a long term investment. 2-2
SEC
South Carolina: Took Care of business at home against UNC. Tough one coming up. 3-2
Georgia: Dropped a close one at Clemson, but it was expected. 3-3
Vanderbilt: Tough home loss to Ole Miss. Dores have me worried. 3-4
Alabama: Easiest buy ever. Crushed Va. Tech. 4-4
LSU: Tigers won a tough one on the road against TCU. 5-4
Ole Miss: The Rebels won big on the road against fellow buy Vandy. 6-4
PAC-12
Stanford: Did not play.
Oregon: Cruised Easily. Shocking. 7-4
Oregon State: Riley should be on hot seat after falling to EWU. Holding off for now. 7-5
UCLA: Bruins stomped all over Nevada, outscored Pack 41-7 in second half. 8-5
Arizona State: Did not play.
MWC
Boise State: Broncos got destroyed on the road against Washington. Thanks for that. 8-6
Utah State: Aggies had their chances to take down Utes, but fell short. 8-7
Fresno State: Bulldogs almost screwed me...almost. 9-7
MAC
Ohio: Never thought that the Bobcats would beat Louisville, but showing up would be nice. 9-8
Northern Illinois: Huskies were my pick of the day over Iowa, and they delivered! 10-8
Toledo: Had a decent showing on the road defensively against Florida. That was it. 10-9
Conference USA
East Carolina: No D against Old Dominion, but a win is a win. 11-9
Middle Tennessee: Raiders cruised over FCS Catamounts. I'll take any win this week. 12-9
Tulsa: Golden Hurricane was more like a shower. Disaster at Bowling Green. 12-10
Rice: Looked great early, terrible later on. Not a great week. 12-11
Big 12
Oklahoma State: Not a lot of offense, but the defense was stout. 13-11
Baylor: The Bears crushed Wofford. One of the hottest teams back to last season. 14-11
TCU: Really played tough against LSU. Better things ahead. 14-12
Big 10
Ohio State: Buffalo hung around. Not worried. 15-12
Michigan: Crushed C. Michigan at home, as expected. 16-12
Nebraska: Huskers never could pull away from Wyoming. D is worrisome. 17-12
Northwestern: Wildcats got a big road win. Looked good late. 18-12
Wisconsin: Badgers were favored by 45, beat UMass 45-0. 19-12
ACC
Clemson: The Tigers got a huge win against Georgia. Program is pumped up. 20-12
Florida State: Plays Pitt Monday night.
AAC
Louisville: Absolutely crushed a solid Ohio team, and Bridgewater is legit Heisman candidate. 21-12
Total W/L record is 21-12 on my buys, with FSU-Pitt still to come. I will update with PRS numbers tomorrow night!
Pass
Independents
Navy: Did not play
BYU: Fell to UVA on the road, and the offense was a mess. Leaning towards selling. 0-1
Sun Belt
Arkansas State and Troy both won this weekend, but ASU beat up on SWAC member Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Still, at 2-0 with this group, I could buy on both. I'll wait another week, as I tend to be conservative on investments.
2-1
SEC
Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M (4-0, 6-1 overall)
All four won, but Arkansas and A&M looked best doing it. Florida's offense looked slow, and Tennessee crushed Austin Peay, which is like crushing a middle school program. In another week, I could be buying A&M and Arkansas, but holding on pass on the other two. Check back in a week.
PAC-12
Washington, Arizona (2-0, 8-1 overall)
The Huskies were much more impressive in their 38-6 beat down over Boise State, who never should have been a top 10 team anywhere coming into 2013. Arizona was solid, but not great in a 35-0 win over Big Sky member Nor(3-0thern Arizona. Still, Washington is a team that makes me wary of a letdown. Waiting another week to commit either way to either school.
Mountain West
Air Force, San Diego State, San Jose State (2-1, 10-2 overall)
Air Force took care of Patriot League member Colgate, and San Jose State handled Sacramento State of the Big Sky. I am not moving in any direction on these two. I am, however, making a move in this group this week, as I am OFFICIALLY SELLING San Diego State after a massively humiliating loss to Ohio Valley member Eastern Illinois at home.
SELL: San Diego State
MAC
Bowling Green, Kent State, Ball State (3-0, 13-2 overall)
Bowling Green looked solid in a 34-7 trashing of Tulsa. I will go out on a limb and I am OFFICIALLY BUYING Bowling Green for the remainder of the season. That locks me into the Falcons for the rest of the year. Kent State looks troubled, especially if Dri Archer's injury is long term. Ball State looked clumsy against Illinois State, so I will sit them out a little longer.
BUY: Bowling Green
Conference USA
Marshall, UAB, Louisiana Tech (1-2, 14-4 overall)
Marshall trashed Miami (Ohio), but that's not enough for me. UAB fell to Troy, while Louisiana Tech is in full rebuild mode after a thrashing against NC State. I am leaving Marshall alone for the time being, but I am OFFICIALLY SELLING On Tech and UAB after what I saw this weekend.
SELL: Louisiana tech, UAB
Big 12
Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas State (3-1, 17-5 overall)
Texas and Oklahoma struggled early before pulling away in their respective games, so I am staying on pass mode for a bit. Texas Tech had a solid win over SMU, but how good or bad is SMU? Kansas State had a major loss to North Dakota State, but NDSU is a big time FCS program, and this is the kind of loss that can wake a program up. I am staying put on all four.
Big 10
Penn State, Michigan State (2-0, 19-5 overall)
Both teams won, but in unimpressive fashion. I will stand pat for now on passing.
ACC
NC State, Miami, Virginia Tech, North Carolina (2-2, 21-7 overall)
The Wolf Pack and Hurricanes had solid enough wins, but against weaker programs. That being said, I felt good enough about Miami to pull Golden off of the Hot Seat for a bit. Tech and Carolina were both a mess against much superior opponents. Staying on pass, but could be selling Carolina and Tech in a week or so.
AAC
Rutgers, Cincinnati, UCF (2-1, 23-8 overall)
The Bearcats and Knights rolled up against teams that they should have rolled up on. I need to see more in the way of a test for both. Rutgers has no defense, having lost 51-50 to Fresno State. Still, the conference is weak, so I need to see more on Rutgers as well.
Pass Totals: 23-8 overall. Buying in on Bowling Green, selling on San Diego State, Louisiana Tech, and UAB.
Sell
Independents
Army, Idaho, New Mexico State (1-2, 1-2 overall)
Idaho and NMSU are easy sells, and combined to score 13 points this weekend. Army had an easy win over MEAC member Morgan State. Happy with these sell offs.
Sun Belt (1-2, 2-4 overall)
Texas State, South Alabama, Georgia State
While Texas State picked up a decent win over a terrible Southern Miss club, USA and GSU fell to FCS schools. These sells are safe.
SEC
Missouri, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State (2-2, 4-6 overall)
The Tigers got a win over an FCS school, while Auburn struggled to fend off rebuilding Washington State. Kentucky fell to a Sun Belt school, while MSU managed a whopping field goal against an Oklahoma State team not entirely known for defense.
PAC-12
Cal, Washington State, USC, Utah, Colorado (3-2, 7-8 overall)
Cal and Washington State lost games they should have lost, while USC and Colorado won games they should have won. I feel good about selling the group even now, as I don't see continuing success long term for anyone on the list except for Utah.
Mountain West
Wyoming, Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV, Hawaii (0-6, 7-14 overall)
Not one team on this sell list won this weekend, with Wyoming having the only realistic shot to do so. New Mexico had a lead, but blew it to UT-San Antonio, who is in only their second year of FBS football. Nailed these sell offs right on the head.
MAC
Buffalo, Miami (Ohio), UMass, Akron, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, E. Michigan (1-6, 8-20 overall)
Eastern Michigan got the only win in the crowd of sell offs here this week, and it was an uninspired win over Howard of the MEAC. Again, solid sells here.
Conference USA
Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, UTEP, North Texas, Tulane, UTSA (3-3, 11-23 overall)
UNT, UTSA, and Tulane all picked up wins, but the most impressive win came from UTSA, who came from behind to beat New Mexico on the road. Tulane beat up on SWAC member Jackson State, and UNT handled Idaho, but Idaho is one of the worst programs in the country by far.
Big 12
Iowa State, West Virginia, Kansas (1-1, 12-24 overall)
Kansas didn't play, otherwise there would have been another loss to count. West Virginia should have lost to FCS member William & Mary, but Iowa State did exactly that to FCS member Northern Iowa.
Big 10
Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois (3-2, 15-26 overall)
The Gophers and Hoosiers got big wins against overmatched teams, even though IU did break an all time single game scoring record against FCS member Indiana State. Illinois struggled to put away FCS member Southern Illinois before holding on late. Iowa choked late, which I predicted they would, and Purdue was a no show.
ACC
Maryland, Boston College, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Duke (6-0, 21-26 overall)
Pitt could give the Sell list 22 wins this week, but it's not likely against Florida State. Maryland and Virginia are the only schools on the list to beat FBS programs, with BC, Georgia Tech, and Duke beating FCS programs. BC should have lost to Villanova and trailed at the half.
AAC
UConn, SMU, USF, Temple, Memphis, Houston (1-4, 22-30 overall)
UConn and USF lost to FCS members Towson and McNeese State respectively, with USF giving up 31 points in the second quarter to McNeese State. At least SMU and Temple lost to respectable programs. Houston beat a SWAC team, and Memphis didn't play.
Final Totals:
BUY: 21-12
PASS: 23-8
SELL: 22-30
This Week's Moves: Buy Bowling Green. Sell San Diego State, Louisiana Tech, and UAB.
Buy, Pass, Sell 2013 Edition 3 will release on Tuesday, September 10th!
Buy
Independents
Notre Dame: Great investment this week, as the Irish cruised by Temple 28-6. (1-0)
Sun Belt
Western Kentucky: Another solid buy, as the Toppers took care of Kentucky away from home. 2-0
UL-Lafayette: Cajuns screwed me this week, falling flat at Arkansas. 2-1
UL-Monroe: WarHawks fell apart at Oklahoma, but this is a long term investment. 2-2
SEC
South Carolina: Took Care of business at home against UNC. Tough one coming up. 3-2
Georgia: Dropped a close one at Clemson, but it was expected. 3-3
Vanderbilt: Tough home loss to Ole Miss. Dores have me worried. 3-4
Alabama: Easiest buy ever. Crushed Va. Tech. 4-4
LSU: Tigers won a tough one on the road against TCU. 5-4
Ole Miss: The Rebels won big on the road against fellow buy Vandy. 6-4
PAC-12
Stanford: Did not play.
Oregon: Cruised Easily. Shocking. 7-4
Oregon State: Riley should be on hot seat after falling to EWU. Holding off for now. 7-5
UCLA: Bruins stomped all over Nevada, outscored Pack 41-7 in second half. 8-5
Arizona State: Did not play.
MWC
Boise State: Broncos got destroyed on the road against Washington. Thanks for that. 8-6
Utah State: Aggies had their chances to take down Utes, but fell short. 8-7
Fresno State: Bulldogs almost screwed me...almost. 9-7
MAC
Ohio: Never thought that the Bobcats would beat Louisville, but showing up would be nice. 9-8
Northern Illinois: Huskies were my pick of the day over Iowa, and they delivered! 10-8
Toledo: Had a decent showing on the road defensively against Florida. That was it. 10-9
Conference USA
East Carolina: No D against Old Dominion, but a win is a win. 11-9
Middle Tennessee: Raiders cruised over FCS Catamounts. I'll take any win this week. 12-9
Tulsa: Golden Hurricane was more like a shower. Disaster at Bowling Green. 12-10
Rice: Looked great early, terrible later on. Not a great week. 12-11
Big 12
Oklahoma State: Not a lot of offense, but the defense was stout. 13-11
Baylor: The Bears crushed Wofford. One of the hottest teams back to last season. 14-11
TCU: Really played tough against LSU. Better things ahead. 14-12
Big 10
Ohio State: Buffalo hung around. Not worried. 15-12
Michigan: Crushed C. Michigan at home, as expected. 16-12
Nebraska: Huskers never could pull away from Wyoming. D is worrisome. 17-12
Northwestern: Wildcats got a big road win. Looked good late. 18-12
Wisconsin: Badgers were favored by 45, beat UMass 45-0. 19-12
ACC
Clemson: The Tigers got a huge win against Georgia. Program is pumped up. 20-12
Florida State: Plays Pitt Monday night.
AAC
Louisville: Absolutely crushed a solid Ohio team, and Bridgewater is legit Heisman candidate. 21-12
Total W/L record is 21-12 on my buys, with FSU-Pitt still to come. I will update with PRS numbers tomorrow night!
Pass
Independents
Navy: Did not play
BYU: Fell to UVA on the road, and the offense was a mess. Leaning towards selling. 0-1
Sun Belt
Arkansas State and Troy both won this weekend, but ASU beat up on SWAC member Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Still, at 2-0 with this group, I could buy on both. I'll wait another week, as I tend to be conservative on investments.
2-1
SEC
Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M (4-0, 6-1 overall)
All four won, but Arkansas and A&M looked best doing it. Florida's offense looked slow, and Tennessee crushed Austin Peay, which is like crushing a middle school program. In another week, I could be buying A&M and Arkansas, but holding on pass on the other two. Check back in a week.
PAC-12
Washington, Arizona (2-0, 8-1 overall)
The Huskies were much more impressive in their 38-6 beat down over Boise State, who never should have been a top 10 team anywhere coming into 2013. Arizona was solid, but not great in a 35-0 win over Big Sky member Nor(3-0thern Arizona. Still, Washington is a team that makes me wary of a letdown. Waiting another week to commit either way to either school.
Mountain West
Air Force, San Diego State, San Jose State (2-1, 10-2 overall)
Air Force took care of Patriot League member Colgate, and San Jose State handled Sacramento State of the Big Sky. I am not moving in any direction on these two. I am, however, making a move in this group this week, as I am OFFICIALLY SELLING San Diego State after a massively humiliating loss to Ohio Valley member Eastern Illinois at home.
SELL: San Diego State
MAC
Bowling Green, Kent State, Ball State (3-0, 13-2 overall)
Bowling Green looked solid in a 34-7 trashing of Tulsa. I will go out on a limb and I am OFFICIALLY BUYING Bowling Green for the remainder of the season. That locks me into the Falcons for the rest of the year. Kent State looks troubled, especially if Dri Archer's injury is long term. Ball State looked clumsy against Illinois State, so I will sit them out a little longer.
BUY: Bowling Green
Conference USA
Marshall, UAB, Louisiana Tech (1-2, 14-4 overall)
Marshall trashed Miami (Ohio), but that's not enough for me. UAB fell to Troy, while Louisiana Tech is in full rebuild mode after a thrashing against NC State. I am leaving Marshall alone for the time being, but I am OFFICIALLY SELLING On Tech and UAB after what I saw this weekend.
SELL: Louisiana tech, UAB
Big 12
Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas State (3-1, 17-5 overall)
Texas and Oklahoma struggled early before pulling away in their respective games, so I am staying on pass mode for a bit. Texas Tech had a solid win over SMU, but how good or bad is SMU? Kansas State had a major loss to North Dakota State, but NDSU is a big time FCS program, and this is the kind of loss that can wake a program up. I am staying put on all four.
Big 10
Penn State, Michigan State (2-0, 19-5 overall)
Both teams won, but in unimpressive fashion. I will stand pat for now on passing.
ACC
NC State, Miami, Virginia Tech, North Carolina (2-2, 21-7 overall)
The Wolf Pack and Hurricanes had solid enough wins, but against weaker programs. That being said, I felt good enough about Miami to pull Golden off of the Hot Seat for a bit. Tech and Carolina were both a mess against much superior opponents. Staying on pass, but could be selling Carolina and Tech in a week or so.
AAC
Rutgers, Cincinnati, UCF (2-1, 23-8 overall)
The Bearcats and Knights rolled up against teams that they should have rolled up on. I need to see more in the way of a test for both. Rutgers has no defense, having lost 51-50 to Fresno State. Still, the conference is weak, so I need to see more on Rutgers as well.
Pass Totals: 23-8 overall. Buying in on Bowling Green, selling on San Diego State, Louisiana Tech, and UAB.
Sell
Independents
Army, Idaho, New Mexico State (1-2, 1-2 overall)
Idaho and NMSU are easy sells, and combined to score 13 points this weekend. Army had an easy win over MEAC member Morgan State. Happy with these sell offs.
Sun Belt (1-2, 2-4 overall)
Texas State, South Alabama, Georgia State
While Texas State picked up a decent win over a terrible Southern Miss club, USA and GSU fell to FCS schools. These sells are safe.
SEC
Missouri, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State (2-2, 4-6 overall)
The Tigers got a win over an FCS school, while Auburn struggled to fend off rebuilding Washington State. Kentucky fell to a Sun Belt school, while MSU managed a whopping field goal against an Oklahoma State team not entirely known for defense.
PAC-12
Cal, Washington State, USC, Utah, Colorado (3-2, 7-8 overall)
Cal and Washington State lost games they should have lost, while USC and Colorado won games they should have won. I feel good about selling the group even now, as I don't see continuing success long term for anyone on the list except for Utah.
Mountain West
Wyoming, Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV, Hawaii (0-6, 7-14 overall)
Not one team on this sell list won this weekend, with Wyoming having the only realistic shot to do so. New Mexico had a lead, but blew it to UT-San Antonio, who is in only their second year of FBS football. Nailed these sell offs right on the head.
MAC
Buffalo, Miami (Ohio), UMass, Akron, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, E. Michigan (1-6, 8-20 overall)
Eastern Michigan got the only win in the crowd of sell offs here this week, and it was an uninspired win over Howard of the MEAC. Again, solid sells here.
Conference USA
Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, UTEP, North Texas, Tulane, UTSA (3-3, 11-23 overall)
UNT, UTSA, and Tulane all picked up wins, but the most impressive win came from UTSA, who came from behind to beat New Mexico on the road. Tulane beat up on SWAC member Jackson State, and UNT handled Idaho, but Idaho is one of the worst programs in the country by far.
Big 12
Iowa State, West Virginia, Kansas (1-1, 12-24 overall)
Kansas didn't play, otherwise there would have been another loss to count. West Virginia should have lost to FCS member William & Mary, but Iowa State did exactly that to FCS member Northern Iowa.
Big 10
Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois (3-2, 15-26 overall)
The Gophers and Hoosiers got big wins against overmatched teams, even though IU did break an all time single game scoring record against FCS member Indiana State. Illinois struggled to put away FCS member Southern Illinois before holding on late. Iowa choked late, which I predicted they would, and Purdue was a no show.
ACC
Maryland, Boston College, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Duke (6-0, 21-26 overall)
Pitt could give the Sell list 22 wins this week, but it's not likely against Florida State. Maryland and Virginia are the only schools on the list to beat FBS programs, with BC, Georgia Tech, and Duke beating FCS programs. BC should have lost to Villanova and trailed at the half.
AAC
UConn, SMU, USF, Temple, Memphis, Houston (1-4, 22-30 overall)
UConn and USF lost to FCS members Towson and McNeese State respectively, with USF giving up 31 points in the second quarter to McNeese State. At least SMU and Temple lost to respectable programs. Houston beat a SWAC team, and Memphis didn't play.
Final Totals:
BUY: 21-12
PASS: 23-8
SELL: 22-30
This Week's Moves: Buy Bowling Green. Sell San Diego State, Louisiana Tech, and UAB.
Buy, Pass, Sell 2013 Edition 3 will release on Tuesday, September 10th!
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