2015 Ramblings Week 2 Power Rank Predictions

Pretty good week 1 for my rankings. On the whole I went 88.24% (75-11) overall and 81.58% (31-7) on FBS games. Hopefully this week will be as fruitful.

Weekly Reminder:

1) If the "My Spd" column is positive I'm predicting a home win, and if negative a road win

2) The FCS teams got a ranking of -22.636, which was the average of the bottom 16th of the rankings

3) Enjoy, disagree, and discuss. And believe me, I disagree every week, but am often wrong

Home	Away	H Rating	A Rating	HFA	My Spd	Date	Time
WKU	Louisiana Tech	4.427	-3.315	2.173	9.915	19:00	FS1
FAU	Miami (FL)	-20.678	-1.739	1.208	17.731	19:00	FS1
Utah	Utah State	22.956	-5.198	3.801	31.955	20:00	ESPN2
Florida State	USF	21.720	-7.249	4.668	33.636	10:30	ESPN
Connecticut	Army	-17.729	-32.483	2.483	17.237	11:00	CBSSN
Wisconsin	Miami (OH)	19.325	-22.029	4.730	46.084	11:00	ESPNU
Penn State	Buffalo	1.845	-17.780	5.213	24.839	11:00	ESPN2
Louisville	Houston	0.035	-5.347	3.913	9.295	11:00	ESPN3
Illinois	Western Illinois	6.319	-22.636	2.845	31.799	11:00	BTN
Purdue	Indiana State	-2.910	-22.636	2.712	22.438	11:00	ESPNN
Auburn	Jacksonville State	14.375	-22.636	4.934	41.945	11:00	SECN
Maryland	Bowling Green	-2.644	1.152	3.202	-0.595	11:00	BTN
Michigan	Oregon State	8.020	3.691	5.574	9.904	11:00	ABC
UTSA	Kansas State	-31.670	10.757	1.712	40.716	11:00	FS1
Charlotte	Presbyterian	-3.757	-22.636	2.162	21.040	11:00	ESPN3
Syracuse	Wake Forest	-8.123	-7.978	2.983	2.838	11:30	ESPN3
Clemson	Appalachian State	13.797	2.421	5.096	16.473	11:30	ESPN3
Boston College	Howard	-7.518	-22.636	2.739	17.857	12:00	ESPN3
Colorado	UMASS	0.898	-10.227	2.778	13.903	13:00	P12N
Washington	Sacramento State	5.109	-22.636	4.053	31.798	13:00	P12N
Texas Tech	UTEP	6.868	-17.247	4.018	28.133	14:00	FOX
Central Michigan	Monmouth	-14.343	-22.636	1.356	9.649	14:00	ESPN3
West Virginia	Liberty	9.412	-22.636	3.832	35.880	14:00
Ohio State	Hawaii	38.224	-8.580	5.596	52.400	14:30	BTN
Northern Illinois	Murray State	0.998	-22.636	1.749	25.383	14:30	ESPN3
Mississippi	Fresno State	27.247	-8.111	4.171	39.529	14:30	ESPN2
Georgia Tech	Tulane	20.359	-9.284	3.466	33.108	14:30	ESPN3
TCU	Stephen F. Austin	25.487	-22.636	3.688	51.810	14:30	FS1
Virginia Tech	Furman	7.450	-22.636	4.110	34.195	14:30	ESPN3
Colorado State	Minnesota	-2.111	3.015	2.121	-3.005	14:30	CBSSN
Rutgers	Washington State	6.599	0.039	3.678	10.238	14:30	ESPNU
Vanderbilt	Georgia	3.275	25.062	3.077	18.710	14:30	CBS
Virginia	Notre Dame	3.661	30.129	2.799	23.669	14:30	ABC
Southern Miss	Austin Peay	-14.685	-22.636	2.011	9.962	14:30
Wyoming	Eastern Michigan	-23.031	-28.795	1.951	7.715	15:00
Alabama	Middle Tennessee	30.349	-11.447	5.451	47.247	15:00	SECN
Northwestern	Eastern Illinois	5.600	-22.636	2.999	31.235	15:00	ESPNN
Arkansas	Toledo	17.911	1.655	4.091	20.347	15:00	SECN
Iowa State	Iowa	-6.042	1.575	3.903	-3.713	15:45	FOX
California	San Diego State	18.078	-4.760	3.237	26.075	16:00	P12N
Georgia Southern	Western Michigan	-5.394	-1.577	2.508	-1.308	17:00	ESPN3
Kent State	Delaware State	-16.220	-22.636	1.617	8.033	17:00	ESPN3
North Carolina	North Carolina A&T	13.785	-22.636	3.561	39.982	17:00	ESPN3
NC State	Eastern Kentucky	7.420	-22.636	3.822	33.878	17:00	ESPN3
Duke	NC Central	7.279	-22.636	2.578	32.493	17:00	ESPN3
Akron	Pittsburgh	-21.067	4.188	0.891	24.363	17:00	ESPN3
Tennessee	Oklahoma	23.834	6.528	5.179	22.485	17:00	ESPN
SMU	North Texas	-13.051	-23.086	1.933	11.968	18:00	ESPN3
Texas A&M	Ball State	24.894	-9.923	5.338	40.155	18:00	ESPNU
Florida	East Carolina	9.900	-2.283	4.918	17.101	18:00	ESPN2
Old Dominion	Norfolk State	-15.930	-22.636	2.967	9.673	18:00
Louisiana	Northwestern State	-9.126	-22.636	2.375	15.885	18:00	ESPN3
ULM	Nicholls State	-18.891	-22.636	1.773	5.518	18:00	ESPN3
Texas State	Prairie View A&M	-10.519	-22.636	1.920	14.037	18:00	ESPN3
Troy	Charleston Southern	-27.735	-22.636	1.700	-3.399	18:00	ESPN3
Ohio	Marshall	-5.282	5.864	2.572	-8.574	18:00	ESPN3
Kansas	Memphis	-19.667	5.141	2.636	22.172	18:00	ESPN3
Nevada	Arizona	-1.858	22.657	2.503	22.012	18:00	CBSSN
Arkansas State	Missouri	-9.341	28.984	2.554	35.771	18:00	ESPN3
Baylor	Lamar	24.950	-22.636	3.670	51.256	18:30	FSN
Oklahoma State	Central Arkansas	12.786	-22.636	3.866	39.289	18:30	FSN
South Carolina	Kentucky	14.615	12.557	4.860	6.919	18:30	SECN
USC	Idaho	26.000	-32.900	4.161	63.062	19:00	P12N
Nebraska	South Alabama	6.056	-21.154	5.205	32.415	19:00	BTN
New Mexico State	Georgia State	-20.538	-21.129	1.126	1.716	19:00	ESPN3
New Mexico	Tulsa	-12.221	-12.463	1.797	2.039	19:00	ESPN3
Indiana	FIU	-1.149	-8.155	3.127	10.134	19:00	BTN
Texas	Rice	2.143	-5.878	5.186	13.207	19:00	LHN
Cincinnati	Temple	1.760	5.152	2.810	-0.582	19:00	ESPNN
Michigan State	Oregon	25.515	33.885	4.567	-3.803	19:00	ABC
Mississippi State	LSU	14.941	23.157	4.142	-4.073	20:15	ESPN
Air Force	San Jose State	-2.130	-10.542	2.252	10.664	21:15	ESPNU
BYU	Boise State	8.641	23.224	3.933	10.651	21:15	ESPN2
Stanford	UCF	14.466	-8.419	3.707	26.592	21:30	FS1
UNLV	UCLA	-21.289	37.032	1.196	57.125	21:30	CBSSN
Arizona State	Cal Poly	29.143	-22.636	3.659	55.438	22:00	P12N

2015 Rambling Sports Week 2 CFB Picks

No reviews this season, but I will put my record by week and for the season at the top of my previews. Last week was a mixed bag 92.3% (12/13) on winners, Arizona State being my only loss, and 42.31% (5-7-1) against the spread. Let’s hope this week is better correlated to the results on the field. Week two is an interesting cornucopia of games and hidden gems.

Friday, September 11^th, 2015

Utah State at #24 Utah, 8:00 pm ESPN2 (Utah -13.5)

Alright we start off week two, at least in this preview, with a battle of the Beehive State. Utah put a whooping on Michigan last week in what was a fairly predictable outcome, but Utah showed a lot of people what they’re capable of. Utah State for their part laid a huge egg in their game against Southern Utah, but are still an instate rival and should not be trifled with. Utah is the superior team, and has the two best units on the field, 31-13.

Saturday, September 12^th, 2015

Bowling Green at Maryland, 11:00 am BTN (Maryland -7.5)

Houston at Louisville, 11:00 am ESPN3 (Louisville -12.5)

Appalachian State at #12 Clemson, 11:30 am ESPN3 (Clemson -17)

Bowling Green surprised a bunch of people when they came out firing against Tennessee, and that offense is definitely for real. Maryland got off to a slot start against Richmond but pulled away in the second half for a comfy win. I don’t think they get that chance this week and think the Falcons are a tough task, 38-35. Much like BGSU-Maryland, you’re probably wondering why I put Houston-Louisville in my preview? The answers easy. Louisville’s defense showed up big against Auburn, and I want to see how they handle a Tom Herman led Cougars squad. Herman is at least a year from being truly scary, but he knows how to run an offense and should have his team prepared to put up a fight in Louisville. I think the Cardinals are for real, but Houston and Herman make this interesting, 27-17. Lastly, during the early slate is App State-Clemson. This isn’t a top ten team, but Clemson lost Mike Williams to a neck injury, and App State is a serious Sun Belt threat. If Appalachian State stays with Clemson it could be an early indication they have surpassed Georgia Southern, if they end up like Southern last week, well the Sun Belt race will be interesting again. I see something in the middle, Clemson 38-13.

Hawaii at #1 Ohio State, 2:30 pm BTN (Ohio Stat -40)

#11 Notre Dame at Virginia, 2:30 pm ABC (Notre Dame -12)

#10 Georgia at Vanderbilt, 2:30 pm CBS (Vanderbilt -20)

Middle Tennessee at #2 Alabama, 3:00 pm SECN (Alabama -35)

The top two teams in the country play this week, and so do Hawaii and Middle Tennessee. Ohio State 63-17, Alabama 49-10. Virginia will be our early barometer of fringe top fifteen teams (Notre Dame/UCLA) early in the season. The obvious difference here will be making sure to keep in mind that UCLA got Virginia at home and Notre Dame has to go to Charlottesville. Notre Dame looks to have it all working at the same time this season, but I want to see Zaire do it against a defense that has shown a willingness to tackle from time to time. Notre Dame in a close one that gets everyone overreacting, 31-28. The Nick Chubb Show heads to Vanderbilt, where they lost to WKU. Fighting Chubbs 52-17. Not a great afternoon slate, but touchdowns?!?!

Iowa at Iowa State, 3:45 pm FOX (Don’t)

EL ASSICO!!!!!! Yeah that’s it no prediction. (If you don’t get this. You should be listening to the Shutdown Fullcast from the guys over at SBNation. @edsbs @celebrityhottub @JasonKirkSBN)

#19 Oklahoma at #23 Tennessee, 5:00 pm ESPN (Pick ‘em)

Western Michigan at Georgia Southern, 5:00 pm ESPN3 (Western Michigan -4.5)

The early evening games are a pair that have very different means to similar ends. As we move through the season, we look to identify teams from large and small conferences that are fun to watch, who will intrigue in bowl matchups, and will factor into conference championship races. Both of these games help us narrow our purview of the upcoming season. Oklahoma-Tennessee is the more normal type of those games, two power five teams ranked in the top 25, pedigree programs, with something to prove. This is what better scheduling looks like. That being said, are either really in the top three of their conference, Tennessee is top two in their division, but there might be three or four teams in the West better than them. As for the Sooners, well they’ve dropped and are certainly third behind TCU and Baylor, but have the talent to wreck some shit. I think Tennessee is a year away from being a force on the big stage, and that defense from coming together. Give me Boomer Sooner, 38-34. After than long-winded rant, I’ll just say that WMU-Ga Southern is actually similar, in the fact that WMU is probably a year away in the MAC like the Vols in the SEC. But this is a great match-up of really good Group of Five teams. Georgia Southern needs to prove that the WVU game was merely a talent gap mirage, and not a systematic problem. While, WMU is looking to build off a strong but inconsistent battle with Michigan State last week. I think Georgia Southern rides the home crowd to a good result, but this may secretly be the best game this weekend, 27-21.

Idaho at #8 USC, 7:00 pm Pac-12 (USC -43)

#7 Oregon at #5 Michigan State, 7:00 pm ABC (Michigan State -4)

#14 LSU at #25 Mississippi State, 8:15 pm ESPN (LSU -4.5)

One to ignore, one to check in on, and one to watch closely for fraudulent expectations. Let’s get USC-Idaho out of the way. Idaho lost at home last week to Ohio convincingly last week and yeah USC gonna roll. Roll Damn Trojans (pun originally not intended) as they pound the Vandals 56-10. Now to the meat and potatoes of the evening, Oregon-Michigan State and LSU-Miss State respectively. We’ll start with the potatoes, because I don’t want to worry about the butter making them too soggy dammit. The matchup of Tigers and Bulldogs intrigues me for reason far outside of their ranks. Ranks, will be self-referential by games end. Instead, I think this game will clear up, to some extent, the SEC West race. Many see a first to worst season for the Bulldogs, and a loss to a still in flux and on their first game LSU won’t do much to calm those fears. LSU needs to figure out the QB situation, but the skill players are loaded with NFL level talent. On defense LSU lost miracle worker John Chavis, and will rely on a man who may be able to make chicken shit out of filet mignon. All these answers and more on Saturday night, and subsequent Saturdays as we get more data points to formulated complete scouting reports on teams. LSU, 15-13, LESSS!! Now for the meat. Oregon-Michigan State isn’t the matchup it was last season where we knew the winner was in really good shape to make the playoff, because these teams are much more openly flawed coming into this match-up. Oregon showed little, if any, slowdown to start the year with Vernon Adams, but the defense was putrid. They allowed Eastern Washington to stay in the game and that’s going to need to be a whole lot less sieve-y if Oregon is going to win the Pac-12 North again. For the Spartans, the defense was solid against Western Michigan, but the special teams got burned multiple times on coverage, and the offense never got going against what’s a fine Broncos defense, but not great. We’ll see if it was just first week jitters for two teams with a lot of recent success, but there are issues that need to be fixed and fixed fast if playoff hopes are going to stay alive in Eugene and East Lansing. Give me the movable object, in a nail biter, Oregon 38-35.

#20 Boise State at BYU, 9:15 pm ESPN2 (Boise State -3)

#13 UCLA at UNLV, 9:30 pm CBSSN (UCLA -29)

These are late night games that just intrigue me because I don’t want to jump to conclusions about the teams involved. Except UNLV. UCLA is going to run the fuck over UNLV, but I want to see Josh Rosen do it again, and in a letdown spot after his first, exceptional, collegiate performance. UCLA rolls, 31-10. Boise State-BYU is an underrated game, both for the intrigue and for the teams. BYU is replacing Taysum Hill, after his broken foot against Nebraska, with Tanner Mangum who threw the game winning Hail Mary against Nebraska. Mangum is a former Elite 11 quarterback, who has talent but a big hole to fill. Boise looked like they should dominate Washington, but a young quarterback, and inconsistency lead to a closer game than necessary. All I’m looking for against BYU is consistency and a modicum of improvement to stay on, as Pat Forde calls it, #TheBus. Boise State, 27-20.

There we are get ready for week 2, which I will miss most of, and enjoy the first full weekend of football. Note: All lines updated as of 8:00 of 9/9.