College Football pick'em 2017- Gameplay and scoring thread

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare.htm

Here are 110 different rating systems that all put Kansas in the bottom 20 teams in FBS. Last I checked, even in the best case scenario, there are more than 20 P5 teams and in fact, if you want to say 'majority' of P5, there are more than 40 P5 teams!!

Can you please stop trolling and ruining everything I love about football?

You have your opinions and I have mine.

[NewYorkExpress]

If I am allowed to change my pick for games that have yet to kick off please change it to Oklahoma from TCU.

Yes, and I'm sorry we haven't been keeping up with your scores...I just noticed that.

[NewYorkExpress]

Scores for this week will be posted by myself or DFW tomorrow.

Also, a housekeeping notice. We Will be including bowls and the playoff, so stay tuned for that.

Schedule for Week Twelve (once again, it's an early start, so be warned)

November 14

Ohio at Akron

November 15

Western Michigan at Northern Illinois

November 17

Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky

UNLV at New Mexico

November 18

TCU at Texas Tech

Michigan at Wisconsin

UCLA at USC

Maryland at Michigan State

Nebraska at Penn State

Kansas State at Oklahoma State

Mississippi State at Arkansas

Purdue at Iowa

Minnesota at Northwestern

Texas A&M at Mississippi

Texas at West Virginia

Arizona at Oregon

California at Stanford

Rutgers at Indiana

UCF at Temple

SMU at Memphis

Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech

Fresno State at Wyoming

Kentucky at Georgia

Navy at Notre Dame

Georgia Tech at Duke

Syracuse at Louisville

UAB at Florida

Army at North Texas

LSU at Tennessee

Florida International at Florida Atlantic

Marshall at Texas San Antonio

NC State at Wake Forest

Missouri at Vanderbilt

Air Force at Boise State

[NewYorkExpress]

If I am allowed to change my pick for games that have yet to kick off please change it to Oklahoma from TCU.

Yes, and I'm sorry we haven't been keeping up with your scores...I just noticed that.

I haven't noticed, so when I put it down, I don't think I'm including him...If I'm wrong, please correct me.
what do you mean? He's Progressive Democrat on the spreadsheet

[NewYorkExpress]

Auburn dominating Georgia right now...they lead 23-7 in the third quarter, and they have the ball.

[NewYorkExpress]

Scores after Week Eleven

Progressive Democrat 208 wins

Alabama_Indy 207 wins

Dereich 207 wins

Extreme Republican 206 wins

Illiniwek 206 wins

NYE 199 wins

Santander 197 wins

Sprouts Farmers Market 196 wins

JGibson 183 wins

RINO Tom 177 wins

Dfwlibertylover 175 wins

Jerome Powell I Guess 156 wins

[NewYorkExpress]

Only nine back...

Ohio (Ohio is coming off a big win, and are generally playing much better than Akron is)

Northern Illinois (Northern Illinois's win over Nebraska is better than any win Western Michigan has, plus they have a chance to clinch a spot in the MAC Championship game, which I think they take)

Middle Tennessee (Middle Tennessee beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Western Kentucky doesn't have a single notable win on it's resume, and has lost three in a row. The choice is easy for me)

New Mexico (I know the Lobos season has been a disaster, but if you lose to Howard as an FBS team, as UNLV has done, you don't deserve to win this game or go bowling)

TCU (The Horned Frogs win this one by at least twenty, as after all, they'll be angry after being blown out by Oklahoma.)

Michigan (If Michigan gets even average QB play, they should be able to dash the Big Ten's playoff hopes)

USC (Even if Josh Rosen plays, the fact is Sam Darnold is a better Quarterback, and USC has a better team around him)

Penn State (How has Nebraska not fired Mike Riley yet? It's obvious they're going to...)

Michigan State (An angry Spartans team after their blowout against Ohio State wins by at least twenty)

Oklahoma State (The Cowboys may be out of the Big Twelve race, but they need this win to get to a New Year's bowl (maybe the Fiesta against UCF?))

Mississippi State (Mississippi State almost beat Alabama. Arkansas got flattened against Alabama. See the difference?)

Iowa (I don't think Iowa will be thrilled about falling on their face against Wisconsin, especially after holding the lead for a quarter and a half)

Northwestern (Northwestern might be the hottest non-Wisconsin team in the Big Ten)

Texas A&M (Ole Miss will paying more attention to their Egg Bowl game with Mississippi State anyways...it's not like they have anything else to play for)

West Virginia (West Virginia simply has been playing better all season...and they're at home)

Arizona (I'm sorely tempted to pick Oregon, because it's really hard to play in Eugene...but Arizona is just too good this year)

Stanford (After eliminating the Pac-12 from the playoff chase, Cal should be a piece of cake for the Cardinal, especially at home)

Indiana (The Hoosiers might actually become bowl eligible, as after this game, they'll only need to beat Purdue, which is very doable)

UCF (UCF keeps its march towards at least the Fiesta Bowl alive...with a slim shot at a playoff spot if everything goes to hell)

Memphis (Memphis should win this one. The big question is will Mike Norvell leave for a better job (Nebraska, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina)

Virginia Tech (Virginia Tech will be smarting over their loss to Georgia Tech, and while Pitt will also be upset over their loss to North Carolina, they won't be in a position to capitalize)

Fresno State (Fresno State's victory over San Diego State is better than any of Wyoming's victories to this point...still with Wyoming doing well, so this one will be close)

Georgia (Georgia will be furious at the loss to Auburn, and will take it out on Kentucky. Plus, with Kentucky eliminated from the SEC East race, what exactly do they have to play for against Georgia?)

Notre Dame (Notre Dame will be furious after their blowout loss to Miami(FL). I expect them to live up to their nickname of Fighting Irish, and return the favor against Navy)

Georgia Tech (The Triple Option is one of the toughest offenses one could go up against, and I just am not sure how Duke will stop it)

Louisville (Syracuse just isn't going to stop Lamar Jackson)

UAB (Given UAB is a Group of Five program that just reinstated football after a three year absence, and Florida is a Football blue-blood, this would be a huge upset. However, Florida has recently fallen off a cliff, culminating in a loss to Missouri last week, while UAB has won five of its last six, so I feel justified making this pick)

Army (North Texas will struggle to defend the triple option Army uses)

LSU (Hallelujah! Butch Jones is finally out of a job! But that won't help Tennessee get a SEC win against a strong LSU side)

Florida Atlantic (Going with the better coach, which is Lane Kiffin, plus Florida Atlantic is the hotter team)

Marshall (Yes, UT-San Antonio beat Baylor, but everyone's beaten Baylor this year. Marshall is a better team)

NC State (NC State is headed to a good bowl with wins here and against North Carolina... possibly the Camping World bowl (if both Miami (FL) and Clemson make the playoff/New Year's six bowls or the Orange Bowl (if either Clemson or Miami (FL) does not make a New Year's six bowl)

Missouri (Missouri has two SEC wins, Vanderbilt has none. See the difference?)

Boise State (It's really hard to bet against Boise State at home...)

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.foxsports.com/southwest/story/tennessee-fires-head-coach-butch-jones-111217

As mentioned in the picks I made...Butch Jones is finally out at Tennessee.

If I had to guess who the Volunteers will look at, maybe they'll consider Mike Norvell (Memphis Head Coach), Jim McElwain (Former Florida Head Coach), Mark Stoops (Kentucky Head Coach) and Lane Kiffin (Florida Atlantic Head Coach).

[NewYorkExpress]

While I gave up on the pick-em' a few weeks ago, I'll go ahead and share my current prediction for the playoff:

1) Undefeated ACC champion (Miami)
2) One loss Big 12 champion (Oklahoma)
3) One loss SEC champion (Georgia)
4) One loss non-SEC champion (Alabama)

With Auburn, Clemson and Ohio State being the first 3 out (not really sure of the order though)

If Georgia loses to Alabama, or if Alabama loses to Auburn, it's possible Auburn gets in instead.

Ohio State is out, and I'm confident Clemson will beat Miami(FL) in the ACC Championship game.

[NewYorkExpress]

While I gave up on the pick-em' a few weeks ago, I'll go ahead and share my current prediction for the playoff:

1) Undefeated ACC champion (Miami)
2) One loss Big 12 champion (Oklahoma)
3) One loss SEC champion (Georgia)
4) One loss non-SEC champion (Alabama)

With Auburn, Clemson and Ohio State being the first 3 out (not really sure of the order though)

If Georgia loses to Alabama, or if Alabama loses to Auburn, it's possible Auburn gets in instead.

Ohio State is out, and I'm confident Clemson will beat Miami(FL) in the ACC Championship game.

Alabama loses to Auburn in the Iron Bowl; then Auburn loses the rematch to UGA in Atlanta.

It'd be hard to take a 10-3 Auburn over an 11-1 Alabama for the #4 spot in that scenario.  

Auburn's already beat Georgia once, I find it hard to believe they don't do it again. It would be Alabama and Auburn in that scenario.

[NewYorkExpress]

And in other news, Illinois has set a Big Ten record!

41-point underdogs at Ohio State, haha.

Which is why that game is not on our board.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-college-football-playoffs-doomsday-scenarios/?ex_cid=538twitter

538's got a nice take on the potential chaos facing the College Football Playoff.

Personally, I think they're understating an undefeated UCF. I'd swap them out for Auburn or the TCU/Oklahoma loser on that fourth scenario.

Seriously, If I were on the committee, I would be giving serious thought to UCF, especially if they finish the season unbeaten.

[NewYorkExpress]

I don't know where they teach this level of cognitive dissonance. I'm dumbfounded.

What, suggesting a UCF team that remains unbeaten should be in the playoff? That's a credible argument to me.

[NewYorkExpress]

I don't know where they teach this level of cognitive dissonance. I'm dumbfounded.

What, suggesting a UCF team that remains unbeaten should be in the playoff? That's a credible argument to me.

Smilo is a big FCS/G5 person. I assume he was referring to Alabama_Indy.

I see... I would have liked it if he specified who he was replying to...I don't like replying to comments that have nothing to do with me.

[NewYorkExpress]

Wisconsin has beaten literally nobody, play in one of the worst P5 divisions, and have weak crossover games. They were rather lucky to beat Purdue at home.

Iowa and Northwestern this year have not been literal nobodies. That said, playing three cupcakes in non-conference (BYU wouldn't normally be a cupcake, but they're playing horribly this year), and struggling against Illinois and Purdue disqualifies them unless they win out, which they won't. They'll lose to either Michigan (which I have) or Ohio State (also likely given how good JT Barrett is).

[NewYorkExpress]

FAU is a better win than Purdue. The Owls are a top-30 team.

The point is that how poorly they played against Purdue (and Illinois) should disqualify Wisconsin unless they win out.

[NewYorkExpress]

FAU is a better win than Purdue. The Owls are a top-30 team.

The point is that how poorly they played against Purdue (and Illinois) should disqualify Wisconsin unless they win out.

I disagree. The game wasn't nearly as close as the score would indicate. Wisconsin gained almost 500 yards offense and allowed less than 300. It was only as close as it is because of some poor turnover luck for Wisc.

I'm not saying that Wisconsin hasn't played a poor schedule - it's bad. But FAU is actually a better win than folks would expect!

How do you explain the game against Illinois then?

[NewYorkExpress]

I don't know where they teach this level of cognitive dissonance. I'm dumbfounded.

What, suggesting a UCF team that remains unbeaten should be in the playoff? That's a credible argument to me.

Smilo is a big FCS/G5 person. I assume he was referring to Alabama_Indy.

I see... I would have liked it if he specified who he was replying to...I don't like replying to comments that have nothing to do with me.

The cognitive dissonance is related to your stance in the last argument. I don't find UCF to be worthy (probably a 10-15 ranking is accurate), but it's an acceptable stance. So long as the same person does not hold a view that G5 are inherently weaker than the worst P5 teams bar a few. In that case, even if UCF were better, their resume would have literally a dozen wins against the bottom half of FBS.

I said that, with exceptions, Power Five schools are better. This year, UCF is an exception to that rule (along with USF, Memphis and probably San Diego State).

[NewYorkExpress]

The point is that they still wouldn't have the necessary wins under such a set of circumstances, but ok

And my point is staying unbeaten should be rewarded no matter who you are, or who you've beaten.

[NewYorkExpress]

Scores for week twelve will be posted tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is Schedule for Week Thirteen

November 23


Mississippi at Mississippi State

November 24


Northern Illinois at Central Michigan

Western Michigan at Toledo

Miami(FL) at Pittsburgh

Navy at Houston

Ohio at Buffalo

South Florida at UCF

Iowa at Nebraska

Virginia Tech at Virginia

Texas Tech at Texas

November 25


Alabama at Auburn

West Virginia at Oklahoma

Wisconsin at Minnesota

Georgia at Georgia Tech

Notre Dame at Stanford

Penn State at Maryland

Washington State at Washington

Michigan State at Rutgers

Northwestern at Illinois

Arizona at Arizona State

Colorado at Utah

Iowa State at Kansas State

Tulane at SMU

Ohio State at Michigan

Indiana at Purdue

Louisville at Kentucky

Florida State at Florida

Boston College at Syracuse

Duke at Wake Forest

Appalachian State at Georgia State

Southern Mississippi at Marshall

Old Dominion at Middle Tennessee

Arkansas State at Louisiana Monroe

North Carolina at NC State

Boise State at Fresno State

Vanderbilt at Tennessee

Oregon State at Oregon

Clemson at South Carolina

Texas A&M at LSU

UT San Antonio at Louisiana Tech

BYU at Hawaii

Air Force at Utah State

[NewYorkExpress]

The point is that they still wouldn't have the necessary wins under such a set of circumstances, but ok

And my point is staying unbeaten should be rewarded no matter who you are, or who you've beaten.

So using your logic, what's keeping an independent like BYU or Notre Dame from scheduling really bad teams every game of the season? They could easily have "muh undefeated record." Would they be worthy of getting into the playoff?

If they won all those games, yes. But pride would prevent Notre Dame from doing that, and someone is going to be willing to play BYU, if only to fill a hole on it's own schedule.

[NewYorkExpress]

The point is that they still wouldn't have the necessary wins under such a set of circumstances, but ok

And my point is staying unbeaten should be rewarded no matter who you are, or who you've beaten.

So using your logic, what's keeping an independent like BYU or Notre Dame from scheduling really bad teams every game of the season? They could easily have "muh undefeated record." Would they be worthy of getting into the playoff?

If they won all those games, yes. But pride would prevent Notre Dame from doing that, and someone is going to be willing to play BYU, if only to fill a hole on it's own schedule.

So you would support an undefeated team with a schedule full of cupcakes over a 1 loss major conference champion?

In almost every circumstance yes. There's a thing called the eye test too. If the one loss champion struggled all season, (Wisconsin for example), they don't deserve to get in.

Also, I wouldn't call UCF's next two games...against USF, and against Memphis in AAC Championship game cupcakes. Both teams only have one loss.

[NewYorkExpress]

The point is that they still wouldn't have the necessary wins under such a set of circumstances, but ok

And my point is staying unbeaten should be rewarded no matter who you are, or who you've beaten.

So using your logic, what's keeping an independent like BYU or Notre Dame from scheduling really bad teams every game of the season? They could easily have "muh undefeated record." Would they be worthy of getting into the playoff?

If they won all those games, yes. But pride would prevent Notre Dame from doing that, and someone is going to be willing to play BYU, if only to fill a hole on it's own schedule.

So you would support an undefeated team with a schedule full of cupcakes over a 1 loss major conference champion?

In almost every circumstance yes. There's a thing called the eye test too. If the one loss champion struggled all season, (Wisconsin for example), they don't deserve to get in.

Also, I wouldn't call UCF's next two games...against USF, and against Memphis in AAC Championship game cupcakes. Both teams only have one loss.

They don't pass the eye test, they haven't played anyone. They are worse than last years Western Michigan squad. I would totally leave them out, give them a top tear non-playoff bowl and let them get slapped down by some better conference team.

Western Michigan ended up beating Wisconsin last year, so arguably they were better than Washington, who actually made it into the playoff.

Also, UCF did beat Navy, who lost 24-17 to #8 Notre Dame today. That alone probably passes the eye test, doesn't it?

I don't get how with 4 teams in the playoff, we still get undefeated teams left out. This is one of the top 2 or 3 reasons everyone wanted to get rid of the BCS anyway. Maybe we should just give up on the playoff system and let the Rose Bowl decide the champion like in the old days.

So beating a team (Navy) who lost by 7 to a team (Notre Dame) who got beat by 33 by Miami automatically makes you one of the best 4 teams in the country? Makes a whole lot of sense doesn't it?

It's worth noting that other than this week Miami(FL) has played well all season. Of course, if they lose to Clemson in the ACC Championship game, they're probably out of the playoff...

As for Western Michigan and Washington last year, it's worth remembering Washington played Alabama in the playoff semifinal. They didn't have a chance, and I wouldn't have expected Western Michigan to do better...however they certainly could have beaten Ohio State, had they replaced Washington, and the Committee decided on an Alabama/Clemson semifinal, based on their result against Wisconsin.

And I'm going to repeat the fact that neither South Florida or Memphis are cupcakes. Both only have one loss, and Memphis was ranked as of this week.

[NewYorkExpress]

The point is that they still wouldn't have the necessary wins under such a set of circumstances, but ok

And my point is staying unbeaten should be rewarded no matter who you are, or who you've beaten.

So using your logic, what's keeping an independent like BYU or Notre Dame from scheduling really bad teams every game of the season? They could easily have "muh undefeated record." Would they be worthy of getting into the playoff?

If they won all those games, yes. But pride would prevent Notre Dame from doing that, and someone is going to be willing to play BYU, if only to fill a hole on it's own schedule.

So you would support an undefeated team with a schedule full of cupcakes over a 1 loss major conference champion?

In almost every circumstance yes. There's a thing called the eye test too. If the one loss champion struggled all season, (Wisconsin for example), they don't deserve to get in.

Also, I wouldn't call UCF's next two games...against USF, and against Memphis in AAC Championship game cupcakes. Both teams only have one loss.

They don't pass the eye test, they haven't played anyone. They are worse than last years Western Michigan squad. I would totally leave them out, give them a top tear non-playoff bowl and let them get slapped down by some better conference team.

Western Michigan ended up beating Wisconsin last year, so arguably they were better than Washington, who actually made it into the playoff.

Also, UCF did beat Navy, who lost 24-17 to #8 Notre Dame today. That alone probably passes the eye test, doesn't it?

I don't get how with 4 teams in the playoff, we still get undefeated teams left out. This is one of the top 2 or 3 reasons everyone wanted to get rid of the BCS anyway. Maybe we should just give up on the playoff system and let the Rose Bowl decide the champion like in the old days.

So beating a team (Navy) who lost by 7 to a team (Notre Dame) who got beat by 33 by Miami automatically makes you one of the best 4 teams in the country? Makes a whole lot of sense doesn't it?

I’m not sure that’s the best way to look at things, because you start getting stupid stuff like LSU being better than Georgia this year because LSU beat Auburn and Auburn beat Georgia. Not to mention Troy. The transitive property doesn’t work in sports.

I think it’s a moot point, anyway, because UCF is likely going to lose to either USF or Memphis. However, if they win out, they should be in. They won’t be though, because the system is about money matchups.

An unbeaten UCF is in over a PAC-12 champion that isn't USC, a Big Twelve champion that is neither Oklahoma or TCU (theoretically Iowa State can still make the Championship game), a one Miami (FL) (the ACC isn't going to get two teams in) or a two loss Notre Dame.

[NewYorkExpress]

Scores after Week Twelve

Progressive Democrat 232 wins

Dereich 229 wins

Alabama_Indy 229 wins

Extreme Republican 229 wins

Illiniwek 229 wins

NYE 220 wins

Santander 218 wins

Smilo/Sprouts Farmers Market 218 wins

JGibson 205 wins

DFWlibertylover 201 wins

RINO Tom 200 wins

Jerome Powell I Guess/Birch Bayh 2020 178 wins