Wednesday, October 30, 2013

NFL Rankings and Weekend Predictions

Denver struggled with the Washington Redskins through the first half on Sunday, which opened the door wide for the Seattle Seahawks to retake the top spot, but the Hawks responded by struggling against Saint Louis, which resulted in the top 4 teams remaining in the same order this week for the first time all season. Here are my full rankings, along with each team's predicted final record and playoff seed:

Rank
LW
Team
Rec
Rating
Pred
Change
Seed
1
1
Denver
7-1
-12.4441
13-3

A1
2
2
Seattle
7-1
-10.9551
13-3

N1
3
3
Indianapolis
5-2
-9.68877
12-4

A2
4
4
San Francisco
6-2
-9.41542
12-4
+1
N5
5
7
Green Bay
5-2
-8.47449
12-4

N2
6
6
New Orleans
6-1
-8.00566
12-4
+1
N3
7
8
Carolina
4-3
-7.94415
10-6

N6
8
5
Kansas City
8-0
-6.8092
13-3

A5
9
9
Dallas
4-4
-5.92715
9-7
-1
N4
10
13
Cincinnati
6-2
-5.2125
11-5
+1
A3
11
11
Detroit
5-3
-2.98568
10-6
+1

12
10
San Diego
4-3
-1.6899
8-8

A6
13
14
New England
6-2
-1.06259
10-6

A4
14
17
Arizona
4-4
-0.94506
8-8
+1

15
15
Baltimore
3-4
-0.93578
8-8


16
12
Tennessee
3-4
-0.32763
8-8


17
16
Miami
3-4
0.508976
8-8
-1

18
20
Chicago
4-3
0.983498
8-8


19
25
Cleveland
3-5
2.390093
7-9


20
24
Saint Louis
3-5
3.14784
6-10


21
18
Oakland
3-4
3.333169
7-9


22
22
Buffalo
3-5
3.416798
7-9


23
23
Washington
2-5
4.68701
6-10


24
19
Philadelphia
3-5
4.785435
6-10
-1

25
21
Atlanta
2-5
4.912556
5-11


26
26
Houston
2-5
6.07908
5-11


27
28
Pittsburgh
2-5
6.435974
5-11


28
30
NY Giants
2-6
7.889933
4-12
+1

29
31
Minnesota
1-6
8.613542
3-13


30
29
Tampa Bay
0-7
9.685647
2-14


31
27
NY Jets
4-4
10.59796
6-10
-1

32
32
Jacksonville
0-8
16.37726
1-15
-1


Green Bay won its 4th straight game this weekend, beating the Minnesota Vikings decisively and earning a spot in the top 5, knocking out the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in the process. The Packers two losses were by single digits on the road against top 10 teams, and although their wins are all against teams below #10, they are winning big when they are supposed to.

Kansas City is the lone unbeaten team, but they have run their record to 8-0 against cupcakes, and they will most likely make it to 9-0 before their bye week, but that's when they hit the meat of their schedule. 5 of their final 7 games are against teams that will likely make the playoffs, while only one of their first 9 fits that description, their 1-point win over Dallas in week 2.

Cincinnati joined the top 10 after a 40-point win against the New York Jets, which was their fourth straight win, 3 of which came against the once-mighty AFC East. They look to complete the set tomorrow at Miami, a team that is better than their record indicates, and the short week could cause a letdown from the Bengals.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

Wednesday

Cincinnati at Memphis - Tigers by 8

Brooklyn at Cleveland - Nets by 7
Miami at Philadelphia - Heat by 10
Boston at Toronto - Raptors by 7
Washington at Detroit - Wizards by 1
Milwaukee at New York - Knicks by 11
Charlotte at Houston - Rockets by 11
Orlando at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 7
Indiana at New Orleans - Pelicans by 2
Atlanta at Dallas - Mavericks by 2
Memphis at San Antonio - Spurs by 1
Oklahoma City at Utah - Thunder by 11
Portland at Phoenix - Trail Blazers by 8
Denver at Sacramento - Nuggets by 1
LA Lakers at Golden State - Lakers by 1

Thursday

South Florida at Houston - Cougars by 41
Rice at North Texas - Mean Green by 9
Louisiana-Monroe at Troy - Trojans by 11
Arizona State at Washington State - Sun Devils by 12

Cincinnati at Miami - Bengals by 3

Friday

USC at Oregon State - Beavers by 2

Saturday

Virginia Tech at Boston College - Hokies by 8
(17) Northern Illinois at Massachusetts - Huskies by 18
Temple at Rutgers - Scarlet Knights by 14
Illinois at Penn State - Nittany Lions by 12
Army at Air Force - Black Knights by 5
(24) Wisconsin at Iowa - Badgers by 13
(4) Ohio State at Purdue - Buckeyes by 38
Mississippi State at (14) South Carolina - Gamecocks by 15
North Carolina at North Carolina State - Tar Heels by 8
Wake Forest at Syracuse - Orange by 5
Southern Miss at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 47
Middle Tennessee at UAB - Blue Raiders by 8
Western Kentucky at Georgia State - Hilltoppers by 23
Arizona at California - Wildcats by 23
Georgia vs. Florida - Bulldogs by 1
Minnesota at Indiana - Hoosiers by 12
Navy at (25) Notre Dame - Fighting Irish by 9
(21) Michigan at (22) Michigan State - Spartans by 5
Northwestern at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 8
UTSA at Tulsa - Roadrunners by 2
Kansas at Texas - Longhorns by 28
(8) Clemson at Virginia - Tigers by 11
Kent State at Akron - Zips by 6
Iowa State at Kansas State - Wildcats by 21
West Virginia at TCU - Horned Frogs by 13
Hawaii at Utah State - Aggies by 35
San Jose State at UNLV - Spartans by 4
Texas State at Idaho - Bobcats by 11
New Mexico State at Louisiana-Lafayette - Ragin Cajuns by 47
Tulane at Florida Atlantic - Owls by 7
(11) Auburn at Arkansas - Tigers by 22
East Carolina at Florida International - Pirates by 37
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 23
Tennessee at (9) Missouri - Tigers by 19
(18) Oklahoma State at (15) Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 1
Eastern Michigan at Toledo - Rockets by 34
Arkansas State at South Alabama - Jaguars by 3
Colorado at (20) UCLA - Bruins by 28
Alabama State at Kentucky - Wildcats by 25
Boise State at Colorado State - Broncos by 8
New Mexico at San Diego State - Aztecs by 5
(7) Miami at (3) Florida State - Seminoles by 22
UTEP at (12) Texas A&M - Aggies by 45
Nevada at (16) Fresno State - Bulldogs by 18

Sunday

Kansas City at Buffalo - Chiefs by 8
Minnesota at Dallas - Mavericks by 17
Tennessee at Saint Louis - Titans by 3
New Orleans at NY Jets - Saints by 16
San Diego at Washington - Chargers by 6
Atlanta at Carolina - Panthers by 15
Philadelphia at Oakland - Raiders by 4
Tampa Bay at Seattle - Seahawks by 23
Baltimore at Cleveland - Ravens by 3
Pittsburgh at New England - Patriots by 10
Indianapolis at Houston - Colts by 13

Monday

Chicago at Green Bay - Packers by 10

Most Confident vs. the Spread

(Spread in parentheses)

College Football

1. Houston (-17)
2. Marshall (-28.5)
3. Louisiana-Lafayette (-30)
4. East Carolina (-21.5)
5. Auburn (-9)
6. Georgia Tech (-10)
7. Utah State (-22.5)
8. Memphis (+3)
9. New Mexico (+15.5)
10. Navy (+17)

NFL

1. Indianapolis (-1)
2. New Orleans (-6)
3. Dallas (-11)
4. Carolina (-9)
5. Kansas City (-3)

Prediction Results

College Football: 41-14 (.745) 407-116 overall (.778)
Upsets: 3-4 (.429) 30-44 overall (.405)
Vs. Spread: 4-5 (.444) 34-35 overall (.493)
NFL: 11-2 (.846) 72-48 overall (.600)
Upsets: 1-1 (.500) 9-20 overall (.310)
Vs. Spread: 4-1 (.800) 21-12 overall (.636)
NBA: 2-1 (.667)