Football Predictions - 12 Sep thru 16 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Arizona State at Texas State - Bobcats by 6

Northwestern State at South Alabama - Jaguars by 16.5

Buffalo at Miami - Bills by 2.5

Friday

UNLV at Kansas - Jayhawks by 4

(20) Arizona at (14) Kansas State - KSU Wildcats by 15

Saturday

(4) Alabama at Wisconsin - Crimson Tide by 11.5

(13) Oklahoma State at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 0.5

(16) LSU at South Carolina - Gamecocks by 7.5

Arkansas State at (17) Michigan - Wolverines by 30

Central Michigan at Illinois - Illini by 22.5

Memphis at Florida State - Tigers by 1

Louisiana Tech at NC State - Wolf Pack by 17.5

Cincinnati at Miami (OH) - Redhawks by 15.5

North Texas at Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 2

(24) Boston College at (6) Missouri - Tigers by 8.5

UMass at Buffalo - Minutemen by 3

Coastal Carolina at Temple - Chanticleers by 15

(9) Oregon at Oregon State - Beavers by 9

Ball State at (10) Miami - Hurricanes by 32.5

Tulane at (15) Oklahoma - Sooners by 11.5

(18) Notre Dame at Purdue - Irish by 4

Texas A&M at Florida - Aggies by 2

Prairie View at Michigan State - Spartans by 23

Nevada at Minnesota - Gophers by 14.5

Washington State at Washington - Huskies by 7

VMI at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 27.5

West Virginia at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 3

Morgan State at Ohio - Bobcats by 20

Troy at Iowa - Hawkeyes by 12.5

App State at East Carolina - Pirates by 7

UAB at Arkansas - Razorbacks by 22

(12) Utah at Utah State - Utes by 4.5

UConn at Duke - Blue Devils by 21

NC Central at North Carolina - Tar Heels by 26.5

Virginia Tech at Old Dominion - Hokies by 1

FIU at FAU - Owls by 6

UTEP at Liberty - Flames by 28.5

South Carolina State at Georgia Southern - Eagles by 15.5

Colgate at Akron - Zips by 10

Gardner-Webb at Charlotte - 49ers by 9.5

(5) Ole Miss at Wake Forest - Rebels by 9.5

Bethune-Cookman at Western Michigan - Broncos by 16

UTSA at (2) Texas - Longhorns by 39.5

Vanderbilt at Georgia State - Commodores by 1.5

Jacksonville State at Eastern Michigan - Eagles by 12

Kennesaw State at San Jose State - Spartans by 28

Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee - Hilltoppers by 1.5

Hawaii at Sam Houston - Bearkats by 11.5

South Florida at Southern Miss - Bulls by 0.5

(1) Georgia at Kentucky - Bulldogs by 15

Northern Iowa at (23) Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 28

New Mexico at Auburn - Tigers by 19.5

Toledo at Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 4

Indiana at UCLA - Bruins by 9

Air Force at Baylor - Bears by 9

Colorado at Colorado State - Rams by 8.5

UCF at TCU - Horned Frogs by 3.5

Eastern Illinois at Northwestern - Wildcats by 23

Kent State at (7) Tennessee - Volunteers by 45.5

Maryland at Virginia - Cavaliers by 1.5

Rice at Houston - Cougars by 13

BYU at Wyoming - Cougars by 11

San Diego State at California - Bears by 18.5

New Mexico State at Fresno State - Bulldogs by 13

Sunday

New Orleans at Dallas - Cowboys by 7

Tampa Bay at Detroit - Lions by 6.5

Indianapolis at Green Bay - Packers by 9

NY Jets at Tennessee - Titans by 0.5

San Francisco at Minnesota - 49ers by 14

Seattle at New England - Patriots by 2.5

NY Giants at Washington - Giants by 1

LA Chargers at Carolina - Chargers by 5

Cleveland at Jacksonville - Jaguars by 1.5

Las Vegas at Baltimore - Ravens by 17

LA Rams at Arizona - Rams by 0.5

Pittsburgh at Denver - Steelers by 2

Cincinnati at Kansas City - Chiefs by 11.5

Chicago at Houston - Texans by 6

Monday

Atlanta at Philadelphia - Eagles by 7

Results

NCAA: 59-19 (.756) 148-30 overall (.831)

Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 5-3 overall (.625)

NFL: 12-4 (.750) 

Upsets: 1-2 (.333)

Football Predictions - 5 Sep thru 9 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Baltimore at Kansas City - Chiefs by 4

Friday

Western Illinois at Indiana - Hoosiers by 21

BYU at SMU - Mustangs by 9

Duke at Northwestern - Wildcats by 4

Green Bay vs. Philadelphia - Packers by 6

Saturday

(3) Texas at (10) Michigan - Wolverines by 6.5

Bowling Green at (8) Penn State - Nittany Lions by 31.5

Arkansas at (16) Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 3

(17) Kansas State at Tulane - Wildcats by 0.5

(23) Georgia Tech at Syracuse - Yellowjackets by 1

Rhode Island at Minnesota - Gophers by 20.5

Akron at Rutgers - Scarlet Knights by 19.5

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 2.5

Merrimack at UConn - Huskies by 10

Troy at Memphis - Tigers by 17

Army at FAU - Black Knights by 0.5

McNeese at Texas A&M - Aggies by 28

Tennessee Tech at (1) Georgia - Bulldogs by 49.5

Missouri State at Ball State - Cardinals by 12

St. Francis (PA) at Kent State - Red Flash by 0.5

Utah Tech at UNLV - Rebels by 33.5

Northern Illinois at (5) Notre Dame - Irish by 27

Baylor at (11) Utah - Utes by 11.5

Iowa State at (21) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 8

Jacksonville State at (22) Louisville - Cardinals by 27

California at Auburn - Tigers by 12

South Carolina at Kentucky - Wildcats by 15

Michigan State at Maryland - Terrapins by 21.5

Eastern Michigan at Washington - Huskies by 18

South Dakota at Wisconsin - Badgers by 23.5

UMass at Toledo - Rockets by 31.5

Duquesne at Boston College - Eagles by 38.5

Charlotte at North Carolina - Tar Heels by 26.5

Idaho at Wyoming - Cowboys by 7.5

Temple at Navy - Midshipmen by 13.5

UTSA at Texas State - Bobcats by 0.5

Middle Tennessee at (6) Ole Miss - Rebels by 25.5

Marshall at Virginia Tech - Hokies by 3

Florida A&M at (12) Miami - Hurricanes by 41

Albany at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 21.5

Central Michigan at FIU - Chippewas by 9.5

Gardner-Webb at James Madison - Dukes by 33

East Carolina at Old Dominion - Monarchs by 6

South Alabama at Ohio - Bobcats by 9.5

Sam Houston at UCF - Knights by 12.5

South Florida at (4) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 26

Buffalo at (9) Missouri - Tigers by 57.5

(19) Kansas at Illinois - Jayhawks by 0.5

Samford at Florida - Gators by 14

William & Mary at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 37

Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky - Hilltoppers by 18.5

Chattanooga at Georgia State - Panthers by 14

Cal Poly at Stanford - Cardinal by 16

Virginia at Wake Forest - Demon Deacons by 8

Louisiana at Kennesaw State - Ragin Cajuns by 5.5

San Jose State at Air Force - Falcons by 4.5

Northern Colorado at Colorado State - Rams by 16

Georgia Southern at Nevada - Wolf Pack by 8.5

Tulsa at Arkansas State - Golden Hurricane by 3.5

UAB at UL Monroe - Blazers by 2.5

SE Louisiana at Southern Miss - Golden Eagles by 10

Texas Southern at Rice - Owls by 2.5

Western Michigan at (2) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 25.5

(14) Tennessee vs. (24) NC State - Volunteers by 8

Nicholls at (18) LSU - Tigers by 30

Alcorn State at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 21

Colorado at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 19.5

Stephen F Austin at North Texas - Mean Green by 29.5

Houston at (15) Oklahoma - Sooners by 31

App State at (25) Clemson - Tigers by 5.5

Long Island at TCU - Horned Frogs by 28

Southern Utah at UTEP - Miners by 7

Boise State at (7) Oregon - Ducks by 1

Northern Arizona at (20) Arizona - Wildcats by 31.5

Texas Tech at Washington State - Cougars by 18

Sacramento State at Fresno State - Bulldogs by 26.5

Liberty at New Mexico State - Flames by 4.5

Mississippi State at Arizona State - Sun Devils by 11.5

Oregon State at San Diego State - Beavers by 2.5

Utah State at (13) USC - Trojans by 24

Sunday

Arizona at Buffalo - Bills by 9.5

Pittsburgh at Atlanta - Steelers by 2

Tennessee at Chicago - Bears by 5.5

New England at Cincinnati - Bengals by 9.5

Houston at Indianapolis - Texans by 2

Jacksonville at Miami - Dolphins by 3.5

Carolina at New Orleans - Saints by 11.5

Minnesota at NY Giants - Giants by 0.5

Las Vegas at LA Chargers - Chargers by 5

Denver at Seattle - Seahawks by 4.5

Dallas at Cleveland - Browns by 1.5

Washington at Tampa Bay - Buccaneers by 15

LA Rams at Detroit - Lions by 0.5

Monday

NY Jets at San Francisco - 49ers by 11.5

Results

NCAA: 87-9 (.906) 89-11 overall (.890)

Upsets: 2-1 (.667)

NFL Preseason Rankings - 2024

After working through all roster changes and injuries for all 32 teams and making adjustments from last season's final rankings, I've come up with my rankings for every NFL team for the season that starts tomorrow. The Jets are making the biggest jump, mostly due to gaining a competent quarterback after Aaron Rodgers missed basically the entire year in 2023, and Minnesota took the biggest fall after losing Kirk Cousins, then losing the QB they drafted to replace him. Here are my full preseason rankings:

				Actual		Proj
Rank	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	Seed
1	3	Kansas City	-10.86			13	4	A1
2	2	San Francisco	-10.76			12	5	N1
3	1	Baltimore	-9.65			12	5	A2
4	5	Buffalo	-6.491			10	7	A3
5	7	Green Bay	-4.997			11	6	N2
6	9	LA Rams	-3.919			10	7	N5
7	15	Houston	-3.879			10	7	A4
8	14	Cincinnati	-2.776			10	7	A5
9	4	Dallas	-2.379			10	7	N3
10	6	Detroit	-1.727			9	8
11	27	NY Jets	-1.635			9	8	A6
12	13	Cleveland	-1.363			9	8	A7
13	19	Chicago	-1.156			9	8	N6
14	8	Miami	-0.435			8	9
15	17	Pittsburgh	-0.186			8	9
16	28	Arizona	0.2757			8	9
17	12	Jacksonville	0.7121			8	9
18	23	Indianapolis	0.8373			8	9
19	21	Philadelphia	0.848			9	8	N7
20	11	New Orleans	0.9806			9	8	N4
21	10	Tampa Bay	1.1329			9	8
22	20	LA Chargers	1.358			8	9
23	25	Tennessee	1.8417			8	9
24	22	Seattle	3.3773			7	10
25	18	Las Vegas	3.8555			7	10
26	29	New England	4.1389			6	11
27	26	Atlanta	4.412			8	9
28	24	Denver	5.4777			6	11
29	16	Minnesota	6.9231			5	12
30	30	NY Giants	9.3838			6	11
31	31	Carolina	10.002			5	12
32	32	Washington	13.713			4	13

Playoff Picks

Wild Card

(2) Ravens over (7) Browns

(3) Bills over (6) Jets

(4) Texans over (5) Bengals

(2) Packers over (7) Eagles

(3) Cowboys over (6) Beras

(5) Rams over (4) Saints

Divisional

(1) Chiefs over (4) Texans

(2) Ravens over (3) Bills

(1) 49ers over (5) Rams

(2) Packers over (3) Cowboys

Conference

(1) Chiefs over (2) Ravens

(1) 49ers over (2) Packers

Super Bowl

(1) Chiefs over (1) 49ers

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #1: Jim Brown

Jim Brown

Teams

Cleveland Browns (1957-1965)

Playoffs

Appearances - 4 (1957,1958,1964,1965)

Conf Champ Games - 4 (1957,1958,1964,1965)

Champ Games - 3 (1957,1964,1965)

Championships - 1 (1964)

Awards and Honors

Rookie of the Year - 1957

MVP - 4 (1957,1958,1963,1965)

All-Pro First Team - 8 (1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1963,1964,1965)

Pro Bowl - 9 (1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965)

Hall of Fame - 1971

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards per Game - #1

Rushing Touchdowns - #6

Yards per Rush - #8

Total Touchdowns - #10

Rushing Yards - #11

Scrimmage Yards - #28

Yards per Touch - #90

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#1-1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1963,1964,1965, #4-1962)

Rushing Touchdowns (#1-1957,1958,1959,1963,1965, #3-1960,1961,1962,1964)

Yards per Rush (#1-1963,1964, #2-1960,1965, #4-1957,1958, #8-1959, #9-1962, #10-1961)

Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1963,1964,1965, #4-1962)

Total Touchdowns (#1-1958,1959,1963, #2-1957,1962,1965, #6-1960, #8-1961, #10-1964)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-1958,1959,1961,1963,1964,1965, #2-1960,1962, #4-1957)

Yards per Touch (#2-1963, #5-1960, #6-1965, #7-1962,1964, #8-1958)

Jim Brown ran for 986 yards and 13 touchdowns in 8 games as a senior at Syracuse, which got him 5th place in the Heisman voting, and the #6 pick in the 1957 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

As a rookie, Brown led the NFL in rushing yards with 942 and rushing touchdowns with 9, and set a new record for most yards in a game, with 237. That record stood for 14 years, and it was still the rookie record for 40 years. At the end of the season, he was voted both Rookie of the Year and MVP. He took Cleveland to the championship game that year, but his 69 yards and a touchdown weren't enough to overcome a powerful Lions team.

The next year, he destroyed the old record for rushing yards in a season, finishing with 1527 to break Steve Van Buren's old record of 1146. He also scored 17 touchdowns that year and had 1665 yards from scrimmage, both also tops in the league. He ended the season with his second straight MVP award.

Brown continued to dominate the next year, winning his third straight rushing title with 1329 yards, and again leading the league in touchdowns and scrimmage yards, but he ended up as the MVP runner-up instead of winning it like the previous 2 seasons.

Brown led the league in rushing yards in each of the next 2 seasons as well, giving him 5 in a row to start his career. In addition, he finished with 1867 scrimmage yards in 1961, becoming the first player ever to reach 1800, but Cleveland missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.

1962 was the aberration in Brown's career. He finished with only 996 rushing yards, failing to win the rushing title for the first and only time, but he still managed to pick up 13 touchdowns and make his 6th straight Pro Bowl.

He was back in top form for 1963, when he set new records for rushing yards and scrimmage yards in a season, with 1863 and 2131, respectively. He also led the league in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns again, averaged 6.4 yards per carry, the first time he topped the league in that category, won another MVP, and finished with an average of 133.1 yards per game, which has only been surpassed by OJ Simpson in his 2000 yard season.

He won his 7th rushing title in 1964 with 1446 yards, and again had the best average per carry and the most scrimmage yards in the league. He finally led the Browns back to the playoffs, and he picked up 151 yards in the championship game as the Browns dominated the Colts 27-0 to earn Brown his first championship.

Brown began acting before the 1964 season, and continued after the championship run. He came back to win an 8th rushing title in 1965, with another 1544 yards, plus 17 touchdowns, his 5th time leading the league. He also led the league in scrimmage yards for the 6th time, and won his 4th MVP. He took Cleveland back to the championship game, but they fell to the Packers 23-12.

Brown missed training camp in 1966 due to filming a movie, and when he was threatened with a fine for missing camp, he decided to retire to focus on acting. He was still only 30 years old, and was by far the best player in the league, but he was able to retire without ever having missed a game due to injury for another lucrative career.

When he retired, Brown was the all-time leader in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, scrimmage yards, and yards in a season. Those records have all since been broken, but many stood for decades before falling. He led the league in rushing yards in 8 of his 9 seasons, and is the only player to average over 100 rushing yards per game over his entire career. He is the greatest running back to ever play the game.