NFL Rankings and Weekend Predictions

Seattle and Denver have continued their dominating ways, leading a group of 7 teams that have yet to lose, rising to the top due to bigger victories and tougher competition. The Seahawks were my preseason Super Bowl favorite, and nothing has changed through three weeks. Here are my rankings for all 32 teams, with each team's predicted final record and odds of finishing undefeated:

Rank	LW	Team	Rec	Rating	Pred	Change	Undef %
1	1	Seattle	3-0	-16.4247	15-1		30.6
2	2	Denver	3-0	-11.9052	14-2	-1	9.0
3	9	Carolina	1-2	-9.1581	10-6	+2
4	7	New Orleans	3-0	-6.26644	11-5	+1	0.1
5	5	Chicago	3-0	-6.21612	12-4	+2	0.4
6	3	Green Bay	1-2	-6.03881	10-6	-1
7	6	Cincinnati	2-1	-4.95555	10-6
8	8	Miami	3-0	-4.63163	12-4	+1	0.3
9	10	Detroit	2-1	-2.87829	10-6	+1
10	29	Indianapolis	2-1	-2.6697	10-6	+4
11	16	Baltimore	2-1	-2.17671	9-7	+1
12	18	Dallas	2-1	-0.64742	9-7	+2
13	12	Atlanta	1-2	-0.38268	8-8
14	22	New England	3-0	-0.13416	9-7	+1
15	21	Kansas City	3-0	0.852111	10-6	+1
16	11	Minnesota	0-3	1.094082	6-10	-1
17	4	San Francisco	1-2	1.389944	8-8	-2
18	14	Tennessee	2-1	1.956827	9-7
19	30	Cleveland	1-2	4.112958	7-9	+2
20	13	Houston	2-1	4.257901	8-8	-2
21	20	San Diego	1-2	4.431534	7-9	-1
22	15	Arizona	1-2	6.160267	6-10	-1
23	27	Washington	0-3	6.380525	5-11
24	23	Tampa Bay	0-3	6.553749	4-12	-1
25	28	NY Jets	2-1	6.670529	6-10	-1
26	25	Buffalo	1-2	6.903343	6-10	-1
27	17	Philadelphia	1-2	7.103419	6-10	-1
28	26	Pittsburgh	0-3	7.634946	4-12	-2
29	31	Oakland	1-2	8.650496	6-10	+2
30	19	Saint Louis	1-2	9.342364	5-11	-1
31	24	NY Giants	0-3	9.958221	4-12	-2
32	32	Jacksonville	0-3	21.2508	1-15	+1

Carolina, despite a 1-2 record, has risen to the #3 spot overall, thanks in part to a dominant shutout of the New York Giants, and also thanks to their 5-point loss to Seattle to open the season. They are the first team to get a bye week this year, which may not be that beneficial, because they will have to play on 13 consecutive weekends after this, and right now they are hoping they don't lose the momentum they are building.

New Orleans is sitting right behind their division rivals in the #4 slot, and even though they are 3-0, none of the wins came against a team with a winning record. Arizona and Atlanta have one win each, and Tampa Bay has yet to win a game, so the Saints, despite looking stronger than last year, still have yet to prove anything this season. They get the chance on Monday night, when they host fellow unbeaten Miami.

Indianapolis did not look strong through two weeks, barely beating the Raiders on opening weekend and losing to the Dolphins the following week. It was their road blowout of the 49ers that catapulted them into the limelight, earning them a spot in the top 10 and making them the favorite to win the division. They get another easy game this week before they host the amazing Seahawks.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 16
Iowa State at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 24

San Francisco at Saint Louis - 49ers by 5

Friday

Utah State at San Jose State - Aggies by 18
Middle Tennessee at BYU - Cougars by 21

Saturday

(15) Miami at South Florida - Hurricanes by 44
(11) Oklahoma State at West Virginia - Cowboys by 34
Miami-Ohio at Illinois - Fighting Illini by 31
(12) South Carolina at UCF - Knight by 4
Northern Illinois at Purdue - Boilermakers by 1
SMU at TCU - Horned Frogs by 20
South Alabama at Tennessee - Volunteers by 21
East Carolina at North Carolina - Tar Heels by 17
Virginia at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 1
Navy at Western Kentucky - Midshipmen by 5
Akron at Bowling Green - Falcons by 24
Troy at Duke - Blue Devils by 9
Colorado at Oregon State - Beavers by 16
Toledo at Ball State - Cardinals by 11
UTEP at Colorado State - Rams by 17
(6) LSU at (9) Georgia - Bulldogs by 6
(14) Oklahoma at (22) Notre Dame - Sooners by 5
(8) Florida State at Boston College - Seminoles by 27
Iowa at Minnesota - Golden Gophers by 1
Central Michigan at North Carolina State - Wolfpack by 22
Wake Forest at (3) Clemson - Tigers by 24
Connecticut at Buffalo - Bulls by 8
Army vs. Louisiana Tech - Black Knights by 4
Houston at UTSA - Roadrunners by 1
Temple at Idaho - Owls by 9
(21) Ole Miss at (1) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 21
(10) Texas A&M at Arkansas - Aggies by 24
(20) Florida at Kentucky - Gators by 11
FAU at Rice - Rice Owls by 12
Arizona at (16) Washington - Huskies by 12
Wyoming at Texas State - Cowboys by 9
Tulane at Louisiana-Monroe - Warhawks by 11
Kent State at Western Michigan - Golden Flashes by 3
Arkansas State at Missouri - Tigers by 26
UAB at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 18
San Diego State at New Mexico State - Aztecs by 11
UNLV at New Mexico - Lobos by 9
(23) Wisconsin at (4) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 4
Air Force at Nevada - Wofl Pack by 18
(5) Stanford vs. Washington State - Cardinal by 11
California at (2) Oregon - Ducks by 55
USC at Arizona State - Sun Devils by 12
Southern Miss at Boise State - Broncos by 32

Sunday

(25) Fresno State at Hawaii - Bulldogs by 5

Arizona at Tampa Bay - Buccaneers by 2
Baltimore at Buffalo - Ravens by 7
Cincinnati at Cleveland - Bengals by 7
Chicago at Detroit - Bears by 1
NY Giants at Kansas City - Chiefs by 12
Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota - Vikings by 7
Indianapolis at Jacksonville - Colts by 21
Seattle at Houston - Seahawks by 18
NY Jets at Tennessee - Titans by 7
Philadelphia at Denver - Broncos by 22
Washington at Oakland - Raiders by 1
Dallas at San Diego - Cowboys by 3
New England at Atlanta - Falcons by 3

Monday

Miami at New Orleans - Saints by 4

Most Confident vs. the Spread

College Football

1. Miami (FL)
2. Tulsa
3. Texas A&M
4. New Mexico
5. UCF
6. Nevada
7. Bowling Green
8. Georgia Tech
9. Ball State
10. Buffalo

NFL

1. Seattle
2. Indianapolis
3. Denver
4. Minnesota
5. Kansas City

Prediction Results

College Football: 49-9 (.845) 219-49 overall (.817)
Upsets: 0-7 (.000) 11-23 overall (.324)
Vs. Spread: 6-4 (.600) 12-8 overall (.600)
NFL: 12-4 (.750) 32-16 overall (.667)
Upsets: 2-0 (1.000) 4-6 (.400)
Vs. Spread: 4-1 (.800) 8-2 overall (.800)