NFL Rankings - 3 Dec

The Seattle Seahawks trounced New Orleans last night, ending the debate over which team is the best in the NFC, unless the Carolina Panthers want to weigh in. The Hawks became the first team to clinch a playoff berth after the victory, but most likely they will also be clinching their division and a first-round bye in upcoming weeks. Here are my full rankings:

Rank	LW	Team	Rec	Rating	Pred	Ch	Seed
1	1	Seattle	11-1	-13.5874	14-2	+1	N1
2	2	Carolina	9-3	-11.8399	12-4		N2
3	3	Denver	10-2	-11.7325	13-3		A1
4	5	San Francisco	8-4	-9.66054	11-5	+1	N6
5	4	New Orleans	9-3	-7.77034	11-5	-1	N5
6	7	Kansas City	9-3	-6.08974	12-4		A5
7	6	New England	9-3	-4.93748	12-4		A2
8	9	Arizona	7-5	-4.56664	9-7
9	8	Cincinnati	8-4	-4.39988	11-5	+1	A3
10	11	Saint Louis	5-7	-2.67038	7-9
11	12	Indianapolis	8-4	-2.53064	10-6		A4
12	10	Dallas	7-5	-2.48305	9-7		N4
13	18	Detroit	7-5	-1.37644	9-7		N3
14	13	Philadelphia	7-5	-0.96994	9-7
15	15	Miami	6-6	-0.7148	8-8
16	14	San Diego	5-7	-0.40897	7-9
17	19	Tennessee	5-7	0.168527	7-9
18	17	Baltimore	6-6	1.072687	8-8		A6
19	20	Chicago	6-6	1.793496	8-8	-1
20	16	Green Bay	5-6-1	2.218835	7-8-1	-1
21	21	Tampa Bay	3-9	2.283783	4-12	-1
22	23	Pittsburgh	5-7	3.201181	7-9
23	24	Atlanta	3-9	3.59563	4-12
24	22	Buffalo	4-8	3.620202	6-10	-1
25	25	NY Giants	5-7	3.904703	6-10
26	29	Oakland	4-8	5.909903	5-11
27	30	Houston	2-10	6.026976	3-13
28	27	Minnesota	3-8-1	6.215697	4-11-1
29	26	Cleveland	4-8	6.920383	5-11	-1
30	28	Washington	3-9	7.132917	4-12	-1
31	31	NY Jets	5-7	9.663014	6-10	-1
32	32	Jacksonville	3-9	11.54549	4-12	+1

The 49ers don't feel like the NFC race is over, and they'll try to prove it this weekend when they host the Seahawks, and San Francisco will be hoping that the result is different on their field than in Seattle, where they lost 29-3 back in week 2. A loss by San Fran will clinch the division for Seattle.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been flying under the radar this year, but that shouldn't be the case. They have beaten Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford and Philip Rivers this season, and this week they get the chance to take down Andrew Luck. Not a bad season's worth of work for the likely division champs.

I've been asked how the Jacksonville Jaguars can still be ranked last after winning three of their last 4 games, and the answer is simple. All of the Jags' wins have come by 7 points or less against teams with losing records, while all of their losses have come by at least 10 points, and there are a lot of them. They're winning the winnable games, of which they have a few left, but they still have no shot against the majority of the league.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Orlando at Philadelphia - 76ers by 1
Milwaukee at Boston - Celtics by 10
Denver at Brooklyn - Nuggets by 6
Detroit at Miami - Heat by 12
Phoenix at Memphis - Grizzlies by 3
Charlotte at Dallas - Mavericks by 10
Oklahoma City at Sacramento - Thunder by 5
Toronto at Golden State - Warriors by 9

College Basketball

(21) Massachusetts at Eastern Michigan - Minutemen by 6
UCF at Florida Atlantic - Knights by 3
Presbyterian at UNC Greensboro - Spartans by 20
Winthrop at Virginia Tech - Hokies by 9
Campbell at UNC Wilmington - Seahawks by 7
VMI at Elon - Phoenix by 13
Lafayette at Wagner - Seahawks by 1
Trinity Baptist at Jacksonville - Dolphins by 27
Bethune-Cookman at Stetson - Hatters by 5
USC Upstate at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 18
Fayetteville State at East Carolina - Pirates by 37
Nova SE at FIU - Golden Panthers by 34
North Carolina Central at Old Dominion - Eagles by 11
IPFW at Miami (OH) - Mastodons by 16
South Carolina State at Clemson - Tigers by 38
Massachusetts Lowell at St. Bonaventure - Bonnies by 20
Indiana at (4) Syracuse - Orange by 4
Illinois at Georgia Tech - Fighting Illini by 3
Delaware at Charleston Southern - Buccaneers by 9
Penn State at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 18
Belmont at Middle Tennessee - Blue Raiders by 4
Northern Iowa at Milwaukee - Panthers by 5
Arkansas-Fort Smith at Arkansas-Little Rock - Trojans by 28
Alabama A&M at Tennessee State - Tigers by 11
Cameron at Oral Roberts - Golden Eagles by 38
SE Louisiana at Arkansas - Razorbacks by 18
Waldorf at Nebraska-Omaha - Mavericks by 43
Dallas Baptist at Texas-Arlington - Mavericks by 32
Hillsdale at Abilene Christian - Wildcats by 16
Rockhurst at Saint Louis - Billikens by 47
Texas Tech at (2) Arizona - Wildcats by 24
Southern at Denver - Jaguars by 2
Colorado at Colorado State - Buffaloes by 2
North Texas at BYU - Cougars by 20
Vanguard at Grand Canyon - Antelopes by 32
(22) Michigan at (10) Duke - Blue Devils by 3
Notre Dame at (23) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 31
Florida State at Minnesota - Seminoles by 2
Southern Utah at Cal State Northridge - Matadors by 15
Creighton at Long Beach State - Bluejays by 17
Utah at Boise State - Broncos by 2
UC Santa Barbara at (18) UCLA - Bruins by 21

Pick of the Day

Clemson

The Tigers play against in-state rival South Carolina State tonight, and the Bulldogs haven't been challenging anybody lately. Should be smooth sailing to win #26.

Prediction Results

NFL: 12-4 (.750) 117-73 overall (.616)
Upsets: 1-1 (.500) 18-24 overall (.429)
NBA: 3-2 (.600) 169-91 overall (.650)
Upsets: 1-1 (.500) 27-21 overall (.563)
College Basketball: 18-5 (.783) 1114-264 overall (.808)
Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 117-65 overall (.643)