NFL Rankings - 18 Nov

New England is on a 6-game winning streak, with the last 2 coming by 22 points each against other AFC division leaders Denver and Indianapolis, which lifted the Pats to #1. The Patriots next 4 games will test them somewhat, but they should be able to win at least two of them, which should be enough to get them the top seed in the AFC once again this year. Here are my current full rankings:

				Rec		ProjRec		SOS
TW	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	Curr	Over	Seed
1	3	New England	-15.1025	8	2	12	4	10	6	A1
2	5	Green Bay	-14.3028	7	3	12	4	20	17	N1
3	4	Miami	-12.0675	6	4	10	6	8	7	A6
4	2	Kansas City	-11.7901	7	3	11	5	5	8	A2
5	1	Denver	-9.48767	7	3	11	5	6	5	A5
6	8	Arizona	-6.24112	9	1	12	4	24	15	N2
7	9	Seattle	-5.42438	6	4	9	7	18	11
8	6	Indianapolis	-4.70297	6	4	10	6	14	22	A3
9	10	Baltimore	-4.38279	6	4	9	7	31	25
10	13	Buffalo	-3.26551	5	5	8	8	3	3
11	14	Detroit	-2.65963	7	3	10	6	17	13	N5
12	16	San Francisco	-2.62122	6	4	9	7	9	12
13	7	Philadelphia	-2.58586	7	3	11	5	22	24	N3
14	19	Houston	-2.16297	5	5	9	7	25	32
15	15	San Diego	-2.15108	6	4	8	8	11	4
16	12	Dallas	-1.87932	7	3	10	6	30	30	N6
17	18	Pittsburgh	-1.26253	7	4	10	6	27	27	A4
18	11	New Orleans	-0.39744	4	6	8	8	21	29	N4
19	17	Cleveland	1.19315	6	4	9	7	32	31
20	24	Cincinnati	1.9009	6.5	3.5	8.5	7.5	23	18
21	21	Minnesota	2.24565	4	6	7	9	13	14
22	27	Saint Louis	3.12604	4	6	7	9	7	10
23	23	Atlanta	3.48547	4	6	6	10	28	26
24	30	Chicago	4.30981	4	6	7	9	2	9
25	25	NY Jets	4.96632	2	8	3	13	4	2
26	22	NY Giants	5.9528	3	7	6	10	12	21
27	28	Oakland	6.54283	0	10	1	15	1	1
28	26	Tennessee	7.63867	2	8	4	12	19	20
29	20	Washington	7.86915	3	7	5	11	26	23
30	32	Tampa Bay	8.78763	2	8	4	12	29	28
31	31	Carolina	8.8994	3.5	7.5	5.5	10.5	16	19
32	29	Jacksonville	9.31435	1	9	3	13	15	16

Buffalo rose to #10 despite losing their second straight game this week, but their past 3 losses have all come against teams ranked in the top 4. Their next two games come against teams far from the top, so they should pick up a couple wins, but they finish with 3 of 4 against the top 5, so a finish better than 8-8 is going to be very difficult for the Bills.

In week 2 of the Mark Sanchez era in Philadelphia, the Eagles were knocked back to earth against the Packers, who topped 50 points for the second straight week, marking the first time that Philly has lost by more than 1 possession all season. The Eagles still have to face the Cowboys twice this year, and since the two are currently tied atop the NFC East, those games may decide which makes the playoffs, although it is possible that both could sneak in.

Playoff Picks

Wild Card

(3) Indianapolis over (6) Miami
(5) Denver over (4) Pittsburgh
(6) Dallas over (3) Philadelphia
(5) Detroit over (4) New Orleans

Divisional Round

(1) New England over (5) Denver
(2) Kansas City over (3) Indianapolis
(1) Green Bay over (6) Dallas
(2) Arizona over (5) Detroit

Conference Championships

(1) New England over (2) Kansas City
(1) Green Bay over (2) Arizona

Super Bowl

(1) Green Bay over (1) New England

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

LA Lakers at Atlanta - Hawks by 8
New York at Milwaukee - Bucks by 6
Oklahoma City at Utah - Jazz by 2
New Orleans at Sacramento - Kings by 1

College Football

Massachusetts at Akron - Zips by 1
Northern Illinois at Ohio - Bobcats by 2

College Basketball

Iona at Wofford - Terriers by 5
Northern Iowa at Stephen F Austin - Panthers by 4
Manhattan at Massachusetts - Minutemen by 9
Baylor at South Carolina - Gamecocks by 4
(11) Wichita State vs. Memphis - Shockers by 15
(25) Utah at (16) San Diego State - Aztecs by 3
Toledo at (15) VCU - Rams by 16
(19) Michigan State vs. (4) Duke - Blue Devils by 25
South Carolina State at (9) Virginia - Cavaliers by 37
Mayville State at North Dakota - No Nicknames by 31
Rider at Pennsylvania - Broncs by 1
Canisius at Lehigh - Mountain Hawks by 14
Colgate at Cornell - Big Red by 4
Youngstown State at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 21
Alabama A&M at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 20
Northeastern at Florida State - Seminoles by 12
Long Beach State at Xavier - Musketeers by 29
Texas A&M-CC at Georgetown - Hoyas by 31
Jackson State at Jacksonville - Tigers by 5
FIU at Stetson - Hatters by 3
Virginia-Wise at East Tennessee State - Buccaneers by 20
UNC Wilmington at UNC Greensboro - Seahawks by 10
Johnson (TN) at VMI - Keydets by 21
Campbell at Davidson - Wildcats by 6
Columbia International at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 34
Wagner at Columbia - Lions by 25
West Virginia Tech at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 32
Kentucky Christian at Eastern Kentucky - Colonels by 34
Stony Brook at Georgia - Bulldogs by 9
Thomas at New Hampshire - Wildcats by 29
Howard at William & Mary - Tribe by 1
College of Faith at North Carolina Central - Eagles by 38
Saint Louis at Indiana State - Sycamores by 12
Marquette at (20) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 26
Piedmont at Presbyterian - Lions by 2
Trinity Baptist at Georgia Southern - Eagles by 43
Central Arkansas at (21) Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 39
NW Oklahoma State at Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 41
La Salle at Quinnipiac - Bobcats by 10
Southern Illinois at Tennessee State - Tigers by 1
Buffalo at Texas-Arlington - Mavericks by 14
Malone at Kent State - Golden Flashes by 36
IU Northwest at Chicago State - Cougars by 14
Richmond at Old Dominion - Monarchs by 7
Murray State at Middle Tennessee - Racers by 4
Western Kentucky at Minnesota - Golden Gophers by 16
Huston-Tillotson at Incarnate Word - Cardinals by 36
Louisiana at McNeese State - Cowboys by 9
Pensacola at New Orleans - Privateers by 22
Hannibal-LaGrange County at SE Missouri State - Redhawks by 26
Lyon at Grambling State - Tigers by 1
(5) Kansas vs. (1) Kentucky - Wildcats by 7
Drake at DePaul - Blue Demons by 9
Chattanooga at Butler - Bulldogs by 28
Western State at Wyoming - Cowboys by 33
Texas Tech at LSU - Tigers by 9
Arkansas-Little Rock at BYU - Cougars by 25
Montana at Boise State - Broncos by 15
Corban at Oregon State - Beavers by 26
San Francisco State at Cal Poly - Mustangs by 19
Willamette at Portland State - Vikings by 34

Prediction Results

NFL: 1-0 (1.000) 104-56 overall (.650)
NBA: 4-5 (.444) 106-48 overall (.688)
Upsets: 1-2 (.333) 17-17 overall (.500)
College Basketball: 52-20 (.722) 281-46 overall (.859)
Upsets: 2-6 (.250) 4-15 overall (.211)
Pick of the Day: 4-0

Pick of the Day

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers are ranked #21 currently and are facing Central Arkansas, which has lost blowouts to two unranked teams to start the season, so Nebraska should get an easy win.