College Football Predictions - 31 Aug thru 4 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

FIU at UCF - Knights by 16
Presbyterian at Wake Forest - Demon Deacons by 37.5
Austin Peay at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 13.5
Buffalo at Minnesota - Gophers by 36
Tennessee State at Georgia State - Panthers by 18.5
Elon at Toledo - Rockets by 28.5
Rhode Island at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 17
Tulsa at (10) Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 17
Holy Cross at Connecticut - Huskies by 8.5
North Dakota at Utah - Utes by 27.5
(2) Ohio State at Indiana - Buckeyes by 17
Florida A&M at Arkansas - Razorbacks by 21
Louisiana Monroe at Memphis - Tigers by 23
Sacramento State at Idaho - Vandals by 20
New Mexico State at Arizona State - Sun Devils by 14.5

Friday

Fordham at Army - Black Knights by 30
Charlotte at Eastern Michigan - Eagles by 22
Central Connecticut at Syracuse - Orange by 16.5
(8) Washington at Rutgers - Huskies by 32
Navy at FAU - Owls by 0.5
Colorado State vs. Colorado - Buffaloes by 0.5
Utah State at (9) Wisconsin - Badgers by 18
Boston College at Northern Illinois - Eagles by 4.5

Saturday

Kent State at (5) Clemson - Tigers by 20.5
Akron at (6) Penn State - Nittany Lions by 37
Maryland at (23) Texas - Longhorns by 7
Ball State at Illinois - Illini by 3.5
Wyoming at Iowa - Hawkeyes by 11
Bowling Green at Michigan State - Spartans by 11.5
Missouri State at Missouri - Tigers by 28
California at North Carolina - Tar Heels by 10
Bethune-Cookman at (18) Miami - Hurricanes by 32.5
Youngstown State at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 28
Portland State at Oregon State - Beavers by 19
VMI at Air Force - Falcons by 26
NC State vs South Carolina - Wolf Pack by 8.5
UTEP at (7) Oklahoma - Sooners by 39
(11) Michigan vs. (17) Florida - Wolverines by 1.5
Temple at Notre Dame - Irish by 3
Nevada at Northwestern - Wildcats by 33
William & Mary at Virginia - Cavaliers by 12.5
Alabama A&M at UAB - Blazers by 5
Troy at Boise State - Trojans by 4.5
Stony Brook at (19) South Florida - Bulls by 32
Eastern Washington at Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 18.5
Kentucky at Southern Miss - Golden Eagles by 1.5
Charleston Southern at Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 28
Western Michigan at (4) USC - Trojans by 14.5
NC Central at Duke - Blue Devils by 26
James Madison at East Carolina - Pirates by 16
Albany at Old Dominion - Monarchs by 25
Appalachian State at (15) Georgia - Bulldogs by 3.5
Miami (OH) at Marshall - Redhawks by 9
Lamar at North Texas - Mean Green by 9
Houston at UTSA - Cougars by 2.5
Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky - Hilltoppers by 32.5
Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech - Bulldogs by 21
Stephen F Austin at SMU - Mustangs by 26
UMass at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 0.5
Liberty at Baylor - Bears by 24
SE Missouri State at Kansas - Jayhawks by 12
Hampton at Ohio - Bobcats by 20.5
SE Louisiana at Louisiana - Ragin Cajuns by 9.5
Houston Baptist at Texas State - Bobcats by 1.5
Central Arkansas at (20) Kansas State - Wildcats by 36
Georgia Southern at (12) Auburn - Tigers by 35
(16) Louisville vs. Purdue - Cardinals by 25
South Alabama at Ole Miss - Rebels by 14
Cal Poly at San Jose State - Spartans by 6.5
(3) Florida State vs. (1) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 19.5
Abilene Christian at New Mexico - Lobos by 23
Arkansas State at Nebraska - Red Wolves by 3.5
Jackson State at TCU - Horned Frogs by 35.5
Northern Iowa at Iowa State - Cyclones by 22
Vanderbilt at Middle Tennessee - Commodores by 11
Grambling at Tulane - Green Wave by 19
Southern Utah at Oregon - Ducks by 18
UC Davis at San Diego State - Aztecs by 30
Howard at UNLV - Rebels by 18
BYU vs. (13) LSU - Tigers by 25.5
Incarnate Word at Fresno State - Bulldogs by 13
Montana State at (24) Washington State - Cougars by 37
Northern Arizona at Arizona - Wildcats by 16.5
Western Carolina at Hawaii - Warriors by 18

Sunday

(22) West Virginia vs. (21) Virginia Tech - Hokies by 1
Texas A&M at UCLA - Bruins by 7

Monday

(25) Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 6

Prediction Results

College Football: 4-1 (.800)

College Football Predictions - 26 Aug

Upset picks are in italics.

Oregon State at Colorado State - Rams by 10.5
Portland State at BYU - Cougars by 23.5
Hawaii at UMass - Minutemen by 3.0
(19) South Florida at San Jose State - Bulls by 20.0
(14) Stanford at Rice - Cardinal by 23.5

College Football Preseason Rankings

The college football season starts off this Saturday with 5 games to allow the teams that travel to Hawaii this year to get an extra home game without losing a bye week. In preparation, I have gone through the rosters of all 130 FBS teams to determine how much talent was lost or gained, then adjusted each team's final rating from last season according to how much talent they lost in comparison to the average team. The defending champion Clemson Tigers lost some huge pieces, most notably quarterback DeShaun Watson, causing the Tigers to take one of the biggest slides in the initial rankings. Meanwhile, last year's runner-up, Alabama, is returning most of their roster, and enters the season with a commanding hold on the #1 spot, which is a familiar feeling for the Crimson Tide. Many feel the Tide could run the table and enter the playoff undefeated, but I see a few teams with a chance to knock them off, most notably Vanderbilt and Auburn, who both host Alabama this season. Here are my full preseason rankings, along with projected final records, with projected conference champs in bold:

				Rec		ProjRec
TW	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	SOS	MOV
1	1	Alabama	-29.18			11	1
2	5	Washington	-24.27			11	1
3	11	Penn State	-21.5			10	2
4	8	LSU	-20.96			10	2
5	14	Auburn	-19.73			9	3
6	3	Ohio State	-19.53			11	1
7	4	Michigan	-17.4			10	2
8	18	Colorado	-16.12			9	3
9	6	USC	-15.9			10	2
10	20	Florida	-15.74			9	2
11	13	Louisville	-14.94			10	2
12	69	Wake Forest	-14.02			9	3
13	21	Washington State	-13.69			9	3
14	55	Vanderbilt	-13.57			9	3
15	47	Troy	-13.55			10	2
16	10	Wisconsin	-13.38			10	2
17	7	Oklahoma	-12.87			9	3
18	25	Kansas State	-12.6			9	3
19	59	TCU	-12.04			9	3
20	2	Clemson	-11.55			8	4
21	27	Oklahoma State	-10.91			9	3
22	46	Memphis	-10.44			10	2
23	44	Northwestern	-9.984			9	3
24	28	Appalachian State	-9.826			10	2
25	31	NC State	-9.677			8	4
26	12	Florida State	-9.6			7	5
27	16	Western Kentucky	-9.134			10	2
28	9	Miami	-8.751			9	3
29	34	South Florida	-8.214			10	2
30	52	Colorado State	-8.125			8	4
31	57	Georgia	-8.016			7	5
32	37	Houston	-7.493			9	3
33	19	Stanford	-6.774			7	5
34	15	Western Michigan	-6.678			9	3
35	66	Army	-6.666			9	3
36	32	San Diego State	-6.515			10	2
37	41	Minnesota	-5.909			8	4
38	24	Temple	-5.477			8	4
39	60	UCLA	-5.303			6	6
40	40	Toledo	-5.043			9	3
41	17	Virginia Tech	-4.725			7	5
42	76	Missouri	-4.511			7	5
43	45	Georgia Tech	-4.396			6	6
44	58	Mississippi State	-4.361			6	6
45	30	Pittsburgh	-4.248			9	3
46	39	Utah	-3.892			6	6
47	35	West Virginia	-3.829			7	5
48	33	Boise State	-3.663			7	5
49	22	Texas A&M	-3.582			6	6
50	43	Notre Dame	-3.468			6	6
51	64	Arkansas State	-3.168			9	3
52	62	UCF	-2.989			8	4
53	89	Eastern Michigan	-2.823			8	4
54	71	Oregon State	-2.778			5	7
55	88	Arizona State	-2.601			6	6
56	91	SMU	-2.502			8	4
57	74	Duke	-2.326			6	6
58	51	Air Force	-2.23			7	5
59	56	Old Dominion	-1.639			9	3
60	85	South Carolina	-1.217			6	6
61	61	Kentucky	-0.811			5	7
62	53	Baylor	-0.6			6	6
63	90	Utah State	-0.557			6	6
64	36	BYU	-0.177			7	6
65	80	UT San Antonio	0.1522			9	3
66	75	New Mexico	0.8258			6	6
67	29	Tulsa	0.9146			5	7
68	81	Boston College	0.9775			5	7
69	94	Miami (OH)	0.9905			8	4
70	38	Iowa	1.0936			6	6
71	65	Texas	1.1895			5	7
72	26	North Carolina	1.2593			5	7
73	23	Tennessee	1.6649			5	7
74	87	Iowa State	1.8187			5	7
75	42	Louisiana Tech	2.4302			8	4
76	73	Indiana	2.5607			5	7
77	86	Middle Tennessee	2.6617			7	5
78	54	Arkansas	2.6989			5	7
79	82	Southern Miss	3.0117			8	4
80	78	Maryland	3.1155			4	8
81	79	Ohio	3.2471			8	4
82	77	Idaho	3.4053			6	6
83	106	Kent State	3.9217			6	6
84	50	Ole Miss	4.024			5	7
85	92	Tulane	4.5259			5	7
86	98	Georgia State	5.0173			6	6
87	67	Texas Tech	5.0472			4	8
88	49	Nebraska	5.3357			4	8
89	109	UNLV	5.343			6	6
90	72	Oregon	5.4955			5	7
91	48	Navy	5.5319			4	8
92	68	California	5.8887			3	9
93	99	Ball State	6.0126			6	6
94	70	Michigan State	6.2964			4	8
95	95	Central Michigan	6.3679			5	7
96	63	Wyoming	6.7279			6	6
97	121	New Mexico State	6.8991			5	7
98	96	Syracuse	7.0804			3	9
99	101	Arizona	7.1465			4	8
100	118	Louisiana Monroe	7.3332			5	7
101	103	Illinois	7.7231			4	8
102	108	East Carolina	7.8			4	8
103	122	Florida Intl	7.9258			5	7
104	104	Hawaii	8.5596			5	7
105	112	Purdue	9.8425			3	9
106	102	Akron	10.149			4	8
107	105	Cincinnati	10.267			4	8
108	83	Georgia Southern	10.301			4	8
109	125	Florida Atlantic	10.467			5	7
110	84	Northern Illinois	10.478			4	8
111	123	Fresno State	10.835			4	8
112	117	UMass	10.969			4	8
113	100	Virginia	10.977			3	9
114	115	Kansas	11.848			3	9
115	113	Bowling Green	12.446			4	8
116	97	South Alabama	12.768			4	8
117	114	Rutgers	13.016			3	9
118	116	Charlotte	13.893			4	8
119	93	Louisiana	13.93			4	8
120	107	North Texas	14.664			4	8
121	126	Connecticut	14.996			2	10
122	119	Marshall	15.271			2	10
123	111	San Jose State	16.82			2	11
124	110	Nevada	17.996			2	10
125		Coastal Carolina	18.363			3	9
126		UAB	18.363			4	8
127	124	UTEP	20.839			2	10
128	120	Rice	21.748			2	10
129	128	Texas State	21.969			2	10
130	127	Buffalo	24.926			1	11