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NCAA Football Rankings – 11/4/2012
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NFL Predictions – Week 9
Overall Records for 2012
SU: 84-48
ATS: 72-60
O/U: 71-57-1
Week 9 (11-3 SU, 6-8 ATS, 6-7-1 O/U)
Week 8 (10-4 SU, 9-5 ATS, 9-4 O/U)
Week 7 (10-3 SU, 6-7 ATS, 6-7 O/U)
Week 6 (6-8 SU, 7-7 ATS, 6-7 O/U)
Week 5 (10-4 SU, 7-7 ATS, 7-7 O/U)
Week 4 (10-5 SU, 10-5 ATS, 12-2 O/U)
Week 3 (5-11 SU, 9-7 ATS, 9-7 O/U)
Week 2 (11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS, 8-8 O/U)
Week 1 (11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS, 8-8 O/U)
Week 9
Thursday @8:25pm
Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers
Prediction: Chargers win 25-19
Pick: Chiefs +8.5
O/U: Over 42.5
Sunday @1pm
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
Prediction: Broncos win 24-23
Pick: Bengals +3
O/U: Over 47
Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers
Prediction: Packers win 27-21
Pick: Cardinals +11
O/U: Over 44.5
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
Prediction: Colts win 25-21
Pick: Colts +2
O/U: Over 43 PUSH
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Prediction: Ravens 24-18
Pick: Ravens -3.5
O/U: Under 42.5
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
Prediction: Texans win 27-24
Pick: Bills +10.5
O/U: Over 47
Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins
Prediction: Redskins 27-24
Pick: Panthers +3.5
O/U: Over 46
Detroit Lions at Jacksonville Jaguars
Prediction: Lions win 28-15
Pick: Lions -4
O/U: Under 44
Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans
Prediction: Bears win 24-22
Pick: Titans +3.5
O/U: Over 43.5
Sunday @4:05pm
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks
Prediction: Vikings win 24-23
Pick: Vikings +5
O/U: Over 39.5
Sunday @4:25pm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders
Prediction: Buccaneers win 22-21
Pick: Buccaneers +1.5
O/U: Under 45
Sunday @8:30pm
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants
Prediction: Giants win 27-25
Pick: Steelers +3.5
O/U: Over 47
Sunday @8:30pm
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons
Prediction: Falcons win 26-22
Pick: Cowboys +5
O/U: Over 47.5
Monday @8:40pm
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints
Prediction: Saints win 27-26
Pick: Eagles +3.5
O/U: Over 52.5
Cheers.
NFL Rankings – 10/31/2012
StatsInTheWild NFL rankings as of October 31, 2012 at 12:34pm. SOS=strength of schedule
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | ESPN | TeamRankings.com | SOS | Points Diff |
| Houston | 1 | ↑1 | 6-1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | +88 |
| Chicago | 2 | ↓1 | 6-1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | +85 |
| San Francisco | 3 | – | 6-2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | +86 |
| New England | 4 | ↑4 | 5-3 | 8 | 8 | 12 | +92 |
| Atlanta | 5 | ↑1 | 7-0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | +71 |
| Green Bay | 6 | ↓2 | 5-3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | +38 |
| NY Giants | 7 | – | 6-2 | 2 | 4 | 22 | +73 |
| Minnesota | 8 | ↓3 | 5-3 | 11 | 16 | 5 | +17 |
| Denver | 9 | ↑6 | 4-3 | 9 | 7 | 28 | +52 |
| Miami | 10 | ↑4 | 4-3 | 12 | 9 | 15 | +24 |
| Baltimore | 11 | ↑1 | 5-2 | 7 | 10 | 24 | +13 |
| Seattle | 12 | ↓3 | 4-4 | 13 | 12 | 4 | +6 |
| Arizona | 13 | ↓3 | 4-4 | 16 | 22 | 1 | -15 |
| Detroit | 14 | ↓1 | 3-4 | 17 | 13 | 2 | -13 |
| Pittsburgh | 15 | ↑4 | 4-3 | 10 | 11 | 31 | +23 |
| Tampa Bay | 16 | ↑5 | 3-4 | 21 | 23 | 23 | +31 |
| St. Louis | 17 | ↓6 | 3-5 | 23 | 20 | 3 | -49 |
| Dallas | 18 | ↓1 | 3-4 | 14 | 15 | 16 | -25 |
| NY Jets | 19 | ↓1 | 3-5 | 25 | 17 | 11 | -32 |
| Indianapolis | 20 | ↑2 | 4-3 | 15 | 14 | 19 | -35 |
| Washington | 21 | ↓5 | 3-5 | 19 | 19 | 21 | -14 |
| San Diego | 22 | ↑1 | 3-4 | 20 | 28 | 32 | +10 |
| Buffalo | 23 | ↑2 | 3-4 | 28 | 25 | 13 | -56 |
| Philadelphia | 24 | ↓4 | 3-4 | 18 | 18 | 20 | -35 |
| Cincinnati | 25 | ↑1 | 3-4 | 22 | 26 | 27 | -21 |
| New Orleans | 26 | ↓2 | 2-5 | 26 | 27 | 14 | -26 |
| Carolina | 27 | ↑1 | 1-6 | 30 | 30 | 18 | -39 |
| Oakland | 28 | ↑3 | 3-4 | 24 | 21 | 30 | -48 |
| Tennessee | 29 | ↓2 | 3-5 | 27 | 24 | 8 | -95 |
| Cleveland | 30 | – | 2-6 | 29 | 29 | 25 | -32 |
| Jacksonville | 31 | ↓2 | 1-6 | 31 | 31 | 10 | -85 |
| Kansas City | 32 | – | 1-6 | 32 | 32 | 26 | -89 |
Best
Best team in the league: Houston
Best undefeated team: Atlanta
Best 6 win team: Houston
Best 5 win team: New England
Best 4 win team: Denver
Best 3 win team: Detroit
Best 2 win team: New Orleans
Best 1 win team: Carolina
Worst
Worst 6 win team: NY Giants
Worst 5 win team: Baltimore
Worst 4 win team: Indianapolis
Worst 3 win team: Tennessee
Worst 2 win team: Cleveland
Worst 1 win team: Kansas City
Worst team in the league: Kansas City
Most
Most under-rated team: (#17) St. Louis (ESPN has them 23) and (#19) NY Jets (ESPN has them at 25)
Most over-rated team: (#24) Philadelphia (ESPN has them 18)
Cheers.
BCS: Why bother with the computers?
The BCS is either unbelievably brilliant or completely idiotic. They use computer rankings to legitimize themselves, while at the same time, completely ignoring the computer rankings.
Louisiana Tech is a perfect example of this. Currently, Louisiana Tech is 25th in the BCS standings in spite of the fact that exactly ZERO computer polls have them in the top 25. They crack the BCS standings by coming in at 23 and 24 in the USA Today and Harris polls, respectively. The polls outweigh the computers in such a way that they practically don’t matter.
Another good example of this is Florida State who currently sits at 9 in the BCS rankings. Five of the six rankings have the Seminoles in the top 25 with ranks of 12, 18, 21, 22, and 25, while Sagarin leaves them out entirely. Their average computer rank is 21. In both polls, however, they are currently ranked 7th. And thanks to the way the BCS performs the weighting the average of 7, 7, and 21 is 9. That’s BCS math for you.
The weighting for the BCS is one-third each for the two polls and one-third for the computer rankings. However, if you look at the top 13 in both BCS polls, they are exactly the same. This has the effect of essentially using only one poll but giving it two-thirds weight and giving the computers only one-third. Voters can simply get together and vote in such a way that renders the computers meaningless. Only one of the six computer rankings, Richard Billingsley, has Alabama ranked number 1, and yet they are nearly a unanimous number one in the voting. Some more solid BCS math for you.
Whoever set up the BCS either had no idea what they were doing, tried to set-up a fair, rational system of ranking incorporating human voters and computers, and failed spectacularly, or knew exactly what they were doing, incorporated computers to make themselves look legitimate, and was wildly successful in maintaining the status quo. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between genius and insanity.
Cheers.
RIPPEN after week 8
Alex Smith’s performance on Monday night was the best performance by a quarterback in any game this season with a RIPPEN of 57.977. The next closest performance was Aaron Rodgers in week 7 with a RIPPEN of 43.235.
Smith’s incredible performance on Monday night wasn’t perfect though according to passer rating. He only charted a 157.1, which is, of course, absolutely ridiculous. Take a look at the list of games where the QB has ended with a perfect rating and try to tell me with a straight face that Alex Smith’s Monday night performance was worse than all of these. For instance, in 2005 Roethlisberger finished a game 9 for 11 with 232 passing yards and 2 TD and a perfect passer rating. How in the world can that be better than Alex Smith’s 18 for 19 performance for 232 yards and three touchdowns? It’s because passer rating is terrible.
RIPPEN rankings for week 8 performances:
| Player | Team | RIPPEN | QB rating |
| Smith, A. | SF | 57.977 | 157.1 |
| Manning, P. | DEN | 32.232 | 138.9 |
| Ryan, M. | ATL | 30.023 | 137.4 |
| Brady, T. | NE | 26.385 | 131.1 |
| Roethlisberger, B. | PIT | 24.045 | 121.0 |
| Stafford, M. | DET | 23.692 | 101.7 |
| Luck, A. | IND | 21.747 | 89.5 |
| Wilson, R. | SEA | 19.716 | 96.8 |
| Cutler, J. | CHI | 18.324 | 83.3 |
| Freeman, J. | TB | 17.853 | 104.2 |
| Newton, C. | CAR | 17.054 | 57.0 |
| Ponder, C. | MIN | 16.026 | 74.8 |
| Bradford, S. | STL | 16.004 | 88.9 |
| Cassel, M. | KC | 14.130 | 85.1 |
| Gabbert, B. | JAX | 13.057 | 80.6 |
| Manning, E. | NYG | 12.378 | 58.4 |
| Rodgers, A. | GB | 12.331 | 95.7 |
| Romo, T. | DAL | 12.222 | 58.3 |
| Palmer, C. | OAK | 10.750 | 83.8 |
| Vick, M. | PHI | 10.046 | 84.3 |
| Griffin, III, R. | WAS | 9.623 | 72.8 |
| Sanchez, M | NYJ | 8.801 | 65.6 |
| Skelton, J. | ARI | 8.159 | 68.6 |
| Brees, D. | NO | 8.158 | 72.8 |
| Weeden, B. | CLE | 7.906 | 55.9 |
| Tannehill, R. | MIA | 3.299 | 50.4 |
| Rivers, P. | SD | 2.015 | 65.1 |
Season RIPPEN rankings through 8 weeks of games:
| Player | Team | RIPPEN | QB rating |
| Manning, P. | DEN | 30.093 | 109.0 |
| Rodgers, A. | GB | 24.579 | 107.9 |
| Brady, T. | NE | 23.768 | 100.6 |
| Griffin, III, R. | WAS | 23.374 | 97.3 |
| Smith, A. | SF | 22.617 | 102.1 |
| Ryan, M. | ATL | 22.566 | 103.0 |
| Schaub, M. | HOU | 22.415 | 93.1 |
| Newton, C. | CAR | 21.982 | 75.2 |
| Roethlisberger, B. | PIT | 20.834 | 101.4 |
| Brees, D. | NO | 18.954 | 93.0 |
| Freeman, J. | TB | 18.242 | 93.3 |
| Manning, E. | NYG | 17.580 | 89.1 |
| Bradford, S. | STL | 17.485 | 82.4 |
| Locker, J. | TEN | 17.147 | 90.2 |
| Romo, T. | DAL | 16.548 | 78.8 |
| Stafford, M. | DET | 16.317 | 82.1 |
| Tannehill, R. | MIA | 16.205 | 75.8 |
| Ponder, C. | MIN | 16.113 | 85.8 |
| Cutler, J. | DEN | 15.904 | 78.9 |
| Dalton, A. | CIN | 15.372 | 87.7 |
| Luck, A. | IND | 14.992 | 74.6 |
| Vick, M. | PHI | 14.703 | 78.6 |
| Wilson, R. | SEA | 14.229 | 82.4 |
| Palmer, C. | OAK | 14.062 | 85.7 |
| Flacco, J. | BAL | 13.770 | 84.0 |
| Rivers, P. | SD | 13.328 | 82.4 |
| Fitzpatrick, R. | BUF | 12.039 | 86.1 |
| Weeden, B. | CLE | 11.485 | 70.8 |
| Sanchez, M. | NYJ | 11.484 | 72.8 |
| Cassel, M. | KC | 10.430 | 69.0 |
| Kolb, K. | ARI | 9.662 | 86.1 |
| Gabbert, B. | JAX | 8.943 | 77.9 |
| Skelton, J. | ARI | 8.363 | 64.5 |
| Hasselbeck, M. | TEN | 8.039 | 83.3 |
Cheers.
NCAA Football Rankings – 10/28/2012
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Full Rankings
Week 7 QB performances reviewed via RIPPEN
RIPPEN rankings for week 7 performances:
| Player | Team | RIPPEN | QB rating |
| Rodgers, A. | GB | 43.235 | 106.9 |
| Brees, D. | NO | 36.220 | 129.0 |
| Gabbert, B. | JAX | 34.483 | 133.8 |
| Freeman, J. | TB | 25.252 | 124.7 |
| Schaub, M. | HOU | 22.707 | 102.2 |
| Griffin, III, R. | WAS | 21.789 | 133.7 |
| Romo, T. | DAL | 21.277 | 97.2 |
| Roethlisberger, B. | PIT | 20.522 | 91.3 |
| Manning, E. | NYG | 20.269 | 87.8 |
| Bradford, S. | STL | 19.503 | 112.0 |
| Fitzpatrick, R. | BUF | 19.106 | 97.1 |
| Brady, T. | NE | 17.217 | 87.4 |
| Sanchez, M. | NYJ | 16.431 | 92.7 |
| Luck, A. | IND | 16.258 | 79.3 |
| Skelton, J. | ARI | 13.082 | 83.2 |
| Smith, A. | SF | 12.449 | 56.6 |
| Wilson, R. | SEA | 7.166 | 87.3 |
| Palmer, C. | OAK | 6.411 | 69.8 |
| Henne, C. | JAX | 2.510 | 75.0 |
| Dalton, A. | CIN | 2.503 | 77.4 |
| Flacco, J | BAL | 1.790 | 59.4 |
| Ponder, C. | MIN | 0.705 | 68.9 |
Season RIPPEN rankings through 7 weeks of games:
| Player | Team | RIPPEN | QB rating |
| Manning, P. | DEN | 28.886 | 105.0 |
| Rodgers, A. | GB | 26.970 | 109.6 |
| Griffen, III, R. | WAS | 26.915 | 101.8 |
| Newton, C. | CAR | 24.975 | 79.3 |
| Brady, T. | NE | 23.842 | 96.9 |
| Ryan. M. | ATL | 21.828 | 98.8 |
| Schaub, M. | HOU | 21.496 | 93.1 |
| Brees, D. | NO | 21.221 | 96.1 |
| Roethlisberger, B. | PIT | 21.141 | 98.6 |
| Freeman, J. | TB | 18.409 | 91.2 |
| Romo, T. | DAL | 18.197 | 84.6 |
| Manning, E. | NYG | 18.150 | 92.5 |
| Smith, A. | SF | 17.786 | 93.9 |
| Locker, J. | TEN | 17.197 | 90.2 |
| Bradford, S. | STL | 17.192 | 81.5 |
| Ponder, C. | MIN | 16.677 | 87.5 |
| Cutler, J. | CHI | 16.631 | 78.3 |
| Tannehill, R. | MIA | 16.344 | 76.5 |
| Dalton, A. | CIN | 15.387 | 87.7 |
| Rivers, P. | SD | 15.290 | 85.3 |
| Stafford, M. | DET | 15.259 | 78.4 |
| Vick, M. | PHI | 14.984 | 77.7 |
| Luck, A. | IND | 14.880 | 72.3 |
| Palmer, C. | OAK | 14.846 | 86.0 |
| Wilson, R. | SEA | 13.782 | 79.5 |
| Flacco, J. | BAL | 13.018 | 84.0 |
| Sanchez, M. | NYJ | 11.985 | 74.6 |
| Fitzpatrick, R. | BUF | 11.984 | 86.1 |
| Weeden, B. | CLE | 11.671 | 72.3 |
| Kolb, K. | ARI | 9.443 | 86.1 |
| Skelton, J. | ARI | 8.876 | 68.9 |
| Cassel, M. | KC | 8.209 | 66.2 |
| Gabbert, B. | JAX | 8.194 | 77.1 |
| Hasselbeck, M. | TEN | 7.748 | 78.2 |
Cheers.
NFL Predictions – Week 8
Overall Records for 2012
SU: 73-45 (61.86%)
ATS: 66-52 (55.93%)
O/U: 65-50 (56.52%)
Week 8 (10-4 SU, 9-5 ATS, 9-4 O/U)
Week 7 (10-3 SU, 6-7 ATS, 6-7 O/U)
Week 6 (6-8 SU, 7-7 ATS, 6-7 O/U)
Week 5 (10-4 SU, 7-7 ATS, 7-7 O/U)
Week 4 (10-5 SU, 10-5 ATS, 12-2 O/U)
Week 3 (5-11 SU, 9-7 ATS, 9-7 O/U)
Week 2 (11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS, 8-8 O/U)
Week 1 (11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS, 8-8 O/U)
Week 8
Thursday @8:25pm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings
Prediction: Vikings win 25-22
Pick: Buccaneers +6.5
O/U: Over 42.5
Sunday @1pm
New England Patriots at St. Louis Rams (London)
Prediction: Patriots win 32-17
Pick: Patriots -7
O/U: Over 47
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
Prediction: Titans win 21-20
Pick: Colts +3.5
O/U: Under 46.5
Jacksonville Jaguars at Green Bay Packers
Prediction: Packers win 29-14
Pick: Packers -13.5
O/U: Off the Board
San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns
Prediction: Chargers win 27-19
Pick: Chargers -3.5
O/U: Over 44.5
Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles
Prediction: Falcons win 27-25
Pick: Falcons +2.5
O/U: Over 46.5
Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions
Prediction: Lions win 28-21
Pick: Lions -2.5
O/U: Over 43.5
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
Prediction: Dolphins win 22-21
Pick: Dolphins +2.5
O/U: Over 40.5
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
Prediction: Bears win 27-24
Pick: Panthers +8
O/U: Over 43
Sunday @4:05pm
Washington Redskins at Pittsburgh Steelers
Prediction: Steelers win 24-21
Pick: Redskins +5.5
O/U: Under 47.5
Sunday @4:25pm
Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Prediction: Raiders win 24-23
Pick: Raiders +2
O/U: Over 41
Sunday @8:30pm
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Prediction: Giants win 26-24
Pick: Giants -1.5
O/U: Over 47
Sunday @8:30pm
New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos
Prediction: Saints win 33-24
Pick: Saints +6.5
O/U: Over 54.5
Monday @8:40pm
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
Prediction: 49ers win 24-20
Pick: Cardinals +7.5
O/U: Over 36.5
Cheers.
NFL Rankings – 10/23/2012
StatsInTheWild NFL rankings as of October 23, 2012 at 12:34pm. SOS=strength of schedule
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | ESPN | TeamRankings.com | SOS | Points Diff |
| Chicago | 1 | – | 5-1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | +84 |
| Houston | 2 | ↑2 | 6-1 | 2 (tie) | 3 | 17 | +88 |
| San Francisco | 3 | ↓1 | 5-2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | +65 |
| Green Bay | 4 | ↑6 | 4-3 | 7 | 4 | 6 | +29 |
| Minnesota | 5 | ↑3 | 5-2 | 9 | 8 | 7 | +36 |
| Atlanta | 6 | ↓3 | 6-0 | 1 | 2 | 26 | +58 |
| NY Giants | 7 | ↓2 | 5-2 | 2 (tie) | 6 | 22 | +68 |
| New England | 8 | ↑1 | 4-3 | 8 | 7 | 12 | +54 |
| Seattle | 9 | ↓2 | 4-3 | 11 | 10 | 5 | +10 |
| Arizona | 10 | ↓4 | 4-3 | 14 | 20 | 2 | +6 |
| St. Louis | 11 | ↑1 | 3-4 | 21 | 15 | 3 | -11 |
| Baltimore | 12 | ↓1 | 5-2 | 6 | 11 | 24 | +13 |
| Detroit | 13 | ↑1 | 2-4 | 19 | 12 | 1 | -17 |
| Miami | 14 | ↑1 | 3-3 | 16 | 17 | 14 | +3 |
| Denver | 15 | ↑1 | 3-3 | 12 | 9 | 30 | +32 |
| Washington | 16 | ↓3 | 3-4 | 18 | 18 | 18 | +1 |
| Dallas | 17 | ↑1 | 3-3 | 15 | 13 | 15 | -20 |
| NY Jets | 18 | ↓1 | 3-4 | 24 | 14 | 11 | -11 |
| Pittsburgh | 19 | ↑5 | 3-3 | 10 | 16 | 29 | +8 |
| Philadelphia | 20 | – | 3-3 | 13 | 22 | 19 | -22 |
| Tampa Bay | 21 | ↓2 | 2-4 | 26 | 31 | 23 | +12 |
| Indianapolis | 22 | ↑5 | 3-3 | 23 | 21 | 16 | -41 |
| San Diego | 23 | – | 3-3 | 17 | 23 | 32 | +11 |
| New Orleans | 24 | ↑2 | 2-4 | 20 | 26 | 21 | -6 |
| Buffalo | 25 | ↓2 | 3-4 | 27 | 24 | 13 | -56 |
| Cincinnati | 26 | ↓5 | 3-4 | 22 | 27 | 27 | -21 |
| Tennessee | 27 | ↑3 | 3-4 | 25 | 19 | 9 | -89 |
| Carolina | 28 | ↓3 | 1-5 | 29 | 29 | 20 | -38 |
| Jacksonville | 29 | ↓1 | 1-5 | 31 | 30 | 10 | -76 |
| Cleveland | 30 | ↓1 | 1-6 | 30 | 28 | 25 | -33 |
| Oakland | 31 | – | 2-4 | 28 | 25 | 31 | -58 |
| Kansas City | 32 | – | 1-5 | 32 | 32 | 28 | -79 |
Best
Best team in the league: Chicago
Best undefeated team: Atlanta
Best 5 win team: Chicago
Best 4 win team: Green Bay
Best 3 win team: St. Louis
Best 2 win team: Detroit
Best 1 win team: Carolina
Worst
Worst 5 win team: Baltimore
Worst 4 win team: Arizona
Worst 3 win team: Tennessee
Worst 2 win team: Oakland
Worst 1 win team: Kansas City
Worst team in the league: Kansas City
Most
Most under-rated team: (#11) St. Louis (ESPN has them 21)
Most over-rated team: (#19) Pittsburgh (ESPN has them 10)
Cheers.
↓3
NCAA Football Rankings – 10/21/2012
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Stats in the Wild 