Golden Football Rankings

Did You Notice? NCAA Week 12

Citadel Fun
After shutting out LSU and Mississippi State, Alabama fans boasted about "No score November" only to be tied with Citadel 10-10 at halftime. So Citadel fans took to Twitter to razz Bama fans and also poke fun at LSU and MSU. Here's the best tweet. "We scored. It isn't that hard guys. Dogs 7 Tide 7" After the 50-17 defeat, one Bulldog fan boasted, "We just wanted to remind you guys that [we] scored more than @UofLFootball & @MizzouFootball & @OleMissFB & @AStateFB & @LSUfootball & @HailStateFB."
Helton Hot Seat
The USC administration extended coach Clay Helton's contract after the Trojans won the Pac-12 title last year. This year, he has rewarded the school's faith in him by leading the Men of Troy to a 5-6 record and an embarrassing 34-27 loss to crosstown rival UCLA, which entered the game with a 2-8 record. And with proven winner Chip Kelly at the helm in Westwood, the Bruins are poised to take back the City of Angels for years to come. Beating undefeated Notre Dame in the finale is not likely, meaning USC will probably stay home for the holidays.
Buckeyes Luck Out Again
Ohio State is undoubtedly the most puzzling team of the 2018 season. Once again, they were outplayed, this time by 14.5-point underdog Maryland, but managed to win to move their record to 10-1 heading into the annual showdown with Michigan for the Big Ten East championship. When the Terps scored on their possession in OT to make it 52-51, interim coach Matt Canada (remember him, LSU fans?) decided to go for two. The gamble should have worked, but the QB missed the open receiver in the EZ to keep OSU's playoff hopes alive. Suffering from a congenital arachnoid cyst on his brain, Urban Meyer doesn't need the aggravation that his team is causing him. The problem is obviously defense as shown by these figures: 31 points given up to Oregon State and Nebraska, 28 to TCU, 26 to Penn State and Indiana, and 51 to Maryland. Michigan will come to Columbus after scoring over 40 points in six games and with one of the best defenses in the country.
UCF, Wazoo Upsurge
Central Florida jumped from #11 to #9 in the CFP rankings by smashing one-loss Cincinnati 38-13. Washington State held its #8 position by clobbering Arizona 69-28 after leading 55-14 at halftime! UCF will certainly get a Big Six bowl game for the second year in a row (remember their victory over Auburn in the Peach Bowl last year?) if they defeat South Florida Friday, then win the American Conference title game the following week. As for the Cougars, they have an outside shot at the CFP if they defeat Washington in the annual Apple Cup, then beat the Pac-12 South champion in the conference playoff. But some chaos must happen above them - Michigan loses to Ohio State which then loses to Northwestern in the Big 10 title game, Oklahoma loses to West Virginia, and Georgia loses to Alabama. (It's widely assumed that WSU will jump LSU even if the Tigers beat A&M because the Cougars will be 12-1 to LSU's 10-2.)

Intriguing Numbers - Week 12
298	Rushing yards by Maryland's Anthony McFarland against Ohio State - most against the Buckeyes since 1995
4	Points by which Syracuse lost to Clemson in September
33	Points by which Syracuse lost to Notre Dame last Saturday
6-6	FGs-Attempts by Michigan freshman kicker Jake Moody in the 31-20 win over Indiana. Moody had not kicked a FG for UM before that game.
23	Winning streak by Central Florida
11	Consecutive victories by 20 points or more by Alabama, the most to start a season in NCAA history
20	Plays of 40+y Ohio State has allowed this year - equal to the past three years combined
4	Plays of 80+y Ohio State has allowed this year - the first ones since '15
1960	Last time USC lost to an eight-loss team before Saturday's defeat by UCLA
11	Washington State players who caught a pass in the first half against Arizona
1	Times Virginia Tech has lost four consecutive home games in its history after losing to Miami Saturday
1906	Last time Illinois lost a game by 63 points after the drubbing by Iowa. Chicago beat the Illini by the same 63-0 score that year.
2010	Last time Kansas scored more than 50 points in a Big 12 game before the 55-40 loss to Oklahoma Saturday
14	60y punts by Texas A&M's Braden Mann this season - an NCAA record
8	Consecutive November wins by Missouri
11	TD receptions by Appalachian State's two Kansas State transfer receivers - three more than the Wildcats' passing TDs this year
23	Consecutive losses by Indiana to Michigan

Golden College Rankings after 12 Weeks

Clemson jumps to #1 because Alabama's per game average was lowered by their victory over an FCS team. LSU drops a spot because their victory over 1-10 Rice lowered their average relative to the other teams.

Golden College Rankings after 11 Weeks

	Team	Avg.	Points	Win	Loss	Opp Wins	Opp Losses	Score Value	Opp Opps	Road Win	Home Loss	Last Week
1	Clemson	17.00	187.0	11	0	62	0	13.65	222	1.5	0.0	2
2	Alabama	16.97	186.7	11	0	57	0	15.96	230	1.0	0.0	1
3	Notre Dame	16.87	185.5	11	0	64	0	10.42	265	0.5	0.0	4
4	Georgia	16.57	182.3	10	1	57	2	12.09	243	1.0	0.0	3
5	Michigan	16.38	180.2	10	1	54	0	11.35	234	0.5	0.0	5
6	Central Florida	16.10	161.0	10	0	47	0	9.10	197	0.5	0.0	8
7	Oklahoma	15.73	173.1	10	1	52	3	8.49	202	0.0	0.0	6
8	LSU	15.23	167.5	9	2	45	3	6.99	176	0.5	0.0	7
9	Ohio State	14.96	164.6	10	1	46	6	4.74	183	0.5	0.0	10
10	Washington State	14.85	164.4	10	1	45	6	6.14	143	0.0	0.0	12

"Opps. wins" is the number of victories by the teams the ranked team defeated.
"Opps. losses" is the number of losses by the teams that defeated the ranked team.
"Opp. opps". is the number of victories by the teams the defeated teams beat.
"Score value" is a measure of the margin of victory in relation to the defeated team's number of wins coupled with the margin of defeat in relation to the victorious team's number of losses.
"Road win" and "Home Loss" haven't kicked in yet because opponents have to win at least six games to earn a bonus for beating them on the road and opponents have to have six losses before you loss points when they defeat you at home.

Toughest schedule so far: UCLA
Easiest schedule so far: North Texas, Florida International
Biggest jump this week from previous week: Miami (OH)
Biggest drop this week from previous week: USC

**Conference Rankings**
	Conference	Avg.	Last Week
1	SEC	13.739	1
2	Big 12	12.741	2
3	Big 10	12.712	3
4	ACC	12.693	4
5	PAC 12	12.456	5
6	America Ath. Conf.	12.038	6
7	Mountain West	11.843	7
8	Sun Belt	11.660	8
9	MAC	11.020	9
10	CUSA	10.969	10

Avg. means the average score of the teams in the conference (with 12 being the starting point for each game and going up/down depending on whether the team wins/loses).

View complete Golden Rankings ...

My Week 12 Picks 11-11

This year I'm participating in a Yahoo Pick 'Em Group that selects the winners against the point spread for all games involving Top 25 teams. Home team is in CAPS.

#9 Ohio State over MARYLAND +14.5 X
Terps without their QB.
RUTGERS +28 over Penn State
Scarlet Knights cover at home for second straight week.
MINNESOTA +2.5 over #24 Northwestern X
Upset special
Idaho +40 over #15 FLORIDA X
Gator reserves get to play a lot.
Middle Tennessee +16 over #20 KENTUCKY
Wildcats win but don't cover.
Citadel +52 over #1 ALABAMA
See Florida above.
#25 MISSISSIPPI STATE over Arkansas +21
Bulldogs enjoy Senior Day.
COLORADO +7.5 over Utah X
Buffs getting healthy again.
COLORADO STATE +28 over #14 Utah State
Aggies looking ahead to Boise.
#13 Syracuse over #3 Notre Dame X
Orange play up/down to opposition.
#22 Boston College over FLORIDA STATE +1.5 X
Why is the point spread so small?
#7 West Virginia over OKLAHOMA STATE +4.5 X
Cowboys down after one-point loss to OU.
#4 MICHIGAN over Indiana +28.5 X
Wolverines take care of business before heading to Columbus.
Massachusetts +41.5 over #5 GEORGIA
See Florida above.
Oregon State +33 over #17 WASHINGTON
Beavers score enough to cover.
DUKE +28.5 over #2 Clemson X
Cutcliffe's boys cover at home.
#6 OKLAHOMA over Kansas +35.5 X
Sooners show no mercy.
Rice+42 over #10 LSU
See Florida above.
#13 TEXAS over #18 Iowa State +3
Longhorns prevail at home.
#11 CENTRAL FLORIDA over #19 Cincinnati
Bearcats exposed as overrated.
#8 WASHINGTON STATE over Arizona +9.5
Cougars too strong at home.

Record after 11 weeks: 131-95-3
FELL INTO 2ND PLACE BY ONE POINT WITH TWO WEEKS TO GO.

Intriguing Numbers - Week 12
17	Most points Rutgers has scored in any game since their opener against Texas State
13	Fumble recoveries by Indiana, tops in the nation
4	Consecutive games Michigan has not thrown an INT
22	Consecutive victories by Michigan over Indiana
4	Mississippi State games in their last seven in which the Bulldogs have scored 7 or fewer points
6	Consecutive games in which UMass has allowed 200+ rushing yards
58%	Utah's rate of allowing opponent to score in the red zone - #1 in the land
6	Games this season in which Utah State has scored 56+ points
127	Florida State's national rank in rushing
577.1	Average passing yards per game for Oklahoma
1	Last week that Texas QB Sean Ehlinger threw an INT

Did You Notice? NFL Week 10

This Week's Crazy Stats Game
First downs: Bucs 29 Redskins 16
Total Plays: Bucs 67 Redskins 55
Total Yards: Bucs 501 Redskins 286
Possession: Bucs 31:12 Redskins 28:48
Score: Redskins 16 Bucs 3
Red Zone: Bucs 0-5 Redskins 1-2
Turnovers: Bucs 4 Redskins 0
You have to work hard to gain 501y and score only 3 points.
Happiest Coach Sunday
Mike Vrabel played LB for the Patriots from 2001-2008. He is now the rookie head coach of the Tennessee Titans, who Sunday beat New England convincingly 34-10 in Nashville. Tom Brady had a puny 29.5 QBR, his worst of the year by 7.8.
Another Ex-Patriots Rookie Coach
Matt Patricia, the first-year coach of the Lions, was an assistant to Bill Belichick in New England 2004-17. His Lions are 3-6 after losing to the Bears 34-22. The game was not as close as the score indicates. Detroit fell behind 26-0 in Q2 and scored the last 12 points to make the final score more respectable.

CowboysBounce Back
Many wondered if Jerry Jones would fire coach Jason Garrett after Dallas's lackluster 28-14 loss to the Titans on Monday Night Football in Week 9. Six penalties, two turnovers, only 72y rushing among other deficiencies. So what did the Cowboys do in Week 10? They traveled to the City of Brotherly Love and upset the defending-champion Eagles 27-20 in a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 4-5 record, good enough to tie for second in the lackluster NFC East. Zak Prescott's QB rating went from a miserable 24.2 vs Tennessee (a figure that doesn't look as bad after Tennessee's thumping of the Pats) to 56.4 against Philly. And the other star back, Ezekiel Elliott, improved from 61y vs the Titans to 151 - more proof, if you needed it, that the ability to run the ball is still the key to winning at all levels of football.

Intriguing Numbers - NFL Week 10
9	Redskins games in which there were no lead changes this season
20	Consecutive games the Giants lost when trailing by seven points
3	Consecutive games in which the Bengals gave up 500y - an NFL first
6	Consecutive games in which Chiefs DL Chris Jones has at least one sack
4	Consecutive games in which Colts QB Andrew Luck has not been sacked, the longest streak in a season since Eli Manning's 5 in 2010
3	Consecutive double-digit losses by the Lions
4	Kicks missed by Cody Parkey of the Bears against the Lions - two EPs and two FGs
2006	Last time the Chargers were 7-2 or better after nine games
0-4	Packers' road record as they games at Seattle and Minnesota the next two weeks
$14.5M	Salary RB Le'Veon Bell forfeited by refusing to play for the Steelers this season
18	TD passes thrown by Andrew Luck the last five games