2023-09-29

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 4, Thursday

San Francisco over Miami

I was surprised to see Detroit beat Green Bay on Thursday night, until I heard that this makes 4 in a row. Division rivalries are weird in the NFL. San Francisco remains atop the NFC, and with no AFC action, Miami does the same for their conference.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
SF3-00.57264.684.358.632.517.89.5
MIA3-00.56356.586.360.032.417.29.1
CLE2-10.57446.576.149.427.214.78.0
BUF2-10.57933.572.346.725.814.27.7
KC2-10.56765.077.749.927.014.47.7
DAL2-10.57438.968.643.724.213.37.1
PHI3-00.54346.677.449.425.713.26.6
DET3-10.54165.978.547.624.612.56.3
BAL2-10.53230.460.634.817.48.64.3
IND2-10.50748.464.135.016.57.73.6
NO2-10.50834.955.630.114.36.83.2
ATL2-10.50235.157.430.714.56.83.1
GB2-20.50724.147.324.411.65.52.6
TB2-10.49827.548.825.611.95.52.5
SEA2-10.49816.145.624.011.25.22.4
PIT2-10.47218.747.523.610.24.41.9
LAR1-20.5149.032.116.78.03.91.8
ARI1-20.50910.329.515.37.33.51.6
LAC1-20.49819.733.016.37.53.51.6
HOU1-20.48721.435.817.47.83.51.6
NE1-20.4845.728.213.86.12.71.2
WSH2-10.45311.434.616.36.92.91.2
JAX1-20.46615.025.911.95.12.20.9
TEN1-20.45315.226.311.94.92.00.9
NYJ1-20.4554.320.39.33.91.60.7
LV1-20.44111.420.38.83.61.40.6
CIN1-20.4554.317.57.93.31.40.6
MIN0-30.4787.113.86.52.91.30.6
NYG1-20.4263.112.75.32.10.80.3
CAR0-30.4522.57.23.21.30.60.2
DEN0-30.4393.98.13.41.40.60.2
CHI0-30.4262.96.62.71.10.40.2


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Thursday] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Sunday] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 2, Final] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 3, Thursday] San Francisco over Baltimore
[Week 3, Sunday] San Francisco over Miami
[Week 3, Final] San Francisco over Miami

2023-09-26

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 3, Final

San Francisco over Miami

Nothing much changed based on the results of the Monday Night Football double header. Cincinnati was the only AFC team participating and got their first win, while in the NFC, the LA Rams lost and Philadelphia beat Tampa. Philadelphia is 3-0 but in a competitive division with Dallas, so neither of them has the gaudy early playoff chances of San Francisco.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
SF3-00.57264.784.258.632.617.99.5
MIA3-00.56356.586.360.032.417.29.2
CLE2-10.57446.576.149.427.214.78.0
BUF2-10.57933.572.346.825.814.27.8
KC2-10.56764.777.449.626.914.37.7
DAL2-10.57439.268.843.924.313.47.2
PHI3-00.54346.577.349.425.713.26.7
GB2-10.53248.967.338.919.79.84.8
BAL2-10.53230.861.035.117.58.64.3
DET2-10.51740.959.532.916.17.83.7
IND2-10.50748.464.135.016.57.73.6
NO2-10.50835.256.030.314.46.93.2
ATL2-10.50234.957.130.814.56.83.2
TB2-10.49827.448.725.511.95.52.5
SEA2-10.49816.145.524.011.25.32.4
PIT2-10.47218.547.123.410.14.41.9
LAR1-20.5148.831.616.58.03.91.8
ARI1-20.50910.329.515.37.33.51.7
LAC1-20.49819.833.116.37.63.51.6
HOU1-20.48721.435.817.47.83.51.6
NE1-20.4845.728.213.86.12.71.2
WSH2-10.45311.434.516.36.92.91.2
JAX1-20.46615.026.011.95.12.20.9
TEN1-20.45315.226.311.94.92.00.9
NYJ1-20.4554.320.39.33.91.60.7
LV1-20.44111.520.48.83.61.40.6
CIN1-20.4554.317.57.93.31.40.6
MIN0-30.4787.313.86.52.91.30.6
NYG1-20.4263.012.45.22.00.80.3
CAR0-30.4522.57.13.11.30.60.2
DEN0-30.4394.08.13.41.40.60.2
CHI0-30.4262.86.82.81.10.40.2


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Thursday] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Sunday] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 2, Final] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 3, Thursday] San Francisco over Baltimore
[Week 3, Sunday] San Francisco over Miami

2023-09-25

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 3, Sunday

San Francisco over Miami

I expected Dallas to retake their NFC lead after Sunday's games, but instead they lost to lowly Arizona. Another unexpected result was Miami scoring 70, and shooting up to the top of the AFC charts. Buffalo, Cleveland, and Kansas City are actually all slightly stronger teams, but the 3-0 record vs their 2-1 records pushes Miami just a bit over the top.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
SF3-00.57261.683.358.132.317.89.5
MIA3-00.56356.886.860.432.617.39.2
CLE2-10.57447.176.649.627.314.88.0
BUF2-10.57933.272.747.025.914.27.8
KC2-10.56765.077.950.027.114.47.7
DAL2-10.57447.369.644.524.713.67.3
GB2-10.53248.866.238.319.49.74.8
TB2-00.52640.166.039.519.89.84.8
BAL2-10.53231.261.535.317.68.74.4
PHI2-00.51834.460.534.817.18.34.0
DET2-10.51740.958.432.415.97.73.7
IND2-10.50748.464.134.916.47.63.6
NO2-10.50829.153.228.813.86.63.1
ATL2-10.50228.954.529.413.96.53.0
LAR1-10.51813.641.622.511.05.42.6
SEA2-10.49815.044.423.411.05.12.4
PIT2-10.47218.747.623.610.24.41.9
LAC1-20.49819.733.416.47.63.51.6
ARI1-20.5099.728.714.97.13.41.6
HOU1-20.48721.435.817.47.83.51.6
NE1-20.4845.628.613.96.22.81.3
WSH2-10.45314.334.816.46.92.91.2
JAX1-20.46615.025.911.95.12.20.9
TEN1-20.45315.226.311.84.92.00.9
NYJ1-20.4554.320.99.54.01.70.7
LV1-20.44111.420.68.93.61.50.6
MIN0-30.4787.513.56.32.81.30.6
CIN0-20.4563.012.95.82.41.00.4
NYG1-20.4263.912.65.22.10.80.3
DEN0-30.4393.98.33.51.40.60.2
CAR0-30.4521.96.32.81.20.50.2
CHI0-30.4262.96.62.71.10.40.2


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Thursday] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Sunday] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 2, Final] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 3, Thursday] San Francisco over Baltimore

2023-09-24

NCAA Football Power Rankings, Week 4

Notre Dame lost their game and their #1 ranking this week, falling down to #9. But, Ohio State couldn't quite take over the #1 spot with their win, rising up to #2, right behind Penn State. Missouri is surprisingly ranked #3. They're playing #79 Vanderbilt this week, so even a win may bring them down due to a weakening schedule. This reminds me that I've thought about making a more "predictive" set of rankings as well, which would take into account the teams' future scheduled games, which would make the strength of schedule fluctuate a little less through the season.

I mentioned my new data source allowing me to fix previous week's errors. There was again one game they had wrong last week. It would appear the Howard vs Hampton game was entered before it ended, so the 35-34 victory for Hampton showed as a 34-28 loss. I thought maybe it was a last-second victory, but the winning TD and PAT came with just over 3 minutes to go in that game, so I'm not sure what happened. Regardless, it did not affect the top 46 teams last week, and otherwise only swapped around groups of 2 or 3 teams in a few places. The good news is that in past years, this error would have carried forward for the rest of the season, because I only put the new games into my software each week, but now the full season so far is used, and also checked against the previous week for differences.

There are now 27 undefeated teams left, down from 39, and there are 5 winless teams, down from 7. Buffalo lost but still got out the cellar because Sam Houston State is the new #133.

1Penn State4-0
2Ohio State4-0
3Missouri4-0
4Utah4-0
5Miami4-0
6Washington4-0
7Texas4-0
8Michigan4-0
9Notre Dame4-1
10Oregon4-0
11Oklahoma4-0
12North Carolina4-0
13Duke4-0
14Georgia4-0
15Florida State4-0
16Washington State4-0
17Kansas4-0
18Louisville4-0
19Liberty4-0
20Georgia State4-0
21Fresno State4-0
22James Madison4-0
23Maryland4-0
24Kentucky4-0
25Syracuse4-0
26Air Force4-0
27USC4-0
28Ohio4-1
29Kansas State3-1
30UCLA3-1
31Ole Miss3-1
32Texas A&M3-1
33Alabama3-1
34Colorado3-1
35LSU3-1
36UCF3-1
37Rutgers3-1
38Wyoming3-1
39UNLV3-1
40Oregon State3-1
41Memphis3-1
42Wake Forest3-1
43Iowa3-1
44Marshall3-0
45Wisconsin3-1
46Florida3-1
47TCU3-1
48Auburn3-1
49West Virginia3-1
50BYU3-1
51Tennessee3-1
52Tulane3-1
53Miami (OH)3-1
54NC State3-1
55Jacksonville State3-1
56Arizona3-1
57Texas State3-1
58Georgia Southern3-1
59South Carolina2-2
60Toledo3-1
61Boise State2-2
62South Florida2-2
63Florida International3-2
64Louisiana3-1
65Coastal Carolina2-2
66Troy2-2
67California2-2
68Michigan State2-2
69Illinois2-2
70Georgia Tech2-2
71Northwestern2-2
72Western Kentucky2-2
73Central Michigan2-2
74Arkansas2-2
75Temple2-2
76Minnesota2-2
77SMU2-2
78Louisiana Monroe2-1
79Vanderbilt2-3
80Clemson2-2
81Iowa State2-2
82Tulsa2-2
83San Diego State2-3
84Appalachian State2-2
85Mississippi State2-2
86Nebraska2-2
87Indiana2-2
88Rice2-2
89Arkansas State2-2
90Cincinnati2-2
91Hawai'i2-3
92Oklahoma State2-2
93South Alabama2-2
94Old Dominion2-2
95Army2-2
96Eastern Michigan2-2
97New Mexico2-2
98Houston2-2
99Bowling Green1-3
100New Mexico State2-3
101Texas Tech1-3
102Louisiana Tech2-3
103Navy1-2
104Colorado State1-2
105Purdue1-3
106Stanford1-3
107Charlotte1-3
108Boston College1-3
109Utah State1-3
110North Texas1-2
111UTEP1-4
112Baylor1-3
113Kent State1-3
114Ball State1-3
115East Carolina1-3
116San José State1-4
117Middle Tennessee1-3
118Virginia Tech1-3
119Arizona State1-3
120UT San Antonio1-3
121Western Michigan1-3
122Northern Illinois1-3
123UAB1-3
124Florida Atlantic1-3
125Southern Mississippi1-3
126Pittsburgh1-3
127Akron1-3
128UMass1-4
129Virginia0-4
130Nevada0-4
131Connecticut0-4
132Buffalo0-4
133Sam Houston State0-3


2023 History and #1s
Week 1 Jacksonville State and San Diego State
Week 2 Notre Dame
Week 3 Notre Dame

2023-09-22

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 3, Thursday

San Francisco over Baltimore

It feels like there should be an asterisk here, but San Francisco has taken over the NFC lead. They are, of course, one of only 2 teams to play 3 games, so at 3-0 are currently more likely than the 2-0 teams to win. In the AFC, nothing changes of course, as the only thing an NFC cross-divisional matchup could really affect is a very late tiebreaker.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
SF3-00.57267.483.356.831.617.59.8
DAL2-00.55844.072.346.324.913.37.3
BAL2-00.53551.575.749.926.614.17.1
MIA2-00.51445.871.244.722.711.55.6
ATL2-00.52936.667.640.520.410.25.3
BUF1-10.53829.758.135.619.010.15.2
CLE1-10.53528.757.835.218.79.95.0
TB2-00.52630.862.736.818.49.24.7
KC1-10.51842.058.634.617.79.04.4
PHI2-00.51827.458.733.616.58.14.1
NO2-00.51030.160.033.816.37.83.9
GB1-10.52646.055.830.515.27.53.9
WSH2-00.51026.157.132.115.57.43.7
TEN1-10.50431.251.429.314.57.23.4
JAX1-10.50431.649.127.313.66.73.2
IND1-10.50228.748.827.213.46.63.1
LAR1-10.51815.941.122.010.85.32.7
DET1-10.49229.438.719.49.04.12.0
NYJ1-10.47117.340.020.99.64.42.0
PIT1-10.46515.838.819.99.14.11.8
DEN0-20.49516.329.115.37.43.61.7
LV1-10.45424.137.818.68.33.71.6
LAC0-20.49317.627.714.36.93.31.6
SEA1-10.48310.729.414.56.63.01.4
NE0-20.4777.322.711.55.42.51.1
MIN0-20.48415.321.010.04.52.11.0
ARI0-20.4876.015.57.53.41.60.8
HOU0-20.4568.417.88.43.71.70.7
CIN0-20.4564.015.57.43.31.50.6
CHI0-20.4609.314.66.62.81.20.5
CAR0-20.4632.411.25.12.21.00.4
NYG1-20.4262.611.04.61.80.70.3


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Thursday] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Sunday] Dallas over Baltimore
[Week 2, Final] Dallas over Baltimore

2023-09-19

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 2, Final

Dallas over Baltimore

After the Monday night double header, Cleveland did not win to regain their AFC spot, so Baltimore remains the favorite to play Dallas. Also losing was Carolina, who is now the least likely team to win the Super Bowl. But, with 9 2-0 teams, fortunes can and will change quickly over the next few weeks.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
DAL2-00.55843.372.247.125.613.97.6
BAL2-00.53551.676.050.326.814.27.3
SF2-00.54655.871.644.923.812.56.7
MIA2-00.51445.871.044.422.611.45.6
ATL2-00.52936.667.541.321.110.75.6
BUF1-10.53829.757.835.318.910.15.2
CLE1-10.53528.858.335.518.810.05.1
TB2-00.52631.363.137.819.29.75.0
KC1-10.51842.158.734.617.79.04.5
PHI2-00.51826.358.033.816.88.34.2
NO2-00.51029.759.534.216.78.14.1
GB1-10.52645.655.430.715.57.84.0
WSH2-00.51025.156.432.215.87.73.8
TEN1-10.50431.151.429.214.57.23.5
JAX1-10.50531.949.527.613.76.83.3
IND1-10.50228.648.827.113.46.63.2
LAR1-10.51821.342.123.011.45.72.9
DET1-10.49229.538.719.79.24.32.1
NYJ1-10.47117.339.720.79.54.42.0
PIT1-10.46515.638.719.99.14.11.8
DEN0-20.49516.429.115.37.43.61.7
LAC0-20.49317.727.814.36.93.41.6
LV1-10.45423.837.418.48.23.61.6
SEA1-10.48314.430.715.47.13.31.6
NE0-20.4777.322.511.35.32.51.1
MIN0-20.48415.621.310.34.72.21.0
ARI0-20.4878.516.88.23.81.80.9
NYG1-10.4515.320.99.74.21.80.8
HOU0-20.4568.417.88.43.71.70.7
CIN0-20.4564.015.77.53.41.50.7
CHI0-20.4609.314.66.72.91.30.6
CAR0-20.4632.411.15.22.31.00.5


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Thursday] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Sunday] Dallas over Baltimore

2023-09-18

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 2, Sunday

Dallas over Baltimore

Cleveland loses their top spot to Baltimore, albeit because they haven't played yet this week. Dallas now stands alone at the top, having beaten the 2 New York (City) teams by a combined 70-10.

The imbalance between the conferences really gives some odd numbers if you dig in deep, although being week 2, that's really unnecessary. For example, Chicago, at 0-2, still has a 9% shot at the NFC North, but Cincinnati and Houston, while slightly weaker, have a much lower chance of winning their divisions, but a much higher chance at a wildcard spot, putting their playoff odds above Chicago.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
DAL2-00.55843.172.347.425.814.07.7
BAL2-00.53548.175.949.926.514.17.2
SF2-00.54655.971.845.324.012.76.8
CLE1-00.52937.967.442.422.211.65.9
ATL2-00.52939.068.041.821.410.95.6
MIA2-00.51445.670.943.922.311.35.6
BUF1-10.53829.757.935.118.810.05.2
TB2-00.52633.163.238.019.39.85.0
KC1-10.51842.158.734.417.68.94.4
PHI2-00.51826.458.334.117.08.44.3
GB1-10.52645.555.430.815.67.84.0
WSH2-00.51025.156.732.615.97.83.9
TEN1-10.50431.051.229.014.47.13.4
JAX1-10.50532.049.427.513.66.73.3
IND1-10.50228.648.727.013.36.53.1
NO1-00.50321.847.326.112.66.03.0
LAR1-10.51821.342.423.211.55.72.9
DET1-10.49229.538.919.89.34.42.1
NYJ1-10.47117.439.920.79.54.42.0
DEN0-20.49516.529.315.37.43.61.7
LAC0-20.49317.727.814.36.93.31.6
SEA1-10.48314.330.915.57.23.31.6
LV1-10.45423.737.218.28.13.61.5
PIT0-10.47110.530.015.47.13.31.5
NE0-20.4777.322.411.25.22.41.1
MIN0-20.48415.621.410.44.82.21.0
CAR0-10.4756.220.39.94.52.00.9
ARI0-20.4878.517.08.33.91.80.9
NYG1-10.4515.421.29.94.21.80.8
HOU0-20.4568.417.78.33.71.70.7
CIN0-20.4563.515.57.43.31.50.6
CHI0-20.4609.414.86.72.91.30.6


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland
[Week 2, Thursday] Dallas over Cleveland

2023-09-17

NCAA Football Power Rankings, Week 3

I've got a new source for my data this year, and one handy new feature is that I can see if anything changes for the previous weeks. They missed a game in Week 1, Weber State over Central Washington, 35-10. I'm not going to go update my posts, but I might at least call out the missing games in case I ever want to go get a full reckoning of what should have been. Week 1 rankings are silly anyway, but that game did not affect the outcome for any of the teams. It did change week 2 slightly, with several pods of 2-3 teams changing orders, such as Iowa jumping 2 spots to #15, Florida State jumping over Missouri to #30, and a few ties being untied and vice versa. The top 14 and bottom 14, coincidentally, stayed the same.

Notre Dame remains at #1 with another win this week. They've got a big game against #9 Ohio State this week, which will give a big boost to the winner. Missouri pulled off a pretty unexpected upset of Kansas State to jump from #30 (or #31 I guess) to #7. Baylor won to pull themselves out of the basement, and Buffalo is the new #133. There are still 39 undefeated teams and 7 winless teams, so no one's spot is safe for long.

1Notre Dame4-0
2Texas3-0
3UCLA3-0
4Miami3-0
5North Carolina3-0
6Ole Miss3-0
7Missouri3-0
8Duke3-0
9Ohio State3-0
10Penn State3-0
11Utah3-0
12Washington3-0
13Auburn3-0
14Oregon State3-0
15Oklahoma3-0
16Rutgers3-0
17Florida State3-0
18UCF3-0
19Georgia3-0
20Michigan3-0
21Memphis3-0
22Colorado3-0
23Wake Forest3-0
24Louisville3-0
25Fresno State3-0
26Liberty3-0
27Iowa3-0
28Oregon3-0
29James Madison3-0
30Georgia State3-0
31BYU3-0
32Washington State3-0
33Syracuse3-0
34USC3-0
35Kentucky3-0
36Air Force3-0
37Kansas3-0
38Maryland3-0
39Ohio3-1
40Florida International3-1
41Minnesota2-1
42Tulane2-1
43Miami (OH)2-1
44California2-1
45Arkansas2-1
46Coastal Carolina2-1
47Alabama2-1
48Texas A&M2-1
49Eastern Michigan2-1
50Clemson2-1
51LSU2-1
52Kansas State2-1
53Wyoming2-1
54SMU2-1
55UNLV2-1
56Western Kentucky2-1
57San Diego State2-2
58Temple2-1
59Michigan State2-1
60West Virginia2-1
61Florida2-1
62Wisconsin2-1
63South Alabama2-1
64Louisiana Monroe2-1
65Appalachian State2-1
66TCU2-1
67Oklahoma State2-1
68Mississippi State2-1
69Marshall2-0
70NC State2-1
71Rice2-1
72Tennessee2-1
73Texas State2-1
74Cincinnati2-1
75Jacksonville State2-1
76Louisiana Tech2-2
77Vanderbilt2-2
78Army2-1
79New Mexico State2-2
80Georgia Southern2-1
81Arizona2-1
82Toledo2-1
83Louisiana2-1
84Bowling Green1-2
85South Carolina1-2
86Boise State1-2
87Central Michigan1-2
88Illinois1-2
89South Florida1-2
90Texas Tech1-2
91Tulsa1-2
92North Texas1-2
93Troy1-2
94Middle Tennessee1-2
95Purdue1-2
96UMass1-3
97Northwestern1-2
98Nebraska1-2
99Navy1-2
100Kent State1-2
101Stanford1-2
102Iowa State1-2
103Southern Mississippi1-2
104Florida Atlantic1-2
105Boston College1-2
106Old Dominion1-2
107Arkansas State1-2
108Indiana1-2
109Georgia Tech1-2
110Virginia Tech1-2
111Akron1-2
112Northern Illinois1-2
113Ball State1-2
114Western Michigan1-2
115Utah State1-2
116Houston1-2
117Charlotte1-2
118San José State1-3
119Arizona State1-2
120UT San Antonio1-2
121Baylor1-2
122Pittsburgh1-2
123New Mexico1-2
124UTEP1-3
125Hawai'i1-3
126UAB1-2
127Colorado State0-2
128Sam Houston State0-2
129Connecticut0-3
130Virginia0-3
131East Carolina0-3
132Nevada0-3
133Buffalo0-3

2023 History and #1s
Week 1 Jacksonville State and San Diego State
Week 2 Notre Dame

2023-09-15

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 2, Thursday

Dallas over Cleveland

Usually this is the day I lament the flaw in my system, but Philadelphia's relatively small margin of victory prevents them from grabbing the #1 slot in the NFC away from Dallas. They are the favorite to win the division, as well the most likely NFC team to advance to each round except the Super Bowl. On the flip side of the table, Minnesota isn't in the worst position, also due to that blowout and shutout of New York by Dallas last week.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
CLE1-00.52940.966.041.622.011.66.0
BAL1-00.52738.164.440.321.211.15.7
DAL1-00.52932.959.235.918.79.75.1
JAX1-00.51546.263.538.419.710.05.1
PHI2-00.51734.962.437.519.09.64.9
SF1-00.52937.957.834.818.09.34.9
ATL1-00.52535.759.135.518.39.44.9
GB1-00.52243.560.636.018.49.44.8
LAR1-00.52538.058.434.918.09.24.8
NYJ1-00.51337.460.036.018.49.34.7
LV1-00.50341.359.835.017.48.74.3
MIA1-00.50232.856.333.016.48.24.0
WSH1-00.50925.351.429.614.77.33.7
TB1-00.50728.051.529.514.67.23.6
DET1-00.50233.250.728.413.96.83.4
NO1-00.50327.449.728.013.86.73.4
TEN0-10.49721.838.721.210.45.12.5
KC0-10.49820.837.820.710.25.02.4
LAC0-10.49820.035.519.29.54.72.3
DEN0-10.49717.835.219.19.44.62.2
NE0-10.49116.535.119.09.24.52.1
IND0-10.48515.832.016.88.13.91.8
BUF0-10.48713.331.216.58.03.81.8
ARI0-10.49114.127.914.56.93.31.6
HOU0-10.47316.229.415.07.03.31.5
PIT0-10.47111.328.514.76.83.21.5
CIN0-10.4719.726.713.66.32.91.3
CHI0-10.47812.124.912.55.82.71.3
CAR0-10.4759.023.111.65.32.51.2
SEA0-10.47510.023.011.55.32.51.2
MIN0-20.48511.119.59.74.62.21.0
NYG0-10.4716.920.710.34.72.21.0


[Week 1, Final] Dallas over Cleveland

2023-09-12

Super Bowl LVIII Projection, Week 1, Final

Dallas over Cleveland

Returning despite no particular popular demand: my Super Bowl projections! I really need to work on a better explainer paragraph, but here's what I usually go with:
Each year I project the Super Bowl match-up after each day of games. The method is not of my own design, but the implementation is. Each team's strength is determined based on points scored and points allowed, and scaled to make the average of all teams .500. Then, the remainder of the season and playoffs are simulated millions of times, and I report to you the chances of each team reaching each round of the playoffs. It's had mixed results in the past, but that's the nature of taking 1 weighted random sample out of millions of potential outcomes.

I feel like I've lived through too many bad Cleveland seasons to every truly believe that they'll be good enough to make the Super Bowl, and even though I can recall the Dallas back-to-back wins, I've seen them fail to live up to their promise so much that it feels weird to pick them too. But, after a 40-0 win, Dallas is the strongest team in the league by a hair over Cleveland, who won 24-3.

Note that the list below is sorted by overall chances to win the Super Bowl, so Cleveland is at the top due to a slightly easier path to get there (The NFC is currently 10-6 while the AFC is 6-10, and the AFC North is 2-2 compared to the NFC East's 3-1), but in a hypothetical matchup against Dallas, Dallas would be slightly favored. Hence, Dallas over Cleveland.

TEAMRecordStrengthDivPlyffWCQtrSemiChamp
CLE1-00.52940.966.041.622.011.66.0
BAL1-00.52738.264.440.321.211.15.7
DAL1-00.52936.360.036.519.09.95.2
JAX1-00.51546.263.438.319.610.05.1
SF1-00.52937.858.035.018.29.44.9
ATL1-00.52535.659.135.718.49.54.9
LAR1-00.52538.058.635.118.19.34.8
GB1-00.52241.259.935.718.39.34.8
NYJ1-00.51337.460.136.118.49.44.7
LV1-00.50341.359.734.917.48.74.3
MIA1-00.50232.856.433.016.58.24.0
WSH1-00.50928.052.130.115.07.53.8
TB1-00.50728.151.929.914.87.33.7
PHI1-00.50927.950.729.214.57.23.7
NO1-00.50327.349.828.313.96.83.4
DET1-00.50231.450.028.213.86.83.4
TEN0-10.49721.838.721.210.45.12.5
KC0-10.49820.937.820.710.25.02.4
LAC0-10.49820.035.419.29.54.72.3
DEN0-10.49717.835.119.09.44.62.2
NE0-10.49116.535.119.09.24.52.1
IND0-10.48515.932.016.98.13.91.8
BUF0-10.48713.331.316.68.03.91.8
MIN0-10.49316.029.615.57.53.61.8
ARI0-10.49114.228.114.67.03.41.6
HOU0-10.47316.229.415.07.03.31.5
PIT0-10.47111.328.514.76.83.21.5
CIN0-10.4719.726.613.56.32.91.3
CHI0-10.47811.324.612.45.82.71.3
CAR0-10.4758.923.311.75.42.51.2
SEA0-10.47510.123.211.65.42.51.2
NYG0-10.4717.921.110.54.82.21.0

2023-09-10

NCAA Football Power Rankings, Week 2

Notre Dame won their third game, an impressive feat after just 2 weeks of football, and is the new #1. Previous tied-for-#1s Jacksonville State and San Diego state both lost and fell to #53 and #19. Hawai'i and San José State, the twin threats to proper punctuation usage, both won to leave the bottom spot and rise to #69 and #77, while Baylor takes over at #133. Missouri is hanging in there, technically falling from #12 to #30 this week, but there were 71 teams at #12, so this is really somewhat of a gain.

1Notre Dame3-0
2USC3-0
3UCLA2-0
4Ole Miss2-0
5Rutgers2-0
6Kansas State2-0
7Miami2-0
8North Carolina2-0
9Western Kentucky2-0
10Texas2-0
11Duke2-0
12Vanderbilt2-1
13Oregon State2-0
14Penn State2-0
15Louisville2-0
16Wake Forest2-0
17Iowa2-0
18Oklahoma State2-0
19San Diego State2-1
20Oklahoma2-0
21Auburn2-0
22Marshall2-0
23Fresno State2-0
24Arkansas2-0
25Memphis2-0
26Liberty2-0
27Michigan2-0
28Ohio State2-0
29Minnesota2-0
30Missouri2-0
31Florida State2-0
32James Madison2-0
33Michigan State2-0
34Kansas2-0
35Georgia2-0
36Washington State2-0
T-37Colorado2-0
T-37Cincinnati2-0
39Ohio2-1
T-40Washington2-0
T-40Syracuse2-0
42Louisiana Monroe2-0
43Air Force2-0
44Georgia State2-0
45Louisiana Tech2-1
46Mississippi State2-0
47Georgia Southern2-0
48Utah2-0
49Tennessee2-0
50UCF2-0
51Maryland2-0
52Kentucky2-0
53Jacksonville State2-1
T-54Oregon2-0
T-54Wyoming2-0
56BYU2-0
57Florida International2-1
58Coastal Carolina1-1
59SMU1-1
60Stanford1-1
61South Florida1-1
62Rice1-1
63Central Michigan1-1
64Clemson1-1
65Purdue1-1
66Temple1-1
67Miami (OH)1-1
68Northern Illinois1-1
69Hawai'i1-2
70Appalachian State1-1
71Tulane1-1
72Northwestern1-1
73West Virginia1-1
74Troy1-1
75Texas A&M1-1
76South Carolina1-1
77San José State1-2
78UNLV1-1
79Eastern Michigan1-1
80Bowling Green1-1
81Florida Atlantic1-1
82Illinois1-1
83Houston1-1
84Virginia Tech1-1
85NC State1-1
86Alabama1-1
87Utah State1-1
88Navy1-1
89Arizona State1-1
90California1-1
91Akron1-1
92Pittsburgh1-1
93Boston College1-1
94Iowa State1-1
95Wisconsin1-1
96TCU1-1
97Florida1-1
98Arizona1-1
99UMass1-2
100Georgia Tech1-1
101Indiana1-1
102Southern Mississippi1-1
103UAB1-1
104LSU1-1
105UT San Antonio1-1
106Old Dominion1-1
107Tulsa1-1
108Army1-1
109Western Michigan1-1
110Charlotte1-1
111South Alabama1-1
112UTEP1-2
113New Mexico1-1
114Toledo1-1
115Louisiana1-1
116Texas State1-1
117New Mexico State1-2
T-118Arkansas State0-2
T-118Colorado State0-1
120East Carolina0-2
121Nevada0-2
122Nebraska0-2
123Kent State0-2
124Virginia0-2
125Ball State0-2
126Boise State0-2
127Sam Houston State0-2
128Texas Tech0-2
129Middle Tennessee0-2
130Connecticut0-2
131North Texas0-2
132Buffalo0-2
133Baylor0-2

2023 History and #1s
Week 1 Jacksonville State and San Diego State

2023-09-06

NCAA Football Power Rankings, Week 1

After a few years off, I've returned to posting my power rankings. The reasons for my absence were not major, but there were several of them, which all kind of piled up to make my blog as a whole less active. Perhaps I'll get into an explanation one of these days. Now, as is opening week tradition, the copied, pasted, and lightly edited explainer.

A few years ago, I thought to myself, "I could do a better job than some of the BCS computers". As I recall, at the time I felt Mizzou was underrated. The BCS rules stated margin of victory cannot be used, so I thought I'd stick to that. I put together a convergence algorithm, in which I initially rank the teams by record (so all the undefeated teams start tied at #1), then calculate each team's strength of schedule based on the current rankings of its opponents, and re-sort based on that strength. I run through this process until 2 consecutive iterations give the same result, or there is a loop. So, if iteration 10,002 gives the same rankings as iteration 10,000, then each subsequent iteration would fluctuate between the rankings in 10,000 and 10,001. I average those rankings to come up with the final rankings. It is still possible - but generally unlikely - that teams can tie for a final ranking. Now that the BCS is dead, I'll just consider these rankings my advice on #1 to #4 to the College Football Playoff committee.

Due to most teams playing other teams in lower divisions at times, and a lack of desire on my part to delve so deeply that I have to track down NAIA schedules, I've decided to count all games listed on ESPN's college football site, which includes all FBS, FCS, and Division II and III schedules, and any of their lower-tier opponents, but only when those opponents play at least a Division III team. (i.e., an NAIA team will be listed when they play against a Div III team, but the rest of their games won't be listed, resulting in a lot of 0-1 teams mixed into my system). I then filter the final results to only the FBS schools.

In the past, in week 1, there were only 2 possible situations for a team. First is to be 1-0, having defeated an 0-1 team. Second is, unsurprisingly, to be a 0-1 team, having lost to a 1-0 team. For this reason, in week 1, all 1-0 teams will be tied for #1, and the rest tied at N+1, where N is the number of #1 teams. Did your team choose to beat up on an FCS (formerly known as Division 1-AA) team? Congrats, you're #1 this week! However, since 2016 we seem to be in the era of the pre-Week-1 game, which means a 2-0, 0-2, and/or 1-1 team might be in the mix. Also, some teams may not play in Week 1, and you don't get a ranking until you play, thus the bottom of the chart may not be the full number of teams in FBS.

The last time I did this was 2020, with tons of cancellations, reschedules, and just all-around weirdness. Week 1 only had 14 teams included (out of the 130 total). There are now 133 FBS schools, with James Madison joining in 2022, and Sam Houston and Jacksonville State joining for 2023. Those two won't be postseason eligible this year, which makes the reveal of the Week 1 number 1 team extra fun. I may have to start posting Week 0 standings, because this year we're up to 13 FBS teams that have already played 2 games by the end of "Week 1". We have a tie for #1 between Jacksonville State and San Diego State, both 2-0 and having beaten 1 team that is 0-1, and one team that is 1-1, who beat another 0-1 team. San José State and Hawai'i bring up the rear, tied at #132, and my home team until SLU re-forms a football team, Missouri, sits in the muddled group of 1-0 teams tied at #12.

1Jacksonville State2-0
1San Diego State2-0
3Notre Dame2-0
4Vanderbilt2-0
4USC2-0
6SMU1-0
6Ole Miss1-0
6Auburn1-0
6Marshall1-0
10UMass1-1
10Louisiana Tech1-1
12Georgia State1-0
12UCF1-0
12Wake Forest1-0
12Western Michigan1-0
12NC State1-0
12Tulsa1-0
12Minnesota1-0
12Missouri1-0
12UAB1-0
12Utah1-0
12Arizona State1-0
12Eastern Michigan1-0
12Miami1-0
12Michigan State1-0
12Louisville1-0
12Kansas1-0
12Oklahoma1-0
12Colorado1-0
12Fresno State1-0
12Kentucky1-0
12Iowa1-0
12Michigan1-0
12Northern Illinois1-0
12Liberty1-0
12Tennessee1-0
12Air Force1-0
12Temple1-0
12Iowa State1-0
12Oregon1-0
12Wisconsin1-0
12Maryland1-0
12Appalachian State1-0
12Washington1-0
12Texas1-0
12Cincinnati1-0
12Western Kentucky1-0
12Pittsburgh1-0
12Ohio State1-0
12California1-0
12Arkansas1-0
12Syracuse1-0
12Mississippi State1-0
12UNLV1-0
12Georgia Southern1-0
12Georgia1-0
12Florida Atlantic1-0
12James Madison1-0
12Memphis1-0
12Southern Mississippi1-0
12Washington State1-0
12Kansas State1-0
12Houston1-0
12Oklahoma State1-0
12Texas State1-0
12Texas A&M1-0
12Louisiana Monroe1-0
12Troy1-0
12North Carolina1-0
12Illinois1-0
12Louisiana1-0
12Wyoming1-0
12Alabama1-0
12Penn State1-0
12Tulane1-0
12Virginia Tech1-0
12Arizona1-0
12BYU1-0
12UCLA1-0
12Rutgers1-0
12Florida State1-0
12Duke1-0
83UTEP1-1
83Ohio1-1
85Stanford1-0
85Oregon State1-0
87Charlotte1-0
88New Mexico State1-1
88Florida International1-1
90Navy0-1
91Nevada0-1
92Kent State0-1
92Connecticut0-1
92Nebraska0-1
92Florida0-1
92Miami (OH)0-1
92Central Michigan0-1
92Georgia Tech0-1
92Arkansas State0-1
92TCU0-1
92Purdue0-1
92Ball State0-1
92Utah State0-1
92East Carolina0-1
92Boston College0-1
92Bowling Green0-1
92Virginia0-1
92Akron0-1
92Buffalo0-1
92Boise State0-1
92Rice0-1
92South Florida0-1
92Indiana0-1
92North Texas0-1
92Colorado State0-1
92UT San Antonio0-1
92Baylor0-1
92New Mexico0-1
92Army0-1
92South Carolina0-1
92Toledo0-1
92Texas Tech0-1
92Middle Tennessee0-1
92West Virginia0-1
92South Alabama0-1
92Old Dominion0-1
92Sam Houston State0-1
92Coastal Carolina0-1
92Northwestern0-1
92LSU0-1
92Clemson0-1
132Hawai'i0-2
132San José State0-2