A ranked Alabama team lost to NIU in 2003.
An ACC Maryland team lost to NIU same year.
Iowa State loses to MAC teams frequently.
Illinois has lost to WMU in 2008
Virginia lost to WMU in the later 00's
WMU beat Iowa in 2000 & 2007.
NIU beat Iowa & Purdue not that long ago in the same year.
Toledo beat Michigan in their not-so-great-year when Michigan was having a not so great year, too
Toledo's beat many P5 teams
Ball State's beat Indiana more than once in recent years

That's just off the top of my head. It'd be WEIRD if a whole year went by with no MAC win vs P5. It's disappointing if/when there's only 1 P5 win.

And many more Close games that Weren't flukes-by-statistic where the MAC team was outplayed on yards, T.O.P., yds/rush, passing accuracy, but found ways to lose by bad special teams & turnovers. No, that's not (only) what makes the games close in any ballgame.

(09-13-2015 08:00 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Georgia Tech opens a 2 point underdog to Notre Dame. Boy I'd love to know some of the off spread payouts on this game.

Are you sure you read that right? I thought it was GT -2.5 on the vegasinsider.com website.

Temple should be in over Oklahoma State. Plenty and simple.

(09-15-2015 08:47 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(09-13-2015 08:00 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Georgia Tech opens a 2 point underdog to Notre Dame. Boy I'd love to know some of the off spread payouts on this game.

Are you sure you read that right? I thought it was GT -2.5 on the vegasinsider.com website.

Oddsshark had ND -2 (or -2.5?) at the time of my original post.

GT as a favorite, even at ND, makes a whole lot more sense. If it were a neutral site right now, with the QB injury etc. I'd say GT by 6 or so 3.5 for home field.

Too few games yet - so there will be a lot of changes in just 1-2 weeks, not to mention by December, but here's the MERIT-BASED rankings so far. And, before you flame away, quality wins are by far the single biggest factor - with AP/Coaches Poll average the next factor. The Massey composite rankings are listed more for informational purposes - not a significant factor.

1. Michigan St.
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
1-0 v. 11-25 (#12 Oregon)
0-0 v. 26-50
2-0 v. FBS
Poll Avg. 4
Comp. Avg. 5

[Best win so far in college football]

2. Alabama
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
1-0 v. 11-25 (#24 Wisconsin);
0-0 v. 26-50
2-0 v. FBS
Poll Avg. 2
Comp. Avg. 2

[Only other top-25 win so far in college football]

3. Ohio St.
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (at #44/40 Virginia Tech)
2-0 v. FBS
Poll avg. 1
Comp. Avg. 1

4. TCU
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (at #37/39 Minnesota)
1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS)
Poll avg. 3
Comp. Avg. 3

[Better Poll averages for TCU and Ohio St. overcome better wins by LSU, Oklahoma, and A&M].

5. LSU
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (at #28/30 Mississippi St.)
1-0 v. FBS
Poll avg. 13.5
Comp. Avg. 14

6. Oklahoma
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (at #29/27 Tennessee)
2-0 v. FBS
Poll avg. 16.5
Comp. Avg. 15

7. Texas A&M
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (v. #32/29 Arizona St.)
2-0 v. FBS
Poll avg. 17.5
Comp. Avg. 16

8. BYU
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
2-0 v. 26-50 (#33/34 Boise St. and at #45/NR Nebraska)
2-0 v. FBS
Poll avg. 20.5
Comp. Avg. 24

9. Utah
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (#43/NR Michigan)
2-0 v. FBS
Poll avg. 21
Comp. Avg. 23

10. Northwestern
0-0 v. AP/Coaches top-10
0-0 v. 11-25
1-0 v. 26-50 (# 42/NR Stanford)
1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS)
Poll avg. 23.5
Comp. Avg. 38

11. Toledo [1-0 v. FBS; 1-0 v. 26-50; Poll Avg. 36, Comp. Avg. 42]
12. USC [2-0 v. FBS; Poll Avg. 6.5, Comp. Avg. 8]
13. Georgia [2-0 v. FBS; Poll Avg. 7.5, Comp. Avg. 4]
14. Florida St. [ 2-0 v. FBS; Poll Avg. 7.5, Comp. Avg. 9]
15. Notre Dame [2-0 v. FBS; Poll Avg. 9, Comp. Avg. 17]
16. Baylor [1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS); Poll Avg 5, Comp. Avg. 6]
17. UCLA [2-0 v. FBS; Poll avg. 11, Comp. Avg. 11]
18. Clemson [1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS); Poll Avg 10, Comp. Avg. 13]
19. Ole Miss [1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS); Poll Avg 13, Comp. Avg. 7]
20. Georgia Tech [1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS); Poll Avg 15, Comp. Avg. 10]
21. Arizona [2-0 v. FBS; Poll Avg 19.5, Comp. Avg. 26]
22. Auburn [1-0 v. FBS (1-0 FCS); Poll Avg 16.5, Comp. Avg. 19]
23. Wisconsin [1-1 v. FBS; loss v. #2 Alabama; Poll avg. 23.5, Comp. Avg. 18]
24. Oregon [0-1 v. FBS (1-0 FCS); loss at #4 Michigan St.; Poll Avg. 12.5, Comp. Avg. 12]
(no FBS wins almost keeps Ducks out of the top-25, but Poll average sneaks them in)
25. Temple [2-0 v. FBS; Poll Avg 29, Comp. Avg. 45]

Note that within the 11-25 group, Toledo is the only team with a 'quality' win (at #42/46 Arkansas) - ie, win against a team that received votes in either the AP or Coaches Polls.

13 of the next 22 contenders (that received AP or Coaches votes, but outside the top-25) have no quality wins and one FCS win (ie, haven't played anyone yet). 8 from this group have a loss and no quality wins.

These rankings will change greatly after Weeks 3 and 4.

(09-15-2015 09:26 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(09-15-2015 08:47 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(09-13-2015 08:00 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Georgia Tech opens a 2 point underdog to Notre Dame. Boy I'd love to know some of the off spread payouts on this game.

Are you sure you read that right? I thought it was GT -2.5 on the vegasinsider.com website.

Oddsshark had ND -2 (or -2.5?) at the time of my original post.

Apparently, they still do, even though pretty much every other book has it the other way. They are also the odd duck on the UNC-Illinois game, giving the Illini only 7 points while the consensus of the other books has it wavering between 10 and 10 1/2. Maybe this guy doesn't have a very high opinion of the ACC.

was hearing today that Notre Dame so far this year is giving up 4 yards a rush. Vs Texas and Virginia. They better get that fixed or it's gonna be a LONG day vs GT.