I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

just looking a bit...
overall-
scoring is up so far from last year 29.5 ppg up to 31.8 ppg.
yards per play up from 5.71 up to 5.93
yards per game up from 404.84 to 422.28.
1 thing interesting- # of plays is down from 71.96 to 71.88.

here's the number of plays since 2008-
2015 71.88
2014 71.96
2013 71.83
2012 71.49
2011 69.79
2010 68.37
2009 67.70
2008 67.70

so it feels like the number of plays has stabilized to some degree the last 4 years- after going up by 3.79 from 2009 to 2012. Will be interesting to see if this trend continues.

scoring though is interesting transposed with the plays
2015 31.78/71.88 plays
2014 29.49/71.96 plays
2013 29.53/71.83 plays
2012 29.49/71.49 plays
2011 28.29/69.79 plays
2010 27.98/68.37 plays
2009 27.04/67.70 plays
2008 27.19/67.70 plays

think it's interesting the scoring being up this year, despite a slight drop in number of plays run per game. It'll be interesting to see if this trend continues in October/November with more conference games.

The injuries have been particularly glaring especially at the QB position.

I think you're right about the SEC. I think the rest of college football has finally caught up to them.

I made the same comparison about Ohio State (to FSU) with someone the other day. I'm interested to see if the committee will drop them if they keep struggling like they did FSU.

The issue with the AAC is a two edged sword. They have teams this year that can do some damage: Temple, Memphis, Navy, and Houston. The problem is the rest of the college football AD's take note. So when a P5 school wants to get rid of their coach guess where they're going to look.

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.

4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

About #2: The other four are tightly clustered, but not the ACC. The computers have the ACC closer to the AAC than to the next-nearest P5 conference. The ACC has performed like a 'tweener' between the G5 and P5.

About #4: I don't see OSU as anything like FSU last year. Last year's FSU team was a paper tiger that pulled out miracles because of the fabulous Winston*. They really were on the verge of defeat time and again and Winston would just take over when he had to. This, despite the fact that FSU was loaded with talent leads me to believe Jimbo isn't really a very good coach. Fantastic recruiter, mediocre coach.

Ohio State is just playing down to their early basket case competition and even then have not been in any real danger of losing. Urban is just keeping things close to the vest. Once they start playing the B1G schools, they will start to perform much better.

* By 'fabulous' I am referring to his playing on the field. Personally, IMO he's a scumbag who was guilty of everything he was charged with. But on the field he was easily the best college player we've seen since Cam Newton, at least.

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

#3 You looked at ND's Poisse or UGA's Chubb's stats? All 3 are pretty even.

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

Agree across the board, though I hadn't read about the shoe thing - interesting.

(09-29-2015 08:29 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

#3 You looked at ND's Poisse or UGA's Chubb's stats? All 3 are pretty even.

no they aren't....
Fournette 3 games, 631 yards
Proisse 4 games, 600 yards
Chubb 4 games, 599 yards

so instead of 210 yards per game, 150 yards per game.

(09-29-2015 08:25 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.

4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

About #2: The other four are tightly clustered, but not the ACC. The computers have the ACC closer to the AAC than to the next-nearest P5 conference. The ACC has performed like a 'tweener' between the G5 and P5.

About #4: I don't see OSU as anything like FSU last year. Last year's FSU team was a paper tiger that pulled out miracles because of the fabulous Winston*. They really were on the verge of defeat time and again and Winston would just take over when he had to. This, despite the fact that FSU was loaded with talent leads me to believe Jimbo isn't really a very good coach. Fantastic recruiter, mediocre coach.

Ohio State is just playing down to their early basket case competition and even then have not been in any real danger of losing. Urban is just keeping things close to the vest. Once they start playing the B1G schools, they will start to perform much better.

* By 'fabulous' I am referring to his playing on the field. Personally, IMO he's a scumbag who was guilty of everything he was charged with. But on the field he was easily the best college player we've seen since Cam Newton, at least.

Quo, where are you seeing the ACC is closer to the AAC than the other P5's? All of the ones I see say they are bunched together. Go look at Massey's composite which has like million rankings. It lists the ACC median at 47, B1G at 45, Pac 12 at 43 and Big 12 at 41. The AAC is listed at 73 so I don't see how you can make that statement.

(09-29-2015 08:33 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:29 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

#3 You looked at ND's Poisse or UGA's Chubb's stats? All 3 are pretty even.

no they aren't....
Fournette 3 games, 631 yards
Proisse 4 games, 600 yards
Chubb 4 games, 599 yards

so instead of 210 yards per game, 150 yards per game.

31 yards difference. They average between 8.1 and 8.6 yards a carry. That's pretty even. Almost everyone else is down around 6 yards a carry, except for the Georgia Southern guy. And Indiana's Howard leads the nation with 675 yards. But he has a lot more carries.

(09-29-2015 08:37 AM)jaminandjachin Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:25 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.

4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

About #2: The other four are tightly clustered, but not the ACC. The computers have the ACC closer to the AAC than to the next-nearest P5 conference. The ACC has performed like a 'tweener' between the G5 and P5.

About #4: I don't see OSU as anything like FSU last year. Last year's FSU team was a paper tiger that pulled out miracles because of the fabulous Winston*. They really were on the verge of defeat time and again and Winston would just take over when he had to. This, despite the fact that FSU was loaded with talent leads me to believe Jimbo isn't really a very good coach. Fantastic recruiter, mediocre coach.

Ohio State is just playing down to their early basket case competition and even then have not been in any real danger of losing. Urban is just keeping things close to the vest. Once they start playing the B1G schools, they will start to perform much better.

* By 'fabulous' I am referring to his playing on the field. Personally, IMO he's a scumbag who was guilty of everything he was charged with. But on the field he was easily the best college player we've seen since Cam Newton, at least.

Quo, where are you seeing the ACC is closer to the AAC than the other P5's? All of the ones I see say they are bunched together. Go look at Massey's composite which has like million rankings. It lists the ACC median at 47, B1G at 45, Pac 12 at 43 and Big 12 at 41. The AAC is listed at 73 so I don't see how you can make that statement.

I don't think medians mean much. The ACC's record against everyone has been real bad this year. I will concede that by saying "the computers" I put it too strongly, as computers often differ with each other and not all have the ACC closer to the AAC. But the ACC has been bad, no doubt about it.

http://realtimerpi.com/college_football/...f_Men.html

http://www.colleyrankings.com/curconf.html

(09-29-2015 08:56 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:33 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:29 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

#3 You looked at ND's Poisse or UGA's Chubb's stats? All 3 are pretty even.

no they aren't....
Fournette 3 games, 631 yards
Proisse 4 games, 600 yards
Chubb 4 games, 599 yards

so instead of 210 yards per game, 150 yards per game.

31 yards difference. They average between 8.1 and 8.6 yards a carry. That's pretty even. Almost everyone else is down around 6 yards a carry, except for the Georgia Southern guy. And Indiana's Howard leads the nation with 675 yards. But he has a lot more carries.

yeah. He's got 31 more yards in 1 FEWER GAME. It's a huge difference and you know it.

(09-29-2015 09:00 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:37 AM)jaminandjachin Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:25 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.

4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

About #2: The other four are tightly clustered, but not the ACC. The computers have the ACC closer to the AAC than to the next-nearest P5 conference. The ACC has performed like a 'tweener' between the G5 and P5.

About #4: I don't see OSU as anything like FSU last year. Last year's FSU team was a paper tiger that pulled out miracles because of the fabulous Winston*. They really were on the verge of defeat time and again and Winston would just take over when he had to. This, despite the fact that FSU was loaded with talent leads me to believe Jimbo isn't really a very good coach. Fantastic recruiter, mediocre coach.

Ohio State is just playing down to their early basket case competition and even then have not been in any real danger of losing. Urban is just keeping things close to the vest. Once they start playing the B1G schools, they will start to perform much better.

* By 'fabulous' I am referring to his playing on the field. Personally, IMO he's a scumbag who was guilty of everything he was charged with. But on the field he was easily the best college player we've seen since Cam Newton, at least.

Quo, where are you seeing the ACC is closer to the AAC than the other P5's? All of the ones I see say they are bunched together. Go look at Massey's composite which has like million rankings. It lists the ACC median at 47, B1G at 45, Pac 12 at 43 and Big 12 at 41. The AAC is listed at 73 so I don't see how you can make that statement.

I don't think medians mean much. The ACC's record against everyone has been real bad this year. I will concede that by saying "the computers" I put it too strongly, as computers often differ with each other and not all have the ACC closer to the AAC. But the ACC has been bad, no doubt about it.

http://realtimerpi.com/college_football/...f_Men.html

http://www.colleyrankings.com/curconf.html

Colley is just winning percentage. That doesn't tell you how good a conference is.

Even in the RPI the ACC is closer to the B1G than AAC.

That's why I look at Massey's Composite. It's 77 different rankings which helps to remove some of the biases that exist. Massey's composite tends to be more accurate than one-off computer rankings.

(09-29-2015 08:56 AM)bullet Wrote:  31 yards difference. They average between 8.1 and 8.6 yards a carry. That's pretty even. Almost everyone else is down around 6 yards a carry, except for the Georgia Southern guy.

And the Georgia Southern guy has his big average despite averaging a little over 3 yard per carry against WVU in the season opener.

Georgia Southern rushed for 185 yards against the Mountaineers, and have averaged about 400 rushing yards per game in every other contest.

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

Most voters won't drop Ohio State in the polls (as long as they don't lose) no matter how ugly their wins are, because of the attitude that an undefeated defending champ is still the champ until they lose. And, the Buckeyes might not struggle much more, because the rest of their schedule is very manageable until the last two games vs. Michigan State and Michigan.

2014 FSU didn't benefit from the defending-champ attitude quite as much; a lot of voters wanted to drop them because they disliked Infamous Jameis.

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

I'd agree with all that

I'd add that Notre Dame has looked better than they have in a LONG time...I think they lose this weekend, but I don't think they're out of the playoff race by any means

Also, not really related to September, but I think this will be the first year in a long time that Alabama won't be part of the National Championship race. I expect them to lose between the Hedges this weekend, which will put them back 2 games in the SEC West race...

Also....Utah anyone??

(09-29-2015 10:31 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

Most voters won't drop Ohio State in the polls (as long as they don't lose) no matter how ugly their wins are, because of the attitude that an undefeated defending champ is still the champ until they lose. And, the Buckeyes might not struggle much more, because the rest of their schedule is very manageable until the last two games vs. Michigan State and Michigan.

2014 FSU didn't benefit from the defending-champ attitude quite as much; a lot of voters wanted to drop them because they disliked Infamous Jameis.

The Voters wanted to drop them....

The Committee is different, and I think they WILL drop them. Ohio State has nothing impressive on their schedule until Michigan State...they'll get dropped to 2 or 3. I think if they win out, they'll be in the top 2 for sure though.

(09-29-2015 10:44 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 10:31 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

Most voters won't drop Ohio State in the polls (as long as they don't lose) no matter how ugly their wins are, because of the attitude that an undefeated defending champ is still the champ until they lose. And, the Buckeyes might not struggle much more, because the rest of their schedule is very manageable until the last two games vs. Michigan State and Michigan.

2014 FSU didn't benefit from the defending-champ attitude quite as much; a lot of voters wanted to drop them because they disliked Infamous Jameis.

The Voters wanted to drop them....

The Committee is different, and I think they WILL drop them. Ohio State has nothing impressive on their schedule until Michigan State...they'll get dropped to 2 or 3. I think if they win out, they'll be in the top 2 for sure though.

If they win out, they are in the top four without a doubt, so it really doesn't matter much where they are seeded. Win two games against the best and they stay champs. That's a pretty good position to be in,

I would say for this year and next- the #1/2/3/4 designations in terms of locations don't mean anywhere near as much as it did last year. Cotton/Orange doesn't have quite the same connotations as Rose/Sugar.

(09-29-2015 09:01 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:56 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:33 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:29 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

1st off- the SEC isn't what it was 5 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It's still a real good conference.
2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.
3- Heisman trophy- I think Fournette has done what a RB needs to do to win the Heisman. For a RB to win, they have to be so dominant it's not funny. He's done it. Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio St hasn't. leads into...
4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.
5- Injuries. We've seen a lot. Thought it was interesting and I don't know where I heard it but talking about all the leg injuries. They were saying because the new shoes are so lightweight- they're not providing the same support that shoes used to provide. Thought it was pretty interesting.
6- AAC finally starting to improve. It really 1st 2 years of the AAC was a very underwhelming conference. This year though seems real different.
7- MWC is MIA. Yikes 5 OOC wins all year long vs FBS.

I'm just glad we're thru for the most part all the cupcakes and now start getting to the main dish.

#3 You looked at ND's Poisse or UGA's Chubb's stats? All 3 are pretty even.

no they aren't....
Fournette 3 games, 631 yards
Proisse 4 games, 600 yards
Chubb 4 games, 599 yards

so instead of 210 yards per game, 150 yards per game.

31 yards difference. They average between 8.1 and 8.6 yards a carry. That's pretty even. Almost everyone else is down around 6 yards a carry, except for the Georgia Southern guy. And Indiana's Howard leads the nation with 675 yards. But he has a lot more carries.

yeah. He's got 31 more yards in 1 FEWER GAME. It's a huge difference and you know it.

Its pretty close to the same number of carries. Chubb hasn't played much because UGA has been blowing people out. Notre Dame has had pretty big wins as well.

So no, its not that big a difference.

(09-29-2015 08:37 AM)jaminandjachin Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 08:25 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-29-2015 02:05 AM)stever20 Wrote:  I think there's a few takeaways from September...

2- I think really all 5 P5 conferences are a lot closer now than they've been in quite a while. A lot closer.

4- Ohio St. They've really struggled this year so far. Just tough to put the hand on exactly why- but something isn't right. Reminds me of FSU to some degree from last year- although FSU didn't start struggling until right now.

About #2: The other four are tightly clustered, but not the ACC. The computers have the ACC closer to the AAC than to the next-nearest P5 conference. The ACC has performed like a 'tweener' between the G5 and P5.

About #4: I don't see OSU as anything like FSU last year. Last year's FSU team was a paper tiger that pulled out miracles because of the fabulous Winston*. They really were on the verge of defeat time and again and Winston would just take over when he had to. This, despite the fact that FSU was loaded with talent leads me to believe Jimbo isn't really a very good coach. Fantastic recruiter, mediocre coach.

Ohio State is just playing down to their early basket case competition and even then have not been in any real danger of losing. Urban is just keeping things close to the vest. Once they start playing the B1G schools, they will start to perform much better.

* By 'fabulous' I am referring to his playing on the field. Personally, IMO he's a scumbag who was guilty of everything he was charged with. But on the field he was easily the best college player we've seen since Cam Newton, at least.

Quo, where are you seeing the ACC is closer to the AAC than the other P5's? All of the ones I see say they are bunched together. Go look at Massey's composite which has like million rankings. It lists the ACC median at 47, B1G at 45, Pac 12 at 43 and Big 12 at 41. The AAC is listed at 73 so I don't see how you can make that statement.

Win% against FBS opponents

SEC....833
PAC....778
B12....727
B1G....723
ACC....552
AAC....500

I know there's more to it than just win%, but that's a telling difference. And it's a much bigger difference than in recent years. The ACC has always been the weakest P5, but they've been closer than this every year until now.

I expect by the end of the year that RPIs, Sagarin strength ratings and Massey will all reflect this gap. Right now, their numbers aren't meaningful enough because of too small a sample size.