Conquer Club

Top 25 heading into Week 8

NO. TEAM CONF. WINS LOSSES RPI
1 Brigham Young Cougars Ind., 7-0, 0.722
2 Iowa State Cyclones Big-12, 6-0, 0.709
3 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, WAC, 6-0, 0.700
4 Tulsa Golden Hurricane, C-USA, 5-0, 0.699
5 Boise State Broncos, MWC, 4-2, 0.689
6 Michigan State Spartans, Big Ten, 5-1, 0.679
7 Texas A&M Aggies, Big-12, 5-0, 0.671
8 Ohio State Buckeyes, Big Ten, 5-1, 0.663
9 Ball State Cardinals, MAC, 7-0, 0.662
10 Stanford Cardinal, PAC-12, 5-1, 0.656
11 Kentucky Wildcats, SEC, 5-1, 0.637
12 Kansas State Wildcats, Big-12, 5-1, 0.624
13 Wyoming Cowboys, MWC, 5-1, 0.623
14 North Carolina Tar Heels, ACC, 7-0, 0.620
15 USC Trojans, PAC-12, 5-0, 0.619
16 Bowling Green Falcons, MAC, 4-1, 0.614
17 Air Force Falcons, MWC 5-1, 0.604
18 Vanderbilt Commadores, SEC, 4-1, 0.598
19 South Carolina Gamecocks, SEC, 5-1, 0.590
20 UNLV Rebels, MWC, 4-2, 0.589
21 Missouri Tigers, Big-12, 4-2, 0.580
22 Florida Gators, SEC, 4-3, 0.576
23 Memphis Tigers, C-USA, 4-2, 0.576
24 Indiana Hoosiers, Big Ten, 6-1, 0.575
25 Buffalo Bulls, MAC, 5-1, 0.565

Week 8 games will go out sometime tomorrow (Monday). Since we're about halfway through the regular season, anyone want to start speculating on who makes the playoff field?

Typical Florida State season...

AmphibiousRodent wrote:Top 25 heading into Week 8

NO. TEAM CONF. WINS LOSSES RPI
1 Brigham Young Cougars Ind., 7-0, 0.722
2 Iowa State Cyclones Big-12, 6-0, 0.709
3 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, WAC, 6-0, 0.700
4 Tulsa Golden Hurricane, C-USA, 5-0, 0.699
5 Boise State Broncos, MWC, 4-2, 0.689
6 Michigan State Spartans, Big Ten, 5-1, 0.679
7 Texas A&M Aggies, Big-12, 5-0, 0.671
8 Ohio State Buckeyes, Big Ten, 5-1, 0.663
9 Ball State Cardinals, MAC, 7-0, 0.662
10 Stanford Cardinal, PAC-12, 5-1, 0.656
11 Kentucky Wildcats, SEC, 5-1, 0.637
12 Kansas State Wildcats, Big-12, 5-1, 0.624
13 Wyoming Cowboys, MWC, 5-1, 0.623
14 North Carolina Tar Heels, ACC, 7-0, 0.620
15 USC Trojans, PAC-12, 5-0, 0.619
16 Bowling Green Falcons, MAC, 4-1, 0.614
17 Air Force Falcons, MWC 5-1, 0.604
18 Vanderbilt Commadores, SEC, 4-1, 0.598
19 South Carolina Gamecocks, SEC, 5-1, 0.590
20 UNLV Rebels, MWC, 4-2, 0.589
21 Missouri Tigers, Big-12, 4-2, 0.580
22 Florida Gators, SEC, 4-3, 0.576
23 Memphis Tigers, C-USA, 4-2, 0.576
24 Indiana Hoosiers, Big Ten, 6-1, 0.575
25 Buffalo Bulls, MAC, 5-1, 0.565

Week 8 games will go out sometime tomorrow (Monday). Since we're about halfway through the regular season, anyone want to start speculating on who makes the playoff field?

WOOP!!! #10!!!

In the PAC-12 there are two divisions, will they have a playoff game to see who goes to the playoffs? or is it going to be just whoever has the best record?

Conferences with two divisions (ACC, Big Ten, C-USA, MAC, PAC-12 and SEC) have a championship game in Week 14. It's known as Championship Week, and for this tournament it will almost be like the first round of playoffs, because I don't see a team losing the last game and making one of the at-large spots. I could be wrong though.

Ball State win 34-21 (i think) to go 8-0

Since we're about halfway through the season, I figure it's time for some predictions. I'll grade myself on these after the season. Feel free to jump in with your own picks, or tell me why I'm wrong, or call me a moron or whatever.

ACC
Rodent's pick: North Carolina over Boston College
In the Coastal Division, the Tar Heels (7-0) showed no sign of slowing down last week with a 46-6 win over Miami. The biggest challenge will be Duke (5-1) in Week 13, which might as well be the league title game. The Atlantic Division is more foggy, with nobody stepping up in the first few weeks of league play. Florida State seemed like the strongest team early on, but two league losses will be tough to bounce back from.

Big-12
Rodent's pick: Iowa State
#2 Iowa State (6-0) and #7 Texas A&M (5-0) play each other this week, and it looks like Iowa State has a slight lead. The winner of this game will have the inside track, with Kansas State (5-1) also in position to challenge at 3-0 in league play. #21 Missouri (4-2) looked like an early contender but already has two league losses.

Big East
Rodent's pick: West Virginia
The Big East has been the weakest conference so far this year (9-24 in nonconference play), so it shouldn't be hard for someone to take control. Question is, will anyone? West Virginia (3-2) was ranked early on, reaching #13 in Week 3. But watch out, here comes Rutgers (2-3) out of left field with two league wins after dropping his first three nonconference games.

Big Ten
Rodent's pick: Michigan over Indiana
Michigan has already faced down its toughest foe in the Legends Division with a 46-29 win over Michigan State in Week 7. I would have put Ohio State as the winner of the Leaders Division if not for a Week 13 matchup between the Buckeyes and Michigan. Ohio State already has one league loss (to Michigan State) and it's hard to see them making it through both Michigan and Indiana without another. It won't be easy for Indiana, either, who faces Michigan State in Week 12. The big one here will be Indiana-Ohio State in Week 10.

Conference USA
Rodent's pick: Tulsa over Southern Miss
It's hard to vote against Tulsa (5-0) especially when everyone else in the West Division has one league loss already, and when Tulsa has given up just 42 points all season. The East Division is a little cloudier, but Southern Miss, despite its tow league wins being close, is the only team without a league loss.

MAC
Rodent's pick: Ball State over Buffalo
With Ball State's win over Central Michigan, nobody should be able to touch the Cardinals (8-0) in the West Division. Even though Buffalo (5-1) already has a loss in MAC play (a 26-24 nail-biter to Ball State in Week 3), the Bulls have been steadily winning. Bowling Green (5-1) will definitely have something to say about that though. The big one here will be Buffalo against Bowling Green.

Mountain West
Rodent's pick: Boise State
This one is tough -- any number of teams could take this one. I feel Air Force (5-1) has been the steadiest, but Boise (4-2) has shown the explosive ability to beat the top teams and is 3-0 against Top-25 competition. Boise's two losses came against unranked teams (29-23 to Tulsa and 27-25 to Nevada), but Tulsa is now ranked and Nevada is just outside the Top 25. UNLV (4-2) is 2-0 against the Top 25, but has losses to unranked Wisconsin and Washington State.

PAC-12
Rodent's pick: Stanford over USC
USC (5-0) has been unstoppable, but also hasn't shown up for his last two games. Meanwhile, Stanford (5-1) has jumped out to a 4-0 conference record. The two are set to meet in Week 9Nobody else has displayed the kind of dominance needed to challenge those two, but if USC drops out, it will be a three-way race between Colorado (4-3), Arizona State (3-3) and Arizona (4-2).

SEC
Rodent's pick: South Carolina over Arkansas
South Carolina's loss to Kentucky set Gamecocks (5-1) back in the East Division, but that division is a dogfight between a lot of good players. The West Division is a different story -- Mississippi State (3-3) leads with a 3-0 SEC record, but those wins have come against Georgia, Auburn and LSU. Arkansas (4-2) was ranked earlier, and will probably come on strong against a weak division.

Sun Belt
Rodent's pick: Florida International
A handful of teams have separated themselves in the Sun Belt, and the Golden Panthers (4-2) include a pair of wins over Top-25 teams as well. Middle Tennessee (4-1) has a 10-6 win over then-#1 Memphis on its resume, and has to be considered armed and dangerous, but its league games have been close. Florida Atlantic (4-2) already has three league wins.

WAC
Rodent's pick: Louisiana Tech
Can anyone stop 6-0 LA Tech? A couple of close wins (33-30 over Hawaii and 37-35 over Mississippi State) have shown the Bulldogs to be vulnerable, but I don't think anyone in the league can take advantage enough to knock them off. San Jose was ranked early, but fell off fast. Nevada (3-2) may be the only team with a shot.

Independents
Rodent's pick: BYU makes the playoffs
With no automatic bid to the playoffs, the question here is whether any of these teams can play well enough to grab an at-large bid. Army looked like that team early on before falling off, and now top-ranked Brigham Young (7-0) looks like a sure pick to go to the dance. The Cougars will have to keep it up, because two or three losses might be enough to send them to a second-tier bowl game.

Hey Rodent...the Mountain West crystal ball isn't so foggy...trust yourself because you got it right.
Boise State all the way!!!

I have a question on the formula used for ranking. How is that figured out?
How can Florida be in the top 25 with 3 loses, one being to Florida Atlantic?
Ok, so they beat a #6 in UAB (4-2) and #25 in Florida Atlantic (5-1), and lost to #19 Alabama (4-3)

Not picking on Florida, but it was the team that stood out with 3 loses.

Boise State is closing in on a big win over Air Force for its fourth win over a ranked foe...keep climbing Broncos...keep climbing

After a disappointing start, Clemson has fired its former coach and brought on agentcom, for his first stint with an FBS team. The move seems to have been the right one. In consecutive weeks, the Tigers have dismantled the teams atop the Atlantic Division of the ACC while on the road.

Week 6 saw Clemson jump out to an early 10-0 on Boston College. Boston College chipped away during the defensive struggle of the second and third quarters before Clemson iced a 17-9 victory with a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Traveling to Maryland for Week 7, Clemson didn't look back from a 17-9 lead at the half, scoring 13 unanswered points after the break. Following the game, Terps coach Farinelli said the Tigers "were the better players tonight."

The newly inspired Tigers will face a true test this week as they return home for a game in their new stadium Waterloo Field against #14 North Carolina. At a press conference before the game, Coach Agentcom stated that while he's happy to be in a new stadium and in front of a home crowd, he does not expect it to make a difference in the game. "At the end of the day, the better team will walk away victorious. I think our players have shown, and will continue to show, that we can play with these teams in the ACC."

The Cougs beat my beloved BEAVERS 33-29..... (good thing I'm WSU)

agentcom wrote:After a disappointing start, Clemson has fired its former coach and brought on agentcom, for his first stint with an FBS team. The move seems to have been the right one. In consecutive weeks, the Tigers have dismantled the teams atop the Atlantic Division of the ACC while on the road.

Week 6 saw Clemson jump out to an early 10-0 on Boston College. Boston College chipped away during the defensive struggle of the second and third quarters before Clemson iced a 17-9 victory with a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Traveling to Maryland for Week 7, Clemson didn't look back from a 17-9 lead at the half, scoring 13 unanswered points after the break. Following the game, Terps coach Farinelli said the Tigers "were the better players tonight."

The newly inspired Tigers will face a true test this week as they return home for a game in their new stadium Waterloo Field against #14 North Carolina. At a press conference before the game, Coach Agentcom stated that while he's happy to be in a new stadium and in front of a home crowd, he does not expect it to make a difference in the game. "At the end of the day, the better team will walk away victorious. I think our players have shown, and will continue to show, that we can play with these teams in the ACC."

Yeah.....UNC prepared to play on turf and the game switched to waterloo field....

Well, just like in real life.. Arizona routs UCLA 48-24

K-state beat KU 46-29 at KU

AmphibiousRodent wrote:Big-12
Rodent's pick: Iowa State
#2 Iowa State (6-0) and #7 Texas A&M (5-0) play each other this week, and it looks like Iowa State has a slight lead. The winner of this game will have the inside track, with Kansas State (5-1) also in position to challenge at 3-0 in league play. #21 Missouri (4-2) looked like an early contender but already has two league losses.

I get both Iowa State and A&M at home. Iowa State being the last game of the season for me. I am now 4-0 in the league, hope i can keep it up.

msu rebounds from a upset last week with a 53-26 win over Wisconsin

UNCs first loss comes on the road at clemson, well played.

Clemson continued their astonishing rise through the ACC today with a home win against #14 North Carolina 35-23. An early 12-7 lead was followed by a contested but scoreless second quarter. North Carolina was able to drive deep into Tiger territory on several possessions putting a scare into the home crowd. Nevertheless, Clemson managed to hold them at bay each time, and ran out the clock to head into the locker room still ahead. Clemson returned to the turf re-energized putting up a touchdown and 3 field goals. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Clemson's 28-14 lead was insurmountable. UNC's strong offensive performance in the fourth quarter netted them a set of field goals. Clemson responded with a late touchdown. The fourth quarter was the first time in 9 consecutive quarters that Clemson scored fewer points than its opponent.

AmphibiousRodent wrote:Since we're about halfway through the season, I figure it's time for some predictions. I'll grade myself on these after the season. Feel free to jump in with your own picks, or tell me why I'm wrong, or call me a moron or whatever.


Big East
Rodent's pick: West Virginia
The Big East has been the weakest conference so far this year (9-24 in nonconference play), so it shouldn't be hard for someone to take control. Question is, will anyone? West Virginia (3-2) was ranked early on, reaching #13 in Week 3. But watch out, here comes Rutgers (2-3) out of left field with two league wins after dropping his first three nonconference games.

Rutgers has apparently taken Rodent's predictions and put them on their bulletin board, as it appears they're on the verge of improving to 3-0 in conference on the year, and winning their 4th game in a row, on the road at Louisville.

When asked why the blazes Rutgers got destroyed in their early season out of conference games, before improving in conference, Coach Ricrem admitted that his roster was largely built around players who had confused Football with Foosball. He is hopeful however, that if they become bowl eligible they'll be able to hustle the money necessary for travel at the local campus pub.

plash.ricrem wrote:

AmphibiousRodent wrote:Since we're about halfway through the season, I figure it's time for some predictions. I'll grade myself on these after the season. Feel free to jump in with your own picks, or tell me why I'm wrong, or call me a moron or whatever.


Big East
Rodent's pick: West Virginia
The Big East has been the weakest conference so far this year (9-24 in nonconference play), so it shouldn't be hard for someone to take control. Question is, will anyone? West Virginia (3-2) was ranked early on, reaching #13 in Week 3. But watch out, here comes Rutgers (2-3) out of left field with two league wins after dropping his first three nonconference games.

Rutgers has apparently taken Rodent's predictions and put them on their bulletin board, as it appears they're on the verge of improving to 3-0 in conference on the year, and winning their 4th game in a row, on the road at Louisville.

When asked why the blazes Rutgers got destroyed in their early season out of conference games, before improving in conference, Coach Ricrem admitted that his roster was largely built around players who had confused Football with Foosball. He is hopeful however, that if they become bowl eligible they'll be able to hustle the money necessary for travel at the local campus pub.

lol.
sounds like the real big east!!

How will the bowls/playoffs work? Is there home field advantage?

Mountain West
Rodent's pick: Boise State
This one is tough -- any number of teams could take this one. I feel Air Force (5-1) has been the steadiest, but Boise (4-2) has shown the explosive ability to beat the top teams and is 3-0 against Top-25 competition. Boise's two losses came against unranked teams (29-23 to Tulsa and 27-25 to Nevada), but Tulsa is now ranked and Nevada is just outside the Top 25. UNLV (4-2) is 2-0 against the Top 25, but has losses to unranked Wisconsin and Washington State.

No mention of Colorado state--ouch --two losses now because of non starts--or they would be undefeated. A little luck and we win out--just thought I would mention that.

Here's the Top 25 heading into Week 9. Games will go out tonight or tomorrow morning, depending how my day plays out.

NO., TEAM, CONF., WINS/LOSSES, RPI
1. Brigham Young Cougars, Ind., 8-0, 0.745
2. Iowa State Cyclones, Big-12, 7-0, 0.727
3. Boise State Broncos, MWC, 5-2, 0.726
4. Tulsa Golden Hurricane, C-USA, 6-0, 0.705
5. Michigan State Spartans, Big Ten, 6-1, 0.687
6. Ohio State Buckeyes, Big Ten, 6-1, 0.676
7. Ball State Cardinals, MAC, 8-0, 0.661
8. Stanford Cardinal, PAC-12, 5-1, 0.655
9. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, WAC, 6-1, 0.648
10. Kansas State Wildcats, Big-12, 6-1, 0.643
11. Wyoming Cowboys, MWC, 5-1, 0.624
12. USC Trojans, PAC-12, 5-0, 0.617
13. Texas A&M Aggies, Big-12, 6-1, 0.616
14. UNLV Rebels, MWC, 4-2, 0.596
15. Duke Blue Devils, ACC, 5-1, 0.596
16. South Carolina Gamecocks, SEC, 5-1, 0.594
17. Missouri Tigers, Big-12, 5-2, 0.590
18. Buffalo Bulls, MAC, 6-1, 0.590
19. Memphis Tigers, C-USA, 5-2, 0.585
20. Indiana Hoosiers, Big Ten, 6-1, 0.584
21. Michigan Wolverines, Big Ten, 6-1, 0.578
22. North Carolina Tar Heels, ACC, 7-1, 0.574
23. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Sun Belt , 5-1, 0.568
24. Nevada Wolf Pack, WAC, 5-2, 0.565
25. Bowling Green Falcons, MAC, 4-2, 0.564


Responses:
highlander: Sorry HA. I only felt like writing so much, and there's five teams in the Mountain West with a realistic shot.
Viper: The higher seeds will have home field advantage up until the championship, which will be a neutral map that nobody has as a home map. The rest of the bowl games will be played on the home map of the school associated with hosting the bowl. Maps will be announced after Week 14.
plash, agentcom, Pixar, Jestix, Fuzzy, Frito and flex: Good job dudes.
tecoman: The formula takes your adjusted winning percentage (which gives more weight to road games), adds your strength of schedule, adds your conference's strength, and gives a very small adjustment for your win margin. I don't know how happy I am with the formula, and I'll be looking to overhaul it between seasons. After this season I'll have a thread in tournament discussions to get input from players.

what maps are used for the conference championships?

I had not thought about that. I will figure out maps and get back to you.