College Football Predictions Revisited

Well, I vowed to do this in my preseason post and I am a man of my word. Time to take a look back and see how good or bad I did. And considering I am not getting paid by a huge company to be an "expert" in picking these games, I'm not that disgusted in my performance.

My Preseason Top 25 (Latest AP Top 25 in bold)
1. Ohio State (Oklahoma)
2. Georgia (Florida)
3. Florida (Texas)
4. USC (Alabama)
5. Missouri (USC)
6. Auburn (Utah)
7. Clemson (Texas Tech)
8. Wisconsin (Penn State)
9. Oklahoma (Boise State)
10. Texas Tech (Ohio State)
11. BYU (TCU)
12. Kansas (Cincinnati)
13. LSU (Oklahoma State)
14. Arizona State (Georgia Tech)
15. West Virginia (Georgia)
16. Illinois (BYU)
17. Tennessee (Oregon)
18. Virginia Tech (Michigan State)
19. Pittsburgh (Virginia Tech)
20. Texas (Pittsburgh)
21. Cincinnati (Missouri)
22. Penn State (Ball State)
23. Oregon State (Northwestern)
24. South Florida (Boston College)
25. Oregon (Ole Miss)

Analysis: Well, obviously, I was wrong about OSU and UGA, who both fell short in their biggest games. I had Florida and USC right in the mix though. Meanwhile, my preseason top-10 teams like Auburn, Clemson and Wisconsin aren't even in the Top 25 now while current Top 10 teams Alabama, Utah and Boise State weren't even in my preseason list. Other teams I underestimated included Oklahoma, Texas, Penn State and Cincy. Teams I thought too highly of included Mizzou, Kansas, LSU and Illinois, who like Auburn, is one of two teams who aren't going to a bowl game but yet, made my Top 25.

Conference Predictions (Actual Standings in bold)
ACC ATLANTIC: 1. Clemson 2. Maryland 3. Wake Forest 4. Boston College 5. Florida State 6. NC State
ACC COASTAL: 1. Virginia Tech 2. North Carolina 3. Virginia 4. Miami 5. Georgia Tech 6. Duke
ACC CHAMP: CLEMSON

ACC ATLANTIC: 1. Boston College 2. Florida State 3. Maryland 4. Wake Forest 5. Clemson 6. NC State
ACC COASTAL: 1. Virginia Tech 2. Georgia Tech 3. North Carolina 4. Miami 5. Virginia 6. Duke
ACC CHAMP: VIRGINIA TECH

Analysis: Considering how even this conference was, not disappointing with my picks. Clemson let a lot of people down with their 7-5 season while Georgia Tech surprised many with their 9-3 season. Thankfully, NC State and Duke struggled and lavished in last place as expected.

BIG EAST: 1. Pittsburgh 2. South Florida 3. West Virginia 4. Cincinnati 5. Rutgers 6. UConn 7. Louisville 8. Syracuse
BIG EAST CHAMP: PITT

BIG EAST: 1. Cincinnati 2. Pittsburgh 3. West Virginia 4. Rutgers 5. UConn 6. South Florida 7. Syracuse 8. Louisville
BIG EAST CHAMP: CINCY

Analysis: I said early on that I thought Cincy was a darkhorse. Obviously, they weren't that dark. The Big East was pretty predictable besides South Florida who brought back a strong group but didn't play well at all, hence their 6th place finish.

BIG TEN: 1. Ohio State 2. Wisconsin 3. Illinois 4. Penn State 5. Michigan State 6. Northwestern 7. Iowa 8. Indiana 9. Michigan 10. Purdue 11. Minnesota
BIG TEN CHAMP: OSU

BIG TEN: 1. Penn State 2. Ohio State 3. Michigan State 4. Northwestern 5. Iowa 6. Wisconsin 7. Minnesota 8. Illinois 9. Purdue 10. Michigan 11. Indiana
BIG TEN CHAMP: PSU

Analysis: Obviously, I was way off-base in this one. Wisconsin and Illinois were real disappointments. Meanwhile, Minnesota and Iowa really were impressive. Technically, Ohio State tied for first place so I get half-credit for the champ pick.

BIG 12 NORTH: 1. Mizzou 2. Kansas 3. Colorado 4. Kansas State 5. Nebraska 6. Iowa State
BIG 12 SOUTH: 1.Oklahoma 2. Texas Tech 3. Texas 4. Texas A+M 5. Oklahoma St. 6. Baylor
BIG 12 CHAMP: OKLAHOMA

BIG 12 NORTH: 1. Mizzou 2. Nebraska 3. Kansas 4. Colorado 5. Kansas State 6. Iowa State BIG 12 SOUTH: 1.Oklahoma 2. Texas 3. Texas Tech 4. Oklahoma St. 5. Baylor 6. Texas A+M
BIG 12 CHAMP: OKLAHOMA

Analysis: Not too shabby here. Besides a gross underestimation of OKST vs. A+M, I did pretty well. Nebraska in the second spot in the North was a bit of a surprise as well. Other than that, I'm content with the results.


PAC-10: 1. USC 2. Arizona St. 3. Oregon State 4. California 5. Stanford 6. Oregon 7. Arizona 8. UCLA 9. Washington 10. Washington St.
PAC-10 CHAMP: USC

PAC-10: 1. USC 2. Oregon 3. Oregon State 4. California 5. Arizona 6. Arizona State 7. Stanford 8. UCLA 9. Washington St. 10. Washington
PAC-10 CHAMP: USC

Analysis: Well, picking the champion wasn't hard at all. The rest of it was a bit tough. Arizona State was awful despite high expectations. Stanford didn't ascend to the top half like I thought. And Washington lost the Apple Cup game to WSU, thanks to Jake Locker's injury early in the season.

SEC EAST: 1. Georgia 2. Florida 3. Tennessee 4. South Carolina 5. Kentucky 6. Vanderbilt
SEC WEST: 1. Auburn 2. LSU 3. Miss. St. 4. Alabama 5. Ole Miss 6. Arkansas
SEC CHAMP: GEORGIA

SEC EAST: 1. Florida 2. Georgia 3. Vanderbilt 4. South Carolina 5. Tennessee 6. Kentucky SEC WEST: 1. Alabama 2. Ole Miss 3. LSU 4. Auburn 5. Mississippi State 6. Arkansas SEC CHAMP: FLORIDA

Analysis: Well, Auburn stunk, as well as Tennessee. Meanwhile, teams like Ole Miss and Vanderbilt made me look stupid. Oh, and of course Alabama, who nearly won the title. I also jumped the gun on Mississippi State making a move.

CONFERENCE USA EAST: East Carolina
CONFERENCE USA WEST: Tulsa
CONFERENCE USA CHAMP: ECU

CONFERENCE USA EAST: East Carolina CONFERENCE USA WEST: Tulsa
CONFERENCE USA CHAMP: ECU

Analysis: That's right. I got this one 100% correct. Rare occurrence, I know.

MAC EAST: Bowling Green
MAC WEST: Central Michigan
MAC CHAMP: CMU

MAC EAST: Buffalo MAC WEST: Ball State MAC CHAMP: Buffalo

Analysis: I didn't see either of those two teams' seasons coming. I knew Buffalo was improved and Ball State would be better than usual. But both surprised me with their seasons.

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMP: BYU

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMP: UTAH

Analysis: I said the winner of the BYU/Utah game would be the champ. I was just wrong about the winner of that game.

SUN BELT CHAMP: FLORIDA ATLANTIC

SUN BELT CHAMP: TROY

WAC CHAMP: FRESNO ST.

WAC CHAMP: BOISE ST.

And as for independent Notre Dame, I'm going with 6-6.

Notre Dame: 6-6

Analysis: I missed the boat on both Troy and Boise State. But I was on the money with Notre Dame.

BCS BOWL PREDICTIONS:
ROSE: USC vs. Wisconsin
ORANGE: Clemson vs. Pittsburgh
SUGAR: Oklahoma vs. Auburn
FIESTA: BYU vs. Texas Tech
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: Georgia vs. Ohio State

BCS BOWLS:
ROSE: USC vs. Penn State
ORANGE: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
SUGAR: Alabama vs. Utah
FIESTA: Ohio State vs. Texas
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: Oklahoma vs. Florida

Analysis: Eh, I'm not mad. I missed conferences so I missed the BCS Bowls. But it's all good. I like the real BCS matchups more than my predicted ones.


So that's it, I did the best that I could but obviously, my best isn't that great. Bowl preview post Friday night/Saturday morning. Holla.