| College Football 2018 National Top 25 | |||||
| www.CFMinded.com | October 30, 2018 | ||||
| Rank Week 9 | Pollsters | Points | Rank Week 7 | Points | |
| 1 | ESPN FPI | 296 | 1 | 350 | |
| 2 | Phil Steele | 294 | 13 | 299 | |
| 3 | DRatings.com | 291 | 4 | 327 | |
| 3 | McIllece Sports | 291 | 7 | 324 | |
| 5 | Athlon | 290 | 6 | 325 | |
| 6 | Sports Illustrated CNN/SI | 289 | 12 | 302 | |
| 6 | Sports Formulator | 289 | 4 | 327 | |
| 8 | CFMinded.com | 283 | 2 | 341 | |
| 9 | College Football News | 280 | 3 | 332 | |
| 10 | Game Plan | 277 | 16 | 297 | |
| 11 | Compughter Ratings | 276 | 19 | 285 | |
| 12 | Simplified Football | 268 | 9 | 313 | |
| 12 | AP | 268 | 14 | 299 | |
| 14 | Arena Fanatic | 266 | 10 | 311 | |
| 14 | Street & Smith | 266 | 15 | 298 | |
| 16 | Coaches USA/Today | 262 | 17 | 291 | |
| 17 | Gold Sheet | 258 | 8 | 317 | |
| 18 | Bleachers | 256 | 20 | 281 | |
| 19 | Lindy | 249 | 18 | 286 | |
| 20 | Sporting News | 233 | 11 | 307 | |
| Points Calculation Examples: | |||||
| Exact ranking – 26 points (If Alabama preseason No. 1; If now No. 1) | |||||
| Missed ranking by one – 25 points (If Clemson preseason No. 2; If now No. 3) | |||||
| ESPN FPI maintained its top ranking. | |||||
| Phil Steele had the biggest jump in the ranking, from No. 13 to No. 2; having Utah and | |||||
| Boston College in the preseason ranking. Also perfect for Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma. | |||||
| Compughter Ratings had the second biggest jump in the ranking, from No. 19 to No. 11; | |||||
| having ranked Iowa. Also perfect for Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Mississippi St. | |||||
| Gold Sheet had the greatest fall in ranking, from No. 8 to No. 17; not having 5 currently | |||||
| ranked teams in preseason poll and not ranking five teams well. | |||||
| Sporting News had the second greatest fall in the ranking, from No. 11 to last at No. 20; | |||||
| not having 6 currently ranked teams in preseason poll. | |||||
Author: cfminded Page 4 of 8
College football fan since age 10; listened to games on the radio before most games were televised.
Preseason poll analyst for last 15 years, beating most media, magazines and sportscaster pollsters during this period
Degrees in architecture and mathematics; retired from building industry
Texas A&M @ Auburn “The Marking & Defending Territory Bowl”
Georgia @ Kentucky “The New Kids on the Block Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
West Virginia @ Texas “The Playoff or Bust Bowl”
Iowa @ Purdue “The Big 10 West Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Florida State @ North Carolina St “The Next Up Bowl”
Penn State @ Michigan “The Big Brother is Back Bowl”
Boston College @ Virginia Tech “The East Power Shift Bowl”
Missouri @ Florida “The Tiger in the Swamp Bowl”
Utah @ Arizona State “The New PAC 12 South Sheriffs in Town Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Notre Dame @ Northwestern “The Next Stop to Playoffs Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
UCLA @ Oregon “The First Year Coaches Clash Bowl”
Alabama @ LSU “The SEC West Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Oklahoma @ Texas Tech “The Defenses Test Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Stanford @ Washington “The PAC 12 Has Been Bowl”
California @ Washington State “The Racer Verses the Hurdle Bowl”
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined
(Y) Michigan @ Michigan St “The Big Brother Little Brother Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = NO] = Big brother is back in town.
(Y) Oklahoma @ TCU “The Defense Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = NO] = OU defense improving; watch out playoffs
Maryland @ (Y) Iowa “The Weekend at the Farm Bowl” = Maryland was taken behind the wood shed
Tulsa @ (Y) Arkansas “The Getting Well Bowl” = Arkansas getting well
(Y) Auburn @ Mississippi “The Can’t Lose Bowl” = Auburn survives another day
Virginia @ (X) Duke “The Just Win Baby Bowl” = Leading to top 25 poll for Virginia
North Carolina St @ (Y) Clemson “The ACC Championship Bowl” = Championship done; hello playoffs
(Y) Alabama @ Tennessee “The Measuring Stick Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = NO] = Keeps measuring up
Minnesota @ (Y) Nebraska “The Boat and Corn Bowl” = Boat sink from too much corn
Memphis @ (Y) Missouri @ a “The M&M Bowl” = Blue M&M got eaten
Mississippi St @ (Y) LSU “The Cinderella Lost in Bayou Bowl” = Lost both slippers
(Y) UCF @ East Carolina “The Staying Alive Bowl” = YES
(X) Oregon @ Washington St @ “The PAC 12 North Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
Vanderbilt @ (Y) Kentucky “The Dashing Hopes Bowl” = KY dashing upward
(X) USC @ Utah “The PAC 12 South Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
Arizona @ (Y) UCLA “The PAC 12 South Bottoms Up Bowl” = Chip Kelly’s team rising
(X) Houston @ Navy “The Sinking Bowl” = Navy ship sunk
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined
|
||||||
| College Football 2018 National Top 25 | ||||||
| Rank Week 7 | Poll | Points | ||||
| 1 | ESPN FPI | 350 | ||||
| 2 | CFMinded.com | 341 | ||||
| 3 | College Football News | 332 | ||||
| 4 | DRatings.com | 327 | ||||
| 4 | Sports Formulator | 327 | ||||
| 6 | Athlon | 325 | ||||
| 7 | McIllece Sports | 324 | ||||
| 8 | Gold Sheet | 317 | ||||
| 9 | Simplified Football | 313 | ||||
| 10 | Arena Fanatic | 311 | ||||
| 11 | Sporting News | 307 | ||||
| 12 | Sports Illustrated CNN/SI | 302 | ||||
| 13 | Phil Steele | 299 | ||||
| 14 | AP | 299 | ||||
| 15 | Street & Smith | 298 | ||||
| 16 | Game Plan | 297 | ||||
| 17 | Coaches USA/Today | 291 | ||||
| 18 | Lindy | 286 | ||||
| 19 | Compughter Ratings | 285 | ||||
| 20 | Bleachers | 281 | ||||
| Points Calculation Examples: | ||||||
| Exact ranking – 26 points (If Alabama preseason No. 1; Now No. 1) | ||||||
| Missed ranking by one – 25 points (If Clemson preseason No. 2; Now No. 3) | ||||||
| www.CFMinded.com | ||||||
Michigan @ Michigan St “The Big Brother Little Brother Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Oklahoma @ TCU “The Defense Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Maryland @ Iowa “The Weekend at the Farm Bowl”
Tulsa @ Arkansas “The Getting Well Bowl”
Auburn @ Mississippi “The Can’t Lose Bowl”
Virginia @ Duke “The Just Win Baby Bowl”
North Carolina St @ Clemson “The ACC Championship Bowl”
Alabama @ Tennessee “The Measuring Stick Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Minnesota @ Nebraska “The Boat and Corn Bowl”
Memphis @ Missouri @ a “The M&M Bowl”
Mississippi St @ LSU “The Cinderella Lost in Bayou Bowl”
UCF @ East Carolina “The Staying Alive Bowl”
Oregon @ Washington St @ “The PAC 12 North Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Vanderbilt @ Kentucky “The Dashing Hopes Bowl”
USC @ Utah “The PAC 12 South Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Arizona @ UCLA “The PAC 12 South Bottoms Up Bowl”
Houston @ Navy “The Sinking Bowl”
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined
Weird Week Seven did not disappoint, so 67% wins was good for me. Top teams “Road Trips Trip Up?” Four yes, Two survives
W Florida @ Vanderbilt “The SEC Rising Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = NO]
Northwestern @ X Nebraska “The Phoenix Bowl”
Oklahoma St @ W Kansas St “The Coaches Bowl”
W Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh “The Trap Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = NO]
X Georgia @ LSU “The Slobber Knocker Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
Washington @ W Oregon “The PAC 2 Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
X Penn St @ Michigan St “The Who’s Down Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
Baylor @ W Texas “The Rat Poison Bowl”
W Texas A&M @ South Carolina “The Two Wins in a Row Bowl”
Missouri @ W Alabama “The Going to Slaughter House Bowl”
X West Virginia @ Iowa St “The Big 12 Championship March Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
W Houston @ East Carolina “The ACC Top & Bottom Bowl”
W UCLA @ California “The Win or Let Win Bowl”
Wisconsin @ W Michigan “The Alternative Big 10 Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up? = YES]
Mississippi @ X Arkansas “The SEC Bottoms Up Bowl”
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined
Which games match these bowls?
SEC Rising Bowl, The Phoenix Bowl; Coaches Bowl, Trap Bowl, Slobber Knocker Bowl, PAC 2 Championship Bowl, Who’s Down & Out Bowl, Rat Poison Bowl, Two Wins in a Row Bowl, Going to Slaughter House Bowl, Big 12 Championship March Bowl, ACC Top & Bottom Bowl, Alternative Big 10 Championship Bowl, SEC West Bottoms Up Bowl
Road Trips Trip Up Weekend – Three big trip up games
Odds are 99% that the top 6 undefeated teams lose before conference games
Florida @ Vanderbilt “The SEC Rising Bowl”
Northwestern @ Nebraska “The Phoenix Bowl”
Oklahoma St @ Kansas St “The Coaches Bowl”
Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh “The Trap Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Georgia @ LSU “The Slobber Knocker Bowl”
Washington @ Oregon “The PAC 2 Championship Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Penn St @ Michigan St “The Who’s Down Bowl”
Baylor @ Texas “The Rat Poison Bowl”
Texas A&M @ South Carolina “The Two Wins in a Row Bowl”
Missouri @ Alabama “The Going to Slaughter House Bowl”
West Virginia @ Iowa St “The Big 12 Championship March Bowl” [Road Trips Trip Up?]
Houston @ East Carolina “The ACC Top & Bottom Bowl”
UCLA @ California “The Win or Let Win Bowl”
Wisconsin @ Michigan “The Alternative Big 10 Championship Bowl”
Mississippi @ Arkansas “The SEC West Bottoms Up Bowl”
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined
Reversal of fortune in week six after last week where CFMinded.com won 11 of 12 picks and won 8 of 12 against the spread.
X Oklahoma X -7 yes vs. Texas “The Red River Battle Bowl”
Northwestern @ X Michigan St W -10 no “The Down For The Count Bowl”
X Missouri @ South Carolina W -2 no “The SEC East Show Me Bowl”
Boston College @ W North Carolina St X -5 ½ yes “The ACC Moving On Up Bowl”
X LSU X -2 yes @ Florida “The Not Yet Not Yet Bowl”
Florida St @ W Miami X -13 ½ yes “The South Florida Bowl”
Iowa St @ X Oklahoma St W 9 ½ no “The Down & Out Bowl”
San Diego St @ X Boise St W -10 ½ no “The Early Far West Championship Bowl”
Arizona St @ W Colorado W -11 ½ no “The PAC 12 South Challenger Bowl” Too high altitude
Kentucky @ W Texas A&M X -5 ½ yes “The SEC New Challengers Bowl” Too much home cooking
X Auburn X -3 ½ yes @ Mississippi St “The Sinking Hopes Bowl” On a mission verses Cinderella
W Notre Dame W -7 yes @ Virginia Tech “The Last Trap Bowl” Now or never?
X California X -2 yes @ Arizona “The Get Off The Mat Bowl”
Utah @ X Stanford X -2 yes @ “The Recovery Bowl”
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined
Last week, CFMinded.com won 11 of 12 picks and won 8 of 12 against the spread. (See article – Week Five College Football Results)
The questions were asked last week, are they who we think they are? Answers: Ohio State yes; Notre Dame yes; Kentucky yes; Duke no; West Virginia yes; Oregon yes
Oklahoma -7 yes vs. Texas “The Red River Battle Bowl”
Northwestern @ Michigan St -10 no “The Down For The Count Bowl”
Missouri @ South Carolina -2 no “The SEC East Show Me Bowl”
Boston College @ North Carolina St -5 ½ yes “The ACC Moving On Up Bowl”
LSU -2 yes @ Florida “The Not Yet Not Yet Bowl”
Florida St @ Miami -13 ½ yes “The South Florida Bowl”
Iowa St @ Oklahoma St 9 ½ no “The Down & Out Bowl”
San Diego St @ Boise St -10 ½ no “The Early Far West Championship Bowl”
Arizona St @ Colorado -11 ½ no “The PAC 12 South Challenger Bowl” Too high altitude
Kentucky @ Texas A&M -5 ½ yes “The SEC New Challengers Bowl” Too much home cooking
Auburn -3 ½ yes @ Mississippi St “The Sinking Hopes Bowl” On a mission verses Cinderella
Notre Dame -7 yes @ Virginia Tech “The Last Trap Bowl” Now or never?
California -2 yes @ Arizona “The Get Off The Mat Bowl”
Utah @ Stanford -2 yes @ “The Recovery Bowl”
CFMinded.com Picks – Underlined