Posted: December 10, 2013
As promised, I will review my preseason picks in an effort to provide you with evidence that I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about! This review will most likely be an utter embarrassment, but unlike the others preseason picks that fade into oblivion, I think I owe it to myself and others to see how I did. So without further ado…
Note that I make my predictions on a conference by conference basis and predict who I think will win each conference. I limit my predictions to the major conferences because although I watch a ton of football (just ask my wife), I do not claim to have in depth knowledge of the Sun Belt Conference. I will stick with what I know well or at least what I think I know well.
SEC
Other than completely missing on the two division winners and having one sixth and the other seventh, I did not do too bad in the SEC.
| Prediction | Actual |
| East | |
| 1. South Carolina 8-0 | 1. Missouri 7-1 |
| 2. Georgia 7-1 | 2. South Carolina 6-2 |
| 3. Florida 5-3 | 3. Georgia 5-3 |
| 4. Vanderbilt 3-5 | 4. Vanderbilt 4-4 |
| 5. Tennessee 3-5 | 5. Florida 3-5 |
| 6. Missouri 1-7 | 6. Tennessee 2-6 |
| 7. Kentucky 0-8 | 7. Kentucky 0-8 |
| West | |
| 1. Alabama 8-0 | 1. Auburn 7-1 |
| 2. LSU 6-2 | 2. Alabama 7-1 |
| 3. Texas A&M 6-2 | 3. LSU 5-3 |
| 4. Mississippi 5-3 | 4. Texas A&M 4-4 |
| 5. Arkansas 2-6 | 5. Mississippi State 3-5 |
| 6. Mississippi State 2-6 | 6. Mississippi 3-5 |
| 7. Auburn 0-8 | 7. Arkansas 0-8 |
| Alabama will beat South Carolina for the SEC Championship | Auburn defeated Missouri |
Big Ten
I did pretty good in the Leaders division. In the Legends, I missed on Michigan thinking they were going to be better than it turned out, and while I did like Michigan State, obviously I did not like them enough. I was also off on Minnesota and Northwestern. I did nail the Leaders division though.
| Prediction | Actual |
| Leaders | |
| 1. Ohio State 8-0 | 1. Ohio State 8-0 |
| 2. Wisconsin 7-1 | 2. Wisconsin 6-2 |
| 3. Penn State 4-4 | 3. Penn State 4-4 |
| 4. Indiana 3-5 | 4. Indiana 3-5 |
| 5. Purdue 1-7 | 5. Illinois 1-7 |
| 6. Illinois 0-8 | 6. Purdue 0-8 |
| Legends | |
| 1. Michigan 7-1 | 1.Michigan State 8-0 |
| 2. Nebraska 7-1 | 2. Iowa 5-3 |
| 3. Michigan State 5-3 | 3. Nebraska 5-3 |
| 4. Northwestern 4-4 | 4. Minnesota 4-4 |
| 5. Iowa 2-6 | 5. Michigan 3-5 |
| 6. Minnesota 0-8 | 6. Northwestern 1-7 |
| Ohio State will beat Michigan | Michigan State defeated Ohio State |
Big 12
I got the Big 12 mostly right, but again missed on the conference champion, which is what really matters. So this is not a success. I feel somewhat validated as my pick of Texas was very much against the grain.
| Prediction | Actual |
| 1. Texas 8-1 | 1. Baylor 8-1 |
| 2. Oklahoma State 8-1 | 2. Oklahoma 7-2 |
| 3. Oklahoma 7-2 | 3. Texas 7-2 |
| 4. TCU 7-2 | 4. Oklahoma State 7-2 |
| 5. Baylor 5-4 | 5. Kansas State 5-4 |
| 6. Kansas State 4-5 | 6. Texas Tech 4-5 |
| 7. West Virginia 3-6 | 7. TCU 2-7 |
| 8. Texas Tech 2-7 | 8. West Virginia 2-7 |
| 9. Iowa State 1-8 | 9. Iowa State 2-7 |
| 10. Kansas 0-10 | 10. Kansas 1-8 |
ACC
I did not do too badly in the ACC, but again whiffed big time on the Coastal champion having Duke at the bottom. Everything else fell into place.
| Prediction | Actual |
| Atlantic | |
| 1. Florida State 8-0 | 1. Florida State 8-0 |
| 2. Clemson 7-1 | 2. Clemson 7-1 |
| 3. Maryland 4-4 | 3. Syracuse 4-4 |
| 4. NC State 4-4 | 4. Boston College 4-4 |
| 5. Wake Forest 3-5 | 5. Maryland 3-5 |
| 6. Syracuse 2-6 | 6. Wake Forest 2-6 |
| 7. Boston College 0-8 | 7. NC State 0-8 |
| Coastal | |
| 1. Miami 7-1 | 1. Duke 6-2 |
| 2. Virginia Tech 7-1 | 2. Virginia Tech 5-3 |
| 3. North Carolina 6-2 | 3. Miami 5-3 |
| 4. Georgia Tech 4-4 | 4. Georgia Tech 5-3 |
| 5. Virginia 2-6 | 5. North Carolina 4-4 |
| 6. Duke 1-7 | 6. Pittsburgh 3-5 |
| 7. Pittsburgh 1-7 | 7. Virginia 0-8 |
| Florida State will beat Miami | Florida State beat Duke |
PAC 12
I was not that far off in the Pac 12 with the good pick of USC bouncing back for a strong year although not as strong as I forecast. It took the firing of Lane Kiffin to jump start the Trojans. I missed with Arizona State winning the South, but it was not a big miss as I had them having a very good year.
| Prediction | Actual |
| North | |
| 1. Oregon 9-0 | 1. Stanford 7-2 |
| 2. Stanford 8-1 | 2. Oregon 7-2 |
| 3. Oregon State 5-4 | 3. Washington 5-4 |
| 4. Washington 4-5 | 4. Oregon State 4-5 |
| 5. Washington State 1-8 | 5. Washington State 4-5 |
| 6. California 1-8 | 6. California 0-9 |
| South | |
| 1. USC 8-1 | 1. Arizona State 8-1 |
| 2. UCLA 6-3 | 2. UCLA 6-3 |
| 3. Arizona State 6-3 | 3. USC 6-3 |
| 4. Arizona 4-5 | 4. Arizona 4-5 |
| 5. Utah 2-7 | 5. Utah 2-7 |
| 6. Colorado 0-9 | 6. Colorado 1-8 |
| Oregon will beat USC | Stanford beat Arizona State |
American Athletic Conference
I was within one or two games on each team in this conference, but did not get the champion. But anyone who picked anyone but Louisville preseason is lying to you.
| Prediction | Actual |
| 1. Louisville 8-0 | 1. UCF 8-0 |
| 2. Cincinnati 7-1 | 2. Louisville 7-1 |
| 3. UCF 6-2 | 3. Cincinnati 6-2 |
| 4. SMU 5-3 | 4. Houston 5-3 |
| 5. Rutgers 4-4 | 5. SMU 4-4 |
| 6. Houston 4-4 | 6. UConn 3-5 |
| 7. UConn 3-5 | 7. Rutgers 3-5 |
| 8. USF 2-6 | 8. USF 2-6 |
| 9. Memphis 1-7 | 9. Temple 1-7 |
| 10. Temple 0-8 | 10. Memphis 1-7 |
Prediction:
If we were in the format to be used next year, my semifinal match ups would be: Alabama vs. Ohio State
Oregon vs. Florida StateBut since we have to live with the BCS for one more year, my BCS Championship game predictions is:Alabama vs. Florida State
Of the ten division and/or conference winners picked at the beginning of the year, I only got 2 correct. This is not good. But my national title prediction of Florida State versus Alabama missed by a hair and for the last quarter of the season was the odds on favorite. I know of no one that had FSU in this game at the start of the season, so at least I can walk away with some measure of satisfaction in that. But as a Gator fan, I wish I messed up on that one as well.