The NFL Blog: 2012 Power Rankings (After Week 12)

Power Rankings After Week 12

1. New York Giants 7-4 (6^th)

2. San Francisco 8-2-1 (3^rd)

3. Green Bay 7-4 (1^st)

4. Houston 10-1 (2^nd)

5. Atlanta 10-1 (4^th)

6. New England 8-3 (8^th)

7. Denver 8-3 (7^th)

8. Baltimore 9-2 (5^th)

9. Chicago 8-3 (11^th)

10. Tampa Bay 6-5 (10^th)

11. Seattle 6-5 (9^th)

12. Indianapolis 7-4 (13^th)

13. Pittsburgh 6-5 (12^th)

14. Minnesota 6-5 (14^th)

15. New Orleans 5-6 (15^th)

16. Cincinnati 6-5 (16^th)

17. Washington 5-6 (17^th)

18. Detroit 4-7 (18^th)

19. Dallas 5-6 (19^th)

20. New York Jets 4-7 (20^th)

21. Miami 5-6 (21^st)

22. St. Louis 4-6-1 (23^rd)

23. Tennessee 4-7 (24^th)

24. Carolina 3-8 (25^th)

25. Buffalo 4-7 (27^th)

26. Jacksonville 2-9 (29^th)

27. San Diego 4-7 (26^th)

28. Cleveland 3-8 (30^th)

29. Philadelphia 3-8 (22^nd)

30. Arizona 4-7 (28^th)

31. Kansas City 1-10 (32^nd)

32. Oakland 3-8 (31^st)

Comments: There was a bit more change in my power rankings this week, with 22 of 32 spots experiencing change, up from 18 last week. Almost all of the change occurred at the top or bottom end of the power rankings. 

12 teams rose up the rankings this week, while 10 teams fell. Of the 12 teams going up in the rankings, 6 moved up more than 1 spot. Of the 10 teams going down in the rankings, 6 dropped by more than 1 spot. 

The Giants came out of their mini-slump and dominated the Packers on Sunday night, and not surprisingly, New York made the biggest move up the rankings, climbing 5 spots to move from #6 to #1. The G-Men regained the top spot in these rankings for the first time since week 8, snapping Green Bay’s 2 week run atop the rankings in the process. 

As so often seems to happen, the team that got beat in the final game of the week (on MNF) ended up being the team taking the biggest fall in my rankings this week. The Eagles dropped 7 spots this week from #22 to #29. 

We also have a new team at the bottom of the ranks. Oakland got blown out again on Sunday, and they dropped 1 spot in my rankings from #31 to #32, falling to the bottom spot in my rankings for the first time this season. The Kansas City Chiefs certainly didn’t win on Sunday but they still managed to rise 1 spot in my rankings from #32 to #31, moving out of the bottom spot in my rankings after falling to #32 last week.

The College Football Blog: 2012 Season Résumé Rankings (After Week 13)

Season Résumé Rankings After Week 13

1. Notre Dame 12-0 (1^st)

2. Florida 11-1 (2^nd)

3. Ohio State 12-0 (3^rd)

4. Stanford 10-2 (10^th)

5. Oregon 11-1 (8^th)

6. Alabama 11-1 (4^th)

7. LSU 10-2 (5^th)

8. South Carolina 10-2 (NR)

9. Kansas State 10-1 (6^th)

10. Texas A&M 10-2 (7^th)

Out: Oregon State (7^th).

Comments: I decided to stick with limiting the pool of eligible teams for these rankings to all teams with less than 3 losses. This week the number of candidates shrunk from 27 to 22, with 2 undefeated teams remaining; 7 teams remaining with only 1 loss; and 13 teams remaining with just 2 losses. I did move a handful of teams up or down the strength of opponent scale this week and that impacted some of the teams in the rankings. There were also several big wins for teams last week.

In the end, 7 of 10 spots experienced change this week, down from 9 of 10 last week. I only switched 1 team out this week, down from 2 last week. Oregon State fell out of the rankings from #9, while South Carolina jumped back into the rankings at #8 after falling out of the top 10 last week. 

Just 2 teams moved up the rankings this week, while 4 teams moved down. Both of the teams that moved up these rankings climbed more than 1 spot, and all 4 of the teams falling in the rankings dropped more than 1 spot. 

Kansas State and Texas A&M each fell 3 spots in these rankings. KSU was off last week but still dropped 3 spots from #6 to #9. A&M destroyed Mizzu but still took a fall from #7 to #10. 

Stanford made the biggest move up the season résumé rankings this week, climbing 6 spots from #10 to #4. 

Despite a big win for Florida, Notre Dame maintained the #1 spot in these rankings for a second straight week, and the Irish will likely still hold the top spot going into the bowl season, regardless of what takes place this weekend.

The College Football Blog: 2012 Power Rankings (After Week 13)

Power Rankings After Week 13

1. Alabama 11-1 (1^st)

2. Oregon 11-1 (2^nd)

3. Kansas State 10-1 (3^rd)

4. Georgia 11-1 (5^th)

5. LSU 10-2 (4^th)

6. Stanford 10-2 (6^th)

7. Texas A&M 10-2 (7^th)

8. South Carolina 10-2 (8^th)

9. Florida 11-1 (9^th)

10. Notre Dame 12-0 (11^th)

11. Oregon State 8-3 (10^th)

12. Florida State 10-2 (12^th)

13. Clemson 10-2 (13^th)

14. Ohio State 12-0 (NR)

15. Oklahoma 9-2 (15^th)

Out: UCLA (14^th).

Comments: This was one of the calmer weeks of the year for my power rankings. I only switched out 1 team and just 5 of 15 spots experienced change. UCLA dropped out of my rankings from #14 after just 1 week in. Ohio State rejoined the rankings for the first time since falling out after week 8, coming in at #14. 2 teams moved up in my rankings this week, while 2 teams moved down in the rankings. No team moved up or down in the rankings more than 1 spot. Bama holds the #1 spot for the second week in a row.

The NFL Blog: 2012 Week 13 Betting Lines

Last Week: Vs. Spread: (8-6-2); Straight Up: (13-3)

Season: Vs. Spread: (94-78-4); Straight Up: (114-61-1)

Week 12 Review: Thanksgiving week was pretty damn good this year. The games were good; my team won; and my picks turned out okay as well. I can’t complain.  

 

Week 13 Preview: I’m pretty psyched to have 16 games this week. I know there weren’t any byes last week either, but this week we get a game on Thursday, a game on Monday, and 14 games on Sunday; that’s pretty sweet. 

I’m a bit nervous this week, and not just because my team is playing our hated rivals at home on Thursday night. I just don’t really feel great about the lines this week. I’m picking 9 underdogs to cover, which seems like a lot. I’m also going with 13 road teams, which feels like a recipe for disaster. 

 

Thursday Night’s Game

New Orleans (+3.5) @ Atlanta

Pick: Falcons win but Saints beat the spread

Sunday’s Early Games

Seattle (+4) @ Chicago

Pick: Bears cover

Minnesota (+9.5) @ Green Bay

Pick: Packers win but Vikings beat the spread

San Francisco (-7) @ St. Louis

Pick: Niners cover

Arizona (+4.5) @ New York Jets

Pick: Jets cover

Carolina (-3) @ Kansas City

Pick: Panthers cover

Indianapolis (+4.5) @ Detroit

Pick: Lions win but Colts beat the spread

Jacksonville (+5.5) @ Buffalo

Pick: Bills win but Jags beat the spread

New England (-9) @ Miami

Pick: Patriots cover

Houston (-5.5) @ Tennessee

Pick: Texans win but Titans beat the spread

Sunday’s Late Games 

Tampa Bay (+8) @ Denver

Pick: Broncos win but Bucs beat the spread

Pittsburgh (+6.5) @ Baltimore

Pick: Ravens win but Steelers beat the spread

Cleveland (+1.5) @ Oakland

Pick: Browns pull off the upset

Cincinnati (-1) @ San Diego

Pick: Bengals cover

Sunday Night’s Game

Philadelphia (+10) @ Dallas 

Pick: Cowboys win but Eagles beat the spread

Monday Night’s Game

New York Giants (-1) @ Washington  

Pick: Giants cover