Tag: Ranking

Where does 247Sports rank Oklahoma’s remaining schedule?

Oklahoma has one of the toughest remaining schedules in the nation, according to 247Sports.

The Oklahoma Sooners knew they were in for a gauntlet of a schedule when they decided to make the move to the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Then, when the schedules for the 2024 season were released, it was clear that OU drew one of the short straws.

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team is 1-1 in conference play and 4-1 overall coming out of their first bye week. Only a ten-point loss against Tennessee has kept Oklahoma from the ranks of the unbeaten.

But the schedule gets increasingly difficult for the Sooners beginning with a showdown with the nation’s top-ranked team in week seven. The Texas Longhorns will meet OU in the Cotton Bowl for the 2024 edition of the greatest rivalry game, the Red River Rivalry.

But the big-time opponents don’t stop there for Oklahoma. In fact, 247Sports college football writer Brad Crawford believes the Sooners have the second-toughest remaining schedule in all of college football, behind only fellow SEC foe Florida.

Here’s what Crawford had to say about Oklahoma in his list of the hardest remaining schedules in the country.

The rubber meets the road for Oklahoma beginning with Saturday’s tilt against Texas in Dallas. That’s the first of five games over the remainder of the season against top-end competition in the SEC. New starting quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag]. has his work cut out for him considering the Longhorns are unbeaten and he’s going to have to play four ranked opponents away from the friendly confines of Norman the rest of the way. – Crawford, 247Sports

OU still has five ranked opponents left on their schedule: Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU. Only the game against the Crimson Tide will be at home, as the Sooners will travel to Oxford, Columbia, and Baton Rouge after their neutral-site contest in Dallas. That doesn’t include a home date against a feisty South Carolina team.

Gone are the days of teams like Iowa State, West Virginia and TCU making up part of the Big 12 slate for the Sooners. They’ve been replaced with much tougher opponents. But, with tougher competition comes a greater platform to make a statement to the college football public. And it begins this week against the No. 1 team in the country.

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Wisconsin basketball again severely underrated in Big Ten preseason media poll

Wisconsin basketball again severely underrated in Big Ten preseason media poll

Another year, another example of the Big Ten and national college basketball media not believing in Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers.

This now feels like an annual occurrence. Wisconsin experiences a rough season or loses a few key players and everybody expects it to suddenly finish 12th in the Big Ten and miss the NCAA Tournament.

Related: Big Ten basketball teams ranked by returning production entering 2024-25 season

That is where Wisconsin is ranked by the Big Ten media entering the season: tied for 12th. The ranking was released on Wednesday in advance of the conference media days in Chicago, Illinois.

The context makes some sense. Stars from the program’s 2023-24 team that went 22-14 are now gone, headlined by PG Chucky Hepburn transferring to Louisville, SG A.J. Storr transferring to Kansas and F Tyler Wahl running out of eligibility.

Those losses accounted for combined per-game totals of 36.6 points, 4.1 assists and 12.6 rebounds. Anybody who watched or followed the Badgers can recognize the impact of their respective departures.

But history also matters. Wisconsin finished fifth in the Big Ten in 2023-24, 11th in 2022-23, tied for first in 2021-22, 6th in 2020-21, 1st in 2019-20 and 4th in 2018-19. The program rarely falls near the bottom of the conference, minus a forgettable 2022-23 season.

Greg Gard and his staff also responded to those roster losses offseason. Wisconsin landed transfers John Tonje (Missouri), Camren Hunter (Central Arkansas) and Xavier Amos (Northern Illinois), pairing them with a freshman class headlined by top point guard Daniel Freitag.

The team may need some time to gel given all of the new faces. But if Freitag and John Blackwell reach their potentials, and the transfers prove to be valuable contributors, Wisconsin has a chance to surprise. Returning starters Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit should help to bridge that gap.

This may be a natural reaction to Wisconsin football struggling with lofty expectations. But the upcoming 2024-25 basketball season has all of the makings of a classic ‘how did everybody underestimate the Badgers again?’ type of season

For more on what exactly to expect, here is our recent look at the Badgers updated starting lineup and rotation after signing Italian center Riccardo Greppi.

The Badgers begin their season at home on Nov. 4 against Holy Cross.

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Wisconsin and Purdue share a less-than-desirable standing through Week 5

A graph shows where Wisconsin and Purdue stand entering Week 5:

Wisconsin and Purdue enter Saturday’s matchup both badly in need of a victory.

Wisconsin, first, has lost two straight games in blowout fashion. It fell 42-10 to now-No. 1 Alabama, then 38-21 to No. 11 USC. The team sits 2-2 (0-1 Big Ten) on the season. Given the challenging schedule that lies ahead, a win on Saturday is almost a requirement.

Purdue, meanwhile, has dropped three consecutive games after its Week 1 win. None of the losses were particularly close. The Boilermakers fell 66-7 to Notre Dame, 38-21 to Oregon State, then 28-10 to Nebraska.

Bowl eligibility seems like a long shot for a Purdue program that remains in a rebuild under second-year head coach Ryan Walters. Most metrics have it currently ranked as one of the worst teams in the Power 4.

Wisconsin, believe it or not, is in a similar position through four weeks. It is also falling to the lower-left quadrant of Bud Davis’ weekly look at the Power 4 based on each team’s offensive and defensive EPA/play.

(EPA is short for Expected Points Added. In short, it measures how well a unit performs compared to the expectation on a play-by-play basis. Here is an expanded explanation.

Here is the graph, which effectively tells the story visually.

Purdue is alone on the bottom left, which is not where a team wants to be. Wisconsin is positioned significantly better on offense and defense. But still, the Badgers are sliding the wrong way.

Wisconsin finding a decisive victory on Saturday could reverse the current trend and start its season headed in the right direction.

The Badgers and Boilermakers will kick off at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in what is becoming a must-win game for both programs.

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Wisconsin rises in ESPN FPI after blowout loss to No. 13 USC Trojans

ESPN FPI saw Saturday’s game as a step in the right direction

This may come as a surprise to those who watched Wisconsin’s 38-21 loss to No. 13 USC on Saturday: The Badgers rose four spots in the ESPN FPI after the contest, from No. 66 in the nation to No. 62.

The team’s FPI rating improved from 0.3 to 0.7, moving it past Florida State, Michigan State and others.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin’s blowout loss to No. 13 USC, the current state of the Badgers program

While the game’s final score and the Badgers’ disappearance in the second half paint an ugly picture of the current state of the team and program, FPI views the performance as a slight step in the right direction.

This ratings upgrade likely speaks more to where the team had fallen before Saturday’s contest. The Badgers barely defeated Western Michigan and South Dakota, two lightly regarded nonconference opponents. Those narrow victories sent the team from the mid-30s to the 60s. The blowout loss to No. 4 Alabama continued that slide.

Wisconsin showed some signs of life early against USC. The team led 21-10 at halftime after it connected on explosive plays on offense, ran the ball well and forced three USC turnovers. The 28-0 second-half margin, however, reversed any progress made.

But in the eyes of ESPN FPI, the overall performance was a slight improvement.

FPI projects the Badgers to finish with a final record of 4.9 — 7.1, with only a 32.2% chance to finish the season with six wins. Up next is a home matchup against Purdue, FPI’s 99th team in the country.

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All 32 NFL quarterbacks (including Bo Nix) ranked by Total QBR

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has a Total QBR rating of 54.4 this season, which ranks 15th out of 32 starting NFL QBs.

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix is yet to throw his first touchdown pass in the NFL, but he has rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns through three games this season.

Nix has a Total QBR rating of 54.4 this year, which ranks 15th in the NFL, about middle of the pack.

Here is part of ESPN’s explanation for its Total QBR rating, courtesy of Sharon Katz and Brian Burke:

ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating (Total QBR), which was released in 2011, has never claimed to be perfect, but unlike other measures of quarterback performance, it incorporates all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties. Also, since QBR is built from the play level, it accounts for a team’s level of success or failure on every play to provide the proper context and then allocates credit to the quarterback and his teammate to produce a clearer measure of quarterback efficiency.

So, with that context in mind, here’s a look at the QBR ratings for all 32 starting quarterbacks going into Week 4 of the 2024 season.

  1. Josh Allen: 92.6
  2. Malik Willis: 89.5 (Jordan Love: 23.0)
  3. Andy Dalton: 86.6 (Bryce Young: 9.1)
  4. Derek Carr: 81.1
  5. Kyler Murray: 75.6
  6. Brock Purdy: 74.4
  7. Sam Darnold: 73.5
  8. Lamar Jackson: 68.7
  9. Jayden Daniels: 67.9
  10. Joe Burrow: 62.5
  11. Geno Smith: 62.4
  12. Jalen Hurts: 60.9
  13. Aaron Rodgers: 60.3
  14. C.J. Stroud: 55.3
  15. Justin Herbert: 55.2
  16. Matthew Stafford: 55.2
  17. Bo Nix: 54.4
  18. Daniel Jones: 52.7
  19. Jacoby Brissett: 50.5
  20. Anthony Richardson: 49.6
  21. Kirk Cousins: 49.1
  22. Patrick Mahomes: 48.0
  23. Justin Fields: 47.4
  24. Dak Prescott: 45.5
  25. Baker Mayfield: 45.5
  26. Gardner Minshew: 44.1
  27. Trevor Lawrence: 43.1
  28. Jared Goff: 34.4
  29. Tua Tagovailoa: 33.8
  30. Will Levis: 29.6
  31. Caleb Williams: 26.8
  32. Deshaun Watson: 22.5

Note that Andy Dalton has a one-game sample size and Malik Willis has been a fill-in starter for two weeks, so we also listed Bryce Young and Jordan Love (Love would have been third from the bottom and Young would have been ranked last).

Nix and the Broncos will face the New York Jets on Sunday.

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Big Ten running backs ranked by rushing yards after Week 4 of 2024 season

An updated look at the production from all of the Big Ten’s best running backs entering Week 5:

Week 4 of the Big Ten football season saw continued dominance from some of the conference’s top running backs.

Backs were the best players on the field for both Michigan and Iowa in their statement victories. For Michigan, RB Kalel Mullings took 17 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns to lead the team to a 27-24 victory over USC. For Iowa, Kaleb Johnson recorded 206 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries as the Hawkeyes dominated Minnesota 31-17.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4: Michigan is alive

Significantly, Michigan QB Alex Orji and Iowa QB Cade McNamara combined for only 94 passing yards in the two wins. Each team’s offense was driven entirely by the dominance of the running backs.

Old-school Big Ten football still wins in the current age of high-powered passing offense. That is seen by the production of running backs across the conference. With the conference schedule heating up, here are the top 20 Big Ten RBs ranked by rushing production, listed with each of their national rankings:

Rushing Yards: 200 (No. 122 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: N/A (BYE)

Season Stats: 46 carries, 200 rushing yards, 4.3 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 201 (No. 119 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 14 carries, 67 rushing yards, 4.8 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 50 carries, 201 rushing yards, 4.0 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 207 (No. 111 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 9 carries, 9 rushing yards, 1.0 yards per carry

Season Stats: 47 carries, 207 rushing yards, 4.4 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire

Rushing Yards: 207 (No. 111 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 6 carries, 76 rushing yards, 12.7 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Season Stats: 24 carries, 207 rushing yards, 8.6 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Note: Henderson and Carter are tied in total yards. Henderson is ranked higher due to a higher yards-per-carry average.

Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire

Rushing Yards: 222 (No. 92 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 10 carries, 34 rushing yards, 3.4 yards per carry

Season Stats: 35 carries, 222 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 224 (No. 90 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 14 carries, 74 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 50 carries, 224 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions on Wolverines Wire

Rushing Yards: 234 (No. 84 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 15 carries, 77 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 44 carries, 234 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 242 (No. 80 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 12 carries, 69 rushing yards, 5.8 yards per carry

Season Stats: 54 carries, 242 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 256 (No. 70 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 20 carries, 72 rushing yards, 3.6 yards per carry

Season Stats: 51 carries, 256 rushing yards, 5.0 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Get more (Nebraska) news, analysis and opinions on Cornhuskers Wire

Rushing Yards: 271 (No. 57 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 15 carries, 61 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per carry

Season Stats: 49 carries, 271 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire

Rushing Yards: 271 (No. 57 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 13 carries, 100 rushing yards, 7.7 yards per carry

Season Stats: 42 carries, 271 rushing yards, 6.5 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Note: Marks and Lynch-Adams are tied in total yards. Marks is ranked higher due to a higher yards-per-carry average.

Get more (USC) news, analysis and opinions on Trojans Wire

Rushing Yards: 276 (No. 54 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 16 carries, 168 rushing yards, 10.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 36 carries, 276 rushing yards, 7.7 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Rushing Yards: 283 (No. 51 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: N/A (BYE)

Season Stats: 44 carries, 283 rushing yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Get more (Oregon) news, analysis and opinions on Ducks Wire

Rushing Yards: 290 (No. 44 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 9 carries, 58 rushing yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 38 carries, 290 rushing yards, 7.6 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 314 (No. 40 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 11 carries, 81 rushing yards, 7.4 yards per carry

Season Stats: 37 carries, 314 rushing yards, 8.5 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Get more (Penn State) news, analysis and opinions on Nittany Lions Wire

Rushing Yards: 336 (No. 35 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 14 carries, 173 rushing yards, 12.4 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Season Stats: 36 carries, 336 rushing yards, 9.3 yards per carry, 5 touchdowns

Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire

Rushing Yards: 373 (No. 25 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 15 carries, 67 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 56 carries, 373 rushing yards, 6.7 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Get more (Washington) news, analysis and opinions on Huskies Wire

Rushing Yards: 429 (No. 12 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 17 carries, 159 rushing yards, 9.4 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Season Stats: 53 carries, 429 rushing yards, 8.1 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions on Wolverines Wire

Rushing Yards: 457 (No. 5 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 26 carries, 84 rushing yards, 3.2 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 72 carries, 457 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per carry, 5 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 685 (No. 1 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 21 carries, 206 rushing yards, 9.8 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Season Stats: 82 carries, 685 rushing yards, 8.4 yards per carry, 9 touchdowns

Get more (Iowa) news, analysis and opinions on Hawkeyes Wire

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Gators stand pat in ESPN’s Football Power Index after Week 2

The home win for Florida over an FCS school on Saturday did little to move the needle in ESPN’s FPI update.

Florida football earned its first win of the 2024 campaign in Week 2 against the Samford Bulldogs, but apart from freshman quarterback DJ Lagway‘s standout play, it was not an overly impressive effort. A win is a win, of course, but this one did very little to move the needle in ESPN’s Football Power Index.

The Gators remain ranked 44th in the updated FPI with a 4.4 rating — the same as last week. The Orange and Blue also stayed at No. 14 in the Southeastern Conference, ahead of only the Vanderbilt Commodores (54th, 3.1) and Kentucky Wildcats (55th, 2.8).

Napier and Co. are given a 16.1% chance of winning six games this fall — up 0.2% from last week — along with a 0% chance of winning the conference, a 0.4% chance of making the College Football Playoffs, a 0% chance of making the championship game and a 0% chance of winning the national title.

SEC teams in FPI

The SEC is represented among the top 25 by the top-ranked Texas Longhorns (27.4), followed by the Georgia Bulldogs (26.8) and Alabama Crimson Tide (2nd, 26.2), who took the top three spots, respectively.

The Tennessee Volunteers (5th, 21.8), Ole Miss Rebels (6th, 20.1), Missouri Tigers (9th, 16.4), Oklahoma Sooners (15th, 12.6), Texas A&M Aggies (19th, 10.8), LSU Tigers (20th, 10.2), Arkansas Razorbacks (23rd, 9.3) and Auburn Tigers (25th, 8.9).

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (38th, 5.7) sit outside of the top 25 along with Florida and the other two.

About ESPN’s FPI

“The Football Power Index is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season,” according to ESPN. “FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

Next up for the Gators

Florida will host Texas A&M inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC.

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Wisconsin plummets in ESPN FPI after Week 2 win over South Dakota

Wisconsin plummets in ESPN FPI after Week 2 win over South Dakota

Wisconsin did not impress during its 27-13 Week 2 win over South Dakota.

If anything, the Badgers continued to show significant growing pains now into year two of the Luke Fickell era.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin’s uninspiring Week 2 win over South Dakota

There was a dominant stretch of play, as there has been in many of the team’s games since Fickell took over in 2023. Wisconsin entered the halftime break leading 17-3. But the second half saw the struggles return on both sides of the football. Those struggles have cast doubt entering a massive Week 3 contest against No. 4 Alabama.

ESPN FPI’s latest update shows Wisconsin’s troubling general trend. Yes, the team is 2-0. But it appears to be far from where we expected it to be to begin the season.

FPI dropped the Badgers 16 spots to No. 63 in the nation after the South Dakota win. They are now ranked among the worst teams in the Big Ten, right in the ballpark of UCLA (No. 60), Michigan State (No. 66) and Northwestern (No. 70).

Wisconsin needs to find its form this week before Alabama arrives on Saturday. Otherwise, the team will continue to fall in every ranking and metric.

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Wisconsin drops out of Josh Pate’s ‘JP Poll Top 25’ entering Week 2

Wisconsin drops out of Josh Pate’s ‘JP Poll Top 25’ entering Week 2

Wisconsin’s performance during its Week 1 win over Western Michigan was not enough to keep it in the top 25 of prominent college football analyst Josh Pate’s ‘JP Poll’ entering Week 2.

The Badgers had entered the season ranked No. 23 in his top 25, one slot ahead of the rival Iowa Hawkeyes. The team’s pedestrian performance against the Broncos has dropped it out of the top 25 entirely. Iowa, meanwhile, used a blowout win over Illinois State to rise to No. 20 in Pate’s Week 2 edition.

Related: Wisconsin two-deep depth chart for Week 2 vs. South Dakota includes minor changes

Pate likes to pitch his top 25 as a ranking closer to Bill Connelly’s SP+ than to the AP Top 25. In other words, it works to reflect a team’s quality, not just its resume. That leads to a team like Texas A&M dropping its opener to Notre Dame but maintaining a ranking in the top 20.

For more contest, here is Pate’s full Week 2 ranking:

https://twitter.com/JoshPateCFB/status/1831140414994211277

A necessary takeaway is that Wisconsin plays Pate’s No. 4 (Alabama), No. 5 (Penn State), No. 7 (Oregon), No. 11 (USC) and No. 20 (Iowa) teams this season. Western Michigan was a light start to the schedule, but things are set to get tough for the Badgers starting in Week 3.

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78 greatest international players ever: The HoopsHype list

HoopsHype ranks the 78 greatest international basketball players in history, led by the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and various other stars.

As another year has passed, we are back with an addition to our previous list of the greatest international basketball players ever.

With so much foreign talent dominating in the league right now, this ranking sees massive changes every offseason. Nikola Jokic is close to entering the international GOAT discussion, Luka Doncic has cracked the Top 10 at just 25, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to skyrocket up the rankings.

Just like with our HoopsHype78 list, we compiled votes from our staff, removed the highest and lowest rank for each player and awarded points 78-1 for the rest.

As always, we factored in FIBA accomplishments to an extent but put way more stock on what players did while competing against the very best (that is, in the NBA). And, of course, the focus is on what they achieved and not what they could have done if A, B or C had happened.