Tag: Standings

Big Ten Conference dominates latest US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 11

Big Ten Conference leads latest US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 11

The Big Ten highlights the latest US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 11 of the 2024 college football season.

The conference boasts No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten), No. 2 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten), No. 5 Penn State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) and No. 6 Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten). Illinois (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) also made it into the ‘receiving votes’ category.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 11: Indiana remains undefeated

The poll, conducted weekly throughout the college football regular season, receives input from a panel of head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Those coaches submit a full 1-through-25 ballot, which combines into the poll’s full standings.

Notable Week 11 results shook up the poll’s top group, with Georgia (now No. 10) losing to Ole Miss and Miami (now No. 12) losing to Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, Big Ten powers Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana all triumphed, the first three in blowout fashion.

That leads to the conference currently containing four of the top six-ranked teams in the country.

Here is a full look at the latest US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 11:

US LBM Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points
1 Oregon Ducks 10-0 1,375 (55)
2 Ohio State Buckeyes 8-1 1,314
3 Texas Longhorns 8-1 1,262
4 Tennessee Volunteers 8-1 1,138
5 Penn State Nittany Lions 8-1 1,113
6 Indiana Hoosiers 10-0 1,057
7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-1 1,038
8 BYU Cougars 9-0 994
9 Alabama Crimson Tide 7-2 899
10 Georgia Bulldogs 7-2 887
11 Ole Miss Rebels 8-2 877
12 Miami Hurricanes 9-1 820
13 SMU Mustangs 8-1 691
13 Boise State Broncos 8-1 691
15 Texas A&M Aggies 7-2 597
16 Clemson Tigers 7-2 536
17 Army Black Knights 9-0 466
18 Washington State Cougars 8-1 385
19 Kansas State Wildcats 7-2 332
20 Colorado Buffaloes 7-2 329
21 Missouri Tigers 7-2 277
22 LSU Tigers 6-3 257
23 South Carolina Gamecocks 6-3 118
24 Louisville Cardinals 6-3 109
25 Iowa State Cyclones 7-2 92

Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Pittsburgh; No. 25 Vanderbilt;
Others Receiving Votes
Tulane 85; Louisiana 42; Arizona State 30; Pittsburgh 28; UNLV 17; Memphis 11; Navy 3; James Madison 2; Illinois 2;Duke 1;

Wisconsin faces No. 1 Oregon next Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. CT, broadcast on NBC.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

Wisconsin basketball falls in ESPN BPI after opening win over Holy Cross

Wisconsin basketball falls in ESPN BPI after opening win over Holy Cross

Wisconsin basketball began its 2024-25 season with an 85-61 victory over Holy Cross on Monday.

Despite the final 24-point margin, the win was far from a wire-to-wire dominant showing. The Badgers trailed 13-3 in the first minutes, 23-7 halfway through the first half and 36-35 at halftime. The team eventually found its form, but could not coast to an easy victory against ESPN BPI’s No. 331 (of 364) team in the sport.

Related: Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s opening win over Holy Cross

Those early-game struggles and lack of overall dominance saw the Badgers dip in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index despite the win. The team dropped from its preseason slot of No. 28 down to No. 39, also down to the No. 9-ranked team in the Big Ten.

ESPN BPI now projects the Badgers’ final record at 18.2 — 11.8 (10.4 — 9.6 in Big Ten play), and gives them a 5.5% chance to win the conference.

The good news: early-season rankings updates don’t define a team’s rest-of-season fate. The 2024-25 Badgers may face a predictable slow start with several new faces in the lineup. But the team projects to be one that improves as the season continues, especially as the transfer additions gel in the rotation and top youngsters including Daniel Freitag continue to develop.

Wisconsin’s second-half performance against Holy Cross showed the start of that development, as transfer wing John Tonje and sophomore forward Nolan Winter took over the matchup.

The Badgers are back on the Kohl Center court on Thursday against Montana State (No. 173 in BPI). They then continue with a home matchup with Appalachian State (No. 194) before a high-profile showdown with top-ranked Arizona (No. 5).

Badgers fans should watch for progress from the team through each of these matchups. Steady development from Greg Gard’s group will have it in strong position once Big Ten play heats up in January.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

Where do Packers stand in NFC North and playoff race entering bye week?

The Packers are 6-3 entering the bye. Where do they stand in the NFC North and NFC playoff race?

The Green Bay Packers are entering the bye week with a 6-3 record after losing 24-14 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Matt LaFleur’s team is currently in possession of a playoff spot in the NFC ahead of Week 10, but the Packers have plenty of work to do against a tough schedule during the second half of the season.

If the season ended today, the Packers would be the No. 7 seed in the NFC and face the NFC East-leading Washington Commanders on the road in the NFC Wild Card Round.

Here’s a quick look at the standings entering the bye week:

NFC playoff standings

1. Detroit Lions (7-1)
2. Washington Commanders (7-2)
3. Atlanta Falcons (6-3)
4. Arizona Cardinals (5-4)
5. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
6. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2)
7. Green Bay Packers (6-3)

Other contenders: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4), Chicago Bears (4-4), Los Angeles Rams (4-4), San Francisco 49ers (4-4), Seattle Seahawks (4-5)

The Packers have already lost to three teams ahead of them in the NFC playoff race and are 2-3 overall against the conference, complicating the path up the standings. But LaFleur’s team does still have road playoff games against the Lions and Vikings — and last year’s team won in both Detroit and Minneapolis. Unless the Packers can catch fire and hunt down the Lions, a road playoff game in the wildcard round looks like the most likely entry into the postseason.

NFC North standings

1. Detroit Lions (7-1 overall, 2-0 vs. division)
2. Minnesota Vikings (6-2 overall, 1-1 vs. division)
3. Green Bay Packers (6-3 overall, 0-2 vs. division)
4. Chicago Bears (4-4 overall, 0-0 vs. division)

There’s a lot of football left to be played in the NFC North this season. Only six of the 24 total matchups between division rivals have been played through Week 9. The Packers have dug themselves a decent hole, especially considering the two division losses both came at home against the top contenders. LaFleur’s team will go on the road to play the Bears in the first game coming out of the bye on Nov. 17 and has a rematch with the Lions in Detroit on Dec. 5. Can the Lions be caught in the standings?

Packers remaining schedule

Week 11: at Chicago Bears (4-4)
Week 12: vs. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins (2-6)
Week 14: at Detroit Lions (7-1)
Week 15: at Seattle Seahawks (4-5)
Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints (2-7)
Week 17: at Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
Week 18: vs. Chicago Bears (4-4)

One way or another, one of the NFL’s longest losing streaks will end in Week 9

One way or another, one of the NFL’s longest losing streaks will end in Week 9. Either the Saints or the Panthers will have a new lease on life:

Win, lose, or draw — one way or another, one of the NFL’s longest losing streaks will end in Week 9. Either the New Orleans Saints or the Carolina Panthers will have a new lease on life by Monday.

Because the New York Jets won on Thursday night and the New England Patriots pulled out a win last week, the Saints are in sole possession of the NFL’s longest active losing streak, having dropped six in a row. The next-longest losing streak belongs to the Panthers, who haven’t won a game in their last five tries.

The Saints need a win in the worst way. The goodwill their 2-0 start earned them has been burnt away by a monthlong losing skid. Even if it’s just the Panthers, who they beat handily to start the season, a win would do a lot to buy them some room to breathe. Right now New Orleans is just above Carolina at the bottom of the conference standings.

At the same time, the Panthers could really use a win, too. Bryce Young has struggled as badly as any former first overall draft pick could and his return to the starting lineup is hardly secure. Managing to beat the Saints, even if they’re badly injured in the secondary, would do a lot for him, too.

These are two bad teams, but that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for at the season’s midway point. Pride, job security, and a long-shot playoff bid are still on the line. All that’s left to see is who comes out on top.

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Saints scout two of the 2025 draft’s best prospects at Colorado

The Saints stopped at Colorado’s campus to scout two of the 2025 draft’s best prospects. They’re in position to draft Travis Hunter or Shedeur Sanders, but will they?


We’ll see how the standings shake out after this week’s round of NFL games, but right now the New Orleans Saints are slotted in at the fifth overall pick in the 2025 draft after their 2-6 start to the season. That’s prime position to select a top prospect like Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter or standout quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

And last week the Saints were one of five NFL teams who stopped by Colorado’s campus in Boulder to scout the Buffaloes. Hunter is seen as a franchise-altering talent at either wide receiver or cornerback, and Sanders is competing with Miami’s Cameron Ward to be the first passer selected. It makes sense that the Saints would be keeping tabs on each of them.

But those aren’t Colorado’s only NFL prospects. Wide receiver Will Sheppard and safety Shilo Sanders should both be drafted in the middle rounds or early on Day 3. Another wideout, Jimmy Horn Jr., is a rising star, too.

Campus visits like this are common for NFL teams, so don’t read too deeply into it. They’re often used for information-gathering so scouts can fill out their reports after meeting with coaches, trainers, and even academic counselors. But if the Saints keep losing and end up in position to pick a playmaker like Hunter or Sanders? Well. Stranger things have happened.

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NFL power rankings roundup: Saints continue to spiral after last week’s loss

The NFL power rankings only continue to get lower on the New Orleans Saints. They must find a way to win and escape this spiral:

The NFL power rankings standings only continue to get worse for the New Orleans Saints as the team plummets downward now on a five-game losing streak in what is shaping up to be one of their worst seasons in recent history. The most recent of those losses presented itself in the 33-10 lopsided fall to an also struggling Denver Broncos team.

New Orleans has hit several new historic lows or matched those of previous years seemingly by the week and continue to do so in a way that leaves reason to believe that major changes could be coming down the line sooner rather than later.

They’ve been plagued by multiple injuries and have had to deal with adversity like quarterback Derek Carr going down with an injury and unexpectedly having to be replaced by an inexperienced quarterback, but there are far more glaring issues on either side of the ball abound contributing to the team’s lack of success.

Here’s how some of the most major media outlets ranked the Saints moving into Week 8:

ESPN: 22 (prev: 18)

NFL: 24 (prev: 21)

CBS Sports: 22 (prev: 20)

Bleacher Report: 25 (prev: 18)

ProFootballTalk: 23 (prev: 18)

Yahoo Sports: 28 (prev: 23)

The Athletic: 22 (prev: 21)

FOX Sports: 24 (prev: 18)

The Ringer: 26 (prev: 22)

High: 28 – Low: 22 – Average: 24

It will be interesting to watch if the team can get back on track as it goes up against the Los Angeles Chargers on the road Sunday.

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Wisconsin (might) control own destiny to make 2024 Big Ten title game

Wisconsin (might) control its own destiny to make 2024 Big Ten title game

Wisconsin improved to 4-2 on the 2024 season and 2-1 in Big Ten play with a dominant 42-7 win over Rutgers on Saturday.

The Badgers now ride a two-game winning streak with wins by a combined margin of 94-13. That hot streak has greatly improved the team’s standing after it started the season 2-2 and 0-1 in Big Ten play. The resurgence also has the group on a steady climb in ESPN’s FPI and SP+ metrics — creating a rest-of-season outlook that looks brighter by the week.

Related: ESPN FPI updates Wisconsin football win chances for remaining 2024 schedule after Week 7 win over Rutgers

This win streak is no fluke. The Badgers appear to have significantly improved in several key areas. One big driving factor: Luke Fickell’s group has finally built a clear identity. That includes dominating up front on offense, running the ball with Tawee Walker, connecting on explosive plays to WRs Vinny Anthony and Trech Kekahuna, and playing strong, sound, penalty-free defense.

Wisconsin’s on-field improvement has bowl eligibility now looking like a near certainty — an important status as Fickell works to build the program in his second year in charge. Notably, the improvement has also opened the possibility of a program-defining upset win over Penn State or Oregon when they visit Madison, Wisconsin later this fall.

Thanks to Oregon’s win over Ohio State on Saturday, that pair of potential upsets make it so Wisconsin controls its own destiny to make the Big Ten title game.*

*(Note: the tiebreakers become extremely confusing with half of the conference at either 3-0 or 2-1. This is the extent to how far into the different scenarios I’ve gotten. The declarative statement is that the Badgers ‘might’ control their own destiny to make the conference title game)

Current Big Ten Standings:

  • Indiana (3-0), Oregon (3-0), Penn State (3-0)
  • Illinois (2-1), Ohio State (2-1), Nebraska (2-1), Iowa (2-1), Michigan (2-1), Wisconsin (2-1)
  • Minnesota (2-2), Washington (2-2)

Here’s why Wisconsin would (probably) make the title game if it wins out:

  • Wisconsin would close with wins over Northwestern, Penn State, Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Minnesota. That’s a 10-2 (8-1 Big Ten) record with the only conference loss coming to USC
  • The Badgers would have the head-to-head tiebreaker over both Oregon and Penn State — that is again if they win both games
  • Illinois lost to Penn State and Ohio State lost to Oregon, so Wisconsin would edge both teams in tiebreaker No. 2: record against common opponents (neither Illinois nor Ohio State plays USC)
  • Wisconsin would have head-to-head wins over both Nebraska and Iowa, eliminating them from contention
  • Michigan could win out and edge Wisconsin with a better record against common opponents (it beat USC earlier this year). That is where things get extremely complicated, as Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana could all be tied at 8-1

These things will work themselves out. Michigan is extremely unlikely to run the table with remaining games against No. 22 Illinois, No. 2 Oregon, No. 16 Indiana and No. 4 Ohio State. But the chance of it winning all of those games would make the tiebreakers extreme to follow.

Obviously, this is a glass-3/4-full outlook on the rest of Wisconsin’s season. But the weekly look at the Big Ten West race used to see the Badgers alive until the closing weeks of the season. Football fandom is a lot more fun when it’s possible to map out possible paths to the championship game.

The Badgers are back on the field on Saturday at Northwestern as they look for their third-straight victory, and to continue to (possibly) control their destiny to win the Big Ten.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

NFL power rankings roundup: Saints stall out going into Week 6

A three-game losing streak doesn’t inspire much confidence. Here’s how the major media power rankings slotted the Saints moving into Week 6:

The New Orleans Saints continue to fall in the rankings after their third consecutive loss of the season, most recently defeated by 26-13 by the Kansas City Chiefs. A three-game losing streak doesn’t inspire much confidence, but there’s a feeling the Saints could be better than their 2-23 record suggests.

This week, some of the experts still ranked the Saints as highly as 13th, while some had them as lowly as 20th. But for the most part, the team still remains at the middle of the pack.

Here’s how some of the major media outlets ranked the Saints moving into Week 6:

ESPN: 16th (last week: 14th)

NFL.com: 16th (last week: 10th)

CBS Sports: 19th (last week: 12th)

Bleacher Report: 18th (last week: 15th)

ProFootballTalk: 16th (last week: 14th)

Yahoo Sports: 19th (last week: 16th)

The Athletic: 20th (last week: 16th)

FOX Sports: 13th (last week: 12th)

The Ringer: 18th (last week: 19th)

High: 13th – Low: 20th – Average: 17.2

These rankings are a very real assessment of where the team stands after it has fallen from grace. Getting back to the win column will involve the Saints getting back to the same type of offensive firepower that they possessed in the first couple of games of the season and finding a way to finish out games that are close effectively.

The Saints will aim to get back on track as they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 13 at Noon CT/1 p.m. ET.

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Saints take a tumble in USA Today’s Week 5 NFL power rankings

The New Orleans Saints took a tumble in USA Today’s Week 5 NFL power rankings, even if they have an MVP candidate in Alvin Kamara:

How would you say the the New Orleans Saints stack up among their peers? They looked like one of the league’s best teams after a 2-0 start, but a couple of injuries to Taysom Hill defanged their offense, which put more pressure  on their defense, and now they’re 2-2. And that fall has been reflected in the latest round of NFL power rankings from outlets across the league media landscape.

According to USA Today’s Nate Davis, this two-game slump warrants a drop from No. 9 to No. 16, even if Alvin Kamara is turning in an MVP-quality performance:

RB Alvin Kamara leads the league with 97 touches, 536 yards from scrimmage and six TDs – quite the workhorse production from a guy who spent most of his career in a backfield timeshare. He should be in the thick of the MVP debate.

Davis has two different NFC South teams ranked ahead of New Orleans, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 6 and the Atlanta Falcons rounding out the top-10. The Carolina Panthers are stuck in a very distant fourth place.

Power rankings aside, the Saints are very much still in this. The Bucs have a 3-1 record. The Falcons own a tiebreaker but they’re also 2-2. Things could tilt back in New Orleans’ favor in a hurry. But that won’t happen if they keep playing sloppy football and this losing streak continues. Kamara needs more help offensively and Dennis Allen’s defense must show it can sack the quarterback and stop the run. Until those things happen the Saints will keep looking up at their competition.

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NFL power rankings roundup: Saints enter middle of the pack going into Week 5

The New Orleans Saints entered the middle of the pack in this week’s NFL power rankings roundup. Back-to-back losses haven’t helped their reputation:

The New Orleans Saints have found themselves right around in the middle of the pack after their loss against the Atlanta Falcons. In this weeks rankings, the Saints weren’t taking too far down mainly due to the circumstances in which their loss came. Outscoring offensively and not allowing any touchdowns defensively. Unfortunately though, this would be the second week in a row where the team had opportunities to close out games and failed to do so.

This week, experts ranked the Saints as high as 10th, while others ranked them as low as 19th. Pretty much in the ballpark of a 2-2 team with some upside. Here’s how the rest of the major media outlets ranked the Saints heading into Week 5:

High: 10th – Low: 19th – Average: 14.1

These rankings feel like a fair assessment of where the team is at the moment. There is still optimism with this team as their losses have been close against some quality opponents, however this could be lost quickly if they find themselves on the losing ends of the next couple games. Finding a win in the next two weeks will be critical for this team, as the schedule should lighten up soon after. But if this team wants to beat anybody, they have to find a way to finish.

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