2017 NCAAF Oracle – Week 10

Valero Alamo Bowl Projection:

Projection Week 10 Big 12 Pac-12
NCAAF Oracle  Oklahoma Washington State

We consider the NCAAF Oracle Ranking below to determine which teams would be selected for the Valero Alamo Bowl. Find out more about how the Oracle works and subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Ladies and gentlemen, there have been some interesting developments within the Pac-12 and Big 12, respectively, that have had implications towards both Valero Alamo Bowl Projections.

Kicking off Week 9, (30) Stanford came back from a five-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to ultimately squeeze out a 15-14 win against (126) Oregon State, too close for comfort for the Cardinals. The win proved to be incredibly important as it kept Stanford atop the Pac-12 North with their 5-1 conference record, half a game ahead of (15) Washington in-conference following the Huskies handling of the struggling (60) UCLA Bruins, surging in the second and third quarters for a 44-23 win. A look across the standings to the Pac-12 South, and things look eerily similar: (9) Southern California’s anticipated decimation of (55) Arizona State kept the Trojans at one loss in-conference. Just as (15) Washington fought to stay on (30) Stanford’s heels, so too did (26) Arizona with their fierce battle with (11) Washington State, winning by a comfortable margin with the final score of 58-37. For their part, the Cougars loss in this game may not be the worst thing, as it has made them the new Oracle projection for the Valero Alamo Bowl, courtesy of their 4-2 conference record and the uphill climb they face as they try to remain a threat for the Pac-12 title.

Turning our attention to the Big 12, (17) Oklahoma State took care of business just as they needed to, besting (64) West Virginia 50-39. Like their in-state rival, (16) Oklahoma also did what was necessary as they served (67) Texas Tech a 49-27 loss. However, a low-scoring performance between (12) Texas Christian and (18) Iowa State that ended in a 14-7 win for the Cyclones just made the top of the Big 12 standings significantly more heated: between (12) Texas Christian, (16) Oklahoma, (17) Oklahoma State, and (18) Iowa State, there are now four Big 12 teams that are 4-1 in-conference, with all but (18) Iowa State boasting a 7-1 record overall.

It will be intriguing to see how things continue to play out in Week 10 of the 2017 NCAAF season. (30) Stanford will travel north to tackle (11) Washington State; (15) Washington will play host to the floundering (41) Oregon Ducks; and (9) Southern California will duke it out in a clash of the titans with (26) Arizona, the Wildcats looking to usurp the Trojans by dismantling their undefeated start at home. There is guaranteed movement to be expected in the Big 12 next week, starting with another battle of the best between (16) Oklahoma and (17) Oklahoma State. As it stands, (16) Oklahoma is the odds-on favorite to make the Valero Alamo Bowl, but that’s subject to change depending on how this game turns out. Should things remain as they are, it could be exciting to see quarterback Baker Mayfield, number two on the ESPN Heisman Watch, lead (16) Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl. From the sidelines, (18) Iowa State and (12) Texas Christian will attempt to prolong (64) West Virginia’s and (73) Texas’ suffering, respectively.

Regardless of how things continue to unravel, one thing appears certain: the 2017 Valero Alamo Bowl is poised to be an epic showdown between two elite teams. Heading into Week 10, eight of the top-30 teams as ranked by Oracle belong to either the Pac-12 or Big 12!

NCAAF Oracle – Week 10

RankTeamRecordTrending
1Georgia(8-0) 1
2Alabama(8-0) 1
3Wisconsin(8-0) 3
4Clemson(7-1) 3
5Penn State(7-1) 2
6Notre Dame(7-1) 2
7Ohio State(7-1) 11
8San Diego State(7-2) 4
9Southern California(7-2) 4
10Central Florida(7-0) 1
11Washington State(7-2) 6
12Texas Christian(7-1) 8
13Memphis(7-1) 2
14Miami FL_(7-0)--
15Washington(7-1) 4
16Oklahoma(7-1) 4
17Oklahoma State(7-1) 4
18Iowa State(6-2) 12
19Boise State(6-2) 5
20Virginia Tech(7-1) 2
21Mississippi State(6-2) 12
22Michigan State(6-2) 12
23Toledo(7-1) 2
24North Carolina State(6-2) 9
25South Carolina(6-2) 3
26Arizona(6-2) 13
27Louisiana State(6-2) 11
28South Florida(7-0) 11
29Kentucky(6-2) 5
30Stanford(6-2) 4
31Troy(6-2)--
32Southern Methodist(6-2) 4
33Michigan(6-2) 4
34Auburn(6-2) 11
35Iowa(5-3) 12
36Boston College(5-4) 7
37Northern Illinois(6-2) 12
38Marshall(6-2) 11
39Wake Forest(5-3) 15
40Northwestern(5-3) 22
41Oregon(5-4) 16
42Texas A&M(5-3) 10
43North Texas(5-3) 10
44Colorado State(6-3) 15
45Army(6-2) 10
46Ohio(6-2) 6
47Navy(5-2) 6
48Florida Atlantic(5-3) 13
49Virginia(5-3) 11
50Fresno State(5-3) 8
51Alabama-Birmingham(5-3) 19
52Colorado(5-4) 13
53Florida International(5-2) 18
54Wyoming(5-3) 14
55Arizona State(4-4) 11
56Southern Mississippi(5-3) 10
57Syracuse(4-4) 7
58Akron(5-4) 11
59Western Michigan(5-3) 11
60UCLA(4-4) 9
61Louisville(5-4) 16
62Appalachian State(5-3) 7
63Houston(4-3) 7
64West Virginia(5-3) 12
65Arkansas State(5-2) 11
66Nebraska(4-4) 13
67Texas Tech(4-4) 8
68California(4-5) 10
69Maryland(4-4) 11
70Western Kentucky(5-3) 10
71Georgia Tech(4-3) 8
72Pittsburgh(4-5) 21
73Texas(4-4) 9
74Air Force(4-4) 22
75Utah(4-4) 9
76Central Michigan(4-4) 12
77Louisiana Tech(4-4)--
78Texas-San Antonio(5-2) 6
79Minnesota(4-4) 12
80Utah State(4-5) 7
81Duke(4-5) 9
82Georgia State(4-3) 16
83Florida(3-4) 9
84Purdue(3-5) 9
85Middle Tennessee State(3-5) 7
86Kansas State(4-4) 16
87South Alabama(3-5) 6
88Buffalo(3-6) 2
89Tulane(3-5) 6
90Tennessee(3-5) 2
91Nevada-Las Vegas(3-5) 23
92Mississippi(3-5) 7
93Idaho(3-5) 15
94Missouri(3-5) 17
95Rutgers(3-5) 8
96Arkansas(3-5) 13
97Miami OH_(3-5) 8
98Vanderbilt(3-5) 6
99New Mexico(3-5) 5
100Connecticut(3-5) 9
101Louisiana-Lafayette(3-4) 6
102Indiana(3-5) 12
103Temple(3-5) 4
104Louisiana-Monroe(3-5) 7
105Hawaii(3-5) 5
106New Mexico State(3-5) 5
107Florida State(2-5) 4
108Tulsa(2-7) 4
109Kent State(2-6) 3
110Ball State(2-6) 3
111Illinois(2-6) 6
112Massachusetts(2-6) 21
113East Carolina(2-6)--
114Eastern Michigan(2-6) 4
115Old Dominion(2-6)--
116Cincinnati(2-6) 4
117Texas State(2-6) 4
118Brigham Young(2-7) 8
119Charlotte(1-7) 3
120Bowling Green State(1-7) 4
121Nevada(1-7) 4
122San Jose State(1-8) 4
123Kansas(1-7) 3
124Coastal Carolina(1-7) 6
125North Carolina(1-8) 4
126Oregon State(1-7) 3
127Rice(1-7)--
128Georgia Southern(0-7)--
129Texas-El Paso(0-8)--
130Baylor(0-8)--

The table above allows you to see how different teams are trending after their Week 9 performances. The most notable moves are a mere (+1) and (-1), by no means extraordinary leaps. But it is the context of those moves that matters, as the (+1) represents the crowning of a new team atop the rankings in the form of (1) Georgia, while the bye-week victim (2) Alabama was forced to relinquish its throne…for now. Also, (7) Ohio State came roaring into the top-10 after an incredible comeback against (5) Penn State, helping the Buckeyes jump up in the rankings (+11).

Also worth noting is rankings (15) through (21) all have new faces thanks to positive trends, albeit some moved up from within that range. Meanwhile, rankings (10) through (13) have been shoulders to cry on for teams trending in the wrong direction. There are a lot of hungry teams that are fighting to break through and into the upper echelon of teams, and those four positions represent weakened prey to capitalize on.

NCAAF Oracle: Poll prediction feature for Week 10

The current top 20 teams are listed in the columns below. In the rows, we indicate the chances each team has to be ranked in that column by the end of the week.

Rk Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1 Georgia 50% 3% 10% 15% 12% 7% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
2 Alabama 22% 24% 4% 3% 5% 8% 9% 9% 7% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
3 Wisconsin 5% 16% 19% 11% 5% 7% 9% 10% 8% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
4 Clemson 14% 23% 11% 2% 2% 3% 5% 7% 8% 8% 7% 5% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
5 Penn State 5% 14% 16% 10% 4% 1% 1% 1% 3% 5% 7% 9% 9% 7% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0%
6 Notre Dame 3% 9% 14% 13% 8% 3% 1% 1% 3% 5% 8% 10% 10% 7% 4% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%
7 Ohio State 1% 7% 13% 14% 9% 4% 1% 0% 1% 2% 4% 7% 9% 9% 7% 5% 3% 2% 1% 0%
8 San Diego State 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 6% 8% 9% 8% 6% 5% 5% 6% 7% 8% 7% 6% 5% 3%
9 Southern California 0% 2% 6% 11% 13% 10% 5% 2% 0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 5% 6% 7% 7% 6% 5% 4%
10 Central Florida 0% 1% 3% 7% 12% 12% 9% 4% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 5% 7% 9% 9%
11 Washington State 0% 1% 3% 8% 13% 13% 8% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 6% 8% 8% 7%
12 Texas Christian 0% 0% 1% 3% 6% 9% 10% 9% 6% 4% 2% 1% 1% 2% 3% 5% 6% 7% 7% 7%
13 Memphis 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 6% 8% 8% 7% 6% 4% 3% 3% 4% 6% 7% 8% 7%
14 Miami FL_ 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 6% 10% 11% 9% 6% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2%
15 Washington 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 7% 10% 10% 8% 5% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3%
16 Oklahoma 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 6% 9% 10% 9% 7% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2%
17 Oklahoma State 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 5% 7% 8% 8% 6% 5% 3% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1%
18 Iowa State 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 5% 8% 10% 10% 7% 4% 2% 1%
19 Boise State 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 4% 7% 9%
20 Virginia Tech 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 5% 9% 11% 11% 7% 4% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Each of the top-7 teams has a chance to steal the top ranking this week, although some are more legitimate than others. (1) Georgia has a 50% chance of retaining their position, while (2) Alabama would very much so like their top-spot returned (22%), and don’t sleep on (4) Clemson either (14%). The (1) Georgia Bulldogs will take on the (25) South Carolina Gamecocks, the Bulldogs fresh off a 42-7 obliteration of (83) Florida. (2) Alabama will see (27) Louisiana State, while (4) Clemson has (24) North Carolina State on the radar. A win for the Crimson Tide would realistically keep them in their current slot, at the very least (46%), and a win for the (4) Clemson Tigers would present a strong chance of moving into the top-3 (48%).

One of the more interesting teams in all of this is (8) San Diego State, a team that isn’t even listed among the AP ranked top-25. Still, the Aztecs have amassed a 7-2 record and are right in the thick of things with the big boys, according to Oracle. With that in mind, their fate is largely out of their hands, as they could land anywhere between (4) and (20) for Oracle, and that’s considering the fact that they are facing (122) San Jose State, a game that should be a walk in the park.

At the beginning of this article, we gave you some insight into the Pac-12 and Big 12 matchups. Looking at this chart, you can see that (16) Oklahoma and (17) Oklahoma State have virtually the same odds as one another, so this will prove to be a pivotal game in both the Big 12 and overall standings.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend.

Written and published by Tyler Caldwell

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2017 NCAAF Oracle – Week 10
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