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The Book 2017: Week 2

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

By John Fidler
NCAA Football: Chick-fil-A Kickoff-Alabama vs Florida State
It’s not the crown Saban wants, but it’s a start
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Come on, admit it...you aren’t really surprised are you?

Yes, Clemson captured the 2016 National Championship, but the Alabama Crimson Tide were right there and it looks for all the world as if the ‘Bama fatigue will continue right through the 2017 season.

The Tide’s 24-7 win over Florida State not only solidified their foothold on the #1 spot in the national polls, but it kept Alabama #1 in every version of The Book poll as we enter week 2.

For those of you unfamiliar, our primary ranking poll is solely based on strength of record, so 100% who you beat, who you lose to and when you do so. So while it may seem odd to see Florida State down in the 80s after their loss, remember, as of yet, they don’t have any wins!

Obviously, this will change and the cream will rise to the top over the course of the next few weeks, but beat good teams (don’t lose to bad teams) and the rewards will come your way.

It also points out why Hawaii in particular is so high. A decision was made not to make this rating an average of those wins and losses, but a cumulative. This allowed that 13th data point for championship games which has been discussed so much to have relevance. Hawaii has played two games, therefore, at least for the immediate, gains that advantage.

Our other two sets of rankings then are: 1) pure power rankings, how strong that team is viewed regardless of record and 2) a combined ranking which is part power ranking, part strength of record and part strength of schedule. Think of it more in line with the old BCS formula.

Boston College’s 23-20 win over Northern Illinois last Friday night, did very little to the Eagles fortunes in terms of the power rankings, but getting a win in terms of strength of record, considering how many teams played FCS competition really helped. BC checks in at #31 in the Strength of Record, #69 in the Power Rankings and #37 in the Combined Rankings this week.

In terms of point spread winners, about the way most early season weeks start, sitting just below 50% and with so many mismatches early, very strong picking games straight up going 41-3 to date.

As far as this week is concerned, BC opens as a 1.2 point underdog per The Book to Wake Forest at Alumni on Saturday, with Danny Sheridan (we use his opening odds to calculate record against the spread) liking BC minus 3.

So remember, don’t panic or tell me I am nuts when you see the list below...it always works out in the long run.

Enjoy the games and Go Eagles!!

Final Combined Rankings

RANK TEAM WON LOST POWER SOR MASSEY SAGARIN
RANK TEAM WON LOST POWER SOR MASSEY SAGARIN
1 ALABAMA 13 1 1 2 1 1
2 GEORGIA 13 2 3 1 2 3
3 OHIO ST 12 2 2 6 3 2
4 OKLAHOMA 12 2 4 4 7 6
5 WISCONSIN 13 1 7 3 4 7
6 CLEMSON 12 2 5 5 5 5
7 PENN ST 11 2 6 9 6 4
8 USC 11 3 15 8 14 15
9 WASHINGTON 10 3 8 16 12 9
10 CENTRAL FLORIDA 13 0 18 7 8 13
11 NOTRE DAME 10 3 13 10 9 10
12 TCU 11 3 12 11 11 12
13 AUBURN 10 4 9 15 10 8
14 OKLAHOMA ST 10 3 10 13 16 11
15 MICHIGAN ST 10 3 23 12 15 23
16 NORTHWESTERN 10 3 20 18 17 20
17 MIAMI FL 10 3 29 14 13 16
18 LSU 9 4 11 25 22 19
19 NORTH CAROLINA ST 9 4 19 19 19 22
20 STANFORD 9 5 14 29 20 14
21 MEMPHIS 10 3 28 22 24 31
22 BOISE ST 11 3 39 17 25 32
23 VIRGINIA TECH 9 4 27 24 23 21
24 IOWA ST 8 5 22 32 27 25
25 MISSISSIPPI ST 9 4 30 23 21 17
26 WASHINGTON ST 9 4 36 20 33 37
27 SOUTH CAROLINA 9 4 37 21 30 33
28 MICHIGAN 8 5 25 37 26 26
29 KANSAS ST 8 5 26 38 37 30
30 TEXAS 7 6 17 42 36 27
31 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 11 3 35 27 32 45
32 IOWA 8 5 34 30 18 18
33 WAKE FOREST 8 5 31 36 28 29
34 LOUISVILLE 8 5 24 39 31 24
35 FLORIDA ST 7 6 16 46 35 28
36 SOUTH FLORIDA 10 2 44 28 29 40
37 UTAH 7 6 21 49 47 34
38 OREGON 7 6 33 43 48 39
39 SAN DIEGO ST 10 3 53 31 41 57
40 TOLEDO 11 3 58 26 43 65
41 DUKE 7 6 32 48 44 38
42 BOSTON COLLEGE 7 6 40 41 34 35
43 TROY 11 2 59 33 42 63
44 FRESNO ST 10 4 57 35 38 51
45 ARIZONA ST 7 6 49 40 49 43
46 PURDUE 7 6 45 44 39 36
47 ARMY 10 3 62 34 40 58
48 TEXAS A&M 7 6 42 47 45 42
49 MISSOURI 7 6 38 59 53 49
50 WEST VIRGINIA 7 6 47 45 51 47
51 ARIZONA 7 6 46 53 58 50
52 TEXAS TECH 6 7 48 56 54 46
53 UCLA 6 7 54 50 59 54
54 GEORGIA TECH 5 6 43 66 50 41
55 NAVY 7 6 55 54 46 53
56 PITTSBURGH 5 7 41 72 62 44
57 KENTUCKY 7 6 63 51 56 62
58 MISSISSIPPI 6 6 52 67 60 55
59 CALIFORNIA 5 7 50 69 70 52
60 HOUSTON 7 5 61 57 52 59
61 APPALACHIAN ST 9 4 65 55 55 56
62 OHIO 9 4 67 58 57 61
63 INDIANA 5 7 51 84 61 48
64 TEMPLE 7 6 66 68 63 67
65 WYOMING 8 5 69 64 67 70
66 FLORIDA 4 7 56 81 71 64
67 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 8 5 75 60 64 73
68 MARSHALL 8 5 78 61 68 79
69 VIRGINIA 6 7 77 65 72 76
70 COLORADO 5 7 64 83 85 66
71 MINNESOTA 5 7 71 76 69 60
72 COLORADO ST 7 6 73 75 79 78
73 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 8 5 90 62 75 91
74 NORTH TEXAS 9 5 101 52 65 93
75 SYRACUSE 4 8 70 86 74 69
76 SOUTHERN MISS 8 5 82 70 82 94
77 SMU 7 6 88 71 66 80
78 NEBRASKA 4 8 72 87 76 72
79 VANDERBILT 5 7 76 85 78 77
80 NORTH CAROLINA 3 9 60 102 89 68
81 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7 6 87 77 88 92
82 LOUISIANA TECH 7 6 85 79 77 75
83 ARKANSAS 4 8 74 92 83 71
84 FLORIDA INTL 8 5 102 63 86 101
85 MARYLAND 4 8 89 82 73 74
86 WESTERN MICHIGAN 6 6 79 89 81 81
87 ARKANSAS ST 7 5 83 88 84 82
88 TULANE 5 7 80 93 80 84
89 UTAH ST 6 7 86 91 93 83
90 TENNESSEE 4 8 81 95 92 85
91 BUFFALO 6 6 93 90 87 87
92 EASTERN MICHIGAN 5 7 84 98 94 88
93 TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO 6 5 92 94 96 97
94 AIR FORCE 5 7 91 97 91 86
95 NEW MEXICO ST 7 6 105 80 98 99
96 RUTGERS 4 8 94 96 95 90
97 UAB 8 5 108 73 97 106
98 AKRON 7 7 109 74 90 102
99 BAYLOR 1 11 68 119 106 89
100 GEORGIA ST 7 5 115 78 99 114
101 MIAMI OH 5 7 98 104 100 96
102 BYU 4 9 96 108 103 98
103 UNLV 5 7 104 101 102 103
104 MASSACHUSETTS 4 8 95 110 105 104
105 WESTERN KENTUCKY 6 7 107 100 104 110
106 LOUISIANA MONROE 4 8 106 106 110 111
107 NEVADA 3 9 100 114 107 100
108 ILLINOIS 2 10 103 112 111 105
109 CINCINNATI 4 8 113 105 101 107
110 TULSA 2 10 99 117 108 95
111 OREGON ST 1 11 97 122 119 109
112 OLD DOMINION 5 7 119 99 113 118
113 IDAHO 4 8 110 109 114 112
114 EAST CAROLINA 3 9 118 107 109 108
115 LOUISIANA 5 7 122 103 117 119
116 SOUTH ALABAMA 4 8 112 113 115 121
117 CONNECTICUT 3 9 114 111 112 113
118 NEW MEXICO 3 9 111 115 116 115
119 KANSAS 1 11 116 118 123 122
120 BOWLING GREEN 2 10 117 121 118 116
121 COASTAL CAROLINA 3 9 120 120 120 123
122 HAWAII 3 9 123 116 122 120
123 GEORGIA SOUTHERN 2 10 121 123 121 117
124 KENT ST 2 10 126 124 124 127
125 SAN JOSE ST 2 11 127 125 125 125
126 RICE 1 11 124 128 127 124
127 CHARLOTTE 1 11 125 129 128 129
128 TEXAS ST 2 10 128 127 126 126
129 BALL ST 2 10 130 126 129 128
130 UTEP 0 12 129 130 130 130
The Massey Composite rankings are as of Thursday afternoon, January 11

Final vs Vegas Point Spread

Vs The Vegas Spread Won Lost Tied Pct.
Vs The Vegas Spread Won Lost Tied Pct.
Week 1 0 0 1.000
Previous 379 370 16 .506
Total 380 370 16 .507
Straight Up Won Lost Pct
Week 1 0 1.000
Previous 564 210 .729
Total 565 210 .729
Boston College Games Won Lost Pct
vs Spread 9 4 .692
Straight Up 10 3 .769

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