Texas Topples Tide In Tuscaloosa

Until someone proves us wrong I think we can officially say…… Texas Is Back! Quinn Ewers guided the Longhorn offense with precision and the stingy Texas defense held Bama in check as the Longhorns danced to a 34-24 win, one of the greatest in Texas' long storied history.  Around the Nation: Three Big 12 newcomers are already proving to be an asset to the conference. Cincinnati went on the road and scored a big win over ACC contender Pittsburgh 27-21. Central Florida traveled to Boise and came away with an 18-16 win over the Broncos and BYU went to 2-0 on the season with a 41-16 blowout over Southern Utah. Current Big 12 members aren't doing so shabby either. Kansas State blasted a good Troy squad 42-13 and vaulted all the way to #2 in this week's Billingsley Report. Oklahoma downed SMU 28-11 and Oklahoma State traveled to Arizona State and beat the Sun Devils 27-15. Kansas started things rolling Friday night by rolling over Illinois 34-23. Watch out for the Jayhawks, they look like a solid team. The Big 12 race should prove to be very interesting this year. North Carolina squeaked by stubborn Appalachian State in two overtimes 40-34. Notre Dame moved to 3-0 with a convincing 45-24 win at North Carolina State. Don't look now but the Pac 12 is boasting as many Top 25 teams as the SEC with Washington, Southern Cal, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, and UCLA all among the Nation's top teams with Colorado and Washington State not far behind. Speaking of the SEC, Ole Miss scored a huge 37-20 win at Tulane vaulting the Rebels to #9. Stay tuned for week 4 projections which should be uploaded sometime Monday.  

Colorado Shocks TCU 45-42

Love him or hate him for his coaching tactics of putting together his 2023 team…..Deion Sanders backed up his words as the Buffaloes traveled to Fort Worth and danced away with a 45-42 win over last season's high flying Horned Frogs. Around the Nation: The Tar Heels won the battle of the Carolina's with a 31-17 win over South Carolina. Michigan and Penn State looked impressive with wins over East Carolina and West Virginia while Ohio State struggled slightly with stubborn Indiana 23-3. Minnesota nipped Nebraska 13-10 with a last second field goal.  Fresno State traveled to Purdue and walked away with a 39-35 victory. The PAC 12 went undefeated with an 11-0 record with Oregon State's game scheduled for this afternoon. The Nation awaits the LSU/Florida State game tonight in prime time. The Billingsley Report will be posted Tuesday after The Clemson/Duke contest Monday night. 

Notre Dame Blasts Navy To Open 2023 Season

The American College Football season began Saturday in Dublin, Ireland as the Fighting Irish dominated Navy 42-3. It was a light schedule with only 14 teams hitting the gridiron. In other notable games, FBS newcomer Jacksonville State nipped Texas-El Paso 17-14 while Massachusetts went on the road and upset New Mexico State 41-30. Vanderbilt and San Diego State started the season out with a win as the Commodores best Hawaii 35-28 and The Aztecs beat Ohio 20-13. USC beat San Jose State 56-28 and Louisiana Tech squeaked by Florida Int. 22-17.  The season starts in full force Thursday with games running through Monday, Labor Day night, including a much anticipated LSU/Florida State contest Sunday night. Projections will be posted Tuesday. 

From the Desk of Richard Billingsley

I started this website in 1997 and only one time in those 26 years have I posted a personal message. The first time came after the release of the book DEATH TO THE BCS in which I was referred to as an Oklahoma Hillbilly with no formal mathematical training who had no business being part of the BCS. That was too good not to respond to. Ever since I have laughingly called myself the Hillbilly Football Guru. Previously, in 2005, my rankings had been published in the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia as their official computer rankings right alongside the AP and Coaches Polls. In 2014 the prestigious PREDICTION TRACKER web site named The Billingsley Report as the BEST OVERALL Predictive System in America. I've always let my work speak for itself.  But, the time has come for another personal message. One that is not so easy to convey. In the offseason I was diagnosed with Parkinson's and it has been rather fast moving. I have lost partial use of my right hand and right leg and along with some shaking and loss of some ability to swallow has come a debilitating weakness and fatigue. It forced some major decisions to be made quickly. Reluctantly I sold my 3rd generation family home in Hugo, Oklahoma and moved to the Houston area in with family and closer proximity to medical care. The Billingsley family moved to Hugo in 1926. 97 years later, I was last in the line. I'm a blessed man and I thank God for my close knit family, my brother Dave, and my four Nephews Steve, Travis, Tony and Joe, all of whom live in the area, but It was a very emotional time. Part of me will always consider Hugo home.  The outstanding question remaining is how will this affect my work in football? My hope is that it will continue, but it will most certainly be delayed. Everything about my life is slower and more difficult. Previously my goal was to have my rankings posted by Noon on Sundays and Projections posted by Noon on Mondays. That will no longer be possible. I'm going to try to have rankings posted by 5pm Monday and projections following on Wednesday Noon. I'm hoping for the best but being realistic about the future. The Pre-Season rankings and the first week's abbreviated schedule of projections have just been posted. That's a good start but hardly reflective of a full week's schedule. It will be a week to week and perhaps day by day experience for me to fulfill my obligations.  In spite of the difficulties I'm excited and looking forward to the 2023 season. It should be a dandy. And for the Longhorns, Aggies etc.  my move could be a good omen. It seems that whatever state I live in a team from that state wins a National Championship. I was born in Oklahoma in 1951 and Bud Wilkinson won titles in 1955 and 56. I moved to Texas in 1963 and the Longhorns won the National Championship. I moved to Nashville in the 1990's and Tennessee won in 1998. I moved back to Oklahoma in 2000 and the Sooners won the title. What team will 2023 smile upon? Stay tuned!