Bulldogs Survive Gamecocks Upset Bid

South Carolina sailed to a 14-3 halftime lead behind a brilliant first half by Spencer Rattler, but the Dawg defense rose up in the second half and shut down the Gamecocks to come away with a 24-14 win, the 20th in a row for Georgia. Around the nation: Talk about upset bids, Boston College wins the weekend award for nearly taking down Florida State. The Seminoles survived 31-29. North Carolina posted an impressive 31-13 win over Minnesota. Iowa has found an offense to compliment their stingy defense. The Hawkeyes blasted Western Michigan 41-10. Missouri hosted old Big 8 rival Kansas State and sent the Wildcats packing with an SEC record 61 yard field goal as time ran out posting a 30-27 win. Texas struggled for 3 quarters with a very good Wyoming squad but came alive in the 4th quarter for a 31-10 victory. The win vaulted Texas to #1 in this weeks Billingsley Report. Brigham Young traveled to Hog country and snatched away a 38-31 win over Arkansas. Notre Dame moved to 4-0 on the season with a 41-17 blasting of Central Michigan. Sam Hartman really has the Irish offense humming. In the MWC Air Force and Fresno State remained unbeaten at 3-0 with big wins, 39-21 over Utah State and 29-0 over Arizona State respectively. The PAC 12 continues to shine with Washington, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington State and Colorado all posting wins to remain undefeated. Tennessee just can't shake off Florida. The Volunteers traveled to the Swamp and were promptly swamped 29-16. This upcoming weeks projections should post Monday afternoon.   

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!   

2022 Updates Complete

The Billingsley College Football Encyclopedia has been completely updated to reflect the 2022 season. Notable highlights in the All-Time-Score section reveal 6 teams that recorded playing the most difficult schedules in their program history including South Carolina, Vanderbilt and 4 teams from the Big 12, Kansas State, TCU, Texas, and Texas Tech. As reported here earlier, Georgia recorded their greatest team in program history, and landed at #4 in the greatest team of all time in college football history. Also, of particular interest, Tulane recorded one of the greatest moves in history, from one season to the next, jumping from #103 in 2021 to #11 in 2022. 

Encyclopedia Updates Underway

The Final Reports for the 2022 Billingsley Reports have been uploaded, and the team by team All-Time-Scores update has begun. National Champion Georgia was uploaded and will be followed daily by the rest of the SEC this week, continuing on with the ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and PAC 12, then the Group of 5 teams. Target date for completion is March 1, 2023. Enjoy!

Georgia Wins Championship with 65-7 Romp over TCU

The outcome was never in doubt. Georgia was hitting on all cylinders offensively and defensively. I'm not sure the Kansas City Chiefs could have beaten the Bulldogs last night. The win secured a second championship in a row for Georgia, a rarity in college football, and landed the Bulldogs as #4 on Billingsley's list of All-Time National Champions behind #1 LSU 2019, #2 Alabama 2020 and #3 Clemson 2018. Stay tuned. Billingsley's Historical Data will be updated over the course of the next few weeks and months. 

It's Dawgs and Frogs!

Both Georgia and TCU won their CFP semi-final games, and in thrilling fashion, capping one of the most exciting Bowl Seasons in college football history. The Bulldogs escaped a furious upset bid at the hands of Ohio State who missed a last second field goal, falling just short of Georgia 42-41. The Horned Frogs upset Michigan 51-45. In the Cotton Bowl Tulane pulled off a shocking 46-45 win over USC 46-45. Penn State finished off the 2022 Bowl Season with a solid 35-21 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl. The CFP Championship Game is set for Monday, January 9, 2023 in Inglewood, California. 

Army Nips Navy In Double Overtime

In one of the most thrilling games in this long storied rivalry, the Black Knights beat the Midshipmen 20-17 in double overtime, the first overtime in series history. The CFP is now set with #1 Georgia playing #4 Ohio State in Atlanta in the Peach Bowl and #2 Michigan playing #3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. Both games are slated for December 31. The National Championship will be played in Inglewood, California on January 9. The projections for all the 2022 Bowl Games will be posted later today. Enjoy the Bowl Games. The next Billingsley Report and the projection for the National Championship game will be posted on January 3 after the conclusion of the Bowl Games of January 2.  

Kansas State Spoils TCU's Dream Season....Well, Maybe Not.

TCU's dramatic comeback fell 6 inches short in Arlington Saturday afternoon as the Wildcat defense held the Horned Frogs inside the one yard line not once, but twice after two questionable play calls. Kansas State promptly kicked a field goal and won the Big 12 Championship 31-28. The CFP Committee is meeting as I write and my suspicion is TCU will remain in the Top 4, behind Georgia and Michigan, but ahead of Ohio State. That is the exact order they fall in this weeks Billingsley Report.  Clemson ran over North Carolina 39-10 to win the ACC, Tulane rolled over Central Florida 45-28 to win the AAC, Michigan pulled away from a stubborn Purdue team 43-22 to win the Big 10. UTSA won their second C-USA Crown in a row with a 48-27 thrashing of North Texas. Toledo surprised Ohio 17-7 to take the MAC Crown. Fresno State traveled to Boise and took the MWC Crown on the Broncos home field. The Bulldogs prevailed 28-16. Utah totally dominated the second half and crushed USC 47-24 to take their second straight PAC 12 title. Defending National Champion Georgia dominated LSU 50-30 to win the SEC, and Troy beat Coastal Carolina 45-26 to win the Sun Belt. A projection for the Army/Navy game will post soon. 

Upsets Dot The Landscape of Rivalry Weekend

It all started with the 24-22 Mississippi State upset of Ole Miss Thursday night and rolled all the way thru a 38-34 Oregon State stunner over Oregon Saturday. Rivalry weekend was a wild ride. South Carolina absolutely stunned the nation, dropping a top 10 opponent for the second week in a row with a 31-30 win over arch rival Clemson. Shane Beamer certainly has the Gamecock program headed in the right direction. The same can be said for Mike Norvell and Florida State as the Seminoles nipped Florida 45-38 to finish the regular season 9-3. North Carolina State edged North Carolina 30-27. Michigan ran away from Ohio State 45-23 in the second half. Nebraska shocked Iowa 24-17 handing the Big 10 West Division crown to Purdue, 30-16 winner over Indiana. USC is inching closer to a spot in the CFP. The Trojans downed Notre Dame 38-27 and still have the PAC 12 Championship to impress the committee. Texas A&M saved their best performance of the year to spoil LSU's title hopes. The Aggies beat the Tigers 38-23. Next week is Championship Weekend and the Top 4 teams in the CFP will be announced along with the Bowl Game participants next Sunday. Projections will be posted Tuesday.