2022 Season Set To Open August 27

Although the first week of the season starts with a very abbreviated schedule, the opening weekend on August 27 is upon us. Highlighted by Nebraska and Northwestern squaring off in Dublin Ireland, the opening weekend shows a scant schedule of less than 15 games with only 7 between FBS versus FBS opponents. Labor Day weekend, week two on the schedule is the traditional opening weekend and offers a King's feast of highly anticipated games. Thursday September 1 kicks off the party with the renewal of an old rivalry between West Virginia hosting Pittsburgh. The series between these two rivals dates to 1895 with the Panthers holding a 61-40-3 lead. They have not met since the 2011 season. The fireworks kick off full force on Saturday September 3 as Cincinnati looks to extend their national prominence by travelling to SEC country to face Arkansas. I can hear the HOG CALL already reverberating through the Ozarks. Oregon and Georgia face off in Atlanta while Utah, the pre-season PAC 12 favorite, visits the Swamp to tackle Florida. In the prime time night game the most highly anticipated match finds Notre Dame travelling to the Horseshoe to battle Ohio State. These two college football king pins have only met 6 times, with the last two being in Bowl Games. The Fighting Irish won the first two way back in 1935 and 1936, with the Buckeyes taking the last 4. With both teams being highly ranked, Notre Dame #9 and Ohio State #8, the winner is likely to jump at or near the top of week 2's Billingsley Report due out the Tuesday after Labor Day. The Sunday night game finds Florida State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to face new LSU head coach Brian Kelly. The Monday night Labor Day game features Clemson at Georgia Tech. Needless to say the 2022 season should be an interesting one, full of upsets and surprises. Will someone be able to knock the SEC off their perennial perch? Perhaps Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Utah, or maybe even a rebuilt Oklahoma or upstart Texas? Hmmm…. maybe the hyped up USC? Time will tell. Let the games begin!     

TCU Tops Texas 17-10

Defense ruled the night in Memorial Stadium Saturday night as undefeated TCU rolled into Austin and shut down the Longhorns offense, coming away with a 17-10 win. The 10-0 Horned Frogs solidified their position among CFP contenders. Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan also remain unbeaten. Around the Nation: Boston College shocked North Carolina State 21-20. Central Florida held off Tulane 38-31. Purdue turned the Big 10 West upside down with a 31-24 win at Illinois. A host of teams are now in contention for the West Division crown. One week after beating Arkansas, Liberty was humbled by Connecticut 36-33. Washington shocked rival Oregon in Eugene 37-34, while Arizona pulled the upset of the PAC 12 season with a 34-28 win over UCLA. Alabama rebounded with a 30-24 win over Ole Miss and LSU avoided an upset at the hands of the Hogs 13-10, and Vanderbilt stunned Kentucky 24-21. Projections will post Monday.  

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!   

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.  

Sooners Edge Longhorns In Red River Rivalry

A confident proven Texas team ran into an Oklahoma team hell bent on proving last year's 49-0 humiliation was a fluke. The result was one of the greatest games played in series history. Every time Oklahoma gained momentum and pulled ahead Texas fought back, eventually taking the lead on a 47 yard field goal 30-27 with 1:17 remaining. But the Sooners were not to be denied traveling 75 yards to score the winning TD with 15 seconds remaining. The 6-0 Sooners jumped all the way to #8 in this week's Billingsley Report. With a long season ahead the loss did not take Texas out of playoff contention. The earlier season win over Alabama still factors heavily and a rematch with Oklahoma in a conference championship game is possible. Kansas might have something to say about that though as the Jayhawks rebounded nicely after their loss to Texas by smashing UCF 51-22. Kansas hosts Oklahoma in a few more weeks.  Around the Nation: North Carolina cruised to a 40-7 win over a good Syracuse team and Louisville stole the National stage Saturday night by shocking Notre Dame 33-20. Ohio State struggled early with undefeated Maryland but finally pulled away for a comfortable 37-17 win. Michigan destroyed Minnesota 52-10  and Nebraska finally got a Big 10 road win by beating Illinois 20-7. Maybe Matt Rhule is the right fit after all. Wyoming is making a beliver out of me after a 24-19 win over Fresno State. The Cowboys only loss is at Texas. USC hosted Arizona and was oh so lucky to come away victorious. The Trojans survived 43-41 in 3 OT. Georgia finally put together a solid game and demolished unbeaten Kentucky 51-13. Texas A&M hosted Alabama and fell short to the Crimson Tide 26-20. Projections post Monday. 

Texas Survives Kansas State in 33-30 Thriller

The first half was all Longhorns and it appeared to have all the makings of a runaway, but Texas miscues ignited the Wildcats who fought back to tie the game 30-30 and send it to overtime. Texas took a 33-30 lead and Kansas State, forced with a 4th and goal, opted not to try a field goal to tie and force a second  overtime. Texas stopped the 4th down try with a stout goal line stand, securing the victory.  Around the Nation: Oklahoma State sent Oklahoma packing to the SEC with a 27-24 win over the Sooners in the last Bedlam game. Kansas went on the road to Ames and squeaked by the Cyclones 28-21. Clemson potentially salvaged their season season with a 31-23 upset over Notre Dame. Army stunned highly favored and undefeated Air Force 23-3 in Denver. Washington handed USC their third loss on the season with a 52-42 win in the Coliseum. Arizona continued an upward trend with a 27-10 win over UCLA. The Wildcats are now 6-3 on the season. Georgia moved to 9-0 with a 30-21 win over Missouri, lifting the Bulldogs to #2 in this week's Billingsley Report behind Ohio State. Alabama moved closer to the SEC West Title with a 42-28 victory over LSU, and Ole Miss hosted the Aggies and nipped Texas A&M 38-35. Projections post Monday. 

Texas Dominates Michigan 31-12

The Longhorns took a trip to the Big House and made themselves at home. The game was never in doubt as Texas played like a National Champion, signaling to the Nation they are not only back, but on top. The 31-12 win vaulted Texas all the way to #1 in this week's Billingsley.  Oh what a difference a week makes. 7 days ago Notre Dame traveled to College Station and whipped the Aggies only to return to South Bend and be shocked by #88 Northern Illinois 16-14 in one of college football's greatest upsets ever. Oregon and Oklahoma survived upset bids, the Ducks kicked a late field goal to beat a very good Boise State team 37-34 while the Sooner defense sealed a late victory over lowly ranked Houston 16-12. Clearly the Sooners have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. A solid Tulane team comes to town this week. Tennessee had perhaps the most impressive win of the week with a 51-10 thrashing of North Carolina State. Projections will be posted Wednesday.    

Bitter Rivals Become Great Friends

During the time I had my stroke and later my fall that resulted in a broken hip, I spent time in the PAM South Rehab Center where I received unbelievably good care. Kenny Tien was the head of my rehab team and he was a devoted Longhorn fan. Once he found out who I was we teased each other every day about how ironic it was that a Texas fan was healing an Oklahoma fan. Once the word spread who I was and about my website I spent hours with patients dropping by to talk college football. I swear it accelerated my healing process by keeping up my spirits. Hats off to PAM Rehab CEO Allyson Cann ( a huge Sooner fan) for running such a great facility!  

Penn State, Texas Losses Create Major Top Ten Shakeup

The Nittany Lions and Longhorn defeats opened the door for some unexpected newcomers to the top ten in the Billingsley Report. Alabama, Texas A&M and Oklahoma benefitted greatly. The Penn State 42-37 loss to UCLA was shocking. It seems as though the Nittany Lions just left their heart on the field last week in the loss to Oregon. The Texas loss was not as surprising in the sense that it was an obvious trap game , going to the swamp to play a good Florida squad the week before they play Oklahoma, but still, it is a game Texas should have been better prepared for.  Around the Nation: Miami (Fla.)'s win over arch rival Florida State jumped the Hurricane back to #1 this week with Ohio State just a fraction of a point from taking the top spot themselves. Iowa State fell from the list of undefeated teams as thee Cyclones traveled to Cincinnati and left a 38-30 loser. Texas Tech continues to surprise everyone, now sporting a 5-0 record after beating Houston 35-11. Vanderbilt had Alabama on the ropes but threw an interception in the red zone which would have given them the lead and solid momentum. The Commodores just never seemed to recover and Alabama walked away with a 30-14 win. Oklahoma destroyed Kent State 44-0 as expected, but now I'm putting the Sooners on upset alert. I promise you a different Texas team will take the field next Saturday.  Enjoy you week. Projections will post Tuesday.