Cole Tollison

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Pac-12

Who is winning the Pac-12? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the Pac-12. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the Pac-12.

Predictions for the bottom half of the Pac-12 can be found here.

*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

6th – UCLA – O/U win total: 8.5

Coastal Carolina – W

At San Diego State – L

NC Central – W

At Utah – L

Bye

Washington State – W

At Oregon State – L

At Stanford – W

Colorado – W

At Arizona – L

Arizona State – W

USC – L

California – W

I was kind of shocked to see their win total set at 8.5.  They lost a great QB in DTR and a phenomenal RB in Zach Charbonnet; both are in the NFL now. Chip Kelly has made this a transfer portal team, so year to year they are …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Pac-12 Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Pac-12 (Bottom Half)

Who is at the bottom in the Pac-12? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the Pac-12. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the Pac-12.

Predictions for the top half of the Pac-12 can be found here.

*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

7th – Washington State – O/U win total: 6.5

At Colorado State – W

Wisconsin – L

Northern Colorado – W

Oregon State – W

Bye

At UCLA – L

Arizona – W

At Oregon – L

At Arizona State – W

Stanford – W

At California – L

Colorado (Friday) – W

At Washington – L

I’m actually pretty high on Washington State. The Pac-12 is just tough this year. I could easily see this squad beating UCLA or even upsetting Wisconsin, again. They are going to beat somebody above them in the odds. I have it being Oregon State, but …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Pac-12 (Bottom Half) Read More »

Wisco Wednesday: Post-Realignment Schedule Thoughts

Oregon and Washington are in the B1G (in 2024). Time to rip up the current schedule plans.

I have some thoughts on future B1G schedules I want to touch on with the new additions to the B1G. I don’t think they are very extreme. But, there is likely to be some disagreement. This is a longer article that is a deep dive into schedule making (and how it’s impossible to please everyone). 

Schedule Demands Post Realignment

With Oregon and Washington being added to the B1G the schedule has to be redone, again. I have a couple of demands for the new schedule. They are all common sense, I think, but they should be said.

  1. Stay at 9 conference games. I fear that if the B1G goes to 10 conference games right now, most teams, including Wisconsin, will try to cancel their future, marquee, non-conference matchups. I do not want Wisconsin canceling their home-and-home series vs Alabama for 2024 and 2025. And, I want the B1G to continue playing big non-conference games in the future.
  2. Keep all 11 rivalries highlighted in the previous model, Flex Protect Plus, and keep Oregon vs Washington. This is likely a given, with one

Wisco Wednesday: Post-Realignment Schedule Thoughts Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the SEC West

Who is winning the West? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the SEC West. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the SEC West.

*Odds listed refer to O/U’s taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

7th – Mississippi State – O/U win total: 6.5

Southeastern Louisiana – W

Arizona – W

LSU – L

At South Carolina – L

Alabama – L

Western Michigan – W

Bye

At Arkansas – L

At Auburn – L

Kentucky (HC) – L

At Texas A&M – L

Southern Miss – W

Ole Miss (Thursday) – W

Mississippi State is not a bad team. BUT, when you play in the SEC West, “not bad” is not good enough. I also think this team is still emotionally recovering from the sudden death of beloved HC Mike Leach. 

Unfortunately for them, I see this as a rough year for MS State. I do have them winning the Egg …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the SEC West Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the SEC East

Who is winning the East? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the SEC East. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the SEC East.

*Odds listed refer to O/U’s taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

7th – Florida – O/U win total: 5.5

At Utah (Thursday) – L

McNeese – W

Tennessee – L

Charlotte – W

At Kentucky – L

Vanderbilt (HC) – L

At South Carolina – L

Bye

Vs Georgia (Jacksonville) – L

Arkansas – W

At LSU – L

At Missouri – L

Florida State – L

Florida has named Wisconsin washout Graham Mertz as the starting QB. I think they’ve doomed themselves. I am not a believer in Mertz. I think he makes teams worse, not better.

This is a Florida team that went 5-7 last year… with the #4 overall draft pick at QB. Billy Napier will be on the hot seat going into week 5 …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the SEC East Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Big 12

Who is winning the Big 12? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the Big 12. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the Big 12.

Predictions for the bottom half of the Big 12 can be found here.

*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

7th – UCF – O/U win total: 6.5

Kent State (Thursday) – W

At Boise State – L

Villanova – W

At Kansas State – L

Baylor – W

At Kansas – L

Bye

At Oklahoma – L

West Virginia (HC) – W

At Cincinnati – W

Oklahoma State – W

At Texas Tech – L

Houston – W

Of the 4 new additions to the Big 12 this year, UCF is expected to handle the transition the best. They are the only one of the 4 to appear in the top half of the standings for my predictions.

From …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Big 12 Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Big 12 (Bottom Half)

Who is at the bottom of the Big 12? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the Big 12. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the Big 12.

Predictions for the top half of the Big 12 can be found here.

*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

8th – Baylor – O/U win total: 7.5

Texas State – W

Utah – L

LIU – W

Texas – W

At UCF – L

Texas Tech – L

Bye

At Cincinnati – W

Iowa State (HC) – W

Houston – W

At Kansas State – L

At TCU – L

West Virginia – W

Baylor is good. Other than that, I don’t have much to say. 

As a middle of the Big 12 team, they can beat anyone they play, and they can lose to anyone they play. Picking this schedule is like throwing darts with …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the Big 12 (Bottom Half) Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the ACC

Who is winning the ACC? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?

These will be my record predictions for the ACC. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the ACC.

Predictions for Notre Dame and the bottom half of the ACC can be found here.

*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

7th – Wake Forest – O/U win total: 6.5

Elon (Thursday) – W

Vanderbilt – L

At Old Dominion – W

Georgia Tech – W

Bye

At Clemson – L

At Virginia Tech – L

Pittsburg (HC) – L

Florida State – L

At Duke (Thursday) – W

NC State – W

At Notre Dame – L

At Syracuse – W

A very middle of the road ACC team is going to do middle of the road ACC things. Losing their QB to Notre Dame in the transfer portal will cause a step back in 2023.

Vanderbilt isn’t the automatic win Wake …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the ACC Read More »

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the ACC (Bottom half)

Who is at the bottom of the ACC? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game? What about Notre Dame (who plays 6 ACC teams)?

These will be my record predictions for the back half of the ACC AND Notre Dame. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the ACC.

Predictions for the top half of the ACC can be found here.

Notre Dame is at the bottom because they refuse to join a conference.

*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing

8th – Duke – O/U win total: 6.5

Clemson (Monday) – W

Lafayette – W

Northwestern – W

At UConn – W

Notre Dame (HC) – L

Bye

NC State – W

At Florida State – L

At Louisville – L

Wake Forest (Thursday) – L

At North Carolina – L

At Virginia – W

Pittsburg – W

The highlight of this article is Duke. I have them beating Clemson week 1, and …

Tolly Predictions: What to Expect From the ACC (Bottom half) Read More »

Projecting the biggest CFB games of 2023: Week 13

This is the 13th and final part of a series where I go week by week ranking what I expect to be the biggest games in college football. For a longer description of what this series is, start with part 1 here!

Rivalry Week is full of great games. There are way too many to list in just this article, but I still narrowed down my top 3. I expect conference realignment to raise the emotions for some games this year, and that’s reflected in this week’s list. But it’s rivalry week, almost every game will be worth a watch for one reason or another.

3rd – Oregon State at Oregon

The Civil War.

The 1st meeting was in 1894, and with 129 meetings, it is the 5th most played college football game at the FBS level. The schools are less than 50 miles apart, and the schools are about to be in different conferences. College Football doesn’t make sense anymore.

This Black Friday game will mean the world to everyone in Corvallis, Oregon. It’s possibly their last chance to stick it to the Big-Evil-Nike Ducks for delivering the death blow to their home, the Pac-12. 

Oregon will want revenge …

Projecting the biggest CFB games of 2023: Week 13 Read More »