Daily Blog • September 2, 2013

As far as my game grades go after the 2008 season was completed, I devised a power ratings system, which lets me analyze at what level each team played during an individual game. This “game grade” takes into account the yards rushing, yards passing, points scored, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points allowed and factors them in against the opponent played and even factors in the site the game was played at.

With all these factors taken into consideration you will see teams that lost the game having a better individual game grade than teams that beat them simply because the team they played was superior and much less was expected of them.

Here are the Top 25 Game Grades (Team Performances) from Week 1

        OFF OFF OFF DEF DEF DEF   Total Gm
Rank Team   Opponent RUSH PASS PTS RUSH PASS PTS TO's Yards Grade
1 LSU † TCU 197 251 37 114 145 27 1 189 108.90
2 Washington   Boise St 268 324 38 171 175 6 0 246 105.99
2 Louisville   Ohio 199 416 49 81 192 7 0 342 105.99
4 Oklahoma   ULM 305 124 34 38 128 0 0 263 105.76
5 Oregon   Nicholls St 500 272 66 87 256 3 2 429 105.05
6 Georgia Tech   Elon 368 189 70 89 164 0 4 304 104.94
7 Baylor   Wofford 303 389 69 173 60 3 1 459 103.18
8 UCLA   Nevada 315 295 58 172 175 20 0 263 99.28
9 Texas   New Mexico St 359 356 56 104 242 7 0 369 98.78
10 Alabama † Virginia Tech 96 110 35 153 59 10 0 -6 98.67
11 South Carolina   North Carolina 228 178 27 99 194 10 1 113 97.79
12 Clemson   Georgia 197 270 38 222 323 35 1 -78 97.07
13 Michigan   Cent Michigan 242 221 59 66 144 9 -1 253 96.86
14 Georgia at Clemson 222 323 35 197 270 38 -1 78 96.63
15 Cincinnati   Purdue 221 204 42 65 161 7 1 199 96.14
16 Indiana   Indiana St 313 319 73 131 175 35 -1 326 95.65
17 Oklahoma St † Mississippi St 286 146 21 111 222 3 2 99 95.65
18 Arkansas   Louisiana 292 230 34 85 189 14 1 248 94.99
19 Ohio St   Buffalo 261 199 40 73 185 20 -1 202 94.60
20 Marshall   Miami, Oh 304 287 52 74 165 14 0 352 94.55
21 Maryland   FIU 251 325 43 91 80 10 0 405 94.33
22 Bowling Green   Tulsa 233 163 34 51 222 7 1 123 93.94
23 Virginia Tech † Alabama 153 59 10 96 110 35 0 6 93.23
24 Wisconsin   Massachusetts 393 205 45 100 112 0 1 386 92.29
25 Mississippi at Vanderbilt 206 283 39 126 300 35 2 63 92.24
  1. LSU was very impressive in their opener against a Top 25 caliber TCU team. The 37-27 score was much closer than how the game played as TCU benefited from a 100-yard kickoff return TD and also a 5-yard “drive” after a LSU fumble. Overall, LSU was +189 in yards and more performances like that will lead to the Tigers making a legitimate run at the National Championship.
  1. Washington opened up their new stadium in style with a dominating 38-6 win over Boise St, a team that just beat them in last year’s bowl game. The Huskies offense complied 592 yards and the defense limited the high-powered Boise offense to just 6 points.
  1. Teddy Bridgewater and the Louisville Cardinals lived up to their high preseason expectations with a solid 49-7 win over Ohio. Their offense piled 615 yards while outgaining the Bobcats by 342 yards.
  1. While it did not get much attention from the national media, Oklahoma got off to a great start specifically their defense in a 34-0 win over ULM. The Warhawks averaged 35 ppg against the 3 BCS teams they faced a year ago but could only manage 166 yards against what looks like a much improved Sooner defense.
  1. While they only played FCS Nicholls St, Oregon put up some phenomenal numbers as they gained 772 yards including 500 rush yards in their 66-3 win.