College Football

Projecting the most entertaining college football games of 2013 for each conference

Most people prefer high-scoring, close games between talented teams. We’re trying to find the 2013 college football games most likely to fit that bill. Why yes, the Pac-12 and Big 12 will be very fun this season.

by Peter Berkes

Jun 24, 2013, 2:00 PM UTC

Jonathan Ferrey

Using the 2012 College Football Entertainment Index beta as a guide, let’s look ahead and try to project the most exciting games of the upcoming 2013 season.

It’s a formula that aims to find good teams who tend to play shootouts against other good teams. These numbers are just a guide, and by the time many of these games happen, the rankings will probably look different. Also, not everybody likes the same kind of football, and several of these teams have made significant coaching changes. But hey, let’s take a look anyway.

First, let’s break down the top games by conference:

More: Our preseason All-Americans The best CFB countdown Bowl projections

Big 12

Mark D. Smith, US Presswire


Rk	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
1	Oklahoma State	5	West Virginia	6	5.5
2	Baylor	8	Oklahoma State	5	6.5
3	West Virginia	6	Baylor	8	7
4	Oklahoma State	5	Texas Tech	16	10.5
5	Texas Tech	16	West Virginia	6	11
6	Oklahoma	19	Oklahoma State	5	12
7	Baylor	8	Texas Tech	16	12
8	West Virginia	6	Oklahoma	19	12.5
9	Oklahoma State	5	Texas	21	13
10	Oklahoma	19	Baylor	8	13.5

Big Ten

Jerry Lai, US Presswire


Rk	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
1	Northwestern	31	Nebraska	7	19
2	Nebraska	7	Penn State	41	24
3	Ohio State	23	Northwestern	31	27
4	Michigan State	53	Nebraska	7	30
5	Ohio State	23	Indiana	39	31
6	Nebraska	7	Purdue	56	31.5
7	Ohio State	23	Penn State	41	32
8	Ohio State	23	Purdue	56	39.5
9	Nebraska	7	Michigan	72	39.5
10	Penn State	41	Indiana	39	40

ACC

Kevin C. Cox, Getty


Rk	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
1	Georgia Tech	18	Clemson	4	11
2	Clemson	4	Syracuse	24	14
3	North Carolina	22	Georgia Tech	18	20
4	Clemson	4	N.C. State	37	20.5
5	Syracuse	24	Georgia Tech	18	21
6	Florida State	45	Clemson	4	24.5
7	North Carolina	22	N.C. State	37	29.5
8	Syracuse	24	N.C. State	37	30.5
9	Georgia Tech	18	Duke	47	32.5
10	Duke	47	North Carolina	22	34.5
10	Syracuse	24	Florida State	45	34.5

Pac-12

Scott Olmos, US Presswire


Rk	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
1	Oregon	1	Arizona	2	1.5
2	UCLA	9	Oregon	1	5
3	UCLA	9	Arizona	2	5.5
4	Arizona	2	Arizona State	12	7
5	Arizona State	12	UCLA	9	10.5
6	Oregon State	35	Oregon	1	18
7	Oregon State	35	Arizona State	12	23.5
8	Arizona	2	USC	63	32.5
9	USC	63	UCLA	9	36
10	USC	63	Arizona State	12	37.5

SEC

Stacy Revere, Getty


Rk	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
1	Texas A&M	3	Ole Miss	20	11.5
2	Georgia	46	Tennessee	14	30
3	Alabama	59	Texas A&M	3	31
4	Texas A&M	3	Missouri	62	32.5
5	Texas A&M	3	LSU	64	33.5
6	Tennessee	14	Alabama	59	36.5
7	Tennessee	14	Missouri	62	38
8	Vanderbilt	75	Texas A&M	3	39
9	Ole Miss	20	Alabama	59	39.5
10	Mississippi State	77	Texas A&M	3	40

The best of the rest


Conference	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
C-USA	Marshall	11	Tulsa	17	14
MWC	Nevada	13	Fresno State	15	14
MAC	Ball State	10	Northern Illinois	28	19
Sun Belt	ULM	30	Troy	26	28
American	Houston	32	Louisville	42	37

The top 25 overall


Rk	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
1	Oregon	1	Arizona	2	1.5
2	UCLA	9	Oregon	1	5
3	UCLA	9	Arizona	2	5.5
4	Oklahoma State	5	West Virginia	6	5.5
5	Baylor	8	Oklahoma State	5	6.5
6	Arizona	2	Arizona State	12	7
7	West Virginia	6	Baylor	8	7
8	Tennessee	14	Oregon	1	7.5
9	Oklahoma State	5	Texas Tech	16	10.5
10	Arizona State	12	UCLA	9	10.5
11	Georgia Tech	18	Clemson	4	11
12	Texas Tech	16	West Virginia	6	11
13	Nevada	13	UCLA	9	11
14	Texas A&M	3	Ole Miss	20	11.5
15	Oklahoma	19	Oklahoma State	5	12
16	Baylor	8	Texas Tech	16	12
17	West Virginia	6	Oklahoma	19	12.5
18	Oklahoma State	5	Texas	21	13
19	Oklahoma	19	Baylor	8	13.5
20	Texas	21	West Virginia	6	13.5
21	Marshall	11	Tulsa	17	14
22	Clemson	4	Syracuse	24	14
23	Nevada	13	Fresno State	15	14
24	Texas	21	Baylor	8	14.5
25	Oregon State	35	Oregon	1	18

And, of course, the worst for each conference


Conference	Road	CFBEI	Home	CFBEI	Avg. CFBEI
Big 12	Kansas	111	Iowa State	60	85.5
Sun Belt	Western Kentucky	78	South Alabama	108	93
Big Ten	Iowa	98	Minnesota	95	96.5
American	Temple	101	Memphis	99	100
Pac-12	California	103	Colorado	116	109.5
ACC	Wake Forest	114	Boston College	107	110.5
SEC	Auburn	117	Arkansas	104	110.5
MWC	Colorado State	113	Hawaii	112	112.5
MAC	Miami (OH)	105	UMass	121	113
C-USA	Florida Atlantic	110	Southern Miss	119	114.5
Overall	Idaho	124	New Mexico State	123	123.5