Breakin' the tie...

We don't have much to add to what we said last week. All eyes will be watching how this week's BCS Standings break the Big 12 South division tie. Using our own random walker rankings as an imperfect stand-in for what the group of computer systems will do, it appears that Oklahoma should pick up ground on Texas in the computers this week. Importantly, Oklahoma led Texas in both polls last week, but ended up far enough behind Texas in the computers to be behind Texas in the Standings (an average of the three). We'd guess that Oklahoma will gain enough ground in the computers, between their win over highly-ranked Oklahoma State and the follow-on effects of Kansas beating Missouri, that they will close the gap with Texas in the computers. So, quite simply, it might end up to the selections of the pollsters; if they stay consistent from last week, Oklahoma will go to the Big 12 Championship, but if they change their collective minds, it could still be Texas. We'll find out soon enough, and then we'll argue about it for at least a week (if not longer)... Boise State's slimmest of hopes for a BCS bowl remain alive, but still slim. As discussed last week, it first hinges on the last at-large bid, which might still be up for grabs if USC wins the Pac-10 by beating UCLA next week. If that happens, it should come down to a bowl game selection between Boise State and Ohio State...

Random Walker Rankings through November 29th

We remain grateful to both Kenneth Massey for maintaining his comparisons page and to Peter R. Wolfe for making game results available online.

Below we list rankings according to the Random Walker (RW) system of first-place votes and the Random Walker First-Last (RWFL) system at our selected p=0.75. We use the random walkers to rank all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, plus the extra made-up "team" representing their collective Football Championship Subdivision opponents. The "votes" in the Random Walker (RW) system are all essentially first-place votes, teams with more votes ranked more highly. The Random Walker with First & Last (RWFL) system is a combination of "first-place" and "last-place" votes. We have determined that our bias parameter p=0.75 has nice properties for RWFL (near the minimum crossing probability when compared against round-robin standings), so we use p=0.75 for both RW and RWFL and are happy that this is coincidentally the same primary value we have used in the past for the RW rankings.

The breakdown of the top teams across different p values for both RW and RWFL can be seen in the figures below. Additionally, we plot the fraction of ranking violations---that is, the fraction of game outcomes that have been contrary to the rankings---for each system across the p values. Ranking violations like these are also included on Kenneth Massey's site, and can be used as one measure of the efficacy of a rank ordering; indeed, one could instead choose p to minimize such errors, but we are more comfortable at the selected fixed values for ease of explanation.

2008 Random Walker Rankings (p=0.75)
Games Through Saturday November 29th

	RW		RWFL
Rank	Team (Wins-Losses)	% of Total Votes	Team (Wins-Losses)	%(First)-%(Last)
1	Oklahoma (11-1)	2.4099	Oklahoma (11-1)	2.1205
2	Texas (11-1)	2.3095	Texas (11-1)	2.0672
3	Alabama (12-0)	2.1853	Alabama (12-0)	1.8886
4	Florida (11-1)	2.1021	Florida (11-1)	1.8138
5	Texas Tech (11-1)	2.0875	Texas Tech (11-1)	1.7311
6	Utah (12-0)	2.0415	Utah (12-0)	1.7200
7	Southern Cal (10-1)	1.9146	Southern Cal (10-1)	1.6069
8	Penn State (11-1)	1.7845	Penn State (11-1)	1.4542
9	Boise St (12-0)	1.7435	Boise St (12-0)	1.3941
10	Georgia Tech (9-3)	1.5604	Ohio State (10-2)	1.1365
11	Boston College (9-3)	1.5059	Georgia Tech (9-3)	1.1092
12	Ball St (12-0)	1.4819	Boston College (9-3)	1.0862
13	Ohio State (10-2)	1.4742	Ball St (12-0)	1.0593
14	Cincinnati (10-2)	1.4207	Cincinnati (10-2)	1.0225
15	North Carolina (8-4)	1.3617	Georgia (9-3)	0.9924
16	Georgia (9-3)	1.3532	TCU (10-2)	0.9175
17	Florida St (8-4)	1.3379	North Carolina (8-4)	0.8800
18	Virginia Tech (8-4)	1.3349	Florida St (8-4)	0.8793
19	TCU (10-2)	1.3303	Michigan St (9-3)	0.8527
20	Oklahoma St (9-3)	1.2467	Oklahoma St (9-3)	0.8479
21	Pittsburgh (8-3)	1.2451	Virginia Tech (8-4)	0.8474
22	Michigan St (9-3)	1.2219	Pittsburgh (8-3)	0.8159
23	Oregon St (8-4)	1.2017	Missouri (9-3)	0.7589
24	Missouri (9-3)	1.1565	Oregon St (8-4)	0.7492
25	Wake Forest (7-5)	1.1481	Oregon (9-3)	0.7319
26	Oregon (9-3)	1.1393	Brigham Young (10-2)	0.6765
27	Mississippi (8-4)	1.1306	Wake Forest (7-5)	0.6576
28	Brigham Young (10-2)	1.1200	Nebraska (8-4)	0.6532
29	Maryland (7-5)	1.1137	Mississippi (8-4)	0.6258
30	Clemson (7-5)	1.0949	California (7-4)	0.5957
31	Nebraska (8-4)	1.0698	Northwestern (9-3)	0.5499
32	Miami FL (7-5)	1.0589	Clemson (7-5)	0.5402
33	California (7-4)	1.0578	Miami FL (7-5)	0.5340
34	Northwestern (9-3)	1.0317	Maryland (7-5)	0.5020
35	Iowa (8-4)	0.9905	Iowa (8-4)	0.4786
36	Connecticut (7-4)	0.9656	Kansas (7-5)	0.4360
37	North Carolina St (6-6)	0.9596	Connecticut (7-4)	0.4255
38	Kansas (7-5)	0.9425	South Carolina (7-5)	0.3900
39	South Carolina (7-5)	0.9371	South Florida (7-4)	0.3525
40	South Florida (7-4)	0.9140	North Carolina St (6-6)	0.3518
41	Virginia (5-7)	0.9127	West Virginia (7-4)	0.3434
42	Navy (7-4)	0.9072	Navy (7-4)	0.3145
43	West Virginia (7-4)	0.8844	Western Michigan (9-3)	0.2932
44	Rutgers (6-5)	0.8548	Air Force (8-4)	0.2858
45	East Carolina (8-4)	0.8457	Rice (9-3)	0.2653
46	Tulsa (10-2)	0.8442	Tulsa (10-2)	0.2537
47	Rice (9-3)	0.8324	East Carolina (8-4)	0.2333
48	Vanderbilt (6-6)	0.8287	Rutgers (6-5)	0.2287
49	Air Force (8-4)	0.8269	Virginia (5-7)	0.2067
50	Western Michigan (9-3)	0.8235	LSU (7-5)	0.2004
51	LSU (7-5)	0.8144	Wisconsin (7-5)	0.1687
52	Central Michigan (8-4)	0.7642	Vanderbilt (6-6)	0.1540
53	Wisconsin (7-5)	0.7612	Central Michigan (8-4)	0.1065
54	Nevada (7-5)	0.7422	Notre Dame (6-6)	0.0633
55	Hawai`i (7-5)	0.7319	Minnesota (7-5)	0.0495
56	Notre Dame (6-6)	0.7305	Nevada (7-5)	0.0456
57	Arkansas (5-7)	0.7115	Hawai`i (7-5)	0.0343
58	Kentucky (6-6)	0.7061	Kentucky (6-6)	0.0147
59	Minnesota (7-5)	0.6905	Fresno St (7-5)	-0.0105
60	Arizona (6-5)	0.6647	Arkansas (5-7)	-0.0318
61	Fresno St (7-5)	0.6631	Colorado St (6-6)	-0.0410
62	Duke (4-8)	0.6574	Arizona (6-5)	-0.0573
63	Tennessee (5-7)	0.6493	Colorado (5-7)	-0.0653
64	Colorado (5-7)	0.6435	Houston (7-5)	-0.1004
65	Houston (7-5)	0.6432	Illinois (5-7)	-0.1229
66	Stanford (5-7)	0.6363	Tennessee (5-7)	-0.1315
67	Colorado St (6-6)	0.6362	Buffalo (7-5)	-0.1363
68	Louisiana Tech (7-5)	0.6345	Stanford (5-7)	-0.1375
69	Baylor (4-8)	0.6090	Louisiana Tech (7-5)	-0.1548
70	Troy (7-4)	0.6067	Baylor (4-8)	-0.1564
71	Illinois (5-7)	0.6008	Duke (4-8)	-0.1631
72	Louisville (5-6)	0.6001	Arizona St (5-6)	-0.1647
73	Buffalo (7-5)	0.5972	Troy (7-4)	-0.1684
74	Arizona St (5-6)	0.5903	Louisville (5-6)	-0.1894
75	Bowling Green (6-6)	0.5765	Auburn (5-7)	-0.2229
76	Auburn (5-7)	0.5758	Purdue (4-8)	-0.2730
77	Texas A&M (4-8)	0.5755	Kansas St (5-7)	-0.2828
78	Kansas St (5-7)	0.5495	San Jose St (6-6)	-0.2955
79	Mississippi St (4-8)	0.5427	Texas A&M (4-8)	-0.3155
80	Purdue (4-8)	0.5412	Northern Illinois (6-6)	-0.3458
81	San Jose St (6-6)	0.5395	UNLV (5-7)	-0.3609
82	Southern Miss (6-6)	0.5347	Southern Miss (6-6)	-0.3637
83	UNLV (5-7)	0.5344	UCLA (4-7)	-0.3818
84	Arkansas St (6-5)	0.5260	Florida Atlantic (6-6)	-0.4150
85	Northern Illinois (6-6)	0.5051	Mississippi St (4-8)	-0.4333
86	Michigan (3-9)	0.5000	Arkansas St (6-5)	-0.4496
87	UCLA (4-7)	0.4946	Bowling Green (6-6)	-0.4537
88	Florida Atlantic (6-6)	0.4883	New Mexico (4-8)	-0.4871
89	Syracuse (3-9)	0.4814	Memphis (6-6)	-0.5138
90	New Mexico (4-8)	0.4781	UTEP (5-7)	-0.5326
91	Middle Tennessee St (5-6)	0.4685	Temple (5-7)	-0.5366
92	UTEP (5-7)	0.4658	Syracuse (3-9)	-0.5480
93	Memphis (6-6)	0.4635	Michigan (3-9)	-0.5914
94	Indiana (3-9)	0.4618	Akron (5-7)	-0.6132
95	Temple (5-7)	0.4492	Indiana (3-9)	-0.6374
96	Wyoming (4-8)	0.4480	Wyoming (4-8)	-0.6389
97	Utah St (3-9)	0.4448	Middle Tennessee St (5-6)	-0.6552
98	Akron (5-7)	0.4369	Marshall (4-8)	-0.6637
99	Marshall (4-8)	0.4344	Utah St (3-9)	-0.6755
100	Central Florida (4-8)	0.3921	Louisiana-Lafayette (5-6)	-0.7116
101	Eastern Michigan (3-9)	0.3874	Central Florida (4-8)	-0.8008
102	Louisiana-Lafayette (5-6)	0.3768	Ohio U. (4-8)	-0.8346
103	Kent St (4-8)	0.3757	Florida Int'l (4-7)	-0.8643
104	Ohio U. (4-8)	0.3716	Alabama-Birmingham (4-8)	-0.8743
105	New Mexico St (3-9)	0.3711	Kent St (4-8)	-1.0386
106	Florida Int'l (4-7)	0.3698	Washington St (2-11)	-1.0620
107	Washington St (2-11)	0.3492	Iowa St (2-10)	-1.0879
108	Alabama-Birmingham (4-8)	0.3463	New Mexico St (3-9)	-1.1113
109	San Diego St (2-10)	0.3417	Toledo (3-9)	-1.1199
110	Washington (0-11)	0.3409	Eastern Michigan (3-9)	-1.1364
111	Western Kentucky (2-9)	0.3369	Louisiana-Monroe (4-8)	-1.1884
112	Toledo (3-9)	0.3279	Army (3-8)	-1.2521
113	Army (3-8)	0.3275	San Diego St (2-10)	-1.3513
114	Iowa St (2-10)	0.3237	Idaho (2-10)	-1.4577
115	Louisiana-Monroe (4-8)	0.3234	Tulane (2-10)	-1.4638
116	FCS teams (XXX-XXX)	0.3040	Western Kentucky (2-9)	-1.5812
117	Tulane (2-10)	0.2999	Washington (0-11)	-1.5971
118	Miami OH (2-10)	0.2969	Miami OH (2-10)	-1.6346
119	Idaho (2-10)	0.2923	SMU (1-11)	-1.8200
120	SMU (1-11)	0.2857	FCS teams (XXX-XXX)	-1.8933
121	North Texas (1-11)	0.2121	North Texas (1-11)	-2.1141

A Little Breathing Room

Turkey Day...Is It Here Already? Yes Ladies and Gentlemen Thanksgiving is here yet again. And luckily for us, even the IRS takes a break. But keep in mind, come Friday the IRS-Hitman will be back in full force. And remember, they won't have any problem cleaning you out ...even if it is the holidays.

New in the IRS: "Taxpayers who make qualifying cash contributions for disaster relief efforts in the Midwest could benefit from a recently passed law that suspends the percentage-of-income limits that would normally apply when taxpayers deduct the contributions on their 2008 federal tax returns." You can readthe rest of this story here.

Be Safe: Other than that readers, I hope you all have a wonderful, warm holiday filled with friends and family. My family's been on me about updating during the holiday. But I'll probably pop on here just for a bit tomorrow.

As always thanks for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving.

-The IRS Hitman

IRS Substitute Filing Return: 3 Steps to Fix Your Debt

I owe how much! Let’s say after figuring your taxes you find that you end up owing the IRS money. The money you owe comes out to a large amount, say $10,000. You’re afraid to file your return because you know you can’t afford the potential tax debt. Unfortunately before you know it, the IRS sends you a bill: not for $10,000, not for $15,000, but a bill for $25,000! The IRS has gone ahead and filed your tax return for you with what is called a Substitute Filing Return.

Don’t let them do it…With a Substitute Filing Return the IRS does your taxes for you, and here’s the rub. The IRS only applies the standard deduction to the return and only gives you one dependent if you have one. And that’s it; they don’t take into account any other deductions or credits that you may have. The IRS then “calculates” your tax debt, adds penalties and interest and sends you the bill.

Now you are up the creek…and not only do you not have a paddle, but your boat has a leak. Right now that $10,000 debt sounds pretty good doesn’t it. So how do you get the IRS to go back and accept your original return? You have to file an Amended Tax Return. I hope you saved all of your tax records.

Here are the steps to filing an amended tax return:

1. Make sure you’re in compliance with the IRS. This means you can’t have any other years that you haven’t filed. The IRS won’t even talk to you if you have any un-filed years.

2. Get together all of your receipts. You have to have proof of all your deductions and credits. When filing an amended return you have to prove to the IRS that they need to accept your adjusted return. As far as the IRS is concerned you are guilty until proven innocent.

3. Submit your amended return. If you want the return to succeed and get the IRS to accept the return you should get the services of a tax attorney, CPA, or licensed enrolled agent. These are the only professions the IRS will negotiate with.

There is a catch…Your amended return may not result in you saving any money on the return. On top of that if there is a balance remaining you will still have to pay interest and penalties, but at least it will calculated based on the new balance. The best thing that you can do to avoid a Substitute Filing Return is to go ahead and file even if the debt seems high. It will still be a lower amount than if the IRS files for you.

Now you have the smoking gun…Use it!

Now the fun really starts?

Volumes could be (and are being) written about the possible mess on the way to the national championship game selection. I can only hope that the near-playoff we're going to be treated to in the SEC and Big 12 will build some future interest in a true playoff system. From all accounts, it still appears that an Alabama-Florida SEC Championship game will be an unofficial national semifinal, assuming of course they both win out until then. In an amusing twist, the Big 12 conference championship matchup will be determined by the BCS standings if OU, Texas, and Texas Tech all win next weekend, the highest ranked among those three playing Missouri for the conference championship. If that team then beats Mizzou, they're all but assured a spot in the national title game; but if the conference championship goes to Missouri, it's going to be chaos...

Meanwhile, in the "BCS Busters" department, I don't want to say it, but I have to acknowledge the facts, and those facts say it is now more unlikely that Boise State is going to get a BCS bowl bid. Don't send me hate mail over this; I wish it weren't so. But their chances under the governing BCS rules are becoming thinner after this past weekend. Utah has all but officially wrapped up an automatic BCS bowl bid, barring lots of pollsters changing their minds from previous weeks and moving Boise State ahead of the Utes. The special rules that force inclusion of high ranking conference champions outside the big 6 conferences only applies to a single school, which will be Utah, assuming again they stay ahead of Boise State in the BCS Standings. The second such school has to get a bid through the normal at-large selection process, of which there will only be 3 openings left. For Boise State's purposes, a hopeful key phrase in the rules is "No more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections." Importantly, the top of the BCS Standings is packed full of teams from the SEC and Big 12, so it's safe to say that two from each will get BCS bowl bids. That is, two of the remaining three at-large bids will go to these two conferences. So does Boise State have a shot at that last spot if they win out? After yesterday, I'm not confident. Specifically, Oregon State is now one win away from a trip to the Rose Bowl, in which case you have to think that USC is going to get an at-large BCS bid. Indeed, if USC somehow climbs to #4 in the Standings before the end of the season, that at-large bid becomes automatic under the rules. So Boise State fans have to be cheering for Oregon to beat Oregon State next weekend, and for USC to win the conference to take the Rose Bowl bid. Alternatively, USC could drop out of the picture altogether with losses to both ND and UCLA; but that's not something I'd be counting on happening! So, Boise State fans need USC to win the Pac-10. Otherwise, there is no realistic route to a BCS bowl for Boise State. If USC does win the Pac-10, then the last at-large BCS bid appears to come down to a choice, made by the bowl games themselves, between Boise State and Ohio State (ignoring other teams that might become technically eligible but that I think are even less likely to be chosen).

Random Walker Rankings through November 22nd

The random walker rankings are back again for 2008! We remain grateful to both Kenneth Massey for maintaining his comparisons page and to Peter R. Wolfe for making game results available online.

Below we list rankings according to the Random Walker (RW) system of first-place votes and the Random Walker First-Last (RWFL) system at our selected p=0.75. The breakdown of the top teams across different p values for both RW and RWFL can be seen in the figures below. Additionally, we plot the fraction of ranking violations---that is, the fraction of game outcomes that have been contrary to the rankings---for each system across the p values. Ranking violations like these are also included on Kenneth Massey's site, and can be used as one measure of the efficacy of a rank ordering; indeed, one could instead choose p to minimize such errors, but we are more comfortable at the selected fixed values for ease of explanation.

We use the Random Walkers to rank all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, plus the extra made-up "team" representing their collective Football Championship Subdivision opponents. The "votes" in the Random Walker (RW) system are all essentially first-place votes, teams with more votes ranked more highly. The Random Walker with First & Last (RWFL) system is a combination of "first-place" and "last-place" votes. We have determined that our bias parameter p=0.75 has nice properties for RWFL (near the minimum crossing probability when compared against round-robin standings), so we use p=0.75 for both RW and RWFL and are happy that this is coincidentally the same primary value we have used in the past for the RW rankings.

2008 Random Walker Rankings (p=0.75)
Games Through Saturday November 22nd

	RW		RWFL
Rank	Team (Wins-Losses)	% of Total Votes	Team (Wins-Losses)	%(First)-%(Last)
1	Texas (10-1)	2.3680	Texas (10-1)	2.1289
2	Alabama (11-0)	2.3317	Alabama (11-0)	2.0357
3	Oklahoma (10-1)	2.2593	Oklahoma (10-1)	1.9523
4	Florida (10-1)	2.1220	Florida (10-1)	1.8241
5	Texas Tech (10-1)	2.0932	Utah (12-0)	1.7469
6	Utah (12-0)	2.0743	Texas Tech (10-1)	1.7235
7	Southern Cal (9-1)	1.8659	Southern Cal (9-1)	1.5516
8	Penn State (11-1)	1.8156	Penn State (11-1)	1.4866
9	Boise St (11-0)	1.6526	Georgia (9-2)	1.3229
10	Georgia (9-2)	1.6402	Boise St (11-0)	1.2815
11	Ohio State (10-2)	1.4787	Ohio State (10-2)	1.1402
12	Oklahoma St (9-2)	1.4079	Oklahoma St (9-2)	1.0301
13	Ball St (11-0)	1.3948	Missouri (9-2)	0.9975
14	Florida St (8-3)	1.3799	Cincinnati (9-2)	0.9851
15	Cincinnati (9-2)	1.3796	Ball St (11-0)	0.9535
16	Georgia Tech (8-3)	1.3728	Oregon St (8-3)	0.9187
17	Missouri (9-2)	1.3498	Florida St (8-3)	0.9140
18	Oregon St (8-3)	1.3426	TCU (10-2)	0.9134
19	TCU (10-2)	1.3296	Georgia Tech (8-3)	0.8761
20	Boston College (8-3)	1.3090	Boston College (8-3)	0.8371
21	North Carolina (7-4)	1.2789	Michigan St (9-3)	0.8355
22	Michigan St (9-3)	1.2113	North Carolina (7-4)	0.7594
23	Virginia Tech (7-4)	1.2067	Virginia Tech (7-4)	0.6781
24	Miami FL (7-4)	1.1360	Brigham Young (10-2)	0.6749
25	Mississippi (7-4)	1.1321	Miami FL (7-4)	0.6520
26	Brigham Young (10-2)	1.1250	Pittsburgh (7-3)	0.6514
27	Maryland (7-4)	1.1248	Mississippi (7-4)	0.6096
28	Pittsburgh (7-3)	1.1176	California (7-4)	0.5878
29	Connecticut (7-3)	1.0744	Connecticut (7-3)	0.5803
30	Wake Forest (6-5)	1.0609	Nebraska (7-4)	0.5760
31	California (7-4)	1.0447	Northwestern (9-3)	0.5545
32	South Carolina (7-4)	1.0347	Oregon (8-3)	0.5461
33	Northwestern (9-3)	1.0346	South Carolina (7-4)	0.5386
34	Nebraska (7-4)	1.0150	Maryland (7-4)	0.5209
35	Iowa (8-4)	0.9956	Wake Forest (6-5)	0.5143
36	Oregon (8-3)	0.9875	Iowa (8-4)	0.4846
37	West Virginia (7-3)	0.9865	West Virginia (7-3)	0.4800
38	Clemson (6-5)	0.9655	LSU (7-4)	0.4221
39	LSU (7-4)	0.9587	Central Michigan (8-3)	0.4151
40	Virginia (5-6)	0.9320	Western Michigan (9-2)	0.4057
41	Vanderbilt (6-5)	0.9316	Clemson (6-5)	0.3429
42	Central Michigan (8-3)	0.9146	Vanderbilt (6-5)	0.3040
43	Western Michigan (9-2)	0.8979	Air Force (8-4)	0.2855
44	Navy (6-4)	0.8395	Kansas (6-5)	0.2638
45	Air Force (8-4)	0.8357	Virginia (5-6)	0.2488
46	Kansas (6-5)	0.8274	Tulsa (9-2)	0.2112
47	Rutgers (6-5)	0.8252	Kentucky (6-5)	0.2027
48	North Carolina St (5-6)	0.8227	Rice (8-3)	0.1945
49	Tulsa (9-2)	0.8186	Rutgers (6-5)	0.1927
50	East Carolina (7-4)	0.8100	Navy (6-4)	0.1916
51	Kentucky (6-5)	0.8029	Wisconsin (7-5)	0.1885
52	Rice (8-3)	0.7830	East Carolina (7-4)	0.1581
53	Wisconsin (7-5)	0.7715	South Florida (6-4)	0.1424
54	South Florida (6-4)	0.7555	North Carolina St (5-6)	0.1287
55	Hawai`i (6-5)	0.7231	Buffalo (7-4)	0.1171
56	Notre Dame (6-5)	0.7169	Minnesota (7-5)	0.0495
57	Colorado (5-6)	0.7095	Notre Dame (6-5)	0.0448
58	Houston (7-4)	0.7084	Colorado (5-6)	0.0268
59	Louisiana Tech (7-4)	0.6892	Fresno St (7-4)	0.0156
60	Nevada (6-5)	0.6880	Houston (7-4)	0.0077
61	Minnesota (7-5)	0.6875	Hawai`i (6-5)	-0.0255
62	Buffalo (7-4)	0.6827	Colorado St (6-6)	-0.0312
63	Fresno St (7-4)	0.6774	Arizona (6-5)	-0.0435
64	Arizona (6-5)	0.6697	Louisiana Tech (7-4)	-0.0650
65	Duke (4-7)	0.6647	Nevada (6-5)	-0.0687
66	Arkansas (4-7)	0.6582	Illinois (5-7)	-0.0941
67	Colorado St (6-6)	0.6474	Stanford (5-7)	-0.1306
68	Stanford (5-7)	0.6448	Troy (7-4)	-0.1358
69	Tennessee (4-7)	0.6293	Baylor (4-7)	-0.1373
70	Troy (7-4)	0.6231	Arkansas (4-7)	-0.1444
71	Illinois (5-7)	0.6139	Duke (4-7)	-0.1629
72	Baylor (4-7)	0.6079	Louisville (5-6)	-0.1888
73	Louisville (5-6)	0.5817	Auburn (5-6)	-0.1988
74	Auburn (5-6)	0.5803	Tennessee (4-7)	-0.2157
75	Mississippi St (4-7)	0.5786	Purdue (4-8)	-0.2561
76	Texas A&M (4-7)	0.5640	UCLA (4-6)	-0.2629
77	Arizona St (4-6)	0.5611	Arizona St (4-6)	-0.2670
78	Purdue (4-8)	0.5534	Kansas St (5-7)	-0.2879
79	Kansas St (5-7)	0.5454	Northern Illinois (6-5)	-0.2879
80	UCLA (4-6)	0.5346	San Jose St (6-6)	-0.3183
81	San Jose St (6-6)	0.5318	Texas A&M (4-7)	-0.3321
82	Bowling Green (5-6)	0.5309	Mississippi St (4-7)	-0.3505
83	UNLV (5-7)	0.5276	UNLV (5-7)	-0.3954
84	Arkansas St (5-5)	0.5211	UTEP (5-6)	-0.4084
85	Northern Illinois (6-5)	0.5176	Southern Miss (5-6)	-0.4176
86	Southern Miss (5-6)	0.5091	Arkansas St (5-5)	-0.4875
87	Michigan (3-9)	0.5050	New Mexico (4-8)	-0.4933
88	UTEP (5-6)	0.4995	Florida Atlantic (5-6)	-0.5143
89	New Mexico (4-8)	0.4808	Akron (5-6)	-0.5158
90	Syracuse (3-8)	0.4766	Syracuse (3-8)	-0.5307
91	Middle Tennessee St (5-6)	0.4740	Michigan (3-9)	-0.5500
92	Indiana (3-9)	0.4662	Bowling Green (5-6)	-0.5758
93	Florida Atlantic (5-6)	0.4612	Memphis (5-6)	-0.5924
94	Akron (5-6)	0.4541	Indiana (3-9)	-0.6045
95	Marshall (4-7)	0.4533	Middle Tennessee St (5-6)	-0.6172
96	Wyoming (4-8)	0.4444	Marshall (4-7)	-0.6215
97	Memphis (5-6)	0.4357	Temple (4-7)	-0.6548
98	Temple (4-7)	0.4187	Central Florida (4-7)	-0.6575
99	Utah St (2-9)	0.4138	Wyoming (4-8)	-0.6722
100	Central Florida (4-7)	0.4120	Louisiana-Lafayette (5-6)	-0.7191
101	New Mexico St (3-8)	0.3902	Florida Int'l (4-6)	-0.7652
102	Florida Int'l (4-6)	0.3897	Utah St (2-9)	-0.8625
103	Louisiana-Lafayette (5-6)	0.3715	Ohio U. (3-8)	-0.9288
104	Washington St (2-10)	0.3620	Toledo (3-8)	-0.9382
105	Ohio U. (3-8)	0.3557	Washington St (2-10)	-0.9981
106	Toledo (3-8)	0.3449	New Mexico St (3-8)	-1.0001
107	San Diego St (2-10)	0.3422	Alabama-Birmingham (3-8)	-1.0715
108	Western Kentucky (2-9)	0.3379	Iowa St (2-10)	-1.1016
109	Washington (0-11)	0.3354	Louisiana-Monroe (4-8)	-1.1863
110	Army (3-8)	0.3281	Army (3-8)	-1.2387
111	Louisiana-Monroe (4-8)	0.3259	Kent St (3-8)	-1.3300
112	Tulane (2-9)	0.3249	Tulane (2-9)	-1.3602
113	Iowa St (2-10)	0.3246	San Diego St (2-10)	-1.3729
114	Alabama-Birmingham (3-8)	0.3204	Eastern Michigan (2-9)	-1.4263
115	Eastern Michigan (2-9)	0.3171	Miami OH (2-9)	-1.4882
116	Miami OH (2-9)	0.3099	Idaho (2-10)	-1.4959
117	Kent St (3-8)	0.3094	Western Kentucky (2-9)	-1.5605
118	FCS teams (XXX-XXX)	0.3033	Washington (0-11)	-1.5963
119	SMU (1-10)	0.2953	SMU (1-10)	-1.7256
120	Idaho (2-10)	0.2927	FCS teams (XXX-XXX)	-1.9049
121	North Texas (1-10)	0.2182	North Texas (1-10)	-2.0391

Moving to a blog

As the regular season of college football heads towards another slate of potential controversy, we've found ourselves using our rankings page for occasional commentary, both about the race for bids in the BCS National Championship game and about the race among the so-called BCS busters to see if one of them secures an "automatic" bid and if others have a shot at one of the remaining at-large bids. Unfortunately, because of the format of our old web page, it was difficult to organize an historical record of such comments. So we are finally moving to a blog...

Lots more about the current season will hopefully get posted quickly. And we will eventually move or provide links to some of the other rankings we've made over the past 5 years of running the "Random Walker Rankings" (still available at http://rankings.amath.unc.edu/old).

IRS Tax Lien: Did the IRS Act Illegally? Learn to Escape an IRS Lien

Hit without Warning: Liens are often issued without warning, and there's a big problem with that. Why? Because it's illegal! If you didn't receive a notice in the mail before a Lien was issued on you, read on. See if you qualify for having the Lien removed.

Demanding Letters: Before the IRS can issue a Lien they are required to send a notice (“Notice and Demand for Payment”) and give you the opportunity to appeal before the Lien is issued. If they don't do this, the Lien is invalid. Believe it or not, the IRS often fails to send proper notices, or sends them to an incorrect address.

Know Your Rights: The law contains a useful tool for overriding Tax Liens. It's known as the “Lien Withdrawal”, and you might qualify for it. There are four possible reasons for withdrawing a Lien:

1. The Lien was filed too early or was in violation of the IRS procedures.
2. You entered into an Installment Agreement that does not specifically provide for a Lien.
3. Withdrawal of the Lien will facilitate the collection of the tax.
4. The Taxpayer Advocate determines that the withdrawal of the Lien would be in the best interest of both you and the IRS.

Fight Back! If any of the above applies to you, it's important that you act fast to save your credit. You will need to send a detailed letter to the IRS before they will remove the Lien. There is no preprinted form for you to fill out. IRS Publication 784, “Application for Subordination of Federal Tax Lien” lists all the information you will need to include in your letter. But read carefully! One mistake and your lien could be permanent.

Watch Your Back: Did the IRS agree to withdraw the Lien? It's not over yet. First, make sure the IRS gives you a copy of notice that a lien has been released. The IRS must also notify credit reporting agencies and creditors that the levy has been withdrawn. This helps repair the damage done by the Lien. But it's your duty to provide the names and addresses of those you want notified, so make sure you cover you bases.

Now You Have the Smoking Gun...Use it!

Enjoy Your News!

New in the News: PayPal has received a summons from the IRS requiring the production of various account records. This includes data related to your PayPal account. This is the perfect example of not being able to hide from the IRS. They will hunt you down and take their money anyway they can, even if it means gaining access to your internet PayPal account and taking money straight from there. Read the rest of the story here.

Seven Pounds: Also, for those of you who don't know, the director of the film "The Pursuit of Happyness" has launched a new movie staring Will Smith. Smith portrays a suicidal IRS Agent who changes the lives of seven strangers. It seems that the movie will be using the storyline to show a softer side to the Interal Revenue Service.

Take it from a Real Hitman: I'm no actor, and even I couldn't handle working under the IRS for much longer. I had to get out and I knew that the longer I stayed, the more miserable I would make myself and my family. Thankfully I was able to transfer my talents and knowledge into helping the American Taxpayer, instead of hurting them.


Now you have the Smoking Gun...Use It!

Swimming with Sharks: How the IRS Can Ruin Your Life

Jaws: A full-grown Great White Shark can bite down with a pressure of up to 6,000 pounds. Rumor has it, that IRS Revenue Officers bite even harder; and evidence has shown us just that. With the economy failing, and more taxpayers slipping into debt, the IRS Sharks are circling like never before. And they’re waiting for you to make the one false move that will land you right in their jaws.

Stay Out of the Water: Chances are, you’ve known about this for awhile. If the IRS is ready to bite, they’ve probably already sent a few warning signs. These usually come in the form of three certified letters. The first letter will kindly outline what you owe and give you a due date. The second letter will be a little harsher and will tell you they will take action if you do not pay. By the time you get the third letter, they’ve probably already attacked.

The Mouth of the Monster: Much like a shark, it’s pretty hard to get and IRS Revenue Officer to let go once he’s taken his first bite. But an IRS-Hitman won’t take your arm or leg; he’ll do a lot worse. If you’ve gotten your third letter you’re going to face a lien, a bank levy, or in worst case scenarios a wage garnishment. If you’ve ever visited my blog you know a little about what these are. But for those of you have not:

Tax Lien: This is basically a black spot that can royally mess up your credit. It not only prevents you from using your credit while it’s on, but even after it is removed, it can take years to rebuild your good credit

Bank Levy: When this happens, the IRS talks to your bank and you are frozen completely out of your account. You can’t withdrawal any money, you can’t use your debit card, and worst of all, there’s nothing you or your bank can do about it.

Wage Garnishment: Rather than attacking your credit or your bank, the IRS goes straight to the source: your paycheck. They will contact your employer and demand a percentage of your check to apply to your IRS debt. These days they can take up to 80% of each paycheck.

Feeding Frenzy! If any of these things happen to you, the IRS is probably enjoying every minute of it. Their job is to get their money and they’ll do it by whatever means necessary. If this means putting you out on the street or keeping you from feeding your children, it doesn’t really matter. This is why you have to stay on top of your filing and make sure if you ever owe, pay it off as soon as you can.

Now you have the Smoking Gun…Use It!

Ladies and Gentlemen -

It being Veteran's Day, I'd like to take the time to thank all the men and women of the United States Services. You all have done wonderful work serving your country. And at times it can seem as if you are lost in the shuffle. But on days like this, we can step back and remember these great Americans.

You have given us all the privilege to live freely, and for that I thank you all.

Yesterday, IRS Commissioner Douglas Schulman gave comments before the Independent Sector: "If you peel back all of the different layers, the IRS has two main functions: service and enforcement. And one question I get a lot these days is whether as Commissioner I will focus on service or enforcement. I believe this is a false choice — the IRS must do both, and do both very well. And we will during my tenure."

Read the rest of the story here.

Thanks again to all of our Vets.

The Hitman

The IRS Bank Levy: A Single Mother's Worst Nightmare

How it Starts: Single mothers have it tough. As a single mother you have to work long hours, and when you do have free time it's dedicated to your children. With so little free time it's hard to squeeze in being your own accountant as well. Amid all the chaos, a lot of single mothers neglect to file their taxes.

Bank Levy Explained: A Bank Levy is essentially a freeze on your bank account- you will not be able to withdraw money. The IRS will take the money out of your account after 21 days of issuing the Bank Levy. This holding period is to allow you to work with the IRS before they clean out your account.

Complete Chaos: Imagine paying all your bills with checks unaware that the IRS has taken all the funds from your account. Suddenly all your utility companies are calling you saying your payments are late and your checks have bounced. This scenario does happen because a Bank Levy is placed on your account without warning.

Hardship Plan: If you are a single mother on a fixed income, you might qualify for a hardship plan that would keep them from Levying your Bank account. You have to contact the IRS and prove to them in detail that you need the money to keep you and your children from going without necessities. It wont be easy! Especially when the IRS practically has their money in your hands. When Uncle Sam has his money, he doesn't want to let it go.

How to Fight it!: The IRS will not let go of it's hold on your Bank account without a fight. Roll up your sleeves and follow the steps below:

1. You need concrete proof that if they place a Bank Levy on your account you can't pay for your basic living expenses. Gather documentation like your paychecks, groceries bills, and utility/ rent payments.

2. Be prepared to release a detailed financial statement (Usually on Form 433-A) This statement proves the information the IRS needs to determine if you can pay or not

3. Simply send a letter to the local office of the Taxpayer Advocate. Be specific and detailed and provide plenty of examples.

Act Fast: When you know your money is on the line, you have to act fast! The IRS wont give up without a fight, but now you're armed with the knowledge you need to quickly fight back and save your money.

Now you have the smoking gun...Use it!

IRS Tax Form 1099: Don’t Get Into Trouble!

Know your employees…Being your own boss, it’s what many Americans dream of, but few get to accomplish it. But the freedom that it gives also comes with some heavy responsibilities. And running your own business means you have to pay other people to work for you. One of the stickier tax traps that an IRS-Hitman can set for the small businessperson is how to report the people that work for them on their taxes.

A or B…If you own your own business then you have two types of people that work for you, and two different ways of claiming them on your taxes: You have independent contractors, whom you usually pay for a single job or service. You also have your regular employees that work for you on a steady basis. Each of these workers has to be filed in completely separate ways when you report your taxes. But which is which?

Your regular employees or 941 payroll employees are easy. They work for you on a regular basis; you issue them a regular paycheck with taxes taken out. They work for you, and normally don’t work for someone else.

The independent contractor is a bit trickier. Small business owners can get into major trouble by claiming what should be 941 employees as contractors. So what is the difference?

A misconception…You may think that if you pay someone per job, rather than paying them on a regular basis means they’re contractors. For example, you have someone come in to make improvements on your place of business. You pay him for the job and then he goes on to the next contract. He would be a contractor. Now if you have that same person on call for any job that your business needs, and he makes him or herself available to you at any time then he/ she is a 941 employee.

A quick test…Although it is a little more complicated, the IRS-Hitman does have a good rule of thumb, although you should always consult the tax code to make sure. The simple rule of thumb is that if you only use someone for a single job, or they work for more people than just you they’re a contractor. If they work exclusively for you, or are on a regular pay schedule they’re regular employees.

More examples include: your attorney is a contractor; your in house accountant is a regular employee. The company that designed your website is a contractor, your IT guy is an employee.

Make sure, again…Follow that simple rule of thumb, and research anyone who’s status is questionable and you should be able to avoid the pitfall of misfiling your 1099 taxes.

Now you have the smoking gun…Use it!

IRS Tax Debt: IRS Tax Debt Will Make the Phone Ring Off the Hook!

Stacks of Bills: If you're in debt, you're not alone. Thousands are Americans are in Debt the IRS. Maybe you lost your job, maybe you got a pay cut, and maybe there's no work out there; but your taxes are still due every year. How can you pay your IRS debt when you owe other creditors, too? The answer may shock you.

The One and Only: When you're in debt, the IRS, they want you to pay one organization only. And that's the IRS. The difference between owing the IRS, and owing any other creditor, is that the IRS is a part of the Federal Government. They have the power to take your money without involving the court system. Other creditors may call you or send you letters, but their collection efforts usually stop there.

Ring, Ring, Ring... So it's established: When you owe the IRS other creditors don't matter. So will your creditors just ignore your debt? No, they want their money too! You won't get a moment of peace. Your creditors will call you day and night.

Interest is Climbing: IRS penalty and interest fees are malicious. It's bad enough that your IRS Debt quickly doubles or even triples if left unattended. You're stuck in a rut.

Make it Stop!: So you want your credit, your life, and your money back? It won't be easy! Here's a couple ways to get the IRS off your back:

-Installment Agreement: This allows you to pay off your debt to the IRS in monthly payments. Interest and penalty fees will still accrue on the account, but the IRS wont enact levies or liens on your if you pay on time each month.

-Negotiate a Settlement: It maybe hard to do, but you can try to Negotiate a Settlement with the IRS so you can pay off your debt in one lump sum.

Free at Last: When you are finally free from your Tax Debt you can work on settling out your other debts. Imagine the freedom to spend your money on your own terms. Don't pour every cent you earn into your debts. Use these tips to make your IRS Debt-free dream a reality!

Now You Have the Smoking Gun...Use it!