Running bowl thread

By the way, in the category of 'the poor WAC is underrated':

Notre Dame 35, second-in-the-WAC Nevada 0.

And the WAC's overall record against BCS-conference schools (plus Notre Dame): 3-12. And those three came against Oregon, Illinois (3-9) and Washington State (1-11).

Add in Utah and BYU, and it's 3-15.

 

BUT BOISE BEAT OKLAHOMA THREE YEARS AGO!!!!!!

 

Kentucky would be the fourth toughest team on Boise's schedule - according to an arbitrary system which overrates teams like Kentucky based on their conference and not their merit.....

I mean, clearly Kentucky proved its strength by beating big-time non-conference teams Big East bottom feeder Louisville (4-8), Miami, Ohio (1-11), Eastern Kentucky (a Division I-AA team with a losing record) and Sun Belt dreg Louisiana-Monroe (6-6)......

Boy that proves definitively to me that Kentucky is better than the other teams in the WAC.....

And that is the point -- SEC teams like Kentucky get huge artificial boost in power rankings because they are in the SEC -- not because of anything they do on the field -- and that boosts strength of schedule for teams like Alabama.

Nothing on Kentucky's resume suggests it is better or worse than most of the teams in the WAC, well other than SEC fan boys claiming that some computer power ranking said so and it must be true......

 

The WAC's overall non-conference record: 26-20.

The WAC's overall non-conference record, excluding I-AA teams: 19-20.

Random factoid I picked up while trolling through schedules: New Mexico State beat Prairie View for one of three Aggie wins -- and Prairie View's only loss! Panthers play Alabama A&M Saturday in the SWAC title game. Who'da thunk it?

 

The category of the mighty SEC Is overrated --

Shitass UCLA (fighting for morsals of eaglebank bowl with Navy for christ's sake) 19 SECOND PLACE IN SEC EAST Tennessee 15 - at Tennessee

 

Being in the SEC has nothing to do with SOS. In most of the BCS computer polls, SOS is measured by opponents' record and opponents' opponents' record, simple as that. And I-AA teams, basically, don't count.

Kentucky would get virtually no benefit from having beaten Miami of Ohio (which, incidentally, also featured on Boise's super-awesome schedule).

And teams in the WAC do just as much fattening up on the MAC and the dregs of C-USA and the MWC as teams in the SEC fatten up on the Sun Belt.

Remember those records I posted: 3-12 against BCS-conference teams, 26-20 overall, 19-20 against I-A teams.

So that's 16-8 against C-USA, the MWC, the MAC and the Sun Belt. And three of the eight were Utah and BYU. No one from the WAC played TCU.

So that's 16 of 19 I-A victories coming against the bottom six of the MWC, the MAC, the Sun Belt and C-USA.

 

Is that why there are computer and power rankings available BEFORE the season even begins?

 

SEC teams in non-conference games: 42-6.

SEC teams against BCS-conference teams: 10-4. (Oklahoma State over Georgia, UCLA over Tennessee, Georgia Tech over Mississippi State and Vandy.)

Two losses to non-BCS teams: Vanderbilt to Army, Mississippi State to Houston.

10 of 12 SEC teams played a I-AA. 7 of 9 WAC teams did the same.

The SEC's 12 teams played 14 BCS non-conference games (thanks very much Georgia for playing three). The WAC's 9 teams played 15.

 

Anderson: No rankings until 5th week.
Billingsley: Teams start where they finished the previous season.
Colley: All teams assumed equal from the beginning of the season.
Massey: Preseason ratings are based on previous season's rankings.
Sagarin: Preseason ratings removed before BCS standings issued.
Wolfe: I have no idea what a maximum likelihood estimate is, so I have no idea how these rankings work.

So that's two polls out of six (maybe three, depending on what the hell the Wolfe rankings mean) in which the previous season has any bearing whatsoever.

 

How many of those ten wins came against conferences other than the ACC?

 

Half of them.

ACC: 5-2
Pac-10: 1-1
Big 12: 2-1
Big East: 2-0

WAC?
Big 12: 0-3
Big 10: 1-2
Big East: 0-1
Pac-10: 2-3
SEC: 0-2
Notre Dame: 0-1

 

The Big Ten and Pac 10 played less AQC schools than any other AQC. If you count Notre Dame, then Pac 10 plays the least. It makes sense for the Pac 10, since they play the least amount of non-conference games.