Archive For The “Data” Category

ESPN’s Interesting FCS Change to its Football Power Index

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ESPN’s Interesting FCS Change to its Football Power Index

It may not have seemed like much, a bit of news quietly released during the news dumping ground of Friday afternoon by ESPN Stats and Info.

“Upgrades sharpen ESPN’s college FPI model,” the release was titled, a piece which explained some changes that were being made to ESPN’s “Football Power Index”.

One of those changes involve how FCS wins and losses were represented in their model.

And it’s actually a bigger deal than you think.
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The Lack of Data in Rating the FCS Top 25

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The Lack of Data in Rating the FCS Top 25

At the halfway point of the FCS college football season, chances are you’re mad.

You’re mad that the human pollsters, who comprise the voters in the Sports Network or Coaches’ poll, don’t properly value your team, or your team’s opponents.

You’re mad that the folks who program the computers, who either underrate your favorite team or overrate something in another team that you, yourself, don’t value in your own rankings.

It’s just like the picture above: everyone sees the statistics and stories, and part of a football helmet, without really seeing the accurate picture.

It begs the question: is there really, honestly, a way to get an accurate picture of how to rank the Top 25 teams in the country?

Or will arguments on the relative worth of one football team vs. another always be a part of the fabric of college football, never to be settled – even after the end of the regular season?
Read more »

Read more »

The Lack of Data in Rating the FCS Top 25

By |

The Lack of Data in Rating the FCS Top 25

At the halfway point of the FCS college football season, chances are you’re mad.

You’re mad that the human pollsters, who comprise the voters in the Sports Network or Coaches’ poll, don’t properly value your team, or your team’s opponents.

You’re mad that the folks who program the computers, who either underrate your favorite team or overrate something in another team that you, yourself, don’t value in your own rankings.

It’s just like the picture above: everyone sees the statistics and stories, and part of a football helmet, without really seeing the accurate picture.

It begs the question: is there really, honestly, a way to get an accurate picture of how to rank the Top 25 teams in the country?

Or will arguments on the relative worth of one football team vs. another always be a part of the fabric of college football, never to be settled – even after the end of the regular season?
Read more »

Read more »

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