Archive For The “Sagarin” Category

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?
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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 »

Patriot League Schedules (Pt. 1): How Lehigh Stayed At Home In November, 2012

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Patriot League Schedules (Pt. 1): How Lehigh Stayed At Home In November, 2012

I really thought I’d have been over it by now, but I’m not.

Last year’s Lehigh football team, who went 10-1, was denied an at-large spot to the FCS playoffs, becoming the first school with 10 Division I wins to be denied the honor since the playoff field expanded from 16 teams.

How did this happen?

The most common complaint from some Lehigh fans and many other FCS fans was that Lehigh’s “schedule strength” in 2012 simply was not cutting it when comparing them to other at-large candidates like New Hampshire, Wofford, or Illinois State.

Is it true that Lehigh scheduled themselves out of a playoff game last season – and will this season’s Lehigh schedule make it any easier to qualify as an at-large team should the Mountain Hawks be in that position again?
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