The Pride and the Pageantry Index: November 1, 2007

It's about time when people all over the country start trying to figure out "Who the Best Is" or in college football's case "Who the best two are". Arguments for teams with higher strength of schedules versus teams with better regular season records will invade the blogosphere in due time, if they haven't already. Well here is my unique computer rating system, well not really unique it goes by a formula very similar to college basketball's RPI heavily weighted (50%) towards strength of schedule (opponents win percentage) with regular season record counting 25% and Opponents Opponents Winning Percentage accounting for the other 25%. The emphasis on strength of schedule doesn't bode well for undefeated Hawaii (you don't see them, they're 74^th) or USC (54^th) as these teams are where they should be at as far as regular season (in USC's case worse). This is if nothing else a unique look at a team's "resume" as we get closer and closer to the controversial selection of BCS participants.

Rnk Team Conf W L OW OL OOW OOL TPTPI LW
1 LSU SEC 7 1 0.875 40 29 0.580 298 274 0.521 0.63885 -
2 Oregon Pac Ten 7 1 0.875 36 29 0.554 283 254 0.527 0.62742 -
3 Arizona State Pac Ten 8 0 1.000 28 36 0.438 308 216 0.588 0.61570 -
4 Boston College ACC 8 0 1.000 29 35 0.453 253 212 0.544 0.61258 -
5 Missouri Big XII 7 1 0.875 34 36 0.486 291 230 0.559 0.60124 -
6 Ohio State Big Ten 9 0 1.000 33 45 0.423 329 275 0.545 0.59771 -
7 Kansas Big XII 8 0 1.000 29 40 0.420 281 234 0.546 0.59655 -
8 Auburn SEC 6 3 0.667 44 31 0.587 336 283 0.543 0.59570 -
9 Georgia SEC 6 2 0.750 35 31 0.530 270 211 0.561 0.59298 -
10 West Virginia Big East 7 1 0.875 31 35 0.470 261 225 0.537 0.58786 -
11 Tennessee SEC 5 3 0.625 40 26 0.606 279 264 0.514 0.58773 -
12 South Florida Big East 6 2 0.750 31 26 0.544 211 204 0.508 0.58654 -
13 Florida SEC 5 3 0.625 39 28 0.582 270 219 0.552 0.58533 -
14 Alabama SEC 6 2 0.750 34 31 0.523 246 225 0.522 0.57961 -
15 Virginia Tech ACC 6 2 0.750 34 32 0.515 257 222 0.537 0.57921 -
16 Oklahoma Big XII 7 1 0.875 31 36 0.463 283 273 0.509 0.57734 -
17 Colorado Big XII 5 4 0.556 47 28 0.627 300 326 0.479 0.57203 -
18 Connecticut Big East 7 1 0.875 29 37 0.439 253 222 0.533 0.57160 -
19 Illinois Big Ten 6 3 0.667 44 34 0.564 298 315 0.486 0.57025 -
20 California Pac Ten 5 3 0.625 37 28 0.569 271 258 0.512 0.56894 -
21 Penn State Big Ten 6 3 0.667 43 36 0.544 352 332 0.515 0.56747 -
22 Michigan Big Ten 7 2 0.778 37 41 0.474 327 276 0.542 0.56720 -
23 Clemson ACC 6 2 0.750 32 33 0.492 251 219 0.534 0.56716 -
24 Kansas State Big XII 5 3 0.625 38 30 0.559 263 237 0.526 0.56716 -
25 Nebraska Big XII 4 5 0.444 51 25 0.671 308 332 0.481 0.56695 -
26 Wake Forest ACC 6 2 0.750 31 34 0.477 301 233 0.564 0.56688 -
27 Oklahoma State Big XII 5 3 0.625 38 29 0.567 249 242 0.507 0.56661 -
28 Virginia ACC 7 2 0.778 34 39 0.466 334 271 0.552 0.56534 -
29 Texas Big XII 7 2 0.778 35 39 0.473 331 286 0.536 0.56505 -
30 Kentucky SEC 6 3 0.667 41 35 0.539 293 279 0.512 0.56446 -
31 South Carolina SEC 6 3 0.667 38 36 0.514 304 250 0.549 0.56061 -
32 Purdue Big Ten 7 2 0.778 37 42 0.468 323 293 0.524 0.55971 -
33 Texas A&M Big XII 6 3 0.667 40 35 0.533 282 276 0.505 0.55968 -
34 Boise State WAC 7 1 0.875 28 37 0.431 233 239 0.494 0.55755 -
35 Oregon State Pac Ten 5 3 0.625 37 29 0.561 226 241 0.484 0.55754 -
36 Georgia Tech ACC 5 3 0.625 35 30 0.538 241 224 0.518 0.55505 -
37 Florida State ACC 5 3 0.625 34 31 0.523 291 244 0.544 0.55377 -
38 Mississippi State SEC 5 4 0.556 42 33 0.560 295 263 0.529 0.55106 -
39 New Mexico Mountain West 6 2 0.750 30 35 0.462 231 236 0.495 0.54193 -
40 Rutgers Big East 5 3 0.625 34 31 0.523 227 239 0.487 0.53957 -
41 UCF Conference USA 5 3 0.625 35 31 0.530 249 281 0.470 0.53885 -
42 Maryland ACC 4 4 0.500 37 28 0.569 238 227 0.512 0.53757 -
43 Brigham Young Mountain West 5 2 0.714 28 31 0.475 198 211 0.484 0.53689 -
44 UCLA Pac Ten 5 3 0.625 30 34 0.469 306 222 0.580 0.53551 -
45 Washington Pac Ten 2 6 0.250 47 19 0.712 252 291 0.464 0.53458 -
46 Vanderbilt SEC 5 3 0.625 34 35 0.493 266 241 0.525 0.53379 -
47 Wisconsin Big Ten 7 2 0.778 33 46 0.418 319 293 0.521 0.53362 -
48 Texas Tech Big XII 6 3 0.667 35 40 0.467 297 263 0.530 0.53259 -
49 North Carolina State ACC 3 5 0.375 42 25 0.627 240 240 0.500 0.53218 -
50 Wyoming Mountain West 5 3 0.625 34 33 0.507 266 282 0.485 0.53133 -
51 East Carolina Conference USA 5 4 0.556 38 34 0.528 304 292 0.510 0.53029 -
52 Michigan State Big Ten 5 4 0.556 40 37 0.519 333 333 0.500 0.52363 -
53 Stanford Pac Ten 3 5 0.375 39 25 0.609 253 266 0.487 0.52031 -
54 Southern California Pac Ten 6 2 0.750 24 43 0.358 328 214 0.605 0.51790 -
55 Cincinnati Big East 6 2 0.750 26 39 0.400 249 230 0.520 0.51746 -
56 Fresno State WAC 5 3 0.625 32 34 0.485 223 247 0.474 0.51729 -
57 Louisville Big East 5 4 0.556 38 37 0.507 275 284 0.492 0.51521 -
58 Notre Dame Independent 1 7 0.125 49 19 0.721 275 298 0.480 0.51153 -
59 Iowa Big Ten 4 5 0.444 44 36 0.550 348 346 0.501 0.51147 -
60 Air Force Mountain West 6 3 0.667 32 40 0.444 257 272 0.486 0.51034 -
61 Washington State Pac Ten 3 5 0.375 39 27 0.591 249 284 0.467 0.50600 -
62 Northwestern Big Ten 5 4 0.556 38 40 0.487 297 305 0.493 0.50582 -
63 Miami (Fla.) ACC 5 3 0.625 27 38 0.415 305 238 0.562 0.50437 -
64 Central Michigan MAC 5 4 0.556 38 39 0.494 275 318 0.464 0.50158 -
65 Arkansas SEC 5 3 0.625 28 39 0.418 261 223 0.539 0.50002 -
66 Mississippi SEC 2 7 0.222 47 26 0.644 299 312 0.489 0.49981 -
67 Tulsa Conference USA 5 3 0.625 28 35 0.444 255 272 0.484 0.49944 -
68 North Carolina ACC 2 6 0.250 42 25 0.627 233 239 0.494 0.49934 -
69 Indiana Big Ten 5 4 0.556 36 43 0.456 323 294 0.524 0.49761 -
70 Utah Mountain West 6 3 0.667 30 44 0.405 312 297 0.512 0.49745 -
71 Houston Conference USA 5 3 0.625 28 37 0.431 265 270 0.495 0.49547 -
72 Troy Sun Belt 6 2 0.750 23 41 0.359 266 263 0.503 0.49290 -
73 Hawaii WAC 8 0 1.000 15 52 0.224 211 200 0.513 0.49029 -
74 Duke ACC 1 7 0.125 45 21 0.682 257 287 0.472 0.49027 -
75 Pittsburgh Big East 3 5 0.375 38 30 0.559 231 269 0.462 0.48866 -
76 Texas-El Paso Conference USA 4 4 0.500 33 34 0.493 223 255 0.467 0.48790 -
77 TCU Mountain West 4 4 0.500 32 36 0.471 268 289 0.481 0.48058 -
78 Navy Independent 4 4 0.500 30 36 0.455 244 238 0.506 0.47883 -
79 Ball State MAC 5 4 0.556 34 45 0.430 302 304 0.498 0.47867 -
80 Akron MAC 3 5 0.375 37 32 0.536 273 315 0.464 0.47794 -
81 New Mexico State WAC 4 5 0.444 37 37 0.500 213 258 0.452 0.47417 -
82 Arizona Pac Ten 3 6 0.333 36 35 0.507 281 237 0.542 0.47247 -
83 Baylor Big XII 3 6 0.333 39 36 0.520 286 277 0.508 0.47033 -
84 Army Independent 3 5 0.375 33 32 0.508 228 244 0.483 0.46836 -
85 Toledo MAC 4 5 0.444 38 41 0.481 284 326 0.466 0.46801 -
86 Kent State MAC 3 6 0.333 41 37 0.526 290 306 0.487 0.46780 -
87 Syracuse Big East 2 6 0.250 37 32 0.536 307 277 0.526 0.46204 -
88 Miami (Ohio) MAC 4 5 0.444 34 42 0.447 324 325 0.499 0.45960 -
89 Louisiana Tech WAC 3 5 0.375 32 34 0.485 234 242 0.492 0.45907 -
90 San Diego State Mountain West 2 5 0.286 31 26 0.544 185 216 0.461 0.45870 -
91 Buffalo MAC 4 5 0.444 35 43 0.449 327 341 0.490 0.45785 -
92 Bowling Green MAC 4 4 0.500 29 40 0.420 251 265 0.486 0.45675 -
93 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt 4 4 0.500 27 40 0.403 280 268 0.511 0.45423 -
94 San Jose State WAC 3 5 0.375 31 34 0.477 221 240 0.479 0.45206 -
95 Southern Mississippi Conference USA 4 4 0.500 26 39 0.400 236 236 0.500 0.45000 -
96 Louisiana-Monroe Sun Belt 3 5 0.375 31 34 0.477 250 281 0.471 0.44991 -
97 UNLV Mountain West 2 7 0.222 42 32 0.568 267 352 0.431 0.44717 -
98 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 4 5 0.444 32 42 0.432 258 289 0.472 0.44524 -
99 Nevada WAC 4 4 0.500 25 43 0.368 260 231 0.530 0.44121 -
100 Minnesota Big Ten 1 8 0.111 46 32 0.590 271 333 0.449 0.43482 -
101 Ohio MAC 4 5 0.444 31 45 0.408 275 306 0.473 0.43339 -
102 Iowa State Big XII 1 8 0.111 43 35 0.551 309 290 0.516 0.43238 -
103 UAB Conference USA 2 6 0.250 33 34 0.493 238 244 0.494 0.43221 -
104 Western Michigan MAC 3 6 0.333 36 41 0.468 275 324 0.459 0.43187 -
105 Temple MAC 3 5 0.375 30 37 0.448 258 310 0.454 0.43119 -
106 Florida International Sun Belt 0 8 0.000 41 25 0.621 250 298 0.456 0.42466 -
107 Arkansas State Sun Belt 3 5 0.375 28 38 0.424 247 293 0.457 0.42022 -
108 Eastern Michigan MAC 3 6 0.333 34 44 0.436 279 325 0.462 0.41676 -
109 Colorado State Mountain West 1 7 0.125 32 35 0.478 284 270 0.513 0.39821 -
110 Utah State WAC 0 8 0.000 38 28 0.576 240 308 0.438 0.39737 -
111 Tulane Conference USA 2 6 0.250 28 37 0.431 222 249 0.471 0.39572 -
112 Memphis Conference USA 4 4 0.500 19 47 0.288 238 245 0.493 0.39213 -
113 Marshall Conference USA 1 7 0.125 37 35 0.514 214 308 0.410 0.39068 -
114 North Texas Sun Belt 1 7 0.125 31 34 0.477 229 305 0.429 0.37692 -
115 Rice Conference USA 1 7 0.125 31 36 0.463 219 273 0.445 0.37387 -
116 Idaho WAC 1 8 0.111 31 35 0.470 209 275 0.432 0.37058 -
117 La.-Lafayette Sun Belt 1 7 0.125 30 36 0.455 213 265 0.446 0.36992 -
118 Southern Methodist Conference USA 1 7 0.125 27 37 0.422 240 283 0.459 0.35691 -
119 Northern Illinois MAC 1 8 0.111 31 48 0.392 284 319 0.471 0.34172 -

Pumpin for Thursday: Week 9

#2 Boston College (+3) at Virginia Tech, Over/Under 42

Vegas Algebra says: Virginia Tech 22.5, Boston College 19.5

Thoughts: I could tell you each teams Run/Pass Offense/Defense stats and what they can and should do but its Thursday night in Blacksburg. Nobody stands a chance, especially a top 5 team that is coming off wins vs. UMass, Bowling Green, Army, and Notre Dame in a year where being a top 5 team in October means nothing.

Suggestion: Lay down the 3 and take Virginia Tech because it is Thursday night in Blacksburg. The forecast calls for rain so a sloppy game is possible take the under. And don't feel bad, nobody in Boston's watching anyway.

You Make the Call...

During Friday Night's Louisville-UConn game with the game tied 7-7 :

this play happened

Now the wave happened...whether or not it was a proper 'fair catch' wave seems to be the issue for debate but the players pulled up (for if you tackle a player after calling fair catch its a penalty) and Larry Taylor ran the return the rest of the way for a touchdown but I agree with all Sean McDonough's points (which I usually do, except for one).

So should this have been a reversed call or not?

What I'm Watching: Week 8

12:30pm Tennessee at Alabama (Lincoln Financial)-The game that is ALWAYS played on "The Third Saturday in October". I don't get Raycom or Lincoln Financial or whatever but I wish I did as knowing no matter what year it is, no matter what the sports or political landscape, this game is always played on the Third Saturday in October is one of those cool traditions that makes college football what it is.



3:30pm Miami at Florida State (ABC Regional) or USC at Notre Dame (NBC)- Depending on which no longer relevant rivalry is closer or shows any kind of offensive competence. I'd watch Florida-Kentucky but with no Noah, Horford, or Brewer on the other side Gillespe's squad should roll.

7:00pm Cleveland at Boston (Fox)- I'm writing this during the 8th inning of Game 5. Hopefully I won't regret that.

9:00pm Auburn at LSU (ESPN)- Assuming the Red Sox game doesn't go until 1:30am this 9pm game should be a solid nightcap

This Week in Pageantry...

While you were wondering why they don't call it "University of West Florida"...

A Baylor Assistant Couldn't Wait in Line...

Arizona State's National Championship push ended before it got started...

Purdue did their best Appy State impression BEFORE last Saturday's game

Nebraska fired their AD, which should help their run defense tremendously

Cal fans said I told you so

Coach Fran tried to enlist some VIPs

The WAC had a WACky Weekend with Boise State and Hawaii surviving.

and Rocket Ismail compared Notre Dame's football season to a Big Mac...

Pumpin for Thursday: Week 8

South Florida (-3) at Rutgers, Over/Under 52

Vegas Algebra Says: South Florida 27.5, Rutgers 24.5

Stats Say:

South Florida Rushing Offense: 181YPG (35th nationally)
Rutgers Rushing Defense: 139YPG (45th)
Most of South Florida's success should come through the run


South Florida Passing Offense: 213YPG (73rd)
Rutgers Passing Defense: 158YPG (5th)
South Florida QB Matt Grothe will not be able to pass on Rutgers

Rutgers Rushing Offense: 182YPG (32nd)
South Florida Rushing Defense: 106YPG (26th)
No reprive for Ray Rice's disappointing Senior season against the Bulls run defense

Rutgers Passing Offense: 308YPG (12th)
South Florida Passing Defense: 178YPG (15th)
The surprising Mike Teel goes up against a great Bull secondary in the key matchup of this game


South Florida Turnovers Gained: 21 (T-4th)
Rutgers Turnovers Lost: 10 (T-33rd)
This is how South Florida's been winning, forcing turnovers as they did against West Virginia

Rutgers Turnovers Gained: 9 (T-98th)
South Florida Turnovers Lost: 13 (T-62nd)
South Florida has coughed up the ball but Rutgers hasn't had many opportunities to say the least


Game Plans:

Rutgers: Get Ray Rice going, protect the ball and keep the Thursday Night crowd in Piscataway involved in the game.
South Florida: Force Mike Teel to make mistakes allowing the Bulls to work from a short field and establish themselves as the second best team, if not the best, in the country.

My Thoughts:

Maybe its the ugly uniforms, maybe its the lack of a brand name but count me among the South Florida naysayers. Grothe's been okay and the rest of the offense is pretty pedestrian and I don't know how they would stack up against even some of the one loss teams in the top ten. Rutgers at home with 3 points looks like the best bet here. And it's Thursday bet the over

Pumpin' For Thursday: Week 7

Florida State (-6) at Wake Forest, Over/Under 44

Vegas Algebra Says: Florida State 25, Wake Forest 19

Stats Say:

Florida State Rushing Offense: 120YPG (88th nationally)
Wake Forest Rushing Defense: 111YPG (27th)
Florida State shouldn’t be able to run the ball

Florida State Passing Offense: 225YPG (63rd)
Wake Forest Passing Defense: 247YPG (83rd)
Florida State’s opportunities should come via the pass

Wake Forest Rushing Offense: 139YPG (71st )
Florida State Rushing Defense: 82YPG (11th)
Wake Forest will not be able to run the ball

Wake Forest Passing Offense: 199YPG (84th)
Florida State Passing Defense: 221YPG (59th)
Wake Forest could be able to pass

Wake Forest Turnover Gain: 14 (T-21st)
Florida State Turnover Loss: 3 (T-3rd)
This is the key matchup Florida State protects the ball well and Wake Forest takes it away often

Wake Forest Turnover Loss: 14 (T-90th)
Florida State Turnover Gain: 10 (T-68th)
Conversely Wake Forest gives up the ball too often but Florida State hasn’t taken it away

Wake Forest Interceptions Lost: 10 (T-102nd)
Florida State Interceptions Gain: 5 (T-72nd)
Wake Forest Quarterback Riley Skinner throws too many interceptions but FSU’s Pass Defense is pedestrian

Game Plans:

Wake Forest: Throw the ball early to get the lead and take advantage of the Thursday night home crowd. An early turnover would help.
Florida State: Stop the run and force Riley Skinner into obvious throwing situations and capitalize on opportunities.

My Thoughts:

I think Florida State’s game plan is more likely to work and Skinner seems like the type who forces things when playing a big opponent on a big stage. Plus he’s only a sophomore. I think this is one instance where its okay to take the road favorite on a Thursday. Also like the over here because the running game is taken out of the game plans for both teams.