SB Nation User Blog: Hooper

The 'Separate But Equal' Bowl: Does the BCS Even Listen?

Hooper — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:52:10 -0000

Thanks to the BCS, no 'major' team will have to endure this.

One of the more intriguing side stories about the BCS Committee this year has been the public presence of the new director, Bill Hancock. The BCS has obviously realized that they need some P.R. work, so they brought in a full-time director who appears bent on being the public advocate for the system. He's even done a Q&A with Michael Rueckert of MWCConnection.com to try to rally support for the system. And let's face it, the BCS needs this kind of advocacy. With people like Doc Saturday unabashedly teeing off on the system for years, it does begin to wear down their credibility over time (and I'm being polite here). But the one thing they can do to maintain credibility is so simple, yet seemingly so impossible:

Make bowl matchups that people want to see.

Moving past the NC game (only 2 teams can fit 2 slots; 3 undefeateds were getting omitted either way), it would have been a very simple matter to ask which games fans would have been excited to see. The one game that had a resounding disapproval was TCU-Boise. We saw that last year in the Poinsettia, for one. For two, Boise State is almost certainly going to be getting a MWC invite this summer, and they already feel like conference opponents at this stage. It's like they scheduled Penn State / Iowa for a BCS game.

But beyond the pending conference realignment, neither fan base has any interest in playing the other team. Read their opinions; they're out there. MWCConnection has had TCU fans commenting for a while. OBNUG captures the Boise heartbeat like few blogs ever manage to do. And both agree:

THEY DON'T WANT BOISE STATE VS. TCU.

And neither do the rest of us. It's the Relegation Bowl - and not in the European Soccer sense. Andy Staples had the best line of the night:

Welcome to Glendale, home of the Separate but Equal Bowl. Great work, @insidethebcs.

Bingo. This is a lose-lose game for everybody, and the BCS knew it. No matter how they do, TCU cannot create a rhetorical argument that they deserved a shot at the national title. Even a blowout against Boise would be termed as against 'a small team'. Really, the same goes for Boise: none of the big teams dare schedule them any more, and now the BCS won't do it either. (Answer this: if Boise's SOS is a problem, how can they fix it if nobody is willing to play them anymore? It takes two teams, and the big kids are too scared.) Already eliminated from title contention, two undefeated teams are now denied the consolation prize - the chance to prove themselves against the 'big boys'.

And it was so obvious to everybody else.

The question is: how much more success do Boise and the MWC have to bring to the table? Boise State has steamrolled teams for so long that it's a wonder they're not bored. The MWC consistently has three teams in the top 25, with Air Force constantly on the wings. Between these schools, they've won more games against major teams than they've lost. There is no longer a rational argument for exclusion, yet the BCS has managed to find the one solution to the bowl problem that was guaranteed to anger the midmajors - deny their opportunity to compete with the majors.

I wish Bill Hancock the best of luck handling P.R. after this mess. He's going to need all the luck he can get.

Tennessee has accepted an invitation to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl!

Hooper — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:50:53 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

11 days ago: Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty runs the ball during the second half of their NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. Hardesty ran for 179 yards and three touchdown in the 30-24 Tennessee overtime win. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Browse more photos »

In a refreshing turnaround from last year, UT gets an opportunity to prove themselves in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, presumably against Virginia Tech. It's official on the Bowl's website.

Use this thread to celebrate and discuss the rest of the bowl selections tonight!

College BlogPoll: End of Season Draft

Hooper — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:07:46 -0000

I have already made several manual changes to the poll, based on knowledge of some computer biases that we want to knock out of the system over the offseason. But fortunately, the computer already had TCU ranked above Texas, which saves me some grief. Here is the draft, with discussion and numbers to follow.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	2
2	TCU
3	Texas	1
4	Boise State	1
5	Cincinnati	1
6	Florida	5
7	Georgia Tech	4
8	Oregon	1
9	Ohio State	2
10	Virginia Tech
11	Brigham Young	3
12	Iowa
13	Penn State	5
14	Miami (Florida)	1
15	Central Michigan	3
16	Pittsburgh	1
17	Nebraska	1
18	LSU	1
19	West Virginia	2
20	Wisconsin	5
21	Arizona
22	Oklahoma State	2
23	Oregon State	6
24	North Carolina	1
25	Utah	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Southern Cal (#22).

Notes:

Florida was actually ranked #2 by the computers. I'm putting them behind the undefeateds, though. Any problems with that?
Penn State was sky-high again. They're put behind Iowa (head-to-head).
Georgia Tech was low, thanks to being an offense-only team that still wins like crazy. They're bumped up.
Oregon got the Georgia Tech treatment.
Brigham Young - should they bump down a touch? They're a flaky team, but so is Iowa.
Central Michigan - any thoughts?
Oklahoma again was manually bumped out. (FWIW, Tennessee comes in at #29 with the same record.)
Arizona didn't move because they were manually bumped last week. Is beating USC worth bumping them?

Data:

Here it is in Excel 2003 and Excel 2007 form. Static data is in this table:

Untitled Document

Rank	Team	WL	SOS	PED	RD	3DO	TD	PEO	OPPG	TO	3DD	SCORE
1	Alabama	2.061	1.160	2.226	1.735	0.146	2.250	0.695	2.177	0.625	1.752	166.502
2	Florida	1.726	0.922	1.925	1.151	1.590	2.043	1.903	2.095	1.127	1.607	161.202
3	TCU	2.061	-0.523	2.139	1.671	0.691	2.403	1.978	1.961	1.595	2.348	160.236
4	Texas	2.061	0.401	1.493	2.124	1.080	2.079	0.869	1.545	0.951	2.166	159.688
5	Penn St.	1.335	-0.512	1.328	1.340	1.693	1.608	0.916	2.050	0.602	1.230	113.899
6	Boise St.	2.061	-1.048	1.359	0.529	-0.230	1.199	2.103	1.158	1.444	1.230	112.956
7	Cincinnati	2.061	-0.021	0.432	0.180	0.465	0.280	2.221	0.693	1.511	0.009	108.746
8	Ohio St.	1.335	0.017	1.749	1.599	0.153	1.872	-0.108	1.999	-0.234	1.337	107.887
9	Virginia Tech	0.972	1.490	1.791	0.237	0.337	1.190	1.258	1.454	0.177	0.728	102.840
10	BYU	1.335	-0.266	0.264	0.895	2.684	0.628	1.943	0.553	1.034	-0.008	102.363
11	Georgia Tech	1.391	1.271	-0.545	-0.044	2.342	0.158	1.694	0.068	1.132	-0.431	95.093
12	Iowa	1.335	0.326	2.042	0.648	-0.268	1.434	-0.529	1.492	-0.833	0.566	91.762
13	Oregon	1.335	1.588	0.942	0.533	-0.598	0.658	0.148	0.262	0.816	0.476	88.972
14	Miami (FL)	0.972	1.202	0.406	0.739	1.354	0.806	0.726	0.452	0.602	0.468	88.537
15	Central Mich.	1.391	-1.535	0.569	0.714	1.898	0.708	1.276	1.228	0.680	0.593	82.427
16	Pittsburgh	0.972	0.412	0.386	0.983	0.600	0.758	1.398	0.807	0.381	0.327	78.837
17	Nebraska	0.721	0.330	2.124	1.303	-0.453	1.472	-0.418	2.142	-1.071	1.055	78.228
18	LSU	0.972	1.262	1.097	0.348	-0.105	0.710	0.167	1.416	-1.203	0.395	75.346
19	West Virginia	0.972	0.652	0.828	0.736	0.477	0.647	0.151	0.693	0.060	1.465	74.882
20	Wisconsin	0.972	-0.144	-0.122	1.425	1.383	1.003	0.668	0.438	0.661	0.457	74.258
21	Oklahoma	0.246	0.714	1.558	1.472	-0.136	1.673	0.005	1.796	0.724	1.403	71.186
22	Arizona	0.609	1.520	0.510	0.897	0.593	0.905	-0.115	0.324	0.514	0.987	70.642
23	Oklahoma St.	0.972	0.231	0.757	1.495	-0.215	0.649	0.353	0.540	-0.034	1.167	70.515
24	Oregon St.	0.609	1.138	-0.127	0.839	1.285	0.232	1.087	0.286	0.724	0.621	66.633
25	North Carolina	0.609	0.615	1.340	1.367	-0.461	1.777	-0.875	1.276	-1.172	1.918	66.515
26	Utah	0.972	-0.240	1.561	0.171	-0.146	0.935	0.034	0.857	0.200	1.465	63.415
27	Mississippi	0.609	0.544	1.266	0.196	0.121	0.841	0.083	1.023	0.481	1.504	59.902
28	Southern California	0.609	1.487	1.199	0.426	-0.912	0.415	-0.130	0.743	0.120	0.159	56.079
29	Tennessee	0.246	0.926	1.568	0.132	0.033	1.032	0.379	0.655	0.302	0.880	53.799
30	Texas Tech	0.609	0.103	0.599	0.574	0.210	0.307	0.807	0.540	1.467	-0.201	50.595
31	South Carolina	0.246	1.539	0.736	0.278	-0.184	1.107	-0.211	0.743	-0.332	0.419	46.786
32	Stanford	0.609	1.168	-0.739	0.093	1.333	-0.559	0.882	-0.132	1.110	-0.576	44.047
33	Navy	0.609	-0.386	-0.072	0.502	1.343	0.360	0.744	0.604	-0.461	0.597	42.653
34	Auburn	0.246	1.316	0.765	-0.330	0.179	0.221	1.009	-0.247	0.950	0.952	42.616
35	Clemson	0.386	0.954	0.903	-0.050	-0.194	0.881	-0.214	0.655	-0.222	-0.034	40.952
36	Missouri	0.609	0.311	-0.290	1.279	-0.518	0.139	0.651	0.110	0.684	-0.558	37.778
37	California	0.609	1.209	-0.485	0.769	-0.408	-0.223	0.029	0.122	0.365	0.352	36.478
38	Boston College	0.609	0.334	0.684	1.082	-1.679	0.858	-0.567	0.895	-0.935	1.092	35.661
39	Northwestern	0.609	-0.926	0.007	0.611	1.400	0.389	0.165	0.300	0.137	0.785	35.653
40	Houston	1.056	-0.988	-0.171	-1.598	2.076	-1.397	1.822	-0.528	3.564	-0.560	34.215
41	Air Force	0.246	-0.759	0.960	0.301	0.629	1.468	-0.401	1.518	-0.391	1.583	33.828
42	East Carolina	0.721	0.002	-0.088	0.616	0.664	-0.362	-0.420	0.490	-0.185	-0.615	32.883
43	South Fla.	0.246	-0.011	0.643	0.260	0.273	0.670	0.619	0.629	-0.280	-0.223	31.199
44	Georgia	0.246	1.588	-0.621	0.511	-0.169	0.676	0.206	-0.171	-0.287	0.498	30.957
45	UCF	0.609	-0.555	-0.433	1.622	-0.157	0.319	0.215	0.705	-0.530	-0.455	29.990
46	Nevada	0.609	-0.499	-1.690	0.829	1.921	-0.603	0.691	-0.285	2.517	0.091	27.465
47	Rutgers	0.609	-1.082	0.524	0.971	-1.244	0.971	-0.516	1.199	-0.989	1.515	21.727
48	Middle Tenn.	0.972	-1.867	0.970	0.256	-1.078	0.256	-0.348	0.350	0.722	0.930	20.908
49	Temple	0.972	-1.616	-0.035	0.973	-0.520	0.545	-1.169	0.553	-0.710	0.650	18.697
50	Arkansas	0.246	1.327	-0.845	-0.044	-0.610	-0.656	1.511	-0.069	1.073	0.531	17.909
51	Troy	0.972	-1.254	-0.829	0.200	0.179	-0.948	1.027	-0.499	1.761	0.073	16.742
52	Ohio	0.721	-1.299	1.101	-0.065	-1.172	0.209	0.028	0.607	-0.942	0.294	14.132
53	UCLA	-0.117	1.492	0.421	0.095	-0.974	0.496	-0.985	0.616	-0.682	1.026	10.753
54	Kentucky	0.246	0.594	0.929	-0.860	-0.141	0.050	-1.226	0.376	-0.739	-0.139	9.246
55	Fresno St.	0.609	-0.249	-0.331	-1.581	1.015	-0.834	0.751	-0.385	1.013	-0.025	8.462
56	Notre Dame	-0.117	0.917	-0.481	-0.542	0.210	-0.582	1.858	-0.094	1.291	-0.107	7.983
57	Southern Miss.	0.246	-1.127	-0.141	0.660	0.098	-0.399	1.136	0.122	0.703	-0.286	6.896
58	Connecticut	0.246	0.596	-0.992	0.264	0.033	-0.304	-0.003	0.046	0.355	-0.201	6.865
59	Northern Ill.	0.246	-2.028	-0.138	0.712	0.854	0.756	0.498	0.629	-0.423	-0.479	6.322
60	Texas A&M	-0.117	0.422	-0.528	-0.500	1.838	-1.191	0.655	-1.122	1.529	0.408	1.307
61	Michigan St.	-0.117	0.221	-0.740	0.876	-0.549	0.025	1.012	0.033	0.507	-0.698	1.029
62	Washington	-0.480	1.708	-0.776	-0.013	1.087	-0.432	0.055	-0.209	-0.047	-0.277	-0.144
63	Wake Forest	-0.480	1.042	-0.257	-0.396	0.718	-0.316	1.005	-0.145	0.443	-0.617	-1.807
64	Bowling Green	0.246	-0.840	0.233	-1.096	0.845	-0.509	0.166	-0.132	0.232	0.571	-4.154
65	La.-Monroe	-0.117	-1.528	0.316	0.942	0.581	0.339	-0.198	-0.309	0.248	0.231	-4.323
66	Arizona St.	-0.843	0.975	1.061	0.979	-1.547	1.236	-0.955	0.642	-0.768	1.703	-5.248
67	Kansas	-0.480	0.373	-0.191	0.247	0.621	-0.319	0.371	-0.475	0.776	-0.181	-7.622
68	Minnesota	-0.117	0.810	0.237	0.040	-0.766	0.026	-0.988	0.110	-1.445	-1.031	-8.263
69	Kansas St.	-0.117	-0.084	-0.356	1.057	-0.968	0.467	-0.653	0.300	-0.506	-0.391	-8.444
70	Idaho	0.246	-0.574	-1.773	-0.180	1.451	-1.067	1.492	-1.553	1.284	-2.519	-11.307
71	Purdue	-0.480	0.364	0.657	-0.620	0.439	-0.198	-0.041	-0.575	0.231	-0.326	-11.989
72	Marshall	-0.117	-0.251	-0.197	0.079	0.326	-0.486	-0.634	0.058	-0.403	-0.157	-14.511
73	Florida St.	-0.117	1.592	-1.596	-1.355	1.042	-1.412	0.774	-0.830	0.768	-1.060	-14.957
74	North Carolina St.	-0.480	0.009	-1.018	0.227	0.857	0.081	0.836	-0.894	0.275	-0.661	-17.032
75	Buffalo	-0.480	-1.196	0.392	0.408	0.345	0.418	-0.127	0.236	0.478	-0.727	-17.716
76	Mississippi St.	-0.480	1.526	-0.244	0.056	-1.109	-0.006	-1.122	-0.221	-0.110	0.468	-18.162
77	SMU	0.246	-0.722	0.267	-0.515	-1.794	-0.695	0.057	-0.575	0.030	-0.742	-25.198
78	Iowa St.	-0.117	-0.169	-0.522	-0.519	0.246	-0.883	-0.907	0.414	-0.329	-0.041	-26.698
79	Duke	-0.480	0.180	-0.453	-0.112	-0.453	-0.052	0.326	-0.461	-0.170	-1.126	-27.508
80	Louisiana Tech	-0.843	-0.212	0.461	-0.359	0.362	-0.048	0.317	-0.069	-0.104	0.301	-27.669
81	Tulsa	-0.480	-1.069	-0.612	0.032	-0.124	-0.571	0.759	-0.309	0.560	0.630	-37.080
82	Hawaii	-0.285	-0.744	-0.730	-1.321	0.885	-0.705	0.213	-0.633	1.040	-0.981	-38.122
83	Wyoming	-0.117	0.073	-0.254	-0.548	-1.016	-0.542	-1.497	-0.297	-1.396	-0.245	-38.554
84	Syracuse	-0.843	0.572	-1.502	1.145	-1.378	0.520	-0.004	-0.399	-0.838	0.630	-40.385
85	Michigan	-0.480	-0.587	-0.306	-0.583	-0.008	-0.502	-0.310	-0.335	0.111	0.321	-40.447
86	Virginia	-1.206	1.560	0.879	-0.630	-1.011	0.132	-1.620	-0.157	-1.906	0.450	-44.346
87	Baylor	-0.843	0.634	0.206	-0.751	-0.664	-0.724	-0.490	-0.297	-0.619	-1.042	-46.553
88	Toledo	-0.480	-1.228	-0.133	-0.437	0.229	-0.757	0.185	-1.883	1.048	-1.297	-47.210
89	San Diego St.	-0.843	-0.375	-0.154	-0.425	0.420	-0.296	-0.227	-0.792	-0.637	-1.395	-47.937
90	Kent St.	-0.480	-1.751	0.706	0.276	-1.864	0.176	-0.848	0.438	-0.887	0.121	-49.277
91	La.-Lafayette	-0.117	-1.719	-0.667	-0.829	0.443	-0.701	-0.414	-0.766	-0.289	-1.274	-50.206
92	UAB	-0.480	-0.414	-1.405	0.114	-0.501	-1.623	0.973	-1.070	0.838	-1.104	-50.974
93	Louisville	-0.843	0.508	-0.909	-0.414	-0.508	-0.098	-0.797	-0.145	-0.774	-0.251	-51.926
94	Army	-0.315	-2.111	0.282	-0.011	-1.689	1.012	-1.746	0.447	-1.664	-0.152	-55.223
95	Indiana	-0.843	-0.182	-0.699	-0.266	-0.124	-0.641	-0.284	-0.639	-0.231	-1.581	-56.330
96	Western Mich.	-0.480	-1.725	-0.397	-0.741	0.302	-0.964	-0.418	-0.335	0.169	0.040	-58.693
97	Colorado	-1.206	0.712	-0.290	-0.318	-0.688	0.049	-1.392	-0.537	-1.121	0.880	-60.089
98	Illinois	-1.206	0.589	-0.952	-0.151	-0.124	-0.681	-0.430	-0.741	0.269	-1.044	-61.612
99	Arkansas St.	-0.843	-1.950	-0.415	0.648	-1.109	0.457	-0.553	0.312	-0.866	-0.266	-64.426
100	UNLV	-0.480	-0.156	-1.268	-1.783	1.128	-1.642	-0.527	-1.084	-0.473	-1.919	-64.623
101	Utah St.	-0.843	-0.077	-0.567	-1.411	-0.667	-1.622	0.568	-1.324	1.073	-0.617	-69.699
102	Fla. Atlantic	-0.480	-1.417	-1.316	-1.783	0.967	-1.587	0.500	-1.286	0.946	-0.440	-70.792
103	Colorado St.	-1.206	-0.060	-0.834	-0.094	-0.766	-0.400	-0.081	-0.690	-0.474	-2.896	-72.984
104	Vanderbilt	-1.569	1.074	0.577	-1.222	-0.751	0.053	-2.351	0.300	-1.261	0.104	-72.987
105	UTEP	-0.843	-0.984	-0.704	-1.296	0.273	-1.474	-0.091	-1.248	0.886	-1.448	-77.325
106	Maryland	-1.569	0.862	-1.012	-0.063	-0.556	-0.556	-0.744	-0.906	-1.084	0.099	-78.768
107	Akron	-1.206	-1.149	-0.040	-0.583	-1.337	-0.036	-0.955	-0.525	-1.356	-1.881	-90.376
108	North Texas	-1.569	-1.595	-0.110	-1.166	0.388	-0.846	-0.233	-1.565	0.535	0.203	-99.116
109	Tulane	-1.206	-0.478	-1.832	-1.394	0.669	-1.037	-0.395	-1.731	-1.153	-1.910	-100.651
110	Miami (OH)	-1.932	0.071	-0.570	-0.953	-0.136	-0.211	-1.012	-1.350	-0.609	-0.324	-102.318
111	Memphis	-1.569	-0.255	-1.739	-0.636	-0.766	-1.666	-0.770	-1.451	-0.090	-0.201	-116.422
112	Ball St.	-1.569	-1.226	-1.180	-0.100	-1.004	-0.381	-2.078	-0.437	-1.481	-0.021	-116.971
113	San Jose St.	-1.569	0.167	-0.411	-2.734	-1.143	-1.401	-0.877	-1.400	-1.653	-0.948	-123.731
114	FIU	-1.206	-0.637	-0.954	-2.085	-0.809	-2.284	-1.225	-1.527	-1.005	-0.637	-124.115
115	New Mexico St.	-1.290	-0.652	-0.021	-1.785	-1.612	-1.051	-3.020	-0.962	-2.613	-0.742	-124.970
116	New Mexico	-1.932	0.120	-1.707	-0.412	-1.660	-0.961	-1.406	-1.617	-1.103	-1.669	-134.033
117	Rice	-1.569	-0.109	-2.269	-1.043	-1.489	-1.784	-1.689	-2.707	-1.292	-0.952	-145.863
118	Washington St.	-1.932	1.710	-1.443	-2.173	-2.739	-2.655	-1.652	-2.009	-2.275	-0.508	-155.156
119	Eastern Mich.	-2.295	-0.964	-0.618	-3.170	-0.345	-1.111	-1.778	-1.971	-1.753	-1.193	-170.363
120	Western Ky.	-2.295	-1.406	-2.530	-2.381	-1.458	-2.042	-1.195	-2.174	-1.008	-2.473	-202.677

College BlogPoll Ballot: Week 13 Final (Maybe)

Hooper — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:17:35 -0000

Here is the final-ish poll ballot for the week. The suggestions from the draft were incorporated but cast a second glance through and let me know. I feel like I'm missing something, but I don't know what.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida
2	TCU	2
3	Alabama
4	Texas	2
5	Boise State	1
6	Cincinnati	1
7	Ohio State	1
8	Penn State	7
9	Oregon	2
10	Virginia Tech
11	Georgia Tech	4
12	Iowa	1
13	Miami (Florida)	1
14	Brigham Young
15	Pittsburgh	6
16	Nebraska	1
17	Oregon State	1
18	Central Michigan
19	LSU	5
20	Oklahoma State	1
21	West Virginia
22	Southern Cal	3
23	North Carolina	5
24	Utah	2
25	Wisconsin
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Arizona (#20), Mississippi (#21), Clemson (#23).

College BlogPoll: Week 13 Draft

Hooper — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:48:56 -0000

Here is the draft for the week 13 BlogPoll. As always, the draft is simply the computer ranking without any adjustments; manual tweaks may be applied prior to the final draft. For this week, the W/L weight was increased to 30, and SOS decreased to 10. This is a change that fits a pattern observed in the previous 2 to 3 weeks. Explanations and the full chart are after the jump.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida
2	TCU	2
3	Alabama
4	Texas	2
5	Boise State	1
6	Penn State	9
7	Cincinnati	2
8	Ohio State
9	Brigham Young	5
10	Virginia Tech
11	Georgia Tech	4
12	Iowa	1
13	Miami (Florida)	1
14	Oregon	3
15	Pittsburgh	6
16	Nebraska	1
17	Oregon State	1
18	Central Michigan
19	LSU	5
20	Oklahoma
21	Oklahoma State	2
22	West Virginia
23	Southern Cal	2
24	North Carolina	6
25	Utah	3
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Arizona (#20), Mississippi (#21), Clemson (#23).

Observations:

TCU #2. As you'll see in the raw numbers below, the numerical differences between TCU, Texas, and Alabama are negligible. TCU should remain ahead of the UF/Bama loser next week, but will probably slip behind Texas if they win. The odds are in favor of TCU being #3 when it matters.
Penn State. Still the object of unrequited affection by my computer. PSU will be manually dropped, for sure. But how far?
Oregon. I sorta feel like they should be higher up - maybe 10ish. Thoughts?
Oklahoma. Yeah, they'll get spiked. It's that 'cpu loves defense' thing. They're gone.
Anything else?

Raw Data

Here is the data in Excel 2003 form and in Excel 2007 form. The numbers in static table form follow below. What you'll notice is that the top 4 are clearly above everybody else. Otherwise, there is a lot of clumping and flexibility to manually tweak things. I'll be particularly reliant on feedback this week because my end-of-semester projects are all coming due and I don't think I'll have time to sift through it myself.

Untitled Document

Rank	Team	WL	SOS	PED	RD	3DO	TD	PEO	OPPG	TO	3DD	SCORE
1	Florida	2.009	0.537	2.233	1.418	1.738	2.380	2.144	2.306	1.265	2.305	180.252
2	TCU	2.009	-0.468	2.105	1.648	0.684	2.377	1.932	1.917	1.575	2.320	157.584
3	Alabama	2.009	0.832	2.361	1.731	-0.363	2.365	0.484	2.156	0.499	1.813	156.833
4	Texas	2.009	0.292	1.235	2.105	1.344	1.840	1.123	1.466	1.270	1.891	155.592
5	Boise St.	2.009	-0.720	1.223	0.549	-0.091	1.022	2.162	0.991	1.303	1.117	112.916
6	Penn St.	1.297	-0.492	1.302	1.321	1.685	1.590	0.889	2.005	0.587	1.211	111.664
7	Cincinnati	2.009	-0.309	0.507	0.288	0.557	0.306	2.507	0.982	1.639	0.145	109.499
8	Ohio St.	1.297	0.044	1.719	1.577	0.147	1.852	-0.116	1.954	-0.244	1.317	105.776
9	BYU	1.297	-0.211	0.251	0.880	2.675	0.620	1.897	0.526	1.016	-0.015	100.765
10	Virginia Tech	0.941	1.432	1.761	0.230	0.330	1.177	1.224	1.416	0.164	0.714	100.014
11	Georgia Tech	1.297	1.224	-0.703	0.303	2.193	0.239	1.845	0.164	1.076	-0.280	93.356
12	Iowa	1.297	0.329	2.009	0.636	-0.274	1.417	-0.529	1.454	-0.839	0.553	89.561
13	Miami (FL)	0.941	1.244	0.391	0.726	1.346	0.796	0.702	0.427	0.587	0.457	87.180
14	Oregon	1.232	1.623	1.174	0.426	-0.648	0.747	0.048	0.367	0.698	0.457	86.786
15	Pittsburgh	1.232	0.196	0.345	0.880	0.516	0.825	1.397	1.119	0.417	0.307	85.330
16	Nebraska	0.941	-0.014	2.048	1.126	-0.055	1.332	-0.026	2.118	-0.769	1.009	84.970
17	Oregon St.	0.844	0.830	-0.060	1.210	1.459	0.450	1.008	0.450	0.756	0.666	79.299
18	Central Mich.	1.297	-1.690	0.506	0.679	1.738	0.621	1.313	1.104	0.717	0.513	73.704
19	LSU	0.941	1.224	1.074	0.339	-0.111	0.701	0.154	1.379	-1.207	0.384	73.023
20	Oklahoma	0.229	0.770	1.530	1.451	-0.142	1.654	-0.005	1.754	0.708	1.383	70.255
21	Oklahoma St.	0.941	0.312	0.738	1.473	-0.221	0.641	0.337	0.514	-0.045	1.149	69.572
22	West Virginia	0.844	0.535	0.645	0.605	0.929	0.456	0.269	0.668	0.212	1.045	68.358
23	Southern California	0.844	1.505	1.236	0.308	-0.984	0.373	0.122	0.723	0.271	0.426	65.497
24	North Carolina	0.585	0.557	1.315	1.347	-0.467	1.757	-0.868	1.240	-1.177	1.893	64.102
25	Utah	0.941	-0.176	1.533	0.165	-0.152	0.923	0.023	0.827	0.187	1.445	62.315
26	Wisconsin	0.844	-0.103	-0.361	1.241	1.175	0.833	0.457	0.244	0.426	0.324	59.731
27	Arizona	0.455	1.346	0.329	0.940	0.405	0.838	-0.061	0.217	0.637	1.049	59.422
28	Mississippi	0.585	0.495	1.242	0.189	0.114	0.831	0.072	0.991	0.467	1.483	57.681
29	California	0.844	1.171	-0.166	0.889	-0.132	-0.084	0.134	0.340	0.515	0.150	54.422
30	Tennessee	0.229	0.941	1.540	0.126	0.027	1.019	0.363	0.627	0.289	0.865	52.569
31	Clemson	0.585	0.777	0.947	0.317	-0.351	1.097	-0.092	0.853	-0.303	0.364	52.295
32	Texas Tech	0.585	0.181	0.582	0.563	0.203	0.302	0.782	0.514	1.447	-0.207	49.970
33	South Carolina	0.229	1.532	0.717	0.270	-0.190	1.094	-0.217	0.714	-0.342	0.407	45.453
34	Stanford	0.585	1.242	-0.740	0.088	1.325	-0.555	0.856	-0.150	1.092	-0.579	43.677
35	Navy	0.585	-0.324	-0.081	0.492	1.336	0.355	0.720	0.578	-0.470	0.584	41.928
36	Auburn	0.229	1.251	0.746	-0.331	0.173	0.217	0.981	-0.263	0.934	0.936	40.571
37	Houston	1.297	-1.208	-0.147	-1.711	1.738	-1.430	1.858	-0.425	3.567	-0.322	37.324
38	Missouri	0.585	0.334	-0.297	1.260	-0.524	0.136	0.629	0.089	0.669	-0.560	36.582
39	South Fla.	0.455	-0.229	0.813	0.228	-0.116	0.699	0.649	0.710	-0.275	-0.159	35.257
40	Boston College	0.585	0.356	0.666	1.065	-1.683	0.847	-0.566	0.865	-0.941	1.075	34.410
41	Northwestern	0.585	-0.957	-0.003	0.600	1.392	0.383	0.152	0.277	0.125	0.770	33.822
42	Air Force	0.229	-0.712	0.939	0.293	0.622	1.452	-0.403	1.479	-0.400	1.561	33.072
43	Rutgers	0.844	-1.334	0.441	1.073	-0.818	0.904	-0.241	1.255	-0.830	1.213	32.513
44	Georgia	0.229	1.660	-0.623	0.500	-0.175	0.668	0.192	-0.187	-0.297	0.486	30.776
45	UCF	0.585	-0.574	-0.438	1.599	-0.163	0.314	0.201	0.677	-0.538	-0.458	28.276
46	Nevada	0.585	-0.437	-1.681	0.815	1.912	-0.599	0.669	-0.300	2.491	0.083	26.998
47	East Carolina	0.585	-0.147	0.106	0.415	0.474	-0.103	-0.493	0.590	-0.262	-0.099	26.814
48	Ohio	0.941	-1.562	1.256	-0.120	-1.148	0.245	0.127	0.564	-0.876	0.644	21.746
49	Middle Tenn.	0.941	-1.845	0.949	0.248	-1.083	0.252	-0.351	0.327	0.707	0.914	19.470
50	Arkansas	0.229	1.346	-0.845	-0.048	-0.616	-0.651	1.473	-0.087	1.056	0.519	17.093
51	Temple	0.941	-1.620	-0.044	0.957	-0.525	0.537	-1.157	0.526	-0.717	0.637	17.082
52	Troy	0.941	-1.212	-0.829	0.193	0.173	-0.940	0.998	-0.512	1.739	0.065	15.745
53	UCLA	-0.127	1.561	0.407	0.090	-0.979	0.490	-0.976	0.590	-0.689	1.009	10.824
54	Fresno St.	0.455	-0.204	-0.184	-1.306	1.053	-0.605	0.658	-0.070	1.028	0.010	10.373
55	Kentucky	0.229	0.593	0.908	-0.855	-0.147	0.048	-1.213	0.352	-0.746	-0.145	8.315
56	Notre Dame	-0.127	0.952	-0.485	-0.540	0.203	-0.578	1.814	-0.112	1.272	-0.114	7.570
57	Southern Miss.	0.229	-1.137	-0.149	0.648	0.092	-0.397	1.105	0.101	0.688	-0.291	5.582
58	Northern Ill.	0.229	-2.065	-0.146	0.699	0.846	0.747	0.479	0.602	-0.432	-0.482	4.634
59	Texas A&M	-0.127	0.482	-0.531	-0.500	1.830	-1.181	0.633	-1.127	1.509	0.397	1.419
60	Connecticut	0.067	0.646	-1.033	0.379	-0.036	-0.350	-0.136	0.053	0.415	0.178	0.410
61	Michigan St.	-0.127	0.188	-0.741	0.862	-0.554	0.022	0.984	0.014	0.493	-0.699	-0.267
62	Wake Forest	-0.483	1.091	-0.264	-0.396	0.711	-0.314	0.977	-0.162	0.429	-0.619	-1.726
63	Bowling Green	0.229	-0.816	0.221	-1.089	0.838	-0.506	0.153	-0.150	0.220	0.559	-4.783
64	Arizona St.	-0.839	1.020	1.039	0.963	-1.552	1.221	-0.947	0.615	-0.775	1.680	-5.195
65	La.-Monroe	-0.127	-1.531	0.302	0.927	0.575	0.334	-0.204	-0.324	0.235	0.222	-5.273
66	Kansas	-0.483	0.413	-0.198	0.240	0.614	-0.317	0.354	-0.488	0.761	-0.187	-7.650
67	Minnesota	-0.127	0.881	0.225	0.035	-0.772	0.024	-0.979	0.089	-1.449	-1.029	-8.052
68	Kansas St.	-0.127	-0.027	-0.362	1.040	-0.973	0.461	-0.650	0.277	-0.515	-0.395	-8.543
69	Idaho	0.229	-0.550	-1.763	-0.183	1.443	-1.058	1.454	-1.552	1.265	-2.504	-11.811
70	Purdue	-0.483	0.374	0.639	-0.618	0.433	-0.198	-0.050	-0.587	0.218	-0.331	-12.362
71	Washington	-0.710	1.804	-0.945	-0.168	1.361	-0.582	-0.314	-0.452	-0.197	-0.670	-13.651
72	Florida St.	-0.127	1.700	-1.589	-1.345	1.035	-1.401	0.735	-0.838	0.734	-1.058	-14.160
73	Marshall	-0.127	-0.244	-0.205	0.073	0.320	-0.483	-0.632	0.038	-0.412	-0.163	-15.075
74	North Carolina St.	-0.483	0.046	-1.016	0.220	0.850	0.078	0.810	-0.901	0.262	-0.663	-17.045
75	Mississippi St.	-0.483	1.545	-0.251	0.051	-1.114	-0.008	-1.111	-0.237	-0.121	0.457	-18.266
76	Buffalo	-0.483	-1.201	0.377	0.398	0.338	0.412	-0.134	0.214	0.464	-0.728	-18.416
77	Hawaii	-0.127	-0.849	-0.556	-1.109	1.118	-0.476	0.358	-0.375	1.348	-0.710	-22.916
78	SMU	0.229	-0.661	0.254	-0.514	-1.798	-0.690	0.046	-0.587	0.019	-0.743	-25.346
79	Iowa St.	-0.127	-0.120	-0.526	-0.518	0.239	-0.876	-0.900	0.390	-0.339	-0.048	-26.586
80	Duke	-0.483	0.207	-0.458	-0.116	-0.459	-0.054	0.311	-0.474	-0.180	-1.124	-27.604
81	Louisiana Tech	-1.098	0.192	0.529	-0.660	0.547	-0.117	0.019	-0.165	-0.197	0.296	-35.700
82	Tulsa	-0.483	-1.039	-0.615	0.027	-0.130	-0.567	0.735	-0.324	0.545	0.617	-37.190
83	Wyoming	-0.127	0.099	-0.261	-0.546	-1.021	-0.539	-1.479	-0.312	-1.399	-0.251	-38.651
84	Syracuse	-0.839	0.622	-1.495	1.128	-1.382	0.513	-0.014	-0.413	-0.845	0.617	-39.964
85	Michigan	-0.483	-0.621	-0.312	-0.581	-0.014	-0.498	-0.314	-0.350	0.099	0.311	-41.187
86	Virginia	-1.195	1.598	0.859	-0.628	-1.016	0.129	-1.599	-0.174	-1.907	0.438	-43.703
87	Baylor	-0.839	0.704	0.194	-0.747	-0.669	-0.718	-0.491	-0.312	-0.627	-1.040	-45.748
88	Toledo	-0.483	-1.223	-0.141	-0.437	0.222	-0.751	0.172	-1.878	1.031	-1.293	-47.476
89	San Diego St.	-0.839	-0.337	-0.162	-0.424	0.414	-0.295	-0.232	-0.801	-0.644	-1.390	-47.555
90	Kent St.	-0.483	-1.750	0.688	0.269	-1.868	0.172	-0.842	0.414	-0.893	0.112	-49.807
91	La.-Lafayette	-0.127	-1.708	-0.669	-0.825	0.436	-0.696	-0.416	-0.775	-0.298	-1.270	-50.517
92	Louisville	-0.839	0.564	-0.908	-0.414	-0.513	-0.099	-0.791	-0.162	-0.781	-0.256	-51.202
93	UAB	-0.483	-0.446	-1.398	0.108	-0.506	-1.609	0.945	-1.076	0.822	-1.102	-51.652
94	Illinois	-1.098	0.648	-0.903	0.020	-0.163	-0.656	-0.619	-0.438	0.011	-1.071	-55.520
95	Army	-0.322	-2.116	0.269	-0.016	-1.694	1.000	-1.723	0.423	-1.666	-0.158	-55.796
96	Indiana	-0.839	-0.189	-0.701	-0.268	-0.130	-0.636	-0.288	-0.650	-0.241	-1.574	-56.417
97	Colorado	-1.195	0.752	-0.297	-0.319	-0.693	0.046	-1.376	-0.550	-1.126	0.865	-59.317
98	Western Mich.	-0.483	-1.759	-0.402	-0.737	0.296	-0.956	-0.420	-0.350	0.157	0.032	-59.360
99	UNLV	-0.483	-0.094	-1.263	-1.767	1.120	-1.627	-0.527	-1.089	-0.481	-1.909	-63.752
100	Utah St.	-0.839	0.002	-0.570	-1.400	-0.672	-1.608	0.548	-1.327	1.056	-0.619	-68.639
101	Vanderbilt	-1.551	1.109	0.561	-1.213	-0.756	0.051	-2.317	0.277	-1.265	0.096	-71.957
102	Colorado St.	-1.195	-0.016	-0.834	-0.097	-0.772	-0.398	-0.089	-0.700	-0.483	-2.877	-72.205
103	Arkansas St.	-1.098	-1.682	-0.503	0.594	-1.242	0.260	-0.695	0.244	-0.743	-0.395	-75.680
104	Maryland	-1.551	0.980	-1.010	-0.067	-0.561	-0.552	-0.739	-0.913	-1.088	0.090	-76.705
105	UTEP	-0.839	-0.955	-0.705	-1.286	0.267	-1.461	-0.099	-1.251	0.870	-1.443	-76.815
106	Fla. Atlantic	-0.710	-1.296	-1.433	-1.815	1.182	-1.587	0.436	-1.463	0.971	-0.560	-78.705
107	Akron	-1.195	-1.161	-0.049	-0.581	-1.341	-0.037	-0.947	-0.538	-1.360	-1.871	-90.266
108	North Texas	-1.551	-1.631	-0.119	-1.158	0.381	-0.840	-0.238	-1.564	0.521	0.194	-99.008
109	Tulane	-1.195	-0.419	-1.821	-1.383	0.662	-1.028	-0.397	-1.728	-1.158	-1.900	-99.300
110	Miami (OH)	-1.908	0.126	-0.573	-0.947	-0.142	-0.211	-1.003	-1.352	-0.617	-0.329	-100.735
111	Memphis	-1.551	-0.238	-1.729	-0.634	-0.772	-1.651	-0.765	-1.451	-0.100	-0.207	-115.361
112	Ball St.	-1.551	-1.214	-1.176	-0.103	-1.009	-0.379	-2.049	-0.450	-1.484	-0.028	-116.085
113	San Jose St.	-1.487	0.283	-0.109	-2.751	-1.227	-1.420	-0.971	-1.122	-1.723	-1.213	-116.975
114	FIU	-1.098	-0.410	-0.925	-2.170	-0.823	-2.403	-1.327	-1.627	-1.194	-0.821	-120.546
115	New Mexico St.	-1.195	-1.030	0.078	-1.698	-1.552	-0.862	-2.875	-0.838	-2.554	-0.932	-121.013
116	New Mexico	-1.908	0.185	-1.697	-0.412	-1.664	-0.954	-1.389	-1.615	-1.108	-1.661	-132.084
117	Rice	-1.551	-0.067	-2.252	-1.036	-1.493	-1.768	-1.667	-2.691	-1.296	-0.951	-144.178
118	Washington St.	-1.908	1.811	-1.436	-2.154	-2.742	-2.630	-1.631	-2.003	-2.273	-0.511	-152.426
119	Eastern Mich.	-2.264	-0.977	-0.620	-3.139	-0.351	-1.102	-1.754	-1.965	-1.754	-1.189	-168.895
120	Western Ky.	-2.264	-1.166	-2.555	-2.678	-1.502	-2.401	-1.168	-2.379	-0.860	-2.628	-205.211

Black Friday All-Day Football Commenting Thread

Hooper — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:35:54 -0000

This is a little late in coming up, as two games have already started. I blame the tryptophan. The slate of today's games follows after the jump, with games involving ranked teams in italics.

Untitled Document

Home		Away		Time (EST)	TV
Rutgers	7-3	Louisville	4-7	11 AM	ESPN2/360
Temple	9-2	Ohio	8-3	11 AM	ESPNU
Illinois	3-7	#5 Cincinnati	10-01	Noon	ABC
N. Illinois	7-4	C. Michigan	9-2	1 PM	ESPN 360
Wyoming	5-6	Colorado St.	3-8	2 PM	The Mtn.
Toledo	5-6	Bowling Green	6-5	2 PM	?
E. Michigan	0-11	Akron	2-9	2 PM	?
Buffalo	4-7	Kent St.	5-6	2 PM	?
#2 Alabama	11-0	Auburn	7-4	2:30 PM	CBS
Nebraska	8-3	Colorado	3-8	3:30 PM	ABC
Memphis	2-9	Tulsa	4-7	3:30 PM	?
#9 Pittsburgh	9-1	W. Virginia	7-3	7 PM	ESPN2/360
Nevada	8-3	#6 Boise St.	11-0	10 PM	ESPN2/360

Bring in Urban Meyer with him and run that style of offense if he's going to be your quarterback,...

Hooper — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:28:11 -0000

Bring in Urban Meyer with him and run that style of offense if he's going to be your quarterback, because he can't play in a pro-style offense.

Jimmy Johnson says Tebow can't be NFL QB - College football- nbcsports.msnbc.com

Tennessee Lady Vols: Thanksgiving Eve Open Game Thread

Hooper — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:39:34 -0000

While the rest of us* are slacking off and dreaming of tryptophan-induced comas tomorrow, the Ladies are going to be working hard to prove to Pat Summitt that she was right to return the team to their locker room.

The Lady Vols take on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro tonight at 8 PM, EST. Coverage is:

TV: MyVLT-2

Audio: Lady Vols Radio

Stats: Blue Raiders Athletics

I'll likely be busy with final projects, but I do plan on listening and lurking.

* - 'the rest of us' naturally does not include moms (and others) who are preparing those turkey feasts. Much appreciated.

College BlogPoll Ballot: Week 12 Final

Hooper — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:50:08 -0000

This is the final(ish) ballot for us this week. If anything's overly wonky, leave a note in the comments and I'll try to fix it before the deadline. There are several changes since the draft, but I think I got the necessary ones.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida
2	Texas
3	Alabama
4	TCU
5	Cincinnati
6	Boise State
7	Georgia Tech
8	Ohio State
9	Pittsburgh
10	Virginia Tech	1
11	Oregon	1
12	Miami (Florida)	7
13	Iowa	1
14	Brigham Young
15	Penn State	2
16	Oregon State	6
17	Nebraska	4
18	North Carolina	7
19	Oklahoma State	1
20	Arizona	2
21	Mississippi
22	Utah
23	Clemson	1
24	LSU	8
25	Southern Cal
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oklahoma (#15), Stanford (#17), Wisconsin (#23).

Changes:

Cincy/Boise back up.
Penn State down.
BYU down a tick. I like Iowa above them, intuitively. Probably a meh move, though.
Mississippi up, LSU down.
Utah added, West Virginia dropped. Utah should be in there, but a few teams could be left out. Coin toss, in my opinion.
Oklahoma out. Hopefully OSU will take care of the most wonky vibe from the computer next week.

SEC Power Poll: RTT Ballot

Hooper — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:16:18 -0000

Here is my ballot for the SEC Power Poll:

Details follow:

Only one manual override seemed necessary from the computer numbers - bumping Kentucky over Georgia. Between the head-to-head win in Athens, the better record, and the very close ranking scores, it made sense. Mississippi had a natural lead over LSU in the computer, which was mildly surprising but a relief. Other than these adjustments, I'm pretty satisfied. The numbers follow (and use a W/L weight of 30 and SOS weight of 10, based on discussion in this week's blogpoll.)

Untitled Document

SEC	Team	WL	SOS	PED	RD	3DO	TD	PEO	OPPG	TO	3DD	SCORE
1	Florida	1.946	0.223	2.286	1.320	1.233	2.353	1.913	2.213	1.104	2.143	166.742
2	Alabama	1.946	0.453	2.489	1.785	-0.346	2.434	0.441	2.200	0.677	1.831	152.804
3	Mississippi	0.813	0.178	1.294	0.536	0.132	0.935	-0.071	1.233	0.496	1.982	67.845
4	LSU	0.813	0.951	0.956	0.335	-0.051	0.738	0.075	1.498	-1.209	0.336	64.244
5	Auburn	0.435	0.656	0.877	-0.521	0.236	0.091	1.069	-0.289	1.080	0.954	40.893
6	Tennessee	0.057	0.604	1.406	0.141	-0.113	0.895	0.333	0.624	0.213	0.801	38.126
7	South Carolina	0.057	1.298	0.555	0.052	-0.192	0.973	-0.298	0.624	-0.377	0.217	30.182
8	Arkansas	0.435	0.854	-0.817	-0.071	-0.567	-0.775	1.841	-0.011	1.144	0.481	20.987
9	Georgia	0.057	1.264	-0.611	0.623	-0.256	0.647	0.206	-0.237	-0.371	0.757	20.090
10	Kentucky	0.435	0.352	1.012	-0.743	-0.044	0.158	-1.048	0.413	-0.613	-0.009	18.687
11	Mississippi St.	-0.698	1.440	-0.122	-0.088	-1.624	0.002	-1.235	-0.250	-0.177	0.460	-32.749
12	Vanderbilt	-1.517	0.942	0.536	-1.174	-0.756	0.029	-2.320	0.245	-1.241	0.111	-72.864