NCAA Football Blog Headlines

As promised/threatened the first BCS standings come with a series on conference comparisons.

This episode will explore the criterion used by the BCS. Next will feature OOC record and OOC strength, adjusted to account for biasing related to the central limit theorem. Consideration of records vs BCS teams, teams with winning records and opponents currently in the BCS top 25 will be examined as well. Finally a ranking using breaks in a collection of computer rankings will be used to separate teams into grades and each conference will be judged by their performance against each grade.

This process will be repeated at after the bowls are played and include bowl information and stats related to bowl wins, 10 win teams and data spanning 4 years.

Two of the factors used by the BCS are listed with the BCS standings. The third is harder to pin down because it is vaguely described. Some measure of the top to bottom strength of the conferences using the BCS computers is used to judge them.

Each BCS computer generates a conference standing, though one uses a different set of data to do so. Each presents their data as a raw data score and do not directly relate to each other in any meaningful way. By finding the mean and standard deviation for each computer a z-score can be obtained for each conference relative to that computer.

The average of these 6 z-scores is presented here:

SEC: 1.138
Big 12: 1.127
ACC: 0.804
Big 10: 0.776

Big East: 0.328
PAC 10: 0.277
MWC: 0.122

WAC: -0.605

MAC: -1.127
C-USA: -1.235
Sun Belt: -1.605

At the end of last year similar results were obtained but the WAC was in the lower group and the MWC was in the gap, close to 0. The PAC 10 and C-USA down significantly from previous years. The Big 12, ACC and MWC are up from their typical position.

So while the SEC and Big 12 are neck and neck for the top conference in the land, and the Sun Belt is in no danger of their basement status, the MWC is doing well on a relative basis and the ACC is muddling along without a clear cut leader, but few liabilities either. I don’t expect to see anything different in the other data.

At this time I would like to plug my favorite, based on its theory and openness of methodology, of the BCS comptuer rankings. Unfortunately it also has my team the lowest of any of the computers.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on How do the conferences rate for 2008? - BCS Computers…

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

New and notable opinions from the blogs & print:

Are the Fighting Irish BCS-bound?

North Carolina will finish no worse than 9-3.

Has the Pac10 missed the boat on expansion?

Arizona (ARIZONA?!?!?!?!) sits atop the Pac10, but the real test lies ahead.

The Razorbacks lack the heart they had when HDN was on the sidelines.

Georgia had better be ready for Tennessee.

Your next SEC East Champs? Vandy.

Where does Auburn turn now that they have lost to Vandy? Maybeit’s time for a trip to Cracker Barrel .

The Heisman may come down to an Oklahoma - Missouri matchup. (And if it does, put me in the Bradford camp.)

It’s Texas - OU week, andboth teams are ranked in the top five . Historically, that hasnot been a good sign for the Longhorns.

Rumors are spreading at Penn State after JoPa spent another game in the press box and appeared to have trouble with his balance in his press conference.Showing up in unmatched shoes didn’t help his case, either .

FSU has three sophomores and two true freshman starting on the offensive line - andthey won the game for the Noles against Miami .

Finally,Army no longer holds the nation’s longest losing streak .

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on The Weekender: News, notes, and other stuff to ponder…

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Friendswood junior Andrew Cole is a natural safety. As a sophomore, he earned district Newcomer of the Year honors at the position. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder also set the A&M all-time shuttle record at a camp this summer. However, just like former Friendswood and A&M standout Jaxson Appel, Cole has been the Mustangs running back this year and has had quite a bit of success at it

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

As promised/threatened the first BCS standings come with a series on conference comparisons.

This episode will explore the criterion used by the BCS. Next will feature OOC record and OOC strength, adjusted to account for biasing related to the central limit theorem. Consideration of records vs BCS teams, teams with winning records and opponents currently in the BCS top 25 will be examined as well. Finally a ranking using breaks in a collection of computer rankings will be used to separate teams into grades and each conference will be judged by their performance against each grade.

This process will be repeated at after the bowls are played and include bowl information and stats related to bowl wins, 10 win teams and data spanning 4 years.

Two of the factors used by the BCS are listed with the BCS standings. The third is harder to pin down because it is vaguely described. Some measure of the top to bottom strength of the conferences using the BCS computers is used to judge them.

Each BCS computer generates a conference standing, though one uses a different set of data to do so. Each presents their data as a raw data score and do not directly relate to each other in any meaningful way. By finding the mean and standard deviation for each computer a z-score can be obtained for each conference relative to that computer.

The average of these 6 z-scores is presented here:

SEC: 1.138
Big 12: 1.127
ACC: 0.804
Big 10: 0.776

Big East: 0.328
PAC 10: 0.277
MWC: 0.122

WAC: -0.605

MAC: -1.127
C-USA: -1.235
Sun Belt: -1.605

At the end of last year similar results were obtained but the WAC was in the lower group and the MWC was in the gap, close to 0. The PAC 10 and C-USA down significantly from previous years. The Big 12, ACC and MWC are up from their typical position.

So while the SEC and Big 12 are neck and neck for the top conference in the land, and the Sun Belt is in no danger of their basement status, the MWC is doing well on a relative basis and the ACC is muddling along without a clear cut leader, but few liabilities either. I don’t expect to see anything different in the other data.

At this time I would like to plug my favorite, based on its theory and openness of methodology, of the BCS comptuer rankings. Unfortunately it also has my team the lowest of any of the computers.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on How do the conferences rate for 2008? - BCS Computers…

There was a lot of attention on admissions this summer, especially in the wake of the SEC’s decision to lower its minimum admission standards to be in line with the NCAA admissions policies. One of the area’s that was not under the microscope (until now, of course) is the case for “special admissions”.

The Indy Star contacted FBS schools in an attempt to determine what percentage of football players (and scholarship atheletes, in general) were admitted despite falling below a university’s minimum academic standards.

The results? Shocking.

At Cal, 95% of the football players admitted during the 2004-2005 year were special admissions. Georgia (’99-’00) and Texas A&M (’04-’05) both had 94% special admissions. On the opposite end of the spectrum, sixteen of the fifty-five responding schools — including several of the nation’s elite football schools — did not have any special admits at all (Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Purdue, Texas Tech, Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio State).

Here’s a rundown of the schools with special admits that did comply with the request:

Alabama - 21%
Arizona - 33%
Auburn - 12%
Cal - 95%
Floirda - 18%
Florida State - 65%
Georgia - 94%
Georgia Tech - 9%
Indiana - 42%
Iowa - 41%
Iowa State - 21%
Kentucky - 64%
LSU - 82%
Louisville - 38%
Missouri - 61%
NC State - 25%
Oklahoma - 81%
Texas A&M - 94%
Washington - 48%
Washington State - 60%
West Virginia - 23%

Schools with zero special admissions reported in the football department:
Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Purdue, Texas Tech, Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio State

I’m impressed that some of the higher ranked academic schools aren’t taking any special admits. That’s impressive. Then again, there’s a time and place for special admits. All, college is about lifting people up right? I don’t know where you draw the line, but 95% special admits is insane.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Admissions: Who makes a habit of special admits?…

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

There’s no quarterback controversy at UCF, at least not anymore. Unless Michael Greco overtakes Rob Calabrese in practice, something that has yet to occur, the Knights are sticking with the true freshman from East Islip, N.Y

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

With the official BCS standings to be released within hours, Sam at BCS Guru hascrunched the numbers and is ready to forecast the top fifteen spots in the unofficial BCS rankings.

Here’s the unofficial BCS rankings, as perBCSGuru.com .

Unofficial BCS Rankings

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma
5. Oklahoma State*
6. USC*
7. Texas Tech*
8. Utah**
9. Georgia**
10. Florida**
11. Ohio State
12. Boise State
13. LSU
14. South Florida
15. TCU

Note: Sam cautions that the two clusters of teams (those with one asterisk and then those with two) may be so closely ranked that the exact positions may fluctuate. In other words, the any of the one asterisk teams could be number five, six or seven)

As you can see, this is going to be VERY interesting poll, with three non-BCS conference teams in the initial top 15. Of course, TCU plays Utah later this year, so one of those two will drop out of contention for an automatic qualifier spot. But, as it stands today, at least one non-BCS conference team would be an automatic qualifier.

Remember,only one non-BCS conference team can be an “automatic qualifier” , by virtue of being ranked in the top twelve in the BCS or being ranked higher than a BCS conference champion - such as the ACC or Big East in this unofficial poll. After the first non-BCS team is in, then the selection process is not required to select another non-BCS team.

Another important note of distinction, it would appear that Texas & Alabama control their own destiny. While SEC & Big XII fans have lamented having to play a championship game in the past, the conference championship games appear as if they will give both the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide one final chance to lock up a BCS berth. In other words, it is very possible that Penn State can win all of it’s games and still not make it to the BCS National Championship game.

One fun trivia note - of the twenty #1 & #2 teams in the past ten initial BCS polls, statistically at least one of the two has appeared in every National Championship game (10 appearances).

Note: Ben Prather will be posting the official BCS rankings tonight in its own separate thread. Enjoy!

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Unofficial BCS Standings - Week 8 (Oct 19, 2008)…

Anyone else notice how the commenting system starts to lag after the posts get over 100? It appears to be order O(N^2), meaning it gets worse faster than the growth in the number of comments.

So, due to the explosive growth oflast night’s thread , I offer a new, faster thread.

What should USC be rated this week? I think about #20, but they will end up just outside the top 10.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on O-VER RA-TED…

UTEP junior DL Brandis Dew sustained a herniated disk in his neck in practice on Wednesday that will end his football career

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

David Paulsen is a defensive end/fullback/h-back prospect from Marietta (Ga.) Walton High School. Paulsen, 6-3.5,and 240 pounds, mainly plays on the defensive side of the ball. This season he has 46 tackles, four sacks, and seven tackles for a loss so far this yea

Last Saturday’s offensive eruption is what many expected to see out of this year’s Rutgers offense. However, quarterback Mike Teel and company hit a few speed bumps through the first half of the season. It may have taken some time, but Teel finally righted the team’s course this past weekend and earned USA Today Player of the Week honors

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

While undefeated Penn State is staking its claim to a BCS National Championship berth, Rivals.com’s Tom Dienhart cautions football fans and voters tosteer clear of the Nittany Lions .

It’s foolish to think a Big Ten team has any business on college football’s biggest stage. But the No. 3 Nittany Lions now are poised to play for the championship in Miami. After being off next week, they travel to Iowa, then play host to Indiana and Michigan State. A 12-0 regular-season record is well within reach.

…

But this team - and this conference - doesn’t deserve another chance at college football’s biggest prize. Besides, Paterno is used to fashioning an unbeaten team, then getting left out of the championship party. That has happened four times: 1968, 1969, 1973 and 1994.

So, please, don’t give us Penn State on Jan. 8, 2009, in Dolphin Stadium. Give us life, give us liberty, give us hope for a good game. That means give us Texas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia or USC. Heck, we’ll even take Texas Tech and its diabolical offense and kooky coach. They all have been more impressive than and likely would beat any Big Ten team.

Even a perfect Penn State.

Then again… this is from the same college football genius whoforgot that there are 11 teams in the Big 10 , so….

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Dienhart: Penn State is not worthy…

As promised/threatened the first BCS standings come with a series on conference comparisons.

This episode will explore the criterion used by the BCS. Next will feature OOC record and OOC strength, adjusted to account for biasing related to the central limit theorem. Consideration of records vs BCS teams, teams with winning records and opponents currently in the BCS top 25 will be examined as well. Finally a ranking using breaks in a collection of computer rankings will be used to separate teams into grades and each conference will be judged by their performance against each grade.

This process will be repeated at after the bowls are played and include bowl information and stats related to bowl wins, 10 win teams and data spanning 4 years.

Two of the factors used by the BCS are listed with theBCS standings . The third is harder to pin down because it is vaguely described. Some measure of the top to bottom strength of the conferences using the BCS computers is used to judge them.

Each BCS computer generates a conference standing, though one uses a different set of data to do so. Each presents their data as a raw data score and do not directly relate to each other in any meaningful way. By finding the mean and standard deviation for each computer a z-score can be obtained for each conference relative to that computer.

The average of these 6 z-scores is presented here:

SEC: 1.138
Big 12: 1.127
ACC: 0.804
Big 10: 0.776

Big East: 0.328
PAC 10: 0.277
MWC: 0.122

WAC: -0.605

MAC: -1.127
C-USA: -1.235
Sun Belt: -1.605

At the end of last yearsimilar results were obtained but the WAC was in the lower group and the MWC was in the gap, close to 0. The PAC 10 and C-USA down significantly from previous years. The Big 12, ACC and MWC are up from their typical position.

So while the SEC and Big 12 are neck and neck for the top conference in the land, and the Sun Belt is in no danger of their basement status, the MWC is doing well on a relative basis and the ACC is muddling along without a clear cut leader, but few liabilities either. I don’t expect to see anything different in the other data.

At this time I would like to plug my favorite, based on its theory and openness of methodology, of theBCS comptuer rankings . Unfortunately it also has my team the lowest of any of the computers.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on How do the conferences rate for 2008? - BCS Computers…

Tradition. Sometimes it is hard to argue against it. Ian Hummer of Washington D.C. powerhouse Gonzaga committed to Princeton on Monday, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

The guys at FoxSports.com have assembled their list ofthe whiniest coaches in America . I don’t think there are any surprises here.

10. Rich Brooks, Kentucky9. Urban Meyer, Florida8. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma7. Mike Stoops, Arizona6. Nick Saban, Alabama5. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State4. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn3. Les Miles, LSU2. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan1. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Anyone see a pattern in this list? Yeah… me neither.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Who are the whiniest coaches in America?…

The guys at FoxSports.com have assembled their list of the whiniest coaches in America. I don’t think there are any surprises here.

10. Rich Brooks, Kentucky9. Urban Meyer, Florida8. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma7. Mike Stoops, Arizona6. Nick Saban, Alabama5. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State4. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn3. Les Miles, LSU2. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan1. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Anyone see a pattern in this list? Yeah… me neither.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Who are the whiniest coaches in America?…

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Tradition. Sometimes it is hard to argue against it. Ian Hummer of Washington D.C. powerhouse Gonzaga committed to Princeton on Monday, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle

David Paulsen is a defensive end/fullback/h-back prospect from Marietta (Ga.) Walton High School. Paulsen, 6-3.5,and 240 pounds, mainly plays on the defensive side of the ball. This season he has 46 tackles, four sacks, and seven tackles for a loss so far this yea