Category Archives: Sports
One More Arbitrary NCAA Football Ranking Scheme for the BCS – 11/20/2011
Rankings as of 11/20/2011. Previous weeks rankings here.
(I’ve made a few small corrections from my original post; I found a mistake in the data. For instance, Michigan State is now in the top 25 at number 24.)
Ok. I know. This isn’t going to look good, but…….I still have Oklahoma State ranked 1 even after their loss to Iowa State. (A defense of my rankings) They nearly survived the Big 12 gauntlet undefeated, which would have been a most impressive feat. I’m not sure I can defend this, but since none of the BCS rankings have to defend their methodology then neither should I.
Big movers this week include Baylor, Virginia Tech, and Stanford who are all up 4 spots to 7, 8, and 9, respectively. The biggest move up this week is Iowa State, who jumps 5 spots to 17.
Clemson falls 8 spots after its loss to North Carolina State and they end up 16. Likewise, Nebraska falls 7 spots to number 23 after losing to Michigan.
Cheers.
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | BCS Rank |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 10-1 | 4 |
| LSU | 2 | 0 | 11-0 | 1 |
| Kansas State | 3 | 1 | 9-2 | 11 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | -1 | 8-2 | 9 |
| Alabama | 5 | 0 | 10-1 | 2 |
| Arkansas | 6 | 0 | 10-1 | 3 |
| Baylor | 7 | 4 | 7-3 | 18 |
| Virginia Tech | 8 | 4 | 10-1 | 5 |
| Stanford | 9 | 4 | 10-1 | 6 |
| South Carolina | 10 | -1 | 9-2 | 12 |
| Oregon | 11 | -4 | 9-2 | 10 |
| USC | 12 | 2 | 9-2 | NR |
| Texas | 13 | -3 | 6-4 | 25 |
| Georgia | 14 | 1 | 9-2 | 13 |
| Houston | 15 | 2 | 11-0 | 8 |
| Clemson | 16 | -8 | 9-2 | 17 |
| Iowa State | 17 | 5 | 6-4 | NR |
| Michigan | 18 | 0 | 9-2 | 15 |
| Penn State | 19 | 0 | 9-2 | 19 |
| Texas A&M | 20 | 0 | 6-5 | NR |
| Boise State | 21 | 2 | 9-1 | 7 |
| Missouri | 22 | 2 | 6-5 | NR |
| Nebraska | 23 | -7 | 8-3 | 21 |
| Michigan State | 24 | 1 | 9-2 | 14 |
| Auburn | 25 | -4 | 7-4 | 24 |
BCS: My offer still stands…….if you want to contact me you can send me a tweet @StatsInTheWild.
Cheers.
One More Arbitrary NCAA Football Ranking Scheme for the BCS – 11/13/2011
Rankings as of 11/13/2011. Previous weeks rankings here.
No changes at the top. I’ve still got Oklahoma State number 1, as I have all season. LSU comes in at number 2 and Oklahoma at number 3. Texas falls 4 spots after failing to score a touchdown in their loss to Missouri. Oregon jumps to 7 after it’s victory over previously undefeated Stanford, who falls to 13.
The two biggest movers upward were Nebraska and Michigan. Nebraska defeated Penn State to climb 8 spots to 16 and Michigan beat a rapidly fading Illinois team to climb 7 spots to 18.
Texas A&M and Auburn both fell 6 spots to 20 and 21, respectively. Texas A&M lost in 4 OT to Kansas State while Auburn fell to Georgia. Missouri and Michigan State squeak their way into the top 25 at 24 and 25, respectively, as Texas Tech and Georgia Tech drop out.
By conference, I have 8 Big 12 teams in the top 25 and 6 SEC teams. The Big 10 has 4 teams, the Pac 12 gets 3, and the ACC has 2. Mountain West and Conference USA have one team each.
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | BCS Rank |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 10-0 | 2 |
| LSU | 2 | 0 | 10-0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 0 | 8-1 | 5 |
| Kansas State | 4 | 1 | 8-2 | 13 |
| Alabama | 5 | -1 | 9-1 | 3 |
| Arkansas | 6 | 1 | 9-1 | 6 |
| Oregon | 7 | 2 | 9-1 | 4 |
| Clemson | 8 | 2 | 9-1 | 7 |
| South Carolina | 9 | 2 | 8-2 | 12 |
| Texas | 10 | -4 | 6-3 | 23 |
| Baylor | 11 | 2 | 6-3 | 22 |
| Virginia Tech | 12 | 0 | 9-1 | 8 |
| Stanford | 13 | -5 | 9-1 | 9 |
| USC | 14 | 4 | 8-2 | NR |
| Georgia | 15 | 2 | 8-2 | 14 |
| Nebraska | 16 | 8 | 8-2 | 16 |
| Houston | 17 | 2 | 10-0 | 11 |
| Michigan | 18 | 7 | 8-2 | 18 |
| Penn State | 19 | -3 | 8-2 | 21 |
| Texas A&M | 20 | -6 | 6-3 | NR |
| Auburn | 21 | -6 | 6-4 | 24 |
| Iowa State | 22 | -1 | 5-4 | NR |
| Boise State | 23 | -3 | 8-1 | 10 |
| Missouri | 24 | 2 | 5-5 | NR |
| Michigan State | 25 | 3 | 8-2 | 15 |
BCS: My offer still stands…….if you want to contact me you can send me a tweet @StatsInTheWild.
Cheers.
NFL Playoff Projections After Week 9
New Projected 1 seed in the AFC with Baltimore and New England drops to 2 seed. The AFC North is scheduled to get 3 teams into the playoffs. On the NFC side Green Bay is still projected to be the 1 seed with San Francisco the 2. And, like the AFC, the NFC North is scheduled to get three teams into the playoffs. Has that ever happened before? Two divisons getting 3 teams into the playoffs? I have to guess no.
| Seed | AFC | NFC |
| 1 | Baltimore | Green Bay |
| 2 | New England | San Francisco |
| 3 | Houston | NY Giants |
| 4 | San Diego | Atlanta |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | Detroit |
| 6 | Cincinnati | Chicago |
Cheers.
1 vs 2
Alabama hosted LSU yesterday in what was billed as number 1 versus number 2. This is a great way to market a football game, but it completely ignores reality. 6 out of 7 BCS computer polls, which the BCS itself has selected to rank college football teams, had Oklahoma State ranked number 1 heading into the LSU-Alabama game, and the lone dissenting system had Oklahoma State ranked number 2. That means there were 0 computer rankings that had LSU-Alabama as a 1 vs 2 game. I guess it’s just harder to market a 2 vs 3 game.
Cheers.
One More Arbitrary NCAA Football Ranking Scheme for the BCS – 11/6/2011
Rankings as of 11/6/2011. Previous weeks rankings are here.
What a game last night between LSU and Alabama! #FieldGoalsAreAwesome
I’ll update the BCS ranks when the new ones come out.
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | BCS Rank |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 9-0 | |
| LSU | 2 | 1 | 9-0 | |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 2 | 8-1 | |
| Alabama | 4 | 0 | 8-1 | |
| Kansas St. | 5 | -3 | 7-2 | |
| Texas | 6 | 6 | 6-2 | |
| Arkansas | 7 | 3 | 8-1 | |
| Stanford | 8 | 0 | 9-0 | |
| Oregon | 9 | 4 | 8-1 | |
| Clemson | 10 | -4 | 8-1 | |
| South Carolina | 11 | -2 | 7-2 | |
| Virginia Tech | 12 | 2 | 8-1 | |
| Baylor | 13 | 3 | 5-3 | |
| Texas A&M | 14 | -7 | 5-4 | |
| Auburn | 15 | 4 | 6-3 | |
| Penn State | 16 | 1 | 8-1 | |
| Georgia | 17 | 7 | 7-2 | |
| USC | 18 | -3 | 7-2 | |
| Houston | 19 | 6 | 9-0 | |
| Boise State | 20 | 1 | 8-0 | |
| Iowa State | 21 | 11 | 5-4 | |
| Georgia Tech | 22 | 0 | 7-2 | |
| Texas Tech | 23 | -12 | 5-4 | |
| Nebraska | 24 | -6 | 7-2 | |
| Michigan | 25 | -5 | 7-2 |
BCS: My offer still stands…….if you want to contact me you can send me a tweet @StatsInTheWild.
Cheers.
NFL Rankings After Week 8
SITW NFL Rankings after week 8. (Last weeks NFL rankings) (And check out my NCAA Football Rankings)
Good news. We have heat and electricity back after 5 nights without it. I’ve never before in my life taken a shower where I could see my breath, but that happened twice this week. I assume that’s approximately what it’s like to play a football game in Wisconsin in January. Quite the experience.
Anyway, no changes in the top 7. Tampa Bay and New Orleans swap spots for the 435th time this season. The biggest moves up were Minnesota and Houston who both jumped 4 spots to 22 and 24, respectively. The biggest drop this week was Indianapolis who continues it’s downward spiral to the bottom that will inevitable end up with them ranked 32nd (and Mr. Luck).
Playoff projections to follow….
Cheers.
| Rank – After Week 8 | Change | |
| New England | 1 | 0 |
| Green Bay | 2 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 0 |
| Baltimore | 4 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 5 | 0 |
| NY Jets | 6 | 0 |
| Chicago | 7 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay | 8 | 1 |
| New Orleans | 9 | -1 |
| NY Giants | 10 | 0 |
| Detroit | 11 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 12 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 13 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 14 | 1 |
| San Diego | 15 | -2 |
| Cincinnati | 16 | 0 |
| San Francisco | 17 | 1 |
| Oakland | 18 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 19 | -2 |
| Tennessee | 20 | 2 |
| Miami | 21 | -1 |
| Minnesota | 22 | 4 |
| Dallas | 23 | -2 |
| Houston | 24 | 4 |
| Washington | 25 | -1 |
| Indianapolis | 26 | -3 |
| Seattle | 27 | -2 |
| Jacksonville | 28 | -1 |
| St. Louis | 29 | 0 |
| Denver | 30 | 0 |
| Carolina | 31 | 0 |
| Arizona | 32 | 0 |
One More Arbitrary NCAA Football Ranking Scheme for the BCS – 11/1/2011
Rankings as of 11/1/2011. The previous week’s rankings are here.
I apologize for not getting these rankings out until today (Tuesday), but we’re likely without power until Friday or Saturday. I’m currently in the Western New England College University Law School library, which has power and heat. Anyway……
There are 5 teams in the SITW top 25 that are not in the BCS top 25 (SITW Ranking): Texas A&M (15), Texas Tech (18), USC (19), Baylor (21), Missouri (25).
Likewise, the five teams in the BCS top 25 that are not in the SITW top 25 are: Arizona State (26), Wisconsin (30), Michigan State (31), West Virginia (32), and Southern Miss (39).
Based on the disparity between the SITW rankings and the BCS rankings, the most over-rated top 25 BCS team is Boise State, followed by Michigan State and Southern Miss. The most under-rated team is Texas, followed by Kansas State, Auburn, Oklahoma, and Clemson.
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | BCS Rank |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 8-0 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 3 | 7-1 | 8 |
| LSU | 3 | 0 | 8-0 | 1 |
| Alabama | 4 | 0 | 8-0 | 2 |
| Kansas State | 5 | -3 | 7-1 | 9 |
| Stanford | 6 | 2 | 8-0 | 5 |
| Clemson | 7 | -1 | 8-1 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 8 | 1 | 7-1 | 6 |
| Arkansas | 9 | 1 | 7-1 | 13 |
| Virginia Tech | 10 | 4 | 8-1 | 10 |
| Texas | 11 | 1 | 5-2 | 20 |
| Oregon | 12 | 1 | 7-1 | 24 |
| Nebraska | 13 | 5 | 7-1 | 7 |
| Penn State | 14 | 3 | 8-1 | 12 |
| Texas A&M | 15 | -8 | 5-3 | NR |
| Michigan | 16 | 4 | 7-1 | NR |
| Auburn | 17 | 2 | 6-3 | 19 |
| Texas Tech | 18 | -7 | 5-3 | 14 |
| USC | 19 | -4 | 6-2 | 23 |
| Georgia Tech | 20 | 2 | 7-2 | 18 |
| Baylor | 21 | -5 | 4-3 | 4 |
| Boise State | 22 | -1 | 7-0 | NR |
| Georgia | 23 | 1 | 6-2 | 15 |
| Houston | 24 | 1 | 8-0 | 22 |
| Missouri | 25 | 5 | 4-4 | 17 |
BCS: My offer still stands…….if you want to contact me you can send me a tweet @StatsInTheWild.
Cheers.
NFL Rankings After Week 7
SITW NFL Rankings after week 7. (Last weeks NFL rankings) (And check out my NCAA Football Rankings)
Well, my survivor season is over thanks to Baltimore’s gutless loss to the Jaguars, and my arch tennis/golf rival was crowned champion.
Anyway, the biggest mover up the rankings this week was Dallas up five spots after its win over winless St. Louis. (How can this happen? Well, my rating are like the BCS, so I don’t have to tell you. If there were transparency, someone might question my method.) The biggest fall this week was Oakland falling 4 spots after losing to Kansas City.
And SITW would like to welcome Arizona to the NFL cellar. Arizona is now 6-16 in the last two seasons. Now 6-16 is not very good, but it is all time bad when you consider they play in the NFC West, which sent a 7-9 team to the playoffs as division champ. This is a team that went to the super bowl in 2009. Things fall apart quickly in the NFL. (See 2011, Colts, Indianapolis)
| Rank – After Week 7 | Change | |
| New England | 1 | 0 |
| Green Bay | 2 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 0 |
| Baltimore | 4 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 5 | 0 |
| NY Jets | 6 | 0 |
| Chicago | 7 | 0 |
| New Orleans | 8 | 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 9 | -1 |
| NY Giants | 10 | 0 |
| Detroit | 11 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 12 | 0 |
| San Diego | 13 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 14 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 15 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | 16 | 3 |
| Cleveland | 17 | 3 |
| San Francisco | 18 | 0 |
| Oakland | 19 | -4 |
| Miami | 20 | -3 |
| Dallas | 21 | 5 |
| Tennessee | 22 | -1 |
| Indianapolis | 23 | 1 |
| Washington | 24 | -2 |
| Seattle | 25 | -2 |
| Minnesota | 26 | -1 |
| Jacksonville | 27 | 0 |
| Houston | 28 | 0 |
| St. Louis | 29 | 0 |
| Denver | 30 | 1 |
| Carolina | 31 | 1 |
| Arizona | 32 | -2 |
Cheers.
One More Arbitrary NCAA Football Ranking Scheme for the BCS – 10/23/2011
Rankings as of 10/23/2011. Previous weeks rankings here.
There are 3 teams ranked in the BCS top 25 who aren’t in my top 25. They are Michigan State, Arizona State, and West Virginia.
There are three teams in my top 25 who aren’t in the BCS top 25. They are USC, Baylor, and Georgia Tech.
| Team | Rank | Change | Record | BCS Rank |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 7-0 | 3 |
| Kansas State | 2 | 1 | 7-0 | 8 |
| LSU | 3 | 1 | 8-0 | 1 |
| Alabama | 4 | 1 | 8-0 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | -3 | 6-1 | 9 |
| Clemson | 6 | 0 | 8-0 | 5 |
| Texas A&M | 7 | 1 | 5-2 | 16 |
| Stanford | 8 | 2 | 7-0 | 6 |
| South Carolina | 9 | 0 | 6-1 | 13 |
| Arkansas | 10 | 2 | 6-1 | 10 |
| Texas Tech | 11 | 4 | 5-2 | 20 |
| Texas | 12 | -5 | 4-2 | 24 |
| Oregon | 13 | 7 | 6-1 | 7 |
| Virginia Tech | 14 | 2 | 7-1 | 12 |
| USC | 15 | 4 | 6-1 | NR |
| Baylor | 16 | -5 | 4-2 | NR |
| Penn State | 17 | 1 | 7-1 | 19 |
| Nebraska | 18 | 4 | 6-1 | 14 |
| Auburn | 19 | -2 | 5-3 | 23 |
| Michigan | 20 | 1 | 6-1 | 18 |
| Boise State | 21 | 4 | 7-0 | 4 |
| Georgia Tech | 22 | -9 | 6-2 | NR |
| Wisconsin | 23 | -9 | 6-1 | 15 |
| Georgia | 24 | 4 | 5-2 | 22 |
| Houston | 25 | 10 | 7-0 | 17 |
BCS: My offer still stands…….if you want to contact me you can send me a tweet @StatsInTheWild.
Cheers.
NFL Playoff Projections After Week 6
Last week’s rankings and playoff projections.
The only change in the AFC is that Jets are projected to be back in and Buffalo is out after one week as the projected 6 seed.
Green Bay is still the projected 1 seed as they have been since after week 1; Detroit has been the projected 5 seed since after week 2. San Francisco moves up to the 2 seed with their win over the Lions and the NFC South teams Tampa Bay and New Orleans swap as projected division winners for the fourth week in a row, with Tampa Bay projected at 3 and New Orleans projected at 6. Washington falls out of the playoffs and the Giants are projected to get in as the 4 seed.
| Seed | AFC | NFC |
| 1 | New England | Green Bay |
| 2 | Baltimore | San Francisco |
| 3 | San Diego | Tampa Bay |
| 4 | Tennessee | NY Giants |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | Detroit |
| 6 | NY Jets | New Orleans |
Cheers.
Stats in the Wild 