Against Ranked Teams - Week 1 1/2

[SWC75]

The last few years I’ve attempted to quantify team’s performances against ranked teams, (historically a big factor in decisions made about getting into playoffs) with a system that gives points to teams for the ranking of their opponents and adds or subtracts the point differential in their games, (adds in a win, subtracts in a loss). The ‘ranking’ points are 25 for playing a #1 ranked team, 24 for playing a #2 ranked team, etc, down to 1 point for playing a 25th ranked team. These points are easily computed by subtracting the ranking number from 26, (26-1 = 25; 26-25 =1, etc). Over the course of the season, I add the points earned by each team in their games against ranked teams as a sort of standings but have always maintained that this is just one thing to look at in evaluating the team, not a final overall ranking.

Last years I added a new wrinkle to the basketball version of this. I totaled the points each ranked team’s opponent earned against them, (positive or negative) to get a measure of how well the ranked teams performed in these games. I then added those points together with the points against ranked teams to make my NCAA picks and it worked out pretty well so I decided to try it for football. The numbers will gain meaning each week and should be very interesting by the end of the season.

WEEK 1 ½ (including last week’s games)

Alabama beat #14 U of Miami 44-13 Alabama +43 U of Miami -43
Iowa beat #17 Indiana 34-6 Iowa +37 Indiana -37
Georgia beat #3 Clemson 10-3 Georgia +30 Clemson -30
Texas beat #23 Louisiana 38-18 Texas +23 Louisiana -23
Virginia Tech beat #10 North Carolina 17-10 Virginia Tech +23 North Carolina -23
UCLA beat #16 Louisiana State 38-27 UCLA +21 Louisiana State -21
Penn State beat #12 Wisconsin 16-10 Penn State +20 Wisconsin -20
Tulane lost to #2 Oklahoma 35-40 Tulane +19 Oklahoma -19
Clemson lost to #5 Georgia 3-10 Clemson +14 Georgia -14
Florida State lost to #9 Notre Dame 38-41 Florida State +14 Notre Dame -14
Montana beat #20 Washington 13-7 Montana +12 Washington -12
Fresno State lost to #11 Oregon 24-31 Fresno State +8 Oregon -8
Minnesota lost to #4 Ohio State 31-45 Minnesota +8 Ohio State -8
Wisconsin lost to #19 Penn State 10-16 Wisconsin +1 Penn State -1
U of Miami lost to #1 Alabama 13-44 U of Miami -6 Alabama +6
Kent State lost to #6 Texas A&M 10-41 Kent State -11 Texas A&M +11
Northern Iowa lost to #7 Iowa State 10-16 Northern Iowa +13 Iowa State -13
Florida Atlantic lost to #13 Florida 14-35 Florida Atlantic -13 Florida +13
San Jose State lost to #15 Southern California 7-30 San Jose State -12 Southern California +12
Miami University lost to #8 Cincinnati 14-49 Miami University -17 Cincinnati +17
Indiana lost to #18 Iowa 6-34 Indiana -20 Iowa +20
Weber State lost to #24 Utah 17-40 Weber State -21 Utah +21
The Citadel lost to #22 Coastal Carolina 14-52 The Citadel -34 Coastal Carolina +34

 

[JustPherU]

The last few years I’ve attempted to quantify team’s performances against ranked teams, (historically a big factor in decisions made about getting into playoffs) with a system that gives points to teams for the ranking of their opponents and adds or subtracts the point differential in their games, (adds in a win, subtracts in a loss). The ‘ranking’ points are 25 for playing a #1 ranked team, 24 for playing a #2 ranked team, etc, down to 1 point for playing a 25th ranked team. These points are easily computed by subtracting the ranking number from 26, (26-1 = 25; 26-25 =1, etc). Over the course of the season, I add the points earned by each team in their games against ranked teams as a sort of standings but have always maintained that this is just one thing to look at in evaluating the team, not a final overall ranking.

Last years I added a new wrinkle to the basketball version of this. I totaled the points each ranked team’s opponent earned against them, (positive or negative) to get a measure of how well the ranked teams performed in these games. I then added those points together with the points against ranked teams to make my NCAA picks and it worked out pretty well so I decided to try it for football. The numbers will gain meaning each week and should be very interesting by the end of the season.

WEEK 1 ½ (including last week’s games)

Alabama beat #14 U of Miami 44-13 Alabama +43 U of Miami -43
Iowa beat #17 Indiana 34-6 Iowa +37 Indiana -37
Georgia beat #3 Clemson 10-3 Georgia +30 Clemson -30
Texas beat #23 Louisiana 38-18 Texas +23 Louisiana -23
Virginia Tech beat #10 North Carolina 17-10 Virginia Tech +23 North Carolina -23
UCLA beat #16 Louisiana State 38-27 UCLA +21 Louisiana State -21
Penn State beat #12 Wisconsin 16-10 Penn State +20 Wisconsin -20
Tulane lost to #2 Oklahoma 35-40 Tulane +19 Oklahoma -19
Clemson lost to #5 Georgia 3-10 Clemson +14 Georgia -14
Florida State lost to #9 Notre Dame 38-41 Florida State +14 Notre Dame -14
Montana beat #20 Washington 13-7 Montana +12 Washington -12
Fresno State lost to #11 Oregon 24-31 Fresno State +8 Oregon -8
Minnesota lost to #4 Ohio State 31-45 Minnesota +8 Ohio State -8
Wisconsin lost to #19 Penn State 10-16 Wisconsin +1 Penn State -1
U of Miami lost to #1 Alabama 13-44 U of Miami -6 Alabama +6
Kent State lost to #6 Texas A&M 10-41 Kent State -11 Texas A&M +11
Northern Iowa lost to #7 Iowa State 10-16 Northern Iowa +13 Iowa State -13
Florida Atlantic lost to #13 Florida 14-35 Florida Atlantic -13 Florida +13
San Jose State lost to #15 Southern California 7-30 San Jose State -12 Southern California +12
Miami University lost to #8 Cincinnati 14-49 Miami University -17 Cincinnati +17
Indiana lost to #18 Iowa 6-34 Indiana -20 Iowa +20
Weber State lost to #24 Utah 17-40 Weber State -21 Utah +21
The Citadel lost to #22 Coastal Carolina 14-52 The Citadel -34 Coastal Carolina +34

How did your final rankings look last season for football?

 

[SWC75]

How did your final rankings look last season for football?

I didn't do it for football because so many teams weren't playing and I didn't even know if the season was going to play out.