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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 2586384, member: 289"] But first let’s compare the teams. Auburn was 10-0-0 and outscored their opponents 207-28 (20.7-2.8). They played 9 major college opponents with a combined 41-42 -6 record and out-scored them 167-21 (18.6-2.3). The Tigers swept the three defensive titles: they were #1 in total defense (133.0ypg), rushing defense (67.4) and scoring defense (2.8). They didn’t give up a rushing touchdown all season, in an era when that’s how the vast majority of touchdowns were scored. Ohio State was 9-1, all against major college opponents with a combined record of 43-47-4 who they out-scored 267-92 (26.7-9.2). They lost 14-18 to a 5-4-1 Texas Christian team. The Buckeyes were third in the nation in rushing with 297.9 ypg. Michigan State was 8-1, all against major college opponents with a combined record of 36-46-2, who they out-scored 264-75 (29.3-8.3). They lost 13-20 to a 5-4 Purdue team. The Spartans were #5 in the nation in total offense and total defense (383.9-191.6) and #8 in rushing offense and rushing defense (263.0-117.2). Oklahoma was 10-1, all against major college opponents with a combined record of 53-50-9 (the Big Seven got off the canvas this year with Kansas, Colorado and Missouri all posting winning records), who they out-scored 333-89 (30.3-8.1). They lost 0-7 to a 7-3 Notre Dame team. The Sooners were #7 in total offense (375.1)and #5 in rushing offense (297.0). [I]Selectors[/I] The NCAA record book lists 6 selectors who picked Auburn: Associated Press, Football Research, Helms, Naitonal Championship Foundation, Poling and Williamson. They also have 6 choosing Ohio State: Boand, DeVold, Football Writers Association, International News Service, Litkenhous and United Press. Three went for Michigan State: Billingsley, Dunkel and Sagarin. One went for Oklahoma: Berryman. Of the non-NCAA selectors I found on the internet, all 8 chose Auburn: Time Travel, Dolphin, Howell, Sorenson, Square gear, Taylor, Waits and Wilson, although Taylor had Auburn and Ohio State as co-champs. College Football Warehouse has these selectors and many others I’ve never heard of: [URL='https://web.archive.org/web/20160331142947/http:/cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/yearly_results.php?year=1957']https://web.archive.org/web/20160331142947/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/yearly_results.php?year=1957[/URL] I count 26 for Auburn, 10 for Ohio State, 3 for Michigan State and 2 for Oklahoma. Let’s look at the Top 5’s from sources that listed them: AP: 1-Auburn 2- Ohio State 3- Michigan State 4- Oklahoma 5- Navy UPI: 1- Ohio State 2- Auburn 3- Michigan State 4- Oklahoma 5- Iowa Time Travel: 1- Auburn 2- Ohio State 3- Mississippi 4- Iowa 5- Tennessee (Oklahoma was #6, Michigan State #7) Dolphin: 1- Auburn 2- Ohio State 3- Michigan State 4- Mississippi 5- Iowa (Oklahoma was #6) Howell: 1- Auburn 2- Oklahoma 3- Mississippi 4- Navy 5- Ohio State (Howell, who tends to under-value Midwestern teams had Michigan State at #10) Sorenson: 1- Auburn 2- Michigan State 3- Mississippi 4- Ohio State 5- Tennessee (Oklahoma was #9) Square Gear: 1- Auburn 2- Oklahoma 3- Navy 4- Ohio State 5- Mississippi (Michigan State was #6) Waits: 1- Auburn 2- Ohio State 3- Michigan State 4- Navy 5- Mississippi (Iowa and Oklahoma were tied at #6) Wilson: 1- Auburn 2- Oklahoma 3- Navy 4- Ohio State and Mississippi, tied (Michigan State and Tennessee were tied at #6) Navy, Iowa and Mississippi each had a loss and a tie while Tennessee had 3 losses so they aren’t really national championship contenders. If you give 5 points for first, 4 for second, 3 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth, Auburn has 44 points, Ohio State 28 and both Michigan State and Oklahoma have 16. Richard Vautravers: [URL="http://www.tiptop25.com/champ1957.html"]1957 College Football National Championship[/URL] He makes some good points. I wondered why Oklahoma didn’t get more respect, having won the last two national championships and being “unbeatable” until Notre Dame nipped them by a touchdown. They would lose one game by one point in 1958 so a point and a touchdown were the only things between the Sooners and a 62 game winning streak! They were surely the 50’s equivalent of what Alabama did now. Vautravers points out the weakness of their schedule, using ranked teams as his metric, although the Big 7 was beginning to show some life. But he uses an interesting phrase: “Oklahoma fatigue”. Maybe the selectors were tired of the Sooners winning all the time. He points out the incongruity of Michigan State losing its #1 positon after dominating Kansas State in their final game, 27-9. Ohio State’s 31-14 win over Michigan was impressive, but the Spartans had beaten them 35-6. He concludes the fact that the Buckeyes won the conference title was the difference but that their 14-18 loss to 5-4-1 TCU and Michigan State’s 13-20 loss to 5-4 Purdue are basically a wash, regardless of what conference the opponents were in. Vautravers also points out that Michigan State had a touchdown called back in the Purdue game that should not have been and that the conference later apologized for it when it was too late. The Spartans seem to have been snake-bit. He also talks about Auburn “gaming the AP poll”: “Auburn did not want to take any chances. At this time, any media outlet with an AP subscription could vote in the AP poll, so Auburn sports information director Bill Beckwith contacted newspapers and radio stations throughout the South, lobbying them to send in a ballot with Auburn at the top. As a result, the last AP poll saw 135 more ballots than the previous poll, and most of them went for Auburn, giving them a gargantuan lead of nearly 500 poll points over #2 Ohio State in the final rankings. And that is why the AP poll started limiting the number of ballots and apportioning them by region.” That helps explain why a newcomer on the national scene suddenly vaulted past more highly regarded programs to #1. He questions the idea that the Big Ten teams played a superior schedule to the SEC teams but ignores the fact that the Big Ten was integrated while the SEC was not. And with all those southern writers, the AP poll tended to ignore that as well, thus giving Auburn some ranked opponents that might not have bene ranked had they played in the Big Ten. But historically, the Big Ten had been the more prestigious conference to this point, winning 8 AP titles since the poll started in 1936, (Minnesota in 1936, 1940 and 1941, Ohio State in 1942 and 1954, Michigan in that post bowl poll in 1947 and in 1948 and Michigan State in 195) to 1 for the SEC, (Tennessee in 1951 and they wouldn’t have been #1 in a poll after the bowls). The SEC is the most prestigious conference today but it wasn’t in 1957. But Vautravers has another point: “And there is another schedule issue here. Auburn played 3 games at home, 4 on their opponents' home fields, and 3 on neutral fields. Ohio State played 6 home games, 3 on opponents' fields, and 1 at a neutral site, and Michigan State played 6 home games and 3 away. And that's the final nail in the coffin of the "tougher schedule" argument for the Big 10 teams here.” Finally, he argues that Auburn’s lack of offensive production was actually the result of their fabulous defense. They relied so much on it that they went with a very conservative “no mistakes” offense that produced so many close, low-scoring games. The problem is, he’s describing Woody Hayes’ M.O. and that of nearly every other coach of the time. He says that “performance” can be skewed: “One team might be ball control and defense oriented, while the other runs a no-huddle passing offense through all four quarters regardless of score.” Nobody ran a no-huddle passing offense in 1957. But one wonders, with that Auburn defense, if games against Ohio State, Michigan State or Oklahoma might not have just been another one of those 7-0 Auburn wins. Vautravers obviously thinks so and feels that Auburn is the legitimate national champion for 1957. [I]Streaks[/I] Nobody could be compared to Oklahoma who won 47 in a row from October 10, 1953 to November 2, 1957, then lost that Notre Dame game, then won 5 more in a row until Texas beat them 15-14 in 1958, then won 8 more in a row, ending with their victory over Syracuse in the 1/1/59 Orange Bowl. They had a 44 game conference winning streak from 1952-59 and a 81 game conference undefeated string from 1946-59 which produced a dozen consecutive conference championships. They had also scored in a national record 123 straight games until the Irish shut them out. None of the other contenders could come close to matching that. But then they were in tougher conferences. Ohio State had lost their last two games of 1956 after a 6-1 start and then they lost their first game of 1957. Then they ripped off 9 consecutive wins to close the 1957 season and 4 more to open the 1958 season before being tied by Wisconsin. They were then shocked by Northwestern, who shocked a lot of people in 1958. But a 13 game winning streak in the Big Ten was nothing to sneeze at. Michigan State had won its last game of 1956, then won their first three games of 1957. Purdue knocked them off but they closed out the year with five straight wins. They opened 1958 by beating California. Then they tied Michigan and beat Pittsburgh before an avalanche of injuries destroyed their season. They wound up 3-5-1 that year but at least they had an 8 game undefeated streak in there. Auburn had a great run in the late 50’s, one which established them as the SEC and national power. They won their last four games of 1956, all ten in 1957 and their first three of 1958. Then they were tied by Georgia Tech, 7-7, (the price of playing all those low scoring games). They then won six more in a row for their second straight undefeated season (also their second straight without a bowl, since they were still on probation). Tennessee finally beat them 3-0 to open the 1959 season to end their undefeated streak at 24 games, the first 17 of which were wins. In that stretch they had wins of 7-0, 6-0, 3-0, 6-0, 8-0 and 6-5 as well as the 7-7 tie and finally the 0-3 defeat. It wasn’t exciting but it worked. [I]What was said about them[/I] Auburn’s defense was described as ‘impregnable’. Vautravers calls it ‘phenomenal’. “Have I mentioned Auburn's defense yet? They led the nation with 133 yards allowed per game, the lowest such figure any team had posted in the previous 10 years. They shut out 6 opponents and only gave up 28 points all season, and naturally they also led the nation in defensive scoring. They did not give up a rushing touchdown all season. Furthermore, in practice they would hold a scrimmage where the ball was placed on the 2 yard line, and the backups were given 4 downs to try and score on the starters, and the starters gave up a touchdown in that drill just once all season. This line was simply a brick wall.” They gave up four TDs all year, none on the ground and one due to an interception return on the offense. Center Jackie Burkett said "If it's not a record, it should be." End Jerry Wilson: "It wasn't just one or two football players. It was a group of great athletes." Offensive coach Buck Bradberry: “We weren’t picked very high but we had a lot of character and dedication among our players…We ran a relatively simple offense. It was the straight full house T-formation backfield…We didn’t through much.” Basically they were in their goal-line package the whole game. The Associated Press after a 3-0 win over Georgia Tech: "A lumbering, punchless giant on offense, but the nation's best defense." Duffy Daugherty: “It was a great accomplishment for Auburn to go undefeated when they knew all along there would be no reward in a bowl game. Jordan did a magnificent job of keeping up team morale and its bound to be a close-knit group that allows so few touchdowns.” Woody Hayes: "But whom have they played?" Auburn’s highlight film: [MEDIA=youtube]Sl1HK626F44[/MEDIA] Bill Libby calls Ohio State “a good Woody Hayes team, not a great one”. Street and Smiths in their 1958 preview, declared Woody Hayes to be “Football’s finest exponent of the much-criticized but highly efficient “ball control” style of play and the game’s bitterest opponent of the forward pass.” Hayes: The other team can’t score as long as you hold onto the ball. Football games are lost by teams that beat themselves with mistakes. We operate on a plan that attempts to keep the errors at a minimum.” In other words, Ohio State’s style of play wasn’t really that much different from Auburn’s. The Buckeyes just had a better offense and Auburn a better defense. More Woody: “We had more stars before but all of these fellows have worked hard, not only on the playing field but in their attitude toward training.” Woody insisted on calling the TCU game and “exhibition game”, since it was not a conference game. Street and Smiths on the Spartans: “Michigan State employs one of the most intricate offenses in intercollegiate football.” Duffy Daugherty called it the best team had coached- better than the 1955 team that went 9-1 and won the Rose Bowl. Per S&S, Oklahoma uses the ‘running spread’ formation. (Nothing new under the sun?) “Much maligned for their ‘easy’ schedule the Sooners do their best to line up top opponents over and above their league commitments and remain in in the 10 game limit. It isn’t always easy.” Sounds almost like- ironically- Boise State in this era. Line coach Gomer Jones on the 48-21 win over Duke in the Orange Bowl, where the Blue devils out-gained the Sooners and were in the game until the 4th quarter when a series of turnovers blew the game open: “”We just put our defensive men in gaps and shot them through. This is a pretty chancy sort of thing. You either throw them for a loss or they go by you. They got by us on their three long touchdown drives. But it took a lot of steam out of them. Meanwhile we forced them into other errors with the penetrating defense. We got every score the easy way- after two fumbles, a blocked punt, poor snap from center, two pass interceptions and a good punt return. We never had to grind them out.” Oklahoma was not only out-gained 279-328 but had 150 yards in penalties but still won decisively. [I]Comparative Scores[/I] (I’ve decided to add a wrinkle here: I’ll divide the total by the number of scores so that the most direct score lines can have more weight.) [U]Auburn vs. Ohio State[/U] Auburn beat Tennessee 7-0 who beat Texas A&M 3-0 who beat Texas Christian 7-0 who beat Ohio State 18-14 = +21 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 4 scores = [B]5.25[/B] Auburn beat Chattanooga 40-7 who beat Memphis State 7-0 who lost to Kentucky 7-53 who lost to Vanderbilt 7-12 who tied Missouri 7-7 who beat Colorado 9-6 who tied Washington 6-6 who lost to Ohio State 7-35 = +36 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 8 scores = [B]4.5[/B] Auburn beat Kentucky 6-0 who beat Xavier 27-0 who lost to Miami U. 19-39 who lost to Purdue 6-37 who lost to Ohio State 7-20 = +31 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]6.2[/B] Auburn beat Georgia Tech 3-0 who beat Duke 13-0 who tied Navy 6-6 who beat Notre Dame 20-6 who beat Indiana 26-0 who lost to Ohio State 0-56 = [B]Even[/B] Auburn beat Houston 48-7 who beat Cincinnati 7-0 who beat Marquette 14-0 who lost to Wisconsin 6-60 who lost to Ohio State 13-16 = +5 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 5 scores = [B]1.0[/B] Auburn beat Florida 13-0 who beat U of Miami 14-0 who beat Pittsburgh 28-13 who beat Oregon 6-3 who lost to Ohio State 7-10 = +42 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 5 scores = [B]8.4[/B] Auburn beat Mississippi State 15-7 who beat Memphis State 10-6 who lost to Southern Mississippi 6-14 who lost to Houston 12-27 who beat Cincinnati 7-0 who beat Indiana 21-0 who lost to Iowa 7-47 who lost to Ohio State 13-17 = +27 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 8 scores = [B]3.375[/B] Auburn beat Georgia 6-0 who lost to Michigan 0-26 who lost to Ohio State 14-31 = +37 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 3 scores = [B]12.3[/B] Auburn beat Florida State 29-7 who lost to Villanova 7-21 who lost to Indiana 7-14 who lost to Minnesota 0-34 who lost to Illinois 13-34 who lost to Ohio State 7-21 = +68 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 6 scores = [B]11.333[/B] Auburn beat Alabama 40-0 who lost to Texas Christian 0-28 who tied Kansas 13-13 who lost to Oregon State 6-34 who beat Northwestern 22-13 who lost to Ohio State 6-47 = +48 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 6 scores = [B]8.0[/B] NET RESULT: +31.058 for [B]Ohio State[/B] who won 6 comparisons, lost 3 and had 1 even. [U]Auburn vs. Michigan State[/U] Auburn beat Tennessee 7-0 who beat Texas A&M 3-0 who beat Southern Methodist 14-6 who lost to Notre Dame 21-54 who lost to Michigan State 6-34 = +43 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]8.6[/B] Auburn beat Kentucky 6-0 who beat Xavier 27-0 who lost to Miami U. 19-39 who lost to Purdue 6-37 who beat Michigan State 20-13 = +11 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]2.2[/B] Auburn beat Georgia Tech 3-0 who beat Duke 13-0 who tied Navy 6-6 who beat Notre Dame 20-6 who beat Indiana 26-0 who lost to Michigan State 0-54 = +2 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 6 = [B]0.333[/B] Auburn beat Houston 48-7 who beat Cincinnati 7-0 who beat Marquette 14-0 who lost to Wisconsin 6-60 who lost to Michigan State 7-21 = +6 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]1.2[/B] Auburn beat Florida 13-0 who beat U of Miami 14-0 who beat Pittsburgh 28-13 who beat Oregon 6-3 who beat California 24-6 who lost to Michigan State 0-19 = +44 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 5 scores = [B]8.8[/B] Auburn beat Mississippi State 15-7 who beat Memphis State 10-6 who lost to Southern Mississippi 6-14 who lost to Houston 12-27 who beat Cincinnati 7-0 who beat Indiana 21-0 who lost to Minnesota 0-34 who lost to Michigan State 13-42 = +46 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 8 scores = [B]5.75[/B] Auburn beat Georgia 6-0 who lost to Michigan 0-26 who lost to Michigan State 6-35 = +49 for [B]Michigan State[/B] / 3 scores = [B]16.333[/B] Auburn beat Florida State 29-7 who lost to Villanova 7-21 who lost to Indiana 7-14 who lost to Minnesota 0-34 who lost to Illinois 13-34 who lost to Michigan State 14-19 = +59 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 6 scores = [B]9.833[/B] Auburn beat Alabama 40-0 who lost to Texas Christian 0-28 who tied Kansas 13-13 who beat Kansas State 13-7 who lost to Michigan State 9-27 = [B]Even[/B] (Michigan State had only 9 opponents so there are only 9 score lines) NET RESULT: +34.783 for [B]Michigan State[/B] who won 6 comparisons to 2 for Auburn with 1 even. [U]Auburn vs. Oklahoma[/U] Auburn beat Tennessee 7-0 who beat Texas A&M 3-0 who lost to Texas 7-9 who lost to Oklahoma 7-21 = +6 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 4 scores = [B]1.5[/B] Auburn beat Chattanooga 40-7 who beat Memphis State 7-0 who lost to Kentucky 7-53 who lost to Vanderbilt 7-12 who tied Missouri 7-7 who lost to Oklahoma 14-39 = +36 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 6 scores = [B]6.0[/B] Auburn beat Kentucky 6-0 who lost to Georgia 14-33 who lost to Michigan 0-26 who beat Southern California 16-6 who beat Washington 19-12 who tied Colorado 6-6 who lost [B]to Oklahoma[/B] 13-14 = +23 for Oklahoma / 7 scores = [B]3.286[/B] Auburn beat Georgia Tech 3-0 who beat Duke 13-0 who lost to Oklahoma 21-48 = +11 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 3 scores = [B]3.667[/B] Auburn beat Houston 48-7 who beat Tulsa 13-7 who lost to Arkansas 14-41 who beat Oklahoma State 12-0 who lost to Oklahoma 6-53 = +15 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 5 scores = [B]3.0[/B] Auburn beat Florida 13-0 who beat U of Miami 14-0 who beat Pittsburgh 28-13 who lost 0-26 to Oklahoma = +16 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 4 scores = [B]4.0[/B] Auburn beat Mississippi State 15-7 who tied Mississippi 7-7 who beat Texas 39-7 who beat Arkansas 17-0 who beat Oklahoma State 12-0 who lost to Kansas 7-13 who beat Kansas State 13-7 who lost to Oklahoma 0-13 = +56 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 8 = [B]7.0[/B] Auburn beat Georgia 6-0 who lost to Navy 14-27 who beat Notre Dame 20-6 who beat Oklahoma 7-0 = +14 for [B]Auburn[/B] / 4 scores = [B]3.5[/B] Auburn beat Florida State 29-7 who lost to Boston College 7-20 who beat Boston University 27-2 who lost to Syracuse 20-27 who tied Iowa State 7-7 who lost to Oklahoma 14-40 = +1 [B]for Auburn[/B] / 6 scores = [B]0.167[/B] Auburn beat Alabama 40-0 who lost to Texas Christian 0-28 who tied Kansas 13-13 who lost to Oklahoma 0-47 = +35 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 4 scores = [B]8.75[/B] (Oklahoma played 11 games so only 10 of them are used since that’s how many Auburn played) NET RESULT: +11.536 for [B]Oklahoma [/B]who won 6 comparisons, lost 4 and had none even. [U]Ohio State vs. Michigan State[/U] Ohio State lost to Texas Christian 14-18 who tied Kansas 13-13 who beat Kansas State 13-7 who lost to Michigan State 9-27 = +16 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 4 scores [B]4.0[/B] Ohio State beat Washington 35-7 who beat California 35-27 who lost to Michigan State 0-19 = +17 [B]for[/B] [B]Ohio State[/B] / 3 scores = [B]5.667[/B] Ohio State beat Illinois 21-7 who lost to Michigan State 14-19 = +9 [B]for Ohio State [/B]/ 2 scores = [B]4.5[/B] Ohio State beat Indiana 56-0 who lost to Michigan State 0-54 = +2 [B]for Ohio State [/B]/ 2 scores = [B]1.0[/B] Ohio State beat Wisconsin 16-13 who lost to Michigan State 7-21 = +11 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 2 scores = [B]5.5[/B] Ohio State beat Northwestern 47-6 who lost to Minnesota 6-41 who lost to Michigan State 13-42 = +23 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 3 scores = [B]7.667[/B] Ohio State beat Purdue 20-7 who beat Michigan State 20-13 = +20 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 2 scores = [B]10.0[/B] Ohio State beat Iowa 17-13 who beat Notre Dame 21-13 who lost to Michigan State 6-34 = +16 [B]for[/B] [B]Michigan State[/B] / 3 scores = [B]5.333[/B] Ohio State beat Michigan 31-14 who lost to Michigan 6-35 = +12 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 2 scores = [B]6.0[/B] (Michigan State played only 9 games so there are only 9 lines of scores.) NET RESULT: +7.333 for [B]Michigan State [/B]who won 5 comparisons and lost 4. [U]Ohio State vs. Oklahoma[/U] Ohio State lost to Texas Christian 14-18 who lost to Texas 2-14 who lost to Oklahoma 7-21 = +30 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 3 scores = [B]10.0[/B] Ohio State beat Washington 35-7 who beat Oregon State 19-6 who beat Kansas 34-6 who lost to Oklahoma 0-47 = +22 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 4 scores = [B]5.5[/B] Ohio State beat Illinois 21-7 who lost to UCLA 6-16 who beat Air Force 47-0 who lost to Denver 14-26 who lost to Iowa State 0-10 who lost to Oklahoma 14-40 = +3 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 6 scores = [B]0.5[/B] Ohio State beat Indiana 56-0 who lost to Cincinnati 0-21 who beat Marquette 14-0 who lost to Arizona 14-17 who lost to Colorado 14-34 who lost to Oklahoma 13-14 = +25 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 6 scores = [B]4.167[/B] Ohio State beat Wisconsin 16-13 who beat Marquette 60-6 who lost to Cincinnati 0-24 who lost to Tulsa 7-12 who lost to Oklahoma State 13-28 who lost to Oklahoma 6-53 = +34 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 6 scores = [B]5.667[/B] Ohio State beat Northwestern 47-6 who lost to Stanford 6-26 who lost to Washington State 18-21 who beat Nebraska 34-12 who lost to Oklahoma 7-32 = +15 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]3.0[/B] Ohio State beat Purdue 20-7 who beat Michigan State 20-13 who beat Kansas State 27-9 who lost to Oklahoma 0-13 = +25 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 4 scores = [B]6.25[/B] Ohio State beat Iowa 17-13 who beat Notre Dame 21-13 who beat Oklahoma 7-0 = +19 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 3 scores = [B]6.333[/B] Ohio State beat Michigan 31-14 who beat Georgia 26-0 who beat Georgia Tech 7-0 who beat Duke 13-0 who lost to Oklahoma 21-48 = +36 [B]for Ohio State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]7.2[/B] Ohio State beat Oregon 10-7 who lost to Pittsburgh 3-6 who lost to Oklahoma 0-26 = +26 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 3 scores = [B]8.667[/B] (Ohio State played only 10 games to Oklahoma’s 11 so there are only 10 comparisons) NET RESULT: +8.616 for [B]Ohio State[/B] who won 7 comparisons and lost 3. [U]Michigan State vs. Oklahoma[/U] Michigan State beat Indiana 54-0 who lost to Cincinnati 0-21 who lost to Tulsa 7-12 who lost to Oklahoma State 13-28 who lost to Oklahoma 6-53 = +34 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 5 scores = [B]6.8[/B] Michigan State beat California 19-0 who lost to Southern Methodist 6-13 who lost to Missouri 6-7 who lost to Oklahoma 14-39 = +14 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 4 scores = [B]3.5[/B] Michigan State beat Michigan 35-6 who beat Georgia 26-0 who lost to Texas 7-26 who lost to Oklahoma 7-21 = +22 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 4 scores = [B]5.5[/B] Michigan State lost to Purdue 13-20 who lost to Notre Dame 0-12 who beat Pittsburgh 13-7 who beat Nebraska 34-0 who lost to Oklahoma 7-32 = +4 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 4 scores = [B]1.0[/B] Michigan State beat Illinois 19-14 who beat Colgate 40-0 who lost to Army 7-53 who beat Pittsburgh 29-13 who lost to Oklahoma 0-26 = +11 [B]for Oklahoma[/B] / 5 scores = [B]2.2[/B] Michigan State beat Wisconsin 21-7 who beat West Virginia 45-13 who beat Syracuse 7-0 who tied Iowa State 7-7 who lost to Oklahoma 14-40 = +27 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 5 scores = [B]5.4[/B] Michigan State beat Notre Dame 34-6 who beat Oklahoma 7-0 = +35 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 2 scores = [B]17.5[/B] Michigan State beat Minnesota 42-13 who beat Washington 46-7 who tied Colorado 6-6 who lost to Oklahoma 13-14 = +67 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 4 scores = [B]16.75[/B] Michigan State beat Kansas State 27-9 who lost to Oklahoma 0-13 = +5 [B]for Michigan State[/B] / 2 scores = [B]2.5[/B] (Michigan State played only 9 games to Oklahoma’s 11 so there are only 9 comparisons) NET RESULT: +34.15 for [B]Michigan State[/B], who won 5 comparisons to 4. END RESULTS: Michigan State was 3-0 and 16-10-1 in winning lines with a net +76.266 points Ohio State was 2-1 and 17-11-1 in winning lines with a net +32.341 points Oklahoma was 1-2 and 13-16 in wining lines with a net -31.23 points. Auburn was 0-3 and 9-18-2 in winning lines with a net -77.377 points [I]Against Ranked Teams[/I] (You get from 1-25 points for playing a ranked opponent: 25 for a #1 ranked team, 24 for #2, etc. then you add the point differential of the actual game to that.) [B]Auburn[/B] …beat #8 Tennessee 7-0 = +25 points …beat #19 Florida 13-0 = +20 points ...beat #17 Mississippi State 15-7 = +17 points TOTAL: +62 points [B]Ohio State[/B] …beat #5 Iowa 17-13 = +25 points …beat #19 Michigan 31-14 = +24 points …beat #17 (in the coach’s poll) Oregon 10-7 = +12 points TOTAL: +61 points [B]Michigan State[/B] …beat #6 Michigan 35-6 =+49 points …beat #16 Illinois 19-14 = +15 points …beat #15 Notre Dame 34-6 = +39 points TOTAL: +103 points [B]Oklahoma[/B] …beat #8 Pittsburgh 26-0 = +44 points …beat #19 Missouri 39-14 = +32 points …beat #16 Duke 48-21 = +37 points TOTAL: +113 points What do you know: “weak schedule” Oklahoma did the best against ranked teams. [I]Point Differential Rankings[/I] (If no one did better, your team gets ‘1’. If one team did better, they get a ‘2’. If two teams did better, they get a ‘3’, etc.) [B]Auburn[/B] …beat Tennessee by 7. Kentucky beat them by 14 = [I]2 points[/I] (Tennessee-Chattanooga was not a major college team) …beat Kentucky by 6. Georgia Tech beat them by 13, Mississippi by 15, Florida by 7, LSU by 21 and Georgia by 19 = [I]6 points[/I] …beat Georgia Tech 3-0. LSU beat them by 7, Tennessee by 15 and Georgia by 7 = [I]4 points[/I] …beat Houston 48-7. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Texas A&M beat them by 22) …beat Florida 13-0. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Mississippi State beat them by 9) …beat Mississippi State 15-7. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Tennessee beat them by 5) …beat Georgia 6-0. Texas beat them by 19, Michigan by 26, Navy by 13 and Florida by 22 = [I]5 points[/I] …beat Florida State 29-7. U of Miami beat them by 27 = [I]2 points[/I] …beat Alabama 40-0. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](LSU beat them by 28) TOTAL: 23 points in 9 games against major college opponents = 2.56. They were, on average between the 2nd or 3rd best opponent their opposition faced. They were the best opponent 4 times. They were 38 points better than the second best opponent those teams faced. They needed 64 points to be the best team all of their opponents played. [B]Ohio State[/B] …lost to Texas Christian 14-18. Arkansas beat them by 13, Texas A&M by 7, Texas by 12, Rice by 20 and Kansas tied them. = [I]6 points[/I] …beat Washington 35-7. Minnesota beat them by 39 = [I]2 points[/I] …beat Illinois 21-7. Purdue beat them by 15 = [I]2 points[/I] …beat Indiana 56-0. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Michigan State beat them by 54) …beat Wisconsin 16-13. Iowa and Michigan State beat them by 14 = [I]3 points[/I] …beat Northwestern 47-6. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Minnesota beat them by 35) …beat Purdue 20-7. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Notre Dame beat them by 12) …beat Iowa 17-13. Nobody did better = [I]1 point [/I](Michigan tied them 21-21) …beat Michigan 31-14. Michigan State beat them by 29 = [I]2 points[/I] …beat Oregon 10-7. Washington beat them by 7 = [I]2 points[/I] TOTAL: 21 points in 10 games = 2.10. They were on average the second beat team their opponents played. They were the best team 4 times. They were 11 points better than the second best opponent those teams had. They needed 68 more points to be the best team all of their opponents faced. [B]Michigan State[/B] …beat Indiana 54-0. Ohio State beat them by 56 = [I]2 points[/I] …beat California 19-0. The Bears were 1-9 but nobody beat them by more than that. = [I]1 point [/I](Oregon beat them by 18) …beat Michigan 35-6. Nobody did better = [I]1 point [/I](Ohio State beat them by 17) …lost to Purdue 13-20. Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio State all beat them, Ohio State by the most- 13 points. = [I]5 points[/I] …beat Illinois 19-14. UCLA beat them by 10, Ohio State by 14, Purdue by 15 and Wisconsin by 11 = [I]5 points[/I] …beat Wisconsin 21-7. Nobody did better = [I]1 point [/I](Iowa beat them by the same margin) …beat Notre Dame 34-6. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point [/I](Navy beat them by 14) …beat Minnesota 42-13. Nobody did better = [I]1 point [/I](Iowa beat them by 24) …beat Kansas State 27-9. Colorado beat them by 28 = 2[I] points[/I] TOTAL: 19 points in 9 games = 2.11, basically the same as Ohio State. They were the best team 5 times. They were 32 points ahead of the next best teams against those opponents. They needed 46 points to be the best team each opponent played. [B]Oklahoma[/B] …beat Pittsburgh 26-0. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point[/I] (Army beat them by 16) …beat Iowa State 40-14. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point[/I] (Missouri beat them by 22) …beat Texas 21-7. Mississippi beat them by 32 = [I]2 points[/I] …beat Kansas 47-0. Nobody did better = [I]1 point[/I] (U of Miami beat them by 42) …beat Colorado 14-13. Missouri beat them by 3 = 2 points …beat Kansas State 13-0. Colorado beat them by 28 and Michigan State by 18 = [I]3 points[/I] …beat Missouri 39-14. Texas A&M beat them by 28 = [I]2 points[/I] …lost to Notre Dame 0-7. Michigan State, Iowa and Navy all beat them, the Spartans by 28 points. Army lost to them by 2 and Pittsburgh by 6 = [I]6 points[/I] …beat Nebraska 32-7. Army beat them by 42 and Colorado by 27 = [I]3 points[/I] …beat Oklahoma State 53-6. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point[/I] (Arkansas beat them by 12) …beat Duke 48-21. Nobody did better. = [I]1 point[/I] (Georgia Tech beat them by 13) TOTAL: 23 points in 11 games = 2.09, also virtually the same as Ohio State. They were the best team 5 of their opponents faced. They were 58 points ahead of the second best opponent those teams faced. The Sooners needed another 96 points to be the best team all of their opponents played. Based on the last three metrics, I’d say Michigan State had the best team. They were 3-0 in comparative scores with 16 wins, 10 losses and 1 tie and a total of 76 points ahead, all three of them #1 in that metric. They were second to Oklahoma against ranked teams with +103, 10 points less than the Sooners but 40+ better than the Tigers and the Buckeyes. Their PDR was virtually the same as Ohio State and Oklahoma and clearly better than Auburn. They tied Oklahoma for the most #1 performances and needed the fewest additional points to be #1 against everybody. Auburn seems like the weakest team. They were last in comparative scores: 0-3, 9-18-2 and -77 points, one point out of last place against ranked teams and last in point differential ranking. Ohio State seems better than Oklahoma: they were better in comparative scores, virtually the same in PDR and needed far fewer points for a perfect record, (68 vs. 96). The Sooners did have an advantage against ranked teams and were #1 against 5 opponents rather than 4. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?