BCS and S.O.S

#1
OWB

OWB

Never
Staff member
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
47,161
Likes
834
#1
Can anyone explain to me why the strength of schedule isn't part of the BCS forumla anymore? It seems to me that it's pretty important and should be figured in.

So why did they drop it and what was the reasoning behind it?
 
#2
#2
OWB said:
Can anyone explain to me why the strength of schedule isn't part of the BCS forumla anymore? It seems to me that it's pretty important and should be figured in.

So why did they drop it and what was the reasoning behind it?
Click to expand...
I think they dropped it because it led to UT's being ranked too high...:)
 
#3
#3
Because it gives an advantage to tough conferences such as the SEC. THEY DON'T WANT THAT! They want small teams from the MAC, or C-USA to have a chance to play for a title...
 
#4
#4
tclowers23 said:
Because it gives an advantage to tough conferences such as the SEC. THEY DON'T WANT THAT! They want small teams from the MAC, or C-USA to have a chance to play for a title...
Click to expand...

As sad as it may seem, that's probably exactly what it's about. Over the past few years, there has been a movement to try and balance out college football.
 
#5
#5
They figured that voters would take that into account when the voted. But from what i hear, some coaches let others vote for them. Plus being a coach is very demanding, when would they have time to study these teams or watch them. The coaches poll is a joke.
 
#7
#7
I think also they said the computer polls already took SOS into account, so it was like doubling up on SOS points ...
 
#8
#8
Even though there was no real controversy over the formula itself, it was changed for the 1999 season to add five more computer rankings. Introduced to the formula that season were the computer rankings of Richard Billingsley, Ken Massey, Herman Matthews, David Rothman, and the Dunkel Index. The computer average part of the formula was calculated by throwing out the worst ranking for each team and averaging the other seven.

There was one big controversy over the formula during the season. The SOS formula was changed Thanksgiving week to exclude I-AA playoff games. That was important because undefeated Virginia Tech was #2 and Nebraska was nipping at its heels in spite of having one loss because the SOS difference was so huge in the Cornhuskers' favor. Tech had played James Madison, and the fear was a JMU playoff loss before the end of the I-A season could cause the Hokies to miss out on the championship game. The fact that the rules were changed so late in the season to clearly benefit one team in contention caused a lot of problems for the BCS, but it ended up being a moot point. Nebraska struggled to be Colorado at the end of the regular season, clearing the way for Virginia Tech to face Florida St in the title game.


In 2003, the BCS would face its biggest controversy yet. USC, LSU and Oklahoma, each with one loss, finished 1-2-3 in the polls, but in reverse order in the BCS rankings. That meant that for the first time, the #1 team in the polls would not play for the BCS championship, meaning that the AP might vote a different champion than the one the BCS decides on the field. And, in fact, that's exactly what happened. USC won the Rose Bowl over Michigan and the AP national championship, while LSU won the Sugar Bowl and the BCS title (along with the coaches' poll title, which is tied to the BCS title game).

The reason USC finished third in spite of a #1 poll ranking was a relatively poor schedule, which hurt it not only in the SOS portion of the formula, but also the computer rankings, which were heavily SOS-biased because MOV was no longer a factor. That result caused the BCS to practically scrap its formula altogether for 2004. They did away completely with the QW bonus, the SOS component and the loss component and went with just the AP poll, the coaches' poll and the computer average, with each getting equal weight in the formula.
 
#9
#9
OWB said:
Can anyone explain to me why the strength of schedule isn't part of the BCS forumla anymore? It seems to me that it's pretty important and should be figured in.

So why did they drop it and what was the reasoning behind it?
Click to expand...


The BCS is set-up to reward teams for playing weak schedules and in weak conferences. Thats the beauty of it.
 
#10
#10
checkerboard_charly said:
They figured that voters would take that into account when the voted. But from what i hear, some coaches let others vote for them. Plus being a coach is very demanding, when would they have time to study these teams or watch them. The coaches poll is a joke.
Click to expand...

Quit your crying. :salute:
 
#13
#13
OrangeSquare said:
The reason USC finished third in spite of a #1 poll ranking was a relatively poor schedule, which hurt it not only in the SOS portion of the formula, but also the computer rankings, which were heavily SOS-biased because MOV was no longer a factor. That result caused the BCS to practically scrap its formula altogether for 2004.
Click to expand...

So in other words, They scrapped the SOS thing because it was working and "punished" a team for not playing anybody.. Ridiculous.
 
#14
#14
OWB said:
So in other words, They scrapped the SOS thing because it was working and "punished" a team for not playing anybody.. Ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Yes, it works much better now that they punish teams for playing tough schedules.
 
#15
#15
oklavol said:
Yes, it works much better now that they punish teams for playing tough schedules.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm really glad they got that all worked out. I'm really looking forward to watching BCS games where it's Boise State against Louisville. :boredom:
 
#21
#21
BCS Explained:

To derive a team's poll percentages in the Harris Interactive and the USA Today polls, each team's point total is divided by a maximum 2825 possible points in the Harris Interactive Poll and 1525 possible points in the USA Today poll.


Six computer rankings calculated in inverse points order (25 for #1, 24 for #2, etc.) are used to determine the overall computer component. The best and worst ranking for each team is dropped, and the remaining four are added and divided by 100 (the maximum possible points) to produce a Computer Rankings Percentage. The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin, and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking accounts for schedule strength in its formula.


The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percent totals of the Harris Interactive and USA Today polls, and computer rankings.

By the way, Tennessee was ranked ahead of Cal, ND and Florida in the Harris Poll this week.
 
#22
#22
OrangeSquare said:
BCS Explained:

To derive a team's poll percentages in the Harris Interactive and the USA Today polls, each team's point total is divided by a maximum 2825 possible points in the Harris Interactive Poll and 1525 possible points in the USA Today poll.


Six computer rankings calculated in inverse points order (25 for #1, 24 for #2, etc.) are used to determine the overall computer component. The best and worst ranking for each team is dropped, and the remaining four are added and divided by 100 (the maximum possible points) to produce a Computer Rankings Percentage. The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin, and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking accounts for schedule strength in its formula.


The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percent totals of the Harris Interactive and USA Today polls, and computer rankings.

By the way, Tennessee was ranked ahead of Cal, ND and Florida in the Harris Poll this week.
Click to expand...
What is the big great thing about ND??

Why are they so loved? I hope we play them in a bowl.
 
#23
#23
OWB said:
Yeah, I'm really glad they got that all worked out. I'm really looking forward to watching BCS games where it's Boise State against Louisville. :boredom:
Click to expand...

I can see it now Boise State loses 72points with 672total yrds offense vs Lousiville 84points 872totals yrds offense. I guess the south is the only place defense matters
 
#24
#24
checkerboard_charly said:
What is the big great thing about ND??

Why are they so loved? I hope we play them in a bowl.
Click to expand...
In most of the poll voter's eyes that's "America's team"....That's why they're so loved...It's almost pathetic, they rank right up there with USC when it comes to being loved by the media
 
#25
#25
OrangeSquare said:
They did away completely with the QW bonus, the SOS component and the loss component and went with just the AP poll, the coaches' poll and the computer average, with each getting equal weight in the formula.
Click to expand...

The AP poll was dropped a few years ago. Heres the BCS explained vis ESPN.com


Team percentages are derived by dividing a team's actual voting points by a maximum 2850 possible points in the Harris Interactive Poll and 1575 possible points in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Six computer rankings calculated in inverse points order (25 for #1, 24 for #2, etc.) are used to determine the overall computer component. The best and worst ranking for each team is dropped, and the remaining four are added and divided by 100 (the maximum possible points) to produce a Computer Rankings Percentage. The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin, and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking accounts for schedule strength in its formula.

The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percent totals of the Harris Interactive, USA Today Coaches and Computer polls.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top