Tennessee 12th most overrated team since 1989

#1
AshG

AshG

Easy target
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
8,374
Likes
7,400
#1
Found a fun little gem for you guys, it should definitely make for good discussion fodder.

Stassen Cumulative Overrated/Underrated Teams

This chart tracks rankings since 1989 and adds up the total difference between the preseason ranking and postseason ranking. As the thread title says, Tennessee is listed as the 12th most overrated team during that time span with a total difference of -45. Out of the 24 years listed, there were only 6 seasons where we finished ranked above our preseason ranking.

Only two other SEC teams fared worse than UT in the rankings; LSU is ranked as 11th worse with -46.5, and Florida is in 9th place at -55.5.

The three most overrated teams? Texas (-95) is 3rd, Southern Cal (-97) is 2nd, and Oklahoma (-97.5) ranks 1st.

The most underrated team during this time span is Oregon, with a rating of +80.5.
 
#3
#3
AshG said:
Found a fun little gem for you guys, it should definitely make for good discussion fodder.

Stassen Cumulative Overrated/Underrated Teams

This chart tracks rankings since 1989 and adds up the total difference between the preseason ranking and postseason ranking. As the thread title says, Tennessee is listed as the 12th most overrated team during that time span with a total difference of -45. Out of the 24 years listed, there were only 6 seasons where we finished ranked above our preseason ranking.

Only two other SEC teams fared worse than UT in the rankings; LSU is ranked as 11th worse with -46.5, and Florida is in 9th place at -55.5.

The three most overrated teams? Texas (-95) is 3rd, Southern Cal (-97) is 2nd, and Oklahoma (-97.5) ranks 1st.

The most underrated team during this time span is Oregon, with a rating of +80.5.
Click to expand...

Overrated: ....bling. ...unfortunate shenanigans.

Underrated: ..no bling. ....many tears.
 
Last edited:
#7
#7
That's actually pretty interesting. The 15 most "overrated" teams in the country all have National Titles since 1985 except for 4. The 15 most "underrated" teams have ZIP, other than 1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 people
#8
#8
Or if you will, since 1980 the top 20 "overrated" teams - 15/20 have National AP or BCS National Titles. The top 20 "underrated" teams - 2/20 have titles. Seems the "ratings" are fairly justified at the end of the day. Correct me if I made a mistake.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#10
#10
TBtheGBwiththeTD said:
Oklahoma is always a big joke.
Click to expand...

I was going to take the time to respond with a bunch of stats, etc, but I'm hoping you are being sarcastic b/c of how dumb your comment is. If Butch can do at UT what Stoops has done at OKL, I will be a VERY happy man. Btw, OKL had not been to a bowl in 4 years upon hiring stoops-- he won 7 games his first year....would be a nice start for butch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#11
#11
LotteryPick said:
Stats shmats. Dumb chart.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Of course teams that were perennially ranked are going to be "overrated". The fact that Florida is right there with us tells me how valid this is.
 
#13
#13
PMC2726 said:
I was going to take the time to respond with a bunch of stats, etc, but I'm hoping you are being sarcastic b/c of how dumb your comment is. If Butch can do at UT what Stoops has done at OKL, I will be a VERY happy man. Btw, OKL had not been to a bowl in 4 years upon hiring stoops-- he won 7 games his first year....would be a nice start for butch.
Click to expand...

And a NC his second. All while running the air raid
 
#15
#15
Wow. These teams preseason rankings have a lot to do with recruiting rankings. Just goes to show its not all about stars. It's as much about coaching em up!
 
#16
#16
While I've been saying OU is overrated for years, the formula for this chart is a little flawed. It's rare that a team starts the season #1 and goes on to win the NC. There is no where to go but down with a single loss. OU has had quite a few (arguably undeserved) preseason #1 rankings.

That said, everyone including the media dogged Ohio State for being overrated but I never hear much about OU and their regular choke jobs.
 
#17
#17
The chart is far more a critique of the pre-season ranking process than it is any indictment of the teams. The idea of ranking the teams before they even play a game is a bit silly to start with.

The rankings ought to be like the BCS itself. They shouldn't even come out until several weeks into the season. But, I understand that the pre-season and early season rankings gives television something to buiild the hype around. So, I don't expect anything to change.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#18
#18
So if you're never in the preseason 25 and you finish 15 to 25 you are better than a team that started 1 to 5 and finished 10 - 15? I don't think so.
 
#19
#19
GAVol said:
My thoughts exactly. Of course teams that were perennially ranked are going to be "overrated". The fact that Florida is right there with us tells me how valid this is.
Click to expand...

2005 helps distort the stats. I think we started at number 3 that year. We had no business being ranked that highly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#20
#20
SaintLouisVol said:
The chart is far more a critique of the pre-season ranking process than it is any indictment of the teams. The idea of ranking the teams before they even play a game is a bit silly to start with.

The rankings ought to be like the BCS itself. They shouldn't even come out until several weeks into the season. But, I understand that the pre-season and early season rankings gives television something to buiild the hype around. So, I don't expect anything to change.
Click to expand...

I don't really have a problem with there being a poll to start the season but I do have an issue with how rigid it can be based on the preseason polls. If a team starts out ranked in the top 5 they have a much easier shot at the NC or BCS bowl even with 2 losses. Where as a team that starts out unranked or in the 15-25 range will get chit on come bowl season. 1 loss knocks will most likely keep them out of the NC game and if they lose 2 games a BCS bowl is a long shot (if they dont win their Conference).

Then you have instances where early wins look better than they are which helps elevate a team up the rankings. For instance, in 05 when FL beat #3 TN. It gave them quite a boost in the rankings but in reality TN wasn't a good team and the win shouldn't have counted for much. In the end FL went on to lose a 4-5 games anyway but had they only lost 2-3 they would have been in a much better post season thanks in part to beating a highly ranked team early.
 
Last edited:
#21
#21
I'd say that's in large part because we underachieved in nearly every season since 98. 2001, 2004 were good years. I would say nearly all the other years were underachieving years. 2012, 2008, 2005, 2002 being the biggest underachieving years.
 
#22
#22
BigZiti09 said:
I'd say that's in large part because we underachieved in nearly every season since 98. 2001, 2004 were good years. I would say nearly all the other years were underachieving years. 2012, 2008, 2005, 2002 being the biggest underachieving years.
Click to expand...

Yeh, for the most part, "we" have choked as hard as anybody in recent history when ranked highly. Really the only teams that seem to me as flaky are Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma. The 4 of "us" drop like thongs on prom night against good defenses and strong running games.
 
#23
#23
AshG said:
Found a fun little gem for you guys, it should definitely make for good discussion fodder.

Stassen Cumulative Overrated/Underrated Teams

This chart tracks rankings since 1989 and adds up the total difference between the preseason ranking and postseason ranking. As the thread title says, Tennessee is listed as the 12th most overrated team during that time span with a total difference of -45. Out of the 24 years listed, there were only 6 seasons where we finished ranked above our preseason ranking.

Only two other SEC teams fared worse than UT in the rankings; LSU is ranked as 11th worse with -46.5, and Florida is in 9th place at -55.5.

The three most overrated teams? Texas (-95) is 3rd, Southern Cal (-97) is 2nd, and Oklahoma (-97.5) ranks 1st.

The most underrated team during this time span is Oregon, with a rating of +80.5.
Click to expand...

You know who meets their expectations every year... Vandy and Kentucky.
 
#25
#25
It says far more about those wannabe experts doing the rankings than the teams.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top