The Rest of College Football

[Jamie H]

No more satisfying to you maybe, but you've long said you think the human polls are accurate. Personally, I think the aggregate computer rankings tend to be a lot more accurate than the human polls, especially since they don't factor in WHEN you lose. To the computer, winning a game in September counts the same as winning in November, which, as far as evaluating a regular season, is how it should be.

I find the results of the NCAA selection committee in basketball to be infinitely more satisfying that the cluterfuck that is the BcS. The worst errors the basektball committee have committed in a decade are probably still better than your average BcS selections. How often do you see the top 8 seeds and find someone there that just doesn't belong?

I'll take the judgement of a few expert humans in a selection committee over the mass judgement of the cabal of idiots that makes up the Harris poll.

[Mike]

I generally prefer human polls over computers as long as the voters are being honest. The problem with the coach's poll is the gamesmanship to influence the final outcome.

[Jamie H]

The coaches poll has two massive problems:

1) The coaches vote dishonestly to favor their own teams or teams that they like.

2) The coaches almost NEVER watch any games except for teams that are on their schedule, meaning they are probably the least qualified people in the planet to be voting on team strength.

The Harris poll has one major problem. The people in the poll are idiots.

The AP poll is probably the best of the bunch, since sportswriters actually watch a ton of games and might have an idea of relative strength. Of course, this poll doesn't actually factor into the BcS, and is still poisoned by pre-season expectations and general biases.

The computer polls can be biased towards cetain KINDS of teams (i.e. overly biased towards offensive teams that get bigger blow-outs) but they never have any pre-conceived biases or expectations of a particular team. The #1 team in the computer poll is the team that meets their specifications for a #1 team the best. That specification can be flawed, but it really can't be flawed consistently towards a particular team.

[madootra]

Honesty. Therein lies the rub.....

[Jamie H]

Right. The computer polls can be flawed, but they can't be dishonest. I'll take an aggregate of honest yet flawed opinions over a collection of dishonest, manipulated opinions anyday.

[iam416]

From the Ozone, Gerd's take on the bowls....quick read and some decent laughs....

http://www.theozone.net/football/2011/gatorbowl/bowlseasonthoughts.html

[jack_crancer]

The comment about Ohio State dodging Detroit in December is a real gem. Jacksonville being the Detroit of Florida which is a pretty spot on assessment.

[lineygoblue]

I read that too. I left a comment which was fairly tame, but I expect to get toasted...

[iam416]

I liked his comments on the Tulsa-BYU game; GT playing in El Paso is as close as an SEC team comes to playing a bowl game on the road...and the OSU/FLorida comments...heh...oh, and MSU being so angry they'll take it out on their fans...so true

[geo weidl]

liney? Owosso, Michigan
I'm a Michigan fan and I had to LOL at the "Jacksonville = Florida's Detroit" remark. Pretty accurate, I'd say, although as a frequent visitor to the Motor City's gambling establishments, the thought of visiting Miami scares the poo out of me... And, everyone knows that Brady Hoke is waiting for the Cleveland Browns job to open up before he leaves... get with it, dude...






So that's why Jeff buys breakfast all the time.

[iam416]

So, the Scout OSU "premium" board hosted a chat with several very clued in OSU sources via their conduit to the board. Of note, generally, this Q&A:

bilft21 wrote: I am surew most everything OSU will be asked, so....

Bill has stated that he thinks Chip Kelly is done at Oregon. Do you share the same sentiment?

we think Kelly is in big trouble...


major national publication working on an expose.....could hit anytime.....


fact checking as we speak

[Jeff Buchanan]

The Willie Lyles recruiting affair was the tip of a nasty iceberg.

If anyone thinks Oregon got to where they are today by playing by NCAA rules, I have real estate in Florida for you.

[iam416]

I wouldn't underestimate the value of "marketing" -- Oregon, err, Nike has done a nice job of creating an image.

That said, if true, it will be a huge story.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Phil Knight figured out how to produce .50 cent sneakers made in low wage economies and sell them to idiotic US consumers for 100 bucks .... brilliant in and of itself but you are right about image making. Slick .....

Compared to osu's efforts, dreamed up by smith and gee, to re-write osu history and redirect the damaging dialog, though, Oregon and Knight are rank amateurs.

Knight to smith ..... "hey, gene, I might need your help over the next few months. We'll be working to turn an ugly story about the Ducks into the kind of dream land-fantasy you guys created involving osu football. Can you work with me?"

[Jamie H]

Yeah, the marketing has been great, but I won't be surprised if the ceiling comes crashing down on them.