BCS Rankings: TCU leaps Boise

[Eric]

1. Oregon
2. Auburn
3. TCU
4. Boise State
5. Utah
6. Alabama
7. Nebraska
8. Oklahoma
9. Wisconsin
10. LSU
11. Ohio State
12. Missouri
13. Stanford
14. Michigan State
15. Arizona
16. Iowa
17. Oklahoma State
18. Arkansas
19. South Carolina
20. Mississippi State
21. Baylor
22. Virginia Tech
23. Nevada
24. Florida State
25. NC State

That's this week's BCS. I was really surprised to see TCU jump past Boise State this week. I guess they were pretty close in the human polls obviously, but the computers obviously prefer the Horned Frogs. Maybe it's TCU who we should think about for a chance to represent the non-AQ's in the title game?

[silverfox]

This is not surprising. Also consider the fact that TCU has played and won two more games that BSU (9 vs. 7)and I am guessing that factors in as well. TCU still has three games left this season which includes Utah. Boise State has five games left including Hawaii, Nevada, Idaho, Fresno State and Utah State. I think the leap_FROG is basically a temporary thing for TCU if both teams win out. To take the leap over Boise State with a win over UNLV (1-7, sole win was New Mexico) shows the computers were programmed a little strange. I bet the program contains a bias which assumed UNLV would be strong this year because it is a BCS school with a strong schedule (logic dictates if most of the schedule is BCS then it must be assumed it is a stronger schedule, therefore, a non AQ team to beat a BCS team with a strong schedule is worth more in the computer bias (even if the team losing is crappy).

By the time the schedule is completed and all games are factored in I would think TCU will end behind BSU if both teams win out.

TCU's last two games are with San Diego State and New Mexico.

[donovan]

Indirect wins.....a product of an education system run amok. I guess if you just say it enough, even those that use to have semblance sanity can fly over the cuckoo's nest.

[silverfox]

Ive said it before, I will say it again. The BCS computer formula is "weighted" for BCS schools as opposed to non-AQ schools. This jump by TCU in the BCS poll proves it. Look at UNLV's record for this year. There is no way this should have happened except for the fact it is a programmed outcome for playing a BCS school -- no matter how bad it is.

I have testified in court and in front of legislative bodies in the past about the use of computers producing outcomes. The outcome is dependent upon the variables or weights a programmer uses to produce an outcome. These BCS computers are obviously "weighted" in favor of BCS schools. If you take the BCS programmed bias out of the equation then the outcome may be noticeably different. The BCS is a semi-private organization or association. In order to be rewarded "weighting" in the computer polls you need to be a "member".

Membership has its privileges!

[billybud]

Yes....some computer algorithimns are weighted against Boise.... in that they take into account the quality of your opponents.

I LOL at the paranoid ravings about a conspiracy by the BCS that has "fixed" all of the computers.

Measuring your body of work? Oh my God! What can they be thinking to try to quantify the value of wins? Yes. All the BCS President's got together at their roundtable and said..."hey, guys...let's send this algorithmn our programers have developed that adds points if an opponent is a BCS school to all of the computer rankers and have them plug it into their rankings".

Just maybe the fact that TCU buried Baylor 45-10 (and Baylor beat Kansas State and Texas), and TCU also beat a good AFA squad 38-7 (who just lost by five ponts to Utah)just might have something to do with TCU's jump in ranking. You think?

I t isn't beating UNLV...it's the showing of the stronger teams that TCU has beaten.

[silverfox]

Yes....some computer algorithimns are weighted against Boise.... in that they take into account the quality of your opponents.

I LOL at the paranoid ravings about a conspiracy by the BCS that has "fixed" all of the computers.

Measuring your body of work? Oh my God! What can they be thinking to try to quantify the value of wins? Yes. All the BCS President's got together at their roundtable and said..."hey, guys...let's send this algorithmn our programers have developed that adds points if an opponent is a BCS school to all of the computer rankers and have them plug it into their rankings".

Just maybe the fact that TCU buried Baylor 45-10 (and Baylor beat Kansas State and Texas), and TCU also beat a good AFA squad 38-7 (who just lost by five ponts to Utah)just might have something to do with TCU's jump in ranking. You think?

I t isn't beating UNLV...it's the showing of the stronger teams that TCU has beaten.

Ok, Ok. Then where was it last week? Why this week?

And I never said it was a conspiracy. It is a business. The BCS is like a trade association. All trade associations favor their own members or otherwise they would not have a trade association.

And who are you calling paranoid?

[billybud]

Well...the computers, just like us folks, saw Baylor beat Texas. The computers, like us folks, said "hmmm".

[billybud]

And who are you calling paranoid?

Just those who have fantasys (that would be flights of fancy without factual grounding) of Mr. Sagarin or Billingsly or Massey deliberately weighting their algorithmns to favor a certain sector of schools because of that school's affiliation.

I wonder how some of these guys managed to have 30 plus IIA schools ranked higher than some BCS schools?

Don't tell me, I know. It is really a longitude based bias. If you are east of California and west of Fort Worth, the formula penalizes you.

[silverfox]

I.'m not talking about Baylor.

I'm talking about why TCU this week jumped to third?

The human polls didn't do that. The BCS computer system did.

TCU whipped UNLV. UNLV has only one win this season and that was against bottom dweller New Mexico.

But UNLV is a BCS conference school, right?

BSU beat Louisiana Tech. Louisiana Tech is a non-BCS school. Right? 3 and 5 record.

My contention is that the only reason TCU jumped is because of two elements:

1. The have already played 9 games and won all of them and Boise State has only played 7 and won all of the them.
2. There must be weight added to playing and beating a BCS school (as in UNLV) in order to jump. Both Teams won. TCU was ranked behind BSU not only last week but all season.

Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that this is only temporary once Boise State completes its season and the games even out.

I think we can all agree that UNLV is having a bad season this year despite the fact they are BCS

[Eric]

UNLV plays in the Mountain West.

[billybud]

UNLV is not BCS...

It was Baylor beating Texas that pushed up Baylor's stock as an opponent...for TCU.

[silverfox]

Good point. Makes it even more intriguing. My error (about UNLV affiliation) but the question looms larger.

It must be the number of games played then. The computers have probably already weighted the wins for two more games played and won than
BSU. I bet you will see a flip flop again before season end if both teams win out.

[Spence]

My problem with TCU jumping Boise State is no matter what happened "indirectly" I saw basically the same two teams play each other in January and Boise State had the better team. That was proven directly on the field. It is hard for me to overlook such things. Especially since it was the bowl match up. It isn't like they played last September.

[donovan]

Yes....some computer algorithimns are weighted against Boise.... in that they take into account the quality of your opponents.

I LOL at the paranoid ravings about a conspiracy by the BCS that has "fixed" all of the computers.

Measuring your body of work? Oh my God! What can they be thinking to try to quantify the value of wins? Yes. All the BCS President's got together at their roundtable and said..."hey, guys...let's send this algorithmn our programers have developed that adds points if an opponent is a BCS school to all of the computer rankers and have them plug it into their rankings".

Just maybe the fact that TCU buried Baylor 45-10 (and Baylor beat Kansas State and Texas), and TCU also beat a good AFA squad 38-7 (who just lost by five ponts to Utah)just might have something to do with TCU's jump in ranking. You think?

I t isn't beating UNLV...it's the showing of the stronger teams that TCU has beaten.

Foolish consistency is as Ralph boy said, the hobgoblin of little minds....but seem to me we can not talk about a historical body of work when it proves our point and this years schedule when it proves our point.;....but that is not the way to sway the crowds....

[Spence]

In this case you have a head to head match up. The teams were fairly evenly matched, but the head to head matchup needs to have some weight.