BCS teams to love, hate and utterly despise...

It's beginning to take way too much energy to figure out the BCS BS.

Let me just say: Geaux Tigers! Get it done on the field where it's supposed to get done, instead of on computers.

 

All right, I'm sorta trying to answer my own question here: how do we stay ahead of USC (assuming we jump them in both opinion polls) if Wash. St finishes in the BCS top 10.

Some of this will appear petty beyond all belief, but if we win out and USC wins out, it may come down to such things. This is no guarantee, but the following should make it thisclose:

--First off, as bad as Western Illinois looks on our schedule, it could be worse. Far worse. BCS, when it comes to non-Division 1-A opponent strength of schedule, counts only games said non-D 1-A plays against D-1 teams; in other words, if W. Illinois also played, say, Indiana and Kansas and lost to both, then their record in the eyes of the BCS would be 0-3. One season, Kansas State beat a D-1AA team that lost to, like, 4 other D-1A teams, which to the BCS meant this little school was an 0-5 drag on Kansas State's opponent SOS.

Luckily, the only other D-1A opponent for W. Illinois is Eastern Michigan, a team W. Illinois beat. They had no other D-1A opponents this season, so BCS sees their record as 1-1. (This 1-1 comprises 66% of W. Illinois SOS ranking; W. Illinois opponent's SOS ranking makes up the other 33%, which is probably pretty bad, so much so I'm afraid to try to look it up.)

--Go SEC versus non-conference opponents! (and root for non-Pac 10 teams versus Pac-10 teams): One computer poll (Jeff Anderson) gives credit to a team's conference by counting the team's conference W-L record versus non-con teams in its formula. The Tenn win over Miami, for example, helps us whereas our win over Arizona indirectly hurts USC. I do not know what the current Pac-10 vs non-con. record is nor do I know what the current SEC vs non-con record is. Anybody care to look it up or have this info available to share?

--We absolutely must get to at least 25 in season-ending SOS. The SOS is seen as little more than a tiebreaker, which it may well be if we jump USC in both the AP and coaches polls. Dividing a team's SOS by 25 makes it pretty weak, with a move up in a single poll essentially equaling 13 spots in the SOS rankings.

This brings us, I think, to this: does the boost we get by going to #2 in BOTH polls offset USC's likely quality win boost they receive by virtue of their victory over a #8 or #9 BCS final ranked Washington State team? I picked 25 because anything 24 or below adds up to less than 1 full BCS point, which I think we'll need to do to give us a little cushion in the face of a .1 or .2 quality win boost for USC.

Anyone have our projected season-ending SOS handy? This does include the conference championship game, in case you're wondering.

 

Tennessee Please

Guys, if we want any shot at playing in the Sugar Bowl we must play and beat Tennessee in the SECCG!!!!! Tennessee is the highest ranked SEC team in just about every computer rating and that includes LSU. Computer ratings are one of our weakest components in the BCS so if we beat Tennessee who is ranked higher than us in the computer ratings our computer rating would go thru the roof.... Now if you just want to play Florida for revenge, fine, but I would rather have a shot at Sugar Bowl.