Ballot Type: Computer
Submitted: Nov. 4, 2024, 2:56 p.m.
Overall Rationale: After my ballot got called out quite a bit last week, I'll be a little more clear this week. The ranking system I use is automated, but requires a lot of manual input of data, so I try to limit the iterations I let it run in. The ranking works by assigning each team both a score and a tier. The tier is simple, based simply on the number of losses. Within a tier, a team gets a score based on ranks and for losses, rank of opponents, Vegas, and W-L upsets. Estimates are also calculated for top performers of each tier to see if they may be better than team in the tier above. W-L takes priority over everything else and creates a phenomena I called adoption, where teams with a HTH in a tier may adopt a team if the opponent who lost has a higher within rank score, creating certain limits. Basically functions like classic inheritance in computer programming. All of this is then optimized through SCF for rank consistency with iteration, though this is rarely to cycle limits. Finally, I occasionally intervene through direct challenges between teams where extended HTH of minimal distance is considered to directly compare teams. Since this is tedious with my current build, I only do so if something appears truly egregious and have time.
Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | BYU Cougars | Rested before the holy war. No reason to be surpassed. |
2 | Indiana Hoosiers | Beats the crap out of another opponent 9WINDIANA is real. Up next Michigan. |
3 | Army West Point | A low point, but solid defensive win over Air Force. Up next UNT, a solid team. |
4 | Oregon Ducks | Beats Michigan convincingly. Up next Maryland. |
5 | Boise State Broncos | Beats SDSU handidly. Up next a floundering Nevada. |
6 | Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns | Only a close loss to a solid Tulane team, being kept down by KSU's absolute disaster class against Houston. Up next Arkansas State. [Definitely should get more votes.] |
7 | Miami Hurricanes | Beat my Blue Devils in a convincing comeback and unlike Duke, can make turnovers points! Up next Georgia Tech. |
8 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Beats Penn State. Up next Purdue, the worst. |
9 | Penn State Nittany Lions | Lost to Ohio State as is tradition. Up next... rest. |
10 | Iowa State Cyclones | Loss to Texas Tech really hurts. Up next, apparently a difficult game against Kansas. Just our luck. |
11 | Washington State Cougars | Rested. Up next a terrible Utah State team. |
12 | Georgia Bulldogs | Absolutely unconvincing performance against Florida, but oh well. Really am seeing no evidence to put the SEC anywhere near the Top 10. A strong conference though. Up next #24. |
13 | Texas Longhorns | Rested. Up next Florida. |
14 | SMU Mustangs | Beats former #2 into submission. Home field win. Quick climbing for the Mustangs. Up next... rest. |
15 | Pittsburgh Panthers | Finally beat, and in abysmal fashion by the upstarts. Up next... rest. |
16 | Arizona State Sun Devils | ??? My model used to hate them. No limiters I guess. Solid win against Oklahoma State. Up next a disturbing UCF team. |
17 | Tennessee Volunteers | Close game against Kentucky is embarrassing. As always wishing Tennessee fans the worst, though I don't know how anyone other than UMass can fall to Mississippi State. |
18 | Clemson Tigers | Lost to Louisville bad. Up next Virginia Tech. [On rare choices: WKU and SHSU got a decent point build up over others, but I can't really defend either team's inclusion.] |
19 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Still inexplicable NIU, but finally starting to shed the impact. Up next... FSU lol. [Missing from AP: Colorado - (AP #21 -> #29) see KSU. KSU (AP #22 -> #27) - Houston loss is atrocious enough. Also limits Colorado due to HTH. Vandy (AP #24 -> #31) and Louisville (AP #25 -> #34) - Better teams still exist and limit in the 2-tier list. Seriously, why are we acting like Mizzou is worse than Vandy? Yay for Vandy having a good season, but please be rational people. Louisville I can kind of understand due to a ridiculous SOS, but still nah.] |
20 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Wins by doing nothing. Inertia and turmoil. Up next #23 LSU. [Notes on omissions: Duke, Illinois, KSU. Duke: lost to Miami, too low tier, limited by Vandy. Illinois: HTH to Minnesota is debilitating. KSU: Whatever the hell that was against Houston.] |
21 | WKU Hilltoppers | WKU defeats Liberty which earns them a spot in the Top 25. Close loss to Boston College isn't bad, but they may just be a little worse than Alabama (9 TD? Really?). Not a fan of the choice, but oh well. I really need to fix this stupid algorithm. Perhaps even further declines for over 3 TD loss? I got it: buffer up to rank score difference, than decline past the 3TD mark. Doesn't impact winner, because well they just beat a bad team. Keep the better rank? I'll have to play around with it. Up next NMSU. |
22 | Texas A&M Aggies | Loss to SCar, so obviously they climb into the rankings! Got to love the inertia. Up next rest. |
23 | LSU Tigers | Rested. Up next #20 Alabama. |
24 | Ole Miss Rebels | Beat the crap out of poor Arkansas. Actually this is solid evidence the WKU patch should go both ways. If the other team sucks, the bonus will simply disappear lol. Up next #12 Georgia. |
25 | Sam Houston Bearkats | The Bearkats squeak through another disgusting victory to end up back in the top 25. Barely. That loss to UCF really makes this look like a poor choice. Up next, a break. |
Teams Ranked:
Rank | Team | Unusualness |
---|---|---|
1 | BYU Cougars | 0.87 |
2 | Indiana Hoosiers | 0.58 |
3 | Army West Point | 2.05 |
4 | Oregon Ducks | -2.12 |
5 | Boise State Broncos | 1.31 |
6 | Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns | 14.77 |
7 | Miami Hurricanes | -0.57 |
8 | Ohio State Buckeyes | -1.69 |
9 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 0.00 |
10 | Iowa State Cyclones | 1.07 |
11 | Washington State Cougars | 1.56 |
12 | Georgia Bulldogs | -1.99 |
13 | Texas Longhorns | -1.87 |
14 | SMU Mustangs | -0.03 |
15 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 0.38 |
16 | Arizona State Sun Devils | 9.01 |
17 | Tennessee Volunteers | -1.59 |
18 | Clemson Tigers | 0.00 |
19 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -2.67 |
20 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -1.20 |
21 | WKU Hilltoppers | 4.22 |
22 | Texas A&M Aggies | -0.83 |
23 | LSU Tigers | -1.12 |
24 | Ole Miss Rebels | -1.21 |
25 | Sam Houston Bearkats | 0.19 |
Omissions:
Team | Unusualness |
---|---|
Kansas State Wildcats | 0.74 |
Colorado Buffaloes | 0.79 |
Louisville Cardinals | 0.11 |
Vanderbilt Commodores | 0.13 |
Total Score: 54.68