The Blind Taste Test

About a week ago Stewart Mandel, an si.com college football writer that I usually enjoy, wrote an article doing a blind comparison between Notre Dame and another unnamed team's schedule/record, a la college basketball tournament worthiness (this full article can be read here). His point being that Notre Dame's schedule and record compare more favorably to Boston College/a mid-teens ranked team than to the "elite" programs. Using Mandel's scientific method here are the schedules and records of three other 1-loss teams. Can you guess who they are?

Team 1:

Result	Opponent	Score
Win	No. 107	56-7
Loss	No. 1	24-7
Win	@No. 83	52-7
Win	No. 85	37-14
Win	I-AA	56-3
Win	@No. 17	28-10
Win	No. 75	63-31
Win	@No. 36	22-20
Win	@No. 59	35-31
Win	No. 51	36-10

Team 2:

Result	Opponent	Score
Win	No. 73	20-10
Win	No. 118	14-13
Win	@No. 67	24-13
Win	@No. 81	27-3
Win	I-AA	34-14
Loss	No. 23	27-17
Win	@No. 70	25-23
Win	@No. 102	24-17
Win	No. 21	21-14

Team 3:

Result	Opponent	Score
Loss	@No. 16	35-18
Win	No. 54	42-17
Win	I-AA	42-16
Win	@No. 34	49-21
Win	@No. 24	41-13
Win	No. 19	45-24
Win	@No. 28	21-3
Win	No. 46	31-24
Win	No. 45	38-24

Now, looking at those three teams I would think their schedules and records are pretty comparable. If forced to choose, I would say Team 2 has the most impressive resume and is most deserving of a national title shot.

Who are they?

Team 1 = Texas, currently ranked #4 in the BCS
Team 2 = Wake Forest, currently ranked #20 in the BCS
Team 3 = California, currently ranked #8 in the BCS

So why such the disparity? The obvious conclusion is that Wake Forest and California were punished early for lack of preseason hype and a first week stomping, respectively. Meanwhile, Texas was highly regarded to start the season and although they suffered an early-season whipping at home by Ohio State pollsters were hesitant to punish them for the loss.

My first point is this - teams aren't be responsible for their schedule. All they can do is win the games they play. I know it's popular these days to rewrite history, but, like it or not, Notre Dame had the most difficult schedule through the first 5 weeks of the season and performed admirably over that stretch. Of all 1-loss teams, Notre Dame dropped the most in the rankings following their loss. Why is that? True, the were beaten pretty badly at home, but so was Texas. Mandel tried to prove that Notre Dame is more on par with a Boston College based objectively on schedule and record. That's just asinine. Does he honestly think that Boston College is as good or better than Notre Dame. By the same rationale does he think Texas, California, and Wake Forest are equals? Of course not.

My second, and final, point is this - pollsters are morons, and as long as they have a say in rankings and national championships prejudice, bias, and hypocrisy like above will be a constant in college football. The system is ready for, and in need of, change...