'Bama is once again #1 in the country in this week's FEI Ratings over at Football Outsiders. Notice...

'Bama is once again #1 in the country in this week's FEI Ratings over at Football Outsiders. Notice that they have us with the toughest schedule of any top five team, and also #1 in the country in defensive efficiency.

For what it's worth, FEI has LSU at #19. That is the lowest ranking of any of the one-loss teams from BCS conferences, behind the likes of Oregon, Georgia Tech, Pitt, and Penn State. Hopefully those guys know what they are talking about.

18 days ago outsidethesidelines 14 comments 0 recs |

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Are you sure...

…this isn’t last week’s rankings? Florida’s record is now 8-0. Or is this just how the FEI Ratings work?

by Crimson2007 on Nov 4, 2009 2:29 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Cancel that...

I just saw the FBS W-L. I missed the FBS part the first time. Doh.

by Crimson2007 on Nov 4, 2009 2:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That's right...

… FEI does not factor games against non-FBS schools into their ratings.

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman

by outsidethesidelines on Nov 4, 2009 2:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Never?

i would hope that they factor in losses.

by tide96 on Nov 4, 2009 3:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think they do...

… but I don’t know for certain off the top of my head. When I posted earlier I meant to say “wins” instead of “games.”

Either way, though, it won’t have much of an impact one way or the other. I mean honestly, how often does a BCS conference team lose to a non-FBS school? It happens, but probably only around once a year, and it’s extremely rare for it to happen to a quality team.

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman

by outsidethesidelines on Nov 4, 2009 3:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

FEI hasn’t been very reliable for the tide this year. Let’s hope they’ve come to their senses.

by squinky86 on Nov 4, 2009 3:48 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The good news is...

… that it’s a metric that will only get more and more reliable as the season goes longer and the sample size gets bigger.

Early on it’s a crapshoot, like most rating systems, but towards the end of the year it is usually pretty spot-on.

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman

by outsidethesidelines on Nov 4, 2009 3:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

FEI is as good as any statistical indicator . . .

. . . and none of them are good for LSU’s offense, no matter how you filter the stats. This team is last in the SEC in yards per game and 100th in the nation. That’s right. Less than Kentucky, less than Vandy, and as astonishing as it may sound, less than Georgia.

But it was even worse before the Tulane game in which they racked up 455 yards of offense against the nation’s 98th defense. This LSU offense is the pits. They have won with a better than average defense, luck, and opportunism.

Let’s crush them.

by M. Johnson Defender on Nov 4, 2009 4:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

They have VT

as #10 so they don’t know what they are talking about. Anyone who watched VT and NC knows VT is just not that good. I know we were making a lot out of beating them but they would easily lose to UT right now.

But on LSU I think they are right as least as far as their play to date. Still they (LSU) have found ways to win which counts for a lot, a whole lot. Don’t assume they won’t pull a rabbit out of the hat on us.

I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.

by 5026 on Nov 4, 2009 4:54 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I disagree...

… the key to looking at Virginia Tech is strength of schedule, which FEI literally gives them the toughest schedule in the country. Two of their losses come in close games to top eight teams in FEI, plus they have a blowout win over the #11 team.

The biggest problem the Hokies have is a killer schedule. It’s bad enough they draw ’Bama and Nebraska on the OOC, but they also get a solid East Carolina team, and then get all of the top ACC teams (GT, Miami, etc.).

And North Carolina isn’t exactly a patsy either. They are 5-3 right now, and if you look at the rest of their schedule they will likely end up, at worst, as an 8-4 team, and could get to 9-3 with a win over Miami.

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman

by outsidethesidelines on Nov 4, 2009 4:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

OTS is right

No question that Va Tech is the best 3 loss team in the country. Playing the toughest schedule has taken its toll on this otherwise excellent team. The irony is that getting weakly beatings from this schedule weakens the overall strength of the team. Perhaps FEI should try to quantify that fact, in which case Va Tech would be ranked much lower than 10th.

by M. Johnson Defender on Nov 4, 2009 5:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah but...the best

3 loss team in the country is ranked ahead of a 1 loss PSU who could very well be undefeated and 1 loss LSU whose only lost came to in a somewhat close game to UF.

Plus VT’s win over Neb. was luck. And who is Neb. anyway?

I’m telling you I’d take UT over VT right now.

And USC may have played a poor 2nd half against a good Oregon team, but I’d give 7 pts. if they took on VT.

Taylor is just not that good and their D is too small.

I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.

by 5026 on Nov 4, 2009 11:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs