Sports

The Wisconsin Fallacy

I’ve come to realize that trying to have an intelligent conversation about college football with a Big Ten fan is like asking a vegetarian to help you pick out your Thanksgiving turkey…they have no idea what they’re talking about. . The idea of ​​Wisconsin sneaking into the title game if Oregon or Auburn lose is the most ridiculous idea since Zack Morris invented “Zit-Off” cream in that classic. Saved by the Bell episode where Mr. Morris really believed he would get rich curing those disgusting blackheads. What ended up happening? The cream destroyed everyone’s faces everywhere the cream was rubbed, just like I’m about to destroy all those idiotic arguments like “Wisconsin is a great football team!” I wish someone would explain to me why Wisconsin is even better than the 9th-ranked Boise State Broncos. Using a simple concept called “games against common opponents”, the idea that Wisconsin is even better than Boise completely disappears (sorry… I’m about to sink the badger battleship). San Jose State is a team that both Boise State and Wisconsin played on, Boise State beat them 48-0 (as did everyone else in the nation)… How did Wisconsin do? It barely won 27-14… So what does a team that nearly lost to San Jose State look like versus one that shut them out 48-0?

I mean, if I was comparing Wisconsin to being worse than the 3 teams ahead of them, that would be one thing, however, I’m showing how Wisconsin isn’t even better than a team 5 spots behind them in AP. And when I say better, I’m not talking about a little, I’m talking about 35 points better (do the simple math). It doesn’t make sense to compare Wisconsin to TCU, Oregon and Auburn, that would be a complete disgrace and a slap in the face for 3 teams that have had great seasons, especially when the Badgers ranking is already a slap not only in Boise’s face , but most importantly: the state of Michigan. Do AP voters even watch college football? I seriously wonder that sometimes how come the Spartans are several places behind a team with an identical record they’ve already broken? I beg anyone (perhaps one of those “so-called” experts at ESPN) to explain some logic to me on that. And it’s not even that Wisconsin is one place ahead of the state of Michigan, it’s several places ahead of them. Moving on, how is Wisconsin ahead of Stanford? Compare their resumes and you can immediately point out a major fallacy: Stanford loses to the team currently ranked No. 1 (in AP + USA Today polls), while Wisconsin loses to a team that was outscored by 30 against a team from Iowa that lost to Minnesota and a Minnesota team that was beaten by South Dakota. If you connect all the dots on this madness, you’ll see that using this logic, the South Dakota Coyotes should also be considered for the national title. In fact, by this logic (not mine…I’m using the logic of AP and USA Today voters here) the state of South Dakota should be ranked fourth and that’s where I’ll put them on what should be the current ranking if Wisconsin is ranked. so tall.

Then I love it when a very smart Big Ten fan corrects me where I’m wrong: “Well, Pat, it’s not about early season results, it’s about: what have you done for me lately…and that’s what matters…” Ok, let’s use the argument “What have you done for me lately?” in a real life situation. Bill Gates came home last night, parked his car in his huge parking lot, but forgot to turn off the lights, so when he woke up the next morning, his overpriced “Microsoft Custom Made Windows 7 Rolls Royce” had a dead battery. . So because this is what Gates did most recently, he’s a complete jerk. The founder of Microsoft, one of the most innovative thinkers of all time, is a complete idiot according to AP voters, because it’s not about how he changed the world and is worth billions of dollars, but about what he did. more recently than he defines all his legacy.

Now can you see how completely illogical “What have you done for me lately?” argument is. But since we’re using the logic of AP and USA Today voters to decide the national champions, here’s what the current BCS standings should look like:

1.Oregon

2.Auburn

3 TCUs

4. South Dakota*

5Wisconsin

6.Minnesota

7. Lamar

8. North Dakota Street

9. CalPoly

10.UC Davis

*Many voters believe that if Oregon or Auburn lose, the South Dakota Coyotes should jump to TCU to play in the national title game…

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