College Football Grid of Shame
Pretty cool graphic, and Michigan ranks near the top. OSU , PSU .... not so good.
Also, listen to the audio... lots of UM talk with Herbstreit.
May require WSJ subscription).
August 30th, 2012 at 2:26 PM ^
Interesting. MSU should be moe around the center of the "admirable-embarrasing" line though..
August 30th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^
The upper tip of the Sparty S can almost reach the bottom corner of our M, but not quite.
And, I agree, they do appear a bit overrated on both axes, though they are probably as strong a program now as ever.
August 30th, 2012 at 2:43 PM ^
Hey look, I used a graphic to make it look like my subjective opinions are more objective!
August 30th, 2012 at 2:50 PM ^
Looks very official.
August 30th, 2012 at 2:48 PM ^
August 30th, 2012 at 2:52 PM ^
The author likely just plotted everything out based on graduation rate of the football team and/or the school's academic standing in terms of placing teams on the ethics axis. Then schools with major scandals were moved down by hand.
Or he got drunk and threw darts.
August 30th, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^
What did I miss about Ohio? Why are they so admirable? Their Strength axis seems a bit generous, too.
August 30th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^
Around these parts, "Ohio" is used to refer to the team out of Columbus while "OHIO" is used to refer to the Bobcats.
August 30th, 2012 at 2:56 PM ^
If I counted right, the AP Preseason Poll breaks down with 14 in the Powerhouse-Embarrassing quadrant, and 11 in the Powerhouse-Admirable quadrant. The Coaches' Preseason Poll would have 15 in the Powerhouse-Embarrassing quadrant, and 10 in the Powerhouse-Admirable quadrant.
August 30th, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^
Teams landing in the Admirable/Powerhouse quadrant from the Power conferences:
B1G: 7/12 (58%): Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan, MSU, Wisconsin, Nebraska
SEC: 5/14 (36%): Florida, Texas A&M, MIssouri, Georgia, Vanderbilt
ACC: 4/14 (29%): Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, Pitt
Big 12: 3/12 (25%): Baylor, Texas, Kansas State
Pac-12: 2/12 (17%): Stanford, Utah
Sure, it's all subjective, but still, BIG TEN WOOOO!
August 30th, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^
that 2 of the 5 SEC teams in that Admirable/Powerhouse quadrant are the new members of the conference. How long will it be before those teams sink to the level of their competition?
August 30th, 2012 at 3:19 PM ^
I am working on a 3rd order spline to graph this right now,
but why is Georgia and VT ahead so far out on powerhouse?
August 30th, 2012 at 3:23 PM ^
They are using this year's rankings to show powerhouse... makes no sense... Great to see stanford doing well, but few would say it is a powerhouse. With that this graphic makes little sense. Thought interesting to see where it falls in terms of embarrasing.
August 30th, 2012 at 3:33 PM ^
for the extremes, I think.
If you look at the programs that are the extremes in "doing it right" (i.e. winners and admirable), you end up with: Stanford, Michigan, Vanderbilt, BYU, Georgia, Virginia Tech, and MSU.
The only one I would disagree with there would be MSU, as I think Dantonio's program's admirability is highly overrated. I would probably throw Texas in there among the elites - they've had a couple down years, but Mack Brown is a coach I respect a lot for his on-field and off-field coaching. Arguments could also be made for Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Alternatively, if you look at the programs that are the extremes in "doing it wrong" (i.e. winners but not admirable), I can't argue much with that list either: USC, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio St., UNC, Miami, Auburn, West Virginia, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, and Florida St.
He even appropriately put Penn St. off the bottom of the chart, to accurately reflect that their level of shame doesn't even compare to the others' set of recruiting violations, improper benefits, and the like.
August 30th, 2012 at 3:52 PM ^
I think Sparty is overrated, but I have no problem with them being ranked as a "powerhouse" based on the last two years of W-L records. I do, however, have a huge problem with them being on the "admirable" side of the ledger.
Until they take steps to keep their athletes from creating an unsafe and unsavory campus environment for the rest of their student population, they don't belong there in football, and wouldn't belong there in basketball, either.
August 30th, 2012 at 5:23 PM ^
Given the general behavior of the athletes on that team over the last four years, how can any respectable person consider MSU "admirable"? Seriously?
August 30th, 2012 at 3:36 PM ^
that this author receives from non-Georgia SEC fans?
He clearly is just brainwashed by the southern-hating, elitist, B1G-loving media.
August 30th, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^
Using the old Michigan logo? For shame, WSJ.
August 30th, 2012 at 3:56 PM ^
Some of the weakling teams are so obscure, I can't recognize the logos.
What is that "A" thing the second grid down with what looks like a blue female reproductive system in the logo?
August 30th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
I'm having trouble finding the "female reproductive system" but it's either an Akron Zip:
or a Black Knight of the Hudson:
August 31st, 2012 at 12:27 AM ^