ESPN fudges a numbers game to argue UCF beats more quality opponents than Michigan this season
Opinions are like, you know, well everyone has one. So ESPN's opinion is not otherwise noteworthy except for the fact that the numbers they use to argue that UCF is more deserving that Michigan, are wrong. Since its a shot across Michigan's bow, here you go. (It's a ways down in the article):
No, UCF hasn't played a brutal schedule, but the Knights now have wins over Memphis (7-4), Temple (7-4) and Cincinnati (9-2). If they beat USF next week, that will be four wins over teams that finish 7-5 or better. That's as many as Notre Dame has and better than that of Michigan (3)...
Michigan currently has wins over 4 teams that will finish 7-5 or better, unless you believe that MSU has a chance of losing at home to Rutger next week.
Then since we are comparing next week, if UCF wins (assumed here) lets also assume Michigan wins out, right? (Otherwise we aren't in the discussion).
To win out Michigan will have 6 wins over teams 7-5 or better vs UCF's 4. (not to mention the quality of those opponents).
10-2 OSU
9-3 PSU (plays Maryland next week)
7-5 MSU (Plays Rutger next week)
8-5 Northwestern (Plays Illinois next week)
8-5 Northwestern (Assuming we win out, we play and beat them twice)
8-4 Wisconsin (Plays Minnesota next week. They might lose this, but still come out 7-5 or better).
One could also add that UCF will have had 2 "quality" road win by 1 point, over Memphis and whatever happens vs USF.
Michigan will have have had 4.
Additionally, if Western Michigan beats NIU at home on Tuesday (a game they have a good chance to win), Michigan will have 7 wins over teams 7-5 or better vs UCF's 4.
Let's not call it 3, please.
November 18th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
espn is awful. I'll have them on to watch an actual sporting event but besides that I avoid them completely.
November 18th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Dumb logic is dumb. So if Slippery Rock had beaten 7 teams with records of 8-4 or better should they be selected?
November 18th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
We could go on a thousand game win streak against high school teams that finished otherwise undefeated.
They should pay attention to their own FPI...
November 18th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
OP, Idk why you even spent your time with this. ESPN is becoming awful and letting UCF take up any mental real estate in your head is pointless
November 18th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
Becoming?
ESPN has been trash for years.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
They really have.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
I was listening to ESPN radio last night and they completely admitted that they were hoping the Commitee moved teams around and “shook things up” so they’d have something to talk about on their hour long CFP show. One guy even said he’d move Georgia to #4 this week because he could just move Michigan back there after OSU because it’d “get the fans talking”. They literally do not care about accuracy, only ratings for their dumb shows.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
I loathe people who invent controversy out of thin air.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:55 AM ^
The world is full of the miserable bastards. Go to any drinking establishment across this country and any little group or huddle you see there is just that. They form groups and clicks to join in their misery and create it for others. They are the gossip and trouble makers.
November 18th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
That is the new American Way. Drama is king. The internet has not been good for western civilization. Too many voices that should never be heard have a world-wide megaphone at their disposal.
November 18th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
Recreational outrage.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
That's the whole point of those rankings until the last one so this isn't entirely shocking.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
This seems like a bit of an overreaction to one sentence in a long piece, not to mention the comparison (erroneous as it was) wasn't solely about Michigan.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
Any of those teams, including UCF couldn't hang in a power five conference. Will someone other than Auburn please silence those ass holes in whatever bowl game they go to. I'm sick of their narrative.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
I'm not sure of that. UCF could hang better than Rutgers, Illinois, Kansas and a few others for certain. Possibly better than some of the mid-level P5 teams also.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^
I'm kind of done with the "what would UCF do" argument. What they have done is pretty much nothing...beat a lot of bad teams. Good job, but not even an 8-team CFP prospect.
November 18th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Whatever the definition of "hanging" is, Rutgers ain't doing it. UCF's ability to do better than them says nothing about whether UCF could actually hang.
November 18th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
Great, then their ceiling is IU, Purdue, NC State, Mississippi State, etc. Nobody is besting their chest about those teams deserving of more credit than they've earned.
November 18th, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
The best analogy is Utah: they were in almost the exact same position 10 years ago that UCF is now - ever one disrespecting them for their weak schedule despite strong program performance. It lead them to a jump to P5 status and being legitimate contender on occasion.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
Yes. I honestly don't give a crap about whether our not ESPN fudged the numbers. The fact is, and has been, that no matter what, UCF is worse than at minimum, the top 15 teams and probably more, no matter what they do. As an objective fact, they have nowhere near the talent level of any of the top 20 teams, they play in a conference that's even weaker than that, and there is no justification whatsoever for even having them within the top ten spots of the playoff rankings.
And they can save the we beat Auburn spin. An SEC team in a bowl with nothing to play for and no respect for their opponent can be beat, and it means nothing.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
For what it's worth, UCF is 7th in S&P. I get the arguments about their schedule, but those can also be made without pretending like this isn't a really good team.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
If two sec teams are in the playoffs, I'm not watching... UCF is good but ass too.
November 19th, 2018 at 8:05 AM ^
I get this but disagree. If Georgia narrowly beats Bama they deserve to be in and IMO, so does Bama.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
Beat OSU - takes care of UCF, espn, and pretty much everything else that ails us as Michigan fans.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
They're reaching. A team with a bad record in the big ten would still be considered a "good win" for UCF but it's not for us. Yet at least four (5 next week) of our wins would be considered absolutely MONUMENTAL for UCF, yet for us they're meh.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
Anyone who tries to compare Michigan's resume or strength of schedule to UCF is just plain stupid. I am willing to entertain an argument where someone makes a case for UCF based on eye test, common opponents, or being undefeated, but that is about it. And to add to the ridiculousness, UCF plays one less game than Michigan this year because the game @UNC was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence.
I would look up the numbers and put them here, but it would be such a colossal waste of time that I am not even going to bother.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
But they're defending national champs.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
It IS possible to get d*cked in the world of college football, as Michigan fans know. And last year's UCF squad--for me--helped reinforce arguments for an expanded playoff.
But those rings--man--they're an invitation to ridicule.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:40 AM ^
UCF still would not have made an 8 team playoff last year, just like they wouldn't this year.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
ESPN is a joke, that is why their decent analysts and show hosts all left.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
We'll know a lot more this time next week. :)
November 18th, 2018 at 12:58 PM ^
Hope they show 2003 OSU game. UM was better went to cbus and got crushed. UM is better this year and HAS GOT TO get it done or all this playoff talk is pointless. Flu was going around A2 last week. Hope that is the reason the D looked out of sorts.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:19 AM ^
They’re trying to stir up controversy, like what happens if Bama loses etc. It’s become a channel of trolls.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^
Is UCF a better team than UM? Probably (almost assuredly) not. Does UCF deserve a chance in the playoff if they win out? Absolutely. It is not their fault that the current playoff format/implementation is unfair.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
Some team that is "worthy" will always complain about being left out. If you expand to six teams, does UCF still get in over Georgia, OSU, Oklahoma, West Virginia or Washington State?
I, for one, don't believe UCF should get in because their schedule is crap. At least ND had a tough schedule on paper: Michigan, Stanford, USC, Florida State should all be tough games in normal years.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^
In a 8 team playoff field, where P5 champions and 3 at large teams comprise the field, do you think UCF gets in before ND, GA, WV, OSU, WA or LSU?
November 18th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
Their schedule is their fault, their weak conference is their fault. You get to the CFP, with the best resume...not being undefeated after playing no one.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
No they don’t deserve a chance. That’s just stupid.
November 18th, 2018 at 12:10 PM ^
By this logic, Michigan should re-align itself to the MAC, beat everyone, and whine about how they "deserve" a spot.
November 18th, 2018 at 3:17 PM ^
No, it's the same logic as saying that a MBB team deserves a shot at the playoffs they go undefeated (provided that they are in the same league as the traditional power teams). It may be a long shot, and they might have to jump through more proverbial hoops than everyone else, but they should be able to control their own destiny from the beginning if the season just like everyone else. If not, what us the point in classifying them in the same league?
November 18th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Fishing for viewers with hawt takes. They’re just steps away from reporting unverifiable news as fact.
November 18th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Why should they be any different than the rest of the media?
November 18th, 2018 at 11:32 AM ^
You will have to adjust after STAEE loses to Rutgers next week
November 18th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
They have to create a lower accomplishment (7-win team), because UCF doesn't have a resume with the higher, ranked teams accomplishment. Michigan will have 5 wins over ranked teams, two on the road, one a top-10. UCF will have one. It's absurd to even suggest that UCF should be in the conversation, with that weak schedule.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:42 AM ^
ESPN long ago trashed their founding principles to become the best sports reporters in the electronic media world.
Now, they want to make news--reporting it is secondary.
So they hire a conga line of talking bobbleheads and have joined the cable news tabloid circus.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
ESPN / ABC is still not happy about losing the big10 to Fox and it shows in their continual “hot takes” (detractions) on the level of big10 play. An organization of integrity challenged mouthbreathers.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:51 AM ^
I won't even acknowledge this as anything that has merit.
November 18th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
They aren’t fudging numbers it’s just a stupid argument
November 18th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
Laying the groundwork to campaign for 2 SEC teams
November 18th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
They are just laying the groundwork for the committee in the event Bama loses to Georgia. The entire country wants to leave Michigan at home.