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And the Stupor Bowl lineup is...
Dec. 3rd, 2011 11:12 pmWell, Florida Atlantic did indeed win one of its last two games... but not its final game. This year there were no Bowl Championship Series teams without at least one win on the season.
The other three teams I mentioned in the previous Stupor Bowl post- Indiana, Akron and New Mexico- all lost their final games, ending (like Florida International) at 1-11.
Since Indiana is a member of a BCS conference (the Big 10) and thus ought to perform better than the bottom team of Conference USA or the Western Athletic Conference, it gets one of the two Stupor Bowl slots. So, who gets the other?
The decision, I think, comes down to points scored v. points allowed.
AKRON: 170/462 (0.253) <-- EDIT: this is wrong, see below.
FAU: 115/416 (0.276)
NEW MEXICO: 144/500 (0.288)
In my previous post I said Akron was in last year's Stupor Bowl. I read archives, and no, they weren't- last year they dodged it. This time they don't- their one win against a I-AA school (FAU and New Mexico each beat a conference rival), their bad points ratio, and their weakness of schedule all work to break the tie. This year, they're in.
So, Indiana v. Akron, with Akron having just fired their head coach after going two seasons with only two wins total. Indiana scored over a hundred points more over the season than Akron, in a BCS conference- putting up not-hopeless performances against Ohio State and Illinois. (Neither game was close, though.) Indiana would mop the floor with Akron in a performance that would actually make the Indiana offense look... mediocre... against Akron's nonexistent defense.
But you know, both teams are winners in the Stupor Bowl... wait no. They're not. They're the loser's losers. They're the walking talking argument for abolition of college athletics on grounds of taste. If they weren't, I wouldn't be talking about them.
And with this week's games passes even the casual interest I have in college sport. On to weightier things, like whether or not to buy the store-brand aspartame-laden lemonade mix at Wal-Mart or search for a saccharine or other zero-calorie option...
EDIT: OK, the math was wrong- Akron had the best point ratio of the three. I'll still stand by the pick, though, since they still had the weakest schedule of the lot and generally the worst play of the lot.
So, here's the history of my picks for the Stupor Bowl (that I can find):
Team named first was my pick to win hypothetical matchup
2011/12: Indiana v. Akron
2010/11: New Mexico v. Memphis
2009/10: Eastern Michigan v. Western Kentucky
2008/09: Washington v. North Texas
2007/08: Idaho v. Florida International
2006/07: (none named)
2005/06: Temple v. New Mexico State
2004/05: Central Florida v. Washington
2003/04: (none named)
2002/03: SMU v. Army
Oh- and I just found out someone else (a bike race in Minneapolis) was using the name before I started doing this. I'll have to find a new name for it if I keep doing it...)
The other three teams I mentioned in the previous Stupor Bowl post- Indiana, Akron and New Mexico- all lost their final games, ending (like Florida International) at 1-11.
Since Indiana is a member of a BCS conference (the Big 10) and thus ought to perform better than the bottom team of Conference USA or the Western Athletic Conference, it gets one of the two Stupor Bowl slots. So, who gets the other?
The decision, I think, comes down to points scored v. points allowed.
AKRON: 170/462 (0.253) <-- EDIT: this is wrong, see below.
FAU: 115/416 (0.276)
NEW MEXICO: 144/500 (0.288)
In my previous post I said Akron was in last year's Stupor Bowl. I read archives, and no, they weren't- last year they dodged it. This time they don't- their one win against a I-AA school (FAU and New Mexico each beat a conference rival), their bad points ratio, and their weakness of schedule all work to break the tie. This year, they're in.
So, Indiana v. Akron, with Akron having just fired their head coach after going two seasons with only two wins total. Indiana scored over a hundred points more over the season than Akron, in a BCS conference- putting up not-hopeless performances against Ohio State and Illinois. (Neither game was close, though.) Indiana would mop the floor with Akron in a performance that would actually make the Indiana offense look... mediocre... against Akron's nonexistent defense.
But you know, both teams are winners in the Stupor Bowl... wait no. They're not. They're the loser's losers. They're the walking talking argument for abolition of college athletics on grounds of taste. If they weren't, I wouldn't be talking about them.
And with this week's games passes even the casual interest I have in college sport. On to weightier things, like whether or not to buy the store-brand aspartame-laden lemonade mix at Wal-Mart or search for a saccharine or other zero-calorie option...
EDIT: OK, the math was wrong- Akron had the best point ratio of the three. I'll still stand by the pick, though, since they still had the weakest schedule of the lot and generally the worst play of the lot.
So, here's the history of my picks for the Stupor Bowl (that I can find):
Team named first was my pick to win hypothetical matchup
2011/12: Indiana v. Akron
2010/11: New Mexico v. Memphis
2009/10: Eastern Michigan v. Western Kentucky
2008/09: Washington v. North Texas
2007/08: Idaho v. Florida International
2006/07: (none named)
2005/06: Temple v. New Mexico State
2004/05: Central Florida v. Washington
2003/04: (none named)
2002/03: SMU v. Army
Oh- and I just found out someone else (a bike race in Minneapolis) was using the name before I started doing this. I'll have to find a new name for it if I keep doing it...)
