Florida Strength of Schedule?

[Escambia94]

On every forum I see, to include MSN Sports and ESPN, fans complain about our strength of schedule. Despite these complaints, the experts still show we have as high as the 5th strongest strength of schedule this year.

Noted sports statistician Jeff Sagarin shows that Florida is still strong statistically against all the other teams, and that its schedule and score margin are still favorable: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt09.htm.

College Football 2009 through games of November 7 Saturday            the BCS uses the ELO_CHESS from here
HOME ADVANTAGE=  3.14           RATING    W   L  SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 |  ELO_CHESS   |  PREDICTOR  
   1  Florida              A  =  93.57    9   0   70.80(  40)    1   0  |    2   0  |   93.49    1 |   93.08    1
   2  Alabama              A  =  92.39    9   0   72.58(  25)    1   0  |    3   0  |   92.22    3 |   91.99    3
   3  TCU                  A  =  90.74    9   0   70.00(  48)    0   0  |    2   0  |   89.80    4 |   91.20    4
   4  Texas                A  =  89.85    9   0   69.28(  52)    0   0  |    2   0  |   87.25    7 |   92.81    2
   5  Cincinnati           A  =  89.70    9   0   68.57(  65)    0   0  |    3   0  |   93.27    2 |   86.57   11

CBS sports shows we have the 5th strongest schedule and that we are statistically a strong team.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/polls/119

Rk	School	   	W	L	W	L	SOS	AP	Coaches
1	Florida	       	9	0	7	0	5	1	1
2	Texas	        9	0	5	0	31	2	2
3	Alabama	       	9	0	6	0	34	3	3
4	Cincinnati	9	0	5	0	46	4	7
5	Iowa	        9	1	5	1	12	8	6

I have found that no matter where I look online, statistically Florida is still the best team in the nation, offensive, defensively, and overall. Moral of the story: don't put too much credence in those Gator haters. I've been guilty myself of falling into that trap. Let the stats speak for themselves, especially the stat with the "W" in it. Go Gators!

 

[stonythegator]

Besides that, I'd like to see any of these other top tens stay that way if they were to become an SEC team. The SEC is known as the toughest conference. SEC teams have a knack for suprising top ranked SEC teams. Case and point, UF vs Ole Miss.

Look at any other game this year. Ark beat Auburn. Ark and UF game so close. UT has been scaring top ranked teams.

Please tell me how difficult other teams from other conferences have it? With the sheer amount of teams, and good teams at that, the SEC is a gauntlet for any team that wants to come out on top of the nation's rankings. UF is just awesome enough blow the competition away. That's why you're going to se UF in another NC game. That's also the reason UF has been a threat to every wannabe team throughout their history.

 

[GainesvillebornNraised]

thats funny considering all the cup cakes on our schedule


i mean really the only good team we played so far is LSU and Ark is ok but they still got 4 losses

 

[Escambia94]

thats funny considering all the cup cakes on our schedule


i mean really the only good team we played so far is LSU and Ark is ok but they still got 4 losses

I agree, but people far more knowledgeable than me come up with strength of schedule stats. I have to believe them over the Gator haters or even my own guesswork.

 

[GatorBa!t]

I agree, but people far more knowledgeable than me come up with strength of schedule stats. I have to believe them over the Gator haters or even my own guesswork.

there is no way we have the 5th strongest schedule....there is no way....

 

[Escambia94]

there is no way we have the 5th strongest schedule....there is no way....

I don't make up the numbers. I can't figure out how they arrived at that number, but I can only assume the strength of schedule is not based on the team's current play, but their level of play when the schedule was made 2 years ago.

 

[GatorBa!t]

I don't make up the numbers. I can't figure out how they arrived at that number, but I can only assume the strength of schedule is not based on the team's current play, but their level of play when the schedule was made 2 years ago.

haha..so true

 

[Escambia94]

Educating other fans on the 2-year cycle is pointless. All I hear is that Florida plans cakewalks on purpose, but no one realizes that 2 years ago that was not a cakewalk schedule. The Florida ratio of Division 2 to SEC opponents is on par with most Division 1 teams. Others will dig into Florida for not playing Miami every year or every other year, but this is about money and recruiting. Florida still beats out Miami in recruiting most years without playing them every year. As long as Florida beats SOW more often than not, it should win those recruiting battles. What other incentive is there for Florida to go out of its way to play more hard teams than the other Division 1 teams? Besides, Boise St, Cincinnati and TCU are showing us that we are reaching a plateau in parity--the gap between the elite teams and the supposedly less teams is shrinking. It may be getting harder to see a dominant team blow away all its opponents. In a few years, I think people will look back at this year and say, "Urban Meyer knew what he was doing in just getting the W, with or without style points. It's not just the top 5 that are elite--it's the top 20!"

 

[GatorBa!t]

Educating other fans on the 2-year cycle is pointless. All I hear is that Florida plans cakewalks on purpose, but no one realizes that 2 years ago that was not a cakewalk schedule. The Florida ratio of Division 2 to SEC opponents is on par with most Division 1 teams. Others will dig into Florida for not playing Miami every year or every other year, but this is about money and recruiting. Florida still beats out Miami in recruiting most years without playing them every year. As long as Florida beats SOW more often than not, it should win those recruiting battles. What other incentive is there for Florida to go out of its way to play more hard teams than the other Division 1 teams? Besides, Boise St, Cincinnati and TCU are showing us that we are reaching a plateau in parity--the gap between the elite teams and the supposedly less teams is shrinking. It may be getting harder to see a dominant team blow away all its opponents. In a few years, I think people will look back at this year and say, "Urban Meyer knew what he was doing in just getting the W, with or without style points. It's not just the top 5 that are elite--it's the top 20!"

yea with the ncaa capping scholorships and the growth of football prospects the playing field has gotten alot more even....any team in the top 25 can beat any other team in the top 25 realistically....could u say that they could consistently do this back in the 70's 80's or even the 90's?

 

[Escambia94]

yea with the ncaa capping scholorships and the growth of football prospects the playing field has gotten alot more even....any team in the top 25 can beat any other team in the top 25 realistically....could u say that they could consistently do this back in the 70's 80's or even the 90's?

You're right. In the '70s, '80s, and '90s, wins were gaudier, dynasties were longer, and the top 10 was easier to predict. Take a look at the old polls and you will see periods where the top 10 has the same teams over the same few years shuffled around depending on recruiting, injuries, and NFL draft. Starting just a few years ago, non-BCS teams starting becoming more and more visible in the top 10, and the top 10 became less predictable. Appalachia State was the first wake up call. We are seeing the next one. Parity is here, but it will take a few more Boise State's, TCU's, and Cincinnati's before the BCS gives way to some kind of playoff system, if it ever happens.