Thursday, October 13, 2011

Who to Root For

Since the computer ratings consider performance of opponents and opponents' opponents in computing strength of schedule, the following list represents the games that affect Boise State's SOS in the first part and the games that affect the other undefeated teams in the second section.  The polls also consider this data, although not near as well as the computers do.  In other words, if Tulsa starts winning all their games, the humans won't even remember they played Boise State.  But the computers will continue to keep track of this data that is all interrelated.


San Diego State at Air Force (Both are opponents of Boise State.  However, Michigan played SD State so Boise State will be helped more by an Air Force win.)


New Mexico at Nevada (Even though both are Boise State opponents and UNLV and Fresno State are opponents of Nevada, a conference win helps Boise State in multiple ways, so we'll dream on there.)


Georgia at Vanderbilt (For now, the Dawgs are winning and that is good for them and good for Boise State.)


Toledo at Bowling Green (Toledo of course was an opponent of Boise State.  Bowling Green is an opponent of Wyoming, so those two will offset somewhat but as Toledo is a direct opponent, a win by the Rockets helps Boise State.)


UAB at Tulsa (Tulsa was a preseason favorite in Conf-USA; now we'll see if they live up to that.  A Tulsa win also helps Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, as they also played Tulsa)


Utah State at Fresno State (Fresno State was a Bronco opponent although Wyoming and Colorado State have both played Utah State.  Thus a Bulldog win helps Boise State the most, although a minimal effect either way.)


Idaho at New Mexico State (NM State was an opponent of New Mexico; both are opponents of Nevada and Fresno.  The game with New Mexico means an Aggie win would most help Boise State.)


Hawai'i at San Jose State (Hawai'i is an opponent of UNLV, while San Jose State is an opponent of Stanford, so this is a pretty important game and obviously, a Hawai'i win helps Boise State.)


Colorado at Washington (Colorado was an opponent of Colorado State so an improbable win by the Pac-12's newest member helps Boise State.)


Navy at Rutgers (Navy was an opponent of Air Force, so a Navy win benefits Boise State.)


BYU at Oregon State (BYU is an opponent of TCU and Oregon State is an opponent of Wisconsin so a Cougar win helps here.)


Florida at Auburn (Auburn is an opponent of Clemson so a Florida win helps Boise State.  However, since Wyoming and Colorado State play Utah State (which played Auburn opening day), an Auburn win helps Boise State a minimal amount.


Kansas State at Texas Tech (Tech was an opponent of both New Mexico and Nevada, so this is a pretty important game for Boise State.)


Arizona State at Oregon (Arizona State was an opponent of Illinois, while Oregon played LSU and Nevada.  Because of the tie-in with a Boise State opponent, an Oregon win would help Boise State in the computer, but then would move Oregon closer to the Broncos in the BCS Standings.)


Baylor at Texas A&M (Baylor was an opponent of TCU  so a Bear win helps Boise State.)


Stanford at Washington State (WSU was an opponent of both San Diego State and UNLV so that result would most help Boise State.)


UTEP at Tulane (UTEP is an opponent of Colorado State, so that is the team that would help Boise State.)


Purdue at Penn State (Penn State was an opponent of Alabama, so a Purdue win would help Boise State.)
Michigan at Michigan State (As Michigan is bearing down on the Broncos in the BCS Standings, a Michigan State win is needed, although since Michigan has the SD State tie-in, a Michigan win would help Boise State in its SOS.)

Tennessee State vs. Tennessee Tech (Tenn. St. played Air Force and thus benefits Boise State.)

South Dakota vs. Illinois State (South Dakota played Air Force and a win helps Boise State.)

Sam Houston vs. Nicholls State (Sam Houston played New Mexico and its fate is tied to Boise State.)

Weber State vs. Idaho State (Weber played Wyoming so the Wildcats can most help Boise State.)

Portland State vs. Montana (Portland State played TCU so they can most help Boise State.)

Texas State-San Marcos vs. Lamar (San Marcos was an opponent of Wyoming.)

Northern Colorado vs. Eastern Washington (N. Colorado played Colorado State and their victory helps Boise State.)




Indiana at Wisconsin (Boise State is trying to finish higher in the BCS Standings than Wisconsin, so an Indiana win helps that end, but Boise State would be boosted in the SOS with a Wisconsin win since UNLV was an opponent of the Badgers.)


South Carolina at Mississippi State (South Carolina is an opponent of Clemson so a Mississippi State win helps Boise State.)

Kent State at Miami of Ohio (Kent State is an opponent of Alabama so a Kent State win helps Boise State.)


Florida State at Duke (Florida State is an opponent of Oklahoma, but Duke was an opponent of Stanford.  For now, a Duke win helps Boise State.)


Ball State at Ohio (Ball State was an opponent of Oklahoma, so a win by Ohio helps Boise State.)


UCF at SMU (SMU was an opponent of TCU, so a win by the Mustangs is what the Broncos are looking for.)

Western Michigan at Northern llinois (Western was an opponent of both Michigan and Illinois and Northern Illinois is an opponent of Wisconsin so this is a mixed result, depending on which team is the biggest threat to Boise State in the BCS Standings.)

Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan (Eastern Michigan is another opponent of Michigan, so a Central Michigan win helps more in the BCS Standings against Michigan and the rest of the Big 10 by extension.)


North Texas at Louisiana-Lafayette (Lafayette was an opponent of Oklahoma State, so a North Texas win helps Boise State against Oklahoma State in the BCS Standings and against the rest of the Big 12 by extension.)


Louisiana-Monroe at Troy (Monroe was an opponent of TCU and Troy was an opponent of Clemson, so a win by Monroe helps in this game in SOS as well as against Clemson and the rest of the ACC.)

Western Kentucky at Florida Atlantic (Western Kentucky is an opponent of LSU so a Fla-Atlantic win helps Boise State against LSU and by extension, the rest of the SEC.)

Wofford vs. Virginia-Wise (Wofford was an opponent of Clemson so Virginia-Wise can most help Boise State in the BCS Standings against Clemson and against the other ACC teams by extension.)

South Dakota vs. Illinois State (South Dakota was an opponent of Wisconsin so an Illinois State would help Boise State against Wisconsin and by extension, the rest of the Big 10.)

South Dakota State vs. Northern Iowa (A win by N. Iowa helps Boise State against Illinois (and by extension the rest of the Big 10) since South Dakota State was an opponent of Illinois.)

No comments:

Post a Comment