| Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley | | | | USA Today on Wednesdays. |
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| While betting on sports is only legal in a | | | | Following the first week of college football |
| few places in the United States, such as Las | | | | action, here are some facts that interested |
| Vegas, millions of office workers are | | | | me about Sagarin's first-week ratings: |
| involved in sports pools every week now that | | | | |
| the football season has arrived. | | | | 1) Washington, one of the poor to mediocre |
| | | | teams in the country the last several years, |
| When you know that more than $700 million can | | | | was rated No. 31 after hammering Syracuse |
| be bet on one game—the Super | | | | 42-14 in its home opener. |
| Bowl—in only Las Vegas, then you | | | | |
| understand that billions were bet illegally | | | | 2) Michigan State, another short end of the |
| on the Super Bowl last year in the United | | | | stick team for far too long, was rated No. 36 |
| States and in offshore sports books around | | | | after steamrolling over UAB 55-18 in its home |
| the world. | | | | opener. |
| | | | |
| Folks in the gaming business know that more | | | | 3) Appalachian State, a AA school, was rated |
| than a billion dollars is wagered on every | | | | No. 38 following its upset of mighty Michigan |
| Monday Night Football game during the season. | | | | 34-32 on Michigan's home field. The win was |
| | | | the biggest upset in college football history |
| For those who wager, it may be helpful to put | | | | as no AA team had ever beaten a ranked team. |
| some science on your side when you wager, and | | | | |
| one of the best places to do that is with the | | | | Michigan was ranked No. 5 by both the AP Poll |
| Sagarin College Football Ratings. | | | | and Coaches Poll going into the game. |
| | | | Following its horrendous loss, Michigan ended |
| Created by Jeff Sagarin, a 1970 MIT | | | | up being ranked No. 40 by Sagarin. |
| mathematics graduate, these computer ratings | | | | |
| are for Division I-A (what the NCAA now calls | | | | 4) Wyoming, a small school and never among |
| the Football Bowl (FB) Subdivision) and | | | | the nation's top teams, was ranked No. 41 by |
| Division I-AA (what the NCAA now calls the | | | | Sagarin following its 23-3 home victory over |
| Football Championship (FC) Subdivision) | | | | Virginia. |
| teams. | | | | |
| | | | 5) Notre Dame, beaten badly (33-3) by Georgia |
| You will have to forgive the NCAA for taking | | | | Tech, was rated No. 57 after the loss. |
| titles that have been used for years and are | | | | Georgia Tech was rated No. 2. The Irish |
| perfectly clear, then renaming them and | | | | failed to score a touchdown for the first |
| creating confusion in the process. | | | | time ever in their home opener. |
| | | | |
| If there is a way for the NCAA to assert its | | | | 6) Temple (ranked No. 143 after its opening |
| superior power, it does so by making | | | | loss) and Buffalo (ranked No. 145 after its |
| everything more difficult and confusing, | | | | opening loss) face off in week two. Both |
| similar to your United States government and | | | | teams are among the 7 worst Division I-A |
| its IRS tax code which could reduce a sane | | | | teams in the country, joining |
| person to tears just reading it. | | | | Louisiana-Monroe, Rice, Duke, Utah State and |
| | | | Florida International. |
| Anyway, the Sagarin rating is a numerical | | | | |
| measure of a team's strength. | | | | 7) A total of 242 teams, 119 A schools and |
| | | | 123 AA schools, make up the Sagarin College |
| A hypothetical victory margin is determined | | | | Football Ratings. The worst-rated A school is |
| by comparing the rating of the two teams | | | | Florida International at No. 174 (56 AA teams |
| after adding 2.93 points to the home team. | | | | are rated better), and their play reflects |
| The home edge will vary during the season. | | | | their rating. The worst-rated AA school is |
| | | | the No. 242 La Salle Explorers. La Salle is a |
| Only Division I (both A and AA) are counted | | | | Catholic university located in Philadelphia. |
| for rating and schedule strength during the | | | | |
| season. | | | | La Salle lost its home opener to Ursinus |
| | | | 28-0. Ursinus is not a planet but a real |
| A diminishing-returns principle exists to | | | | liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. |
| prevent teams from building up ratings by | | | | |
| running up large victory margins against weak | | | | Ursinus College is not a Division 1 school |
| teams. Instead, it rewards teams that do well | | | | (which includes the 242 teams with La Salle), |
| against good opponents. | | | | not a Division II team (which includes |
| | | | another 157 teams), but a Division III team. |
| The BCS (Bowl Championship Series) does not | | | | Now you can better understand why La Salle |
| factor in scoring margin. For Sagarin ratings | | | | College is ranked last among 242 Division I |
| and more detailed information go to: | | | | schools. |
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| USA Today, the largest circulation newspaper | | | | The first job for La Salle this year will be |
| in the United States, is the nation's daily | | | | to score a touchdown, or any points, |
| newspaper and carries the Sagarin College | | | | including a field goal or touchback. The |
| Football Ratings. The ratings are updated | | | | Explorers next job will be to actually win a |
| following each week's games and published in | | | | game. Good luck, La Salle, and God speed. |