The Fleming System: Undefeated Teams and Week 13 Rankings
As we wind down toward December, the top of the rankings are really taking shape. But unlike previous years, there is a mathematical (and very real) possibility of ending the regular season with as many as six undefeated teams. Of course, nothing is a given.
The Fleming System: Discussing “Strength of Schedule” and Week 10 Rankings
One of the strengths of a computer rating system is the uniform application of criteria in the ranking of teams. However, that can also be one of the weaknesses. One potentially deceptive aspect of computer rankings manifests itself in the calculation of the strength of schedule. What exactly does “strength of schedule” mean?
The Fleming System: “National Championships” and Week 9 Rankings
As its name implies, The College Football Data Warehouse, maintained by David DeLassus, keeps a myriad of information about college football. Some years back, I found that among “national championships”, the list of “selectors” included my own Fleming System. I certainly don’t offer a trophy to the team that ends up on top of my ratings at the end of the season—I’m just a schmoe with a computer. And as a college football fan, I don’t even always believe that the team on top deserves the accolades of “national champion”. But such are the underpinnings of the most interesting of . . .
The Fleming System: The Human Element of Computer Polls
The Game Outcome Measure (GOM) is the central metric used by my rating program to determine how much better the winning team is than the losing team in a specific game played. The GOM can be designed to reward offensively-oriented teams (by relying heavily on how many points the winning team scores); another GOM definition might favor defensively-minded teams by relying on how few points a team gives up. Still another might ignore the score altogether and just look at who wins the game.