Archive for USC
Give Me Bad Numbers: Pac-10 Quarterback Analysis, Part II
The college quarterback rating formula is absurdly reductionist. It overvalues completions rather than completion percentage, it overvalues touchdowns rather than drives, it overvalues interceptions by placing them all at the same value, and it really really really overvalues yardage without analyzing yards after catch. Almost all of the things plugged into the formula represent outcomes […]
Walk the Line: What Vegas Thinks About Cal and the Pac-10
I have a gambling problem. Not a gambling addiction (other than one bad incident that I deserved, I’ve been fairly frugal with my betting habits). No, my problem is that I’m no good at gambling. I.e. I lose a lot of money. I seem to have terrible patterns at predicting who will win and even […]
Jinx Removing
In my everyday life I’m a cold, secular rationalist. But I am superstitious about exactly one thing: sports. In my mind, part of what makes being a fan fun is suspending your disbelief and allowing the conceit that what you do, as a spectator, might have a small impact on outcomes. Of course, since football […]
Juicing The Juice (or Putting the $ in U$C)
Hopefully you’ve been following the O.J. Mayo mess down at U$C, which has the potential to have a profound impact on the future of both Pac-10 basketball and football. The facts are still developing and it’s way too early to draw conclusions regarding the allegations. It’s also too early to try to figure out the […]
Can Cal Win State?
Does anyone else suspect that the Coach Taylor character on Friday Night Lights (awesome show, great job) is at least partially based on our beloved Coach Jeff Tedford? Consider the evidence: He’s a handsome, 40-something offensive mastermind, known as a quarterbacks guru, runs a pro-style offense with west coast elements, achieves early success as a […]
