The Blue Board

Hey everyone, was in the Top 5 over the Next 5 years thread, and I had a theory about the relationship between coaching and recruiting, and how to predict the success of the teams.

For this experiment, I ask that fans rate their team on a scale of .5-10 (in increments of .5) in 2 different areas; aggregate talent and overall coaching. A .5 is the poorest possible in both areas, while a 10 would be a collection of top 5 classes and the most elite level coaching. Thus, a team with 5 straight #1 recruiting classes and a consensus elite coach would receive an aggregate score of 20. A team that is a collection of 2-stars and a coach that thinks "football" means kicking a ball past a goalie would have an aggregate score of 1 (.5 on each). I'm using the .5 increments to try and provide a more accurate picture of each team.

What I'd like to do is get aggregate scores for every single BCS conference team before the season. Then, as the year goes on, I want to see if this method is an accurate way to predict the winners and losers, by seeing who beats who each week relative to their aggregate talent/coaching scores.

I'll update this post as fans chime in. Of course there will be some debate, but the idea is to get a general consensus. For instance, I believe Michigan State has about 7 talent; solidly above average, but not elite, and an 8 in coaching. That gives the Spartans, IMHO, an aggregate score of 15. Alabama, by contrast, has elite talent and coaching, so I'll give them a score of 20 to start. The theory is teams with higher aggregate scores should regularly beat teams with lower aggregate scores. I think I'll have to come up with some sort of home field advantage factor, but I want to get everyone's raw coaching/talent scores together first. Thought this would be a fun way to kill some time over the summer.

All teams are presented in alphabetical order within their divisions/conferences, NOT in order of their score, initially. After this is completed, I'll reorganize the chart by aggregate score.

Edit: I added Notre Dame, TCU and Boise at the end, because they should be in the discussion. That was an oversight on my part.

Edit: These rankings are NOT MINE, aside from Michigan State's and Northwestern's. These are all fan's opinions. Where several fans from a school chime in, I'll average them. Fans, keep in mind that come fall, I'll be comparing these rankings with the results each week, so for those of you who are rating their teams high, I'd advise that you be confident that you'll have a good season.

ACC - Atlanic

Boston College - 13 (Talent: 5.5, Coaching: 7.5) Average: 3 Posters
Clemson - 14 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching: 6.0)
Florida State - 18 (Talent: 9.5, Coaching: 8.5)
Maryland - 13.5 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 7.5) Average:2 Posters
NC State - 14.0 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 7.5) Average: 3 Posters
Wake Forest -

ACC- Coastal

Duke - 11.5 (Talent: 3.5, Coaching: 8.0) Average: 3 Posters
Georgia Tech - 15.0 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 8.5) Average: 8 posters
Miami (Fl) - 16.0 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching: 8.0) Average:9 posters
North Carolina - 15.5 (Talent: 7.5, Coaching: 8.0)
Virginia - 13.5 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 7.0) Average: 3 Posters
Virginia Tech - 17.5 (Talent: 8.0; Coaching: 9.5)

Big East

Cincinnati - 12.5 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 6.0) Average: 2 posters
Connecticut -
Louisville -
Pittsburg -
Rutgers -
South Florida -
Syracuse -
West Virginia -

Big XII

Baylor - 12.5 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 6.0)
Iowa State - 11.5 (Talent: 5.5, Coaching: 6.0)
Kansas - 9 (Talent: 5, Coaching: 4)
Kansas State - 12 (Talent: 6, Coaching: 6)
Missouri - 14.5 (Talent: 7.5, Coaching: 7.0)
Oklahoma - 17 (Talent: 8.5, Coaching: 8.5) Average: 5 Posters
Oklahoma State - 15 (Talent: 8, Coaching, 7)
Texas - 15.0 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching 7.0) Average: 4 Posters
Texas A&M - 16.5 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching: 8.5) Average: 3 Posters
Texas Tech - 11 (Talent: 6, Coaching:5)

Big 10 - Leaders

Illinois - 12.5 (Talent: 6.0, Coaching: 6) Average: 3 posters
Indiana - 9.5 (Talent: 4.0, Coaching: 5.5) Average: 3 posters
Ohio State - 14.5 (Talent: 9, Coaching: 5.5) Average: 6 posters
Penn State - 15.5 (Talent 8, Coaching: 7.5) Average: 9 posters
Purdue - 7.0 (Talent: 3.5, Coaching: 3.5) Average: 2 posters
Wisconsin - 15.5 (Talent: 7, Coaching: 8.5)

Big 10 - Legends

Iowa - 14.5 (Talent: 6.0, Coaching: 8.5) Average: 2 posters
Michigan - 15 (Talent: 7.0, Coaching: 8.0) Average: 2 posters
Michigan State - 15.5 (Talent: 7.5, Coaching: 8.0) Average: 5 Posters
Minnesota - 9.5 (Talent: 4.0, Coaching: 5.5) Average: 3 Posters
Nebraska - 16.0 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching: 8.0) Average: 5 Posters
Northwestern - 13.0 (Talent: 4.0, Coaching: 9) [Average: 4 posters[/b]

Pac-12 North

Cal -
Oregon -
Oregon State -
Stanford -
Washington -
Washington State -

Pac - 12 South

Arizona - 11.5 (Talent: 5.5 Coaching: 6.0) Average: 3 posters
Arizona State -
Colorado - 7 (Talent: 3, Coaching: 4)
USC - 14.5 (Talent: 9.5, Coaching: 5.0) Average: 2 Posters
UCLA - 10.5 (Talent: 6.0, Coaching: 4.5)
Utah -

SEC - East

Florida - 15.0 (Talent: 8.5, Coaching: 6.5) Average: 4 Posters
Georgia - 17 (Talent: 9.0, Coaching: 8.0) Average: 3 Posters
Kentucky - 13.5 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 7.0) Average: 8 Posters
South Carolina - 17 (Talent: 8.5, Coaching: 8.5) Average: 3 Posters
Tennessee - 15.0 (Talent: 7.5, Coaching: 7.5) Average: 6 Posters
Vanderbilt - 8.0 (Talent: 4.0, Coaching: 4.0) Average: 7 Posters

SEC - West

Alabama - 20 (Talent: 10 , Coaching: 10) Average: 6 Posters
Auburn - 17.0 (Talent: 8.5, Coaching: 9.0) Average: 6 Posters
Arkansas - 17.0 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching: 9.0) Average: 3 Posters
LSU - 19 (Talent: 10, Coaching: 9.0) Average:2 Posters
Miss State - 15.0 (Talent: 7.0, Coaching: 8.0) Average: 5 Posters
Ole Miss - 11.0 (Talent: 6.0, Coaching: 5.0) Average: 5 Posters

Non-BCS Conf. Teams

Boise State - 15 (Talent: 6, Coaching: 9) Average:2 Posters
Notre Dame - 17.0 (Talent: 8.0, Coaching 9.0) Average: 5 posters
TCU - 16 (Talent: 6.5, Coaching: 9.5)