Sunday, November 4, 2018

Weekly Playoff Probabilities - Week 10

As always, explanation here, ranking below, thoughts after.

Rank Team Agg Rank POFF Prob Change
1 Clemson 2 97.21% 0.6%
2 Alabama 1 86.63% 6.5%
3 Notre Dame 8 67.59% 7.7%
4 Michigan 3 50.34% 17.4%
5 Georgia 4 34.73% -0.7%
6 Oklahoma 5 34.04% 4.2%
7 Ohio State 6 6.57% -3.7%
8 West Virginia 11 6.01% 1.3%
9 LSU 13 5.62% -13.2%
10 Washington State 21 4.55% -0.5%
11 Kentucky 31 3.35% -2.9%
12 North Carolina State 33 1.56% -0.6%
13 Central Florida 23 1.16% 0.2%
14 Syracuse 44 0.38% 0.0%
15 Boston College 32 0.26% 0.1%

1.  In the days leading up to the election my brain keeps coming back to this article from earlier in the year.  While it's mostly a simple story of how a community reacted to the deportation of one of its own, the collective shoulder shrug of the townsfolk feels like a parable about the failure of American moral imagination.  Obvious atrocities happen right in front of us, but we've been told this is the best country on Earth, so the cognitive dissonance kicks in and tells us that everything must be OK.  It's hard not to read that and feel the parallels with how I and my countrymen have been reluctant to condemn the failures and wrongdoings of our country.

2.  For as long as I've been alive, the implicit goal of the right wing has been to entrench the revanchist ideal of white supremacy as the very definition of American-ness.  From welfare queens to Willie Horton to the War on Drugs to false worried of Sharia Law, Republicans have taken every opportunity to paint The Other as unworthy of being truly American.  The orientation of the Trump administration towards these goals may seem novel, but any good faith reading of history will assure you that it is not.

3.  This is not to attack those of you that have voted for Republicans in the past.*  I have no ill will towards you.  Those in power have worked hard to cover their ultimate goals with a patina of legitimacy that paints a seemingly virtuous picture - Cuts to social programs are necessary tough decisions.  War and The Military will protect us against evil nations.  Fidelity to America is akin to fidelity to God.  These bromides all sound great and make us feel good, but none of it is true.  Those in power have been lying and misdirecting for decades, and it is with them I place my anger.

*I voted for Hagel once.  Sorry.

Conference Exp Playoff Teams
SEC 1.303
ACC 0.994
IND 0.676
B10 0.569
B12 0.401
P12 0.046
AMER 0.012

4.  What makes Trump different isn't his beliefs, but his willingness to largely forgo that traditional Republican sleight of hand.  That makes Trump the line in the sand.  He built political capital on birtherism, started his campaign by slandering Mexican immigrants, began his presidency with the Muslim ban, and seeks to redefine citizenship as it suits him.  And while certain Republican politicians appear to oppose him in order to sell books stand up for what they believe in, the reality is that the party has acted in lock step with the president's wishes at every turn.  There can no longer be any illusion or any denial: A vote for any Republican is a vote for Trump, and thus a vote to divide us into "American" and "Un-American".

Conference Favorite Perc Runner-Up Perc
ACCA Clemson 95.4% Boston College 4.5%
ACCC Pitt 46.1% Virginia Tech 18.6%
AMEE Central Florida 78.4% Cincinnati 18.0%
AMEW Houston 62.1% Tulane 20.3%
B10E Michigan 77.4% Ohio State 22.4%
B10W Northwestern 70.0% Purdue 16.5%
B12 Oklahoma 90.0% West Virginia 58.8%
CUSAE Middle Tennessee 50.0% Florida International 39.8%
CUSAW UAB 95.8% Louisiana Tech 3.1%
MACE Buffalo 63.7% Ohio 35.8%
MACW Northern Illinois 68.5% Toledo 19.8%
MWCW Fresno State 90.9% San Diego State 8.9%
MWCM Utah State 81.3% Boise State 18.7%
P12N Washington 57.3% Washington State 42.1%
P12S Utah 50.4% USC 22.9%
SECE Georgia 100.0%
SECW Alabama 100.0%
SUNE Appalachian State 51.5% Georgia Southern 30.2%
SUNW Louisiana-Lafayette 36.3% Arkansas State 33.7%


Week 11 Preview

Home Away Home Win Prob Playoff Teams Lost
Boston College Clemson 10.4% 0.036
Alabama Mississippi State 90.1% 0.029
Georgia Auburn 83.8% 0.028
Notre Dame Florida State 90.0% 0.023
Oklahoma Oklahoma State 88.3% 0.020
Michigan State Ohio State 37.4% 0.012
Tennessee Kentucky 32.0% 0.011
Arkansas LSU 13.6% 0.008
Colorado Washington State 29.9% 0.007
West Virginia TCU 78.0% 0.007
Rutgers Michigan 1.2% 0.003

In the end, I find it more compelling to encourage people to vote for good instead of voting against the bad.  The problem with this is that in spite of some very good candidates, the Democratic Party as it exists now remains wholly uninspiring.  All I'm left with is the urge to do the best we can given the circumstances by voting blue.  The coming decades will bring unprecedented existential challenges for humanity.  We will not survive without steadfast solidarity with our fellow man.  If you remember nothing else from my stupid blog, please remember that.

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