Rank this team

[hammer]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Personally, I think Boise is a lot better team than Hawaii and I think they've shown they are a lot better team now (with their new starting QB) than they were to start the season against Washington.

Washington wasn't a bad team to start the season, but their BRUTAL schedule + injuries have reduced them to being a pretty crappy team now.

If Boise doesn't beat Hawaii, I'd be very surprised.

Who is Boise's new starting QB? And who did he replace?

[Judge Smails]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Personally, I think Boise is a lot better team than Hawaii and I think they've shown they are a lot better team now (with their new starting QB) than they were to start the season against Washington.

Washington wasn't a bad team to start the season, but their BRUTAL schedule + injuries have reduced them to being a pretty crappy team now.

If Boise doesn't beat Hawaii, I'd be very surprised.

...insert any season in the past 7 and replace Washington with [Arkansas, S Carolina, Georgia] and I've heard Bronco fan say the exact same thing about their team every year.

It's amazing how much better they get when they get into the WAC schedule.

For the record, Washington likewise had a 1st year starter at QB, one who isn't a senior, either.

I agree they're better than Hawaii, but that has much more to do with Hawaii being mediocre, than BSU being great.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Washington wasn't a bad team to start the season, but their BRUTAL schedule...have reduced them to being a pretty crappy team now.

Is there a causal effect from SOS to strength of team? Can a tough schedule actually cause someone to become a crappy team? Likewise, can an easy schedule cause someone to become a good team?

I think many BYU fans believe this. I don't.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by jay santos

Is there a causal effect from SOS to strength of team? Can a tough schedule actually cause someone to become a crappy team? Likewise, can an easy schedule cause someone to become a good team?

I think many BYU fans believe this. I don't.

I think the tough SOS has led to more injuries, so in that respect, I think it has made them a worse team. There's also the cumulative psychological effect of losing that many games over the course of the season.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

I think the tough SOS has led to more injuries, so in that respect, I think it has made them a worse team. There's also the cumulative psychological effect of losing that many games over the course of the season.

I'd like to have more info on both of these issues because I think BYU fans use them both to justify in their minds the need for an easy schedule. I know you probably don't have these answers, I ask them mostly rhetorically.

Injuries

Do teams have injuries more frequently against tougher teams? Did Eastern Washington have a lot of injuries against us this year? Is there a study to quantify this? In practice, does the scout team suffer more injuries than the 1st team? Why would a team ever favor a tough schedule if it has been proven it causes more injuries?

Psychological effect

How many games is needed to show the cumulative effect? Is there a study and can this be quantified? Is there an opposite effect--do teams that win a lot in a row start to play better than they really are? If so, why does there seem to be a let-down effect where teams overestimate their abilities and play a bad game? How do you explain late season upsets by bad teams?