Taking illogical arguments to absurd extremes since 2008
What is the Poll?
The TPNC Poll was created by the makers of myteamisbetterthanyourteam.com to resolve arguments about college football teams. Despite a large number of polls and opinions, an important objective measure was needed to show the validity of each team's claim to the national championship. What better way to prove it than with game results.What is the Transitive Property?
The transitive property of inequality says that if A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C. Fundamentally, when one team beats another team, they are declared better than that team. So, if Team A beat Team B, and Team B beat Team C, then Team A is better than Team C. That is why, after one team beats another team, all pollsters feel compelled to vote the loser below the winner of the game, regardless of the rest of their record. In a late-night bar argument, it's flawless thinking, which is where most college football analysts do their best work.But That Doesn't Always Work!
True. Sometimes the computer has to use "comparative scores" to show dominance of one team over another. When one team beats a common opponent by more than another team does, the first team is clearly better. If Team A beats Team C by a wider margin of victory than Team B beat Team C, then Team A is better than Team B. Same goes for losses. When all you have to go on is that games that have been played, margin of victory counts.Why Does the TPNC Poll Sometimes Use Someone Other Than The #1 Team to Compare To?
The ranking uses the highest ranked beatable team. Using just math, everyone in the polls ranked above this team is invincible. Fans of these teams should use this fact to state their supremacy with extreme confidence.How is the TPNC Poll Calculated?
The teams are ranked from the longest shortest path to the highest ranked beatable football team to the shortest shortest path to the highest ranked beatable football team. Seriously. When there are ties, the following tie-breakers are applied:1) Largest margin of victory
2) Alphabetically
3) Inconsistently
Why Is It Called a Poll When It's Really a Ranking?
Most people have a rational distrust of computers. They'd prefer to have people involved in determining the betterness of teams -- they want people who aren't burdened with facts or objectivity, people who aren't distracted by the ability to analyze large amounts of information, people who believe that long-held beliefs and traditions are more important than actual performance, and people who are likely invited by the bowl committees to boondoggles. So we call it a poll knowing that people will trust it more.Why Aren't There Polls in the First Few Weeks of the Season?
Clearly, computers need actual data to generate a ranking. This poll isn't trying to predict anything, so it can only use data from this year's games. If, however, the poll was intended to generate controversy for the purposes of increasing public visibility, it would include the previous year's data to start the season. That would just be crazy, of course.Does the College Football Playoff Selection Committee Use This Poll in its Deliberations?
If they did, and had they contacted me personally about it, I'm sure would not be allowed to divulge that due to non-disclosure agreements.Shouldn't everyone know about this?
Yes. It's a network-effect, people.Associated Press Story about MTIBTYT
NFL Lineman and mathematician John Urschel discusses the transitive property
The Gazette, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Coe College (and Iowa, ISU, UNI) > Ohio State in football
CBS Chicago How Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame And NIU Beat Alabama
ESPN SportsNation Site of the Day
Since Colin still thinks USC is the best team in the country we're going with www.myteamisbetterthanyourteam.com as our site of the day
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) November 2, 2009