I applaud our commissioner for attempting to link the AAC with the P5 conferences. To most people, however, it sounds silly. But, to be honest, in football, over the last couple of years, we’ve sometime ranked closer to the lowest P5 conference (generally the PAC 12) than we have to the next G5 conference (generally the Mountain West). Until this year.
Facts are hard to come by in such a discussion, so I like to use the Massey rankings as a consensus of over 100 “opinions” to form a more “informed” view of what “most” people are thinking. That doesn’t make it right; it just indicates a consensus. And if that’s what people think, it becomes important from a perspective standpoint if no other.
In 2016, according to Massey, the PAC 12 had an average ranking of 52.02 compared to the AAC’s ranking of 68.89, a difference of 16.87 places. The Mountain West, at 78.46 trailed us by 9.57 places. So, we clearly had not disassociated ourselves from the G5.
But last year (2017) the PAC 12 averaged a 51.71 ranking at season’s end while the AAC and Mountain West were at 66.69 and 83.21 respectively. So the AAC trailed the PAC 12 by 14.98 places and led the Mountain West by 16.52. So, in which group did we belong? An argument could be made, based on that data, that, if not a “member” of something called the “P6,” we should not be relegated the “G5” either.
Of course this year, as several have noted since last August, the AAC has had a down year in football and the ratings show it. While the PAC 12 finished at 54.78, the AAC averaged a ranking of 80.19, fully 25.41 behind. Worse, after the bowl season, the Mountain West finished at 77.04, 3.15 places ahead of the AAC. We were only ahead of the Sunbelt by 4.93 places. In fact, from the SEC to the PAC 12, the P5 ranged from a 31.9 to 54.78 in rankings, while the G5 ranged from 77.04 to 92.06. It’s hard to make a P6 claim with those results. There is simply too large a gap between the P5 and G5.
For interest, Tulane finished in 80th place this year according to Massey after finishing in 79th place in 2017. The last time we finished better than 80th (other than 2017) was in 2002, when we finished in 64th. Over the past 20 years this is the first time we've had consecutive finishes in the top 80. Sad, but maybe a new day is coming.
Roll Wave!!!
Facts are hard to come by in such a discussion, so I like to use the Massey rankings as a consensus of over 100 “opinions” to form a more “informed” view of what “most” people are thinking. That doesn’t make it right; it just indicates a consensus. And if that’s what people think, it becomes important from a perspective standpoint if no other.
In 2016, according to Massey, the PAC 12 had an average ranking of 52.02 compared to the AAC’s ranking of 68.89, a difference of 16.87 places. The Mountain West, at 78.46 trailed us by 9.57 places. So, we clearly had not disassociated ourselves from the G5.
But last year (2017) the PAC 12 averaged a 51.71 ranking at season’s end while the AAC and Mountain West were at 66.69 and 83.21 respectively. So the AAC trailed the PAC 12 by 14.98 places and led the Mountain West by 16.52. So, in which group did we belong? An argument could be made, based on that data, that, if not a “member” of something called the “P6,” we should not be relegated the “G5” either.
Of course this year, as several have noted since last August, the AAC has had a down year in football and the ratings show it. While the PAC 12 finished at 54.78, the AAC averaged a ranking of 80.19, fully 25.41 behind. Worse, after the bowl season, the Mountain West finished at 77.04, 3.15 places ahead of the AAC. We were only ahead of the Sunbelt by 4.93 places. In fact, from the SEC to the PAC 12, the P5 ranged from a 31.9 to 54.78 in rankings, while the G5 ranged from 77.04 to 92.06. It’s hard to make a P6 claim with those results. There is simply too large a gap between the P5 and G5.
For interest, Tulane finished in 80th place this year according to Massey after finishing in 79th place in 2017. The last time we finished better than 80th (other than 2017) was in 2002, when we finished in 64th. Over the past 20 years this is the first time we've had consecutive finishes in the top 80. Sad, but maybe a new day is coming.
Roll Wave!!!