Slept in, mostly because I stayed up late. I stayed up late mostly because I didn’t fell well the night before. Something I’d eaten didn’t agree with me. When that unpleasantness passed me by I slipped under an electric blanket for a hibernation.
And so then there was a lot of football today. Somewhere along the way Ross Collings started examining Georgia’s big game performances in recent years. That turned into this long bout of schedule staring.
This is what I did during breaks in the football action today: the complete SEC story of victories against teams that finished in the top 25 of the BCS for the years between 2008-2011.
They are sorted by the most successful program against their opponents in terms of raw wins – no style points, home/away, injuries, upsets or other considerations have been made. Each school has a list of the year of the game, the team they defeated and that opponent’s final BCS ranking of that season.
All efforts have been made to keep this accurate, but your eyes get dizzy looking through 14 teams’ four years of scheduling. No, seriously, have a look. The source links for the BCS rankings are below. If you find any errors, write them in the comments.
As you can see, LSU has had an impressive run, particularly the last two years. They’re neck and neck with Alabama. In fact, the best part of the upcoming BCS title game is that it will break a tie between the two programs. Auburn is next in terms of wins over BCS ranked opponents. Not bad when you consider that we’re talking about 2008-2011 here.
LSU**
2008: Georgia Tech (14)
2010: Alabama (16)
2010: Texas A&M (17)
2010: Miss State (21)
2010: West Virginia (22)
2011: Alabama (2)
2011: Oregon (5)
2011: Arkansas (6)
2011: Georgia (16)
2011: West Virginia (23)
2011: Auburn (25)
**LSU and Alabama meet for the perfunctory rematch on Jan. 9.Alabama**
2008: Georgia (15)
2008: Mississippi (25)
2009: Texas (2)
2009: Florida (5)
2009: Virginia Tech (11)
2009: LSU (12)
2010: Arkansas (8)
2010: Michigan State (9)
2010: Miss State (21)
2011: Arkansas (6)
2011: Auburn
**LSU and Alabama meet for the perfunctory rematch on Jan. 9.Auburn
2009: West Virginia (16)
2010: Arkansas (8)
2010: Oregon (2)
2010: LSU (11)
2010: Alabama (16)
2010: South Carolina (20)
2010: South Carolina (20) SECCG
2010: Miss State (21)
2011: South Carolina (9)Arkansas*
2010: LSU (11)
2010: Texas A&M (17)
2010: Miss State (21)
2011: South Carolina (9)
2011: Auburn (25)
*Hogs play BCS #8 Kansas State on Jan. 6.Florida
2008: Oklahoma (1)
2008: Alabama (4)
2008: Georgia (15)
2009: Cincinnati (3)
2009: LSU (12)South Carolina
2008: Mississippi (25)
2010: Alabama (16)
2011: Clemson (15)
2011: Nebraska (20)Ole Miss
2008: Florida (2)
2008: Texas Tech (7)
2009: LSU (12)
2009: Oklahoma State (19)Georgia
2008: Michigan State (18)
2009: Georgia Tech (9)
2011: Auburn (25)Missouri
2008: Northwestern (23)
2010: Texas A&M (17)
2010: Oklahoma (7)Texas A&M
2010: Oklahoma (7)
2010: Nebraska (18)
2011: Baylor (12)Vanderbilt
2008: Mississippi (25)
2008: Boston College (24)Kentucky
2010 Carolina (20)Tennessee
NoneMississippi State
None
This would look very pretty, and reveal something, I’m sure, if you put it in the appropriate type of chart or infographic.
Update: The War Eagle Reader has picked this list up, too.
Also I added a CatEye computer to my bike today. This was a thoughtful Christmas gift from The Yankee and, in that spirit, I attached it in that spirit. I’m never good at building or installing the first of something. Sure, there are instructions, but there’s always some detail missing, or an extra part that psyches me out, or a missing part whose absence can defeat even the heartiest of spirits. Or, more to the point, some small thing I didn’t notice in the illustration.
This computer requires a magnet on the spokes, a sensor attached to the fork no more than five millimeters away, and then the computer itself, attached in a four-part ceremony to the handlebars. The computer must be no more than 70 millimeters away from the sensor, and the back of the computer must be facing the sensor. And, also, it must spend at least 48 percent of each lunar cycle pointing to magnetic north.
All but one of those facts are true.
So there was first the incorrect installation of the sensor on the fork. Then there was struggling through the computer, programming the clock, tire circumference and the always troubling 12-hour or 24-hour setup. Then there was mounting the computer in the four-part handlebar bracket, which was its own series of curiosities. After which I discovered I couldn’t remove the computer from the bracket.
A few engineers were consulted and we finally concluded that our instincts are wrong and sometimes you must force it.
So now the sensor, the magnetic it is detecting for movement and the computer are all mounted. I pick up the front wheel and spun it, the first test to see if the computer and sensor are communicating. One of the LCD elements in the crystal should be flashing.
It is not.
The first troubleshooting element is the sensor and magnet configuration. They must be no more than five millimeters apart. Not six, because that is not in the Holy Book of Armaments. So I nudged over the senor a bit closer to the magnet mounted on the spokes. Pick up the bike, spin the wheel, the LCD flashes. The computer works.
This should have taken about six minutes. It took me the better half of one half of a football game.
So the first time is always a challenge. It could have been that I was working from the Korean instructions. Next time I’ll use the English version.
The second time was a breeze. I installed the same computer on her bike. It was done in no time flat. Now we are ready to ride and see, truly, how fast — or slow — we are going. And, of course, if you’re dissatisfied with the speed you can always reprogram the computer’s understanding of your tire circumference.
So you can imagine why digging up that list of football victories above was a good way to spend a windy evening. There’s an impressive, and thankfully temporary cold front blowing in just now. We won’t break 40 degrees tomorrow. I’ll try out my new cycling computer on Wednesday.
