http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_...-base-2017

The only fan bases more miserable than Rice are UConn (#126 overall), Idaho (#127) and Texas State (#128). Personally I'm not that despondent (I enjoy watching new players every year to see which ones have potential) but I guess I don't tweet enough to move the needle.

We're #21 in Deadspin's preseason rankings

http://deadspin.com/rices-best-case-scen...1797952917

(08-22-2017 04:03 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  We're #21 in Deadspin's preseason rankings

http://deadspin.com/rices-best-case-scen...1797952917

Deadspin is a popular blog with a presumably large fanbase, so I'm not really sure how we got in there, but there's this...

Nick Martin of Deadspin Wrote:Fans don’t need some ******* to tell them that the teams that spend the most tend to be the best; nor do they need a weekly reminder that, for some reason, a team went from being the 24th-best to 22nd-best because of one game. Weekly polls are fun because they provide a sense of order, but ultimately, until the college playoff expands, you really need only concern yourself with the occupants of the first six or so slots. All the rankings past that are just the collective guesses of overworked and underpaid beat writers, the large majority of whom don’t have the time to watch every top-25 team’s game because they’re busy covering their beat. Given this, and the fact that poll stocks are way down, we have wrested responsibility from them, the idiot writers, to present to you, the idiot readers.

This has its downfalls, of course. The last two years, some nefarious voter(s) gamed our poll—which we still wholeheartedly encourage! game away!—and selected Central Florida as the best team in the nation. Acknowledging that the entire purpose of this poll is to provide a democratic option, I say the following from a place of love: Please, if you have any sense of humanity and empathy for your fellow readers or me, maybe consider voting, or hacking the poll, for a different ****** team. You don’t have to, of course; you can rightfully tell me to **** off. Just be aware you’re subjecting yourself to reading about whatever bad teams you vote for.

(08-22-2017 04:13 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(08-22-2017 04:03 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  We're #21 in Deadspin's preseason rankings

http://deadspin.com/rices-best-case-scen...1797952917

Deadspin is a popular blog with a presumably large fanbase, so I'm not really sure how we got in there, but there's this...

Nick Martin of Deadspin Wrote:Fans don’t need some ******* to tell them that the teams that spend the most tend to be the best; nor do they need a weekly reminder that, for some reason, a team went from being the 24th-best to 22nd-best because of one game. Weekly polls are fun because they provide a sense of order, but ultimately, until the college playoff expands, you really need only concern yourself with the occupants of the first six or so slots. All the rankings past that are just the collective guesses of overworked and underpaid beat writers, the large majority of whom don’t have the time to watch every top-25 team’s game because they’re busy covering their beat. Given this, and the fact that poll stocks are way down, we have wrested responsibility from them, the idiot writers, to present to you, the idiot readers.

This has its downfalls, of course. The last two years, some nefarious voter(s) gamed our poll—which we still wholeheartedly encourage! game away!—and selected Central Florida as the best team in the nation. Acknowledging that the entire purpose of this poll is to provide a democratic option, I say the following from a place of love: Please, if you have any sense of humanity and empathy for your fellow readers or me, maybe consider voting, or hacking the poll, for a different ****** team. You don’t have to, of course; you can rightfully tell me to **** off. Just be aware you’re subjecting yourself to reading about whatever bad teams you vote for.

Yeah, its readers take joy in voting to have at least a portion of the poll be comprised of teams that are nowhere near an actual top 25 team. See Eastern Michigan checking in as their #20 team.

And North Texas is 'ahead' of us. Ouch....

And you know you are in the badlands when UTEP is 24 slots in front.... double ouch....

Speaking of which any Austinites want to meet and get a place to show the game on the boob tube? PM me, if you are interested. If I get someone (anyone) interested I will line something up.

Good article and on target.

(08-22-2017 04:13 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(08-22-2017 04:03 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  We're #21 in Deadspin's preseason rankings

http://deadspin.com/rices-best-case-scen...1797952917

Deadspin is a popular blog with a presumably large fanbase, so I'm not really sure how we got in there, but there's this...

Nick Martin of Deadspin Wrote:Fans don’t need some ******* to tell them that the teams that spend the most tend to be the best; nor do they need a weekly reminder that, for some reason, a team went from being the 24th-best to 22nd-best because of one game. Weekly polls are fun because they provide a sense of order, but ultimately, until the college playoff expands, you really need only concern yourself with the occupants of the first six or so slots. All the rankings past that are just the collective guesses of overworked and underpaid beat writers, the large majority of whom don’t have the time to watch every top-25 team’s game because they’re busy covering their beat. Given this, and the fact that poll stocks are way down, we have wrested responsibility from them, the idiot writers, to present to you, the idiot readers.

This has its downfalls, of course. The last two years, some nefarious voter(s) gamed our poll—which we still wholeheartedly encourage! game away!—and selected Central Florida as the best team in the nation. Acknowledging that the entire purpose of this poll is to provide a democratic option, I say the following from a place of love: Please, if you have any sense of humanity and empathy for your fellow readers or me, maybe consider voting, or hacking the poll, for a different ****** team. You don’t have to, of course; you can rightfully tell me to **** off. Just be aware you’re subjecting yourself to reading about whatever bad teams you vote for.

(08-22-2017 04:13 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(08-22-2017 04:03 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  We're #21 in Deadspin's preseason rankings

http://deadspin.com/rices-best-case-scen...1797952917

Deadspin is a popular blog with a presumably large fanbase, so I'm not really sure how we got in there, but there's this...

Nick Martin of Deadspin Wrote:Fans don’t need some ******* to tell them that the teams that spend the most tend to be the best; nor do they need a weekly reminder that, for some reason, a team went from being the 24th-best to 22nd-best because of one game. Weekly polls are fun because they provide a sense of order, but ultimately, until the college playoff expands, you really need only concern yourself with the occupants of the first six or so slots. All the rankings past that are just the collective guesses of overworked and underpaid beat writers, the large majority of whom don’t have the time to watch every top-25 team’s game because they’re busy covering their beat. Given this, and the fact that poll stocks are way down, we have wrested responsibility from them, the idiot writers, to present to you, the idiot readers.

This has its downfalls, of course. The last two years, some nefarious voter(s) gamed our poll—which we still wholeheartedly encourage! game away!—and selected Central Florida as the best team in the nation. Acknowledging that the entire purpose of this poll is to provide a democratic option, I say the following from a place of love: Please, if you have any sense of humanity and empathy for your fellow readers or me, maybe consider voting, or hacking the poll, for a different ****** team. You don’t have to, of course; you can rightfully tell me to **** off. Just be aware you’re subjecting yourself to reading about whatever bad teams you vote for.

We're number > 6! Yea team.

(08-22-2017 04:01 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_...-base-2017

The only fan bases more miserable than Rice are UConn (#126 overall), Idaho (#127) and Texas State (#128). Personally I'm not that despondent (I enjoy watching new players every year to see which ones have potential) but I guess I don't tweet enough to move the needle.

The ranking seems pretty accurate to me. Idaho is dropping out of FBS after this year so they have nothing to look forward to and UConn might be the only former P5 team to have gotten screwed over by realignment worse than Rice - although their conference situation (unlike ours) is starting to look brighter. The only inaccuracy is Texas State, whose academic reputation is hardly harmed by their conference affiliation, and at least they've moved up from FCS and are in no danger of going back down as far as I know.