Here’s some math for you.

In this system, teams are awarded for their accomplishments. For each game every team plays, exactly one of four things can happen. Power ratings at any time range from a low of 0 to a high of 100. Assume, for purposes of this poorly written note, that you are a team.

i) If you beat any team by 9 or more points, you accumulate double the opponents’ power ranking towards your total achievement. Why 9 points? Because the team you beat could not possibly have beaten you on the last play of the game if you hold a 9 point lead. If you hold an 8 point lead, they can score, successfully go for 2, and beat you in overtime. So there is a distinct advantage if you hold a lead of 9 points or more. This system does not honor the sort of low-class running up of the score perpetrated by Wisconsin. Shame on you.

2) If you beat any team by 8 or fewer points, you accumulate the opponents’ power ranking towards your total achivement. This does lead to some disparities, as you will see as you continue to read. But I stick by the weird exceptions. I am trying to work out a way to determine the “correct” advantage a team should attain by more than an 8 point victory. Maybe, rather than double, it should be a factor of 1.5. Maybe it should be 1.25. For now, until I think of a good reason otherwise, it’s double. So if you beat Kentucky by 9 or more points, you acquire 89 points; beat them by 8 or fewer, you only get 44.

3) If you lose by 8 or fewer, you lose 100 points, but still acquire your opponents’ power rating. So, lose to Wyoming, lose 72 points; lose to Nevada and you only lose 19 points.

4) If you suffer a “big loss”, defined as a loss by 9 or more points, you lose 200 points but add double your opponents’ power rating. So, lose to Wisconsin by 8 or fewer, you’ll lose only 8 points; lose to them by 9 or more, it will cost you 16 points. But lose to Wyoming by 10, you’re out 144 points.

So, to beat this horse senseless, let’s say you play my current number 40 team Clemson, who has a 61 rating today.

Beat Clemson by 9 or more, you’re up 122 points.

Beat Clemson by 8 or fewer, you’re up 61 points.

Lose to Clemson by 8 or fewer, you’re down 39 points.

Lose to Clemson by 9 or more, you’re down 78 points.

Now let’s take my 80th ranked team, Purdue, currently with a power ranking of 42 points.

Beat Purdue by 9 or more, you’re up 84 points.

Beat Purdue by 8 or fewer, you’re up 42 points.

Lose to Purdue by 8 or fewer, you’re down 58 points.

Lose to Purdue by 9 or more, you’re down 116 points.

So, every team acquires these points, and then the entire set of teams is re-ordered, with the points scaled back down to a 0 – 100 scale. Then the whole process is repeated, over and over and over, until the ratings stabilize. This is called fixed-point iteration. It’s essentially a giant set of equations which are determined by the results of these pairwise contests (games.)

One of the interesting traits of this ranking system is that you can assign the initial rankings absolutely randomly, and regardless of the values they are assigned initially, with 8 – 10 iterations, the same order will emerge, regardless. That’s why it’s referred to as “fixed-point” iteration.

Now, with all of this in mind, here’s how Missouri winds up with a higher rating that Auburn. Let’s take it in rounds.

Round 1

Auburn	6-Nov	Chattanooga	Won 62-24	0
Missouri	11-Sep	McNeese State	Won 50-6	0

You get no credit for playing division II teams (though you do lose points if they beat you, which is keeping Virginia Tech out of the top 10.)

Round 2

Auburn	2-Oct	La.-Monroe	Won 52-3	72
Missouri	27-Nov	Kansas	Won 35-7	71

Big wins over not-so-good teams. Auburn’s up 72 – 71

Round 3

Missouri	20-Nov	@Iowa St.	Won 14-0	115
Auburn	13-Nov	Georgia	Won 49-31	113

These are pretty close; Iowas State’s a tiny bit better than Georgia, but basically this is a wash. Missouri’s up 186 – 185

Round 4

Auburn	18-Sep	Clemson	Won 27-24	61
Missouri	18-Sep	San Diego St.	Won 27-24	60

Four games into their season’s histories, we’re tied up, 246 all.

Round 5

Missouri	16-Oct	@Texas A&M	Won 30-9	174
Auburn	16-Oct	Arkansas	Won 65-43	168

These are giant, important wins for the two teams. Essentially the same margin of victory, very similar opponents. Missouri’s up, 420 – 414.

Round 6

Auburn	9-Oct	@Kentucky	Won 37-34	44
Missouri	30-Oct	@Nebraska	Lost 17-31	-10

A win for Auburn over a mediocre Kentucky, a loss for Missouri to a very strong Nebraska (were you paying attention a couple of weeks ago when I declared the Big 12 the best conference in the country? You should have been.) Suddenly Auburn’s up strong 458 – 410, but they are running out of big wins.

Round 7

Missouri	25-Sep	Miami (Ohio)	Won 51-13	98
Auburn	25-Sep	South Carolina	Won 35-27	89

Missouri murders, Auburn squeaks by. If Auburn can beat South Carolina badly in the SEC championship, they are probably going to wind up my number 1. But not this week. Auburn’s still up 547 – 508.

Round 8

Missouri	9-Oct	Colorado	Won 26-0	118
Auburn	26-Nov	@Alabama	Won 28-27	85

Here’s the first sticking point for most readers who get this far. Missouri murders an above average Colorado, Auburn squeaks by a better than that Alabama. Does Missouri deserve more points? If you don’t think so, program your own system. Auburn’s still up, 632 – 626.

Round 9

Missouri	13-Nov	Kansas St.	Won 38-28	131
Auburn	23-Oct	LSU	Won 24-17	79

Eat grass, Les Miles! Eat it! Here that 9 or greater/8 or fewer dichotomy hangs up Auburn, so you might make a valid argument, but I find my math more interesting than your puny human emotional entreaty. Missouri surges ahead, 757 – 711, but unfortunately, Missouri’s got another loss in the pipeline.

Round 10

Auburn	9-Sep	@Mississippi St.	Won 17-14	64
Missouri	6-Nov	@Texas Tech	Lost 17-24	-43

Missouri’s Waterloo, as far as this year’s official ratings go, but if Auburn was as good as SEC fans think, they would have beaten Mississippi State by more than a wafer-thin field goal. Auburn’s up, 775 – 714, but that’s where it ends.

Round 11

Missouri	4-Sep	Illinois	Won 23-13	137
Auburn	30-Oct	@Mississippi	Won 51-31	78

Illinois was definitely better than “we lost to Vandy”. So, with only one game to go, Auburn’s up 853 – 851, nearly a dead tie, and the true separation between the teams boils down to a single game. So, who have we not yet covered in this season?

Round 12

Missouri	23-Oct	Oklahoma	Won 36-27	186
Auburn	4-Sep	Arkansas St.	Won 52-26	73

Case closed. Auburn may have the unbeaten record, but Missouri’s got better wins consistently. Missouri 1037, Auburn 926. Auburn’s probably got to beat South Carolina by at least 9 to have a chance of being the best team in the nation (and frankly, Nebraska and Ohio St and TCU and Oregon and Stanford could probably all beat the Czizzikcks.)

Auburn’s solution? Quit scheduling crap teams like Chattanooga. Beat mid-level teams in your conference by more than 8.