Squeezing the Cork Back Into the Bottle

It's an analogy for the way college football teams try to get recruits enrolled into their respective universities.  Some universities have difficult entrance requirements, others find ways to fit even the most disastrous of academic records.

For at least the second year in a row, the Orlando Sentinel has published its "take on how the NCAA's 119 Division 1-A schools rate in terms of being able to get football players in school".

Here's the link.

Last year the rankings were relative to other schools within the conference and based on a scale of "Buckle Down", "Semi-Tough", "Semi-Easy" and "All In".  Those have been replaced with a 1-10 scale, with 10 having the toughest admission standards.  It remains unclear whether these results are standardized across the schools or by conference.  My guess is the former, but I suspect that in doing so the results are a little more haphazard and should be given a little more caution than last year's data.

The information is reproduced down below, but for kicks, take a look at the final AP top 25 rankings with the Sentinel's ranking next to each team.  Please keep in mind the results are completely unscientific and anonymous, providing plenty of opportunity for error and bias.

1. Texas-7
2. USC-3
3. Penn State-7
4. Ohio State-3
5. West Virginia-2
6. LSU-3
7. Virginia Tech-2
8. Alabama-3
9. Notre Dame-7
10. Georgia-7
11. TCU-5
12. Florida-5
13. Oregon-5
14. Auburn-3
15. Wisconsin-5
16. UCLA-8
17. Miami-4
18. Boston College-6
19. Louisville-2
20. Texas Tech-3
21. Clemson-2
22. Oklahoma-5
23. Florida State-4
24. Nebraska-5
25. California-6

Average: 4.48

Distribution: 2,2,2,2,3,3,3,3,3,3,4,4,5,5,5,5,5,5,6,6,7,7,7,7,8

Results, by Conference:

• Atlantic Coast: Virginia Tech-2, North Carolina State-2, Clemson-2, Miami (FL)-4, Florida State-4, Maryland-4, Virginia-6, North Carolina-6, Boston College-6, Georgia Tech-7, Duke-8, Wake Forest-9
• Big East: West Virginia-2, USF-2, Louisville-2, Cincinnati-2, Rutgers-4, Pittsburgh-6, Connecticut-6, Syracuse-7
• Big Ten: Ohio State-3, Michigan State-3, Minnesota-4, Wisconsin-5, Purdue-5, Iowa-5, Indiana-5, Illinois-6, Penn State-7, Michigan-7, Northwestern-9
• Big 12: Oklahoma State-2, Kansas State-2, Texas Tech-3, Iowa State-3, Texas A&M-4, Baylor-4, Nebraska-5, Kansas-5, Oklahoma-5, Colorado-5, Missouri-7, Texas-7
• Conference USA: UTEP-2, UAB-2, Marshall-2, East Carolina-2, Southern Miss-3, Memphis-4, Houston-4, UCF-5, Tulsa-5, Tulane-8, SMU-8, Rice-10
• Mid-American: Toledo-2, Bowling Green-2, Akron-2, Western Michigan-3, Central Michigan-3, Eastern Michigan-3, Northern Illinois-3, Ball State-4, Kent State-5, Ohio-6, Miami (Ohio)-7, Buffalo-7
• Mountain West: New Mexico-3, Colorado State-3, BYU-3, UNLV-3, Wyoming-4, TCU-5, San Diego State-6, Air Force-8
• Pacific-10: USC-3, Washington State-3, Oregon State-3, Arizona State-3, Washington-5, Oregon-5, Arizona-5, Cal-6, UCLA-8, Stanford-9
• Southeastern: Tennessee-2, South Carolina-2, Mississippi State-2, Ole Miss-3, LSU-3, Auburn-3, Arkansas-3, Alabama-3, Kentucky-5, Florida-5, Georgia-7, Vanderbilt-9
• Sun Belt: Troy-1, Middle Tennessee-1, North Texas-2, Florida International-2, Florida Atlantic-2, Arkansas State-2, Louisiana-Monroe-3, Louisiana-Lafayette-3
• Western Athletic: Utah State-1, New Mexico State-1, Louisiana Tech-2, San Jose State-2, Idaho-2, Boise State-2, Fresno State-3, Nevada-4, Hawai'i-4
• Independents: Temple-2, Notre Dame-7, Navy-9, Army-9

Average Rating, By Conference:

1. Independents-6.75
2. Big Ten-5.36
3. ACC (tie)-5.00
4. Pac-10 (tie)-5.00
5. CUSA-4.58
6. MWC-4.38
7. Big-12-4.33
8. MAC (tie)-3.92
9. SEC (tie)-3.92
10. Big East-3.88
11. WAC-2.33
12. Sun Belt-2.00
    

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• Admission Standards

Comments

[Paxil]

LOL, I only saw 3 numbers that devalidify this entire thing...

USC 3
OREGON and ARIZONA 5 ?????????????????????? hahaha

[jj]

"devalidify"?


Which school on the list let you in Paxil?




anyway, the list is bunk. They use no actual data, it's just hearsay and perceived reputation.

[Stephen Kim]

Texas a 7? No. More like a 3-4. Texas is hard to get into for JUCOs, but normal high school is nothing different. I guess maybe they don't want complete thugs, but they do bring in shady guys.

[Paxil]

whats wrong with making up your own words? As long as its not on some sort of official paper or report, I dont see the harm in doing it on a blog