Read Heather Dinich’s ESPN+ piece, linked on Monday’s Daily Bullets. The most glaring deficiency of her analysis, and all of the other ESPN talking heads, is her downgrading of results on the field, in head to head competition, by putting “eye test” at the top of her key ranking analysis. In case you didn’t already know this, the “eye test” is a maximum of a 50% factor in deciding the outcome of a football game, while player mentality, preparation, coaching and other factors such as home field advantage play a much bigger part in the outcome. Football is so much more enjoyable when the scoreboard is the #1 factor in head to head contests, separating Power 5 conference champions with the same overall record. She struggles to do this with perennial Top 4 eye test team Ohio State and lowly PAC 12 Oregon.
As for The Big 12 Champion, to be decided over the final stretch of the season between OU, Baylor and us, there is no doubt an undefeated OU or a one loss Big 12 Champion is in the Top 4 playoff, but doubt still exists for Heather.
I have to agree with her assessment of Michigan still having a chance to win the B1G as a one loss team and they are in. Why she continues to slobber over 3-loss (in a row) Penn St is another mystery. Fortunately, the B1G schedule is set up to allow the conference champion to be decided on the field, and no amount of eye test voting will change that. Same way with the Big 12 Champion.