SimonOnSports

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide It's nice to see the Volunteers with such a tremendous team this season. The Volunteers have beaten Tennessee Martin and UAB this year, which stacks up as two of the best wins in the long history of the Derek Dooley era. This week those pastel orange boys get to host the Crimson Tide who have obviously underachieved thus far this season. They lost a game which is quite unacceptable. This week Derek Dooley gets his 3rd best win.

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen Army vs. Navy is by far the biggest football game in the country which always consists of one team below .500. The Army-Navy rivalry is as intense as it gets. The Cadets and Midshipmen are trained to "Beat Army" or "Beat Navy". It's a source of heavy pride for each student-athlete-soldier at the academies. This weekend Army heads into the game with even more than normal on the line. With a win Army gets to play in a bowl gam...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Oregon State Beavers vs. Oregon Ducks This seasons Civil War has implications and hate like no other. The winner of the Civil War is the Pac 10 Champion. The Winner gets a trip to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl, a game that both teams have been waiting a long time to get to. The last trip for either team was Oregon in 1995, a loss to Penn State. The last trip for the Beavers came in 1965. The rivalry is always a bitterly fought one, but with the added incentive and intensity this game is a c...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines Michigan vs. Ohio State is one of America's greatest rivalries yet for the 2nd straight season its practically not on America's radar thanks to the Wolverines ineptitude. Michigan fans are thankful for the Ohio State game not because they legitimately expect victory but rather because it signifies the end of yet another torturous season under Rich Rodriguez. But alas the Degrees are here to bring you hope Wolverine fans. All is not lost. ...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Miami Hurricanes vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Butch Davis brought the Hurricanes back to glory in his time in Miami. He eventually jettisoned for the NFL cash only to be quickly ousted. His return to college football just so happened to come at a spot where he gets to play the Hurricanes every season. 2º of Loss Separation : North Carolina > Virginia Tech > Miami The Hurricanes kicked off the degrees when they were highly ranked and headed into Blacksburg for a showdown that they didn...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Ohio State Buckeyes At the start of the season this is the game that was marked on the Big 10 calendar. What people did not realize was that Iowa was going to be the team that is undefeated and these squads would be sitting with a loss a piece. Regardless the game is still huge as either of these teams will likely get into the BCS if they win out. 3º of Loss Separation : Penn State > Minnesota > Purdon't > Ohio State The chain of command really begins wi...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Southern California Trojans vs. Oregon Ducks With 5 games left in the season this game might as well be for the Pac 10 championship. The two teams are currently 1&2 in the Pac 10 and given that USC doesn't typically lose more than 1 game in a season, it's likely that if they beat Oregon they will run the table. Meanwhile an Oregon win puts them two games clear of the Trojans with just 4 to play and with only 3-1 Arizona standing in their way, an Arizona team that still has to host ...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Connecticut Huskies vs. West Virginia Mountaineers This Degrees of Loss Separation is in honor of the recently deceased Jasper Howard. By now you must know that he was stabbed to death outside a UConn building on the night of a school dance. I think we can all agree that this must be an incredibly difficult time for the Huskies and that unless you are from West Virginia you will be pulling for them this weekend. 10º of Loss Separation : UConn > Louisville > Southern Miss > Memphis ...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Southern California Trojans vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oh the battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh is back on. The last time Notre Dame won this matchup Lou Holtz was able to keep the spit in his mouth from firing out every time he talked. Notre Dame and Charlie Weis are looking for a signature victory whule the Trojans are looking to keep it rolling towards what they hope to be a 1 loss season and a trip to the BCS title game. 2º of Loss Separation : ND > Washington > USC It all started...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Miami Hurricanes Doesn't it feel like the good ole days when the most relevant football game of the weekend pits Miami vs. Oklahoma. I feel as if I'm back in the mid 80s in January prepping for the Orange bowl. In this years showdown the Sooners look to hold on to their National Title hopes without Bradford on the field while Miami looks to rebound big time from their blow out loss at VaTech. 3º of Loss Separation : Miami > FSU > BYU > Oklahoma The season st...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Florida Gators vs. Oklahoma Sooners It's National Championship time so what better way to figure out who's better than via the Degrees of Loss Separation (almost any thoughtful analysis really). The defending Heisman Trophy winner versus the current Heisman Trophy winner. The high flying passing offense versus the spread offense. The young NFL Coaching target versus the young NFL Coaching Target. The Big 12 versus the SEC. It should be an exciting game pitting two terrific offenses wi...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt Commodores Lots of talk is going on throughout Florida and the SEC conference as well as the rest of the nation that Florida may just have the inside track to the National Title game. This all runs under the assumption that the Gators will run the table and Texas Tech loses a game somewhere down the line. But what happens if the Gators get caught up in the hype and slip up at a weaker conference opponent, like say Vandy. 2º of Loss Separation : Vandy > Ole Miss...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Michigan St. Spartans It was nearly impossible to find a game to use for the Degrees this week with many teams only losing to undefeated teams or the chains ending in undefeated teams. For instance BYU -> TCU -> Oklahoma -> Texas. Or USC facing winless Washington. So I endeded up choosing Michigan St. vs. Wisconsin because the Spartans are ranked again and the Badgers are still in the bottom half of the Big Ten. Plus, I want D'Antonio to get a beatdown after ...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh is currently charging away as the favorite in the Big East after defeating South Florida. They could potentially get Wanny a trip to the BCS. Meanwhile Rutgers is 2-5 and won its first conference game of the season last weekend due to UConn turning the ball over and missing a game tying field goal in the last minutes. Clearly these teams are heading in different directions. But its Wanny and he likes to lose games he shouldn't. A...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Michigan St. Spartans vs. Ohio St. Buckeyes The Spartans have surprised many this year by going 6-1 and find themselves with a legitimate opportunity to make the trip out to Pasadena. Both squads are currently undefeated in the Big 10 with both losing their battles in California. The Buckeyes started off the year with title hopes that were dashed in the LA Coliseum but are also still playing with hopes of a Rose Bowl trip while in the back of their minds praying for a lot of chips to fall their...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish So I'm not picking a crappy team vs. a really good team for the first weekend of the 2008 version of the Degrees of Loss Separation, but I wanted to get it off to a good start this season by predicting a Notre Dame Loss. Both teams have 1 loss. The Tarheels moved into the rankings and the Notre Dame fans are whining that they aren't included. This weekend the Tarheels host Notre Dame on National TV after throttling ranked UConn la...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Louisiana State Tigers The SEC Championship game that no one really wanted. The Volunteers who have been winning by the narrowest margins after starting off the season getting pummeled twice were able to hold off the charging Bulldogs. Meanwhile LSU, stumbled last week and almost inconceivably is in danger of missing out on the BCS in a season where at many points they were thought to be the clear best team in the country. This final regular season Degrees is inspired ...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Texas A&M Aggies vs. Texas Longhorns Every year Americans everywhere turn on the tube on Thanksgiving to watch the Cowboys play. Well every year the day after Thanksgiving Texans are equally focused on football when A&M and the Longhorns clash. Last year the Longhorns came in fighting for the Big 12 title but were battered and bruised by A&M and Colt took the pounding of a lifetime . This year A&M comes in reeling to the tune of a 6-5 schedule, meanwhile Texas with a win and a...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Oregon Ducks vs. Arizona Wildcats When you think of these two teams the last few seasons you think Arizona was at the bottom of the conference and Oregon was somewhere in the upper middle or a notch below Cal and USC. So when looking at their past matchups you would think that there have been a few years gone by since last Arizona defeated the Ducks. If you made that assumption, you would be wrong. The Wildcats defeated the Ducks last year on the road. And with Mike Stoops getting a vote of ...

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees. The Game: Louisiana State Tigers vs. Ole Miss Runnin Rebels This SEC West matchup in recent history has been a one sided affair in the Win Loss column with LSU winning the last 5 matchups having last loss to Ole Miss in 2001 when they were quarterbacked by one Eli Manning. While the Win Losses have been one sided the recent game history has not been. In those 5 wins by LSU only one was by a margin larger than a field goal. The Rebs have been hanging tight every year, perhaps this will be the year they...